An apparatus which allows the pulse duration of the high voltage pulses used in the programming and erase operations of a non-volatile memory system to be determined by an external timing signal instead of the internal timer normally used. Control of the pulse duration by the internal timer is disabled by gating the timer output signal with the external signal in a manner such that the gate output signal (which triggers the end of the high voltage pulse) is only generated when the external timing signal has a predetermined value. By controlling the value of the external timing signal, the pulse duration can be varied and have values other than those which would result from use of the internal timer.

The operation of many memory systems requires a substantial amount of processor overhead, and since different manufacturers require different operations for optimizing their particular memories, many such systems include an internal state machine (ISM) for controlling the operation of the memory system. The internal state machine controls the primary operations of the memory system, including reading, programming and erasing of the memory cells. Each of the primary operations is comprised of a large number of sub-operations which are necessary to carry out the primary operations, with these sub-operations also being controlled by the internal state machine.
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a conventional non-volatile memory system 1. The core of memory system 1 is an array 12 of memory cells. The individual cells in array 12 (not shown) are arranged in rows and columns, with there being, for example, a total of 256K eight bit words in array 12. The individual memory cells are accessed by using an eighteen bit address A0-A17, which is input by means of address pins 13. Nine of the eighteen address bits are used by X decoder 14 to select the row of array 12 in which a desired memory cell is located and the remaining nine bits are used by Y decoder 16 to select the appropriate column of array 12 in which the desired cell is located. Sense amplifiers 50 are used to read the data contained in a memory cell during a read operation or during a data verification step in which the state of a cell is determined after a programming, pre-programming, or erase operation. The sense amplifier circuitry can be combined with the data compare and verify circuits used to compare the state of a cell to a desired state or to the input data used in programming the cell.
Programming or erasing of the memory cells in array 12 is carried out by applying the appropriate voltages to the source, drain, and control gate of a cell for an appropriate time period. This causes electrons to tunnel or be injected from a channel region to a floating gate. The amount of charge residing on the floating gate determines the voltage required on the control gate in order to cause the device to conduct current between the source and drain regions. This is termed the threshold voltage V.sub.th of the cell. Conduction represents an "on" or erased state of the device and corresponds to a logic value of one. An "off" or programmed state is one in which current is not conducted between the source and drain regions and corresponds to a logic value of zero. By setting the threshold voltage of the cell to an appropriate value, the cell can be made to either conduct or not conduct current for a given set of applied voltages. Thus, by determining whether a cell conducts current at a given set of applied voltages, the state of the cell (programmed or erased) can be found.
Memory system 1 contains an internal state machine (ISM) 20 which controls the data processing operations and sub-operations performed on the memory cells contained in memory array 12. These include the steps necessary for carrying out programming, reading and erasing operations on the memory cells of array 12. In addition, internal state machine 20 controls operations such as reading or clearing status register 26, identifying memory system 1 in response to an identification command, and suspending an erase operation. State machine 20 functions to reduce the overhead required of an external processor (not depicted) typically used in association with memory system 1.
For example, if memory cell array 12 is to be erased (typically, all cells or large blocks of cells are erased at the same time), the external processor causes the output enable pin OE to be inactive (high), and the chip enable CA and write enable WE pins to be active (low). The processor then issues an 8 bit command 20H (0010 0000) on data I/O pins 15 (DQ0-DQ7), typically called an Erase Setup command. This is followed by the issuance of a second eight bit command DOH (1101 0000), typically called an Erase Confirm command. Two separate commands are used to initiate the erase operation so as to minimize the possibility of inadvertently beginning an erase procedure.
The commands issued on I/O pins 15 are transferred to data input buffer 22 and then to command execution logic unit 24. Command execution logic unit 24 receives and interprets the commands used to instruct state machine 20 to initiate and control the steps required for erasing array 12 or carrying out another desired operation. If a programming operation is being executed, the data to be programmed into the memory cells is input using I/O pins 15, transferred to input buffer 22, and then placed in input data latch 30. The input data in latch 30 is then made available to sense amplifier circuitry 50 for the cell programming and data verification operations. Once a desired operation sequence is completed, state machine 20 updates 8 bit status register 26. The contents of status register 26 is transferred to data output buffer 28, which makes the contents available on data I/O pins 15 of memory system 1.
Memory system 1 verifies the status of the memory cells after performing programming or erasing operations on the cells. Verification occurs by accessing each memory element and evaluating the margins (the voltage differential between the threshold voltage of the memory cells and ground level) that the element has after the operation. The system then decides whether the element needs to be reprogrammed or erased further to achieve a desired operational margin.
The memory cells need to be programmed first in a pre-programming cycle before they can be erased. This is to avoid over-erasing the bits in some memory elements to a negative threshold voltage, thereby rendering the memory inoperative. During this cycle of pre-programming, the memory system needs to check to see if the bits are programmed to a sufficient threshold voltage level. This is accomplished by a programming verification cycle that uses a different evaluation procedure than a regular read operation would use. After successful completion of the pre-programming cycle, a high voltage erase operation is executed. After the erase operation is completed, the memory system may go through an operation to tighten the distribution (reduce the variance) of memory element threshold voltages for ease of manufacturing. After this procedure, the memory system may perform a re-verify operation to determine if the data in the memory elements has remained undisturbed.
FIG. 2 is a state diagram showing the process flow (sub-operations) of a memory system of the type shown in FIG. 1 during the pre-programming, high voltage erase, and distribution adjustment stages of a complete erase operation. The complete erase operation starts with a pre-program cycle 200. This sub-operation programs all the elements in the memory array to a logic 0 value to make sure that the erase process starts from a known cell threshold voltage level. This part of the complete erase operation is used to reduce the possibility of over erasure of some of the memory elements during the later steps of the operation.
The pre-program cycle begins with an operation which increments the address of the memory cell which is to be pre-programmed 202. This is done because the pre-programming operation is executed on a cell by cell basis. This step is followed by a high voltage level set-up stage 204 which prepares the system for application of the high voltage levels (typically about 12 volts is applied to the gate of each memory cell and 5 volts to the drain) used for programming or erasing a memory cell. The high voltage level used for writing to (programming) the cell is then applied in stage 206.
The appropriate voltage levels for executing the data verification sequence (reading the data programmed in the cell and comparing it to a desired value) are applied to the appropriate circuitry at stage 208. This is followed by a program verification stage 210 which verifies that the programmed cell has a sufficient threshold voltage margin. This is typically accomplished by comparing the threshold voltage of the cell to a reference cell having a desired threshold voltage (corresponding to a logic value of 0). If the verification operation is not successful, steps 204, 206, 208, and 210 are repeated. Once the verification stage for a particular memory cell is successfully completed, it is followed by a program clean up stage 212.
Program clean up stage 212 conditions all internal nodes of the memory array to default values in order to prepare the memory system for the next operation. This concludes the pre-programming cycle for a given memory cell. The address of the cell to be operated on is then incremented at stage 202 and the process repeats itself until the last cell in a memory block to be erased is successfully pre-programmed. At this time, the incremented address will point to the first address location in the block, which is the first address for the next operation. When this occurs, all of the memory cells have been pre-programmed and control is passed to the high voltage erase cycle 220.
In the high voltage erase cycle, the memory system performs a block erase operation on all of the cells contained in a block of memory. The first stage in the cycle is a high voltage level set-up stage 222 which prepares the memory block for application of the high voltage pulse(es) used for erasing the cells. This is followed by a high voltage stage 224 in which a short, high voltage pulse is applied to erase all of the memory cells in the block of cells. This is followed by a set-up verify stage 226 which applies the appropriate voltage levels for the data verification stage to the corresponding circuits. The next stage is an erase verify stage 228 which verifies that the erase operation was successfully carried out on each cell in the block. This is accomplished by accessing the cells, address by address, and comparing the threshold voltage of the cell to a reference cell having a desired threshold voltage level (corresponding to a logic value of 1).
If the erase operation was not successfully carried out (a cell was not erased to the threshold voltage margin corresponding to the desired logic value), control is passed back to the high voltage level set-up stage 222 and the high voltage cycle is carried out again to erase the entire block of cells. If the erase operation was successful for the cell under consideration, the address of the memory cell is incremented 230 and the next cell is tested for verification of the erase operation. Thus, if the maximum address of the cells in the block of memory has not been reached, erase verify stage 228 is carried out on the next memory cell in the block. If the maximum address for cells in the block has been reached (meaning that all the cells in the memory block have been successfully erased), control is passed to the distribution adjustment stage 240.
The distribution adjustment sub-operation 240 is used to tighten the distribution (reduce the variance) of the threshold voltages of the erased memory elements. This is done by applying high voltages (i.e., 12 volts) to the gates of all the memory cells in the memory block, with the memory cell drains floating and the sources at ground potential.
The distribution adjustment cycle begins with a high voltage set-up stage 242, which is followed by a high voltage stage 244 in which the voltages used to perform the adjustment sub-operation are applied. This is followed by set-up verification 246 stage which applies the appropriate voltage levels to the corresponding circuits, and erase verification 248 stage which acts to insure that all of the erased cells are still in an erased state. If the erase verification procedure fails, a final erase 249 stage may be executed. In the final erase stage, a short erase pulse is applied to the cells in the block. After completion of the previous steps, the memory elements are checked to determine if they still contain the appropriate data. At this point the erase operation is completed.
A programming operation is carried out by following a set of steps similar to those followed in pre-program stage 200 of FIG. 2. In particular, stages 204 through 212 of FIG. 2 describe the primary functions carried out in a regular programming operation. As a program operation is typically carried out on a specific memory cell, the increment address state 202 used in the pre-program cycle to facilitate pre-programming of every cell in the memory array is not accessed. Another difference between the programming and pre-programming operations is that in a programming operation, program verify state 210 is designed to read the programmed data and compare it to input data obtained from input data latch 30, rather than to a logic value of 0, as in the pre-programming operation.
As noted in the discussions of the programming and erase operations, high voltage pulses are used to set the threshold voltage of the memory cells to a value corresponding to either a programmed (or pre-programmed) or erased state. Production of the high voltage pulses is controlled by state machine 20 which initiates the high voltage pulse cycle. A signal provided by state machine 20 acts to trigger an internal timer (typically contained in state machine 20) which outputs a control signal after a predetermined time period, thereby determining the pulse length. This process can be described with reference to FIG. 3, which is a block diagram of the components of memory system 1 responsible for internally determining the duration of the high voltage pulses used in a programming or erasing operation.
As shown in FIG. 3, a one-shot start high voltage cycle signal 302 provided by state machine 20 initiates the production of the high voltage pulse timing signal. Signal 302 is provided as an input to flip-flop 304 and acts to set the flip-flop. In the absence of a reset signal, flip-flop 304 produces an active high voltage signal 306 at its output which is applied to V.sub.pp switch (element 32 of FIG. 1) by state machine 20, where V.sub.pp switch acts to connect the appropriate internal nodes of memory system 1 to an external V.sub.pp voltage level used in the programming or erase operation. High voltage output signal 306 is also provided as an input to internal timer 308, which acts with one-shot 310 to determine the pulse length of active high voltage output signal 306.
High voltage signal 306 initiates a timing sequence performed by internal timer 308. Internal timer 308 is constructed so that when signal 306 is low, timer output signal 309 is low. When signal 306 goes high, timer output signal 309 goes high and stays at that level until timer 308 times out at the end of a predetermined time period which may be varied by means of control signals 311 provided to timer 308. When timer 308 times out, timer output signal 309 goes low. Thus, at the end of a time period corresponding to the intended pulse duration, timer output signal 309 transitions from high to low. A description of the design and operation of a timer circuit suited for use implementing internal timer 308 is found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/509,035, filed Jul. 28, 1995, entitled "Adjustable Timer Circuit", the contents of which is hereby incorporated in full by reference.
The high to low transition of timer output signal 309 triggers one-shot 310 which produces a pulse 312 which acts to reset flip-flop 304. This causes active high voltage pulse signal 306 to be terminated. Thus, the time between the initiation of high voltage signal 306 and when timer output signal 309 transitions from high to low determines the pulse length of the high voltage pulse applied to the memory elements.
While this method of timing the duration of the high voltage pulses works well after testing of the memory cells of the memory system has been completed, it does not permit the pulse duration to be varied to the extent needed to fully characterize the memory cells. Varying the duration of the high voltage pulses causes the threshold voltages of the cells to shift, and can be used to evaluate the behavior of the memory cells during programming or erase operations. This can be of assistance to a test engineer who is investigating the operation and tolerances of the memory system.
What is desired is an apparatus which acts to disable internal timer control of the pulse length of the high voltage pulses used to program or erase the memory cells in a non-volatile memory system. It is also desired that the apparatus enable external control of the pulse length by means of user provided control signals.

Apparatus for externally timing high voltage cycles of non-volatile memory system


A digital storage medium (e.g., a CDROM, a DVD, a tape, etc.) has an integrated RFID tag to store information for use in controlling access to the data stored on the digital storage medium.

Digital storage media, such as compact disk read only memories (CDROMs) and digital versatile disks (DVDs), may be used in a variety of applications including, for example, commercial software distribution, video and/or audio content distribution, data sharing and archival, and/or others. Often, the content stored on such digital storage media is restricted to use by designated parties (e.g., licensed users, business associates, purchasers, etc.) and is not intended for general use by the public. Methods have been devised in the past for protecting such content from unauthorized use, but many of these methods have been inadequate. Methods and structures are therefore needed for improving and/or simplifying the protection of such digital content.

Storage medium having RFID tag and methods for using same


A new fishing line spool holder for mounting a spool of fishing line on a fishing rod to permit winding of the fishing line on to a fishing reel. The inventive device includes an elongate spool shaft having proximal and distal ends which is designed for inserting through the bore of a spool of fishing line to rotatably mount the spool on the spool shaft. Coupled to the proximal end of the spool shaft, is a flexible base. A mounting member is coupled to the flexible base. The mounting member has a mounting channel that extends between its ends for receiving the shaft of a fishing rod therein. An elongate flexible strap has a hole through which extends the spool shaft so that the flexible base is positioned adjacent the second surface of the flexible strap. On each of the surfaces of the flexible strap is a coupling portion positioned towards opposite ends of the flexible strap. The coupling portions are detachably couplable to one another when the elongate strap is wrapped around the outer surface of the mounting member so that the mounting member is held to the shaft of a fishing rod.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fishing line spool holders and more particularly pertains to a new fishing line spool holder for mounting a spool of fishing line on a fishing rod to permit winding of the fishing line on to a fishing reel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of fishing line spool holders is known in the prior art. More specifically, fishing line spool holders heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art fishing line spool holders include U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,423; U.S. Pat. No. 4,360,172; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 280,124; U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,059; U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,236; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,810.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new fishing line spool holder. The inventive device includes an elongate spool shaft having proximal and distal ends which is designed for inserting through the bore of a spool of fishing line to rotatably mount the spool on the spool shaft. Coupled to the proximal end of the spool shaft, is a flexible base. A mounting member is coupled to the flexible base. The mounting member has a mounting channel that extends between its ends for receiving the shaft of a fishing rod therein. An elongate flexible strap has a hole through which extends the spool shaft so that the flexible base is positioned adjacent the second surface of the flexible strap. On each of the surfaces of the flexible strap is a coupling portion positioned towards opposite ends of the flexible strap. The coupling portions are detachably couplable to one another when the elongate strap is wrapped around the outer surface of the mounting member so that the mounting member is held to the shaft of a fishing rod.
In these respects, the fishing line spool holder according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of mounting a spool of fishing line on a fishing rod to permit winding of the fishing line on to a fishing reel.


A bracket assembly and installation method are provided that connects and reinforces upper and lower stud wall frames in a stacked relationship. The bracket assembly includes upper and lower brackets connectible across the width inside of a pair of parallel, aligned studs of the upper and lower stud wall frames, respectively, and a pair of post members that interconnect the upper and lower brackets. In the installation method, aligned openings are provided in the top plate of the lower stud wall frame and the bottom plate of the upper stud wall frame. The post members are inserted through the aligned openings and are connected between the first and second brackets to resist bending at the interface between the stacked upper and lower stud walls. Each bracket is length-adjustable to accommodate variations in the width between the pair of parallel studs.

Stud walls are the most common type of interior walls used in buildings. Such walls generally comprise a stud frame formed from a series of vertically-oriented, uniformly-spaced studs of equal length that are connected together on their top and bottom ends by rail-like members referred to as top plates and a bottom plates, respectively. The resulting stud frame is covered on both sides by paneling such as drywall. Building codes typically limit the maximum length of the studs and the maximum spacing between studs to ensure that the resulting wall will have sufficient compressive strength to bear the loads expected to be applied to it. Building fire codes further require such stud walls to have a minimum bending strength in order to effectively resist the lateral forces applied to them by pressurized water from a firehose without detachment or collapse. The studs are formed either from wood or galvanized steel sheet material bent so as to have a "C"-shaped cross section. Such steel studs are specifically referred to as cold-formed steel or CFS studs, and have been gaining in popularity over wooden studs due to their higher strength per unit weight, greater dimensional stability, and superior fire and insect-resistance.
Typically, when stud walls are arranged in a stacked relationship in a multistory building, the intervening joists or I-beams between the top plate of the lower stud wall and the bottom plate of the upper stud wall that support the intervening floor provide a secure anchor point for the opposing top and bottom plates against any lateral forces applied to them. Such secure lateral anchoring, along with the bending resistance of the wooden or CFS studs and the minimum spacing requirements, ensure that both the upper and lower stacked walls will have the bending strength necessary to withstand any lateral pressure that might be applied to them by a firehose.
However, the necessary minimum bending strength may not be present in a stacked wall configuration where there are no intervening floor-support joists or I-beams, and the top plate of the lower stud wall and the bottom plate of the upper stud wall are directly connected together. Such a situation can occur, for example, when a remotely-constructed modular electrical room is installed in a building. Shipping constraints limit the height of such modular electrical rooms to about 11 feet. Since the floor-to-floor height of many buildings, such as data centers, is well over 11 feet, it is necessary to install a crown wall over the top of the stud walls of the modular electrical room in order to complete the room and structurally integrate it into the building. Even if the bottom plate of the lower stud wall and the top plate of the upper stud wall are securely anchored to a floor-supporting joist or I-beam, the interface between the directly-connected top and bottom plates may not comply with the minimum bending resistance specified by present day building fire codes. The problem is particularly acute when the upper and lower walls include CFS studs. In such walls, the top and bottom plates are rail-like members formed from steel sheet material bent to have a shallow, U-shaped cross section that receives the ends of the CFS studs. While such rail-like members have good compressive and bending resistance, they have relatively poor torsion resistance and thus are apt to twist when subjected to a lateral force.

Bracket assembly and installation method for interconnecting stud walls in a stacked relationship


A combination retractable syringe and injector enclosure are disclosed. A hypodermic syringe is placed into the injector enclosure and attached to a spring-loaded plunger. The plunger terminates in a tubular case that houses a coil spring and extends out from one end of the injector enclosure. An empty syringe may be filled by loading the injector with the empty syringe, engaging the plunger with the empty syringe, positioning a canula or needle of the syringe for collecting a fluid, and then withdrawing the case and plunger from the end of the injector enclosure. This causes the syringe to pull fluid from the canula and into the body of the syringe. In an alternate use, a fluid in a full syringe is dispensed by loading the injector enclosure with the full syringe, engaging the plunger with the full syringe, positioning the canula for injection, and then pushing the case into the injector enclosure. Upon the complete dispensing of the fluid within the syringe, two disengaging means within the injector enclosure come into contact with two corresponding locking means within the enclosure, thereby freeing the spring within the case to retract the syringe completely into the injector enclosure. As such, the canula is automatically withdrawn from the injection site and retained safely within the injector enclosure. The entire device is then safely discarded.

Pre-filled syringe cartridges are becoming more common because many medications, to be effective and even safe, require precise mixing at a well controlled mixing location, such as in a pharmaceutical manufacturing location. In a typical hospital or doctor's office it is usually not possible to mix certain medications accurately enough, since such locations do not normally have, nor can afford, the proper and precise mixing equipment required. As such, it is increasingly necessary to use such pre-filled syringe cartridges. Typically, however, the syringe enclosures used with such pre-filled syringe cartridges are not capable of retracting the needle or canula into a protective enclosure for the purposes of avoiding inadvertent, and potentially harmful, needle sticks.
One syringe device currently available includes an enclosure for use with a pre-filled syringe cartridge of medicine. This type of device is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,820,275 to Haber at al. on Apr. 11, 1989. While such a device does provide for the spring-influenced retraction of the needle and syringe, such retraction does not occur automatically upon the complete dispensing of the fluid contents of the cartridge. As such, it is possible for the needle to be withdrawn from the patient after delivery of the medication and still be unsafely exposed to others. Further, withdrawal of the needle by the medical practitioner is required, and such manual withdrawal of the needle, if done slowly and with lateral movement, can cause pain to the patient. While such a device might be better suited for dental work, it clearly has certain drawbacks when applied to more general medical fields.
Clearly, then, there is a need for an applicator device for use with a pre-filled syringe cartridge that, upon complete delivery of the contents of the cartridges, automatically retracts the syringe and needle safely into an inaccessible enclosure. Such a needed device could be used both for drawing fluid into the syringe, such as from a medicine bottle, and dispensing the fluid out of the syringe, such as while delivering an injection to a patient. Such a needed device would be relatively inexpensive to manufacture and easy to use. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages.


In various embodiments, an apparatus includes a top portion, a bottom portion adapted to receive the top portion to define a space enclosed within the top portion and bottom portion, where the bottom portion comprises a conductive structure, the conductive structure configured to receive electromagnetic energy from an EM source. The apparatus may also include an electronic tag configured to encode information about contents of the space. In various embodiments, a heating apparatus includes an electromagnetic (EM) source and a controller configured to: receive data associated with a heatable load, determine heating instructions based at least in part on the received data, and control the EM source based on the determined heating instructions.

There are many challenges in food preparation. Cooking can be time-consuming and messy. For example, ingredient selection, acquisition, transportation, and preparation can be inconvenient. In spite of the effort expended, sometimes the results of meal preparation are unsatisfying. Successfully extracting flavors from ingredients typically requires lengthy cooking processes such as stewing or skilled processes such as browning. The final tastiness of food depends on the characteristics of the ingredients and a person's tastes and preferences.
Various types of cooking devices are available. For example, slow-cookers and pressure-cookers may simplify food preparation by facilitating unattended cooking. However, conventional slow-cookers are typically slow and limited to specific cooking techniques, e.g., simmering at low heat. Conventional pressure-cookers typically reduce cooking time. However, conventional pressure-cooking requires liquid and is not suitable for some techniques such as roasting or frying. Also, the time needed to pressurize and de-pressurize the cooking chamber can be time-consuming. Both slow cookers and pressure-cookers also typically require a cook to prepare (e.g., slice and portion) the ingredients.
Pre-packaged chilled convenience meals have been popular since the 1950s for its ease of preparation. Typical convenience meals are packaged in a tray and frozen. The consumer heats the meal in an oven or microwave and consumes the food directly from the tray. However, conventional pre-packaged convenience meals might be unhealthy and not tasty, and results may vary depending on the microwave or oven used to heat the meal. For example, the food might be heated unevenly.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A garden glove features a body formed from two pieces of material that are sewn together to include a number of finger portions. Webs extend between the finger portions and are delineated from the finger portions by stitching.

Gloves are typically worn by gardeners to protect their hands while working in the garden or during container gardening. Often gardeners will need to dig holes, trenches or the like in the ground or container and scoop or otherwise move dirt, mulch or the like. Gardeners typically use hand tools such as trowels, transplanters, cultivators and the like to perform such tasks. A disadvantage of such an approach, however, is that the gloves may make it difficult to hold and manipulate the tool. In addition, the tools must be carried to and from the garden and be accessible. This may be particularly tedious as a gardener moves around the garden.
A need exists for a glove that may be used as a garden glove and a tool for digging, scooping and/or carrying dirt, mulch and the like during gardening or container gardening.


An apparatus designed to induce brainwave synchronization in order to reduce or eliminate anxiety attacks, prevent stress and achieve desired brainwave states is disclosed. In operation, the device uses amplitude and frequency characteristics of stored .wav files containing isochronic or other tones to generate signals that are transmitted to the user through a variety of emission techniques including vibration, electrical, photic, and audial. The signals imparted to the user's cranium tend to be mimicked or followed such that the user's brainwave state is altered by the transmission of the desired signals. In various embodiments, the device and system may also possess bio-feedback and electroencephalogram capabilities. The device records metrics and usage data through a communications link with the user's smartphone, tablet or other device.

Millions of individuals suffer from clinically diagnosed anxiety on a daily basis. There are countless other people who suffer and experience chronic and intense stress on a frequent basis, if not each day. While there are various medications to treat anxiety and chronic stress, there are no reliable, widely accepted non-pharmaceutical treatment options available to sufferers, that are able to effectively prevent an anxiety attack, or stop an attack while it is happening.
When an anxiety attack occurs, the body typically reacts, in an involuntary fashion, by instituting a "fight or flight" condition or response. This condition or response is usually accompanied by an, often overwhelming, sense of fear or dread, that generally has no immediate or future threat directly posed to the individual. Health and medical counselors generally advise individuals who experience such attacks to use controlled breathing and other grounding techniques as a means to help control or subdue such an anxiety attack. Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult for an individual experiencing an anxiety attack to subdue the symptoms simply through breathing techniques, especially when the effects of a fight or flight response are, involuntarily and acutely manifested with both physical and mental characteristics.
When elevated anxiety or high stress levels commence, it is known that the person's brain emits higher levels of beta waves while also emitting decreased levels of alpha and theta waves. These high anxiety brain wave patterns (elevated and dominant beta waves) are associated with rapid and frenzied thoughts within the brain. It has been postulated that if an effective means existed for controlling higher levels of beta waves while also encouraging higher levels of alpha and theta waves, such a means, device or system could directly and substantively benefit those who experience anxiety attacks and uncontrolled high stress levels.
Several studies have been undertaken and positively show that one way to address the problem of controlling an anxiety attack is through a form of brainwave influencing or brain state induced synchronization. Such studies have shown that a subject's brain tends to follow or adjust to match certain frequencies that are imparted to or emitted to the subject's skull or cranium. More particularly, in a 2007 study, cortical stimulation with repetitive frequencies of 1 to 8 Hz was shown to increase phase synchronization in all EEG frequency bands (Will and Berg, 2007). Additionally, a further study evaluated treatment for cortisol induced anxiety in mice through use of rhythmical flickering photic stimulation at alpha frequencies from 9 to 11 Hz. This latter study showed improved performance on various behavioral tasks assessing anxiety, locomotor activity, social interaction, and despair (Kim, et al., 2016).
In view of these studies and the resulting data, the inventive device has been designed and is being tested to provide a new and innovative way to quickly alleviate symptoms of and stop anxiety attacks by proactively influencing brainwave activity through a variety of stimulation methods. In a primary embodiment of the device, periodic stimuli, or frequency waves, are used to synchronize the user's brainwaves to the frequency of the tones being transmitted. One example of such frequency waves includes isochronic tones or wave forms. In alternative embodiments, in addition to emitting periodic tones to the user, the performance of the device may be enhanced by using additional or alternative stimuli such as photic or audial.

Systems and devices for proactively influencing brainwaves


We have developed efficient methods of creating artificial transposons and inserting these transposons into plasmid targets in vitro, primarily for the purpose of mapping and sequencing DNA. A plasmid has been engineered to convert virtually any DNA sequence, or combination of sequences, into an artificial transposon; hence, custom transposons containing any desired feature can be easily designed and constructed. Such transposons are then efficiently inserted into plasmid targets, in vitro, using the integrase activity present in yeast Ty1 virus-like particles. Primers complementary to the transposon termini can be used to sequence DNA flanking any transposon insertion.

DNA sequencing has helped revolutionize the way that genes and genomes are studied, and has led to a greater understanding of most aspects of biology. Nevertheless, with efforts underway to map and sequence the genomes of a variety of organisms, the need to improve the efficiency of DNA sequencing has never been greater (1). One of the major problems associated with sequencing large segments of DNA is obtaining sequence information beyond the limits of a single primer extension event. Several techniques are currently used to acquire sequences within the interior of a DNA insert; these include: i) the synthesis of custom primers to "walk" along a segment of DNA (2, 3), ii) shotgun subcloning, which requires a high degree of redundancy for complete sequence recovery (4), or iii) the construction of overlapping exonuclease deletion clones (3, 5). Each of these methods is time-consuming, idiosyncratic and therefore difficult to automate, and/or costly.
Alternatively, transposable elements have been adapted for DNA mapping and sequencing. Examples include: .gamma..delta. (6), Tn5 (7), Tn10 (8), as well as derivatives of these and other transposons. Although these approaches generally offer great promise, the insertion step is performed in vivo in E. coli; hence, transposition may occur into either the plasmid target or the E. coli genome, complicating the recovery of target insertions. An additional difficulty arises from host effects on insertion randomness, i.e., "hotspots" and "coldspots" of integration are often observed in vivo (9).
The complete DNA integration reaction employed by certain retroviruses and retrotransposons as part of their normal life cycles can be carried out completely in vitro (10-14) offering a possible alternative to in vivo transposon insertion techniques for DNA sequencing.
There is a need in the art for a simple, reliable technique for generating sets of DNA templates for sequencing any target. In particular there is a need for sets of DNA templates which are amenable to automated sequencing with a single set of primers.

In vitro transposition of article transposons


A turbine for generating power has a rotor chamber, a rotor rotatable about a central axis within the rotor chamber, and at least one nozzle for supplying a fluid from a fluid supply to the rotor to thereby drive the rotor and generate power. The flow of the fluid from the nozzle exist is periodically interrupted by at least one flow interrupter means, thereby raising a pressure of the fluid inside the nozzle. A thermo-dynamic cycle is also disclosed including a compressor, a first turbine downstream of the compressor, a heat exchanger located downstream of the first turbine and operable to reject heat from the cycle to another thermodynamic cycle, an evaporator downstream of the heat exchanger and a second turbine downstream of the evaporator and upstream of the compressor.

Present refrigeration cycles reject heat to the atmosphere. In some cases a portion of the energy which would otherwise be rejected may be recovered from the cycle, thereby increasing the overall efficiency.
FIG. 1 shows a diagrammatic representation of a heat pump circuit of the prior art. Hot, high pressure refrigerant liquid enters a throttling device, often referred to as a Tx valve, which reduces its pressure and temperature at constant enthalpy. The heat absorbing vapour is passed through a heat exchanger or "evaporator " which absorbs heat from ambient temperature air blown across its surfaces by a fan, cooling the air and thereby providing the refrigeration effect and causing it to expand. The acquisition of heat causes the liquid to flash to vapour and expand.
The heat laden working fluid vapour is then passed into an accumulator which has an internal structure designed to allow any remaining liquid to boil off prior to entering the compressor.
The energy rich warm working fluid vapour enters a compressor, which as a result of a work input, compresses the vapour thus raising its temperature and pressure. A significant portion of the work input into the compressor re-appears as the heat of compression thus superheating the working fluid vapour.
The superheated working fluid vapour thus has its temperature elevated above that of the ambient temperature of the environment and enters a condenser, which has a structure similar to that of the evaporator. A heat exchange then occurs between the superheated working fluid vapour and the environment which is at a lower temperature. The heat exchange continues until sufficient heat is removed from the working fluid to cause a change of state from hot vapour to hot liquid.
The hot working fluid liquid enters a reservoir, usually referred to as a "receiver" which has a sufficiently large volume to support the requirements of the thermodynamic cycle and withstand the high pressure in the discharge line of the compressor. The hot high pressure refrigerant liquid then enters the TX valve to complete the thermodynamic cycle.
Air conditioning systems have become a huge draw on electricity power in many of the major cities of the world and are viewed as an essential component of many large buildings in order to maintain a level of environmental control within the building. At the same time as air conditioning systems continue to increase in number, it is becoming increasingly recognised that electricity is a limited resource and in some places demand is exceeding supply or is forecast to in the near future.
It has become important to identify potential areas for saving in electricity consumption. If any savings can be made in air conditioning systems, then there is potential to make an overall huge saving in the consumption of electricity.
The saving of electricity can also lead to savings in power distribution infrastructure upgrades. Such upgrades are becoming necessary to deal with increasing peak loads introduced by a rapidly growing air conditioning market.

Apparatus, method and software for use with an air conditioning cycle


Described here are systems and methods for evaluating the extent of brain-skull tethering, which may also be referred to as loss of trabecular reserve, in subjects using magnetic resonance elastography (“MRE”). The present disclosure describes a method for assessing progressive damage to arachnoid space (“SAS”) trabeculae. The method generally includes measuring the relative movement between the brain and the skull using MRE. As one example, an MRE-based method named slip interface imaging (“SII”) can be implemented. By measuring trabecular reserve in subjects who have a history of prior head trauma, the susceptibility of a given subject to future injury can be assessed.

Certain populations, such as military service members and athletes who play contact sports, are highly susceptible to repeated, but minor, head trauma. If these individuals could be examined routinely with this technique, medical staff could receive early warnings of future significant head injuries, which can facilitate their decisions on whether it is safe to "return-to-service" or "return-to-play."
Anatomically, from exterior to interior, the human head is mainly composed of scalp, skull, dura mater, arachnoid mater, pia mater, and brain. The space between the arachnoid mater and pia mater is called the subarachnoid space ("SAS"), which is filled with cerebrospinal fluid ("CSF") and the trabeculae. The SAS that includes CSF and trabeculae are of great importance in stabilizing the position of the brain during hear movement. This is due to an abundance of trabeculae and their stretching (e.g., web-like) shape from the arachnoid mater to the pia mater. When a head is subjected to an impact, the web-like SAS trabeculae serves as a damping element to protect the brain by providing tethering effects, thereby the impact could rapidly diminish. However, trabeculae could be over-stretched and gradually teared due to the repeated and minor head traumas. At this stage of medical examination, the typical medical imaging (MRI and CT) and neuropsychological assessment can be normal, but the damage to the trabeculae could be real. With the loss of this tethering effect, the brain is more likely to undergo the constant reciprocating coup-countercoup movement, consequently resulting in more severe and localized tissue damage. Therefore, the loss of trabecular reserve would make an individual more susceptible to future brain injury than one with fully reserved trabeculae.

Methods for quantifying trabecular reserve using magnetic resonance elastography

Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research


Ship, in particular merchant ship, with at least one large power plant such as a main propulsion engine (11) located in the ship's steel hull, around which there are the necessary auxiliary spaces, such as access spaces, bunkers, tanks, compartments, control rooms, workshops, control devices, distribution centers, pumps, hydraulic power plants, etc., characterized by the fact that the ship's hull (12), in the vicinity of the main power plant (11), has a nacelle (20) which is open on top, which is designed so that it becomes wider in steps from bottom to top and/or in the longitudinal direction of the ship (13), and is preferably free of bulkheads and platforms, that the height, length and width of the stepped walls (14, 15, 16) next to or under the main power plant (11) are of a specified modular dimension on the order of several meters, in particular 3 m, in at least one dimension, in particular the height, but preferably in two dimensions, and particularly preferably in all three dimensions, and at least a significant portion of the auxiliary spaces are located in rectangular containers or container frames (17, 21, 25) located next to, forward and/or aft of the main power plant (11) or on the stepped walls (14, 15, 16).

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a ship, preferably a merchant ship. The ship has at least one large power plant, such as a main propulsion engine located in the steel hull of the ship. Around the engine are auxiliary spaces, such as access spaces, bunkers, tanks, compartments, control rooms, workshops, control devices, distribution centers, pumps, hydraulic power plants, etc.
2. Background Information
In building a merchant ship, the number of hours spent, on the one hand, in the construction of the steel hull and, on the other hand, in outfitting, tend to be split in a ratio of approximately 1:1. The preliminary shipbuilding work generally takes approximately 14 weeks, the assembly on the slip takes approximately 20 weeks, and the outfitting approximately 20 weeks.
The documents relating to outfitting ar generally delivered to the outfitting department relatively late, after the ship has been designed, the design of the ship necessarily coming first. The differences in tolerance between the ship's hull, which has already been completed, and the equipment installed in the outfitting stage, tend to require expensive fitting work. The outfitting is also dependent to a large extent on the weather, because a great deal of the work has to be done on the slip.


The fatigue resistance characteristics, particularly, fatigue resistance characteristics after retention at 150° C. for 1000 hours are improved while maintaining the characteristics in the related art. Provided is a copper alloy sheet having a composition containing 0.2% by mass to 1.2% by mass of Mg, and 0.001% by mass to 0.2% by mass of P, the balance being Cu and unavoidable impurities. When X-ray diffraction intensity of a {110} crystal plane is set as I{110}, and X-ray diffraction intensity of {110} crystal plane of a pure copper standard powder is set as I0{110}, a surface crystal orientation of the copper alloy sheet satisfies a relation of 4.0≦I{110}/I0{110}≦6.0.

As a material for terminals and connectors of electric and electronic apparatuses, brass or phosphor bronze has been generally used. However, recently, reductions in size, thickness, and weight of an electronic apparatus such as a cellular phone and a note-type PC have been progressed. Accordingly, terminals and connector parts thereof, which have a small size and a narrow pitch between electrodes, have been used. In addition, in usage in the vicinity of an engine of a vehicle, reliability under harsh conditions at a high temperature is also required. Along with this, from necessity of maintaining electric connection reliability, strength, electrical conductivity, a bending elastic limit, stress relaxation characteristics, bending formability, fatigue resistance, and the like are demanded to be further improved, and thus brass and phosphor bronze may not cope with this demand. As a substitute for brass and phosphor bronze, the present applicant gives attention to a Cu—Mg—P-based copper alloy as described in PTL 1 to PTL 5, and has provided a copper alloy sheet (product name "MSP1") for terminals and connectors, which has excellent characteristics, high quality, and high reliability, to the market.
PTL 1 discloses a copper alloy thin sheet for producing connectors. The copper alloy thin sheet is composed of a copper alloy having a composition containing 0.3% by mass to 2% by mass of Mg, 0.001% by mass to 0.02% by mass of P, 0.0002% by mass to 0.0013% by mass of C, and 0.0002% by mass to 0.001% by mass of oxygen, the balance being Cu and unavoidable impurities, and having a structure in which oxide particles containing fine Mg having a grain size of 3 μm or less are uniformly distributed in a basis material.
PTL 2 discloses a drawn copper alloy bar stock which barely causes wear to a mold. The drawn copper alloy bar stock contains, in terms of % by weight, 0.1% to 1.0% of Mg, and 0.001% to 0.02% of P, and the balance being Cu and unavoidable impurities. In the bar stock, surface crystal grains have an elliptical shape, and have dimensions in which an average minor axis of the elliptical crystal grains is 5 μm to 20 μm, and a value of average major axis/average minor axis is 1.5 to 6.0. To form the elliptical crystal grains, adjustment is carried out so that an average grain size is maintained within a range of 5 μm to 20 μm at final annealing immediately before final cold rolling, and then a rolling rate at the final cold rolling process is set within a range of 30% to 85%.
PTL 3 discloses a Cu—Mg—P-based copper alloy in which tensile strength and bending elastic limit are highly balanced, and a method of producing the Cu—Mg—P-based copper alloy. The Cu—Mg—P-based copper alloy is a copper alloy bar stock having a composition containing, in terms of % by mass, 0.3% to 2% of Mg, and 0.001% to 0.1% of P, the balance being Cu and unavoidable impurities. In a case where orientations of all pixels in a surface within an area to be measured of the copper alloy bar stock are measured with an EBSD method by a scanning electron microscope equipped with an electron backscatter diffraction image system, and a boundary having an orientation difference of 5° or more between adjacent pixels is defined as a crystal grain boundary, an area ratio of crystal grains having an average orientation difference of less than 4° between all pixels in the crystal grains is 45% to 55% of the measured area, tensile strength is 641 N/mm2 to 708 N/mm2, and a bending elastic limit is 472 N/mm2 to 503 N/mm2.
PTL 4 discloses a Cu—Mg—P-based copper alloy bar stock, and a method of producing the Cu—Mg—P-based copper alloy bar stock. The Cu—Mg—P-based copper alloy bar stock has a composition containing, in terms of % by mass, 0.3% to 2% of Mg, and 0.001% to 0.1% of P, the balance being Cu and unavoidable impurities. In a case where orientations of all pixels in a surface within an area to be measured of the copper alloy bar stock are measured at a step size of 0.5 μm with an EBSD method by a scanning electron microscope equipped with an electron backscatter diffraction image system, and a boundary having an orientation difference of 5° or more between adjacent pixels is defined as a crystal grain boundary, an average value of the average orientation difference between all pixels within a crystal grain in all crystal grains is 3.8° to 4.2°, tensile strength is 641 N/mm2 to 708 N/mm2, a bending elastic limit is 472 N/mm2 to 503 N/mm2, and a stress relaxation rate after a heat treatment at 200° C. for 1000 hours is 12% to 19%.
PTL 5 discloses a copper alloy bar stock and a method of producing the copper alloy bar stock. The copper alloy bar stock has a composition containing, in terms of % by mass, 0.3% to 2% of Mg, and 0.001% to 0.1% of P, the balance being Cu and unavoidable impurities. In a case where orientations of all pixels in a surface within an area to be measured of the copper alloy bar stock are measured at a step size of 0.5 μm with an EBSD method by a scanning electron microscope equipped with an electron backscatter diffraction image system, and a boundary having an orientation difference of 5° or more between adjacent pixels is defined as a crystal grain boundary, an area ratio of crystal grains having an average orientation difference of less than 4° between all pixels in the crystal grains is 45% to 55% of the measured area, an area average GAM of crystal grains present in the measured area is 2.2° to 3.0°, tensile strength 641 N/mm2 to 708 N/mm2, a bending elastic limit is 472 N/mm2 to 503 N/mm2, and fatigue limit under completely reversed plane bending in the number of repetition times of 1×106 is 300 N/mm2 to 350 N/mm2.
In addition, PTL 6 discloses a cheap copper alloy sheet material which is excellent in not only ordinary bending formability but also bending formability after notching while maintaining high electrical conductivity and high strength, and is excellent in stress relaxation resistance characteristics, and a method of producing the copper alloy sheet material. The copper alloy sheet material has a composition containing 0.2% by mass to 1.2% by mass of Mg, and 0.001% by mass to 0.2% by mass of P, and the balance being Cu and unavoidable impurities. When X-ray diffraction intensity of a {420} crystal plane in a sheet surface of the copper alloy sheet material is set as I{420}, and X-ray diffraction intensity of a {420} crystal plane of a pure copper standard powder is set as I0{420}, the copper alloy sheet has a crystal orientation satisfying a relation of I{420}/I0{420}>1.0, and when X-ray diffraction intensity of a {220} crystal plane in a sheet surface of the copper alloy sheet material is set as I{220}, and X-ray diffraction intensity of a {220} crystal plane of the pure copper standard powder is set as I0{220}, the copper alloy sheet has a crystal orientation satisfying a relation of 1.0≦I{220}/I0{220}3.5.

Cu-Mg-P-based copper alloy sheet having excellent fatigue resistance characteristic and method of producing the same


A capture layer is disclosed for delayed entrapment of contaminant particles that may accumulate on the inner surface of a pellicle during or after pellicle fabrication. The capture layer is formed of a delayed curable material that resides on the inner surface of the pellicle, which pellicle includes a pellicle membrane and a peripheral pellicle frame. The material may reside on the underside of the membrane and the inside surface of the frame. In one embodiment the material is a gel and is formed from an epoxy-based mixture. A pellicle system is also disclosed which includes the capture layer. A method for delayed entrapment of such contaminant particles is also disclosed which involves the forming of a time-delay-curable capture layer on the inner side of a pellicle.

The present invention relates to pellicles that are use in the semi-conductor chip industry, and more particularly to a capture layer for delayed entrapment of contaminant Particles that may accumulate on pellicles during fabrication, packaging, handling, and mounting on photomasks.
In the semi-conductor chip industry it is well known that pattern transfer from the photomask to substrate is accomplished by exposing a mask to a light source. During the pattern transfer process, also called the photolithographic process, patterns on the photomask are projected onto the substrate which has been treated with a photo-sensitive substance. This results in the mask etchings being reproduced onto the substrate. Unfortunately, any foreign substance on the surface of the mask will also be reproduced on the substrate and therefore Will interfere with proper pattern transfer to the substrate.
To eliminate contamination of the mask surface, a framed, thin membrane known as a pellicle is mounted on the mask surface, such that the pellicle membrane extends parallel to the mask at a predetermined distance spaced away from it. Any contamination which would ordinarily land on the mask surface instead falls onto the pellicle membrane.
Pellicles substantially eliminate the above problem because contamination on the pellicle membrane will not be projected onto the substrate. The frame of the pellicle supports the membrane at a distance spaced away from the mask surface so any particles or other contaminants on the pellicle membrane will be out of focus during pattern transfer.
The use of pellicles can increase the quality of the resulting circuit, thereby dramatically improving circuit fabrication productivity. Consequently, it is no surprise that pellicle manufacturing techniques have become increasingly important because high quality pellicles are critical to the success of the photolithographic process.
During the pellicle manufacturing process, it is important to minimize the possibility of either relatively large or small contaminant particles being deposited on the pellicle membrane. Relatively large particles are unacceptable because they may be reproduced in the substrate during photolithography even though they are out of focus. Equally unacceptable are particles (whether large or small) that are deposited on the underside of the pellicle membrane or the pellicle frame. Such particles may drop onto the mask surface during photolithography, which is precisely what is to be avoided by using pellicles.
It is also critical that the pellicle membrane be extremely uniform across its surface. This is so that the light passing through the membrane during lithography is unobstructed and is not in any way refracted. Thus, the composition of the membrane must be highly uniform, and the membrane must be evenly tensioned across the pellicle frame. Also, it is important to ensure that a continuous seal exists between the thin film and the frame.
To further understand these important requirements, it is necessary to provide an explanation as to how pellicles are formed.
As is known in the art, forming an optical membrane is the first step in pellicle manufacture. Commonly, the membrane is prepared by spinning a suitable polymer, such as nitrocellulose or a nitrocellulose-containing polymer, on a substrate. The newly formed membrane is then removed from the substrate and held under tension, adjacent its periphery, to prepare it for subsequent manufacturing steps.
Next, a frame is fastened, or bonded, to a working area of the membrane, framing the working area. After fastening, the frame and the working area of the membrane attached to it are ready to be separated from the remaining area of the membrane.
During pellicle fabrication, as well as pellicle packaging and eventual use of the device, it is necessary to maintain a clean environment around the pellicle. When "clean environment" or "clean" is mentioned in this application, it should be understood that applicant is referring to "clean" at the microscopic level known to those skilled in the art.
One problem that results from a contaminated environment around the pellicle is that contaminants may accumulate on the inner surface of the pellicle frame and the underside of the pellicle membrane. Such accumulation is a serious problem because the position of contaminants on the inner surface of the pellicle makes it likely that they will fall from the pellicle, due to gravity or otherwise, onto the photomask resulting in improper projection printing and thus an unacceptable semiconductor chip product. Normal handling of the pellicle during mounting onto the photomask will cause some jarring of the pellicle which makes it likely that such accumulated contaminants will fall onto the photomask.
To deal with this contaminant-accumulation problem, there have been prior proposals involving the application of a protective membrane over the bottom of the frame after fabrication. Such protective membrane prevents further contaminants from accumulating on the inner side of the pellicle but does not deal with contaminants that may accumulate on such inner side during fabrication of the pellicle but prior to application of the protective membrane.
Other conventional proposals involve applying an adhesive to the underside of the pellicle membrane and the inner surface of the frame. Such proposals are found in Japanese Patent Application Publication (A) 1989-48062 to Nakagawa et al. and Japanese Patent Application Publication (B2) 1988-777 to Nakata et al. Other prior proposals, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,470,508 to Yen, involve placing a contact adhesive on the inner surfaces of pellicle packaging to hold contaminant particles and prevent them from presenting such a contaminant-accumulation problem.
A problem associated with the proposals involving the use of adhesive on the inner side of the pellicle is that they propose tack-type adhesives that remain tacky and do not cure during the working life of the pellicle. The tacky adhesive helps to keep contaminants from falling onto the photomask, but there remains a possibility that they may fall during normal handling of the pellicle during the mounting step.
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved mechanism and method for entrapment of contaminant particles that may accumulate on pellicles during their fabrication, packaging, handling, and mounting on photomasks. More specific objects are to provide a mechanism and method which is relatively simple to fabricate, and which will not detract from the performance of the pellicle in terms of uniformity, transmissivity and other performance parameters.

Capture layer and method for delayed entrapment of contaminant particles


HIV protease inhibitors, obtainable by chemical synthesis, inhibit or block the biological activity of the HIV protease enzyme, causing the replication of the HIV virus to terminate. These compounds, as well as pharmaceutical compositions that contain these compounds and optionally other anti-viral agents as active ingredients, are suitable for treating patients or hosts infected with the HIV virus, which is known to cause AIDS.

This invention relates to a novel series of chemical compounds useful as HIV protease inhibitors and to the use of such compounds as antiviral agents.
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a relatively newly recognized disease or condition. AIDS causes a gradual breakdown of the body's immune system as well as progressive deterioration of the central and peripheral nervous systems. Since its initial recognition in the early 1980's, AIDS has spread rapidly and has now reached epidemic proportions within a relatively limited segment of the population. Intensive research has led to the discovery of the responsible agent, human T-lymphotropic retrovirus III (HTLV-III), now more commonly referred to as the human immunodeficiency virus or HIV.
HIV is a member of the class of viruses known as retroviruses. The retroviral genome is composed of RNA which is converted to DNA by reverse transcription. This retroviral DNA is then stably integrated into a host cell's chromosome and, employing the replicative processes of the host cells, produces new retroviral particles and advances the infection to other cells. HIV appears to have a particular affinity for the human T-4 lymphocyte cell which plays a vital role in the body's immune system. HIV infection of these white blood cells depletes this white cell population. Eventually, the immune system is rendered inoperative and ineffective against various opportunistic diseases such as, among others, pneumocystic carini pneumonia, Kaposi's sarcoma, and cancer of the lymph system.
Although the exact mechanism of the formation and working of the HIV virus is not understood, identification of the virus has led to some progress in controlling the disease. For example, the drug azidothymidine (AZT) has been found effective for inhibiting the reverse transcription of the retroviral genome of the HIV virus, thus giving a measure of control, though not a cure, for patients afflicted with AIDS. The search continues for drugs that can cure or at least provide an improved measure of control of the deadly HIV virus.
Retroviral replication routinely features post-translational processing of polyproteins. This processing is accomplished by virally encoded HIV protease enzyme. This yields mature polypeptides that will subsequently aid in the formation and function of infectious virus. If this molecular processing is stifled, then the normal production of HIV is terminated. Therefore, inhibitors of HIV protease may function as anti-HIV viral agents.
HIV protease is one of the translated products from the HIV structural protein pol gene. This retroviral protease specifically cleaves other structural polypeptides at discrete sites to release these newly activated structural proteins and enzymes, thereby rendering the virion replication-competent. As such, inhibition of the HIV protease by potent compounds may prevent proviral integration of infected T-lymphocytes during the early phase of the HIV-1 life cycle, as well as inhibit viral proteolytic processing during its late stage. Additionally, the protease inhibitors may have the advantages of being more readily available, longer lived in virus, and less toxic than currently available drugs, possibly due to their specificity for the retroviral protease.
In accordance with this invention, there is provided a novel class of chemical compounds that can inhibit and/or block the activity of the HIV protease, which halts the proliferation of HIV virus, pharmaceutical compositions containing these compounds, and the use of the compounds as inhibitors of the HIV protease.
The present invention relates to compounds falling within formula (9) below, and pharmaceutically acceptable salts, prodrugs, and solvates thereof, that inhibit the protease encoded by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 (HIV-1) or type 2 (HIV-2). These compounds are useful in the treatment of infection by HIV and the treatment of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). The compounds, their pharmaceutically acceptable salts, and the pharmaceutical compositions of the present invention can be used alone or in combination with other antivirals, immunomodulators, antibiotics or vaccines. Compounds of the present invention can also be used as prodrugs. Methods of treating AIDS, methods of treating HIV infection and methods of inhibiting HIV protease are disclosed.
The compounds of the present invention are of the formula (9): ##STR1## wherein:
R and R' are independently selected from H, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl-OR.sub.1 group, a cycloalkyl group substituted with a (C.sub.1 -C.sub.6)alkyl group or a (C.sub.1 -C.sub.6)alkyl-OH group, a heterocycle group substituted with a (C.sub.1 -C.sub.6)alkyl group or a (C.sub.1 -C.sub.6)alkyl-OH group, an alkyl-NR.sub.2 R.sub.3 group, or an alkyl-S(X) (Y)R.sub.4 group,
wherein
R.sub.1 is H, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group, or an acyl group; PA1 R.sub.2 and R.sub.3 are each independently selected from H, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, cycloalkyl, heterocycle, and aryl groups, and acyl and sulfonyl groups; PA1 R.sub.4 is H, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, cycloalkyl, heterocycle, or aryl group; and PA1 X and Y are each independently selected from =O and nothing;
or a pharmaceutically acceptable prodrug, salt or solvate thereof.
Preferably in the compounds of formula 9, R is H. More preferably, R is H and R' is a cycloalkyl group selected from: ##STR2## Preferably in the compounds of formula 9 when at least one of R and R' is an alkyl-OR.sub.1 group, R.sub.1 is H. Particularly when at least one of R and R' is an alkyl-OR.sub.1 group, the alkyl-OR.sub.1 is selected from --C(CH.sub.3).sub.2 CH.sub.2 OH, --CH(CH.sub.3)CH.sub.2 OH, --CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 OH, --C(CH.sub.3) (CH.sub.2 OH).sub.2, --C(CH.sub.3).sub.2 --O--CH.sub.2 --O--CH.sub.3, --C(CH.sub.3).sub.2 CH.sub.2 --O--CH.sub.2 --O--CH.sub.3, and --C(CH.sub.3).sub.2 CH.sub.2 --O-- acyl, or a pharmaceutically acceptable prodrug, salt or solvate thereof.
Preferably when at least one of R and R' is a cycloalkyl group substituted with a (C.sub.1 -C.sub.6)alkyl group or a (C.sub.1 -C.sub.6)alkyl--OH group, the cycloalkyl group is selected from: ##STR3## Preferably when at least one of R and R' is a heterocycle group substituted with a (C.sub.1 -C.sub.6)alkyl group or a (C.sub.1 -C.sub.6)alkyl--OH group, the heterocycle group is selected from: ##STR4## wherein R.sub.3 is H, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, cycloalkyl, heterocycle, or aryl group, or an acyl or sulfonyl group.
A preferred species of the formula (9) is [3S-[2(2S*,3S*),3 alpha,4a beta,8a beta]]-N-(1,1-dimethyl-2-hydroxyethyl)decahydro-2-[2-hydroxy-3-[(3 -hydroxy-2-methylbenzoyl)amino]-4-(phenylthio)butyl]-3-isoquinolinecarboxam ide ##STR5## and its pharmaceutically acceptable salts, and its prodrug analogs. Preferred prodrugs can be obtained by replacing the hydrogen in one of the alcohol groups with an acyl group, and more preferably an amino acid acyl group.
The present invention further provides pharmaceutical formulations comprising an effective amount of a compound of formula (9) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, in combination with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, such as a diluent or excipient.
The present invention further provides a method of treating AIDS comprising administering to a host or patient, such as a primate, an effective amount of a compound of the present invention.
The present invention further provides a method of inhibiting HIV replication comprising administering to an HIV infected cell, a cell susceptible to HIV infection or a host or patient, such as a primate, an effective amount of a compound of the present invention.


A connector which makes it possible to positively maintain a locked state of an actuator, even if a flat cable is pulled. The actuator is mounted on a housing in a manner pivotally movable between an open position for accommodating a front end of an FPC in an accommodating space and a closed position for pressing the front end of the FPC against contact portions of contacts. Locking members are mounted on the housing in a manner slidable between a locked position for inhibiting the actuator in the closed position from opening and an unlocked position for allowing the actuator to open, along a direction of arrangement of the contacts.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a connector, more particularly to a connector which electrically connects a flat object to be connected, such as an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) or an FFC (Flexible Flat Cable), and the other object to be connected with each other.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there has been proposed a connector for flat cables (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2007-323867).
This connector is comprised of a housing, a plurality of contacts, an actuator, and a pair of locking portions.
The housing includes an insertion opening for inserting a front end of the flat cable. The housing has opposite ends formed with auxiliary fitting-accommodating recesses.
A plurality of contacts are disposed in the housing at equally-spaced intervals.
The actuator is attached to the housing such that it is rotatable between an open position and a closed position. The actuator has opposite ends formed with locked portions which have a substantially protrusion-like shape.
Each of a pair of locking portions is accommodated in the associated auxiliary fitting-accommodating recess, and is fixed to the housing. The locking portion is made of a metal plate having elasticity, and has a substantially claw-like shape.
When the actuator is in the open position, it is possible to insert the flat cable into the insertion opening of the housing. When the actuator is in the closed position, the actuator covers the insertion opening of the housing, and pushes the flat cable against the contact.
When the actuator is rotated from the open position to the closed position, the locked portions of the actuator push aside the locking portions by elastically deforming the same against spring force thereof, to thereby go under the locking portions. This causes the locked portions to be hooked on the locking portions, thereby the actuator is locked in the closed position.
When the actuator in the locked state is rotated to the open position, the locked portions of the actuator push aside the locking portions by elastically deforming the same against the spring force thereof, whereby the actuator is unlocked. This makes it possible to make the actuator reach to the open position.
In the above-described connector, a locking member is formed by a metal plate having elasticity, and an area of engagement of the locked portion of the actuator and the locking portion is narrow. Therefore, if the flat cable is pulled in a direction of the height of the connector by some cause, there is a fear that the actuator is released from the locked state, whereby the flat cable comes off the connector.

Electrical connector with a slidable locking member

Japan Aviation Electronics Industry Limited


A filter system and method of filtering a feed liquid utilizing a combined plurality of filter assemblies. Each filter assembly includes a filter housing, a filter cartridge and a spiral passageway for imparting secondary flow currents, particularly Dean-Flow currents, to fluid flowing within the spiral passageways to prevent particulate build-up on filter surfaces so as to extend filter life and duration between replacement. The filter system can be operated within positive or negative pressure filtration processes. A dual-stage filtration process utilizing a cap filter and a cylindrical depth filter is also disclosed.

In a typical fluid filtration application, cylindrical depth filters are housed within pressure vessels. During the filtration process the vessel is pressurized to force the fluid through the depth filter media. As the fluid flows through the filter, particles are trapped by the fibers that make up the depth filter media. The fluid that has been filtered (the "filtrate") is then forced from the filter housing by the pressure within the vessel.
FIG. 23 illustrates a known filtration device consisting of a cylindrical filter cartridge 231 containing a cylindrical case 233 which has an inlet 234 and an outlet 235. The fluid being filtered enters the inlet and flows through the filter 231, which removes and retains larger particles passing through openings of the filter, but allows the carrier fluid (the filtrate) to pass through and exit via the outlet 235. The effective filtering area of this device is larger than the inlet area. Thus, the speed of flow through the filter is slower than that in the inlet, and the direction of the flow through the filter 231 is perpendicular to the surface of the filter. This situation results in formation of a cake layer blocking openings of the filter, whereby the effective filtration area is reduced. When the effective area of the filter becomes smaller than the inlet area, the effective pressure (ΔP) between inlet 234 and outlet 235 increases. For typical applications, there is a maximum pressure drop allowed for the filtration device. FIG. 24 shows the relationship of operation time against pressure drop across filtration devices of the prior art. At the beginning of a filtration operation, the pressure drop is generally constant as long as the effective filtration area is larger than the cross sectional area of the inlet 234. The effective filtration area will gradually be reduced due to formation of a cake layer on the filter. When the effective filtration area becomes smaller than the cross sectional area of the inlet 234, the pressure drop across the filter device will suddenly increase, and quickly exceed the maximum value of the device.
As the cylindrical filter cartridge 231 becomes clogged with particles, the overall performance of the filter system decreases. To a minimal extent, cartridge filters can be cleaned by mechanical and/or fluid agitation. As a result, one significant limitation of a cartridge filter is a relatively short usable life, particularly in applications having high particle counts.
A need exists for a filtration system which can minimize the effects of pressure drop across a filter media. This is also a need for a self-cleaning filter assembly providing improved surface cleaning capabilities.

System and method of fluid filtration utilizing cross-flow currents


In a computer system including a first field-programmable unit including first field-programmable unit (FPU) code, computer-implemented techniques are disclosed for determining whether the first FPU code is compatible with the computer system and, if the first FPU code is determined not to be compatible with the computer system, notifying a user of the computer system of the incompatibility.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to computer systems that include field-replaceable units (FRUs).
2. Related Art
Every computer includes both hardware and software. The hardware of a computer includes electromechanical components such as microprocessors, buses, input/output (I/O) controllers, memory, and mass storage devices (such as hard disk drives). It can be difficult to maintain and repair such components, particularly as they become more and more complex and miniaturized. Increasingly, it is not feasible to attempt to perform an electrical or mechanical repair on a component such as a bus or I/O controller. Rather, often the best that a technician faced with a malfunctioning computer can do is to identify the component that is the source of the problem and to physically replace the identified component with a new component. Such a repair process can be tedious, time-consuming, and costly because it requires a human technician to diagnose the cause of the malfunction, open the computer housing, physically remove (and possibly dispose of) the malfunctioning component, and physically install the new component. Although the process of diagnosing computer malfunctions is becoming increasingly automated, the component replacement process must still be performed manually.
In early computer systems it was often difficult or impossible to replace certain hardware components—such as the central processing unit (CPU), memory, and I/O controllers—after the computer had been manufactured. Such components might, for example, be hardwired together, in which case attempting to remove any of such components might irreversible damage the computer. In some cases, it might be possible to remove such components by breaking and re-establishing physical connections by soldering or using some other tedious and time-consuming process requiring a skilled technician to perform.
Computer hardware designers are increasingly designing computer systems so that components (such as the CPU, memory, and I/O controllers) can be replaced easily in the field (i.e., at user locations). A component that can be easily removed from a computer and replaced with a new component in the field is referred to as a "field-replaceable unit" (FRU). Modern computers increasingly include modular hardware interfaces which allow FRUs to be removed easily by a relatively unskilled technician. Removing an FRU may, for example, only require removing a few screws and pulling the FRU out of the computer. The same technician may then install a replacement FRU with the same ease. Although the use of FRUs decreases the difficulty, cost, and time required to replace a hardware component, field-replacement of FRUs still requires a human technician to remove and replace the defective FRU.
Software, in contrast, is embodied in the form of electromagnetic signals stored in a mass storage device (e.g., a hard disk drive) or other form of electronic memory. It has therefore traditionally been possible to replace or update faulty or outdated software merely by erasing the old software and replacing it with new software provided on a tangible storage medium, such as a floppy diskette or CD-ROM. Updating or replacing software, therefore, traditionally has been significantly easier and less costly to perform than hardware replacement. The widespread use of computer networks and the Internet has further simplified the process of updating software by making it possible to download software over a network and install it—in some cases without any human intervention—without the need to distribute the software on a physical medium such as a floppy diskette.
There is now a trend in computer hardware design to implement various hardware components in ways that make it possible for hardware to be updated and effectively replaced in a manner that is similar to the manner in which it traditionally has been possible to update and replace software. The term "field-programmable unit" (FPU) refers to a hardware component whose functionality may be modified by electronically programming it. Examples of FPUs include system firmware (e.g., BIOS), embedded enclosure process firmware, and Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). Each of these kinds of FPUs is capable of storing electrical signals representing code that dictates, in whole or in part, the functions performed by the FPU. The functionality of an FPU, therefore, may be modified merely by modifying the code (in the form of electrical signals) stored in the FPU.
It may be necessary or desirable to re-program an FPU in any of a variety of circumstances. For example, the code stored in an FPU may become out-of-date, in which case it may be desirable to update the code in the FPU to enable it to perform new functions. As another example, the code stored in a newly-installed FPU may be incompatible with other hardware in the system, in which case it may be necessary to update the FPU's code with code that is compatible with the other hardware in the system. The code in an FPU may also become corrupted, in which case it may be necessary to re-load fresh code into the FPU to restore it to a functional state.
In all of these cases, the primary advantage of the FPU over conventional forms of hardware is that the FPU may be repaired or effectively replaced merely by storing new code in the FPU. New code may be stored in an FPU using a process that is similar to the process by which software is updated. For example, a human technician may provide the code to the computer using a floppy diskette or by downloading the code over a network. The technician may then instruct the computer to store the new code in the FPU, a process which may typically be performed quickly and without requiring the technician to open the computer housing or perform any physical modifications to the computer. Repairing an FPU can therefore be significantly less tedious, time-consuming and expensive than repairing a conventional hardware component.
Although an FRU (field-replaceable unit) need not be field-programmable, an FRU may include one or more FPUs (field-programmable units). An FRU may therefore be field-programmable as well as field-replaceable. In a particular computer system, it is possible for the FPU code stored in an FRU to be incompatible with other FPU code in the system or with hardware components of the system. Such incompatibilities may cause the system to malfunction. It is desirable to avoid such incompatibilities to maintain proper system function.

Field-replaceable unit revision compatibility

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A method for testing the functioning of a non-cacheable region within a cache having a cache controller programmed with a write-back write policy and a non-cacheable region included in an image memory region corresponding to a physical memory region. A first data pattern is written to the cache tagged at a first addressable location of a cacheable region in the physical memory region. A second data pattern is written to the cache tagged at a second addressable location in the image memory region contained within both the non-cacheable region and the cacheable region and corresponding to the first addressable location. The data stored in the cache and tagged at the first addressable location and corresponding to the non-cacheable region only of the second addressable location is read to determine whether the first data pattern remains in the cache thereby indicating that the non-cacheable region is functioning correctly. The data stored and tagged at a third addressable location in the physical memory region and corresponding to the cacheable region only of the second addressable location in the image memory region is read to determine whether the second data pattern remains in the cache tagged at the third addressable location thereby indicating that the non-cacheable region is functioning correctly and that the memory size of the non-cacheable region is correct.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed in general to computer systems including cache memories including non-cacheable regions and, more specifically, to testing the functioning of the non-cacheable regions.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a computer system, the operating speed of the system processor is dependent upon the rate at which data can be exchanged between main memory and the processor. In an attempt to reduce the time required for the exchange of data between the processor and main memory, many computers include a cache memory placed between the processor and main memory. The cache memory, or cache, is a small, high-speed buffer memory that is used to temporarily store portions of the contents of main memory. In selecting which portions of the contents of main memory to store, a cache controller estimates which data will soon be requested by the processor. The increased access speed of the cache memory generally results in a reduction in the average time necessary for the processor to access data from main memory.
A cache memory consists of many blocks of one or more words of data. Each block has associated with it an address tag. Each address tag uniquely identifies a memory block stored in the cache directory. If the desired data is in the cache, the cache provides the data to the processor. If the desired memory block is not in the cache, the block of data containing the requested data is retrieved from the main memory, stored in the cache, and supplied to the processor.
In addition to using a cache to retrieve data from main memory, the processor may also write data into the cache. Data is written to the cache instead of writing the data directly to main memory, or, in a write-through cache, data is written to the cache concurrently with the writing of the data to the main memory. When the processor desires to write data to memory, the cache controller checks the cache directory to determine if the data block into which the data is to be written resides in the cache. If the data block exists in the cache, the processor writes the data into the data block in the cache. If the data block into which the data is to be written is not in the cache, the data block must be fetched into the cache or the data written directly into the main memory. However, the cache is transparent to the computer system, so determining the actual contents and functioning of the cache at any particular point in time is difficult. Specifically, any attempt to access the data in the cache is likely to result in a reallocation of the cache contents.
Certain spaces in main memory should not be cached, and the cache memory may be programmed to accommodate non-cacheable addresses for non-cacheable regions of the main memory. For example, portions of the main memory address range which are used as device inputs should not be cached especially in processors which don't differentiate between memory and I/O addresses. Should the processor be looping while awaiting a change in the status of a switch panel, for example, no change will be noticed if the first reading from the switch panel was cached. Some processors also use a portion of the main memory address range for communication with coprocessors. The data cannot be assumed to be static, so a cached copy might become out of date. Multiprocessor systems also often communicate via flags which are set and cleared in dedicated main memory locations. No communication can occur if the main memory flag that one processor sets cannot be read by another since the other is reading a cached copy. All of these example are reasons for accommodating non-cacheable addresses within the cache or non-cacheable regions within memory.

Method for testing the non-cacheable region functioning of a cache memory controller


An elongated medical clip applying device having a handle grip assembly on a proximal end thereof and an elongated channel with a pair of squeezable jaws on a distal end thereof. A push rod arrangement is included having a distal end and a proximal end. The push rod arrangement is utilized for advancing a plurality of clips in a sequential manner between the jaws. The push rod includes a multiplier extender arrangement to increase the distance of travel of the distal end of the push rod arrangement a multiple of the distance of travel of the proximal or input end of the push rod arrangement.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a plurality of articulable links to extend the capable distance of movement of components of a medical device.
2. Prior Art
Typical modem surgery may be identified as laparoscopic surgery, which may be defined as minimally invasive surgery upon a patient utilizing small or miniaturized medical devices by which body tissue is cut, removed or cauterized by small manipulable devices through small incisions or openings within the patient's body. A grasper or dissector is one such tool for that type of surgery. Such a device may be utilized to grab, dissect, treat or move tissue out of the surgical situs where other tissue may be surgically treated.
Such devices may be seen in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 6,277,131 to Kalikow and U.S. Pat. No. 6,306,149 to Meade. These devices have a handle assembly into which an elongated tubular housing is attached. The elongated housing has a distalmost end with a set of pinching jaws thereon. The pinching jaws in this example are utilized to crimp a clip so as to crimp a mammalian tissue. The jaws are activated by squeezing a trigger on the housing assembly on the proximal end of the device. Such a squeezing trigger motion effects the pinching of the jaws together on a staple-like clip. Should it be desired to utilize a longer legged clip to be pinched within the jaws of that crimping device, longer legged staples would jam such a mechanism and the jaws unfortunately would likely not be able to tolerate such a pinching or squeezing effect.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a multiplier extension arrangement on a medical device to permit that medical device to have a longer reach or extendibility thereof.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a multiplier extension arrangement which permits a first or forward motion to be converted into a larger second or forward motion and a first or rearward or proximal motion to be converted into a larger rearward or proximal motion relative to an output end of the multiplier extension apparatus.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an arrangement for permitting longer legged staples or clips to be utilized in a standard triggered-housing assembly of a clip applying device.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a gain of displacement or distance in a linear tool of a given length, to permit a short-distance traveling bearing to advance a longer legged clip or staple.
It is an object of the present invention to permit the use of the proximal handle (and bearing arrangement) of a "regular" clip applier device with a replacement barrel and clinch jaw arrangement including an extender arrangement to permit larger clips to be properly utilized with that regular clip applier device without having to purchase an entirely new applier device.
It is still yet a further object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.


A surgical clamp for the temporary occlusion of a blood vessel during a surgical procedure and forceps-like instruments co-operative with the clamp for application and removal of the clamp in a coherent and rational surgical system is described.

Many vascular surgical procedures require that the segment of a blood vessel on which a surgical procedure is to be performed be temporarily occluded. Such procedures include the removal of interior plaque from blood vessels deposited as a result of an arteriosclerotic condition, the repair of blood vessels damaged by rupture, accidents or gunshot wounds, bypass surgery, and the like.
In such procedures, an incision in the predetermined area of the vascular abnormality is made. In the prior art, clamps, known in the medical field as "Bulldog" clamps, are used to isolate a vascular segment of interest within the area of the incision.
Bulldog clamps are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. D268523, D276461, and D278654 and are used in conjunction with a clamp applier, which is either straight or curved and approximately 21.5 centimeters in length. Bulldog clamps include a variety of separately sized and configured disposable clamps capable of applying clamping pressures in various ranges extending from 10-15 grams up to 165-175 grams.
Other hemostasis clamps and clamp introducing and applying forceps are also known under trademarks such as "Hemoclips", "Ligoclips", and "Surgiclips".
One problem encountered in the prior art is that the clamps, the clamp appliers, or forceps used to apply the clamps may interfere with the access of other instruments to a limited surgical area, which is often times delimited by a four to five inch (4.0-5.0") incision.
It is an object of this invention to provide a removable (and disposable) clamp and a means for the insertion and removal of the clamp that is useful in vascular surgical procedures.
It is a further object to provide a clamping means capable of being provided in different sizes and which clamping means is readily inserted by one instrument and removed by another in the course of vascular surgery. In this manner, the clamping means of the invention will not otherwise interfere with the area of surgical interest. Because the inserter and removal instruments are different and co-act with the clamps in different ways, the clamps can be unmistakably inserted and removed. Thus, it is a further object of this invention to provide a coherent and rationally structured surgical clamping system for vascular procedures.
These and other objects of the invention can be further understood with reference to the following description of the preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the drawings in which: