The filter medium is a filter medium which uses a liquid containing oil and water as a separation target, and has a channel for the liquid. The filter medium includes a base constituting the channel, and one or more of nitrogen-containing fluorine compounds which are provided on at least a portion of a surface of the channel. The nitrogen-containing fluorine compound includes an oil-repellency imparting group and any one hydrophilicity imparting group selected from a group consisting of an anion type, a cation type, and an amphoteric type, in a molecule.

Conventionally, oils and fats such as oil or lard are mixed and contained in water discharged from, for example, a general house, a commercial cooking place, or a building, or water discharged from a conduit for a sewage or waste liquid treatment facility of public establishment. Such discharged water is the cause of clogging of a sewerage pipe by fixation of the oil, or the cause of an occurrence of an odor. In addition, there are also problems in that the function of the public sewerage facility is hindered or an oil clot (white solid matter) from a sewerage facility is spilled to a harbor after heavy rain, for example. Thus, in each district, measures in that restaurant companies are caused to install a gathering machine which separates and collects oils and fats in discharged water, and thus oils and fats are not spilled to the sewerage are also performed.
Treatment of separating an oil-water mixed liquid into oil and water is performed as waste liquid treatment in, for example, food manufacturing, fiber treatment, mechanical processing, and petroleum refining, and as an oil collection work performed in a case where an oil is spilled into a river, the sea, and the like due to, for example, an accident.
In addition, for example, when crude oil is minded, a method in which the seawater is injected to an oil layer of a stratum, and pressure of non-aqueous oil is increased, and thus an output is ensured is generally performed. "Water accompanying in the oil field" which is water used in such minding of crude oil contains a large amount of non-aqueous oil. Thus, treatment of removing the non-aqueous oil is performed, and then the non-aqueous oil is scrapped. However, because the non-aqueous oil is the cause of contaminating the ocean, lakes and marshes, and the like, recently, restrictions for the content of the non-aqueous oil in discharged water is reinforced. In a country or a district in which the restrictions are strongest, the content of the non-aqueous oil is required to be less than 5 mg/L.
As the conventional oil-water separation method, for example, the following methods are known: separation by using a flocculant; adhering and separation; centrifugation; pressure floatation separation; an electrolysis floatation method; coarsely granulation and separation by using a coalescer (for example, see Patent Document 1); and separation by microbial degradation.
In a case of a separation method using a flocculant, there is a problem in that expenses are continuously required, and treatment of filtered aggutinates also takes much labor and cost. A case by a machine such as a centrifuge and a case by pressure floatation separation may be effective for treating a large amount or for large-size utilities. However, the above cases have a problem in that it is difficult to be provided in a limited space. In the electrolysis floatation method, there is a problem in that complex control, for example, changing an applied power in accordance with electrical conductivity and the treated amount of a treatment liquid is required for stably performing oil-water separation. In the coalescer method, a filter having a network structure of ultrafine fiber is used. Thus, there is a problem in that clogging normally occurs in maintenance management. In a separation method using a microorganism, there is a problem in that it takes time, and maintenance is serious.
Water treatment by using a separation membrane which uses a porous film is performed in the related art. As oil-water separation, a reverse osmosis method, an ultrafiltration method, a precise filtration method (for example, see Patent Document 2), and the like are also known.
However, because oil and water is separated by using a hole diameter of the separation membrane in the reverse osmosis method, the ultrafiltration method, and the precise filtration method, there is a problem in that a membrane permeation flux is small. Further, in the process of performing water treatment, a separation target substance such as oil, which is provided in raw water adheres to the separation membrane, and thus fouling (clogging) occurs. A problem in that it is necessary that physical washing such as back pressure washing and air scrubbing is periodically performed occurs due to the fouling. Thus, improvement of difficulty in adhering oil (antifouling properties) or easiness of removing adhered oil (easy washing properties) is desired for the separation membrane using a porous film, in order to continuously use the separation membrane for a long term.
Various technologies are opened to the public for improving anti-fouling properties (clogging prevention properties). For example, a non-adhesiveness and hydrophilic hollow-fiber porous film is known. The non-adhesiveness and hydrophilic hollow-fiber porous film is formed from copolymer of polyolefin or olefin and halogenated olefin or polyvinylidene fluoride. In the non-adhesiveness and hydrophilic hollow-fiber porous film, a lateral chain including a neutral hydroxyl group is grafted to the surface of a pore in a hollow-fiber porous film, and a neutral hydroxyl group is provided. A hydrophilic fluorine finely-porous film and a water treatment method using the film are known. The hydrophilic fluorine finely-porous film is formed from fluoropolymer subjected to ozone treatment. Further, a polysulfone hollow-fiber membrane formed by polysulfone and blend of a polyvinyl acetal resin and a hydrophilic polymeric substance is known. Further, a method of applying a surfactant to a porous film which contains a polyvinylidene fluoride resin is known. The surfactant has a polyoxyalkylene structure, a fatty acid ester structure, and a hydroxyl group. A method (for example, see Patent Document 3) of performing hydrophilization treatment on a polyethersulfone porous film is known. In the hydrophilization treatment, discharging treatment is performed under vacuum while a gas mixture including a hexafluoropropylene gas and an oxygen gas flows.
However, even with the well-known technologies as described above, improvement of the anti-fouling properties may be insufficient. In a case where the above technology is used in, for example, oil-water separation, there is a problem in that oil easily adheres to a film surface, and this is the cause of decreasing a flow rate.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Filter medium, method for producing filter medium, water treatment module, and water treatment device

Mitsubishi Materials Electronic Chemicals Co., Ltd.


A mobile device includes a receiver receiving a radio wave from a wireless communication device, a transmitter transmitting an authentication signal when the radio wave that is received requests transmission of the authentication signal, a vibration detector detecting whether there is vibration, and an operation controller bringing the mobile device into a communication enabled state where the receiver and the transmitter are in operation when the vibration is detected, and bringing the mobile device into a communication disabled state where at least one of the receiver and the transmitter is stopped when the vibration is not detected. When the radio wave is received in the communication enabled state, the operation controller brings the mobile device into a communication enabled continuous state where the receiver and the transmitter are in operation even if the vibration is no longer detected.

There has been developed and now widely applied a technique called passive entry, which relates to automatic unlocking through determination of whether to unlock a door when a vehicle detects an approaching person, in order to skip troublesome work of taking out a key every time the door of the vehicle needs to be unlocked.

Mobile device and method of controlling mobile device


Oriented films are prepared. A thermoplastic vulcanizate, prepared by mixing at least 20 wt % of a thermoset rubber by weight of the total composition into a thermoplastic polymer are disclosed. After the mixture is prepared the thermoset rubber is entrained as discrete particles within the continuous thermoplastic polymer phase. The resulting composite is subjected to a stress either by pulling, blow molding, or any other film-forming process as is known in the art. This stress causes the continuous phase polymer molecules to become aligned or oriented in the direction in which the stress was applied, thus creating the oriented thermoplastic vulcanizate of the invention. This material has improved gas permeability and improved flexibility properties.

Materials that have low gas permeability coupled with high flexibility have numerous uses in industry. Automotive rubbers such as tires and hoses benefit from such materials because they decrease weight, while many non-automotive uses benefit from low gas permeability irrespective of weight improvement.
One of the main improvements sought by automobile companies is reduced fuel consumption. One way to accomplish this is to reduce vehicle weight, which translates into reducing the weight of vehicle components, i.e. using less material. For example, pneumatic tires contain an inner liner that seals air inside the tire. The inner liner is usually made out of butyl or halogenated butyl rubber. To use this material, the tire manufacturer must sandwich and additional rubber layer with low hysteresis loss between the inner liner and the tire itself. As a result using butyl rubber as an inner liner results in a weight penalty from the inner liner and from the additional layer. Therefore, an appropriate butyl rubber replacement for tire inner liners potentially provides a two-faceted weight improvement. First, the additional rubber layer may be dispensed with. Second, to the extent that the substitute inner liner weighs less than the butyl-based inner liner further weight reduction is achieved, as when the replacement liners have a gas permeability that is lower than butyl liners. Lower gas permeability allows similar gas containment while using a thinner liner thereby reducing weight. Similarly, lower permeability materials result in weight savings for hoses as well. Additionally, when more gas tight hoses are used on closed systems, both automotive and non-automotive, the systems require less maintenance. This is especially important for refrigeration systems, such as air conditioners, that contain ozone-layer-destroying gases. Material with low gas permeability benefits a variety of uses.
Usually, materials with lower gas permeability do not have sufficient flexibility to reliably adhere to tire carcasses or rubber hoses. Plastics usually have lower gas permeability than rubbers, but much less flexibility. This stiffness causes the plastic liner to be unable to track the underlying substrate's expansion and contraction due to temperature changes resulting in a failure of the substrate-liner bond or the liner itself. EP 0 857 761 A1 discusses a variety of attempts at using plastic-base materials as tire inner liners. U.S. Pat. No. 5,910,544 discusses the problem for rubber hoses, as well. The unifying factor in the prior art solutions is the use of a low-permeability resin or thermoplastic. For instance, instead of using a butyl liner for a tire, JP06040207 (filed Jul. 24, 1992) discloses a film comprising polyvinylidene chloride.
The disclosures in EP 0 857 761 A1 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,910,544 outline partial solutions to the problem. These disclosures teach a thermoplastic vulcanizate that satisfies low-permeability demands, by using traditional thermoplastics, and that satisfies durability-driven flexibility demands, by using entrained thermoset rubbers. But improvements in permeability/flexibility parameters have not been exhausted. Lower-permeability-higher-flexibility materials are still needed.


Tissue fixation devices are provided. The devices include a first component and a second component, the components having different rates of in vivo degradation. The first component and second component are arranged so that, upon degradation of one of the components, the other component provides a scaffold into which bone can grow.

The development of materials for tissue fixation devices has proceeded rapidly in recent years. The use of biodegradable polymers in such devices has provided surgeons with a safe alternative to metallic implants, potentially reducing adverse tissue response and eliminating the presence of a permanent tissue defect or the need to surgically remove the implant.
Ideally, biodegradable tissue fixation devices should provide long-term repair strength, complete healing of the defect site, and controlled resorption of the device by the body. Biodegradable tissue fixation devices should have sufficient mechanical strength to withstand loads encountered during the healing process, while also providing an open "scaffold" structure that allows full bone ingrowth and remodeling.
Thermally-induced phase separation of polymer solutions and blends has been used to form porous biodegradable scaffolds for tissue engineering (see, e.g., J Biomed Mater Res, 47:8-17, 1999 and J Biomed Mater Res 60:20-29, 2002.) For example, polymeric scaffolds may be formed by heat treating a blend of soluble and insoluble polymers to increase phase separation, and then dissolving the soluble polymer to leave a porous scaffold of the insoluble polymer. These scaffolds are formed prior to implantation, i.e., the scaffold is porous when it is implanted into a patient.
Porous ceramic materials, e.g., porous calcium phosphate ceramics, have been used as bone graft substitutes. While these materials may promote bone cell attachment and infiltration, they are typically brittle, and thus may not possess the mechanical strength needed for use in tissue fixation devices.


A semiconductor device may include a linear gate trench that crosses an active region of a substrate of the semiconductor device. The active region may include a plurality of gate areas at a bottom of the gate trench and junction areas at a surface of the substrate in a central portion and opposite end portions of the active region. A conductive line may be in a lower portion of the gate trench. The conductive line may include a gate line and a capping layer that at least partially isolates the gate line from an upper surface of the conductive line. A sealing line may be in an upper portion of the gate trench. The sealing line may cover the conductive line and a surface of the sealing line may be coplanar with the junction areas.

1. Field
Example embodiments relate to semiconductor devices and methods of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to buried channel array transistors (BCAT) and methods of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
As designs of manufactured semiconductor devices have been downsized and more highly-integrated over time, the pattern width associated with semiconductor devices has been reduced and the channel length has been shortened associated with semiconductor devices in cell transistors included in the semiconductor devices. In some cases, a difficulty associated with manufacturing semiconductor devices configured to obtain a sufficient refresh time of memory devices has increased due to a short channel effect that may result from reduced pattern width and channel length associated with the semiconductor devices.
A recess channel array transistor (RCAT) has been introduced for obtaining a sufficient effective channel length. In some example embodiments, the RCAT frequently fails by a high gate-induced drain leakage (GIDL). A buried channel array transistor (BCAT) has been proposed in such a way that the surface of the gate electrode is positioned below the surface of the silicon substrate to thereby reduce and/or minimize the GIDL of the RCAT.
In some example embodiments, the word lines of the BCAT tend to be arranged in a 6 F2 (F: minimum feature size) layout and the pitch of the word lines can be reduced to about 0.5 F, the occupation area of each cell transistor can be remarkably reduced using this arrangement. Accordingly, both of the effective channel length and the chip size can be reduced in memory devices by using the BCAT.

Semiconductor devices and methods of manufacturing the same


A carton squaring mechanism in a carrier for effectuating and maintaining a four-sided side-seamed open-topped carton in a squared configuration. The carrier includes a plurality of compartments, wherein adjacent compartments are separated by a pair of spaced-apart, laterally oriented, parallel fixed guides, a first off-center guide secured to one side of the carrier so as to be positioned closely adjacent to one of one pair of parallel guides and perpendicular to the planes of the latter. Each of the fixed guides has downwardly converging lower edges formed thereon for piloting the carton into the compartment. Each carton is first squared by engagement with oppositely disposed side rails, and then maintained square by the above referenced guides.

While carton opening or erecting devices are well known for use on carton carriers, and some of these include devices for squaring and retaining cartons thereon, none are known to disclose thin longitudinal guides located in predetermined positions on four sides thereof and which serve to square an already opened carton while it is being lifted, as from one conveyor to a second conveyor.
Adams U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,236 discloses leading and trailing carton transport lugs on a conveyor chain, wherein the leading lug extends across the width of one side of an open-ended carton lying on a second side, at the center thereof. The leading lug is inclined approximately 5.degree. rearwardly so as to engage the upper corner of the side to force the carton into a square attitude from a tendency toward a rhombic cross-sectional shape with the upper corner leading forward.
Taddei U.S. Pat. No. 3,888,164 discloses a conveying apparatus including two retaining members on separate chains serving to engage opposite sides of each container at opposite edges thereof after being removed from a magazine in a flat attitude by a suction cup.


This invention relates to a cab support structure for construction machine. The cab support structure has a rear beam and a front beam, which support front and rear part of cab, and a center beam located and welded between inner and outer frames of the machine. A stopper located at the corner of center beam side of the junction of rear beam and outer frame is formed box shape. The stopper has an L-shaped plate welded to the rear beam and the outer frame, and a doubling L-shaped plate welded to the L-shaped plate, rear beam, and outer frame.

In a cab for a construction machine such as a hydraulic shovel as a representative example, for example, front and rear parts of a bottom part are supported on beams of a machine body frame via a plurality of anti-vibration mounts (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2012-82595 (JP '595), for example).
When the cab has a roll-over protective structure (ROPS), the cab includes a roll-over restriction device that is provided between the cab and the machine body frame to protect an operator in the cab by restricting deformation of the cab, by restricting displacement of the machine body frame at the time of roll over of the machine body and the like.
A representative example of the roll-over restriction device (see JP '595, for example) is configured such that stopper bolts are joined from sides of beams of the machine body frame which are fitted with the anti-vibration mounts, to the bottom part of the cab. A gap is provided between the head part of the other ends of the stopper bolts and the stopper units provided on the beams. Displacement of the cab from the machine body frame is restricted by this gap.

Cab support structure of construction machine


Biocompatible biomimetic materials that exhibit desirable mechanical properties while also encouraging cell ingrowth and proliferation are described. The biomaterials include a multi-layer laminate of three or more decellularized aligned collagen tissues. The individual layers are aligned with one another in an angle-ply arrangement, with the collagen of each layer aligned at an angle to the collagen of the adjacent layer. The biomaterials are useful as collagenous graft materials such as a patch for a hernia in an annulus fibrosus or grafting materials for repair of tendons, ligaments, cartilage and other musculoskeletal tissues.

Annually, over 5.7 million Americans are diagnosed with intervertebral disc disorders. As shown in FIG. 1, an intervertebral disc 12 includes the nucleus pulposus 10 surrounded by the annulus fibrosus 16. A disc 12 forms a cushion between adjacent vertebrae 14 and supports compressive loads during activities of daily living. Intervertebral disc disorders include intervertebral herniation (a mechanical disruption of the annulus fibrosus) and degeneration (which initiates within the nucleus pulposus). These pathologies can lead to a loss in disc height, impaired mechanical function, and long-term pain and disability.
Current therapies for both intervertebral disc degeneration and herniation are palliative and often only delay invasive surgical management in the form of discectomy, spinal fusion or total disc replacement. While these procedures may temporarily relieve pain, they do not attempt to replace, restore or regenerate damaged tissue with healthy biological tissue. Moreover, surgical approaches can provide long term solution to particular problems, but there are concerns with the use of surgical methodologies that may promote re-herniation, altered spinal biomechanics, and accelerated degeneration in adjacent discs.
The annulus fibrosus is an oriented lamellar structure with unique properties that are not easily matched. The unique hierarchical structure provides the mechanical strength necessary for physiologically function. Mechanically, the annulus fibrosus is highly anisotropic, heterogeneous, and nonlinear and serves the dual mechanical roles of restraining nucleus pulposus intradiscal pressure and connecting adjacent vertebrae. Various suturing techniques, adhesives, and natural and synthetic biomaterials have been developed in an attempt to provide materials and methods for functional repair of annulus fibrosus herniation and/or degeneration. While some of these approaches have demonstrated an amount of success toward cell adhesion, proliferation, and extra cellular matrix (ECM) production, none have illustrated comparable structural and mechanical characteristics of the native annulus fibrosus concomitant with the ability to support tissue regeneration. For instance, simply suturing herniation in annulus fibrosus tissue does not adequately fill the voids left by the original tissue damage, bioadhesives have not proven strong enough to adequately withstand the mechanical environment of the annulus fibrosus, occlusive mesh implants have likewise not met the necessary mechanical strength standards, and materials that can provide high mechanical strength, such as certain electrospun materials, are not cost effective and present serious scalability issues. In particular, no biomaterial has been developed that can effectively mimic the angle-ply collagen architecture and mechanical properties of the native annulus fibrosus while supporting natural cell ingrowth and proliferation.
What is needed in the art is a biomimetic biomaterial that can be utilized in intervertebral disc herniation or degeneration repair, among other applications, that can provide both structural characteristics to provide high functionality and cellular compatibility to encourage development of healthy tissue in the implant area. Furthermore, it would be beneficial to devise a simple, scalable process by which to manufacture the biomimetic biomaterial.

Multi-layered biomimetic material and method of formation


There is disclosed herein an improved needle assembly or fistula set which includes a hollow metal needle, a larger plastic fluid-carrying conduit, and plastic spacers between the needle and the conduit. The conduit and spacers are heat sealed to each other so as to provide a fluid-tight junction with the needle.. A method for heat sealing the fistula set is also disclosed. In that method, the needle is used as one electrode and the other electrode includes jaw-like members which engage and surround the conduit at the junction where the heat seal is to be formed. During the heat sealing operation, the conduit and needle are maintained in substantial coaxial alignment so as to assure coaxial alignment thereafter.. A fixture or tooling apparatus is also disclosed for effecting heat sealing and assuring substantial coaxial alignment.

This invention relates to a medical apparatus, and more particularly, to a needle assembly for conducting biological fluids to and from a patient.
In medically treating a patient, it is sometimes necessary (1) to introduce fluids, such as intravenous solutions, blood, etc., into the patient's body, or (2) to remove fluids from the patient. This may be accomplished by employing a needle assembly which is sometimes referred to as a fistula set. Such assemblies include a hollow metal needle for insertion into a vein or artery and an appropriate conduit connected to the other end of the needle through which the fluid can flow to or from the patient.
The needle is made from small diameter hollow stainless steel tubing, one end of which has been ground to provide a beveled edge for insertion into a vein or artery. The conduit is normally a larger tube made of medical grade polyvinylchloride which has an inside diameter substantially larger than the outside diameter of the steel tubing.
The conduit must be sealed to the needle so as to avoid any leakage of fluid at that junction. One method for sealing such needle assemblies has been to employ spacer members which are solvent sealed to each other and to the conduit using cyclohexanone. In one particular assembly, a thin layer of adhesive is bonded to the periphery of the needle at the butt end (i.e., the end opposite the beveled end) and then a vinyl sleeve is shrink-fitted about the adhesive. The adhesive bonds to the steel tube and provides a roughened surface for establishing a mechanical bond between the sleeve and the adhesive. A spacer or collar is then fitted about the sleeve. The collar has an outside diameter normally sufficient to engage the inside diameter of the conduit. The sleeve, collar and conduit have been solvent sealed to one another so as to provide a leak-free junction.
It has been found to be desirable to provide a more reliable junction between the needle and conduit than has been available by solvent sealing, but without changing the physical structure of the fistula set.
In addition to solvent sealing, there exists other sealing techniques, such as mechanical or radio frequency (RF) heat sealing. Mechanical sealing would require application of a binding member about the outside diameter of the conduit so as to mechanically hold the conduit, spacer, sleeve and needle together and was felt to be undesirable from a manufacturing point of view. RF heat sealing of plastic conduits is known and normally requires the use of (1) a removable solid brass or other highly electrically conductive metal mandrel as one electrode which is inserted into the conduit and (2) an external electrode applied around the outside of the conduit. Due to the small inside diameter of the needle, it was known that such a mandrel would be difficult to insert for heat sealing purposes. Furthermore, due to the hollow shape of the needle and that it was made of stainless steel rather than brass, it was not believed that RF heat sealing of the junction could be effected reliably in an isolated location using the needle as a mandrel.
It is therefore another object of this invention to provide an appropriate method for sealing the needle assembly.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description and appended claims.

Method for rebonding tubing elements used in needle assemblies


A system implementing a method for generating code for execution based on a SIMT model with parallel units of threads is provided. The system identifies a loop within a program that includes vector processing. The system generates instructions for a thread that include an instruction to set a predicate based on whether the thread of a parallel unit corresponds to a vector element. The system also generates instructions to perform the vector processing via scalar operations predicated on the predicate. As a result, the system generates instructions to perform the vector processing but to avoid branch divergence within the parallel unit of threads that would be needed to check whether a thread corresponds to a vector element.

Early graphic processing units ("GPUs") had dedicated execution units for various 3D graphic functions of a graphics pipeline. These graphics functions include a vertex shader, a geometry shader, and a pixel shader. Over time, the dedicated execution units were replaced with general-purpose execution units that could be programmed to perform each of these graphic functions. To increase performance, the GPUs employed a single-instruction multiple data ("SIMD") or vector model. A SIMD model allows a single issued instruction to operate on multiple elements of a vector. Thus, a GPU that employed a SIMD model could efficiently process large vectors. This efficiency, however, can be adversely affected by "branch divergence." Branch divergence occurs when elements of a vector are processed differently based on a condition being satisfied. When elements are processed differently, a single instruction cannot be issued for the entire vector. Rather, instructions need to be issued to process different portions of the vector and even a separate instruction needs to be issued for each element effectively reducing the processing to scalar processing.
The NVIDIA TESLA GPU architecture employs a single-instruction multiple thread ("SIMT") model to increase parallelism and reduce the adverse affects of branch divergence. One version of the Tesla GPU has 14 streaming multiprocessors ("SMs"). FIG. 1 is a block diagram that illustrates a streaming multiprocessor. Each SM 100 has 8 streaming processors ("SPs") 101. Each SP includes an SP core with scalar integer and floating point arithmetic units. Each SP core is pipelined and multithreaded. An SP core executes an instruction of a thread per thread clock. The SM issues the same instruction to each of the SPs, and each SP executes that instruction as part of four separate threads. Thus, the Tesla GPU effectively has 32 threads that are executed as a parallel unit, referred to as a warp. Each SM supports 24 warps simultaneously. Thus, the Tesla GPU supports over 10,000 threads simultaneously. Each of the 32 threads of a parallel unit has its own instruction pointer and state and operates on its own data. If all 32 threads take the same path of execution, they all continue in lockstep until complete. However, if the paths diverge, then some of the threads will become inactive while the remaining threads continue to execute. At some point, the inactive threads will become active to continue their execution, and the remaining threads will become inactive. As a result, branch divergence can significantly reduce the parallelism with a GPU that employs a SIMT model with parallel units of threads.
To increase performance, many computer architectures employ predicated instructions to help reduce the effects of branches in an instruction pipeline. For example, with an if-then-else statement, the then-instructions (i.e., instruction implementing the then-portion) are to be executed only when the condition is true and the else-instructions are to be executed only when the condition is false. With a conventional architecture, the condition would need to be fully evaluated before the then-instructions or the else-instructions could be issued to the instruction pipeline. In such a case, the instruction pipeline may be completely empty when the condition is finally evaluated. When a program has many branches, the benefits of overlapped execution of the instruction pipeline are greatly reduced because of the need to wait until the condition is evaluated to determine whether the then-instructions or the else-instructions should be issued. Predicated instructions are issued but their results are not committed until and unless their predicate (e.g., condition) is true. With an if-then-else statement, the predicate is the condition. After the instructions to set the predicate are issued, the then-instructions can be immediately issued predicated on the predicate being true, and the else-instruction can also be immediately issued predicated on the predicate being false. Once the predicate is eventually set, then either the then-instructions or the else-instructions whose execution may be mostly complete can be committed depending on whether the predicate was set to true or false. In this way, the instruction pipeline can remain full albeit issuing some instructions that will never be committed. The NVIDIA TESLA GPU architecture supports predicated instructions.
The Tesla GPU architecture is designed to support not only graphics processing but also general purpose computing. Unfortunately, programs written in a high-level language (e.g., C++) may perform poorly on the Tesla GPU. This poor performance may be due to the inability of a compiler to generate code that is fully optimized to the SIMT model. In addition, even if a program is written in a low-level language (e.g., Nvidia's PTX), when branch divergence occurs within the threads of a warp, the program can still perform poorly. It would be desirable to have an automated way to translate a program written in a high-level language to a program in a low-level language that reduces the negative effects of branch divergence within a SIMT model with parallel units of threads.

Mapping vector representations onto a predicated scalar multi-threaded system


A physics simulation engine simulates the motion of one or more particles that represent virtual objects in a virtual graphics scene. Each particle is assigned to a level in a particle hierarchy that has at least two levels. The physics simulation engine collapses constraints associated with particles assigned to a first level of the particle hierarchy to generate hierarchical constraints associated with particles assigned to the second level of the particle hierarchy. The physics simulation engine updates the position of each particle assigned to the second level of the particle hierarchy by enforcing constraints associated with the particle. The physics simulation engine then updates the position of each particle assigned to the first level of the particle hierarchy based on the positions of the particles assigned to the second level of the particle hierarchy.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention relate generally to physics simulations and more specifically to hierarchical position-based dynamics.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional computer graphics (CG) engines are capable of generating highly realistic images representing real-world or imaginary scenes. These images are typically composed of a plurality of different particles. A collection of such particles can be used to represent different objects in the virtual graphics scene, including rocks, trees, cloth, water, and people, among others. Some CG engines perform physical simulations of the motion of the particles in the virtual graphics scene, thus simulating the motion of the objects represented by those particles. The physical simulations typically apply equations of motion to each particle to predict the position of the particle at a particular time step in the physical simulation. A wide variety of techniques are available for applying equations of motion to particles in the virtual graphics scene. One commonly-used technique is known as the "explicit Euler" technique.
In conventional systems, the explicit Euler technique can be used to predict the position of each particle in the virtual graphics scene by integrating a set of forces acting on the particle to generate one or more velocity components for the particle. The velocity components are then integrated to generate a position prediction for the particle. One problem with the explicit Euler technique is that each integral is approximated; thus, the position of the particle may not always be predicted with a high degree of accuracy, especially for larger time steps. Approximation errors can accumulate over multiple time steps, potentially causing the simulation to diverge, which may result in a numerical explosion.
One solution to the problems with the explicit Euler technique is to correct the generated position predictions based on a set of constraint equations associated with each particle. A constraint equation restricts the position of a particle and typically takes the form of an equality or of an inequality. For example, an equality constraint equation C1 that restricts the height HP, of a particle Pj to zero in a virtual graphics scene would be C1(Pj)=HPj=0. In another example, an inequality constraint equation C2 that restricts the distance between particles Pj and Pk to be less than a distance D would be C2(Pj,Pk)=|Pj−Pk|−D<0. The constraint equations for each particle can be solved to generate a position correction that, when applied to the position predictions generated by the explicit Euler technique, results in a corrected position prediction. Many techniques for solving constraint equations are known in the art.
For example, some physical simulations employ a Gauss-Seidel solver to solve the constraint equations for each particle. However, Gauss-Seidel solvers suffer from certain drawbacks. The main drawback is that each constraint is solved separately from all other constraints. This causes error corrections to propagate slowly through the particles and the solver to converge slowly to the correct solution. If the number of solver iterations is limited by a time budget, as is the case in computer games, the result computed by a Gauss-Seidel may diverge significantly from the true solution. In the case of a cloth simulation, this causes visual stretchiness.
There are methods that solve for all constraints simultaneously. Examples are the Conjugate Gradients method and the multi-grid method. For these methods to work, the constraints have to be linearized, which may be time consuming. In addition, the linearization can introduce stability problems because it replaces the true constraint functions by approximations which are only valid in a certain region.
As the foregoing illustrates, there remains a need in the art for a more effective way to simulate the motion of particles in a virtual graphics scene.


The present invention relates to ZrO.sub.2 -MgO-Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 -SiO.sub.2 ceramic materials having improved thermal stability and corrosion resistant properties. The utilization of these ceramic materials as heat exchangers for gas turbine engines is also disclosed.

The present invention relates to high temperature, low expansion, corrosion resistant ceramic materials and, more particularly, to the use of these materials for heat exchangers in gas turbine engines. The present invention finds specific utility in the discovery that a ceramic material containing ZrO.sub.2, MgO, Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 and SiO.sub.2 as the major ingredients can be formed into a low cost, high temperature, low expansion, corrosion resistant ceramic heat exchanger suitable for use in a gas turbine engine over a wide range of high temperatures, for example as high as about 1200.degree. C.
It has previously been recognized that the continuous combustion engine (i.e., gas turbine and Sterling Cycle) offers a substantial improvement in fuel efficiency in comparison with conventional reciprocating engines. A principal problem associated with the development of the continuous cycle engine is the manufacture of a low cost heat exchanger which can also withstand the high temperature and corrosive environment present during the operation of the engine. In a typical engine application there will be one (Sterling engine) or two (gas turbine engine) wheels ranging from 20-30 inches in diameter and 3-4 inches thick rotating at about 30 rpm through a hub or ring gear mounting and drive system. During the expected operating lifetime of an automobile engine, the wheel will make over 100 million revolutions and, therefore, the heat exchanger is exposed to that many thermal shock cycles. To best withstand these thermal shock cycles, the heat exchanger must be made of a very low thermal expansion material in a form that provides a large surface area to volume ratio. Honeycomb or similar type structures where the walls are typically about 3-8 mils thick and contain from 500-1000 openings/in.sup.2 are suitable and meet these requirements.
In addition to low thermal expansion characteristics, the heat exchanger material must have excellent chemical and thermal stability. In previous work, extreme changes in the shape of the heat exchanger and, therefore, loss of its efficiency because of air leakage have occurred due to chemical changes as well as thermally induced effects in the exchanger material. The chemical changes were more severe and caused by sulfur (present in the exhaust gas) and salt (present in the incoming air).
Taking all of the above factors into account and, additionally, considering the economic problems involved have led to the selection of ceramic materials for use as the heat exchanger material. Previous work in the development of ceramic heat exchangers led to the discovery of Cordierite (Mg.sub.2 -Al.sub.4 Si.sub.5 O.sub.18) materials. These materials perform suitably in the 800.degree.-1000.degree. C. temperature range with a thermal expansion characteristic of 2.1.times.10.sup.6 /.degree.C. in that temperature range. However, there are associated with these materials recognized problems with salt corrosion and/or thermal stability. It remains as a problem in the art to develop a ceramic material which will perform satisfactorily at significantly higher tempertures (e.g., 1100.degree.-1200.degree. C.) with substantially no thermal stability or corrosion resistance problems.
As evidenced by U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,624,556; 2,937,213; 2,633,622; 2,633,623; and 3,565,645; ZrO.sub.2 -MgO-Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 -SiO.sub.2 ceramics have been used as heat exchange materials. However, none of these patents recognize that specific ZrO.sub.2 -MgO-Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 -SiO.sub.2 ceramics possess unexpectedly superior thermal expansion and corrosion resistant properties which allow them to be used in high temperature (e.g. 1200.degree. C.), high corrosive environments such as those present in gas turbine engines.

High temperature, low expansion, corrosion resistant ceramic and gas turbine

The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy


A method and an apparatus for recognizing voice in a portable terminal, and more particularly, a method and an apparatus for recognizing voice by re-combining commands in a portable terminal is provided. The method of controlling an application in a portable terminal includes displaying a voice control application, extracting keywords in a unit of a command from a received voice when receiving the voice, and classifying the keywords, rearranging the classified keywords according to a set control order, and generating a final command, and executing a function by processing the final command.

Together with development of digital technology, various functions of a portable terminal have been recently developed. The portable terminal may include a call function, such as a voice call and a video call, a message transceiving function, such as Short Message Service (SMS)/Multimedia Message Service (MMS), and an email function, a navigation function, a photographing function, a broadcasting playing function, a media (video and music) playing function, an Internet function, a messenger function, a Social Network Service (SNS) function, and the like.
Particularly, the current portable terminal may adopt a method using a voice input, as well as a method using a key input or a touch input, in performing the above enumerated various functions. An input method through the voice recognition of the portable terminal will be described. A basic command may be comparatively simply processed because a command having a meaning corresponding to a voice is searched by using an internal database. However, when the portable terminal processes a complicated command in the form of speech, the portable terminal processes a request of the user through communication with a voice recognition server. Accordingly, in order for the portable terminal to process the input voice by using the internal database, the command needs to have about one word, which is very simple. Otherwise, when the portable terminal processes a more complicated command, the portable terminal processes the input voice through an external server, so that a processing rate is decreased. Accordingly, the current voice recognition method in the portable terminal demands a new method for solving the problem of limitations in commands searchable within the terminal and a delay in the processing rate.
Accordingly, a method and an apparatus for recognizing a complex voice command of a user by using embedded voice recognition data is desired.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure.

Method and apparatus for recognizing voice in portable device


A character recognition device may include an image sensor to acquire image and a data processor configured to segment a character string from the image data. The data processor may be configured to detect positions to segment the characters; set an area to detect a position for segmenting characters; create a first projection of pixel values arranged in the character arrangement direction along which characters are arranged and a second projection of pixel values arranged in an orthogonal to said character arrangement direction; calculate a synthetic threshold value of a first threshold, acquired by applying a discriminant analysis method on said first, X-axis projection, and a second threshold, acquired by applying said discriminant analysis method on said second, Y-axis projection, and take it as a binary threshold for said setting area; and acquire character segmenting positions based on said binary threshold.

Various methods and devices are proposed to implement character recognition using a multi-valued digital image; in general, a binary image is a recognition object in character recognition device; a multi-valued image needs to be binarized for input. A recognition performance of the character recognition device is determined by how precisely characters, which are recognition objects, are separated from a background which is a non-recognition-object. Therefore, as a method for determining a binary threshold to binarize a multi-valued image, a character recognition device using a discriminant analysis method has been proposed/presented, for example (Patent reference 1, for example).

Character segmentation device, character recognition device and character segmentation method


A system for distributing print jobs received from a print image data source among a set of print engines and associated image processors of the type having an input data bus; a scheduler coupled to said input data bus for receiving encoded data from a print image data source; a set of image processors and associated print engines each coupled to one another by a print engine data bus; and a distributed network bidirectional data bus having initiator and target identification capabilities coupled to the scheduler and to each image processor in parallel arrangement. The system employs the improved method comprising the steps of transferring the encoded data received in said scheduler to one of said image processors that is not currently processing received encoded data; processing the encoded data in said transferee image processor to develop a set of print engine operating data files representing print images and pages comprising a complete print job, together with data indicating the number of copies of each such image or page to be printed and the medium on which it is to be printed; identifying print engines that are free and capable of printing images or pages of the print order; and distributing the print engine operating data files on the distributed network bidirectional data bus to the free print engines through their respective image processors until all images or pages of the print order are printed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an architecture for a high volume printing system employing a number of print engines and the distribution of print jobs therebetween.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years efforts have been made to enhance the speed, quality and versatility of printing text and other images, in black and white or in color, to match the capabilities of source image generators. The enhanced speed and other capabilities of source image generators, including mainframe computers, personal computers, computer workstations and CAD/CAM systems, document scanners, facsimile transmitters and receivers, high throughput copiers, and other more specialized graphic image processing and printing for forming composite color images from source images, e.g. the Kodak Premier Image Enhancement System available from Eastman Kodak Co., and for reproducing still photographic quality prints of video image frames, e.g. the Kodak SU6500 Color Video Printer available from Eastman Kodak Co., place ever increasing demands on "print engines" which print the images generated by these source image generators. Such print engines include laser beam printers, light emitting diode printers, liquid crystal shutter printers, ink jet printers and thermal printers.
Thermal dye transfer printers capable of printing high quality color images, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,710,783 incorporated herein by reference, have recently been developed and employed in systems which include the above-listed source image generators. The source image generators are coupled to the print engine or engines through source image signal processors which provide an encoded data set through a data bus to a print engine controller of the type shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 of the '783 patent. Further image signal processors are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No(s). 4,941,108 and 4,999,654 where the source image from a host system is processed under the control of software operating a central processing unit to provide rasterized lines of digitized video data for each image field or page through a laser beam printer/video interface to a print engine.
Usually print engines are coupled to one or more source image generators, e.g. two or more personal computers, a local area network for a set of personal computers, or to a combined document scanner and facsimile machine, as shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,947,345. In such systems, it is necessary to provide a queue management software process for prioritizing the printing of specific types of print jobs and to provide two-way communications between the print engine, the job SCHEDULER and the source image generator. In a simple FIFO queue management system each print job is assigned by the SCHEDULER to the print engine in the order received from the network bus and the print engine indicates when it is ready to commence and has completed printing a print job. In certain systems it is desireable to prioritize certain types of orders, e.g., facsimile over copying as per the '345 patent.
In certain, high volume printing systems, it has become necessary to couple more than one print engine to one or more source image generator through a single SCHEDULER and an image processor associated with each print engine to distribute print jobs in the FIFO basis among available print engines that are capable of printing the specific job (i.e., are loaded with the appropriate size medium, are capable of color printing, etc.).
This architecture includes a connection to the source image generator by an incoming data bus BUS1. Data files pass through BUS1 to a SCHEDULER computer, which interrogates data files received through BUS1 to determine if any print engine PEm is capable of printing the data file. If a print engine PEm is capable of printing the file and an image processor, IPl-IPn, is available, the data is passed through a network bus BUS2 to the appropriate image processor, IPm. The image processor, IPm, applies one or more computer algorithms to the data file creating the rasterized image to be printed by the print engine, PEm. The print engine, PEm, will print one or more copies of the image as requested with the data file. The system throughput, measured in copies per hour, depends upon maximizing the probability of rasterized images being available and ready for printing by the print engines, PEl-PEn.
The connection of a single image processor, IPm, to a single print engine, PEm, through the interconnect bus, BUSpm, prevents multiple copies of an image to be printed by other available print engines, PEl-PEn. The image processor, IPm, is only capable of preparing images for the print engine, PEm, until it has filled its buffers. The system performance is therefore reduced by limiting the access of an image process, IPm, to only one print engine, PEm.

Method and apparatus for distributing print jobs among a network of image processors and print engines


Some embodiments include apparatus and methods having a first node to receive a supply voltage, a second node to receive a first bias voltage, a third node to receive ground potential, a first circuit branch coupled between the first and second nodes, and a second circuit branch coupled between the first and third nodes. The first bias voltage is provided to a gate of a first transistor among a plurality of transistors coupled in series. The first and second circuit branches are arranged to provide a second bias voltage to gate of a second transistor among the plurality of transistors. The value of the second bias voltage is based on a value of the first bias voltage.

I/O circuits (e.g., I/O buffers) are included components (e.g., transceivers) of many electronic devices or systems, such as computers, tablets, cellular phones, and memory cards. Many conventional I/O circuits operate at a relatively high voltage using low voltage devices (e.g., transistors), for example a 3.3V IO using 1.8V devices. In such conventional I/O circuits, a reference voltage is often used in order to protect the low voltage devices from voltage stress that may cause lifetime degradation. Although the device reliability issues are addressed, such conventional I/O circuits may suffer from one or more other issues, as described in detail below.

Biasing scheme for high voltage circuits using low voltage devices


An instrument for harvesting an iliac bone graft comprises an elongate handle having a proximal gripping portion terminating in a substantially blunt striking surface, and a distal working portion including a pair of longitudinally extending, transversely spaced apart blade retaining slots. A pair of chisel-type blades are adapted for being releasably, lockably housed in the slots. The blades are retained in the slots by set screws, and by overhanging lips which engage the blades when fully inserted in the slots. An instrument for inserting an iliac bone graft into a disc space comprises an elongate handle having a proximal gripping portion terminating in a substantially blunt striking surface, a distal working portion including an enlarged abutment head on its terminal end, and a slide portion disposed between the gripping portion and the working portion, the abutment head having a distal abutment surface for engaging an iliac bone graft. A retainer member is disposed on the slide portion and is slidable between the abutment head and the gripping portions. The retainer member includes a pair of retaining fingers having proximal ends mounted on the retainer member and free distal ends which extend distally beyond the abutment surface of the abutment head when the retaining member is in its distalmost position. The distal ends of the retaining fingers are spring biased toward one another. The abutment head has stop lugs disposed on side extensions for limiting the travel of the abutment head into a disc space.

The present invention relates to the field of surgical instruments, and more particularly to the field of instruments for use in spinal fusion procedures. More particularly still, the present invention relates to an extraction instrument for use in harvesting an iliac bone graft, and an insertion instrument for use in placing the graft in a spinal disc space. The instruments of the present invention have particular utility in the course of performing anterior cervical fusion procedures according to a modified Robinson technique, but may also be used in other types of procedures, for example, lumbar interbody fusions.
The human spine, vertebral column, or backbone comprises a plurality of stacked vertebrae, each vertebra consisting of a ventral body, or centrum, surmounted by a Y-shaped neural arch. Together the centrum and neural arch surround an opening, the vertebral foramen, through which the spinal cord passes. The centrums are separated by cartilaginous intervertebral discs, which help to cushion shocks to which the vertebral column is subjected. The human spine comprises seven (7) cervical or neck vertebrae, twelve (12) thoracic, five (5) lumbar, and fused sacral and caudal vertebrae.
From time to time, people may suffer from one of various diseases which affect the intervertebral discs. The discs may become inflamed, swollen, or misshapen, they may break down or deteriorate, or they may even "slip" or protrude partially out of their intervertebral housings, or disc spaces. Sometimes such disease processes are precipitated by an injury or the like. When this happens, the affected disc or discs can exert undue pressure on the spinal cord or spinal nerves extending from it, which can cause extreme pain or discomfort, restrict movement, or even disable the unfortunate victim. Sometimes the affected disc or discs cannot be effectively treated or rehabilitated, and in such cases complete removal of the disc(s) is required.
Removal of diseased or otherwise hopelessly impaired discs may be accompanied by fusion of the adjoining vertebrae with a bone graft taken from elsewhere in the body. In a fusion procedure, the bone graft is inserted in the disc space in place of the removed disc, and the vertebrae above and below the graft grow together with, or become "fused" to, the graft. The resulting fused joint is no longer freely flexible, but the pain is eliminated, the patient will still have some movement around the joint, and he can resume most of his normal life's activities.
When the cervical discs are affected, the fusion procedure is typically accomplished from the front, or anterior, of the neck. This procedure is known to those skilled in the art as an anterior cervical fusion, or an anterior interbody cervical fusion. Several different techniques have been developed for effecting an anterior cervical fusion. According to one such technique, a cylindrical or dowel-shaped graft is inserted into a matching cylindrical space which comprises the disc space and an arcuate portion on the upper and lower sides, or the roof and floor, of the disc space. This is known as a Cloward fusion. Specialized instruments have been developed for use in the Cloward procedure, for assisting in the graft harvesting and insertion steps. Such instruments have been designed, of course, to accommodate the harvesting of a round graft and the handling of that round graft in the insertion phase. Due to drawbacks in the Cloward technique, however, it has been diminishing in popularity of late. One major drawback of the Cloward fusion is that the vertebrae which bound the disc space are weakened due to the arcuate portion removed from them. This is undesirable because the weakened vertebrae are more susceptible to additional injury or damage. This weakening of the vertebrae also makes the Cloward procedure undesirable for fusing two adjacent discs, because the middle vertebra of the three affected vertebrae would have an arcuate portion removed from both its upper and lower faces.
Another prior art technique for performing cervical fusions is the Bailey-Badgley procedure. In a Bailey-Badgley fusion, the graft is shaped somewhat like a tall wedge with a rounded nose, and as is the case with the Cloward technique, the matching space comprises not only the disc space, but also some space from the roof and floor of the disc space. In the Bailey-Badgley procedure, the portions removed from the roof and floor of the disc space are not arcuate, but flat. The Bailey-Badgley fusion suffers from the same major drawbacks as the Cloward technique, in that the vertebrae which bound the disc space are weakened due to the portion removed from them. Thus, the Bailey-Badgley procedure is also undesirable for fusing two adjacent discs.
The most popular cervical fusion technique of late is that of Robinson. In the Robinson technique, an iliac bone graft is inserted into the disc space, with little or no removal of surrounding tissue to accommodate the graft, contrary to both the Cloward and Bailey-Badgley fusions referred to above. The Robinson technique thus can be used effectively to fuse two adjacent discs. In the Robinson fusion, the iliac bone graft is harvested from the edge of the ilium so that cortical bone is present on three sides of the graft. The iliac bone graft is sized and shaped according to the size and shape of the intended disc space, and inserted into the disc space with the middle cortical edge to the anterior. That results in the graft having cortical bone on all three exposed sides. In a modified form of the Robinson technique, the middle cortical edge is inserted into the disc space first, that is, in a posterior position. This tends to help the surgeon with the graft insertion step, because the leading cortical edge is relatively stiff and curved or "bullet shaped," which assists in slipping the graft past the surrounding tissue at the entrance to the intended disc space.
Although the Robinson and modified Robinson techniques have enjoyed much success of late, there are several major drawbacks with the instruments commonly used in performing these procedures which detract from this success. In the graft harvesting phase, quite often the surgeon will use a single-bladed instrument somewhat like a chisel to make a pair of incisions in the ilium to bound the graft. The blades of such chisel-like instruments may have a dual-tapered edge. One drawback with the single-bladed instrument is a lack of positive control on the size and shape of the graft. The surgeon may inadvertently make the graft too small or too large, by making the incisions too close together or too far apart. In the former event the graft may be unusable, and in the latter event the graft will require excess tooling or reshaping. In addition, while the surgeon may wish to have a graft with substantially parallel upper and lower faces, he may inadvertently fail to make the pair of cuts parallel to one another. This also requires excess tooling or reshaping.
One alternative to the single-bladed harvesting instrument discussed above is a small power saw with two parallel oscillating blades. Although this device gives more control over the size and shape of the graft than the single-bladed instrument, a drawback of the device is that small particles of bone are thrown off around the harvesting site or into the air, which may contaminate the physical surroundings and/or medical personnel in the vicinity. With the increasing incidence of disastrous afflictions such as AIDS, the undesirability of such contamination is clear.
With regard to the insertion phase of the Robinson or modified Robinson procedures, typically the graft will be held with a clamp, forceps, or some other such device to place it into the entry of the disc space. Then the graft will usually be engaged by a rod or punch, the end of which is tapped by a mallet, which drives the graft into the disc space. This technique is undesirable, however, because the rod or punch can slip off the disc, possibly injuring the patient. Moreover, the surgeon has less than full control over the orientation of the graft as it is driven into the space; the graft can rotate in the space, causing undue complications to the procedure. In addition, at times the graft may be driven too far into the posterior portion of the disc space. If the graft is driven too far into the region of the spinal cord or other nerves, serious injury to the patient could occur.
An instrument known as a dowel holder has been used in the past for placing the graft in the disc space and holding it during the insertion step, as an alternative to the clamps, forceps, and rod or punch referred to above. A dowel holder typically includes a rectangular head with distally extending pointed supports at its corners, and a distally extending threaded screw shaft in its center. This instrument is used particularly in the Robinson procedure. A hole is drilled in the middle of the central cortical edge of the graft, and the threaded shaft is screwed into the hole. The dowel holder may then be manipulated with the graft screwed to it, to enable the graft to be placed in the entry of the disc space. The end of the dowel holder is then tapped, to drive the graft into place. The pointed corners help keep the graft from rotating while being driven into place. A major drawback with this instrument is that the graft is weakened by drilling the hole in it. The graft may split while being driven into place, which of course seriously complicates the procedure. In addition, there is no positive stop on this instrument which prevents the graft from being driven too far into the disc space, leaving the possibility of causing severe injury to the patient if this were to occur.


A thyristor power controller for rapidly varying the current delivered to a load and including: a clock circuit for developing a clock pulse for each zero crossing of an AC source, an analog phase circuit responsive to an adjustment current and operative to produce a firing signal for each clock pulse, a first thyristor acting on a positive half cycle of an AC source, a second thyristor acting on a negative half cycle of an AC source, a first thyristor control circuit enabling and disabling the first thyristor, a second thyristor control circuit enabling and disabling the second thyristor, and a thyristor selector operative to route the firing signal to the first or second control circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to thyristor firing devices and more particularly to thyristor power controller systems with an adjustable firing angle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For many power applications, it is desirable to be able to vary the current delivered to a load. For this purpose, a solid state switching device, such as a thyristor, is often used.
Commonly, two thyristors are used, each switching on alternate half cycles of an AC current. Power control is accomplished by turning on, or triggering, the thyristors at various times during their half cycle of operation. More power is delivered to a load when a thyristor is triggered early in a half cycle and less is delivered if it is triggered late in a half cycle. The time between the beginning of a particular half cycle and a triggering signal to a thyristor acting on that half cycle is known as the phase, or firing, angle and may be measured in degrees. A firing angle of zero degrees would supply the full current of a half cycle to a load, while a firing angle of 180.degree. would supply no current to a load.
Power controller circuits as described above are well known in the prior art and are exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,507,096; 3,577,708; 3,648,437 and 3,745,749.
As an illustrative example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,577,708 teaches a power controller with a magnetic amplifier design including an inductor, a transformer and a thyristor network which varies the firing angle of the thyristors to control the current delivered to a load, which in this case is an electrostatic precipitator.
Thyristor power controllers are capable of efficiently varying the current delivered to devices with very high power ratings, such as electrostatic precipitators. A problem with thyristor controllers in the prior art is that the low power timing and firing angle circuits are affected by transients created by the high power, thyristor firing, circuits.
A problem with using magnetic amplifiers to accomplish phase control is that they usually require a few periods to effect a change in the firing angle. Such slow response time creates problems in some power applications, as in the case of electrostatic precipitators, which require virtually immediate response time in order to suppress sparking and/or arcing. Special costly circuits are often necessary to overcome the slow response time of magnetic amplifier circuits.
A further disadvantage with using magnetic amplifiers for phase control is that the firing angle, and consequently the current controlled by the thyristors, is necessarily a nonlinear function of the control signal. Obviously, this introduces difficulties in calibration and operation.
Yet another disadvantage of magnetic amplifiers is that they produce a distorted sine wave at full current rating. This may be undesirable for some applications where harmonics and transient signals must be kept to a minimum.

Thyristor power controller for an electrostatic precipitator


The invention relates to granules and pharmaceutical compositions comprising a salt of N-(8-(2-hydroxybenzoyl)amino)caprylic acid and a lubricant obtained by mixing hereof for more than 5 minutes prior to granulation as well as processes for their preparation and use thereof in medicine.

Pharmaceutical formulations comprising proteins and peptides can be manufactured from for example granules, which are compressed into tablets, or from blends of granules and excipient(s), which are compressed into tablets. The granulation process may be carried out as a dry granulation process where granules are formed from either blends containing excipients or from blends comprising the pharmaceutical active ingredient and one or more excipients. Dry granulation may be carried out by compaction of the blend into ribbons in a roller compactor followed by milling of the ribbons. A dry granulation process may also be carried out by compression of the blend into tablets followed by milling of the tablets, i.e. slugging.
In dry granulation processes, sticking of material to either the rolls of the roller compactor used for dry granulation or to the die and punches of the tablet press used to form granules/tablets may prevent proper processing resulting in an unacceptable product quality, i.e. granule quality or tablet quality, or in an unacceptable low process yield, or in no processability at all. In order to prevent such sticking, lubricant(s) are frequently added to the blend. Lubricants may comprise magnesium stearate, stearic acid, talc, etc. It is well-known that lubrication of the blend used for dry granulation is a major cause of decreased mechanical strength and prolonged disintegration time of the final compressed tablets. Likewise lubrication of the blend for tablet compression is well known to reduce the mechanical strength of the tablets, prolong the disintegration time of the tablets, prolong the release of the pharmaceutical active ingredient from the tablet and increase tablet friability. This phenomenon is known as over-lubrication.
Over-lubrication is caused by high concentration of lubricant(s) or by long mixing time of the lubricant(s) with the remaining ingredients of the blend used for either dry granulation or tablet compression. Over-lubrication may be caused by formation of a hydrophobic layer around powders and/or granules used to manufacture the tablet leading to e.g. slower dissolution and/or poorer wetting and/or reduced binding properties. Therefore, the mixing time of the lubricant(s) has to be carefully controlled and kept at a minimum, while keeping the concentration of lubricant(s) as low as possible to prevent the undesirable effects of over-lubrication.

Compositions comprising a delivery agent and preparation thereof


It is used for measuring a magnetic-field Hlex, which is the projection, in a given direction, of a field Hex and which incorporates a sample (2) containing resonant spins, first means (4) for exciting the resonance and detecting the latter, second means (32) for producing a polarization field Hb in accordance with the direction and compensating Hlex, processing and closed loop control means (6, 8, 16 to 20, 34 to 38, 48 to 52, 40, 44), which are connected to the first and second means and which make it possible to obtain voltages proportional to Hb-Ho+hlex and to Ho-Hb+Hlex in the vicinity of the resonance, Ho being the value of the field at resonance, with Ho being well above Hex, and a pulsed square-wave current for inducing Hb and for supplying a voltage proportional to Hlex in particular to the second magnetic means.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a directional resonance magnetometer. The latter is more particularly intended for the measurement of weak magnetic fields, e.g. approximately 0 to 100 microteslas.
Thus, particular applications of the invention are in geophysics, mining prospecting and space detection.
The magnetometer according to the invention is directional, i.e. it is associated with one measurement direction and the magnetometer makes it possible to determine the value of the projection of a magnetic field, which is a vector quantity, on the measurement direction.
The pass band of such a magnetometer is between 0 and 10 Hz and can even extend to a few kHz.
The expression of the resolution of the magnetometer must take account several parameters:
a) the spectral density of the noise brought to the input, the density being a function of the measurement frequency f in the general case and expressed in n/T.Hz.sup.1/2. PA1 b) the existence of a noise in f.sup.-a, where a is an integer, which generally increases at low frequencies, PA1 c) the drift during time and as a function of temperature and PA1 d) the stability of the zero with the presence or absence of a false zero. PA1 Mo=4 pi.10.sup.-7 H/m, PA1 g: gyromagnetic ratio of the electron (g/2pi=28 GHz/T), PA1 Ho: magnetic field applied to the spins at resonance (expressed in A/m), PA1 pi: well-known symbol representing approximately 3.1416. PA1 a sample made from a material having resonant spins and first magnetic means placed in the vicinity of the sample and which excite the resonance of the spins and for detecting the excited resonance, PA1 processing means connected to the first magnetic means and to the second magnetic means and making it possible to obtain on the one hand voltage values respectively proportional to (Hb-Ho+Hlex) and to (Ho-Hb+Hlex) in the vicinity of resonance, Ho being the value of the magnetic field applied to the sample at resonance and being well above Hex, (i.e. at least equal to approximately 10 time Hex), and on the other hand a pulsed square-wave current making it possible to induce the field Hb via second magnetic means, and PA1 closed loop control means connected on the one hand to the processing means and on the other to the second magnetic means for compensating the field Hlex and which supply a voltage proportional to the field Hlex. PA1 a sample and hold circuit, whose input is connected to the output of the first electronic device and whose output controls the closed loop control means, PA1 a voltage source, PA1 a second electronic device supplied by the source and permitting a voltage gain of alternatively +1 and -1, and PA1 another voltage-current converter, whose input is connected to the output of the second electronic device and which supplies the second magnetic means.
2. Discussion of the Background
Directional magnetometers of the flux gate type are already known and a good description thereof is provided in a document (1) by F. M. Neubauer et al, The Giotto Magnetometer Experiment, J. Phys. E:Sci. Instrum., 20, 1987, pp. 714 to 720 which, like the other documents cited hereinafter, is mentioned at the end of the present description.
The noise limit of such flux gate magnetometers is approximately 10 pT. Zero stability effects exist in such magnetometers, which have very high performance characteristics, but are expensive. If such a magnetometer is exposed to high magnetic fields, impacts or pressures, its characteristics can be very detrimentally affected.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 3,191,118 and the reference to D. Bourdel et al., An Electronic Resonance Magnetometer, Performance Optimization, Revue de Physique Appliquee, Vol. 5, February 1970, pp. 188 to 190, and D. Bourdel et al., Improvement To The Sensitivity Of Paramagnetic Resonance Magnetometers, Revue de Physique Apliquee, Vol. 7, March 1972, pp. 23 to 27, disclose directional resonance magnetometers.
Known directional flux gate magnetometers and directional resonance magnetometers suffer from the disadvantages referred to hereinafter.
Flux gate magnetometers suffer from drifts in time and as a function of the temperature. They are subject to a false zero phenomenon (i.e. they give a response which is not necessarily zero in the presence of a zero magnetic field) and are irreversibly sensitive to high magnetic fields, shocks and pressures.
The known directional resonance magnetometers have large overall dimensions (their volume possibly extending to several dm.sup.3), while having a low resolution of approximately 1 nT.
The present invention proposes a directional resonance magnetometer, whose performance characteristics are identical to those of the flux gate type, while having limited thermal and time drifts, which is not subject to the false zero phenomenon and whose sensitivity to high magnetic fields, shocks, impacts and pressure is reversible. Moreover, the size of the magnetometer according to the present invention can be reduced to a few millimeters.
Reference will subsequently be made in connection with FIGS. 1 to 6 to various devices known from the magnetometry and spectrometry fields.
FIG. 1 diagrammatically shows a magnetometer known from the above-cited document D. Bourdel et al., An Electronic Resonance Magnetometer, Performance Optimization, Revue de Physique Appliquee, Vol. 5, February 1970, pp. 187 to 190 (see FIG. 4 therein). In this magnetometer, a sample 2 made from a material having resonant electron spins is exposed to a magnetic polarization field Hb and an external magnetic field to be measured Hex, the latter being e.g. the earth's magnetic field. The polarization field Hb is created by any appropriate means, e.g. a not shown magnetic coil placed in the vicinity of the sample and which is supplied by a current having a variable intensity.
The magnetometer of FIG. 1 also has an exciting and receiving coil 4 surrounding the sample 2. The axis of the coil 4 is perpendicular to the direction D of the polarization field Hb, which is the measurement direction of the magnetometer of FIG. 1.
In the case where the electron spins resonate, the resonant frequency fo of these electron spins is given by the Larmor relation: EQU fo=g.Mo.Ho/(2pi)
with
A high frequency generator 6 set to fo excites the resonance via a measuring bridge 8 and the coil 4, which forms part of a resonant circuit 10. The latter is tuned to the frequency fo and comprises, apart from the coil 4, a variable capacitor c1 connected between the terminals of the coil 4. The resonance is detected by means of the coil 4, the measuring bridge 8 and a receiver 12, which has an amplitude detection. The measuring bridge 8 serves to decouple the reception from the excitation.
It is pointed out that the measuring bridge 8 can be eliminated, provided that there is a coil emitting both orthogonally to the direction D and to the axis of the coil 4, connected to the generator 6, the resonant circuit 10 in this case being only connected to the receiver 12.
An observation device 14 receives at its input a detected voltage V supplied by the output of the receiver 12. The device 14 supplies a curve, which is shown in FIG. 2 and which represents the variations of the voltage V as a function of the magnetic field H applied to the electron spins. It is an absorption curve with a gaussian shape. Resonance takes place when H is equal to Ho. The field applied H is the vector sum of the polarization field Hb and the external field to be measured Hex.
A field Ho much higher than the field Hex is chosen, so that H can approximately be expressed by the following formula: EQU H=Hb+(Hex.cosTh)
in which Th is the angle between the vectors, which represent Hb and Hex, which confirms the directional character of the magnetometer. It should be noted that this formula makes it possible to determine Hex, knowing Th, Ho and the value Hbo of Hb, which leads to Ho.
Apart from obtaining this simple formula another interest of having Ho very high is that the signal-to-noise ratio (s/n ratio) of the magnetometer is, at a first approximation, proportional to fo.sup.2 and therefore Ho.sup.2.
FIGS. 1 to 3 of the document to D. Bourdel et al., An Electronic Resonance Magnetometer, Performance Optimization, Revue de Physique Appliquee, Vol. 5, February 1970, pp. 187 to 190 show constructional variants of the magnetometer diagrammatically shown in FIG. 1 of the present description.
A device disclosed in French Patent Application 8809830 and EP-A-0359598 from the spectrometry field, but which is not used in the magnetometry field is diagrammatically shown in FIG. 3 and reveals a coherent detection of the high frequency.
The device of FIG. 3 uses the sample 2, the field Hb, the coil 4, the generator 6, the measuring bridge 8 and the resonant circuit 10 of FIG. 1, arranged in the same way and also has a low noise amplifier 16, a balanced mixer 18 and a low-pass filter 20.
The high frequency signal which is available at the output of the measuring bridge 8 is amplified by the amplifier 16 and is supplied to the input of the balanced mixer 18, whose reference signal is an "image" of the high frequency excitation.
More precisely, this reference signal is a signal having the same frequency as that of the excitation signal supplied by the generator 6 to the measuring bridge 8, but whose amplitude and phase can be made different from those of the latter signal.
The output of the mixer 18 is filtered by the low-pass filter 20 in order to eliminate the residues, as well as the harmonics of the high frequency.
By connecting to the output of the low-pass filter 20 an appropriate, but not shown observation device, it is possible to obtain, as a function of the respective phases of the exciting signal and the reference signal, the curve of FIG. 2 or the curve of FIG. 4, which represents the variations of a voltage V1 as a function of the field H and which is called the dispersion curve. This curve of FIG. 4 can be used as it is for a magnetometer, with linearity and drift limits, or as a zero signal in a magnetic field close loop control device.
Another device known in the field of spectrometry and used in the magnetometry field is diagrammatically shown in FIG. 5 and makes it possible to obtain the derivative of the absorption curve. The device of FIG. 5 uses the sample 2, the field Hb, the coil 4, the generator 6, the measuring bridge 8, the resonant circuit 10, the amplifier 16 and the balanced mixer 18 of FIG. 3, arranged in the same way.
The device of FIG. 5 also has an oscillator 22, which produces a signal having an audio frequency fm, as well as a coil 24, which receives the said signal and which produces in the sample 2 a magnetic field of frequency fm, called the "agitation field" and which is superimposed on the field Hb, the axis of the coil 24 coinciding with the axis of the not shown coil used for producing the field Hb.
At the output of the balanced mixer 18, the low-pass filter 20 of FIG. 3 is replaced by a band-pass filter 26 around the frequency fm.
A phase shifter 28 receives the high frequency signal from the generator 6 and supplies the balanced mixer 18 with a signal having an adequate phase for obtaining, at the output of the mixer 18, the voltage V of the curve shown in FIG. 2.
A synchronous detection means 30 at the frequency fm and which is controlled by a reference signal from the oscillator 22, has its input connected to the output of the filter 26 and supplies at the output a voltage Vs. The reference signal has a frequency fm, but its amplitude and phase can be made different from those of the signal supplied by the oscillator 22 to the coil 24.
By connecting to the output of the synchronous detection means 30 an appropriate, but not shown observation means, it is possible to observe a curve which is shown in FIG. 6 and has no offset voltage. This curve represents the variations of the voltage Vs as a function of the field H and constitutes the derivative of the curve of FIG. 2.
The parameters making it possible to optimize the resonant materials and the respective amplitudes of the high frequency field and the agitation field are obtained by a process described in French Patent Application 8809830 and EP-A-0359598.
Thus, it is known to produce a directional magnetometer with the aid of the following means: a sample formed from an appropriate resonant material (see e.g. French Patent Application 8612278) one or more sampling and exciting coils, a device making it possible to produce a continuous polarization field Hb (close to Ho), an oscillator at resonance and an electronic means making it possible to obtain the curve of FIGS. 4 or 6.
In this case, a variation of the external field Hex, to the extent that it is well below the line width DH1 (curve of FIG. 4) or DH2 (curve of FIG. 6) leads to a resonance variation and to an image voltage at the output of the magnetometer.
The linearity can be improved by a field feedback using the voltage V1 (FIG. 4) or the voltage Vs (FIG. 6) as a zero indicator, by integrating the voltage and by reinjecting a current proportional thereto and which creates a magnetic field as a result of a coil, whose axis is parallel to the direction of Hb. Such a procedure is standard in magnetometry (see, e.g. French Patent Application 8717566).
The main disadvantage of such a magnetometer is linked with the stability of the polarization field Hb. The requisite precision can be evaluated with the aid of a following example.
Consideration is given to a field to be measured Hex of 50 microteslas with a precision of 10 pT and a polarization Hb 100 times higher than Hex, i.e. a field Hb of 5 mT. Any variation of Hb will be interpreted as a variation of Hex. Consequently the field Hb must be stable to within 10 pT, i.e. 2.10.sup.9 in relative precision. This is virtually impossible to achieve with known procedures.
One solution which has been tested consists of pulsating the field Hb at a frequency fp well below fo, so that the field Hb alternately describes the resonance line in a positive and negative manner see U.S. Pat. No. 3,191,118 and the references to D. Bourdel et al, An Electronic Resonance Magnetometer, Performance Optimization, Revue de Physique Appliquee, Vol. 5, February 1970, pp. 188 to 190, and D. Bourdel et al., Improvement To The Sensitivity Of Paramagnetic Resonance Magnetometers, Revue de Physique Apliquee, Vol. 7, March 1972, pp. 23, to 27. Thus, the stability problem to be solved is brought down to obtaining a short term stability over a period 1/fp.
The problem associated with the above solution is that the resonance is not exploited in its maximum sensitivity zone (see French Patent Application 8809830 and EP-A-0359598) except during a minute fraction of the scan time 1/fp, which is of the sinusoidal or triangular type.


Described are a system and method of managing a real-time communication initiated to a mobile communications device. A communication from an originating communications device is sensed as being directed to a first destination address corresponding to a mobile communications device. Location information of the mobile communications device is determined. The communication is directed to a second destination address based on the determined location of the mobile communications device.

The recent emergence of mobile phones and services permit users to communicate even while traveling between locations. Modern mobile phones are configured with many features that allow users to stay in communication regardless of their location. A popular feature used by mobile phone users is call forwarding, which permits an incoming call to a mobile phone to be directed to another phone, for example, an office phone, home phone, or a hotel phone. Another feature offered by Mitel Networks Corporation of Ontario, Canada, is Dynamic Extension, which allows a user to configure a personal ring group (PRG) of several phones that can all ring simultaneously when a call is placed to a single phone number. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a call 110 initiated by an originating telephone 102 to a destination telephone 106 can be intercepted by a communications server 108, for example, a Mitel® 3300 Integrated Communications server (ICP). The communications server 108 can direct 112 the incoming call to the destination telephone 106, and also forward 114 the incoming call to a mobile phone 104, which is configured as a member of the PRG.
While these features permit a mobile phone user to be accessible regardless of location, the service costs associated with mobile phone use can be expensive, especially if the mobile phone is used outside the local coverage area defined in the user's mobile phone service plan. In addition, when an incoming call fails in delivery to a destination mobile phone, the call is typically rerouted to a voicemail service, often without awareness by the user of the incoming call. The mobile phone user can incur additional charges for calls made to voicemail.
To address these issues, some mobile phone users rely on a multi-mode mobile phone with satellite capability and subscribe to a plan with a service provider that reduces the additional expense involved with calls outside the coverage area. Such service plans can be expensive.
Mobile phone users may replace the subscriber identity module (SIM) in the mobile phone, to change the coverage area to include the region where they are currently located. However, this approach requires careful planning as well as manual replacement of the SIM by the user, which can result in damage to the SIM or the mobile phone. Improper replacement of a SIM can also result in additional toll charges.


A plant pot structure is arranged for threaded securement within a threaded pedestal bore, wherein the apparatus includes a threaded disk threadedly receivable within the bore and the disk mounting a support rod orthogonally thereto in a coaxial relationship. The pot structure is mounted at an upper terminal end of the rod, wherein the pot structure is arranged to optionally include a lower conical base and a cylindrical base permitting directing of water flow into the pot mounted within the conical base.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of invention relates to plant support apparatus, and more particularly pertains to a new and improved cemetery plant pot wherein the same is arranged for mounting within a pedestal for positioning a plant within a cemetery environment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Plant pots have been utilized in the prior art extensively, and particularly in the prior art has provided for the use of a support structure for plant pots as may be found for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,522,366 to Howell wherein the support apparatus includes a locking plug to lock the pot to a support base.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,001,326 to O'Brien, et al. sets forth a cemetery base unit utilizing an exterior container mounting an interior container therewithin.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,142,934 to Mehling utilizes a plant holder for positioning on a tombstone member utilizing a resilient base mounting a plant within the support structure.
As such, it may be appreciated that there continues to be a need for a new and improved cemetery plant pot as set forth by the instant invention which addresses both the problems of ease of use as well as effectiveness in construction and in this respect, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.


The invention relates to a radiation screen for an X-ray device, comprising at least one radiation limiting means which is displaceably mounted and is embodied as a diaphragm. According to the invention, the radiation limiting means is displaceably mounted on a plane in a perpendicular manner in relation to a defining bundle of rays, and comprises a plurality of differently shaped diaphragm apertures for continuously limiting the different bundle of rays. It can, for example, be embodied as an essentially rotation-symmetrical perforated disk. In another embodiment, the radiation screen comprises two radiation defining means which are arranged in an overlapping manner in the direction of the bundle of rays which are to be defined.

The present embodiments relate to a radiation diaphragm for an x-ray facility and an x-ray facility with such a radiation diaphragm.
Radiation diaphragms are used in x-ray facilities to narrow an x-ray beam produced by an x-ray tube to form a useful beam. Regions outside the useful beam are masked out by the radiation diaphragm, so that the radiation diaphragm's form decides the residual contour of the useful beam. It is expedient to vary the contour as a function of the respective task. When examining patients or bodies, the aim is to achieve a contour of the useful beam that is tailored to the volume to be examined, to avoid exposing the surrounding region to an unnecessary radiation dose.
Radiation diaphragms disposed in the immediate proximity of the x-ray tube are also referred to as primary radiation diaphragms. Primary radiation diaphragms frequently have a number of individual diaphragms, disposed at different distances from the x-ray tube. The x-ray beam is initially roughly narrowed by a diaphragm disposed first in the beam path, sometimes referred to as a collimator, which brings about an approximately rectangular definition of the beam by one or two pairs of diaphragm plates. Finer definition of the beam path, the contour of which is not necessarily set as rectangular in form, then takes place by a similarly adjustable diaphragm disposed in the beam path.
EP 0 485 742 discloses a further diaphragm that can be embodied as an iris diaphragm. Generally, iris diaphragms produce an approximately circular definition of the x-ray beam. The diameter or typical size of the x-ray beam can be adjusted extremely finely, usually in a continuous manner. Iris diaphragms have a relatively large number of moving parts. Iris diaphragms are complex to construct and expensive to produce. Iris diaphragms have louvers, which are mounted in a displaceable manner and bring about the actual masking of regions of the x-ray beam that are not of interest. The louvers themselves and also their mounting are susceptible to damage due to the louver movement.
BE 100 9333 discloses a radiation diaphragm for a portable x-ray facility. The radiation diaphragm is designed as a perforated diaphragm. The radiation diaphragm has a radiation defining device, formed as a cylinder and disposed concentrically in relation to the x-ray tube. The radiation diaphragm has a plurality of diaphragm apertures, each being able to be positioned by rotating the radiation defining means in front of the beam emission window. The cylindrical form of the radiation defining means has to be tailored to the x-ray tube, around which it is disposed. The radiation defining means cannot be disposed freely but requires an arrangement that is concentric to the x-ray tube. This arrangement requires a complex rotational mounting, since the x-ray tube is disposed in the center of the radiation defining means, where a rotation axis should advantageously be disposed.