An electrical device for mounting on a circuit board, such as an inductor or a transformer. The device contains first and second core halves which can be mated to one another. Each half contains an outer skirt attached to a back-plane, and a center core component which is attached to the back-plane in a position which is perpendicular to the back-plane and to the circuit board, when mounted. The center core component has a primary axis and a secondary axis, the secondary axis having a smaller dimension than the primary axis, and a cross-section with a ratio of length of primary axis to length of secondary axis of 1.1:1 to 3.5:1. The outer skirt, back-plane, and center core component all contain magnetic material, e.g. ferrite. A bobbin having a hollow center section with a cross-section of similar shape to the cross-section of the center core components is attached to first and second flanges, each of which flanges has wire mounting posts on its bottom edge. At least one coil is wound around the exterior surface of the bobbin. When the first and second core halves are mated, the center core components are inserted into the center section of the bobbin to form a magnetic core. The coil is attached to at least one pair of wire mounting posts to allow electrical connection to the circuit board.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electrical device, e.g. a transformer or an inductor, which contains a magnetic core, and to a magnetic core half for use in making such a device.
2. Introduction to the Invention
Electrical devices for use as transformers and inductors commonly comprise a magnetic core inserted into a bobbin around which one or more wire coils are wound. When used for power supply, data, or telecommunications applications, such devices are mounted on printed circuit boards (PCBs), along with other electronic components. Due to the large number of components present on the board, it is important that the amount of space occupied by the electrical device be minimized. However, it is also important that the electrical device be appropriately shielded, so as to prevent electrical and magnetic interference with adjacent components.
The conventional approach for reducing the area occupied by the device is to use a smaller conventional part. However, this can give disadvantages in terms of leakage inductance, DC resistance, and total harmonic distortion. Another approach is to mount the wound transformer or inductor in a non-standard orientation, taking advantage of the smallest dimensions available. This approach often requires highly complicated and/or costly mounting fixtures, and the resulting product may be susceptible to radiated emissions, vibration, and/or physical shock. In addition, conventional surface mounting techniques, which use pins or leads extending beyond the edges of the device, increase the space occupied on the board.
A conventional transformer, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,760,366 (Mitsui), is positioned so that the core, which has a generally flat rectangular shape with curved edges, is parallel to the PCB. It can be mounted onto the board by means of pins. The orientation is such that the height of the device off the board is minimized but the space occupied by the device on the board is at least as large as the largest dimension of the core.
A key factor in determining the footprint occupied by the electrical device is the size and shape of the magnetic core. We have now found that a particular core shape, oriented in a particular way on the PCB, allows a high degree of self-shielding in order to minimize radiated emissions which may affect adjacent components, especially at higher frequencies and drive levels. Therefore, in a first aspect, the invention provides an electrical device for mounting on a circuit board, said device comprising a magnetic core and at least one coil wound around the core, which device comprises
(1) a first core half comprising
(a) a first outer skirt comprising first and second side walls connected by a top wall,
(b) a first back-plane connected to the first outer skirt to form a semi-enclosed housing, said first outer skirt and said first back-plane comprising a first magnetic material, and
(c) a first center core component which
(i) has a primary axis and a secondary axis, the secondary axis having a smaller dimension than the primary axis,
(ii) has a cross-section with a ratio of length of primary axis to length of secondary axis of 1.1:1 to 3.5:1
(iii) extends perpendicularly from the first back-plane so that the primary axis is perpendicular to the circuit board when the device is mounted, and
(iv) comprises a second magnetic material,
(2) a second core half is matable with the first core half, and which comprises
(a) a second outer skirt comprising first and second side walls connected by a top wall,
(b) a second back-plane connected to the second outer skirt to form a semi-enclosed housing, said second outer skirt and said second back-plane comprising the first magnetic material, and
(c) a second center core component which
(i) has a primary axis and a secondary axis, the secondary axis having a smaller dimension than the primary axis,
(ii) has a cross-section with a ratio of length of primary axis to length of secondary axis of 1.1:1 to 3.5:1,
(iii) extends perpendicularly from the second back-plane so that the primary axis is perpendicular to the circuit board when the device is mounted, and
(iv) comprises the second magnetic material,
(3) a bobbin which
(a) comprises an exterior surface and a hollow center section having a cross-section of similar shape to the cross-section of the first and second core components and sized for receiving the first and second core components, and
(b) is attached to first and second flanges, each of which flanges comprises wire mounting posts on its bottom edge; and
(4) at least one coil which is wound around the exterior surface of the bobbin,
the first and second core halves being mated so that the first and second core components are inserted into the center section of the bobbin to form the magnetic coil and the coil is attached to at least one pair of wire mounting posts.
The core halves, themselves, also comprise an aspect of the invention. Therefore, in a second aspect, the invention provides a magnetic core half for use in a power supply, or a data or telecommunications circuit which comprises
(1) a first outer skirt comprising first and second side walls connected by a top wall,
(2) a first back-plane connected to the first outer skirt, said first outer skirt and first back-plane
(a) comprising a first magnetic material, and
(b) forming a semi-enclosed shape having a front opening and a bottom opening, and
(3) a first center core component which
(a) has a primary axis and a secondary axis, the secondary axis having a smaller dimension than the primary axis,
(b) has a cross-section with a ratio of length of primary axis to length of secondary axis of 1.1:1 to 3.5:1,
(c) is attached to the first back-plane perpendicularly so that the primary axis is perpendicular to a circuit board when mounted on a circuit board, and
(d) comprises a second magnetic material.
In a third aspect, the invention provides an assembly which
(A) an electrical device according to the first aspect of the invention, and
(B) a circuit board, said electrical device being electrically connected to said circuit board by means of a wire from the coil wound around the mounting posts.

Transformer or inductor containing a magnetic core


A method for controlling gain of a scintillation detector includes using a reference radiation source and a photomultiplier tube and controlling the gain of the scintillation detector based on the reference radiation source. The controlling includes detecting change in the gain of the scintillation detector, determining an amount of the change in the gain, outputting a control signal to compensate the amount of the change in the gain, and stabilizing the gain against the reference radiation source based on the control signal. A gain control system for controlling gain of a scintillation detector includes computer-readable instructions stored in the memory for causing the processor to detect change in the gain of the scintillation detector determine an amount of the change in the gain, output a control signal to compensate the amount of the change in the gain, and stabilize the gain against the reference radiation source based on the control signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates generally to a scintillation detector system including a scintillator and photomultiplier tube, and more specifically to a process for automatically controlling gain of a scintillation detector system (SDS).
2. Background Art
A photomultiplier tube (PMT) is a sensitive detecting device used to measure light or convert light into amplified electrical signals. A typical PMT includes an evacuated glass tube and a series of electrodes disposed within the tube. The series of electrodes includes a photocathode from which a light source enters the tube, a focusing electrode, a plurality of dynodes that function as an electron multiplier, and an anode where the multiplied charge accumulates.
When incident photons (incident light) strike the photocathode of the PMT, the photons eject photoelectrons due to the photoelectric effect. The photoelectrons emitted from the photocathode are accelerated by an electric field, and are directed toward the electron multiplier by the focusing electrode. The electron multiplier, i.e., the series of dynodes, multiplies the photoelectrons by process of secondary emission. When the multiplied photoelectrons reach the anode, they are output as an electrical signal.
More specifically, when the accelerated photoelectrons strike the first dynode, secondary electrons are emitted through secondary emission. These secondary electrons join the first batch of photoelectrons and are accelerated toward the next dynode. This process is repeated over successive dynodes. This cascade effect of secondary emission results in an increasing number of electrons produced at each successive dynode. In other words, charge is amplified at each successive dynode. When the electrons reach the anode, they are output as an amplified electrical signal. As a result of the above process, even a small photoelectric current from the photocathode can provide a large output current at the anode of the PMT. The amplification depends on the number of dynodes, accelerating voltage, temperature, etc.
PMTs are commonly used in scintillation counters (or scintillation detectors) to measure ionizing radiation given off by radiation sources. A scintillation counter is constructed by coupling a PMT to a scintillator. The scintillator produces light when excited by ionizing radiation. The PMT detects and absorbs the light emitted by the scintillator, and, through the process described above, remits the light in the form of amplified electrical output pulses. These pulses may be counted by, e.g., an electronic counter. By analyzing these output pulses, a pulse distribution or energy spectrum may be obtained. Distinct peaks at each energy level can be evaluated as pulse height resolution.
PMTs provide advantages such as high internal gain, high sensitivity, fast responses, low noise, and a high frequency response. However, stability of the gain in the output signal of the PMT may fluctuate due to various factors such as temperature, aging rate of the PMT or scintillator, fluctuations in power supply, material of the photocathode, etc.

Scintillation detector gain control system using reference radiation


The subject invention provides a method of providing emergency response to a user carrying a user device (32). The method establishes a monitoring database (34) including identifications for a plurality of user devices (32) and user information associated with each of the user devices (32). The monitoring database (34) includes a list of contacts to be contacted in an emergency for each user of each user device (32). An internet protocol (IP) address is established for the monitoring database (34) and for each user device (32). One of the user devices (32) is selected in the database and at least one of the selected user device (32) or at least one contact from the list of contacts associated with the selected user device (32) is notified of the emergency. The communication between the monitoring database (34) and the selected user device (32) is established over the Internet (36) using internet protocols to notify the selected user device (32) and/or the contact.

1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates to a method of providing emergency response to a user carrying a user device and more specifically to establishing communication between the user device and a monitoring database over the Internet to provide such responses.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various related art methods and devices are known for providing emergency response to a user and for monitoring the user. One such method connects a device to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and the device acts as a speakerphone. If the user encounters an emergency or incident at a distance far from the speakerphone, the user is not able to communicate the nature of the emergency to a human advisor. When the emergency is unknown, emergency personnel, such as police officers, may be called to respond, when such a response is not required. Therefore, the user will not activate their system for fear of being unable to communicate the nature of the emergency effectively and being embarrassed when emergency personnel arrive. Another limitation of the related art device is that the user cannot receive assistance if the user is not inside the home or is too far away to activate the device.
Another related art monitoring system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,512,456. The '456 patent discloses a mobile monitoring system that includes an oversight authority and a user device to monitor bodily function information for the user. The information is transmitted from the user device to the oversight authority. The oversight authority may then notify friends and family as necessary depending upon the information obtained from the user. The information may also include the position of the user based upon global positioning coordinates. The user device communicates the information to a receiving tower that is coupled to the oversight authority. However, the '456 patent does not establish communication between the oversight authority and the user device using the Internet and does not utilize voice-over internet protocols to transmit the information or establish communication.
Other related art systems track users using global positioning systems (GPS) and monitor the user's location. These systems transmit the information to various contacts so that the contacts are able to track the user. Additionally, voice-over internet protocol (VoIP) is increasingly being used for communication over the Internet instead of using the PSTN. However, no related art systems combine monitoring and tracking of the user with the user being able to notify contacts of emergency or incidents by establishing communication over the Internet.
Accordingly, the related art methods are characterized by one or more inadequacies. It would be advantageous to provide a system and user device that overcomes the inadequacies described above.

System and method of providing emergency response to a user carrying a user device


A method of providing an email service for any International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) allowing its user to send an email to any IMSI without knowing the email address of the recipient. If the recipient is not already registered with this service, a mail box is created for such recipient and he/she is provided with email access details. The method can be performed using mobile phones, tablets and personal computer systems.

Occasionally, users have a need to send an email to a recipient whose email address users do not know. However, in many such instances, users know the recipient's mobile phone number, i.e., its International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI). Traditional email systems do not allow sending of an email without it valid email address. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a way to not only send an email to any IMSI without knowing anything else, but also to use existing entailing features to send such email to any IMSI without requiring lots of configuration and hassle.

Method of sending and receiving mail using international mobile subscriber identity and without knowing an email address of the recipient


A seat belt apparatus includes a buckle configured to be attached to a seat frame of a vehicle seat, a seat belt including a first portion configured to be secured to a vehicle body by an anchor and a second portion having a tongue configured to engage the buckle, a first connector connecting the first and second portions of the seat belt, and a second connector disposed on the seat frame. The first and second connectors are configured to engage.

The present invention relates to a seat belt apparatus which is installed on a seat of a vehicle such as an automobile and, in an emergency such as upon collision of vehicles, restrains and protects a passenger (including a driver) by a seat belt. More particularly, the present invention relates to a seat belt apparatus which is installed on a seat having a seat weight measuring unit for measuring the weight of the seat including the weight of the passenger on the seat of the vehicle, and in which a lap anchor to which an end of a lap belt is connected is attached to the vehicle body such as the vehicle floor or the vehicle side wall.
In a vehicle such as an automobile, a seat belt apparatus and an airbag apparatus used simultaneously therewith are provided for the purpose of protecting a passenger sitting down on a seat of the vehicle in an emergency such as upon a collision. The seat belt apparatus protects the passenger, in an emergency, by restraining the passenger at shoulder, chest, and waist. The leading end of the seat belt is connected to the lap anchor. This lap anchor is, in many cases, connected to a lap anchor attached to the vehicle body on the vehicle floor, a vehicle side wall, or a door, considering the layout of the seat belt.
When the seat belt is connected to the vehicle body by the lap anchor as described above, it is possible to prevent the seat belt from disturbing a passenger's sitting down on a vehicle seat or leaving the same. This facilitates getting on and off the vehicle and enables the vehicle to support the belt tension of the seat belt, thereby ensuring more reliable constraint of the passenger. The airbag apparatus protects the passenger by preventing the passenger from colliding with the vehicle body by inertia movement through expansion and deployment of the airbag, in an emergency, used simultaneously with the seat belt apparatus.
There are proposals to further increase the effect of a seat belt apparatus or an airbag apparatus by providing a seat weight measuring unit having load sensors arranged in front and back and to the right and the left of the space under the seat to measure the seat weight including the weight of the passenger sitting on the seat with these sensors and detect the weight of the passenger and the sitting posture of the passenger on the basis of the measured values of the seat weight, and by adjusting the pre-tension of the seat belt in response to the detected passenger weight and the passenger's sitting posture, or adjusting the amount of gas expanded and deployed of the airbag or the expanding and deploying speeds. For example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-150997, incorporated by reference herein.
FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a seat belt apparatus 2a installed on a seat having a seat weight measuring unit annexed thereto, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-150997 (incorporated by reference herein). In FIG. 3, reference numeral 1 represents a seat of a vehicle; 1a, a seat cushion on which the passenger sits down; 1b, a seat frame supporting the seat cushion 1a; 1c, a back against which the passenger's back leans upon sitting down on the seat cushion 1a; 2, a seat belt apparatus; 3, seat belt pair out from a retractor R not shown; 4, a lap anchor, attached to the vehicle body, to which the leading end of the seat belt 3 is connected; 5, a tongue slidably supported by the seat belt 3; 6, a buckle attached to the seat frame 1b; 7, a left seat weight measuring unit provided to the left (right in FIG. 3) relative to the passenger at a position between the seat frame 1b and the vehicle floor; and 8, a right seat weight measuring unit provided to the right (left in FIG. 3) relative to the passenger at a position between the seat frame 1b and the vehicle floor.
In such a seat belt apparatus 2a, the seat belt 3 is withdrawn from the retractor after the passenger sits on the seat cushion 1a, to engage the tongue 5 with the buckle 6, thereby causing the passenger to wear the seat belt 3. At this point in time, the weight of the passenger (body weight) is measured by the right and the left seat weight measuring units 7 and 8. In emergency such as upon collision of the vehicle, slack in the seat belt 3 is eliminated by a pretensioner. Simultaneously, a prescribed pre-tension is applied to the seat belt 3, and withdrawal of the seat belt 3 from the retractor is prevented, thereby constraining the passenger by the seat belt 3.
In this case, the upper part of the passenger's body including the shoulder and the chest is contained by the shoulder belt 3a of the seat belt on the retractor side from the tongue 5, and the lower part of the passenger's body including the waist is constrained by the lap belt 3b of the seat belt on the lap anchor 4 side from the tongue 5. Since the pre-strain applied to the seat belt 3 is adjusted in response to the measured passenger's weight, the passenger is more effectively constrained.
When the passenger being conveyed in the automobile is a baby, it is mandatory to use a child seat. In general, the child seat is firmly secured to the seat of the vehicle by the seat belt. When the child seat is thus firmly secured to the seat of the vehicle by the seat belt, a larger belt tension B is applied to the seat belt.
However, since the leading end of the set belt is attached to the vehicle body via the lap anchor, a downward force based on the belt tension B of the seat belt acts on the seat. As a result, the force based on the belt tension B is added to the measured value of the seat weight as measured by the seat weight measuring unit and exerts an influence on the latter. In this case, as disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-150997, while the left seat weight measuring unit 7 provided on the buckle 6 side is hardly affected by the force based on the belt tension B, the right seat weight measuring unit 8 on the lap anchor 4 side is easily affected by the belt tension.
Therefore, in the seat weight measuring unit disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-150997, when securing the child seat, the seat weight is measured by doubling the measured value of the seat weight as measured by the left seat weight measuring unit 7 hardly affected by the force based on the belt tension. This ensures a high reliability of seat weight measurement for the seat weight measuring unit.
For the seat weight measuring unit disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-150997, a high reliability of seat weight measurement is ensured by adopting, as the seat weight measured value, a value obtained by doubling the measured value of the left seat weight measuring unit 7 as described above. However, since measured values are different between the right and the left seat weight measuring units 7 and 8, i.e., since the seat weights are imbalanced, the measured values of the left seat weight measuring unit 7 is actually affected considerably by the force based on the belt tension. It is therefore desirable to more reliably measure the seat weight by inhibiting the influence of the force caused by the belt tension as far as possible regarding the measured values of the right and the left seat weight measuring units 7 and 8, by achieving a more balanced state of the seat weight through reduction of the difference between the measured values of the right and the left seat weight measuring units 7 and 8 to the lowest possible level.


A poly(oxyalkylene) polymer having a weight average molecular weight of at least 50,000 grams per mole and a metal salt of a carboxylic acid, sulfonic acid, or alkylsulfate, in combination are useful as a polymer processing additive. In some embodiments, the polymer processing additive further includes a poly(oxyalkylene) polymer having a weight average molecular weight of up to 20,000 grams per mole Polymer processing additive compositions and thermoplastic, for example, polyolefin, compositions including a poly(oxyalkylene) polymer and a metal salt of a carboxylic acid, sulfonic acid, or alkylsulfate are disclosed. Methods of reducing melt defects during the extrusion of a thermoplastic polymer, which may be a homogeneously catalyzed polyolefin, are also disclosed.

Extrusion of polymeric materials in the formation and shaping of articles is a major segment of the plastic or polymeric articles industry. The quality of the extruded article and the overall success of the extrusion process are typically influenced by the interaction of the fluid material with the extrusion die. For any melt-processable thermoplastic polymer composition, there exists a critical shear rate above which the surface of the extrudate becomes rough or distorted and below which the extrudate will be smooth. See, for example, R. F. Westover, Melt Extrusion, Encyclopedia of Polymer Science and Technology, vol. 8, pp. 573-81 (John Wiley & Sons 1968). The desire for a smooth extrudate surface competes, and must be optimized with respect to, the economic advantages of extruding a polymer composition at the fastest possible speed (for example at high shear rates).
At low shear rates, defects in extruded thermoplastics may take the form of "sharkskin", which is a loss of surface gloss that in more serious manifestations appears as ridges running more or less transverse to the extrusion direction. At higher rates, the extrudate can undergo "continuous melt fracture", becoming grossly distorted. At rates lower than those at which continuous melt fracture is first observed, certain thermoplastics can also suffer from "cyclic melt fracture", in which the extrudate surface varies from smooth to rough.
There are other problems often encountered during the extrusion of thermoplastic polymers. They include a build-up of the polymer at the orifice of the die (known as die build up or die drool), high back pressure during extrusion runs, and excessive degradation or low melt strength of the polymer due to high extrusion temperatures. These problems slow the extrusion process either because the process must be stopped to clean the equipment or because the process must be run at a lower speed.
The use of polyethylene glycol in extrusion processing of thermoplastics has been described. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,540,538 (Corwin et al.) and U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2005/0070644 (Tikuisis et al.). U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,693 (Duchesne et al.) discloses that a combination of a fluoropolymer and a poly(oxyalkylene) polymer is more effective than a fluoropolymer alone for reducing melt defects under certain conditions. However, polyethylene glycols having molecular weights of 400 Da and 3350 Da used in the absence of fluoropolymer were not effective under the same conditions. U.S. Pat. No. 6,294,604 (Focquet et al.) describes a combination of a fluoropolymer, a poly(oxyalkylene) polymer, and magnesium oxide as an extrusion additive.

Poly(oxyalkylene) polymer processing additive, compositions, and methods


Process for the manufacture of sodium bicarbonate particles having an ovoid or spherical shape, the process preparing an aqueous solution of sodium bicarbonate, which is supersaturated; circulating the aqueous solution supersaturated in sodium bicarbonate through a bed of crystals in order to cause the bed to be a mobile bed in which the crystals are in continuous motion, and to cause crystallization of the sodium bicarbonate particles and at least partial desupersaturation of the aqueous solution supersaturated in sodium bicarbonate to provide a mother liquor and, withdrawing the sodium bicarbonate particles from the bed.

1. Field of the invention
The invention relates to sodium bicarbonate having a specific morphology and to a process for obtaining it.
There are various known processes for obtaining sodium bicarbonate.
A first process, generally termed the ammonia process and commonly used in industry, consists in treating an ammoniacal brine with a gas containing carbon dioxide (TE-PANG HOU-"Manufacture of soda"-2nd edition-American Chemical Society Monograph Series-1969-Hafner Publishing Company-pages 132 to 157).
Another process consists in mixing a saturated aqueous solution of sodium chloride with a nitrogenous organic base insoluble in water (generally an amine) and in treating the resulting mixture with a gas containing carbon dioxide (Pat. Nos. FR-A-2,545,079 and FR-A-2,551,428-SOLVAY & Cie).
To produce sodium bicarbonate of high purity, intended in particular for foodstuffs, an aqueous solution of sodium carbonate is subjected to the action of a gas containing carbon dioxide (SHREVE-"The Chemical Process Industries"-2nd edition-1956-McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.-page295).
In these known processes the treatment with the gas containing carbon dioxide produces an aqueous suspension of crystals of sodium bicarbonate. These processes accordingly involve a filtration of the suspension in order to extract the sodium bicarbonate crystals therefrom and a drying of these crystals. These two operations are prolonged and costly and moreover involve heavy investments. The sodium bicarbonate obtained after drying is generally in the form of a fine powder, the particles of which are of irregular shape and size and frequently have a wide particle size distribution.

Process for the crystallization of sodium bicarbonate


A marine propulsion system is provided with a hydrophobic membrane disposed across a port of its cooling system which allows air to pass through the membrane, but inhibits water from passing through it. During draining procedures, air can freely pass into the cooling system through the membrane to replace evacuated water and avoid the formation of low pressure regions within the cooling system. During initiation of the marine propulsion engine, following a period when what has been drained from the cooling system, air can freely pass through the membrane to be expelled from the cooling system as it is replaced by water pumped in the cooling system by a sea pump.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally related to a passive air venting system used in a marine propulsion system and, more particularly, to a passive air vent using a hydrophobic or oleophobic membrane.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When marine engines are drained, or restarted after a period during which coolant has drained from the engine, it is necessary that the exchange of air and water be accomplished in a timely and efficient manner. When a marine propulsion system is in the process of evacuating its cooling water, it is important that steps be taken to avoid forming pockets of air in the cooling system which are subjected to decreasing pressure because of the sudden evacuation of water. In addition, when initially filling the cooling passages of a marine engine after water has been drained, it is important to evacuate the air from the system in an efficient manner to avoid xe2x80x9cvapor lockxe2x80x9d conditions that can inhibit the proper filling of the cooling passages with water.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,135,064, which issued to Logan et al on Oct. 24, 2000, discloses an engine drain system. The engine cooling system of a marine propulsion device is provided with a manifold that is located below the lowest point of the cooling system of an engine. The manifold is connected to the cooling system of the engine, a water pump, a circulation, the exhaust manifold of the engine, and a drain conduit through which all of the water can be drained from the engine.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,934, which issued to Biggs et al on Jul. 18, 2000, discloses an engine cooling system with a simplified drain and flushing procedure. The engine cooling system is provided with one or more flexible conduits attached to drain openings of the engine and its related components. First ends of the conduits are attached to the drain openings while the second ends are sealed by studs attached to a plate of a stationary bracket. A retainer is slidably associated with the flexible conduits and attached to a tether which is in turn attached to a handle. By manipulating the handle, the tether forces the retainer to slide along the flexible conduit and control the position of the second ends of the flexible conduits. This allows the system to be moved from a first position with the second ends of the conduits above the first ends of the conduits to a second position with the second ends of the conduits below the first ends and in the bilge of the boat. The system allows an operator to stand in a single location and move the drain system from the first to the second position and back again without having to reach down into the engine compartment to remove drain plugs. The system allows the cooling system to be easily drained or flushed.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/887,823, which was filed Casey et al on Jun. 22, 2001, discloses a pump and drain apparatus for a marine propulsion system. An integral pump and drain apparatus is contained in a common housing structure to reduce the required space for these components in the vicinity proximate the engine of a marine propulsion system. The valve of the drain is remotely actuated by air pressure and therefore does not require the boat operator to manually remove plugs or manually actuate mechanical components to cause the engine to drain through a drain conduit that is formed as an integral part of the housing structure. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/891,121 which was filed by Jaeger on Jun. 25, 2001, discloses a siphon inhibiting device for a marine cooling system. The siphon inhibiting valve comprises first and second portions of a housing structure and a buoyant member disposed within the housing structure for movement along a first axis between an inlet port and an outlet port. The buoyant member is shaped to have a cylindrical portion and another portion which is shaped in the form of a frustum of a cone. Upward movement of the buoyant member causes an elastomeric seal on the buoyant member to come into contact with an internal lip formed in the housing structure, thereby creating a seal that prevents an upward flow of water in a direction from the outlet port to the inlet port. When cooling water is drained from the outlet port area, the buoyant member is forced downward into an open position by its own weight and the weight of the water on its inlet port side. This free movement of the buoyant member allows the water on the inlet port side to drain without manual intervention. When normal flow occurs, in a direction from an inlet port to the outlet port, the buoyant member is forced downward into an open position and water flows around the buoyant member from a water pump toward the cooling system of the engine. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/716,533 which was filed on Nov. 20, 2000, by Biggs et al discloses a marine engine cooling system with a check valve to facilitate draining. A marine engine cooling system is provided with a valve in which a ball moves freely within a cavity formed within the valve. Pressurized water, from a sea pump, causes the ball to block fluid flow through the cavity and forces pumped water to flow through a preferred conduit which may include a heat exchanger. When the sea pump is inoperative, the ball moves downward within the cavity to unblock the drain passage and allow water to drain from the head generating component of the marine engine. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/797,142 which was filed by Hughes et al on Mar. 1, 2001, discloses a marine engine cooling system with a simplified water drain and flushing mechanism. The draining system for a marine propulsion system is provided in which a manifold is located at a low portion of the cooling system to allow all of the water within the cooling system to drain through a common location or manifold. A rigid shaft is connected to a valve associated with the manifold and extending upwardly from the manifold to a location proximate the upper portion of the engine so that a marine vessel operator can easily reach the upper end of the shaft and manipulate the shaft to open the valve of the manifold. In this way, the valve can be opened to allow all of the water to drain from the engine without requiring the marine vessel operator to reach toward locations at the bottom portion of the engine.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,196,708, which issued to Rogers on Mar. 6, 2001, describes oleophobic laminated articles, assemblies of use, and methods. An article, such as a filter or film, has a treated laminate with an expanded PTFE membrane and a porous support scrim. The treated laminate is formed by contacting a laminate having an expanded PTFE membrane and a porous support scrim with an oleophobic treatment agent dissolved in an organic solvent. The oleophobic treatment agent is deposited onto the expanded PTFE membrane and porous support scrim as the organic solvent is removed. The oleophobic treatment agent is typically a fluoropolymer. The article can be used, for example, as a filter over a port in a housing of an electronics or other device.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,040,251, which issued to Caldwell on Mar. 21, 2000, describes garments of barrier webs. The invention includes a novel barrier web that has certain desirable physical characteristics such as water resistance, increased durability, improved barrier qualities and the like. The invention further comprises a barrier web comprising a web that has been treated with a curable shear thinned thixotropic polymer composition, the fabric being adapted to be substantially impermeable to liquids, permeable to gases and impermeable to microorganisms. The barrier webs of the present invention are either impermeable to all microorganisms or are impermeable to microorganisms of certain sizes. The present invention also includes fabrics that are capable of either selective binding certain microorganisms, particles or molecules depending upon what binding partners are incorporated into the polymer before application to the fabric.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,888, which issued to Luckett et al on Jul. 19, 1994, discloses a thermostat housing assembly for a marine engine. The assembly has a first inlet to receive sea water and an outlet that is connected to a circulating pump that circulates cooling water to the engine. A baffle is located in the housing and prevents direct flow between the sea water inlet and the outlet. The housing defines a pair of passages with a first of the passages providing communication between the sea water inlet and forms a first chamber which communicates with a pair of manifold outlets that are connected to the manifold. A second of the passages provides communication between the sea water inlet and the outlet of the circulation pump. The housing also includes a return inlet for returning water from the engine and the return inlet is connected to the second passages. A thermostat is mounted in an opening between the passages and when the thermostat is open a portion of the returning cooling water will be directed through the thermostat opening to the first passage and mixed with incoming sea water and then directed to the manifolds.
The patents described above are hereby expressly incorporated by reference in the description of the present invention.
Various types of PTFE membranes and related oleophobic products are available in commercial quantities from W. L. Gore and Associates, Inc. and are sold under various trademarks, such as GORE-TEX fabrics, PreVent membrane vents, et al. W. L. Gore and Associates, Inc. also provides various types of automobile venting products such as those sold under the trade name OLEOGARD. These devices can be used to reduce the cost and weight of components by minimizing internal pressures which will result in reduced mechanical design requirements. The vents allow rapid exchange of air in response to pressure gradients while protecting against contamination by water, automobile fluids, and dust. The Pall Corporation provides various types of filter media components with properties that are useful in producing hydrophobic or oleophobic fabrics and materials.
When marine engine draining systems formerly required extensive manual intervention, the draining process was sufficiently slow to allow air to replace water as it drained from the engine. The highly improved draining systems, such as those described above, allow water to drain from the engine at a much faster rate and this quicker draining process can, under certain conditions, create pockets of air that are subjected to decreased pressure because of the evacuation of water from lower portions of the engine""s cooling system. As will be described in greater detail below, this rapid evacuation of water can possibly decrease the pressure within the cooling system sufficiently to draw water upwardly through the exhaust system of the engine and into the exhaust manifold. As is well known to those skilled in the art, water ingested into the region of the exhaust ports of the cylinders of the engine can lead to significantly deleterious results.
Also, when an engine is restarted after a period during which water has drained from its cooling passages, cooling water must be pumped from the body of water in which the marine propulsion system is operated and into the cooling passages of the engine to provide sufficient cooling capability. If air is not evacuated efficiently during this refilling operation, the condition referred to as xe2x80x9cvapor lockxe2x80x9d by those skilled in the art can occur and this improper filling of the cooling passages with water can lead to an overheating condition. It is therefore important that air be permitted to flow into and out of the engine cooling system at the appropriate times.
A marine propulsion system made in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises an engine having a cooling passage, a fluid conduit connected in fluid communication with the cooling passage, and a port formed at a preselected location of the fluid conduit. It further comprises a membrane covering the port, wherein the membrane is generally impermeable to liquid and generally permeable to gas.
The propulsion system further comprises a pump connected in fluid communication with the fluid conduit for drawing water from a body of water in which the marine propulsion system is operated and then pumping the water through the fluid conduit to the cooling passages of the engine. The fluid conduit can comprise a thermostat housing and the port can be formed in the thermostat housing. The thermostat housing is generally attached to a top portion of the engine and the port is located proximate a highest port of the fluid conduit in a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention. The port is generally located proximate a point which is above the cooling passages of the engine in order to allow it perform its function more efficiently. The membrane covering the port is hydrophobic and, in certain embodiments, can also be oleophobic. The cooling passage of the engine comprises a cavity formed in a block of the engine to provide a path for cooling water to pass in thermal communication with heat producing components of the engine. The cooling passages within the engine are typically formed as cavities that are cast in the engine block when it is formed. These cavities are positioned so that water passing through them can efficiently remove heat from the heat producing portions of the engine.

Passive air vent system for a marine propulsion engine


There is provided a laminate comprising a hard coat layer having the outermost surface to which slipperiness has been imparted.

Most of laminates, especially displays such as liquid crystal panels, have a construction including a luminous body, a reflector plate, a polarizing plate, an anti-dazzling film, a hard coat layer, and a transparent substrate. In particular, a method commonly used in the production of a transparent substrate provided with a hard coat layer includes the steps of: unwinding a transparent substrate in a roll form; forming a hard coat layer on the surface of the transparent substrate; and then winding the assembly, comprising the transparent substrate having a hard coat layer on its surface, into a roll while interposing a polyethylene terephthalate film having a small thickness and a small width as a side tape into between the hard coat layer and the transparent substrate from the viewpoint of preventing adhesion between the hard coat layer and the transparent substrate (a roll-to-roll method). General contents of the roll-to-roll method are disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 335559/2000. However, it has been pointed out that the use of the side tape is an obstacle to high-speed production and an increase in production cost. Further, it has also been often pointed out that continuous production of the display in the next step becomes difficult.
On the other hand, the addition of a silicone oil as a leveling agent to the hard coat layer has been proposed. However, when the material per se for hard coat layer formation is curable and slippery, this nature is convenient for handling.
Accordingly, at the present time, a laminate, in which any silicone oil is not used and a product prepared by unwinding a transparent substrate in a roll form and forming a hard coat layer on the surface of the transparent substrate as such can be wound into a roll without the need to use any side tape, has eagerly been desired.

Laminate improving slippage of hardcoat layer

Abstract: The laminate comprises a transparent substrate and a hard coat layer provided on said transparent substrate. The hard coat layer is formed of a cured product of a composition comprising a fluorine-modified urethane acrylate and/or a polydimethylsiloxane having a polyether-modified acryl or polyether group.


A system and method for improving signaling channel robustness. Additional error correction is provided for (L1) dynamic signaling that is carried in P2 symbols in such way that high time diversity can be provided. In other embodiments, transmitted services are scheduled such that services will rotate or “move” between frames, thereby ensuring that a first slot for a service is not always transmitted in the same frequency.

This section is intended to provide a background or context to the invention that is recited in the claims. The description herein may include concepts that could be pursued, but are not necessarily ones that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, what is described in this section is not prior art to the description and claims in this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Digital broadband broadcast networks enable end users to receive digital content including video, audio, data, etc. Using a portable, mobile or fixed terminal, a user may receive digital content over a wireless digital broadcast network. Digital content can be transmitted in a cell within a network. A cell may represent a geographical area that may be covered by a transmitter in a communication network. A network may have multiple cells and cells may be adjacent to other cells.
In the Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB)-T2 standard, a method has been proposed for transmitting data over several separate radio frequency (RF) channels. In the method, data path error resiliency is improved because error correction is performed over several RF channels that are independent on each other.
In systems such as DVB-T2, two pilot symbols P1 and P2 are defined to enable fast channel searching and service discovery within the frame. Furthermore, for the carriage of Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) layer 1, physical layer (L1) and frame specific information within the P2 symbol, a P2-1 packet structure is defined. In addition to the L1 and frame specific information, the P2-1 packet may also carry OSI layer 2, data link layer (L2) signaling information (e.g. Program Specific Information/Service information (PSI/SI)) or data of the actual services.
The pilot symbol P1 may enable a fast initial scan for signals. The pilot symbol P1 may also be used to signal FFT-size and frequency offset to a receiver in the initial signal scan. In addition, the pilot symbol P1 may be used to assist in coarse frequency and coarse time synchronization of the receiver.
The pilot symbol P2 may be used for coarse and fine frequency synchronization and time synchronization in addition to initial synchronization achieved with pilot symbol P1. Moreover, the pilot symbol P2 may also carry L1 signaling information which may describe the physical parameters of the transmission and the construction of the TFS-frame. Furthermore, the pilot symbol P2 may provide an initial channel estimate, which may be needed to decode information in the P2 symbol and together with scattered pilots, the information in the first data symbols in the frame. Finally, the pilot symbol P2 may provide a channel for carrying L2 signaling information.
In the proposed DVB-T2, time frequency slicing (TFS)-related dynamic signaling is proposed to be transmitted in P2 synchronization symbols. In this arrangement, each TFS frame contains one or a limited number of P2 symbols that carry information regarding how a receiver can find desired services from the following frame. In the current proposal, dynamic signaling carried in P2 symbols is one of the key elements. However, it has been noticed that the dynamic signaling may not be sufficiently robust. Because reception without signaling is not possible, signaling robustness must be guaranteed to be better than data path robustness.
In order to improve dynamic signaling robustness, it is possible include parts of the dynamic signaling data in conjunction (i.e., being co-scheduled) with the actual data so that, when a receiver is following a service, dynamic signaling data for the received service from the same place is reduced. However, this implementation suffers from the fact that that providing co-scheduled signaling would include information about only the one service that is transmitted with the signaling. This is because, if all co-scheduled signaling contained information of all services, then required signaling capacity would be multiplied by the number of transmitted services. As such, in this arrangement, improved robustness does not result in the channel-switching scenario where the receiver needs to rely on the signaling provided only via P2 symbols.

System and method for improving signaling channel robustness


An implantable lead adapted to transmit electrical signals between a connector assembly on a proximal end of the lead and at least one electrode carried by a distal end of the lead comprises a helical fixation element extendable and retractable from the distal end of the lead, the header comprising (a) an inner header part comprising an electrically conductive material that is substantially transparent fluoroscopically, the inner header part having a distal end, (b) an outer header part comprising an electrically insulating material, and (c) a collar attached to the distal end of the inner header part. The collar comprises a material that is substantially opaque fluoroscopically. The collar may be electrically conductive, and electrically and mechanically connected, preferably by means of an overlap joint, to the distal end of the inner header part. The conductive collar thus may be electrically connected to an electrical contact on the connector assembly via the electrically conductive inner header part, whereby the collar may be used for mapping the electrical activity of local body tissue. Alternatively, the collar may be electrically isolated by, for example, covering the outer surface of the collar with an electrically insulating layer.

Body implantable electrical leads form the electrical connection between a pulse generator, such as a cardiac pacemaker, and body tissue, such as that of the heart, which is to be electrically stimulated. As is well known, the leads connecting pacemakers with the heart may be used for pacing or for sensing electrical signals produced by the heart, or for both pacing and sensing in which case a single lead serves as a bidirectional pulse transmission link between the pacemaker and the heart. An endocardial type lead, that is, a lead which is inserted into a vein and guided therethrough into a cavity of the heart, includes at its distal tip an electrode designed to contact the endocardium, the tissue lining the inside of the heart. The lead further includes a proximal end carrying an electrical connector assembly adapted to be received by a receptacle in the pacemaker. A flexible cable or coil conductor surrounded by an insulating sheath couples a terminal contact on the electrical connector assembly with the electrode at the distal tip.
To prevent displacement or dislodgment of the tip electrode and to maintain the necessary stable electrical contact between the tip electrode and the endocardial tissue, the electrode must be firmly anchored relative to the tissue. To achieve this, one type of lead, sometimes referred to as an active fixation lead, includes a pointed, extendable/retractable helix adapted to be screwed into the heart tissue to be stimulated. In this fashion, the position of the tip electrode is mechanically stabilized by positively anchoring the lead tip so that it remains securely in place during the lifetime of the implant.
The fixation helix may itself comprise the tip electrode in which case it is electrically coupled by means of a coil conductor to a rotatable terminal contact pin on the connector assembly. Rotational torque applied to the connector pin at the proximal end of the lead is transmitted via the coil conductor to the helix electrode which is thereby screwed into the heart tissue. Removal of the screw-in electrode from the endocardium is effected by counterrotation of the connector pin. Thus, in lead having a screw-in helix electrode, the coil conductor is used not only as a conductor for electrically coupling the connector pin and the helix electrode, but also as a tool for extending or retracting the helix electrode relative to the distal end of the lead during lead fixation or removal by rotating the connector pin. Whether the screw-in helix is electrically active or not, the degree of extension of the helix relative to the lead tip must be easily verified by the implanting physician.
Today's active fixation leads may be generally divided into two categories. Leads in the first category use a non-electrically conductive polymer header to retain the extendable/retractable helix while leads in the second category use a metal header for that purpose. Because of the fluoroscopic transparency of non-conductive polymers, leads of the first kind facilitate the confirmation of the degree of helix extension and retraction. In aid of such visual confirmation, a high-density, radiopaque metal ring is typically attached to the distal end of the polymer header. The ring thus serves as a fluoroscopic helix position marker; it is not electrically active to transfer electrical signals to and from the pacemaker to which the lead is connected.
Leads of the second category have high density metal headers that are not fluoroscopically transparent thus hindering visual confirmation of the degree of helix extension or retraction. Nevertheless, metal headers do have advantages. For example, their electrical conductivity allows cardiac signals generated in the cardiac tissue adjacent to the distal tip of the lead to be sensed for purposes of mapping localized heart activity. In addition, metal headers have greater strength than plastic headers and may be easily machined to form thin but strong header walls thereby making possible leads with small diameter distal ends.
Accordingly, there remains a need for a screw-in type of lead comprising a header that has the electrical and mechanical advantages of metal headers while at the same time allowing for the easy, visual fluoroscopic confirmation of helix extension and retraction afforded by non-conductive polymer headers.

Active fixation lead with multiple density


A sludge scraper (10) for scraping sludge (107) from the bottom of a reservoir (100) is disclosed herein. The scraper includes a main frame (11) that provides for the mounting of a pair of skids (15), a scraper blade (17), and a pair of wheels (25). A first tow line (27) is connected between the frame and a first winch (109) mounted on a first shore (103) of the reservoir. A second tow line (41) is connected between the skids and a second winch (111) mounted on a second shore (105) of the reservoir. The first winch moves the plow over the bottom to plow sludge towards the first shore. The second winch causes the apparatus to rotate about the wheels so that the scraper blade is lifted off the bottom of the reservoir and the skids contact the bottom of the reservoir to facilitate movement of the apparatus toward the second shore for another pass.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for removing sludge sediment from a waste sewage containment reservoir. In particular, the present invention relates to a sludge scraper apparatus that can be easily moved over a waste sewage containment reservoir for scraping sludge sediment from the bottom of the reservoir. The apparatus has a main frame that mounts a scraper blade at one end and a pair of skids at an opposite end of the frame. A set of wheels are journaled to an axle that is mounted on the frame at an intermediate position between the ends of the frame. A first tow line is mounted on the one end of the frame, adjacent to the scraper blade, and is connected to a first winch mounted on a first shore of the reservoir. A second tow line is mounted on the skids and is connected to a second winch mounted on a second shore of the reservoir. The sludge scraper apparatus removes sludge sediment from the reservoir by cycling in passes over the bottom of the reservoir. A pass begins with the sludge scraper apparatus adjacent to the second shore. The first winch then spools up the first tow line, which causes the scraper blade to move over the bottom of the reservoir, plowing sludge sediment towards the first shore. Once the scraper apparatus has reached the first shore, the second winch is actuated to spool up the second tow line. This causes the sludge scraper apparatus to rotate on the wheels in a first direction with the scraper blade rotating off the bottom of the reservoir so that the skids are positioned in contact with the bottom of the reservoir. In this position, the sludge scraper apparatus is able to be pulled back towards the second shore by the second winch, moving over the bottom of the reservoir on the skids and the wheels. Once the scraper apparatus reaches the second shore, the first winch is again actuated, which causes the sludge scraper apparatus to rotate on the wheels in a second direction, opposite the first direction, so that the scraper blade contacts the bottom of the reservoir for another pass. The first and second winches are moved along the shore, preferably a distance equal to the swath of the scraper blade. This repositions the sludge scraper apparatus for another cycle This process is repeated until the sludge sediment has been plowed from the bottom of the reservoir and piled up adjacent to the first shore The accumulated sludge sediment can then be removed from the reservoir by a power shovel or any other suitable means.
(2) Prior Art
The prior art has described various types of apparatus for removing sludge sediment from a sludge sedimentation tank. Sedimentation tanks are rigid vessels that are usually constructed of concrete or metal to form the tank. Two general types of scraper apparatus are used to remove sludge sediment that has precipitated onto the bottom of the tank. The first type has a track or guide rail that extends across the top of the tank. A scraper apparatus rides back and forth on the rail by means of a motor or a pulley system driven by a motor. The scraper apparatus has a scraper blade that extends towards the bottom of the tank. When the scraper apparatus moves in a forward pass, the scraper blade is caused to plow sludge sediment off the bottom of the reservoir and preferably towards a sludge hopper located at one end of the tank. The scraper apparatus then moves backwards, towards the opposite end of the tank to a position ready for another forward pass. When the scraper apparatus travels in the backwards direction, the scraper blade preferably moves into a retracted position to help the backwards movement of the scraper apparatus. Illustrative of this first type of sludge scraper apparatus is U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,009,559 to Mieder; 2,033,291 to Laughlin et al; 2,101,080 to Lund; 3,410,412 to Fechter and 4,417,983 to Smigerski et al.
The second type of sludge sediment scraper apparatus moves over the bottom of the tank powered by a pulley system. The scraper apparatus is preferably provided with wheels that ride over the concrete or metal bottom of the tank. A scraper blade is positioned adjacent to the bottom of the tank as the scraper apparatus plows in a forward direction, towards a sludge hopper. On the return trip back across the bottom of the tank, the scraper blade is retracted. This second type of apparatus works well as long as the bottom of the tank is rigid enough to support the weight of the scraper apparatus. Illustrative of this type of sludge scraper apparatus is U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,918,742 to Elrod; 1,919,689 to Elrod and 4,724,088 to Zetterlund.
All the prior art sludge scraper apparatus are designed to remove sludge from sedimentation tanks that are rigid containment vessels, made from metal or concrete.
What is not shown by the prior art is a sludge scraper apparatus that is useful for removing sludge sediment from a sludge containment reservoir having a loose, earthen bottom. The prior art apparatus did not encounter the problem of removing sludge sediment from an earthen reservoir, so there was never the need to invent a scraper apparatus that can slide across the bottom of a sludge reservoir. Therefore, even though the scraper apparatus of the present invention can be used to remove sludge sediment from all types of waste sewage reservoirs and tanks, the present invention is particularly useful in sludge reservoirs having earthen bottoms. Earthen reservoir bottoms are usually made of clay or peat as a means of containing the liquids comprising the waste sewage, and clay or peat reservoir bottoms tend to be relatively soft and unconsolidated. This prohibits the use of heavy plowing equipment, such as bulldozers and apparatus similar to those shown by the prior art, which easily become bogged down in the loose sludge sediment and clay or peat.
The problem is therefore to provide a scraper which operates well in the setting where the reservoir has a bottom which is made of clay or peat. The prior art apparatus are not suitable for this setting.


The present invention is to provide a method for identifying a polymorphism. The method includes performing a nucleic acid chain extension reaction and identifying the polymorphism of the nucleic acid contained in the test nucleic acid sample. The extension reaction is conducted with use of a nucleic acid in a test nucleic acid sample as a template, a type I detection primer which hybridizes with a region including the polymorphic site of a nucleic acid whose polymorphic site nucleotide sequence consisting of a first nucleotide sequence, and a polymerase. The reaction is conducted with the presence of an inhibitory oligonucleotide, which hybridizes with the type I detection primer. The region of the type I detection primer to hybridize with the inhibitory oligonucleotide is located on the 5′ side of the polymorphism detection site of the type I detection primer to hybridize with the polymorphic site.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for identifying a polymorphism more sensitively and more accurately than prior art methods.
2. Description of Related Art
With the recent progress in genetic engineering technologies and gene recombination technologies, genetic tests through nucleic acid analyses have been widely used in applications to medical services, researches, and industries. Such tests are to detect the presence of DNA which has a target nucleotide sequence within a sample, and have been applied not only to diagnosis and treatment of diseases, but also to food inspection and other various fields. In particular, a genetic polymorphism such as a SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) is considered to be a major factor contributing to the individual difference in the vulnerability against a specific disease such as cancer, the drug metabolizing capacity, and so forth. Genetic polymorphism analyses have been widely conducted not only in academic researches but also in actual clinical tests. Therefore, highly accurate and quick methods for detecting a genetic polymorphism have been enthusiastically developed.
As to the method for detecting and identifying a genetic polymorphism, there are many reported methods in which artificially synthesized polynucleotides such as probes and primers are used to examine the nucleotide sequences of nucleic acids. For example, some methods are to analyze the nucleotide sequence of a SNP serving as the analysis target and its neighboring region by molecular-biological enzymatic reactions. Such methods can be exemplified by: a method in which a region including a polymorphism such as a SNP can be detected by PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) amplification; and a method in which a SNP can be detected by a ligation reaction using a probe including the detection target SNP at the 3′ end and a probe including a nucleotide adjacent to the 5′ side of the SNP, at the 5′ end, and subsequent determination regarding the obtainability of a polynucleotide bound with these two probes.
In particular, often employed SNP analysis methods are SSP-PCR (Sequence Specific Primer-PCR) method and ASP-PCR (Allele Specific Primer-PCR) method, in which a SNP can be detected by PCR using a primer specifically bindable to a specific nucleotide sequence, allele, and the like, and subsequent determination regarding the presence/absence of the PCR product. The reason is that, since the detection and recognition of a nucleotide sequence (genetic polymorphism) can be carried out concurrently with enhancement of its signal, the polymorphism detection by means of the SSP/ASP-PCR method can enable the SNP detection even in the case where only a small amount of specimen is available, or the case where the nucleic acid concentration in a sample is very low, like a case of a specimen in a clinical test, and therefore these methods are very useful.
There are many reported SNP analysis methods using no amplification reaction, unlike the SSP-PCR method and the ASP-PCR method. For example, there is disclosed a method (1) for detecting a SNP by using (a) a partially-double-stranded nucleic acid molecule comprising: a single-stranded nucleic acid molecule complementary to a nucleic acid molecule as a detection target; and (b) one or two single-stranded nucleic acid molecule(s) hybridizing with a part of the single-stranded nucleic acid molecule (a), wherein regions of single-stranded structure of the partially-double-stranded nucleic acid molecule are complementary to regions including the identification site of the nucleic acid molecule as the detection target (for example, refer to Patent Document 1). Under the coexistence of the partially-double-stranded nucleic acid molecule and the nucleic acid molecule as the detection target, the single-strand of the nucleic acid molecule of the invention and the target nucleic acid molecule are replaced by the strand displacement reaction, thereby forming a double-stranded structure of the long chain of the nucleic acid molecule of the invention and the target nucleic acid molecule. The target nucleic acid molecule can be detected by detecting this double-stranded structure.


[Problem] It is intended to provide a formed article for food which has excellent antistatic properties and water repellency without impairing its original external appearance and mechanical properties thereof even in a deep-drawn part having a high drawing ratio at forming or even through high temperature forming.

With respect to food containers and the like, there have been problems of nonuniformity of contents and contamination due to charged dust and adhesion of powdered soup and ingredients. Therefore, these products are required to be a container subjected to antistatic treatment. These containers are formed from a conductive resin composition or from an insulating resin followed by applying a conductive coating material to the surface of the containers and are used so that the containers have electrical conductivity to the extent that the containers are not charged with static electricity.
As a conducting agent for the above conductive resin composition or conductive coating material, conductive carbon black is most widely used. However, carbon black has a problem that since it is composed of fine particles, it is easily separated from the surface of a base material, and the separated fine particles of carbon black soil the contents of the container, and a problem that since it is black altogether, the design of the container is poor. Although various types of conductive polymers are proposed as a conductive material that replaces the conductive carbon black, these conductive polymers are expensive and required to be used in a large amount.
Although dissociative inorganic salts such as lithium perchlorate are also proposed as a conductive material that replaces a conductive polymer, these dissociative inorganic salts have low compatibility with a thermoplastic resin forming a container or a film-forming material of a conductive coating material and are hardly uniformly dispersed in the resin or the film. Further, if a dissociative inorganic salt is used in an amount that sufficient electrical conductivity is obtained, the dissociative inorganic salt will be eliminated from a container body or a conductive coating film, and the separated inorganic salt will provide poor practicality similar to the above carbon black.
As a means to solve these defects, a method of adding various surfactants such as anionic, cationic, and nonionic surfactants has been practically used. However, although the method of adding a surfactant provides excellent antistatic properties to a product in a short period of time after the product is formed, it is difficult to maintain the performance over a long period of time because a surfactant bled out to the surface of the product will be lost by friction, water washing, and the like. Further, since a synthetic resin product is formed at high temperatures, part of the surfactant causes thermal decomposition, causing smoke generation during forming, discoloration of the product, and the like. Further, in a multilayer film and resin sheet of a synthetic resin, since it is necessary to add an antistatic agent not only to a surface layer but also to a core layer in order to exhibit antistatic performance, the amount of the antistatic agent added is increased, which is economically disadvantageous.
As an antistatic agent for olefin polymer films, various compounds having a hydroxy group in the molecule have been known, such as fatty acid esters of polyhydric alcohol, polyoxyalkylene alkyl ethers, hydroxyalkyl-substituted aliphatic amines, and hydroxyalkyl-substituted fatty acid amides, and mixture thereof (for example, refer to Patent Literatures 1 and 2). A compound containing nitrogen may generate acrylamide during heating, and a compound which does not contain nitrogen may be poor in antistatic performance. Further, there is known a mixture of the compound having a hydroxy group in the molecule as described above and an organic sulfonic acid salt (for example, refer to Patent Literatures 3 and 4). However, these conventional antistatic agents for olefin polymer films have problems that antistatic properties to be imparted to olefin polymer films are insufficient and nonuniform; slide resistance is insufficient; and especially, antistatic properties and slide resistance imparted to olefin polymer films decrease with time.
Generally, in order to convert plastics from an insulation level to an antistatic level, an antistatic agent having a low molecular weight is applied or kneaded. When an antistatic agent is applied, the application is excellent in immediate effectivity, but the coating film on the surface may be removed by deep draw forming and rubbing of contents. When an antistatic agent is kneaded, even if the coating film on the surface is removed, antistatic properties may be recovered by the bleedout of the antistatic agent. Further, there is a technique of subjecting the peripheral wall of a cup container formed into a cup shape from a synthetic resin containing an antistatic agent to corona discharge treatment to thereby bleed out the antistatic agent to improve surface polarity. However, since this technique has a problem of seal strength between the container and a lid and durability and the polar substance may pollute contents, excessive bleedout is not preferred. (for example, refer to Patent Literature 5)
However, even when an antistatic agent is kneaded, an antistatic effect will be hardly effectively developed in a region (for example, a corner part of a container) where the degree of drawing by thermoforming is large. Particularly, in recent years, the design of a container has been required, and high drawing has been required in each region of a formed article. Therefore, a formed article showing a sufficient antistatic effect even in a region having a high draw ratio and a resin sheet for the same are required.
Further, in the application which should avoid cut wear debris generated from the formed article of a resin sheet, a container formed from a polypropylene-based resin is preferably used. However, in the polypropylene-based resin, crystal structure easily changes with forming conditions, and the speed of development of antistatic properties is influenced by the change. For example, the development of antistatic properties is early on the surface in contact with a mold because the surface is rapidly cooled, but the development of antistatic properties is late on the opposite surface because it is slowly cooled.
Since the number of trapped free electrons in the polypropylene-based resin itself is different due to the difference in crystallization depending on a homopolymer or a random copolymer or the addition of a rubber component, a co-block polymer is used (for example, refer to Patent Literature 6). However, there is a problem that the rigidity of a formed article may be insufficient.
Further, water repellency may be required for a resin sheet and a formed article. For example, when water is used for cooking, the water adheres to a container because an ionic dissociation type antistatic agent used in a conventional container is hydrophilic. Therefore, it has been difficult to obtain clear water supply amounts. Thus, water repellency has been imparted by incorporating inorganic fine particles into the surface of a resin sheet (for example, refer to Patent Literature 7). However, in this method, the inorganic fine particles may peel off or may be decomposed to be eluted into water. Therefore, the method has not been able to be employed in a material in which incorporation of impurities is not allowed, such as a food container.

Thermoplastic resin sheets and formed articles

Abstract: [Solution] A multi-layer sheet is prepared having a multi-layer configuration with two or more types of two or more layers, including a main layer which contains a thermoplastic resin, talc and white pigment, and a skin layer of an antistatic resin composition which contains at least one type of thermoplastic resin and an antistatic agent on an opposite side. By thermoforming the sheet including the resin composition, a formed article which has excellent antistatic properties and water repellency effective for preventing contamination and adhesion of soup powder can be obtained. The polymer antistatic agent desirably contains a fatty acid ester sulfonate salt as a main component, has a surface resistivity of 1013Ω/□ or less, and has a water droplet contact angle of 90° or more. The multi-layer sheet is desirably prepared by co-extrusion.


The invention relates to using a perfusion scanning medical imaging technique to generate an image of a perfusable structure of an organism. A fluid is flowing through the structure, and a dose of a traceable agent is present in the fluid. The evolution of the spatial concentration of the agent, e.g., a set of values of the magnitude of the concentration assumed at various moments over a period of time, is determined for a plurality of locations within the structure. The spatial pattern of the evolutions is analyzed and an image is generated on the basis of this analysis in order to enable the medical practitioner to draw conclusions about the dispersion characteristics of the perfusable structure.

A perfusable structure is a structure that enables the passage of a fluid (e.g., a liquid or a gas) through the structure. An example of a perfusable structure is the vascular structure of an organ of an organism (plant, animal, human), such as the vascular structure of the brains or heart of a human or of an animal, or the vascular structure of a gland, e.g., the prostate of a male mammal. Medical imaging techniques based on monitoring the perfusion of a fluid (lymph) through the vessels of a lymphatic system or blood through the blood vessels to an organ or to a tissue are commonly referred to as "perfusion scanning techniques".
Examples of such perfusion scanning medical imaging techniques are computed tomography (CT) perfusion, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) perfusion, nuclear medicine (NM) perfusion, ultrasound perfusion imaging, etc.
In CT perfusion imaging, a traceable iodine-containing contrast agent is injected into the blood of a patient. The contrast agent is transported along the vascular system of the patient. As the contrast agent absorbs the X-rays, the dispersion of the contrast agent can be determined, revealing how much blood is preset and how fast the blood is moving by measuring the vascular transit time.
In MR perfusion imaging, a traceable paramagnetic agent is injected into the vascular structure at a certain location, and the agent's dispersion is monitored as the agent's presence changes the relaxivity of the blood plasma in response to an RF (radio frequency) electromagnetic stimulus. Within this context, the term "relaxivity" refers to the ability of the magnetic compounds of the traceable agent to alter the relaxation times of the blood plasma.
In NM perfusion imaging, the traceable agent is a dose of a radioactive material (also referred to as a "radiopharmaceutical" or "radiotracer") that is introduced into the blood of a patient. The radiation of the radioactive material is detected and provides information about the material's location and dispersion.
In ultrasound perfusion imaging, the traceable agent comprises gas-filed microbubbles that are administered intravenously. Microbubbles are configured to backscatter ultrasound waves to a much higher degree than the surrounding tissue of the body. The backscattered ultrasound waves contain information about the acoustic properties of the structure being investigated and, therefore, about the location of the microbubbles. Doppler-effect measurements provide information about the flow rate (velocity) of the blood. Power-Doppler measurements provide information on blood volume fraction (i.e., the volume of blood in the tissue relative to the total volume of the tissue).
The perfusion-based imaging techniques enable to infer characteristics of the vascular system of a patient from the dispersion of the traceable agent, e.g., the detection of angiogenesis (the development of new blood vessels). As well known, angiogenesis plays an important role in the growth and metastasis of tumors.

Perfusion scanning detects angiogenesis from similarity in evolution of local concentrations of contrast agent


A vehicle safety seat and infant carrier system allowing height adjustment of a shoulder harness strap without rethreading the harness strap through the seat. A positioning member is normally biased out of engagement with a toothed rail, allowing a harness strap carried by the positioning member to be adjusted up or down to fit the size of a child. As the harness strap is pulled tight, the positioning member is brought into engagement with the toothed rail, fixing the position of the strap relative to the seat.

Vehicle safety seats or "car seats" are commonly used to protect infants and young children when traveling in motor vehicles. Many car seats include a base component that is semi-permanently mounted to the passenger seat of the vehicle using the vehicle's standard seatbelt or a standard child seat Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) system provided in many vehicles, and a carrier component that releasably mounts to the base. The carrier allows the parent or caregiver to more easily transport the child to and from the vehicle, and provides a comfortable and portable resting place for the child.
Child safety seats typically include a harness system having a crotch strap with a female releasable coupling or buckle, and a pair of shoulder straps having male coupling elements for detachable connection to the buckle of the crotch strap. The child is securely retained in the car seat by seating the child with the crotch strap positioned between their legs, placement of the shoulder straps over the child's shoulders, and connection of the shoulder strap couplings with the buckle of the crotch strap. The straps are then tightened, typically by pulling an adjustment strap that adjusts the free length of the shoulder straps.
For proper fit and performance, it is preferable that the shoulder harness belts extend from the seatback at about the position of the top of the child's shoulders when the child is normally seated in the car seat. In order to accommodate children of different sizes, and to allow continuing use of the child car seat and carrier as a child grows, it is known to provide for height adjustment allowing the position of the shoulder harness belts to be adjusted. Some height adjustment mechanisms provide multiple sets of slots through the seatback portion of the carrier shell at different heights, whereby the belts can be removed from one set of slots and re-threaded through another set of slots at the desired height, to match the size of the child. Other "no-rethread" height adjustment mechanisms provide for belt height adjustment using a repositionable carrier plate mounted to the seat shell.
Continued improvements in the field of child safety vehicle seats and carriers are sought, providing safe performance and ease of operation. Accordingly, it can be seen that needs exist for an improved vehicle safety seat and infant carrier. It is to the provision of an improved vehicle safety seat and infant carrier meeting these and other needs that the present invention is primarily directed.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Infant carrier and car safety seat with no-rethread harness adjustment


A golf club includes a golf club head provided with a first hole and a second hole on its bottom side, a shaft detachably fixed to the golf club head, a weight member comprising a first weight member and a second weight member each detachably fixed to the golf club head, and a faster including a first fastener for fixing the shaft and the first weight member to the golf club head through the first hole, and a second fastener for fixing the second weight member to the golf club head through the second hole. The first weight member and the second weight member are configured as mutually replaceable weights so that the first weight member is fixed to the second hole using the second fastener and the second weight member is fixed to the first hole using the first fastener.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a golf club including a golf club head, a shaft detachably attached to the golf club head, and a detachable weight member for the golf club head, and in particularly to a golf club that may flexibly adjust a location of the center of gravity of the golf club head.
Description of the Related Art
The Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2012-86010 discloses a golf club including a golf club head and a shaft detachably attached thereto. The golf club, for instance, includes a hosel having a shaft insertion hole having an upper opening into which the shaft is inserted. The shaft insertion hole further has a lower opening as a first hole where a fastener for fixing the shaft to the golf club head is fastened. The golf club described above has advantage of offering an opportunity to exchange the shaft or club head by the golfer.


Systems and methods for controlling the parameters of groups of focal planes as focal plane groups in an array camera are described. One embodiment includes a plurality of focal planes, and control circuitry configured to control the capture of image data by the pixels within the focal planes. In addition, the control circuitry includes: a plurality of parameter registers, where a given parameter register is associated with one of the focal planes and contains configuration data for the associated focal plane; and a focal plane group register that contains data identifying focal planes that belong to a focal plane group. Furthermore, the control circuitry is configured to control the imaging parameters of the focal planes in the focal plane groups by mapping instructions that address virtual register addresses to the addresses of the parameter registers associated with focal planes within specific focal plane groups.

Imaging devices, such as cameras, can be used to capture images of portions of the electromagnetic spectrum, such as the visible light spectrum, incident upon an image sensor. For ease of discussion, the term light is generically used to cover radiation across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. In a typical imaging device, light enters through an opening (aperture) at one end of the imaging device and is directed to an image sensor by one or more optical elements such as lenses. The image sensor includes pixels or sensor elements that generate signals upon receiving light via the optical element. Commonly used image sensors include charge-coupled device (CCDs) sensors and complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensors.
Generally, image capture utilizes a single image sensor, to capture individual images, one at a time. A digital camera typically combines both an image sensor and processing capabilities. When the digital camera takes a photograph, the data captured by the image sensor is provided to the processor by the image sensor. Processors are able to control aspects of a captured image by changing image capture parameters of the sensor elements or groups of sensor elements used to capture the image. Integration time, which is the length of time that a sensor element measures incident light, is one parameter that can be adjusted to increase or decrease light exposure for an image sensor. Another parameter that the processor can control is pixel gain, which is the adjustment of the scaling applied to the signal generated by the sensor element.

Systems and methods for array camera focal plane control


The present invention provides a naphthoquinone derivative represented by the general formula (1): ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 represents an aryl group which may have a substituent; and R.sup.2 represents an alkylene group which may have a substituent, an arylene group which may have a substituent, etc.

The present invention relates to a novel naphthoquinone derivative, and an electrophotosensitive material using the same, which is used in image forming apparatuses such as copying machine, facsimile, laser beam printer and the like.
In the above image forming apparatuses, electrophotosensitive materials of various materials are used. The one is an inorganic photoconductor using an inorganic material such as selenium in a photosensitive layer and the other one is an organic photoconductor (OPC) using an organic material in a photosensitive layer. Among them, the organic photoconductor has widely been studied because of a lot of merits such as cheap price, high productivity and no environmental pollution in comparison with the organic photoconductor.
As the organic photoconductor, a multi-layer type (so-called function-separating type) photoconductor comprising an electric charge generating layer and an electric charge-transferring layer, which are laminated, has exclusively been known, but a so-called single-layer type photoconductor wherein an electric charge generating material and an electric charge-transferring material are dispersed in a single photosensitive layer, has also been known.
Those having high carrier mobility are required as the electric charge-transferring material used in these photoconductors. However, almost all of electric charge-transferring materials having high carrier mobility show hole transferring properties. Therefore, the organic photoconductor put into practical use is limited to a negative charging type multi-layer type organic photoconductor provided with an electric charge-transferring layer at the outermost layer in view of the mechanical strength. However, since the negative charging type organic photoconductor utilizes negative-polarity corona discharge, a large amount of ozone is generated and, therefore, problems such as environmental pollution, deterioration of photoconductor, etc. arise.
Therefore, in order to solve these problems, it has been studied to use an electron transferring material as the electric charge-transferring material. In Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 1-206349, there is suggested that a compound having a diphenoquinone structure or a benzoquinone structure is used as the electron transferring material for electrophotosensitive material.
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 6-110227, there is suggested that a compound having a benzoquinone structure or a naphthoquinone structure is used as the electron transferring material for electrophotosensitive material.
However, since it is difficult to perform matching between a conventional electron transferring materials such as diphenoquinone derivative, benzoquinone derivative, naphthoquinone derivative, etc. and the electric charge generating material, the injection of electrons from the electric charge generating material into the electron transferring material is insufficient. Furthermore, since the electron transferring material has poor compatibility with a resin binder and a hopping distance becomes longer, electron movement at low electric field is dull. Accordingly, a photoconductor containing a conventional electron transferring material had a problem such as high residual potential and low sensitivity, as is apparent from a photosensitivity test described in the following Examples.
As described above, almost all of practical organic photoconductors have a multi-layer type photosensitive layer at present, whereas a photoconductor having a single-layer type photosensitive layer has a simple structure and can be easily produced, and has a lot of merits in view of inhibition of damage in coating of the layer, improvement in the optical characteristics, etc.
And besides, regarding such a photoconductor having a single-layer type photosensitive layer, one photoconductor can be used in both the positive charging and the negative charging types by using the electron transferring material in combination with the hole transferring material, and there is a possibility of increasing applications of the photoconductor. However, since a conventional transferring material has a problem of inhibiting transferring of electrons and holes due to the mutual interaction with the hole transferring material, such a photoconductor having a single-layer type photosensitive layer has not been put to practical use, widely.


A lighting device for illuminating a room or enclosed space comprising: a light source; and a support adapted to support the light source, the support having a surface which defines a guide path. The light source is adapted to be movable relative to the support along the guide path between first and second lighting positions.

Lighting devices for lighting rooms or enclosed areas are well-known. Such lighting devices include ceiling- or wall-mounted light sources (or lamps) and floor-standing lamps.
Many configurations of floor-standing lamps are currently available. Such floor-standing lamps typically have upwardly projecting posts or support structures that are attached to a base. Alternatively, the floor-standing lamps may be supported on legs that are symmetrically placed about the post or support structure. Some floor-standing lamps have posts or support structures that are directed away from the vertical in their upper lengths, thus allowing the light source(s) or luminaire to be held off-centre.
Such conventional lighting devices are typically designed with a combination of functionality and appearance in mind. With the function of a lighting device being comparatively simple (e.g. simply turning on or off), particular importance and/or value may be placed on the appearance of a lighting device.
It is therefore desirable to develop an aesthetically pleasing lighting device that may be suitable for illuminating a room or enclosed area, for example.

Magnetically coupled movable lighting device