A shaker conveyor assembly for moving objects includes a conveying element adapted for movement in first and second directions in repeated rectilinear fashion so as to convey items placed on the conveying element in one of the directions. The assembly includes an electric drive assembly having an output, a control assembly, and at least one sensor adapted to sense movement of the output. The control assembly provides a first level of electrical power to the electric drive assembly during a first portion of reciprocal movement and a second level of power to the electric drive assembly during a second portion of reciprocal movement. In addition, the control assembly provides selective control over the duration of the first and second portions of the reciprocal movement thereby controlling the speed of each of the directions of reciprocal movement of the conveying element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed toward beltless conveyors and, more specifically, to a shaker conveyor having an electronically controllable stroke speed.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conveyors are well known material handling devices that have application in a wide variety of environments for transporting objects from one place to another. For example, one type of conveyor employs a belt formed into an endless loop which is entrained about at least a pair of rollers spaced apart from one another and usually located at the opposed marginal ends of the conveyor. The rollers have sprockets at either end thereof. The spaced rollers are interconnected by a pair of chains entrained about the sprockets at either end of the rollers. An electric or hydraulic motor is usually employed to power the sprockets and continuously moves the belt over a substantial length of the conveyor between the rollers. In this way, objects may be transported by the conveyor over its length.
Conveyors often find applications in manufacturing environments. For example, in metal stamping operations, conveyors are employed to move parts between successive presses or from a press into a bin. In addition, conveyors are used for inspecting, transporting and assembly situations and can assist in maximizing production by removing parts, slugs or other scrap and materials from under low clearance areas like punch press dies and permitting continuous operation of the press. However, belted conveyors suffer from the disadvantage that the belts are often cut by the sharp edges of the metal parts formed in stamping operations. The useful life of the belts are reduced and the belts must be replaced more frequently. Frequent belt replacement increases the maintenance costs of the stamping operation. Further, stamped parts and other debris may pass through the damaged belts and jam or foul the inner workings of the conveyor drive system.
In part to avoid these problems, beltless conveyors are often employed in certain manufacturing operations. One type of beltless conveyor known in the related art moves items along the length of a conveyor by a physical reciprocating action. The material to be moved is transported in or on a table, channel, or trough. The reciprocating action of the conveyor is faster in one lineal direction than the other thereby causing the material to be moved with each forward stroke of the conveyor. The inherent reciprocating action of these types of beltless conveyers causes them to be generally referred to as shaker conveyors. Shaker conveyors obviously do not suffer from cuts or worn belts and thus have been adopted in numerous manufacturing environments.
A shaker conveyor may even be used to transfer corrosive, high-temperature, heavy, or other difficult to transport materials from place to place. For example, hot metal castings, particulate material, or other material difficult to transport due to physical or chemical characteristics can be transported by a shaker conveyor. The flexibility as to different types of materials is derived from the conveyor table or trough, which supports the material being carried. The shaker table can be made of materials resistant to heat, corrosion, or physical or chemical problems caused by the items being conveyed.
As previously mentioned, to convey the items or material on the table, the shaker table is accelerated in the direction of a desired material movement to reach a maximum forward velocity and then the direction of movement of the table is rapidly reversed so that the material slides along the table in the desired direction. As the table moves in the reverse direction, the material decelerates and comes to rest, and is then subject to the next reciprocal forward movement of the table so that there is little or no backward sliding of material being conveyed. In this manner, during one of the reciprocal movements, or strokes, the table provides a griping action on the material being conveyed. Conversely, the table provides a sliding action on the material being conveyed during the opposite reciprocal movement.
There are a number of conventional prior art shaker mechanisms that achieve the desired result of a forward motion of material by using a reciprocating action. These conventional shaker conveyors use crankshafts or other eccentrics with linkage arms to achieve the desired reciprocal motion, often with heavy flywheels. The linkage arms are pivotably attached to the flywheel or eccentric at one end and are likewise pivotably attached to the shaker table at the one ends. By the inherent physical differences designed into the linkage arms or the placement of their attachment points, or through the use of a cam or other physical device, the reverse movement of the shaker table may be faster than the forward movement. While these types of drive mechanisms provide satisfactory reciprocal motion, the operating elements and linkages are complex, and tend to be difficult to manufacture. These complex shaker assemblies are also expensive to maintain. More specifically, the linkage arms used to provide the reciprocating motion have a tendency to get out of line, reducing the efficiency of the shaker and causing further operational problems.
Furthermore, having a number of linkage arms with generally fixed attachment points, or the use of a cam or other physical device to establish the speed of the forward and reverse strokes of the shaker table makes speed adjustments to the shaker table problematic. Efficient shaker conveyance of materials directly relates to tailoring the proper forward and reverse strokes speeds of the shaker for the particular material or items being conveyed. In conventional shaker conveyors, the tailoring, or tuning of the shaker stroke speed is accomplished by the design of the linkages, or more specifically, by the length of the linkage arms or the placement of their associated attachment (fulcrum) points. If a cam or other physical device establishes stroke speed, then tuning the stroke speed relates to the shape or profile of the cam assembly. However, the tuned efficiency of the prior art conveyors for conveying heavy material loads does not directly translate to conveying lighter loads, nor does the tuned efficiency of conveying light loads translate to conveying heavy loads. More specifically, with conventional shaker conveyers, when it is desired to change the speed of the strokes that are tuned for conveying one type of item of a particular weight to convey another item of different weight, the linkage arms must be replaced or their linkage points must be physically relocated to tune the stroke speed of the shaker to the new material. If a cam or other physical device establishes stroke speed, then the cam must be changed to alter the stroke speed. Therefore, not only is the initial tuning of stroke speed for conveying a particular material time consuming and inefficient, but any adjustments to the stroke speed of the shaker for the conveyance of different materials is inefficient, time-consuming, and difficult to perform. Likewise, if during the course of operation, it becomes apparent that the conventional shaker table has lost conveying efficiency due to wear or slight changes in the conveyed material, it is nearly impossible to adjust the stroke speed of the conveyor to overcome the loss of efficiency without major, time-consuming changes to the linkages.
Thus, there exists a need in the art for a shaker conveyor assembly that is of simple and efficient construction and that has an adjustable stroke speed. In addition, there remains a need in the art for a shaker conveyor assembly that is electronically controllable.

Shaker conveyor assembly having an electronically controllable stroke speed


The present invention refers to adjustable volatile substance diffuser devices, more specifically to diffusers incorporating a container with a semipermeable membrane (3, 23, 43, 63). Said membrane (3, 23, 43, 63) permits the issue of vapors but prevents the escape of liquids, with the result that an extremely clean device is achieved as the spillage of liquid is prevented in the case of inappropriate handling. The device (1, 21, 41, 61) is furthermore of very simple construction, as it is made up of two parts, a container (2, 22, 42, 62) which houses the volatile substance and a housing (4, 24, 44, 64), which supports said container (2, 22, 42, 62). The container (2, 22, 42, 62) has the membrane (3, 23, 43, 63) adhered to it. The container (2, 22, 42, 62) and the housing (4, 24, 44, 64) are coupled directly to each other and they are moved by means of guiding or articulation. The container (2, 22, 42, 62) may comprise a useful part (16), which defines the cavity (5) holding the volatile substance, and a non-useful part (6).

Volatile substance diffuser systems incorporating semipermeable membranes that permit the outlet of vapours but impede the escape of liquids are already known. These systems are based on a container, which consists of a heat-formed portion and a membrane. As the membrane is flat, the formed portion is designed with a flat circumferential lip where the heat-formed portion and the membrane are welded together. The heat-formed portion is designed so that it may contain the sufficient amount of liquid.
These systems are notable for being both economical and clean, as they prevent liquid being spilled in the event of improper handling.
No type of additional housing is included in their simplest applications, such as for instance in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,157,787 and 5,518,790.
In other cases, this container is presented inside a usually plastic housing, which acts both as a protection and as a support. The housing also contributes to a better presentation of the product. As an example of systems with housings we may mention U.S. Pat. No. 4,849,606.
International patent application WO 2005/056063 A1 and European patent application EP 1319543 A1 describe one of these latter volatile substance diffuser systems. Thus, these documents describe a plastic housing which also has the function of regulating the system. For this purpose, the housing has an added element that is movable in relation to the housing, which performs the function of regulating the substance evaporated by means of partly or fully closing openings situated at the back of the housing.
These systems, however, have a series of drawbacks, which are explained below. On the one hand, the moving part which is added to the housing represents an extra cost, both in terms of a larger number of parts and of assembly. On the other hand, although the sealing of the openings is total, since there is a gap left between the membrane and the back of the housing, the device may go on evaporating, so that an inactive state of the system is never achieved.

Adjustable volatile substance diffuser device with a container with a membrane


This disclosure describes apparatuses, methods and computer program products for reducing location update signaling in a mobile communications network. In some embodiments, a method is provided in which a mobility management and control (MMC) rule is provided to a location aware network node (LANN) (e.g., an MME). The MMC rule includes location information that specifies a location and an action associated with the location. In response to receiving mobility information pertaining to a mobile communication device (MCD), the LANN uses the mobility information and the location information to determine whether or not to perform the action associated with the location information.

A mobile communication network enables a mobile communication device (MCD) (e.g., a mobile phone, a tablet computer, or other mobile communication device) to communicate with other communication devices (e.g., Internet servers, other MCDs, etc.). Certain network nodes of the network are aware of the location (at least at a general level) of the MCDs attached to the network. Such network nodes are referred to herein as "location aware network nodes (LANNs)." For example, a long-term evolution (LTE) mobile communication network includes mobility management entities (MMEs) that are aware of the locations (e.g., tracking areas, cells, etc.) in which the MCDs attached to the network can be found. Other network nodes in the network utilize location update information received from a LANN. These other network nodes are referred to herein as "control system network nodes (CSNNs)." A problem exists, however, in that the location update signaling between LANNs and CSNNs significantly adds to the amount of overhead control signaling in the mobile communication network. It is desired, therefore, to reduce the amount location update signaling in the mobile communication network.

Apparatuses and methods for reducing location update signaling between network nodes of a mobile communication network


A spectrometer includes an infrared source, a spectrally selective element, and a cell array. The cell array includes walls that define a number of cavities. The spectrometer also includes an infrared spatial detector responsive to infrared radiation travelling from the infrared source through contents of at least two of the cavities as well as through the spectrally selective element.

Single-beam infrared spectrometric measurements can be vulnerable to the infrared signature of water vapor and other variations. For this reason, infrared spectrometers are generally calibrated before each set of measurements. This can require purging the instrument, recording a reference spectrum, reopening the instrument, and again purging the instrument with a sample in place, before actual measurements can be taken from the sample.

The United States of America as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services


The present invention relates to an improved child resistant sachet construction, suitable for holding a medicinal product, especially a flavored product. The sachet is a three seal sachet, or stick pack, made from a laminate sheet, the sachet having a fin seal along a longitudinal axis and transverse fin seals at each end. The laminate sheet is tough enough to resist tearing unless a notch is provided with which to initiate a tear. A fold line extends across a corner of the sachet and through the fin seal, a notch extending through the sachet in a transverse seal area and perpendicular to the fold line such that when the sachet is folded a cut is revealed that allows the user to initiate a tear across the pack opening up a pouring spout for dispensing the medicinal product. In an alternative aspect of the invention the laminate sheet is provided with an acrylonitrile methyl acrylate copolymer resin on the sheet face which forms the inside of the sachet. This layer provides improved retention of flavor while still allowing the sachet to be readily torn once a tear has been initiated.

Medicinal products can be harmful if taken in excess amount or by someone other than the intended recipient, especially small children. Accordingly it is customary to provide packages for certain products which cannot readily be opened by children but which nevertheless contain features allowing an adult to open the package once it is manipulated in a special way. This invention relates to a three seal sachet, commonly also known as a stick pack, which has a longitudinal seal and two transverse seals. Such three seal sachets are frequently used for food items but do not typically come with child resistant features. A tear notch may be provided in such sachets but it is usually located in an obvious position at the edge of the sachet such that the method of opening is either obvious or the package can be opened inadvertently.
PCT application WO 95/01921 describes a stick pack for liquid drugs, but it too provides a notch on the edge of the pack which provides insufficient challenge to opening by a young child.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,222,813 and 5,371,997 describe packaging bags with a longitudinal fin seal and tear-open slits which extend through the fin seal but, like WO 95/01921, only disclose a notch starting on the edge of the pack and therefore with insufficient child resistance.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,511,665 and 5,472,093 concern packages suitable for pharmaceuticals incorporating 'hidden notches' which only reveal a tear slit after a particular fold is made, thus making the method of opening much more difficult for a small child to discern but nevertheless allowing opening by an adult able to follow instructions.
It is an object of the present invention to improve the child resistance of stick or three seal packs or sachets which have advantages in the dispensing of liquids and powders. It is a further object of the present invention to provide three seal packs or sachets which have improved resistance to flavour loss and thus to make them more suitable for medicinal products where it is important to have a flavour to mask the bitter taste of many medicinal active agents.
These and other objectives will become readily apparent from the detailed description that follows.


Benzoxazine monomers, oligomers and polymers are desirably modified by adding pendant functional groups to either the amine or phenolic reactants. These pendant functional groups can be activated at temperatures generally from about 25.degree. C. to about 300.degree. C. to form chemical bonds between said benzoxazine monomers, oligomers and polymers. The additional chemical bonds increase the thermal stability of benzoxazine polymers such that they can withstand higher use temperature, act as more effective flame barriers, or result in higher amounts of char if used as a precursor to high temperature (600-1000.degree. C. reaction condition) chars.

Polymers derived from the ring opening polymerizations of benzoxazine compounds compete with phenolic, epoxy, and other resins in various applications. Benzoxazines have advantages over conventional phenolic resins as the benzoxazine can be readily molded from the melt and then polymerized by simply heating it without releasing reaction by-products.
Phenolic resins have been used for years in applications requiring low flammability and high char yields. These uses include aircraft interiors which often include a thin layer of flame inhibiting phenolics in the interior shell and in electronics such as circuit boards, connectors, etc. A drawback of many phenolics are volatiles which may be produced during crosslinking (said volatiles often producing undesirable voids in the finished article) and residual catalyst and other reactants retained in the resins (which impart undesirable color or undesirable properties on aging. Benzoxazines avoid these problems (volatiles and residuals) due to polymerizing by a method not producing volatiles (supposedly ionic ring opening polymerizations) and not requiring catalysts. Having lower viscosities, the benzoxazines are easier to mold than phenolics.
Another use for benzoxazine polymers is as a precursor for chars produced between 400 and 800.degree. C. In this application they compete with coal tar pitch and phenolic resins which can produce between 30 and 65 weight % char upon exposure to elevated temperatures. These chars are useful as components in aircraft brakes and as thermal insulators or barriers.
As the char yield of polymers from benzoxazines are in the same ranges as coal tar pitch and phenolic resins there has been little motivation (other than processability and properties for non-char forming applications) to use benzoxazines.


A stable, portable floating electronic platform is provided to enable wireless communications with at least one remote cellular phone while the platform is floating in a recreational water environment, such as a swimming pool or spa. The floating electronic platform includes a buoyant water-resistant housing having a lower portion that floats in the recreational water environment, and an upper surface that defines a sealed enclosure. The housing is configured with at least one water-resistant electronic device and adapted to provide power to each electronic device. The at least one water-resistant electronic device includes a wireless communications apparatus that is adapted to provide communications with one or more remotely located cellular phones within wireless communications range of the platform.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to floating swimming pool accessories, and more specifically to a floating platform used to provide multi-media entertainment and wireless communications, among other leisure related applications and devices.
2. Description of Prior Art
Various floating accessories have been developed for use in swimming pools and other placid bodies of water to accommodate beverage cups and containers, sunglasses, sun tanning preparation containers and other small items utilized by bathers. For example, cup holders have been attached to floating chairs and lounge mats and to pool skimmers and similar floating filter devices.
Portable radios, with and without ear plugs have also been developed for use by bathers. However, due to their small size and limited battery power and capacity, these small portable radios of the prior art have a limited audible range and are generally limited to personal use.
Further, the floating electronic platforms of the prior art lack personalized features. For example, the selection of music is limited to tunable radio station channels that are broadcast over the air. However, some radio stations are undesirably inundated with commercials or subject to broadcast interference due to the topographical conditions, such as mountain ranges, tall buildings, power lines or broadcast range between the radio stations and the bather's pool.
The portability of cellular telephones has enabled users to conveniently conduct telephone calls from a wide variety of locations almost at will. Cellular phone calls can be made from the subway systems of New York, to the backyards of home owners in the suburbs, and to many rural locations, as additional cell towers are constantly being erected to close the communication gaps across the nation. A typical cell phone is generally not water-resistant, and cell phone owners either eschew or take precautionary measures when using the cell phone while in proximity of water. For example, a person relaxing in a swimming pool would normally exit the pool to make or receive a telephone call, which detracts from the mobility and convenience aspect of the cell phone, as well as the ability to relax in the pool while communicating with others.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a floating platform or entertainment center that maintains and stores beverage containers, cups and other personal items, and that also includes various electronic entertainment devices capable of providing audio and/or video entertainment, such as music/voice or video signals to bathers in, and around the pool.
It is another object of the invention to provide a floating electronic entertainment station that includes a wireless communications network or personal local area network (plan) that will enable one or more persons to communicate with others through their portable mobile devices, such as cellular telephones, PDA's and the like, which are remote and safely located away from the swimming pool, but in wireless communication range of the floating electronic entertainment station.

Floating electronic platform for swimming pools and spas


An apparatus for fluorescence observation includes an excitation filter which transmits only exciting light of an specific wavelength among illumination light, and an absorption filter which blocks the exciting light and transmits only fluorescence generated from a specimen when the exciting light is irradiated to the specimen. Here, an interval of a half-value wavelength at a long-wavelength side of the excitation filter and a half-value wavelength at a short-wavelength side of the absorption filter is in a width between 1 nm to 6 nm, and change of the half-value wavelength of the excitation filter and the absorption filter when humidity changes from 10% to 95%, is 0.5 nm or less.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for fluorescence observation, such as a microscope and an endoscope which are used for fluorescence observation, and a measuring instrument for measuring an intensity of fluorescence.
2. Description of Related Art
So far, fluorescence observation using a microscope, an endoscope, etc. as an apparatus for the fluorescence observation, wherein exciting light is illuminated to a specimen of a living tissue etc., and only the fluorescence generated from the specimen is used, has been carried out.
In order to carry out this fluorescence observation, as for an apparatus for the fluorescence observation as a mechanism for fluorescence observation, an excitation filter which transmits only exciting light of a specific wavelength of illumination light, and an absorption filter which blocks the exciting light and transmits only the fluorescence generated from the specimen when the exciting light is illuminated to the specimen have been used. As another composition for carrying out the fluorescence observation, an absorption filter which blocks exciting light transmits and only the fluorescence generated from a specimen when laser light as exciting light is illuminated to the specimen has been used, wherein the laser light of a specific wavelength obtained from a laser source in which a wavelength selection element, such as etalon and the like, is combined with a dye laser, as illumination light is used.
Conventionally, an endoscope which is used for the fluorescence observation, has been disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Toku Kai Hei No. 10-239517, for example. In the endoscope disclosed here, fluorescence observation is carried out by such a way that light having wavelength of 460 nm or less, as exciting light, transmits an excitation filter, and it is irradiated to a living tissue, and the exciting light reflected from the living tissue is cut off by the absorption filter, which transmits the fluorescence having wavelength from about 480 nm to 585 nm generated from the living tissue excited by the exciting light, and an image of this fluorescence is formed on a CCD camera through an image forming optical system.
Generally, the fluorescence generated from a specimen is weak. For this reason, in the fluorescence observation, it becomes important to pick up only the fluorescence efficiently. It is determined by the performance of an excitation filter, an absorption filter, etc. whether only the fluorescence can be picked up efficiently or not.
FIG. 18 is a spectrum characteristic graph showing exemplarily a relation that fluorescence 62 having a longer wavelength range than the wavelength range of exciting light 61 is generated by radiating exciting light 61 to a specimen when the fluorescence observation is carried out by radiating the exciting light 61 having a predetermined spectrum characteristic. The intensity of light of the fluorescence 62 is very weak compared with the intensity of the exciting light 61. As shown in FIG. 18, the wavelength range of the exciting light 61 and the wavelength range of the fluorescence 62 overlap partially. Then, in order to keep the exciting light 61 from overlapping in a wavelength range of peak 62a of the fluorescence 62, it is made to transmit an excitation filter 63, and the light in a wavelength range which does not overlap with the peak 62a of the fluorescence 62 is set as exciting light which is irradiated to the specimen.
The fluorescence 62 is generated by radiating this exciting light 61 to the specimen. In order to pick up and observe the fluorescence only as much as possible, it is desirable that an absorption filter 64 has a portion in which the fluorescence intensity is much at the right and the left sides of the peak 62a of the fluorescence 62 out of generated fluorescence, that is, a spectrum characteristic which transmits light in a wavelength range of the high transmission ratio efficiently. However, since it is desired to avoid that the exciting light irradiated to the specimen enters into the observation side, it is necessary to cut off completely the exciting light by the absorption filter 64. On the other hand, for generating much the fluorescence 62, it is desirable that the excitation filter 63 for determining a wavelength range of the exciting light which is irradiated to the specimen has such spectrum characteristic that the light in a wavelength range (wavelength band) at both sides of the peak 61a of the exciting light 61 is broad as much as possible so as to transmit the exciting light 61 within the wavelength range.
For this, it is desirable that an interval C (wavelength width) is narrow as much as possible and there is no overlapped portion, where the interval C represents an interval between a half-value wavelength A at the long-wavelength side within a wavelength range of the exciting light 61 penetrating the excitation filter 63 (the half-value wavelength A represents a wavelength at the long-wavelength side, wherein a transmittance of the excitation filter 63 becomes a half of the maximum value in the spectrum characteristic graph of FIG. 18. Hereafter, the half-value wavelength A is defined as "a half-value wavelength at the long-wavelength side of an excitation filter"), and a half-value wavelength B at the short-wavelength side in the wavelength range of the fluorescence 62 which transmits the absorption filter 64 (the half-value wavelength B represents a wavelength at the short-wavelength side, wherein transmittance of the absorption filter 64 becomes a half of the maximum value in the spectrum characteristic graph of FIG. 18. Hereafter, a half-value wavelength B is defined as "a half-value wavelength at the short-wavelength side of an absorption filter"). (here, a half-value wavelength means a wavelength when transmittance becomes a half of the maximum transmittance in a spectrum characteristic graph showing a transmittance to each wavelength, that is, it is a wavelength when the transmittance becomes a half).
However, so far, because the performance of the excitation filter and the absorption filter are bad, fluorescence has not been picked up efficiently. For this reason, in order to keep the exciting light from being mixed in the fluorescence, the interval C between the half-value wavelength A at the long-wavelength side of the excitation filter 63 and the half-value wavelength B at the short-wavelength side of the absorption filter 64 is set about 20 nm which is about the wavelength width. Since such light in this wavelength range of about 20 nm has not been used as fluorescence or as exciting light, there is a problem that it has been of no use. This problem is also the same when using laser light as illumination light. That is, since light within a wavelength width between "a wavelength of laser light" and "a half-value wavelength at the short-wavelength side of the absorption filter" has not been used as fluorescence or as exciting light, there was a problem that it has been of no use.
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problem, and it aims at offering an observation apparatus for fluorescence which can pick up weak fluorescence efficiently in the fluorescence observation using an excitation filter and an absorption filter, or in the fluorescence observation using a laser and an absorption filter.


The present invention provides architectures and methods which use multiple radio receive chains in mobile devices to provide enhanced performance, such as when acquiring and maintaining network access. A plurality of receive chains simultaneously perform signal level measurements across one or more measurement cycles. The number of RF channels upon which measurements are performed may be determined adaptively/dynamically. One or more criterion may be used to set signal level thresholds. If a measured signal for a given channel fails to satisfy a threshold, then that RF channel may be removed from the network acquisition process. If a measured signal for a channel exceeds another threshold, then that channel may be employed in further network acquisition processes, such as identifying potential beacon signal channels, verifying beacon signal channels and synchronizing the device to one of the beacon channels.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to wireless communication systems and, more particularly, to methods and receiver architectures in client terminals for signal level measurements during network acquisition.
2. Description of Related Art
Client terminals used in wireless communication systems are required to search for the network, acquire the network information, register and camp on to the network. The aforementioned process is collectively called "network acquisition." The network acquisition process would normally take place in different scenarios that include but are not limited to powering on the client terminal, an attempt to obtain service after a loss of network coverage (e.g., a dropped call due to a "dead spot" in the network), and upon roaming from one network to another. In many situations the signal level measurements performed as part of the network acquisition process may take a long time, such as up to several seconds or longer. Such delays may adversely impact client terminal performance and user satisfaction.
An example of a cellular wireless network is provided in FIG. 1. As shown in the figure, cellular-type wireless communication system 10 comprises elements such as a client terminal or mobile station 12 and base stations 14. Other network devices which may be employed, such as a mobile switching center, are not shown. As illustrated, the communication path from the base station ("BS") to the client terminal direction is referred to herein as the downlink ("DL") and the communication path from the client terminal to the base station direction is referred to herein as the uplink ("UL"). In some wireless communication systems the client terminal or mobile station ("MS") communicates with the BS in both DL and UL directions. For instance, this is the case in cellular telephone systems. In other wireless communication systems the client terminal communicates with the base stations in only one direction, usually the DL. This may occur in applications such as paging.
As shown in FIG. 2, client terminal/MS 12 typically contains a baseband subsystem 16 and a radio frequency ("RF") subsystem 18. Memory 20, such as an external memory, is shown connected to the baseband subsystem 16. The baseband subsystem 16 normally includes a micro controller unit ("MCU") 22, a signal processing unit ("SPU") 24, data converters 26, peripherals 28, power management 30, and memory 32 as shown in FIG. 3. The SPU 24 may be a digital signal processor ("DSP"), hardware ("HW") accelerators, co-processors or a combination of the above. Normally the overall control of the baseband subsystem 16 is performed by software running on the MCU 22 and the processing of signals is done by the SPU 24.
Analog to digital converters ("ADCs") convert a received analog signal into digital for the baseband system to process it. Similarly, digital to analog converters ("DACs") convert the processed baseband digital signal into analog for transmission. The ADCs and DACs are collectively referred to herein as "data converters" 26. The data converters 26 can either be part of the baseband subsystem 16 or the RF subsystem 18. Depending on the location of the data converters 26, the interface between the two subsystems will be different. The location of the data converters 26 does not alter the overall function of the client terminal.
An RF subsystem 18 normally contains a receiver, a transmitter, a synthesizer, a power amplifier, an antenna, and other components. An RF subsystem 18 for a time division duplex ("TDD") system is shown in FIG. 4. Receiver section 34 performs the task of converting the signal from RF to baseband. It includes mixers 36, filters 38, low noise amplifiers ("LNAs") 40 and variable gain amplifiers ("VGAs") 42. Transmitter section 44 performs the task of converting the baseband signal up to the RF. It includes mixers 46, filters 48, and gain control through VGAs 50. Power amplification of the transmit signal is typically done by a separate power amplifier ("PA") unit 52 but is considered part of the transmit RF chain. In some architectures, some of the components of the receiver and transmitter can be shared. As shown, the receiver section 34 and the transmitter section 44 are coupled to an antenna 54 via a transmit/receive switch 56. Synthesizer 58 is also shown as coupling to the receiver section 34 and the transmitter section 44.
Often, multiple receive and transmit chains are used in wireless communication systems to improve performance. The performance improvement can be in terms of better coverage, higher data rates, multiplexing of multiple users on the same RF channel at the same time, or some combination of the above. FIG. 5 illustrates an RF subsystem 60 with two RF receive chains.
As shown, RF subsystem 60 includes a transmitter 62, a synthesizer 64, and a pair of receivers 661 and 662. One of the receivers, 661, and the transmitter 62 are coupled to a first antenna 681 via transmit/receive switch 70. The other receiver, 662, is connected to a second antenna 682. In this type of RF subsystem, whenever the multiple receive chains are used they are all tuned to the same RF channel.
While such approaches may provide an acceptable level of performance, it is desirable to provide improved signal level measurement techniques that improve the network acquisition process.

Method and apparatus to improve network acquisition


A touch-screen system comprises adjacent first and second touch-screen sensors, first and second digitizers, and synchronization, tracking, and return logic. Each of the first and second digitizers is coupled electronically to the respective touch-screen sensor and configured to provide a pen signal responsive to action of a pen on the touch-screen sensor. The synchronization logic is configured to synchronize the pen to the first and second digitizers and to enable pen tracking by any of the first and second digitizers conditionally, based at least partly on the first and second pen signals. The tracking logic is configured to define a region of precision scanning of the first or second touch-screen sensor by the respective first or second digitizer, based at least partly on the first and second pen signals. The return logic is configured to expose a result of the precision scanning to an operating system of the touch-screen system.

A capacitive touch-screen sensor is an input component of many different kinds of electronic devices. In some electronic devices a touch-screen sensor comprises optically transparent material layered above or integrated within a display panel; such devices offer combined touch-screen display functionality. In some device configurations, two or more touch-screen sensors are used cooperatively to receive input over a corresponding two or more display panels.

Plural touch-screen sensor to pen synchronization


Systems, devices and methods are disclosed for controlling the flow of a fluid over the window of an optical instrument housing in a freestream flow field. For example, the flow upstream of the housing may be split to create a flow region over the window that is conducive to successful operation of the instrument. The flow region may be maintained for various rotations of the housing about yaw, pitch, and roll axes. The disclosed features in some embodiments induce flow regions with reduced spatial and temporal density gradients of the flow over the window.

Field of the Invention
This disclosure relates generally to the field of instrumentation in freestream flow fields. In particular, features for improving the flow over an optical instrument in a freestream flow field are disclosed.
Description of the Related Art
Aberrations in electromagnetic energy induced by unfavorable fluid flow are a serious concern in systems that operate in flow fields. For instance, in some airborne communication and imaging systems, an optical beam is required to be transmitted through a relatively long distance, over which the quality of the beam can degrade due to variations of the index of refraction along its path. For air and many fluids, the refractive index is linearly related to the density of the fluid through the Gladstone-Dale relation, and therefore density fluctuations, such as in turbulent flow, are the root cause of these aberrations.
An electromagnetic beam in a flow field generally encounters flow in the vicinity of the instrument that is detrimental to successful operation of the instrument. For instance, turbulent flow in the vicinity of an aperture of an instrument may be produced by the presence of solid boundaries. These near-field flows typically involve turbulent boundary layers, mixing layers, and wakes. When an initially planar electromagnetic wavefront, such as an optical wavefront, passes through a flow field, different parts of the wavefront experience different densities in the medium and hence have different propagation speeds. Consequently the wavefront becomes deformed. A small initial deformation of the wavefront can lead to large errors on a distant target. The consequences of such deformations include beam deflection (bore-sight error) and jitter, beam spread, and loss of intensity. Wavefront distortions can also cause reductions of resolution, contrast, effective range, and/or sensitivity for airborne electro-optical sensors and imaging systems.
Conventional solutions addressing the problems due to such unfavorable near-field flow have included openings or channels through the vehicle or structure housing an instrument. Other approaches have involved actively influencing the flow with jets of fluid injected into the flow. Still other approaches have involved flow detection and responsive beam correction. However, these approaches are invasive, require complex sensors and systems, and/or necessitate alterations to the structure of the vehicle containing the housing. Further, these approaches limit the utility of the instruments. For instance, the orientations of the instrument with respect to the freestream flow, for which the instrument will successfully operate, are limited. As an example, approaches that employ active control with static jets of fluid limit the viewing angles of the instrument because the flow from the jets is at a different angle relative to the flow over the instrument after the instrument has rotated. While the jets themselves may move to compensate for the moving instrument, this introduces even further complexity and cost.
It is therefore desirable to address the problems associated with near-field flow over an electromagnetic instrument in a more convenient, economical, and less complex manner.

Devices, systems and methods for passive control of flow

GENERAL ATOMICS AERONAUTICAL SYSTEMS, INC.


A compounding process is disclosed. The process includes (i) melt blending in an extruder at least two polymeric resins to produce a mixture that includes at least one resin that dissociates to yield monomers and/or oligomers upon heating, said mixture containing less than 1 percent of volatile components, (ii) introducing into said extruder an inert entraining agent, and (iii) removing said entraining agent together with said volatile components from said extruder. The extruder includes at least one melting zone, at least two degassing zones and at least one mixing zone. The end product has a particularly low content of residual solvent and at the same time a low content of monomers or oligomers.

In polymer preparation, the production of the finished plastic molding composition, the compound, from the plastic raw materials with addition of fillers and reinforcing agents, plasticizers, coupling agents, lubricants, stabilizers etc. is termed compounding. Compounding takes place predominantly in extruders and comprises the process operations delivery, melting, dispersing, mixing, degassing and pressure build-up.
More recently, as low as possible a content of volatile components has been required in plastic mixtures. Degassing in the compounding of plastic raw materials is therefore increasingly important. Typically the level of volatile components to be degassed in the plastic raw materials is approximately 500 to 2000 ppm and the residual content in the finished compound less than 400 ppm.
In temperature-sensitive polymers or polymer blends, during the compounding process, apart from the residual monomers and solvents to be degassed which are already contained in the raw materials, monomers can also be formed by disassociation, for example with rubber-modified polycarbonate blends these are 1,3-butadiene and acrylonitrile. The disassociation kinetics is highly temperature-dependant, i.e. as the temperature rises disassociation increases over-proportionately. The difficulty in compounding is that for an effective degassing of the volatile components apart from a low pressure a high temperature is required, but at a high temperature disassociation at the same time greatly increases. In addition, it is made worse that with a reduction of the energy input to reduce the temperature and avoid disassociation, problems can occur with melting and blending of the compound components which has a negative effect on the product quality (i.e. the mechanical properties and the composition). This applies in particular at high throughput rates, thus short dwell times which are required for an economic compounding process. With a higher throughput, a good degassing of the volatile components is only economically achievable with the previous technology if at the same time an increase in the disassociation components is accepted.
The use of entraining agents in extruders is in fact known, though only of the degassing of polymer solutions with a solvent content greater than 1%. However, no simultaneous melting of solid components takes place because the polymer solution is added liquid and without additional dispersion of blend components and additives. While DE 199 14 143 A1 includes relevant disclosure no reference is made to the problematic disassociation of monomers (or oligomers). A process for the drying of polymer powders in which volatile constituents with a content of at least 1 wt. % are removed with melting of the polymer and optionally using an entraining agent, is also known from EP 0 768 157 A1. This technique is restricted to large-volume equipment and deals with the drying of certain polymers having high solvent-content. A use of entraining agents in the compounding of polymers with extruders, in particular of polycarbonate blends, is not known.
The present invention is directed to a process for producing temperature-sensitive polymer compounds having low residual content of volatile and disassociation components. In particular the process is directed to the production of rubber-modified polycarbonate blends.


Copolymers useful as a contact lens material are prepared from a mixture comprising:. (a) an N,N-dialkyl(meth)acrylamide monomer; and PA0 (b) a monomer represented by the formula: ##STR1## wherein: R.sup.1 is methyl or hydrogen; PA0 R.sup.2 is --O-- or --NH--; PA0 R.sup.3 and R.sup.4 are independently a divalent radical selected from the group consisting of --CH.sub.2 --, --CHOH-- and --CHR.sup.6 --; PA0 R.sup.5 and R.sup.6 are independently a branched C.sub.3 -C.sub.8 alkyl group; and PA0 n is an integer of at least 1, and m and p are independently 0 or an integer of at least 1, provided that the sum of m, p and n is 2, 3, 4 or 5.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to polymeric compositions useful as a contact lens material, and particularly as a hydrogel contact lens material.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional hydrogel contact lenses are prepared from monomeric mixtures predominantly containing at least one hydrophilic monomer. Representative hydrophilic monomers include: unsaturated carboxylic acids, such as (meth)acrylic acids; (meth)acrylic substituted alcohols, such as 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate; vinyl lactams, such as N-vinyl pyrrolidone; and (meth)acrylamides, such as methacrylamide, N-methylmethacrylamide and N,N-dimethylacrylamide. (As used herein, the term "(meth)" indicates optional methyl substitution. Thus, a term such as "(meth)acrylate" designates both acrylates and methacrylates). A hydrogel is a hydrated cross-linked polymeric system that contains water in an equilibrium state. The monomeric mixture usually includes a crosslinking agent (a crosslinker being defined as a monomer having multiple polymerizable functionalities), although one of the hydrophilic monomers may function as the crosslinker.
Oxygen transmissibility of hydrogel contact lenses relates to the water content of the hydrated lens material and the thickness of the lens. Thus, oxygen transmissibility can be increased by increasing the water content or decreasing the lens thickness. However, in general, an increase in water content or a decrease in lens thickness affects the mechanical properties of the lens, such as decreasing the tear strength of the lens.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,006,622 (Kunzler et al.) discloses a class of strengthening monomers which can be copolymerized with hydrophilic monomers for hydrogel contact lenses. Disclosed strengthening monomers include: 4-t-butyl-2-hydroxycyclohexyl methacrylate; 4-t-butyl-2-hydroxycyclopentyl methacrylate; 4-t-butyl-2-hydroxycyclohexyl methacrylamide; 6-isopentyl-3-hydroxycyclohexyl methacrylate; and 2-isohexyl-5-hydroxycyclopentyl methacrylamide. Disclosed hydrophilic monomers include: 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate; N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-methacrylamide; N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone; glyceryl methacrylate; N-methacryloyl glycine; (2-hydroxy-3-methacryloylpropyl)-4-methoxy phenylether; and 2-hydroxycyclohexyl methacrylate. The patent reports that best results were obtained from formulations employing N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone (NVP) as the hydrophilic agent, in that these formulations possessed an optimum combination of water content, oxygen permeability levels and mechanical properties.
While these formulations provide hydrogels exhibiting a desirable combination of mechanical properties, water content and oxygen permeability, the incorporation of a vinyl lactam, such as NVP, in the monomeric mixture as a hydrophilic monomer can affect the processabililty of the monomeric mixture. For example, difficulties can be encountered in polymerizing formulations containing vinyl lactams in that the formulations require a longer cure time to effect polymerization or crosslinking. Such formulations generally require application of heat to complete polymerization or crosslinking, whereas it is often desirable to polymerize contact lens materials solely by photopolymerization. Additionally, phase separation of the monomers is more likely to occur when vinyl lactams are admixed with monomers having (meth)acrylate or (meth)acrylamide functionality.


A processing system configured to detect an input object proximate the processing system. The processing system includes sensor circuitry configured to make a determination, when the processing system is in a low ground mass (LGM) state, that a large object is proximate to sensor electrodes of the processing system. The sensor circuitry is further configured, in response to a determination that a large object is proximate the sensor electrodes while the processing system is in the LGM state, to drive a first group of sensor electrodes with one of an inverted signal or a non-inverted signal and drive a second group of sensor electrodes with a static DC voltage.

Input devices including proximity sensor devices (e.g., touchpads or touch sensor devices) are widely used in a variety of electronic systems. A proximity sensor device typically includes a sensing region, often demarked by a surface, in which the proximity sensor device determines the presence, location, or motion of one or more input objects. Proximity sensor devices may be used to provide interfaces for the electronic system. For example, proximity sensor devices are often used as input devices for larger computing systems (such as opaque touchpads integrated in, or peripheral to, notebook or desktop computers). Proximity sensor devices are often combined with display devices to operate as input-display devices (such as touch screens integrated in cellular phones).
Some proximity sensor devices are configured to detect capacitive pen signals. The capacitive pen transmits the capacitive pen signals responsive to the capacitive pen detecting an uplink signal from the proximity sensor device. The proximity sensor device transmits the uplink signal that a sensor in the tip of a capacitive pen detects. The detection circuit in the capacitive pen uses the body of the capacitive pen as a reference. Namely, the detection circuit detects the uplink signal based on the difference between signals from the capacitive pen tip and the capacitive pen body. However, when a proximity sensor device transmits the uplink signal and the user's palm is in the sensing region, both the palm of a user's hand and the capacitive pen tip receive the same signal. As a result, the user's palm couples the same uplink signal to the capacitive pen body, so that the capacitive pen body and the capacitive pen tip both receive same signal. In this case, the difference will be zero, so the detection circuit does not detect the uplink signal. As a result, the capacitive pen does not transmit the capacitive pen signals, and the proximity sensor device does not detect the capacitive pen.

Low latency input object detection under low ground mass condition


An improved affinity process scheduling method for a multiprocessor computer system, wherein a process previously executed on a processor within the computer system is affined to the processor on which it previously executed, and will be scheduled for execution by the affined processor during subsequent requests for execution of the affined process. The improved affinity process scheduling method monitors the length of time the affined process resides on the system run queue awaiting execution by its affined processor; and schedules the affined process for execution with another available processor when the length of time the affined process has been waiting for execution exceeds a predetermined "steal-age" threshold. The improved affinity process scheduling method also monitors the processing load borne by the affined processor, determines therefrom a headroom parameter for the affined processor, the headroom parameter indicating the remaining load capacity of the affined processor; and schedules the affined process for execution with another available processor when the headroom of the affined processor is less than a predetermined "low-headroom" threshold.

In Symmetric Multi-Processor (SMP) systems, it is desirable for long-running processes to continue to run on the same processor so that their working set of data and text will remain in a single processor's cache. When a process migrates from one processor to another, it must re-load its working set of text from main memory (provided that they are not already resident in the new processor's cache) and it must transfer its working set of modified data from the old processor's cache into the new processor's cache. These loading and transfer operations can be very time consuming depending on the amount of data to be transferred, the bandwidth and utilization of the processor-memory bus, and the access latency of main memory. The Operating System's process scheduler is responsible for determining which processes run on which processor at any given point in time. In order to maintain fair access to the system by all processes, the scheduler maintains a separate priority and time-slice length for each process. In general, the higher priority processes are run before the lower priority processes, but they are also given a shorter "time-slice" of the processor in order to maintain fair access to the system. The scheduler uses the Run-Time-Invariant (RTI) principle, which states that at any given point in time, the processes running on the processor's will be the highest priority system-wide runnable processes, to ensure system-wide fairness for all processes.
In order to minimize process migration between processors, the process scheduler can be enhanced to give individual processes "affinity" to a particular processor. One such method of scheduling processes is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,185,861 to Valencia, issued Feb. 9, 1993, and entitled "Cache Affinity Scheduler". In that patent, an affinity scheduler for a multi-processor computer system is disclosed. The affinity scheduler allocates processors to processes and schedules the processes to run based upon the bases of priority and processor availability. The scheduler uses the estimated amount of cache context to decide which run queue a process is to be enqueued. U.S. Pat. No. 5,185,861 is hereby incorporated by reference.
Difficulties can arise when processes are given strict affinity to processors, however. For instance, processes of differing priority levels may become unevenly distributed among processors, whereby some processors may have a group of high priority processes competing for runtime, while other processors have a group of lower priority processes competing for runtime. In this situation, the system wide RTI principal of executing the highest priority runnable processes will be violated as not all of the highest priority processes are given preference over lower priority processes. Most implementations of affinity schedulers will tolerate small violations of the RTI principal in order to gain the performance improvements provided by giving processes affinity to processors. Instead of implementing a system wide RTI policy, these affinity schedulers will implement a per-processor RTI policy and attempt to achieve system wide fairness by employing a load balancing algorithm.
In order to ensure a uniform distribution of processes to processor's, traditional affinity schedulers utilize three load-balancing techniques:
1. New processes are placed on a global run queue. Since all processor's periodically check the global queue, the processors that are more idle will tend to check the global queue more often, achieving load balancing for new processes. PA1 2. Processes that have not run on a given processor for some period of time are "aged" via some tunable metric (such as number of context switches or clock ticks since the time the process was last run). When the age of a process exceeds some threshold, the process loses its affinity to that processor, since it is assumed that its working set of text and data have been replaced by those of other processes. In this case, the process is put back on the global queue when it is ready to run again. PA1 3. Dynamic loading problems are detected by periodically examining the run queue lengths of each processor and stealing processes from processors having run queue lengths significantly greater than the average, system wide run queue length.
There are two problems with the load balancing techniques described above. First, the aging threshold discussed in item (2) above is a fixed value and as such cannot take into account that different processes can have different size working sets. Therefore, any reasonably small value will cause a performance degradation for classes of processes with large working sets. Furthermore, a fixed value does not take into account the fact that cache sizes may vary from system to system or even from processor to processor. Second, the queue-length based technique used for dynamic load balancing described in item 3 above does not take into consideration the "weight" of the processes in the run queue, wherein the weight of a process relates to the intensity of the processor use required by the process.

Method for load balancing a per processor affinity scheduler wherein processes are strictly affinitized to processors and the migration of a process from an affinitized processor to another available processor is limited


A method for achieving better performance in autonomous driving while saving computing power, by using confidence scores representing a credibility of an object detection which is generated in parallel with an object detection process is provided. And the method includes steps of: (a) a computing device acquiring at least one circumstance image on surroundings of a subject vehicle, through at least one image sensor installed on the subject vehicle; (b) the computing device instructing a convolutional neural network (CNN) to apply at least one CNN operation to the circumstance image, thereby to generate initial object information and initial confidence information on the circumstance image; and (c) the computing device generating final object information on the circumstance image by referring to the initial object information and the initial confidence information with a support of a Reinforcement learning (RL) reinforcement learning (RL) agent, and through V2X communications with at least part of surrounding objects.

Recently, autonomous driving technology has been studied, so that an autonomous vehicle can be driven with a fairly high accuracy without an intervention of a driver. However, such autonomous driving technology has not been commercialized. There may be many reasons why autonomous driving technology is not used by the public, but one of them is that operations for autonomous driving require too much computing power.
There have been many efforts to reduce consumption of the computing power required for autonomous driving, but the problem caused by this kind of approach is that if computing power are reduced, performance of autonomous driving are dropped. If the performance of autonomous driving are dropped, it will cause errors, resulting in threatening a driver and people around the driver. Thus, the performance of autonomous driving should be maintained while reducing computing power.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and device for attention-driven resource allocation by using reinforcement learning and V2X communication to thereby achieve safety of autonomous driving


Provided is an ink-jet color recording process to form color images on a recording medium by an ink-jet system applying a plurality of colored pigment-based inks, wherein each of the colored pigment inks comprises a pigment dispersant, and a pigment dispersant contained in at least one of colored pigment-based inks is different from a pigment dispersant contained in the remaining colored pigment-based inks.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an ink-jet color recording process in which a plurality of colored pigment-based inks are used, and further to an ink set suitable for use in such process.
2. Related Background Art
In recent years, ink-jet recording systems have made rapid progress for office use as well as for personal use because they are less noisy, economical of running cost, easy to be colorable and feasible with downsized apparatus.
A keen demand has lately been voiced for ink-jet recording devices that are inexpensive in particular and capable of producing color images. In order to cope with this trend, it has been proposed to mount on such a type of device a plurality of recording heads each designed to provide the same ejection characteristics and also a plurality of recording liquids formulated with water-soluble dyes, thereby obtaining a color image. In case of color images, however, if a plurality of colors involves even one having insufficient fastnesses to water and to light, the whole color image often poses an extreme decline in quality. To eliminate this problem, it is desired that pigments which have a good fastness be employed as colorants for ink-jet recording liquids. There have been found various patent publications to that effect.
Almost all of the above publications are directed toward an improvement in preventing an occurrence of agglomeration, precipitation and separation of a pigment during storage of the resulting ink, or in avoiding a nozzle clogging due to the use of pigments. This means that less is elucidated as to the ejection characteristics of pigment-based inks relative to the associated recording heads. These characteristics here are typified by ejection quantity, ejection speed and frequency response and taken as essentially basic and most important ink-jet recording.
With respect to ink-jet color recording in particular, a limited coverage of technological findings is available at present. For instance, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-170474 proposes to improve an ejection stability, i.e., a durability of printing operation. To provide a color image of high quality, the first key resides in satisfying a given set of ejection characteristics, followed by retention of the ejection characteristics. With conventional dye-based inks, the ejection characteristics are easy to meet at an initial stage. On the contrary, in case of pigment-based inks, these characteristics vary largely with the kind of dispersing media used for pigments. This variation is in most cases dominated by a frequency response. In case of dye-based inks, a similar problem can be solved by the addition of various solvents and other additives since a dye is more stable in a liquid medium than a pigment, and hence, only modified formulations of the dye-based inks are sufficient to clear up that problem.
A pigment, however, is known to be poor in stability, namely dispersion stability, in a liquid medium as compared to a dye. Therefore, a pigment-based ink has a smaller amount of leeway in selecting solvents and additives than a dye-based ink and necessarily relies upon optimum ejection characteristics. In such instance, a single recording head may be optimized from the ejection viewpoint for ink-jet monochrome recording, whereas at least a few recording heads are required to be individually optimumly designed for ink-jet color recording.

Ink-jet color recording process and ink set therefor


Endoscopic surgical instruments in which provision is made for a locking device for a depth gauge or knife and sleeve arrangement which is adapted to be positioned on an endoscope, which provides for latching attachment thereto, and includes stop structure so as to enable the insertion thereof into a slotted cannula to a predetermined depth.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an endoscopic surgical instrument for implementing endoscopic surgical procedures on a patient, and more particularly, is directed to a novel and unique instrument for performing endoscopic surgical procedures including such as uniportal plantar fascia release, lateral release for patella realignment, release of the posterior and other compartments of the leg, forearm fascial release for fascial compartment syndrome, and uniportal palmar subligmentous endoscopic carpal tunnel release, also referred to as distal single incision. Other potential types of surgery which can be implemented with the inventive endoscopic surgical instrument may include, but are not necessarily limited to, are ENT procedures, abdominal, gynecological, and genito-urinary procedures. The invention is also particularly directed to the provision of a unique endoscopic surgical instrument in the form of a slotted cannula incorporating a novel locking device for an endoscopic instrument and for the surgical cutting element, such as a knife blade or rasp; and selectively, a depth gauge including calibrating structure for measuring the length or depth of intended surgical procedure. Also shown is calibrating structure for the endoscopic knife; and a stop device for use with the endoscopic knife and/or the depth gauge, and which is adapted to be employed in the implementation of the foregoing method of endoscopically effecting the above-referenced surgical procedures.
In particular, although initially described herein as being directed to the above-mentioned aspect of implementing an endoscopic surgical procedure, numerous other surgical procedures may be readily implemented employing the inventive endoscopic surgical instrument as mentioned hereinbelow.
Basically, improved endoscopic surgical procedures and endoscopic instruments are disclosed and directed to the implementation of endoscopic carpal tunnel release and other surgical applications; as set forth in Mirza U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,465, issued Nov. 22, 1994, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,578,051, issued Nov. 26, 1996, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
For purposes of illustration, the invention is described with regard to the implementation of an endoscopic surgical procedure in the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome, this being only exemplary in nature and not limited thereto.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is usually characterized by numbness in the thumb, index, middle and ring fingers resulting from pressure being exerted on the median nerve inside the carpal tunnel, interfering with the function of such median nerve. This may readily manifest itself as a pain radiating as far as the shoulders and neck of the patient, resulting in impaired grasping ability by the hand and loss of sleep. This physical phenomenon is commonly the result of repetitive work and motions being carried out with the hand over lengthy periods of time, and is experienced by more ever younger people.
In essence, the carpal tunnel is formed by an arch of the eight wrist bones, spanned on its palmar surface by the transverse carpal ligament, the flexor retinaculum. The carpal tunnel functions as a large mechanical pulley to provide the appropriate moment arms for the digital flexor tendons as they pass through the tunnel. The tendons can then transmit force out into the fingers and impart only an appropriate amount of tension to develop torque at the level of the wrist.
Within the carpal tunnel, these tendons are lubricated and nourished by two synovial membranes--the radial and the ulnar bursa. The median nerve also shares the carpal tunnel, then branches out to provide sensory innervation to the palmar surfaces of the thumb, index, long and a portion of the ring finger. In addition, a small motor branch of the median nerve supplies the thenar muscles, which are responsible for lifting the thumb into opposition with the fingers.
Currently, a considerable array of methods or surgical techniques, and suitable therewith correlated surgical instruments, are being employed for purposes of implementing surgical procedures in effectuating carpal tunnel release in patients, and are generally designed for particular and highly specialized applications in this medical technology.
The customary procedure in implementing carpal tunnel release has heretofore been the forming of a lengthy incision, up to 8 cm in length across the palm from the wrist to the middle thereof, resulting in an unsightly scar, requiring division of all anatomical structures between the skin and the flexor retinaculum; i.e. the transverse carpal ligament. This created the potential for inadvertently cutting or injuring the palmar cutaneous nerve. Moreover, the patent normally encountered significant postoperative pain and discomfort, weakness of grip and pinch strength because of pillar infraction and the excessively lengthy extent of the incision. Such open surgery not only normally left the patient with a cosmetically unsightly scar extending from the wrist to the center of the palm, as mentioned hereinbefore, but also necessitated a lengthy and painful convalescence for the patient, whereby this convalescent period frequently caused the hand to be incapable of any significant physical work or manipulation for many weeks and even months, thereby effectively rendering the patient incapable of carrying out any meaningful work with the operated on hand and resulting in considerable financial losses being sustained by the patient.
Among more recent developments and advances in such surgical procedures, arthroscopic surgery employing the use of endoscopic devices has found widespread application, among others in connection with carpal tunnel release, in that in comparison with earlier customary surgical methods, any incisions necessary for such endoscopic/arthroscopic surgical procedures have been considerably reduced in size, thereby alleviating potential postoperative complications and pain encountered by the patient, while reducing any scarring to cosmetically desirable levels. Among various types of surgical procedures, techniques involving approaches by means of arthroscopic and endoscopic systems to carpal tunnel surgery have been acknowledged as being superior in providing significant advances over earlier so-called open surgical procedures necessitating large incisions. Such endoscopic surgical procedures have found widespread acceptance in effectuating carpal tunnel release for the purpose of alleviating the symptoms in a patient caused by carpal tunnel syndrome, also referred to as tardy median nerve palsy, normally caused by the compression of the median nerve within the carpal tunnel.
More recently, consideration has been given towards extending the scope of the endoscopic surgical procedure to other aspects such as plantar fascia release associated with heel spur syndrome in which a patient encounters severe pain at the bottom of the foot. This aspect, which is caused by the dense fibrous band of tissue which is known as the plantar fascia, is that a disorder of the foot, such as a structural misalignment, can cause an inflammation and result in intense pain in the foot. Although in many instances therapy may remedy the problems which are encountered, at times surgery is necessary in order to alleviate the problems.
These more recent endoscopic surgical approaches to remedying varying types of surgical problems afforded desirable alternatives to such earlier open surgical procedures, and especially when applied to effectuating carpal tunnel release, have found widespread favor with surgeons and patients in comparison with the earlier surgical methods which primarily constituted complex open surgical procedures, and which involved lengthy and painful postoperative convalescent periods.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Among numerous publications which describe recent advances in endoscopic surgical methods and instruments employed in connection therewith, particularly such as may be employable for carpal tunnel release procedures, there may be found the Agee carpal tunnel release system as disclosed in Agee, et al. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,963,147 and 5,089,000, both of which disclose endoscopic surgical instruments and surgical procedures implemented therewith, which when applied to carpal tunnel release through an effective severing of the flexor retinaculum, or transverse carpal ligament, are adapted to provide relief to the patient. However, the instrument and methods developed by Agee, et al. as described in those publications, although superior to open surgery, inhibit readily unobstructed visualization of the surgical site during the sequence of severing the flexor retinaculum and do not provide adequate control in the manipulation of the instrument so as to reduce the inherent danger of damage to surrounding nerves and tissue to an acceptable minimum, and additionally necessitate the forming of two entry portals or incisions in the wrist and hand. Moreover, the endoscopic instruments developed in Agee, et al. are relatively cumbersome and expensive, requiring the surgeon to always use both of his hands, and necessitate the use of a swivel cutting blade construction operable independently of a viewing scope, which does not always provide the appropriate visualization during cutting of the flexor retinaculum so as to potentially present the danger of causing damage to adjacent or contiguously located tissue or nerves relative to the operating site, which could lead to serious and possibly permanent injury to the patient.
Another surgical system and instrument providing for an advanced technique over Agee, et al., which is particularly adapted for carpal tunnel release through the intermediary of an endoscopic surgical procedure is disclosed in Chow U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,573. However, in that instance, although setting forth a considerable advance over the methodology disclosed in the Agee, et al. U.S. patents, the surgical procedure employed by Chow requires the formation of two entry and exit portals or incisions, one in the wrist area and one in the palm, and the passage of an endoscopic medical instrument, such as an obturator through a considerable length beneath the subcutaneous areas of the palm of the patient. Again, the necessity for two widely separated incisions or entry portals, and the requirement for inserting a scope from one end of the instrument from one portal and with the instrument extending outwardly from the other portal or incision, while surgically severing or cutting through the flexor retinaculum or transverse carpal ligament from the other portal or incision, engenders a considerable obstruction toward a clear nonproblematic visualization of the operating site during the severing of the transverse carpal ligament and, once again, raises the specter of a potential risk of causing injury to tissue and nerves adjacent the operating site, especially such as to the median nerve, which could lead to serious permanent injury to a patient and possibly require additional corrective surgery necessitating subjecting the entire surgical or operating site to open surgery. Moreover, Agee, et al. and Chow require the surgeon to simultaneously employ both hands during the surgical procedures, thus necessitating the utilization of an unusually high degree of dexterity in manipulating the various components of the endoscopic surgical instruments.
Another method of endoscopic surgery and instrument for implementing surgery, particularly for the release of the carpal tunnel, are disclosed in Brown U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,765. Although Brown directs the endoscopic surgery towards alleviating the syndrome encountered with the carpal tunnel, as in the previously discussed publications, two separate incisions are required. Moreover, although Brown also briefly mentions the application of the surgery and instrument or apparatus to the treatment of the foot, particularly the plantar fascia, again there is no detailed explanation provided as to the method in which this is accomplished, and apparently this would also necessitate providing a plurality of separate incisions to implement the surgery.
More recently, as described in Mirza U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,465, the foregoing limitations and potential drawbacks which are encountered in the previously mentioned prior art publications have been improved upon through a novel method of implementing endoscopic surgical procedures, and a unique and inventive endoscopic surgical instrument developed for accomplishing this purpose, which has proven itself to be especially suited for, but not limited to, the effectuation of carpal tunnel release. In essence, the Mirza patent is directed to the severing of the flexor retinaculum or transverse carpal ligament through an endoscopic surgical procedure in which there is effected, by means of a uniportal or single incision, a palmar subligmentous endoscopic carpal tunnel release technique. This surgical procedure only requires the formation of a single and relatively small entry portal or incision in the palm proximate the distal side of the flexor retinaculum, thereby reducing any postoperative symptoms of the patient with only a cosmetically appealing scar formed on the palm, while eliminating the need for a second portal or incision proximate the wrist of the patient; and concurrently avoiding injury to the palmar arch and branches of the median nerve. Moreover, the endoscopic instrument employed in implementing the surgical method utilizes a cutting device which is mounted on a scope insertable through a cannula which has been initially inserted to extend beneath the flexor retinaculum from the distal side of the flexor retinaculum or transverse carpal ligament, upon the formation of a passage beneath the flexor retinaculum, after hyperextending of the hand, by the preceding insertion and manipulation of a curved dissector. Thereafter, the dissector is removed and the cannula and an obturator which is contained therein are inserted through the incision into the previously formed passage beneath the flexor retinaculum. The cannula of the surgical instrument has the obturator withdrawn therefrom, and in place of the latter, a scope is inserted into the cannula which enables unhindered and unobstructed visualization of the operating site and of the flexor retinaculum.
The scope is then withdrawn from the cannula, and the same scope or another scope with a cutting blade mounted at the leading end thereof inserted into and advanced through the cannula towards the flexor retinaculum. Severing of the latter is then effected by the cutting blade while affording an unhindered view of the operating site through the scope, thereby resultingly dramatically reducing or even completely eliminating the risk of any injury being sustained by tissue and nerves in the vicinity of the operating site; for example, such as the median nerve. This particular unhindered visualization of the operating site also enables the surgeon to exercise an improved degree of control over the possibly single-handed manipulation of the endoscopic instrument and cutting blade.
The cannula of the endoscopic instrument, which contains the obturator which is initially employed to be advanced beneath the flexor retinaculum or transverse carpal ligament subsequent to withdrawal of the curved dissector, may be provided with lateral or sideways wing-like or flange-like protrusions of curvilinear configurations which, in conjunction with an upwardly curving tip of the obturator projecting forwardly of the leading end of the cannula, is adapted to displace any tissue, or such as the media nerve, out of the path of the obturator and cannula as is being advanced; in effect, through essentially a sideways or lateral "shoving" action, thereby preventing any potential damage to such displaced tissue and nerve during the subsequent cutting procedure by maintaining such tissue well out of the way. Moreover, the leading tip of the obturator by being curved slightly upwardly towards the lower surface of the flexor retinaculum is also adapted to remove or dislocate any possible tissue or fascia located close to the surface of the flexor retinaculum and to ensure that the cannula and, resultingly, the subsequently inserted cutting blade are located as closely as possible to the flexor retinaculum.
Although described hereinabove with regard to the effectuation of a carpal tunnel release, the inventive uniportal endoscopic surgical methods and instrument may be also be readily applied to other surgical procedures; for example, such as uniportal plantar fascia release, lateral release for patella realignment, release of the posterior and other compartments of the leg, and forearm fascia release for fascial compartment syndrome. To that effect, reference may be had to the disclosure of Mirza U.S. Pat. No. 5,578,051 which considerably expands the surgical field of applications of the previous Mirza patent and also incorporates additional features in the endoscopic surgical instrument.
The foregoing endoscopic surgical methods, particularly the uniportal surgical procedures and surgical instruments developed by the Mirza U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,366,465 and 5,578,051, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference, although providing considerable advantages over the current state of the art, are still further simplified by providing an improved composite slotted cannula and dissector of unitary or integral construction which eliminates a need for the provision of a separate dissector or a separate obturator, thereby reducing the number of surgical steps in the implementation of the various procedures. A particular aspect of eliminating the separate dissector and obturator heretofore utilized resides also in the composite cannula and dissector which forms the passageway towards the surgical site enabling an improved control during insertion thereof, particularly in the carpal tunnel, and by reducing the surgical steps during the implementation of the procedure renders the entire operation less expensive and of shorter duration, so as to further minimize any potential discomfort to a patient.

Endoscopic surgical instrument for the implementation of endoscopic surgical procedures

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An automatic leveling system for off-road vehicles having a cab and boom assembly rotatably mounted on a carrier base via a tilt table. The system includes a sensing device and control circuit for adjusting the level of the cab assembly relative to the base of the vehicle. The sensing device has a pendulum gimbaled within a housing. The pendulum has a pilot shaft extending upwardly therefrom and positioned proximate four switches for sensing changes in the orientation of the cab assembly. The switches are electrically connected to control circuits for a system capable of adjusting the orientation of the tilt table. A delay circuit is provided to inhibit re-leveling during extension of the boom.

The present invention relates generally to leveling systems and more particularly to automatic leveling systems for off-road equipment, such as mobile vehicles for felling and handling timber. Off-road equipment for use in forestry operations and other off-road construction or excavating equipment generally comprises a tracked or wheeled carrier base having a cab or swing-house assembly rotatably mounted thereto. A boom assembly, including any necessary apparatus for felling and handling trees or for other operations, is operably mounted to the cab assembly. The cab assembly further includes an engine, hydraulic pump system and controls for operating the equipment.
Such off-road vehicles are often required to operate on uneven terrain. Accordingly, the carrier base of the vehicle may not be level when the vehicle is positioned at the desired location for performing work. Inclination of the base causes the center of gravity of the vehicle to shift away from the point of maximum load stability. Thus, the vehicle becomes unbalanced and may overturn unless adjustments are made to reduce the deviation of the center of gravity from the point of maximum load stability.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that, in order to avoid the safety concerns associated with operating the vehicle on uneven terrain and the general discomfort to the operator, it is desirable that the cab assembly be substantially horizontal during operation of the vehicle. To this end, there have been several attempts to design leveling mechanisms and systems for adjusting the orientation of the cab assembly with respect to the base of the vehicle.
One such attempt was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,847, issued to Woods, et al. on Aug. 16, 1994, which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. The Woods, et al. invention is directed to a four-way leveling mechanism for an off-road vehicle for maintaining a superstructure of an off-road vehicle generally horizontal while the vehicle is working on uneven terrain. The tilt mechanism incorporates a spherical bearing mounted on a shaft perpendicular to the longitudinal pivot axis of the tilt mechanism to eliminate end-play in the joint which forms the longitudinal pivot axis. The longitudinal and transverse pivot axes lie in the same plane so that many of the forces which are transferred from the superstructure of the vehicle through the tilt mechanism to the chassis of the vehicle cannot cause a torque on the components of the tilt mechanism. The tilt mechanism provides for independent adjustment of the angle of tilt relative to each of the two pivot axes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,673, issued to Ericsson on Feb. 12, 1991, which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein, is directed to a cross-country vehicle or machine. The vehicle includes a mobile chassis and a superstructure carrying a driver's cab wherein the superstructure is mounted on the chassis for tilting movement about a horizontal axis and a transverse axis. A hydraulic cylinder on each side of the longitudinal axis acts between the chassis and the superstructure to tilt the superstructure about either or both axes in order to position the superstructure horizontally as the vehicle moves over rough ground.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,679,803, issued to Biller, et al. on Jul. 14, 1987, which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein, is directed to an apparatus for maintain stability of mobile land vehicles on sloping terrain. The vehicle includes apparatus for providing multi-directional relative movement between a conventional tread assembly of the caterpillar type and a swing-house assembly which includes a boom sub-assembly supporting tree-felling and handling equipment, so that the swing house assembly is maintained in a substantially level relationship with the horizontal, regardless of the inclination of the ground on which the vehicle rides, so that the center of gravity of the vehicle is optimized by weight transfer corresponding to the type of ground inclination encountered. The leveling system of Biller, et al. is manually operated.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,650,017, issued to Pelletier, et al. on Mar. 17, 1987, which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein, is directed to a crawler-mounted machine for travel over natural terrain. The vehicle includes a mobile carrier of any conventional structure and a work base mounted over the carrier. A tilt mechanism joins the work base to the carrier for relative tilting movement of the work base with respect to the carrier about a pair of orthogonal axes to hold the work base level.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,835,949, issued to Whelan on Sep. 17, 1974, and incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein, is directed to a hydraulic leveling-control system. The system automatically maintains a height of a vehicle for all load conditions up to maximum load. The system basically involves a control valve which responds to height signals from hydraulically-operated levelers to direct fluid to the levelers when leveler chain charge pressure is needed to increase vehicle height, or to a circuit bypassing the levelers when the vehicle is at or above level height.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,989, issued to Claxton on Nov. 3, 1992, and incorporated by references fully set forth herein, is directed to an automatic hydraulic leveling system. The leveling system includes a low-pressure, high-flow source of hydraulic fluid which is connected for one-way flow into the head end of all four of the cylinders to lower outrigger pads of the vehicle to the ground and then maintain them in contact with the ground. A level sensor senses the relative levelness of the right-front and left-rear corners of the vehicle and high-pressure, low-flow hydraulic fluid is connected to the head end of the cylinder at the lower of those two corners to raise that corner of the vehicle relative to the ground. Likewise, another level sensor senses the relative levelness of the left-front and right-rear vehicle corners and the high-pressure, low-flow hydraulic fluid is connected to the head end of the cylinder at the lower end of those two corners to raise that corner of the vehicle relative to the ground.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,133, issued to Hanser, et al. on May 24, 1988, and incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein, is directed to an automatic leveling system for use in a vehicle having a front, a back, and sides to level the vehicle relative to gravity. The system includes a plurality of devices, each disposed at an individual position relative to the vehicle and in a displaced relationship to the other devices for adjusting the vertical position of the vehicle relative to gravity in accordance with the operation of pairs of adjacent devices. A sensor is disposed relative to the vehicle for sensing the tilting of the vehicle from the level disposition relative to gravity. A system further includes an operating structure responsive to the sensor for operating pairs of adjacent devices in a particular order to obtain an adjustment in the vertical position of the vehicle from side to side and front to back to obtain a resultant leveling of the vehicle relative to gravity.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,288,196, issued to Sutton, II on Sep. 8, 1981, and incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein, is directed to a computer-controlled backhoe have dual-access gyro which continuously senses the position of the frame and senses corresponding signals to the computer which adjusts the frame position through hydraulic actuators.
One drawback associated with many of these devices is that they include complex control circuitry and are, thus, expensive to incorporate into off-road equipment. Furthermore, rather than adjusting automatically to changes in the orientation of the vehicle, many of these devices require manual adjustment by an equipment operator in order to achieve proper leveling. What is needed, then, is an automatic leveling system for off-road equipment that incorporates a simplified sensing and control system to automatically level the cab assembly of the vehicle in response to changes in orientation. This device is presently lacking in the prior art.

Automatic leveling system for off-road equipment