In mobile communication system 100 according to the present invention, mobile station 1 is camped on cell C10 established by base station B10. In the cell C10, there exist indoor cells C11-C13 and outdoor cells C21, C22 as neighboring cells. Mobile station 1 measures received levels of cells C10-C13, C21, C22 and determines cell types of the respective cells, i.e., whether each cell is an indoor cell or not, based on broadcast information M1. Mobile station 1 selects a cell as a reselection target on the basis of the received levels and cell types.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile station, a mobile communication system, and a cell selection method.
2. Related Background Art
Conventionally, when a mobile station selects a cell as a reselection target, the mobile station measures a received level of a signal from a base station currently under communication therewith or a base station of a cell where the mobile station is camped, and received levels from base stations of neighboring cells. The mobile station compares the received levels and selects as a target cell a cell with the maximum received level from its base station, based on the result of the comparison (e.g., reference is made to Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).
The conventional cell selection method will be briefly described below with reference to FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, mobile station 10 is camped on a cell C0 established by base station B0, and cells C1, C2, and C3 exist as cells neighbor to the cell C0. Mobile station 10 receives broadcast information M0 from base station B0 to acknowledge the existence of neighboring cells C1, C2, and C3. The broadcast information M0 is transmitted and received through a common broadcast channel or through a control channel individually dedicated to mobile station 10.
Mobile station 10 measures a received level L0 from base station B0, and received levels L1, L2, and L3 from the respective base stations B1, B2, and B3 forming the neighboring cells C1, C2, and C3. Thereafter, mobile station 10 compares the received level L0 with those L1, L2, and L3 and determines the propriety of a cell reselection. The comparison of the received levels is made, for example, using the following conditions (1) and (2).max(Li)=max(L1, L2, L3)  (1)max(Li)>L0+ΔL  (2)
Here max(argument 1, argument 2, . . . ) represents a function that gives a maximum argument among argument 1, argument 2, . . . Furthermore, L0 indicates the received level of the serving cell and ΔL a reselection hysteresis value.
When condition (2) becomes true, mobile station 10 selects a neighboring cell corresponding to max(Li) as a target cell and implements a reselection of the cell. On the other hand, when condition (2) does not become true, mobile station 10 implements no cell reselection.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent No. 3233854
[Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent No. 3315869 (p2 and FIG. 4)

Mobile station, mobile communication system, and cell selection method


A method and system are provided for simulating the metabolic consumption of oxygen contained in a breathable gas. A variable volume chamber cyclically increases/decreases in volume to receive the breathable gas/expel an exhaust gas. Hydrogen and carbon dioxide are introduced into the chamber to mix with the breathable gas to form the exhaust gas. Hydrogen is introduced in an amount sufficient to react with an amount of the oxygen in the exhaust gas equivalent to that used by a human during a selected level of activity. Carbon dioxide is introduced in an amount equivalent to that provided by a metabolic respiratory quotient associated with the same level of activity. A catalyst, exposed to the exhaust gas, causes a reaction between the hydrogen and oxygen in the exhaust gas to generate simulated human exhalation.

Semi-closed and closed circuit breathing apparatus are used in a variety of hazardous professions such as deep-sea diving, fire fighting and hazardous material handling, just to name a few. In each application, the breathing apparatus must be designed to provide breathable gas in extreme environmental conditions that can vary significantly during times that the breathing apparatus is required. For example, a deep-sea diver's work capacity is severely limited by the physiological effects of high surrounding pressures and chilling seawater temperatures. Specifically, increased gas density has been shown to restrict the diver's ability to do useful work by limiting the maximum voluntarily ventilation in his lungs by up to 50% when in dry chamber environments at 1000 feet of seawater (FSW). The diver's ability to breathe using an underwater breathing apparatus (UBA) at elevated pressures is also restricted due to the inherent resistance of the UBA to the dense gas medium. Water temperatures as low as −2° C. necessitate reliable systems to protect divers from excessive heat losses through their clothing and during respiration.
An equally important concern to divers is the increasingly tight control that must be maintained on the quality and composition of their breathing gas as depth increases. The very gas that we depend on to sustain life on the surface becomes toxic to the deep-sea diver. For example, nitrogen in air becomes increasingly narcotic as depth increases, causing a rapid drop in performance and judgement. Air is generally replaced with a less narcotic helium-oxygen (heliox), or hydrogen-oxygen (hydrox), mixture when the partial pressure of nitrogen (PN2) exceeds 81.5 psi (5.55 atmospheres), equivalent to a PN2 when breathing air at depths beyond 190 FSW (˜58 meters).
In addition to the above-noted concerns, the nature of the human body must also be considered. For example, the human respiratory system contains an elegant set of defense mechanisms to protect the lungs from losing excessive heat when breathing cold, dry gases. The human respiratory tract with its intricate mucosal membrane filters foreign matter and bacteria from inhaled gases on their journey to the lungs. Additionally, the upper respiratory tract regulates the temperature and moisture content of the inhaled gases. In this way, the delicate gas exchange membranes in the lungs are protected from thermal injury and drying.
During inhalation, heat and moisture are added to the respiratory gases as they make their way from the nasal or oral passages to the alveoli. This heat is taken from a moving mucus blanket covering the upper respiratory tract (nose to the trachea). Past research has found that the temperature of inhaled air reaches 34° C. while its relative humidity reaches 80% before the air reaches the pharynx during respiration at surface conditions. By the time the air passes the trachea, the air generally reaches full body temperature and 100% relative humidity. During normal respiration of room air at 25° C. and 50% relative humidity, these heat and moisture demands on the nasal respiratory tract are relatively small, as they account for only 10–20% of the total body losses under resting conditions.
However, demand for heat and water vapor by a diver's airways increase substantially due to the effects of breathing dry, cold, dense gases at increased respiratory rates. At shallow depths, these heating demands are still relatively minor. Although drying of the airways due to gas humidification can be uncomfortable resulting in the notorious "cotton mouth" and dehydration during long dives. At depths greater than approximately 190 feet, helium makes up a large percentage of the respired gas. Helium, having a specific heat approximately five times that of air, requires a larger addition of heat to bring the inhaled gas up to body temperature. The combination of this high heat capacity and increased gas densities as the diver goes deeper results in respiratory heat losses for divers that are an appreciable part of the total body heat loss. This heat loss can even exceed the total metabolic heat production of the diver. Eventually, if unchecked, the diver's respiratory tract responds to these excessive heat demands with copious secretions that threaten the diver's life.
Obviously, it is apparent from the foregoing that breathing apparatus designs must be tested to determine their ability to address the various concerns of a particular application. Since it is not always practical or desirable to place personnel in dangerous conditions when testing a new breathing apparatus design, unmanned testing is used. Currently, such unmanned testing of closed circuit breathing apparatus involves the extraction of oxygen-rich breathing gas from the breathing apparatus and the replacement thereof with an inert gas. However, this approach does not provide test personnel with an understanding of how a human user would process the breathing gas as breathing apparatus conditions or environmental conditions are changed.

System for simulating metabolic consumption of oxygen

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


A method and apparatus for controlling a thermal printhead. In response to a sequence of print commands, the method and apparatus generate an energization signal for each thermal print element in the printhead. In one embodiment, the energization is a function of at least the present print command and a future print command. In certain embodiments, the energization signal may also be a function of a past print command, print commands for at least one adjoining print element, and other parameters. Each print element in the printhead can, accordingly, be maintained at a proper temperature to ensure long printhead life and cause the printhead to generate sharp images.

A thermal printer operates by sequentially heating desired linear patterns of small discrete areas ("pixels") of a thermal medium to produce desired light and dark patterns on the thermal medium. In some instances, the thermal medium can be a thermally sensitive medium which is heated directly, while in other instances, the thermal medium can be a thermal transfer ribbon which is heated to cause a small amount of dyed wax to be transferred to a medium which is not thermally sensitive.
The discrete areas of the thermal medium are heated by a thermal printhead which includes a linear array of minute, closely spaced resistive dots (or print elements) that can be individually thermally controlled by means of electrical signals. The thermal medium is stepped past the printhead as each desired linear pattern is printed. The printhead is positioned over each part of the thermal medium for a predetermined interval of time (the "scan line time," SLT) which depends upon the printer's print speed. For example, for printers, at 2 inches per second each interval of time is approximately 2.5 milliseconds long.
A print command signal for each print element determines, on a time interval basis, whether the print element should print or not within an SLT. In response to the print command signal, each print element in a printhead receives an electrical energization signal that is a composite of two other electrical signals. Specifically, the energization signal is a logical AND of a strobe signal and a data signal. The strobe signal, which is periodically sent to each of the print elements and is tailored to cause the print element to reach and maintain a temperature within a prescribed temperature range under controllable conditions. As will be discussed in greater detail subsequently, the strobe signal typically consists of two portions--an initial "burn" time and a subsequent "chopped" time. If the strobe signal were applied directly to the print element, the burn time portion of the strobe signal would force the print element to heat up quickly. The chopped time portion of the strobe signal typically maintains the print element's temperature and consists of approximately 25 cycles of a square wave with a 50 percent duty cycle. The data signal determines whether, within the period of the strobe signal, any portion of the strobe signal should be applied to a print element to cause it to print.
In the past, it was known to adjust the strobe signal to account for the temperature of the printhead. For example, when a printer first begins operation, its printhead is still at ambient temperature and its individual print elements must be given more energy to cause them to print. Therefore the burn time portion of the strobe signal could be lengthened so that the individual print elements will be heated more and the printhead will reach a normal operating temperature.
After the printhead has reached its operating temperature the strobe signal can be readjusted for these "normal" conditions. Even after the printhead has warmed up, however, departures from the normal conditions can occur. For example, the printhead can experience long periods of time when the printer is producing a label having large white areas, thereby requiring no heating of the individual print elements and allowing the printhead to cool below the normal operating temperature. On the other hand, the printhead may be required to print labels having large black areas, during which the temperature of the printhead will increase above the normal operating temperature. The thermal printer can account for these departures from the normal operating temperature by changing the energization signal through adjustments of the burn time portion of the strobe signal.
It has also been known in the past to adjust the energization of each individual print element depending upon the recent past history of that print element. For example, if a particular print element in a printhead has printed a long row of dark areas, it is known to reduce the "on" time of the energization signal to prevent the print element from producing a dark spot at an improper pixel. Under these circumstances, it is desirable to account for the past history of a particular print element when choosing the print command to be transmitted to the print element. Further, it has also been known in the past that the thermal performance of a particular print element in a printhead is affected by adjacent or nearby print elements in the printhead. Accordingly, it has been known in the past to tailor the energization signal transmitted to a particular print element depending upon the present condition and past history of adjacent print elements in the printhead.
It is desirable to have a printhead whose print elements can be individually programmed depending upon such variables as print speed, media type, ambient temperature, heat sink temperature, user's personal darkness preference, power supply voltage, and printhead average print element resistance. It is also desirable to reduce the thermal stress of each print element in a printhead by modulating the energization signal during the heat-up portion of the strobe but keeping the overall energy dissipation of the print element constant by heating it for a greater portion of the duration of the strobe signal.
It is further desirable to account for the future printing requirements of a particular print element in a printhead, as well as the future printing requirements of adjoining print elements in the printhead when determining the energization signal. For instance, if it is known that a particular print element in the printhead has been off for a period of time but will be used in an upcoming period of time, this print element can be "preheated" during one or more of the immediately preceding print times to raise the print element's temperature.
In addition, it is desirable to adjust the energization signal transmitted to a particular print element in a printhead to affect the placement of a pixel that is printed by that print element within the area of the printer medium over which the print element passes during a particular scan line time.
Also, it is desirable to maintain the temperature of the printhead substrate at an optimal level when the ambient temperature is below optimal printing temperatures.
Further, it is desirable to feed each print element with an energization signal that is a function of a data signal containing two or more sets of data during a scan line time to get adequate resolution for thermal control of the print element.

Method and apparatus for controlling a thermal printhead


A method and an apparatus granting a terminal, which requests a communication with a network access server using a session of a standard for packet data transmission designated by an identifier, use of the requested session, when a security association between the access terminal and the network access server is verified.

I. Field of the Invention
The current invention relates to communications. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method, an apparatus, and an article of manufacture for granting a terminal, which is establishing a communication with a network access server via a non-trusted access network, use of a previously established session of a packet data transmission standard.
II. Description of the Related Art
With an increasing popularity of both wireless communications and network—especially Internet—applications, various methods and systems are under development to allow a user of a wireless device to access email, web pages, and other network resources. Because information on the Internet is organized into discrete "packets" of data, these services are often referred to as "packet data services."
Several multiple-access communication system techniques are considered to provide wireless packet data services. Among the different types of wireless communication systems are time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), AM modulation schemes such as amplitude companded single sideband (ACSSB) modulation, and code division multiple access (CDMA). These communication systems have been standardized to facilitate interoperation between equipment manufactured by different companies. In particular, CDMA communications systems have been standardized in the United States in Telecommunications Industry Association TIA/EIA/IS-95-B, entitled "MOBILE STATION-BASE STATION COMPATIBILITY STANDARD FOR DUAL-MODE WIDEBAND SPREAD SPECTRUM CELLULAR SYSTEM," hereinafter referred to as IS-95.
The International Telecommunications Union recently requested a submission of proposed methods for providing high-rate data and high-quality speech services over wireless communication channels. A first proposal was issued by the Telecommunications Industry Association, entitled "The cdma2000 ITU-R RTT Candidate Submission." The proposal issued as an Industry Standard 2000 (IS-2000). A second proposal was issued by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), entitled "The ETSI UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) ITU-R RTT Candidate Submission," also known as "wideband CDMA," and hereinafter referred to as W-CDMA. A third proposal was submitted by U.S. task group (TG) 8/1, entitled "The UWC-136 Candidate Submission," hereinafter referred to as EDGE. The contents of these submissions are of public record and are well known in the art.
In wireless communication systems, there are significant differences between the requirements for providing voice and data services. Such differences, well known in the art, result in compromises in design of hybrid high-rate data and high-quality speech wireless communication systems. Consequently, where only data services are required, (e.g., Internet or fax transmissions) a wireless communication system optimized for transmission of high data rates (HDR) may be used. An exemplary HDR system defines a set of data rates at which data are transmitted and received by a wireless station, ranging from 38.4 kbps to 2.4 Mbps. Such a system is disclosed in a co-pending application Ser. No. 08/963,386, entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HIGH RATE PACKET DATA TRANSMISSION," filed Nov. 3, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,574,211, issued Jun. 3, 2003, assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated by reference herein.
Several Internet Protocol (IP) standards have been developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) to facilitate mobile packet data services for Internet. Mobile IP is one such standard, and was designed to allow a device having an IP address to exchange data with the Internet while physically traveling throughout a network (or networks). Mobile IP is described in detail in IETF request for comments (RFC), entitled "IP Mobility Support," and incorporated herein by reference.
The framing and transmission of IP data through a CDMA wireless network is well known in the art and has been described in TIA/EIA/IS-707-A standard, entitled "DATA SERVICE OPTIONS FOR SPREAD SPECTRUM SYSTEM," hereinafter referred to as IS-707.
Several other IETF standards set forth techniques referred to in the above-named references. Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) is well known in the art and is described in IETF RFC 1661, entitled "The Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP)" and published in July 1994, hereinafter referred to as PPP. PPP includes a Link Control Protocol (LCP) and several Network Control Protocols (NCP) used for establishing and configuring different network-layer protocols over a PPP link.
One such NCP is the Internet Protocol Control Protocol (IPCP), well known in the art and described in IETF RFC 1332, entitled "The PPP Internet Protocol Control Protocol (IPCP)," published in May of 1992, and hereinafter referred to as IPCP. Extensions to the LCP are well known in the art and described in IETF RFC 1570, entitled "PPP LCP Extensions," published in January 1994, and hereinafter referred to as LCP.
Access terminals, e.g., cellular or personal communication systems (PCS) telephones with Internet connections, typically transmit packet data over a network by establishing a session of a packet data transmission standard with a packet network access server (NAS), e.g., a packet data service node (PDSN). The session of a packet data transmission standard is usually a PPP connection (or PPP instance, or PPP session). The access terminal (T) sends packets across an RF (radio frequency) interface, e.g., a CDMA interface, to a radio access network (RAN). The RAN establishes the PPP instance with the PDSN. More than one such PPP instance may be established contemporaneously (e.g., if a telephone and a laptop each require a connection). IP data packets are routed between the PDSN and the Internet.
When an access terminal changes from one RAN (e.g., an HDR system) to another RAN (e.g., an IS-2000 system) connected to the same NAS, the new RAN establishes a new session of a packet data transmission standard. This action is time consuming because the T must go through the session initiation, and non-transparent to the T because the T must obtain a new IP address.
A method, an apparatus, and an article of manufacture are disclosed to grant a terminal, which is establishing a communication with a network access server via a non-trusted access network, use of a session of a packet data transmission standard designated by an identifier, when a previously established security association between the terminal and the access network can be verified.

Method and an apparatus for granting use of a session of a packet data transmission standard designated by an identifier


An Nth one of N parallel sequences of low-speed data demultiplexed by a demultiplexer from high-speed input data in synchronization with a high-speed clock is compared by N comparators with N parallel sequences of reference patterns. The N parallel sequences of reference patterns are each generated in synchronization with a frequency divided clock obtained by frequency dividing the high-speed clock into 1/N. When any of the comparators provides a disagreement output at least once, one clock pulse is eliminated by a post-clock eliminating circuit from the divided clock so that the N sequences of reference patterns are each delayed by one bit. When a counter detects that any one of the comparators does not provide the disagreement signal for n consecutive bits, the sequence of reference patterns corresponding to this comparator and the Nth sequence of low-speed data are in synchronization with each other. Clock pulses of the number corresponding to the line position of the synchronized sequence of reference patterns are eliminated by a pre-clock eliminating circuit from the high-speed clock which is applied to the demultiplexer. By this, line positions of the N parallel sequences of low-speed data are sequentially shifted so that the Nth sequence of low-speed data assumes the same line position as that of the synchronized reference pattern, and as a result, the N parallel sequences of low-speed data are synchronized with the N parallel sequences of reference patterns, respectively.

The present invention relates to a pattern synchronizing circuit which is used, for example, in measurement of the error rate of a digital signal transmission system, for synchronizing a reference pattern generator with input test data (a pseudo random pattern) prior to the measurement. More particularly, the invention pertains to a demultiplexed pattern synchronizing circuit whereby parallel sequences of input data obtained by demultiplexing a high-speed pseudo random pattern are synchronized with parallel sequences of reference patterns.
In the case of measuring the transmission error rate of a digital signal transmission system, a measurement pattern formed by a repetition of a certain pattern of a predetermined bit length is provided from a pattern generator to the digital transmission system at the transmitting side thereof. At the receiving side of the digital transmission system the same pattern as the measurement pattern at the transmission side is generated as a reference pattern and compared, bit by bit, with an input pattern provided through the transmission system and containing errors, by which the errors in the input pattern are detected, and the number of errors per unit bit is counted. It is customary to use, as the measurement pattern, a pseudo random pattern, usually a repetitive pattern of a maximum length linear shift register sequence of a (2.sup.n -1)-bit length. The bit length of a non-repetitive or random maximum length pattern, obtainable with an n-stage shift register, is 2.sup.n -1, and such a pattern is called a maximum length linear shift register sequence. It is well-known in the art that the pseudo random pattern, which is a repetition of such a pattern, has a feature in that a sequence of bits extracted therefrom every N=2.sup.a (where a is an integer equal to or greater than 1) bit positions starting at an arbitrary bit position constitutes the same pattern as the original pseudo random pattern.
In the case of measuring the error rate of a transmission system when a digital signal is provided thereto at a high speed, it is difficult to implement a high-speed comparator which is able to compare the input pattern with the reference pattern on a bitwise basis at the receiving side. A conventional solution to this problem, which takes advantage of the above-mentioned feature of the maximum length linear shift register sequence (hereinafter referred to as ML sequence), is to divide the input pattern, bit by bit, into N=2.sup.a parallel sequences on N lines. That is, the input pattern is demultiplexed into N parallel sequences of low-speed data at the receiving side. In this instance, if the received pattern is error-free, the N=2.sup.a parallel sequences of low-speed data each form the same pattern as the high-speed pseudo random pattern for measurement use generated at the transmitting side and they are sequentially displaced a fixed number of bits (about 1/N of the pattern period) apart in phase. Accordingly, similar N parallel sequences of low-speed patterns are generated as reference patterns at the receiving side and are respectively compared with the demultiplexed N parallel sequences of low-speed data, by which the error rate of the digital transmission system can be measured. For correct measurement of the error rate, however, it is necessary to establish synchronization between the N demultiplexed parallel sequences of low-speed data and the N parallel sequences of reference patterns so that they are in phase with each other.
Such a demultiplexed pattern synchronizing circuit is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,878,233. This U.S. patent shows a case where high-speed input data is demultiplexed, by use of a high-speed clock synchronized therewith, into four parallel sequences of low-speed data on four output lines for comparison with four parallel sequences of reference patterns by four comparators. The four parallel sequences of reference patterns are each generated in synchronization with a low-speed clock obtained by frequency dividing the above-said high-speed clock down to 1/4. The number of disagreements in the results of comparison by the four comparators is counted. When the count value exceeds a predetermined value, it is decided that the four parallel sequences of low-speed data and the four parallel sequences of reference patterns are not synchronized with each other. Thereafter, upon each counting of a predetermined number of disagreements, one of the low-speed clocks for generating the reference patterns is eliminated, by which the four parallel sequences of reference patterns are all delayed by one bit relative to corresponding four parallel sequences of low-speed data. The one-bit delay of the reference patterns is repeated until the four parallel sequences of reference patterns are synchronized with the four parallel sequences of low-speed data.
With the demultiplexed pattern synchronizing circuit set forth in the above-mentioned U.S. patent, however, no synchronization can be established, in the worst case, until the reference pattern is delayed for a period of time equal to the length of the ML sequence minus one bit, i.e. (2.sup.n -1)-1 bit (which is approximately one reference pattern period in practice, because n is selected equal to or greater than 4). In addition, the time length of 2.sup.n -1 bits in the reference pattern (or low-speed data) is equal to the time length of 4.times.(2.sup.n -1) bits in the high-speed input data, and this corresponds to approximately four periods of the maximum length linear shift register sequence which is repeated in the high-speed input data. In other words, about four periods of the high-speed pattern for measurement are consumed merely for synchronization, not for measurement of the error rate. The impairs the efficiency of measurement of the error rate. Recently, in particular, a high-speed digital transmission in the gigahertz band for optical communication has come into use. The pattern for measuring the error rate of such a high-speed digital transmission system is required to be large in the bit length of one pattern period.
For example, in the case where the number of bits of one period of the ML sequence of the high-speed pattern data for measurement is 2.sup.23 -1, the frequency f is 2 GHz and the number N of parallel sequences of low-speed data is 16, then one period of the reference pattern becomes approximately 67 milliseconds. In the case where the number of bits of one period of the ML sequence is 2.sup.31 -1, the frequency f is 2 GHz and the number N is 16, one period of the reference pattern becomes about 17 seconds. Thus, when the bit length of one period of the measurement pattern (high-speed input data) is as large as 2.sup.31 -1 (.perspectiveto.2.15.times.10.sup.9) bits, the time for synchronization is 17 seconds at maximum and hence is impractical.


A fluid flow control device comprising a housing, an inlet at one side of the housing and an outlet at its other side, and externally-controlled valve means installed within the housing for controlling the flow of the fluid therethrough, characterized in that the interior of the housing is divided into at least two compartments, each having an inlet port and an externally-controlled valve within the compartment for controlling the passage of fluid through the respective inlet port, at least one of the valves being adapted to control the fluid flow through the housing in the direction from the inlet to the outlet thereof.

The present invention relates to fluid control valves, and more particularly to hydraulically controlled valves. Still more specifically the invention concerns an improved mode of installation and application of valves assembled in and operating as a group within a common, integral housing, all as will become evident from the detailed description hereinbelow.
While the device according to the present invention may be operated using most any type of known valves, it is most advantageous to employ--and the invention will be exemplified with specific reference to--valves as disclosed in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,681,130.
In the art of fluid flow control--in particular with regard to water irrigation installations--there arises the need for larger diameter control valves, say of 4" or more. Valves of such sizes are rather expensive, since even under normal network pressures, the forces that the valve parts and components must withstand are great, sometimes beyond the mechanical strength of synthetic materials such as plastic, from which they are usually made.
Furthermore, from the reliability point of view, if a failure occurs in a single, large-size valve and it becomes inoperative--the entire line is put out of service.
These considerations have led to the approach, lying at the base of the present invention, to substitute singular large-size valves by a combination or a battery of small-size valves that will yield a less expensive article of manufacture and of a more reliable operation, and--not less important--will achieve a series of further goals, as follows.
It sometimes happens that a single, main line is feeding a number of consumers, say different plots of the same piece of land. In such cases, it is customary to provide the main line with a common manifold and tap-off a number of branches leading to the different plots, each with its individual control valve.

Fluid flow control device including multiple valve units


A method and apparatus for processing printed paper in a cut-sheet feed rotary press comprising receiving printed sheets from a printing press on a receiving device at a paper discharge, one sheet at a time, and stacking such received sheets, one on the other, withdrawing and transferring the stacked sheets to a further processing station, the apparatus comprising a printing press having a paper discharge, a paper-receiving device at the paper discharge for receiving the discharged paper, and a conveyer for conveying the paper-receiving device with the discharged paper thereon, from the paper discharge to a further processing station for the discharge of paper therefrom and for returning the paper-receiving device to the paper discharge after the printed paper thereon have been discharged therefrom at the further processing station.

The present invention relates to an automatic paper processing method in a cut-sheet feed rotary press comprising an automatic paper feed unit, a printing unit composed of an ink feeder, a wet water feeder, a plate drum, a blanket drum and a press drum, and a paper discharge unit, and also relates to a cut-sheet feed rotary press having an automatic paper processing apparatus, which is constituted by adding an automatic paper processing apparatus to the aforementioned rotary press.
Heretofore, a method called "blanking" has been used in a paper discharge portion of a cut-sheet feed rotary press. That is, sheets after printing (hereinafter called "printed sheets") are not piled up straight but separated into groups by using boards and bridges, so that piling-up of printed sheets larger than a predetermined number is avoided to prevent ink from transferring to the back of paper. However, the blanking work is more difficult as the printing speed increases. Furthermore, the blanking work is harder as the print size increases. Therefore, a new system free from the blanking work is required.
In the case where the blanking work is carried out, the work of removing boards and bridges and then piling up printed sheets straight is required after ink is dried. This straight piling-up work includes various kinds of processing steps such as truing-up, inversion, powder removal, and so on. Furthermore, troublesome processes such as removed bridge carrying work, and so on, are required after completion of the straight piling-up work, so that automatization in after-processing of printed paper is prevented.
Furthermore, automatization in the whole of a press factory has been advocated for the double purpose of maintaining evenness of printing and filling up the shortage of human hands. Introduction of an automatic carriage has been discussed under the pressure of necessity for automating carrying of printing materials, above all, sheets before printing (hereinafter called "printing sheets", whereas printing sheets and printed sheets are generally called "sheets") and printed sheets, in the factory.
However, printed sheets must be subjected to various kinds of after-processing steps as described above. Furthermore, in most cases, printed sheets must be subjected to the press by many times for the purposes of multicolor printing, surface treatment, and so on. Accordingly, simply connecting the respective steps by the automatic carriage cannot provide practical use thereof because of the enormousness of the area occupied by carrying paths and the enormousness of the quantity of carrying of unarranged goods, that is, the enormousness of the number of automatic carriages required. Because the press in one of the city-type industries, it is, particularly, more difficult to secure a wide place as the area occupied by carrying paths increases. The provision of practical use thereof is prevented.

Automatic paper processing method and cut-sheet feed rotary press having automatic paper processing apparatus


The present invention provides a method of forming a drug-polymer coated stent. A polymeric coating is applied onto at least a portion of a stent framework and dried. A jet of heated gas is directed towards excess coating portions of the dried polymeric coating. The excess coating portions, which extend into apertures of the stent framework, are removed from the apertures of the stent framework by reflowing the polymeric coating with the directed jet of heated gas. A drug-polymer coated stent with a reflowed drug-polymer coating and a system for treating a vascular condition are also disclosed.

Protective materials and bioactive drugs are used on medical devices for treating vascular conditions such as stents. With generally open cylindrical scaffolding, stents typically have apertured or lattice-like walls of a metallic or polymeric base, and can be either balloon expandable or self-expanding. A stent is typically deployed by mounting the stent on a balloon portion of a balloon catheter, positioning the stent in a body lumen, and expanding the stent by inflating the balloon. The balloon is then deflated and removed, leaving the stent in place. Stents help reduce the probability and degree of vessel blockage from restenosis.
Various approaches for providing localized drug delivery using coated stents have been under investigation and marketed for some time. A variety of stent coatings and compositions have been proposed to provide localized therapeutic pharmacological agents and treatment of a vessel at the site being supported by the stent. Stent coatings with various families of drug polymer chemistries have been used to increase the effectiveness of stenting procedures and to control drug-elution properties. For example, polymeric coatings can be made from polyurethane, polyester, polylactic acid, polyamino acid, polyorthoester, or polyphosphate ester. Examples of drug or bioactive agents include antirestonotic and anti-inflammatory compounds.
Medical research indicates a greater effectiveness of vascular stents when the stents are coated with pharmaceutical drugs that help prevent or treat medical conditions such as restenosis and thrombosis. These drugs may be released from a coating while in the body, delivering their patent effects at the site where they are most needed. The localized levels of the medications can be elevated, and therefore potentially more effective than orally or intravenously delivered drugs. Furthermore, drugs released from tailored stent coatings can have controlled, timed-release qualities, eluting their bioactive agents over hours, weeks or even months. Stent coatings typically have a drug or active agent, which has been dissolved or dispersed throughout the polymeric material and physically constrained within the polymer. The sustained release of drugs generally relies upon either controlled degradation of the polymer or diffusion through the polymer to control the elution of the compounds.
Stents can be coated with a polymer or combination of a polymer and a pharmaceutical agent or drug by application techniques such as dipping, spraying, painting, and brushing. Typical methods of coating, such as spraying, dipping and brushing techniques, can be susceptible to a degree of pooling, bridging, or webbing on stent structures and struts, problems recognized by those skilled in the art of manufacturing stents.
Several solutions have been suggested. One solution in a manual dipping process blows excessive material off an open stent framework, as disclosed in "Coating" by Taylor et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,214,115 issued Apr. 10, 2001. The process addresses the problems of inconsistent drying and blockage of openings. Hossainy and others disclose another dipping process that addresses the issues of blockage and bridging between stent struts in "Process for Coating Stents", U.S. Pat. No. 6,153,252 issued Nov. 28, 2000. Flow or movement of the coating fluid through the openings in the perforated medical device is used to avoid the formation of blockages or bridges. The flow system may use a perforated manifold inserted in the stent to circulate the coating fluid, or may place the stent on a mandrel or in a small tube that is moved relative to the stent during the coating process.
Another coating method that uses airflow is disclosed in "Coating Medical Devices Using Air Suspension", Schwarz et al., International Patent Application WO 00/62830 published Oct. 26, 2000. The proposed method suspends a medical device in air and introduces a coating material into an air stream such that the material is dispersed therein to coat at least a portion of the device.
In addition to controlling any excessive coating material, an effective coating method needs to result in a lubricious or smooth outer surface of the coated stent, thereby reducing the probability of abrasions to body tissue as a stent is deployed. One coating method that optionally applies a solvent by dipping or spraying on an already coated stent to smooth the outer surface of the coating is described by Ding in "Method of Applying Drug-Release Coatings", U.S. Pat. No. 5,980,972 issued Nov. 9, 1999. The method uses two solutions: one with a polymer dissolved in a first solvent and another with a drug dissolved or suspended in a second solvent. When a third solvent is used to smooth the stent coating, the solvent needs to be compatible with the polymer matrix.
In another example, a collagen liner material forms a lubricious surface over the stent to protect the vascular wall and form a non-thrombogenic cushion for the stent in the vascular lumen, as disclosed in "Stent with Collagen", Buirge et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,693,085 issued Dec. 2, 1997.
Another smooth stent surface is described in "Stent Lining", Sahatjian et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,364,893, issued Apr. 2, 2002. A stent is lined with a hydrogel to reduce shear forces and flow disturbances in the blood, to protect damaged cells adjacent to the stent, to reduce platelet deposition at the stent site, and to deliver a drug to reduce or prevent restenosis of stent lumens. The expandable stent is mounted on a catheter balloon, which is coated with a hydrogel. The stent is delivered in a contracted condition to a targeted site in a body where the expanding balloon lodges the stent in the body with the hydrogel coated on the inner surfaces of the stent as a lining.
Drug polymer coatings on medical devices need to adhere well to the substrate or surface of the medical device and be mechanically pliant, because the devices often undergo significant flexion or expansion during the delivery and deployment. Excess coating material that can occur between struts of the stent needs to be removed or controlled to prevent cracking or flaking during or after the deployment of the stent. A stent deployed by self-expansion or balloon expansion is accompanied by a high level of bending at portions of the stent framework, which can cause cracking, flaking, peeling, or delaminating of many candidate drug polymers when the stent diameter is increased by threefold or more during expansion. In addition, any step within the process for coating a pre-deployed stent should not cause a drug-polymer to fall off, crystallize or melt.
Accordingly, a desirable, efficient and improved coating method would provide a well-adhered coating with a smooth outer surface of a medical device. In addition, the method would minimize or eliminate the pooling, bridging, or webbing of excess coating material between structures such as stent struts. In addition, the stent associated with this method has a smoother coating topography with one or more well adhered drug-polymer coatings that maintain mechanical integrity during stent deployment and provide a desired elution rate for one or more drugs, overcoming the deficiencies and limitations described above.

Reflowed drug-polymer coated stent and method thereof


A Vehicle Defense or Security System (VDS) which, once triggered, generates enough smoke to completely engulf the interior of a protected vehicle. The smoke attracts attention to the vehicle and visually impairs would be thieves from seeing valuables inside the vehicle. VDS can be used as an add-on to existing alarms or as a stand-alone defense system. The smoke generated is non-toxic and harmless to humans and the interior of the vehicle. This system provides a unique, effective defense or security system which is silent to eliminate annoying false alarm sirens, horns or the like.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to a system for defending or protecting an enclosed property, such as an automobile, in general, and to a Vehicle Defense System (VDS) using thick smoke (or fog) to protect the automobile and to scare away would be thieves silently, in particular.
2. Prior Art
Many types of alarms are known. These alarms include tamper alarms which indicate tampering with property. One type of property for which alarms are now very common is an automobile or similar vehicle. Audible alarms or warning devices have been known in the art for many years. One type is the conventional whistle which generally requires an external pressurized source of steam or air. Other types such as air-operated diaphragm horns found on vehicles, particularly trucks, require either a vacuum or pressure source. There is also known in the art fluid operated diaphragm horns using aerosol type pressurized fluid containers as an operating source. Many of these alarms are manually operated and require both the physical and mental attention of the operating person for actuation.
Thus, what is needed is an anti-burglar device which can be fired by a relatively small amount of mechanical force. Thus, a motion caused by an unauthorized movement of an object such as a door, window, or the like will trigger the device to protect the property for a sufficient period of time to provoke action in response to the alarm emitted. Alarm sirens are becoming less and less effective because they are heard frequently and are almost always ignored. No one pays attention to such alarms anymore. Thus, a new type of protective device is required.


The present invention provides a novel method of in vitro sample preparation for the analysis of proteins. In a first aspect, the present invention is a method comprising the separation and individual treatment of blood platelets and platelet-poor plasma obtained from a platelet-rich plasma sample. This allows for optimal treatment of both fractions and overcomes many of the problems associated with current methods. In a second aspect of the present invention the platelet sample preparation method can be implemented before a biochip based immunoassay for the detection of platelet proteins in combination with plasma proteins.

The first step in the isolation of platelets for analysis is generally the separation of platelets from whole blood through centrifugation. This results in a platelet rich plasma. The abundance of plasma proteins is extremely high compared to the platelet proteome so the next phase of preparing platelets is to attempt to separate them from plasma proteins. One method commonly used to prepare a plasma-free platelet suspension involves a further centrifugation step. Under higher forces than in the initial centrifugation of the whole blood, the platelets can be pelleted and then re-suspended in a suitable buffer. The mechanical stress induced during centrifugation means that the platelets can become easily activated which results in exocytosis of secretion vesicles and granules together with a number of other biochemical changes and a change in shape. If fresh platelet samples are frozen for storage, subsequent thawing or freeze-thaw cycles can cause lysis of the platelet membranes releasing contents into the surrounding medium.
An alternative method commonly used to avoid the mechanical stress imposed by centrifugation based methods of separation is gel filtration. This consists of passing platelet-rich plasma (PRP) through a column of, for example, Sepharose 2B or Biogel A-150 which can separate platelet proteins from plasma proteins according to their size (the platelets pass through the material due to their greater mass and the plasma proteins are generally retained in the micro-pores). Compared to the centrifuged based methods separation is rapid with minimal loss of platelets from the initial PRP. However gel filtration may not eliminate all larger molecular weight plasma proteins and can be more susceptible to methodological errors (Cazenave et al, 2004).
Platelet activation/lysis is a constant problem in the preparation of platelet samples for protein analysis, as due to their highly sensitive nature they are susceptible to a number of stimuli throughout the process, from blood collection to subsequent preparation. Activation/lysis often leads to exocytosis of proteins of diagnostic interest thus potentially decreasing the value of platelets obtained. Therefore it is important to take all necessary precautions to prevent preparation induced activation/lysis while at the same time maintaining platelet yield for proteomic studies. A further problem is often encountered when an immunoassay is employed to detect platelet proteins after processing, detergents (for example, sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS)) which are used to lyse the platelets can also disrupt epitopes as well as denature antibodies used in detection leading to distorted results (Geumann et al, 2010). Development of a platelet preparation method which addresses these problems would be extremely beneficial in the field of platelet protein immunoassays.

Sample preparation method for analysis of platelet proteins


The disclosed computer-implemented method for performing storage location virtualization may include (i) identifying a volume storage location for an operating-system-level virtualization container that isolates an instance of user space, the volume storage location providing a working space for data accessed during the existence of the operating-system-level virtualization container, (ii) mapping, through an automated driver that performs location virtualization, the volume storage location to multiple distinct source locations outside of the operating-system-level virtualization container, rather than a single source location, and (iii) propagating, through the automated driver, changes to the data within the working space of the volume storage location during the existence of the operating-system-level virtualization container to the respective multiple distinct source locations outside of the operating-system-level virtualization container to preserve the changes. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.

Operating-system-level virtualization containers can be useful for processing data in a manner that protects or isolates the data from external influences. Nevertheless, a conventional virtualization container may only permit one-to-one mappings with a local directory or file that is external to the virtualization container.
Additionally, when running a conventional virtualization container within a cluster or scaling environment (such as DOCKER SWARM or KUBERNETES), challenges may arise in the process of providing storage to these containers, because a particular container may run on any of the nodes within the cluster. This cluster configuration can introduce complications when mapping storage locations to varying nodes of the cluster where virtualization containers are configured. Users may attempt to address these challenges by using object stores, network file system mounts, or distributed file systems. Nevertheless, these conventional solutions may still face the challenge of selecting, combining, and securing multiple sources of data, as discussed further below. For example, a user may find it inconvenient, or inefficient, to access data from multiple distinct external sources within a conventional virtualization container. The instant disclosure, therefore, identifies and addresses a need for systems and methods for performing storage location virtualization.

Systems and methods for performing storage location virtualization


To provide a laminate which is formed from resins and is excellent in heat resistance and excellent in flexibility and mechanical properties under high-temperature conditions and which undergoes no separation of layers even when contacted with oil such as engine oil for a long period of time. The laminate comprises a first layer containing a fluorinated copolymer and a second layer containing a polyamide directly laminated on the first layer, wherein the fluorinated copolymer has units based on tetrafluoroethylene, units based on ethylene, units based on a copolymerizable another monomer not having a carbonyl group, and carbonyl group-containing groups, wherein the amounts of the respective units are in specific ranges, and the tensile elongation at 200° C. of the fluorinated copolymer is at least 200%, and the melting point of the polyamide and the flexural elastic modulus at 23° C. of the second layer are in specific ranges.

In recent years, with increasing global awareness of environmental issues as background, strengthening of exhaust gas regulations for diesel vehicles is progressing. Along with this, introduction of a DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) system, a turbo system, a new engine system (common rail injection system), etc. is well underway in order to reduce PM (particulate matter), NOx, etc. in the exhaust gas, and the requirements for performance of air hoses for diesel vehicles, air hoses for automobiles such as DPF sensor hoses, etc. have also become stricter.
That is, in order to reduce PM or NOx in the exhaust gas, it is necessary to increase the combustion efficiency, and therefore, the DPF system, turbo system, etc. are required to be set at a high temperature, whereby air hoses for diesel vehicles, DPF sensor hoses, etc. are required to have heat resistance higher than ever before.
Also in gasoline vehicles, downsizing of the engine capacity has been advanced in order to improve the fuel economy, and a method for mounting a turbocharger system has been widely adopted in order to compensate for the engine output reduction. The fluid (air) to be directed from the turbo charger to an intercooler or an engine is at a high temperature and under a high pressure. Therefore, an air hose to transport such high-temperature high-pressure fluid is also required to have higher heat resistance.
As an air hose for a diesel vehicle having a heat resistance, a hose made of a laminate having an inner layer and an outer layer containing an ethylene acrylic rubber, a fluorinated rubber, etc., is disclosed, for example, in Patent Document 1.


A labeling system that enables labels to be attached to medication dispensing products that lack adequate surface area for the labels. The labeling system utilizes a panel having a first planar surface with a geometric center. The first planar surface extends to a periphery having a polygonal shape. An opening is formed in the panel proximate the geometric center. The opening is sized to receive the medication dispenser. Labels are adhered to the first planar surface. The polygonal shape of the panel provides its periphery with a first number of flat side surfaces. The polygonal shape is a visual indicator, wherein the labels adhered to the first planar surface correspond in number to the flat side surfaces along the periphery.

1. Field of the Invention
In general, the present invention relates to auxiliary structures that attach to medication dispensers, such as insulin pens or inhalers. More particularly, the present invention relates to auxiliary structures that attach to medication dispensers for the purpose of providing additional room for identifying labels.
2. Prior Art Descriptions
Many hospitals track the administration of medications to patients using barcode labels. Often a different barcode label is created each time a patient is to receive a dose of medication in a given day. The barcode labels are then attached to the medication. The barcode is scanned when the dose of medication is given to the patient. In this manner, the computer system of the hospital can keep accurate records of what medications were given to what patients at what times. The tracking system also ensures that patients are receiving the proper medications and that cross-contamination is not occurring between patients through accidental occurrences of shared medications.
For pill medications, the barcode labels are commonly attached to the container that holds the pills. Otherwise, individual pills are packaged and labeled. In both cases, the pills are easily identified. A problem occurs when the patient's medication is provided in a multi-dose container, such as an insulin pen or an inhaler, wherein the same multi-dose container needs to be reused during the entire stay at the healthcare facility. In such a situation, multiple barcodes must be applied to the container each day. The labels include patient-specific unit-dose barcode labels. However, there is often not enough space on the products to place such labels. For example, a patient may be required to receive insulin four times a day. In order to use an insulin pen within a hospital's barcode tracking system, four barcode labels would have to be attached to the insulin pen each day. This is nearly an impossibility given the space available on the insulin pen.
Referring to FIG. 1, a typical prior art insulin pen 10 is shown. As can be seen, the insulin pen 10 has a first section 12 that is used to indicate injection dose. The insulin pen 10 has a second section 14 for altering the injection dose. Furthermore, the injection pen 10 has a third section 16 that provides necessary information about the insulin pen 10, including its contents, concentrations and expiration. In order to attach multiple barcode labels to this insulin pen, one or more of the pen's sections will be at least partially covered by a barcode label. As such, a healthcare worker may not be able to clearly view the three sections 12, 14, 16 of the insulin pen 10. This can lead to mistakes in dosage or lead to the administration of the wrong medication to the wrong patient.
Furthermore, if a label is attached to a medication dispenser, such as an insulin pen or an inhaler, the label typically must be contacted by the fingers of the person using the device. This can cause the information on the label to smear or fade. This also can lead to mistakes in dosage or lead to the administration of the wrong medication to the wrong patient.
In the prior art, some systems have been developed in an attempt to increase the areas that are available for the placement of a barcode label. In these prior art systems, flaps are attached to the syringe that extend away from the syringe and provide room for labels. However, the flaps attach to the syringe by covering much of the exterior of the syringe. In these prior art systems, the label attachment device covers just as much of the syringe as would the barcode labels themselves. Accordingly, this inhibits a person from identifying and properly utilizing the syringe. Such prior art systems are exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 6,957,522 to Baldwin, entitled Method and System for Labeling Syringe Bodies, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,722,404 to Osborne, entitled Syringe Bandolier With Control Feature. Thus, the prior art systems do not address the problem of having sections of the syringe blocked from sight.
A need therefore exists for a system and method that can attach multiple labels to a small dispenser, such as a syringe or an inhaler, without blocking significant areas of the dispenser from view. The present invention attaches to medication dispensers in a hospital setting and provides extra space for multiple patient-specific unit-dose barcode labels. This enables patient specific multi-dose medication dispensers, such as insulin pens, to be used in place of vial administration systems. Multi-dose insulin pens have been proven to be superior to insulin vials and syringes not only in home use but in hospital use as well with respect to quality of care, patient safety, and cost. Unfortunately, they do not provide enough room for labeling and when used in hospital settings they can be easily misplaced or confused with another patient's insulin pen. Hospitals that use scanning systems for patient safety must scan the Rx barcode number. Unfortunately, this does not eliminate the possibility of cross contamination. The FDA recognized that danger long ago and has been trying to find a solution. The solution is provided by the present invention as described and claimed below.

System and method for creating space for identification labels on medication dispensers


A pressure relief valve includes a bonnet threadedly secured to a pressure vessel, a floating device in the pressure vessel, a relief assembly, an actuator secured to the bonnet and communicating with the bonnet, a biasing element put on a stem and biased between a tubular member and a conic member, and a safety valve. The hollow cylinder is slidable in a space defined by the tubular member and a hollow, cylindrical actuating member. The stem is slidably disposed in the tubular member. Pressurized fluid enters a conic opening via an inlet connector, a first channel, a Venturi tube, and a second channel to push the tubular member so as to disengage a latch from a hook to release the pressurized fluid.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to fluid regulators and more particularly to a pressure relief valve with improved characteristics.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional pressure relief valve is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and comprises a cap 1 including an inlet 11, a Venturi tube 12 in one end of the inlet 11, a bypass channel 13 adjacent to the Venturi tube 12, an outlet 14 at the other end of the inlet 11, a bonnet 15 for concealing the outlet 14 and including a central threaded hole 152 and a plurality of vents 151 around the threaded hole 152, and a thumb screw 16 threadedly inserted through the threaded hole 152 to either block the outlet 14 (see FIG. 1) or open the outlet 14 (see FIG. 2). In the later condition, pressurized fluid (e.g., air or gas) may flow out of the outlet 14 and release to the atmosphere via the vents 151 due to the disengagement of the thumb screw 16 from the outlet 14.
However, in a lock-up condition (i.e., the outlet 14 being blocked by the thumb screw 16), internal pressure of a pressure vessel fluidly attached to the pressure relief valve may build up to a value greater than a preset pressure. As a result, the pressure vessel may malfunction, break, or even explode.
Thus, the need for improvement still exists.


A paste applicator for drawing a paste pattern on a substrate has X- and Y-axis tables, on which the substrate is mounted, and a paste reservoir tube, a nozzle, a nozzle support and an optical displacement meter all fixed to a Z-axis table in opposite relation to the substrate. The paste reservoir tube and the nozzle are communicated with each other by a horizontal portion of the nozzle support. The horizontal portion is extended to a position below the optical displacement meter so that the nozzle is located close to a measuring point of the optical displacement meter. This arrangement places the nozzle as close as possible to the measuring point of the optical displacement meter, whereby an error between data measured by the optical displacement meter and an actual nozzle-to-substrate gap is substantially eliminated to assure that the paste is applied to the substrate in a desired pattern and configuration.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a paste applicator for discharging a paste onto a substrate through a nozzle and drawing a desired paste pattern on the substrate and, more particularly, to a paste applicator of the type that measures a gap between the nozzle and the substrate by a distance sensor and adjusts the gap between the nozzle and the substrate in accordance with the measured data of the distance sensor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A paste applicator is an apparatus for drawing a paste pattern on a substrate by using a nozzle through which a paste is discharged, and employed in various fields as a drawing apparatus suitable for resistors of hybrid printed circuits, panel sealants of liquid crystal displays, etc.
In, for example, Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2-52742 an applicator is proposed wherein a paste, filled in a paste reservoir tube, is discharged onto a substrate through a nozzle provided at a distal end of the paste reservoir tube, and the nozzle and substrate are relatively moved in the horizontal direction by an X-Y table or the like, thereby drawing a paste film in a desired pattern on the substrate. The disclosed paste applicator includes a distance sensor capable of measuring a gap between the nozzle and the substrate, with the gap between the nozzle and the substrate being adjusted in accordance with measured data of the distance sensor to prevent irregularities of the pattern formed.
In the above conventional paste applicator, however, because the nozzle is provided at the center of the lower end of the paste reservoir tube and the gap is measured at a position just below the center of the distance sensor provided in side-by-side relation to the paste reservoir tube, a discharge port at the nozzle end and the measuring position of the distance sensor cannot be aligned and are offset with respect to each other in the horizontal direction. Accordingly, if undulations or fine irregularities are present on the substrate surface, an error is caused between the data of measurement detected by the distance sensor and the actual nozzle-to-substrate gap thereby requiring a complicated compensation means to correct such error.
Further, because the nozzle is provided at the lower end of the paste reservoir tube, if a paste of low viscosity is used, a further problem arises in that the paste is discharged through the discharge port at the nozzle end by gravity just after the paste is filled in the paste reservoir tube and the paste is applied to those locations where it is not to be drawn.
Additionally, the following problem has been experienced when liquid crystal sealing films are drawn on substrates for recent high-accurate liquid crystal displays by using the above conventional technique.
Namely, a new problem has been found relating to the above conventional discharge drawing technique that, when the measuring position of the distance sensor passes over an already drawn paste pattern with a certain thickness in the course of gap measurement, the nozzle and the substrate cannot be held at the desired gap, i.e., the nozzle height cannot be positioned at a set value of height, in those portions where a paste film is to be newly formed, and the width or height of the sealing film is increased in those portions, making it impossible to draw the desired sealing film.


A light emitting module is disclosed. The light emitting module includes a lead frame body, lead frame, a heat spreader, an intermediate heat sink, and at least one light emitting element (LED). The lead frame body defines a cavity which accurately registers the heat spreader and includes optical or reflective walls surrounding the light emitting elements soldered on metallized traces of the heat spreader. The lead frame body encases and supports portions of the lead frame. The lead frame extends from outside the body into the cavity to accurately align with solder pads of the heat spreader. All the pre-aligned mechanical, thermal and electrical contacts are then soldered by solder reflow process under tight environmental control to prevent damage to the light emitting element. A robust, healthy 3-dimensional optical-electro-mechanical assembly having a very low thermal resistance in a thermal path from its light emitting element to its intermediate heatsink is created.

The present invention relates to light emitting devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to light emitting device modules and lighting devices.
Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are typically made using semiconducting material doped with impurities to create a P-N junction. When electrical potential (voltage) is applied to the P-N junction current flows through the junction. Charge-carriers (electrons and holes) flow in the junction. When an electron meets a hole, it falls into a lower energy level, and releases energy in the form of light (photon, radiant energy) and heat (phonon, thermal energy).
In most applications, light is the desired form of energy from an LED and heat is not desired. This is because heat can and often causes permanently damages to the LED, degrades LED performance by causing decreased light output, and leads to a premature device failure.
However, in the current state of art, generation of undesired heat cannot be avoided. A typical high power LED chip of 1 mm2 in area and 0.10 mm in thickness has a P-N junction active layer of only 0.003 mm thick. Yet, it can convert 1 to 2 watts of electrical energy into both radiant and thermal energy. More than 50% of electrical energy is actually converted into thermal energy which can heat up the whole LED within fraction of a second. Typically, such LED operates at a junction temperature of 120 degrees Celsius. That is, these LEDs operate at a temperature greater than the temperature of boiling water (water boils at 100° C.). Above 120 degrees C., the LED's forward voltage will increase, thus resulting in higher power consumption. Also, its luminous output will drop correspondingly and its reliability and life expectancy will also be adversely affected.
The problem of heat is even more apparent for high power LEDs. There is an increasing demand for increasingly brighter LEDs. To make brighter LEDs, the most obvious solution is to increase the electrical power applied to the LEDs. This however leads to LEDs operating at even greater temperatures. As the operating temperature increases, the efficiency of the LEDs decreases, resulting in light output that is less than expected or desired. That is, for example only, doubling the electrical power of the LED does not result in the generation of twice the amount of light. Rather, the light output is much less than the expected twice the luminosity.
The problem of heat is compounded by the way in which the LEDs are packaged within light emitting devices such as light bulbs. Light emitting devices of current art (using LEDs as the core of the device) often entrap heat within the device itself. This decreases the expected life of the LED and of the device itself. For example, many LEDs in the marketplace are sold as having expected operating life of 50,000 hours (at which time the LED output declines to seventy percent of its original output). However, light emitting devices (having such LEDs as the light emitting element of the device) typically specifies only 35,000 hours of expected operating life).
Accordingly, there remains a need for an improved LED module that eliminates or alleviates these problems associated with heat.


The present invention relates to mutations associated with neoplasia, such as meningioma. Thus, the invention relates to compositions and methods useful for the assessment, characterization, classification and treatment of neoplasia, including meningioma, based upon the presence or absence of mutations that are associated with neoplasia, including meningioma.

While considerable attention has been paid to the genomic analysis of malignant tumors, benign tumors are much less studied. Meningiomas, arising from the meninges of the central nervous system, are the most common primary brain tumors, with a prevalence of ˜170,000 cases in the US (Wiemels et al., 2010, J Neurooncol, 99:307). While 90% are histologically classified as benign, meningiomas frequently invade surrounding brain and critical neurovascular structures, often causing neurological deficits. Symptomatic patients require surgical intervention or radiotherapy, as there are no established chemotherapeutic targets. Moreover, approximately 10% of meningiomas represent atypical (Grade II) or anaplastic (Grade III) forms, and are associated with increased symptom severity and greater recurrence risk. The risk factors for meningioma formation, other than female gender, increasing age and ionizing radiation exposure, are unknown. Similarly, other than loss of chromosome 22 and NF2 coding mutations, observed in 40-60% of sporadic meningiomas (Riemenschneider et al., 2006, Lancet neurology, 5:1045), the genetic architecture remains obscure, limiting options for the development of rational therapies.
Thus, there is a need in the art for compositions and methods of diagnosing meningiomas and assessing the risk for developing meningiomas. The present invention satisfies this unmet need.

Compositions and methods for diagnosing and treating meningioma


An inspection jig for a display device includes a jig body, the jig body includes a limit groove configured to limit the position of the display device to be inspected, and the jig body is provided with a soldering point testing portion, the soldering potin testing portion is provided with a plurality of testing terminal pairs; each of the testing terminal pairs comprises two testing terminals; in every two adjacent testing terminal pairs, one testing terminal of one testing terminal pair and one testing terminal of the other testing terminal pair are serially connected with an indicator lamp therebetween; along a serial connection direction of the testing terminals, a testing terminal located at two ends are electrically connected with a positive pole and a negative pole of a power source.

At present, in the display technical field, a backlight source, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) panel, a flexible circuit board and other elements are assembled together to realize display function. The backlight source and the LCD panel, or the backlight source and the flexible circuit board are respectively assembled to corresponding elements through a soldering process for example. During the manufacturing process, the soldering procedure of a backlight source and a flexible circuit board requires manual operations, however, it is hard to avoid poor soldering, internal solder connection, pseudo soldering or the other problems, and the rework caused by poor soldering and so on will give rise to losses of resources and materials such as flexible circuit boards, ICs and backlight sources. However, poor soldering, internal solder connection and pseudo soldering and other problems can not inspected directly by human eyes.

Inspection jig and method for display device

BEIJING BOE OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


Systems and/or methods that facilitate controlling access to memory regions in a memory component(s) are presented. A memory component can comprise an access management component that can facilitate controlling access to memory regions that can be respectively associated with authentication credentials. The access control component can facilitate access of a memory region when received authentication information matches authentication information contained in a security record associated with the memory region. The access management component can facilitate a wipe erase of a memory region(s) to facilitate secure removal of information from the memory region when predetermined criteria is satisfied. The access management component can facilitate locking a memory region when a maximum number of attempts to access a memory region are unsuccessful to facilitate security of the memory regions and/or data associated therewith, where a locked memory region remains locked until a reset is performed.

A wide variety of memory devices can be used to maintain and store data and instructions for various computers and similar systems. In particular, flash memory is a type of electronic memory media that can be rewritten and that can retain content without consumption of power. Flash memory has become popular, at least in part, because it combines the advantages of the high density and low cost of EPROM with the electrical erasability of EEPROM. Flash memory is nonvolatile; it can be rewritten and can hold its content without power. Flash memory can be used in many portable electronic products, such as cellular phones, portable computers, voice recorders, thumbnail drives and the like, as well as in many larger electronic systems, such as cars, planes, industrial control systems, etc. The fact that flash memory can be rewritten, as well as its retention of data without a power source, small size, and light weight, have all combined to make flash memory devices useful and popular means for transporting and maintaining data.
Conventionally, data stored in a memory in an electronic device, such as a cellular phone, can be deleted. However, even though the data is deleted and even though a user may believe that the data is erased from the memory, the data can still reside in the memory, but the access information (e.g., pointer) that was associated with the data and utilized to access the data can be removed, so that the user does not perceive that the data is still stored in the memory. A user can have sensitive personal information stored on the electronic device, and the user can desire to maintain the privacy of such information. If a user decides to sell or otherwise dispose of his electronic device, the user can delete the data (e.g., sensitive information) and may not realize that the data is still stored in the memory.
It is desirable to manage information associated with a memory device, so that information, such as sensitive information of a user, can be secured in the memory device, and securely and completely removed from the memory device, as desired by an authorized user. It is also desirable to manage access to a memory device to facilitate data security in the memory device.

Secure management of memory regions in a memory


The present invention is a method of subjecting amides to a modified Hofmann reaction using a 2-phase aqueous/organic system. The Hofmann reaction is modified in the sense that the product is an organic isocyanate rather than an amine. Generally, the reaction employs a phase transfer catalyst although, for tertiary amides it has been discovered that use of the catalyst is not required.

Phase transfer catalysis is a relatively recent technique which has been employed in a number of organic reactions which proceed via displacement of a leaving group by a nucleophile. Phase transfer catalysis utilizing a quaternary salt (e.g., ammonium, phosphonium or arsonium) as the phase transfer catalyst (i.e. PTC) is believed to work in the following way. In general, there are two immiscible phases. One of these phases (usually aqueous) contains a reservoir of a salt expected (e.g., a hypobromite salt) to function either as a base or nucleophile. The second phase is organic and contains the substrate which is expected to react with the salt. Because the salt-containing phase is insoluble in the substrate-containing phase, there will be no reaction observed in the absence of interfacial phenomena. A phase transfer catalyst is added to the mixture. This is ordinarily a quaternary ammonium or phosphonium halide or bisulfate which contains a lipophilic cation. The lipophilic cation enjoys solubility in both aqueous and organic phases and when in contact with the aqueous reservoir of salt proceeds to transport the nucleophile into the organic phase where reaction with the substrate is possible.
A journal article by Lee and Freedman (Tetrahedron Letters No. 20, pp 1641-1644, 1976) describes oxidation of various substrates to form amines using a phase transfer catalyst. This article mentions (page 1643) that when amides are subjected to phase transfer catalysis using PTC/hypochlorite, the resulting Hofmann rearrangement and oxidation of the amine product yields nitriles, aldehydes or ketones depending on the amide starting material employed.
British Pat. No. 1,384,157 describes the use of phase transfer catalysis to convert acyl halides to the corresponding acyl azides which are then converted (via Curtius Rearrangement) to the isocyanate. Aliphatic isocyanates, such as those prepared by the process of the invention, have also frequently been prepared by phosgenation of amines and dehydrohalogenation of the resulting carbamoyl chloride. See S. Ozaki, Chem. Revs., 72, 457 (1972); Saunders et al., Chem Revs., 43, 203-18 (1978); and Arnold et al., Chem. Revs., 57, 47-76 (1957).
It is also known that isocyanates are formed under the usual conditions of the Hofmann reaction, but such isocyanates are readily hydrolyzed to the corresponding amine. See Wallis et al., The Hofmann Reaction, Organic Reactions, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1949, page 267. However, when the Hofmann reaction is carried out in the absence of water, it has been possible to isolate an isocyanate. See Morrison and Boyd, Organic Chemistry, Allyn and Bacon, Boston, 1960, page 536.

Conversion of amides to isocyanates via phase transfer catalysis


A network node is connectable to a network. The node includes a physical media access sublayer. The physical media access sublayer includes a link monitor state machine. The link monitor state machine includes an evaluate link state, an evaluate carrier state, an increment criteria state and a link down state. In the evaluate link state, an idle timer is started. The evaluate carrier state is entered from the evaluate link state when a carrier event is detected before expiration of the idle timer. In the evaluate carrier state, a valid carrier timer is started. The increment criteria state is entered from the evaluate carrier state if a status error is detected or if the carrier event completes before expiration of the valid carrier timer. In the increment criteria state, a false carrier count is incremented. The link down state is entered from the increment criteria state if the false carrier count, after being incremented, is equal to a false carrier count limit.

The present invention concerns data transfer over a network and pertains particularly to a link monitor state machine used in a physical media access sublayer of 100BASE-TX technology.
The IEEE 802.3 committee has defined a standard technology for 100 megabits per second networking over category five (CAT-5) Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) cabling. This technology is known as 100BASE-TX and is defined in Clauses 24 and 25 of the specification IEEE 802.3u-1995.
Within the 100BASE-TX technology physical sublayer (PHY), as defined in Clauses 24 and 25 of the specification IEEE 802.3u-1995, there is a Physical Coding Sublayer (PCS), a Physical Media Access (PMA) sublayer, and a Physical Media Dependent (PMD) sublayer. The PCS defines how data is encoded and decoded, how the Carrier Sense (CS) and Collision Detection (CD) functions work, and the interface between higher and lower layers in the protocol specification. The PMA defines the mapping of code bits, generation of a control signal (link_status) which indicates the availability of the PMD, generation of control signals to the PCS that indicate Carrier Sense, Collision Detection and Physical Layer Errors, and clock recovery. The PMD defines the signaling method and the various physical parameters that are necessary to address the link's physical requirements. Within the PMA, as defined in the specification IEEE 802.3u-1995, there is a state machine which is described as the LINK MONITOR state machine. It is described in section 220.127.116.11 and by a diagram depicted in FIGS. 24-15. This state machine is intended to provide a mechanism which determines whether the underlying physical layer is providing reliable data.
The LINK MONITOR state machine described in section 220.127.116.11 and by a diagram depicted in FIGS. 24-15 of the specification IEEE 802.3u-1995 assumes that if a link has been connected and the signal energy is sufficient to cause an indication of "signal_status ON" for more than 330 micro-seconds, then the link must be reliable. However, a link which exceeds the signal amplitude requirements to generate a "signal_status ON" may in fact have a Bit Error Rate (BER) that is substantially above the acceptable level as defined by requirements set out in the specification IEEE 802.3u-1995. A link which has a Bit Error Rate (BER) that is substantially above the acceptable level is unreliable.
When using the LINK MONITOR state machine described in section 18.104.22.168 of the specification IEEE 802.3u-1995, once a link has been enabled to operate, it will go to a state known as "LINK UP,` and stay there until either the signal_status goes to OFF or a control signal is asserted to bring the link down. The BER of the link has no direct impact on link_status.
The 100BASE-TX technology uses a protocol known as Carrier-Sense, Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA-CD). The CSMA-CD protocol depends on the reliable ability of each node to detect when another node in the network is transmitting (Carrier Sense) and when more than one node in the network is transmitting (Collision Detection). If bit errors occur during a packet, a re-transmission may occur which reduces network performance. However, if a protocol error occurs, the impact upon network performance degrades substantially.
The 100BASE-TX technology uses a continuous signaling mechanism to communicate across the link. This means that the lack of "Carrier" is actually a stream of bits known as "IDLE" symbols. If a bit error occurs in the reception of the IDLE symbols, then "Carrier Sense" or "Collision" may be detected. Therefore, this System absolutely depends on a reliable BER to operate properly. An unacceptable BER on any link in the network will result in substantial disruption and degradation of network performance.


A schedule displaying device is provided with a comparator and a controller in addition to a memory, an input device, a display, and a timer. Thus, the scheduled plans are stored and displayed together with the respective scheduled time in a corresponding manner and in time sequence. Moreover, the number of the scheduled plans is arranged to be counted and displayed for each day of the week in the schedule displaying device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a schedule displaying device adapted to store scheduled plans and to display the scheduled plans in time sequence.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 61-267163 discloses a schedule displaying device of the type referred to above which can inform only the presence or absence of a plan or plans scheduled for each day of the week in spite of a large displaying screen assigned therefor. Meanwhile, in another Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 62-59894, it can be known whether or not a plan or plans are scheduled for the morning or afternoon of each day of the week, but a large display is necessary so that the schedule of the month can be seen from one sight.


An improved ball valve for fluids, comprising a body composed of a main and lateral body which defines a longitudinal duct in which there is an obstructing ball having a cylindrical perforation, so that said ball may rotate around a stem joined to it so as to align said cylindrical perforation with said longitudinal duct; said ball being supported by two ring-shaped seats. Whereby the improvements are centered on the independency of the present functions of the seats rings: as ball supports and sealing elements; said rings being left, in accordance with the invention, related solely to the ball-supporting function and introducing a pair of elastic rings (O-rings) which perform the role of sealing elements.

Ball valves basically consist of a body comprising a longitudinal duct for the fluid flow, in the center of which a ball is tightly interposed; having said ball a cylindrical perforation which is axial to the fluid flow when the valve is in a fully open condition. Said ball is joined to an actuating stem which is perpendicular to both the duct and the cylindrical perforation. Thus, the actuating stem allows the rotation of the ball from an obstructing position with its perforation perpendicular to the duct to its fully open condition, by means of a 90-degree turn, with its perforation coaxial to the duct.
Due to the fact that the ball is sustained between two ring-shaped seats which, traditionally, perform as ball supports as well as sealing elements, this type of valve presents inconveniences restricting its fluid-tightness efficiency when subjected to temperature changes (although to a lesser degree than in other types of valves), because of the different thermal expansion coefficients possessed by the valve bodies, the seats, and the ball. This traditional design aspect also restricts the usage lifetime of the valve when it is used in positions intermediate to the fully open and closed conditions, because the ring-shaped seats become partially worn out and, since said seats also act a sealing elements, the fluid-tightness of the valve becomes impaired.


A low cost sheet material, and a method of preparing same, which is useful as a substrate for casting sealants and adhesives. The substrate comprises a highly calendered, smooth grade kraft paper having a coating of an elastomer modified polyvinyl chloride on each of the major surfaces thereof. Either one, or both, of the polyvinyl coatings are provided with a film of a release agent thereon.

It is the usual practice in the sealant and wet casting adhesive industry to employ polyethylene coated kraft paper as a substrate for casting both sealants and adhesives. While polyethylene coated kraft paper has good dimensional stability when it is exposed to moisture or high humidity, it has poor heat resistance, being limited to exposure to temperatures not exceeding 260.degree. F. As a consequence of the low heat tolerance of polyethylene coated kraft paper, casters, whether they are using sealants or adhesives, must operate at relatively low speeds and low temperatures to avoid melting the polyethylene layer. A further disadvantage encountered by casters, especially adhesive casters, in the use of polyethylene coated kraft paper, centers on the relatively low porosity of such a substrate. More specifically in this connection, because of the relatively low porosity of such substrates, the solvent vehicle for the adhesive, during drying, can only escape through the top of the structure, that is, through the adhesive layer. If the drying conditions are not properly controlled and there is skinning over of the adhesive before all of the solvent has been driven off, bubbles or blisters can form in the adhesive, thereby adversely affecting the bond strength of the adhesive layer. Wholly apart form the aforementioned shortcomings of polyethylene coated kraft paper as a substrate for sealant and adhesive casting, the coated paper is comparatively costly to produce both from the standpoint of material costs as well as equipment costs.

Adhesive and sealant sheet material and method


Provided is a test sensor using a magnetostrictively induced guided wave based on an open magnetic circuit, comprising an excitation coil, a receiving coil and a magnetic device, the magnetic device comprises multiple test modules circumferentially and uniformly disposed thereon so as to be absorbed to the outer side of a to-be-tested slender component, each test module comprises a housing, a permanent magnet and a magnetic plate, two adjacent housings are connected to each other via an adjusting device, the excitation coil and the receiving coil are disposed in the vicinity of the test module, and are coaxially fit on the outer side of the to-be-tested slender component, the excitation coil operates to generate induced voltage in the receiving coil after the sinusoidal alternating current is input, and a computer can determine whether a defect occurs in the to-be-tested slender component after receiving the induced voltage. The sensor of the invention features simple structure, small size, light weight and convenient installation. Moreover, by serially connecting the sensor with multi-layered test coils disposed on both sides of the permanent magnet, it is possible to enhance an amplitude of a test signal, and to improve test sensitivity.

With the fast development of industries like petroleum, chemistry, transportation and so on, pipes and cables are widely used. Failures of pipes, such as erosion, perforation or wall thickness reduction, often take place due to high temperature, high pressure, flushing and so on, and reasons like fatigue, raining and so on may cause cables to be broken or corroded. To prevent accidents, it is required to periodically test and maintain the pipes and the cables. Since the ultrasonic guided wave testing technique can fast test a part of the pipe or the cable by a single-point excitation and no need to move sensors during the testing process, it has been widely used in the relevant field.
The magnetostrictive guided wave testing technique has the advantages of no contact, no polishing process on the surface of the tested component, high testing efficiency, and it is applicable for on-site testing of a slender component. U.S. Pat. No. 5,456,113A discloses a method for the nondestructive evaluation of the ferromagnetic material to detect and locate fractures, cracks, and other anomalies based on the magnetostrictive guided waves, U.S. Pat. No. 5,581,037A also discloses a method for the inspection of ferromagnetic cylindrical shell structures such as pipes and pipes based on the magnetostrictive guided waves. The above two testing methods make use of a conventional closed magnetic circuit to axially magnetize the tested cable or pipe, by the way of circumferentially arranging a certain number of magnetizers on the surface to provide a uniform axial static magnetic field. These two methods are non-contact testing methods, namely there is no need to polish the surface of the position for the sensor installation, which results in a high testing efficiency. However, since each magnetizer has large size and heavy weight, it is required to assemble and disassemble multiple magnetizers during the guided wave testing process, which reduces the testing efficiency to a certain extent. Meanwhile, during on-site testing, the number of the tested slender components is always comparatively large, the testing method of using multiple magnetizers to provide the axial static magnetic field has some disadvantages such as inconvenient installation, as well as time-consuming and laborious operation.

Magnetostrictively induced guided wave sensor device

HUAZHONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY