A laparascopic incision closure device comprised of an ejector housing having a handpiece trigger that is activated by compression and is biased to return to an initial position. The handpiece is so carried by the ejector housing that compression and retraction of the handpiece sequentially advances a flexible wire push-rod to eject a T-bar suture and retracts the flexible wire push-rod to index a ratchet which feeds the T-bar portion of a T-bar suture into the longitudinal bore of a needle carried by the ejector housing. The strand portion of the T-bar suture trails the T-bar portion through the longitudinal bore. Multiple T-bar sutures are axially spaced and detachably carried on a suture spline by spline mount tabs connected to the T-bar portion of the T-bar sutures and are stored in the interior of the ejector housing for quick and easy placement through fascia on opposite sides of a wound. In the preferred embodiment the device is constructed of a disposable plastic material with sutures being formed of an absorbable material.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to devices for placing sutures to close incisions and more particularly relates to a device and method to efficiently close small incisions used in laparascopic surgery.
2. Background Information
Laparascopic surgical procedures generally use small incisions some 5 to 16 millimeters in length for placement of a cannula and trocar used in laparascopic surgical procedures such as cholecystectomy, hemiorrhaphy, Nissen, hysterectomy, colectomy, etc. One method used to close such incisions is by simple surface skin or facial closures. However, a not infrequent problem with this and other methods is that the closures are not affective enough and lead to complications such as hernias and bowel strangulations.
Another method used to close such incisions is by a tedious procedure that requires a surgeon to laparascopically grasp a suture from a closure insertion device after placement through the abdominal wall. The closure insertion device is then withdrawn and then reinserted through the abdominal wall on the opposite side of the trocar site incision. The surgeon must then reinsert the needle into the closure insertion device and then withdraw it creating a loop around the trocar site incision. The tedious part of the process is the need to reinsert the suture into the closed insertion device which sometimes requires a surgeon to xe2x80x9cwork backwardsxe2x80x9d depending on the camera location.
Thus there is a need for a simple and preferably disposable device for closure of trocar site incisions used in laparascopic surgical procedures described above. A device that could quickly, efficiently and atraumatically insert sutures to close a laparascopic incision would be advantageous.
There is an existing device called a Brown/Mueller Fastener described in U.S. Pat. No. Re. 34,021 of Peter R. Mueller et al, that is designed to insert a T-bar fastener through the abdominal wall. This device has a needle with a slot in the end for receiving a metal T-bar with a single short suture extending through the slot along the outside of the needle. The needle with the loaded metal T-bar and short suture is then inserted through the abdominal wall. The metal T-bar and attached suture is then extruded from the needle allowing the metal T-bar to fasten the suture inside the abdomen. This device is currently used for securing a portion of an intestine to the abdominal wall for placement of feeding tubes. A disadvantage of this device is that it allows placement of only a single suture which must be securely held by the surgeon while the needle is piercing the abdomen.
It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide laparascopic insertion/closure device that can quickly and efficiently place multiple T-bar sutures on opposite sides of a trocar site incision to close the wound.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a laparascopic incision closure device that can store multiple T-bar sutures inside a housing.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a laparascopic incision closure device having an ejection mechanism for firing and ejecting one T-bar suture at a time. dr
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a laparascopic incision closure device and method for quickly and efficiently placing multiple T-bar sutures on opposite sides of a trocar site incision to close defects left by the incision.
The laparascopic incision closure device is particularly designed and adapted to close small incision, used in laparascopic surgery on such as cholescystectomy, herniorrhaphy, Nissen, Hysterectomy, colectomy, and the like. These incisions are generally 5 to 16 millimeters in length and allow instruments to be passed through the abdominal wall through a cannula. The defect left by these incision must be closed to prevent development of complications such as hernia and bowel strangulation.
In the preferred embodiment of the laparascopic incision closure device of this invention, the device consists of a housing having a handpiece that is biased by a spring member toward an unactivated position. The handpiece carries a drive rack that rotates a pinion in one direction when the handpiece is compressed and in the other direction when the handpiece is released and returns toward the unactivated position. A needle having a longitudinal axis and a longitudinal bore forming a bounded passageway through the needle, is carried by the housing. To feed T-bar sutures into the longitudinal bore for ejection through the bore and out of the needle distal tip, a spline member having an axis of elongation spaced radially in relationship to the longitudinal axis of the longitudinal bore which extends through the needle, is moveably mounted to the housing; a plurality of axially spaced T-bar sutures are detachably carried by the spline member by respective mounting tabs extending from each T-bar portion. To feed a T-bar portion into the longitudinal bore, a ratchet mechanism activated by sufficient return movement of the handpiece engages a mounting tab and indexes the suture spline to feed a T-bar portion into the longitudinal bore. By compressing the handpiece from its unactivated position, a wire push-rod member engages the T-bar portion so as to advance it and its trailing suture portion through the longitudinal bore and to sever the T-bar portion mounting tab from the spline member. When the handpiece reaches its limit of travel position, the T-bar portion is ejected through the radial distal opening in the needle. With the handpiece held in the limit position, the needle is withdrawn through the tissue and the trailing suture strand portion passes through the radial distal opening of the needle. By releasing the handpiece, the wire push-rod is retracted, the ratchet indexed, and the spline member is advanced to feed another T-bar portion into the longitudinal bore.
In another embodiment, the laparascopic incision closure device is comprised of an ejector housing having finger gripping holes and a needle extending from the end of the housing. The needle is preferably about 18 millimeters. Multiple T-bar sutures are stored in the needle with the suture extending up the needle and stored inside the ejector housing. In one embodiment the sutures extend into the housing and wrap around inside the rings forming finger gripping holes.
A plunger extending through the needle ejects T-bar sutures one at a time by activation of a trigger that fires and releases a plunger shaft pushed forward by the thumb placed in a thumb ring on the end of the shaft. When loaded the plunger shaft position is locked by a spring operated pin. The pin engages a slot in the side of the plunger shaft.
The trigger is preferably mounted in the housing below the rings forming the finger handles. The trigger has a tapered end forming a cam that engages a shoulder on the locking trigger pin to dislodge the pin from the plunger shaft allowing the plunger shaft to move forward pushing the plunger along the needle to eject a T-bar suture. A second socket along the plunger shaft locks the trigger with the plunger in position for ejecting another T-bar suture from the needle.
To place a second T-bar suture the locking pin is again released from the second socket by operation of the trigger allowing the plunger shaft to be retracted by the thumb in the thumb ring. This positions a second T-bar suture for ejection from the needle. As the plunger shaft is retracted the locking plunger and pin slide along a groove in the trigger shaft and again lock in a first socket ready for repeat operation.
In a less preferred embodiment the trigger is a rotatable lever or button above the finger rings in the ejector housing having a pointed end engages detents in the plunger shaft. The trigger is pivotally mounted on a pin and has a tip that is biased into engagement with detents on the plunger shaft by a spring. To operate the device the trigger button is pushed or tilted toward the ejector housing releasing the tip from a plunger shaft detent allowing the plunger shaft to advance advancing the plunger to eject a T-bar suture. A second detent in the trigger shaft re-engages the trigger when the T-bar suture is ejected. To place another suture the trigger button is again operated allowing the plunger shaft to be further advanced by the thumb ring positioning the suture plunger in the needle for ejection of a second T-bar suture.
The laparascopic incision closure device is preferably constructed of a disposable plastic material with multiple T-bar sutures carried on a suture spline that has spline mount tabs detachably connecting the T-bar portion of the T-bar sutures to the suture spline. A suture strand portion extends from the T-Bar portion and has a free end that trails the T-bar portion where the T-Bar suture is advanced through a longitudinal bore in the needle.
Preferably the sutures are placed with a cannula in place in a laparascopic incision. The sutures are also preferably made of an absorbable material such as an xe2x80x9cO-Vicrylxe2x80x9d suture attached to an absorbable T-bar made of material similar to that used in xe2x80x9cAbsalock Clipsxe2x80x9d such as polydioxone. The T-bar sutures are placed on either side of a trocar incision under direct visualization. Preferably, the laparascopic incision closure device needle is inserted through the fascia on one side of the wound with the cannula still in place. The needle is then withdrawn leaving the T-bar suture in place through the fascia. The needle is then inserted through the fascia of the opposite side of the wound and a second T-bar suture ejected. With the cannula removed the sutures then can be tied over the fascia defect externally. Thus all surgeon needs to do is insert T-bar sutures through the fascia on either side of the cannula in the trocar site then tie the two sutures over the defect. The closure is very simple and cost effective.


A method of electroless nickel plating on surface of silicon carbide powder with a uniform and stable coating. In this method, ultrasonic assist is introduced in the pre-treatment and during plating process, and the powder particles in the liquid are dispersed and deagglomerated by the mechanical action and cavitation of the ultrasonic waves, thereby achieving a uniform dispersion of the powder in the dispersant. Furthermore, a reducing agent is slowly added during plating so as to give a more uniform and stable deposition of the coating onto the surface of the powder particles, and thus a silicon carbide core-nickel shell structure with an excellent powder dispersibility and a uniform and stable coating is produced.

Electroless plating is a reaction that reduces metal ions to metal under the reducing agent and subsequently deposits a metallic layer on a plating member having a catalytic surface. Electroless plating does not require electrical power and is easy to perform. The coating is uniform and excellent with a low void ratio, high adhesion, corrosion resistance and wear resistance and an excellent functionality. Moreover, electroless plating can be used for deposition on various non-metallic substrates.
However, for the electroless plating process of powder, mechanical stirring is generally used to disperse powder in the solvent in the conventional pretreatment and the plating process due to the characteristics of powder like small particle size, large surface area and high surface activity. Nevertheless, the limited dispersion of mechanical stirring may result in a poor dispersion effect of powder in the solvent especially for the micro and nano powder particles, which may cause agglomeration and non-uniform dispersion of the powder in the solvent, thereby leading to an uncontrollable plating rate and a non-uniform coating.
Therefore, there is a need for those skilled in the art to develop a simple and controllable method for electroless nickel plating on the surface of silicon carbide powder with a uniform and stable coating.

Method of electroless nickle plating on surface of silicon carbide powder


A method for detecting an ice on a road surface includes: providing a spectral imaging camera; recording a first reflectance (R1) of the surface at 0.545 to 0.565 μm using the spectral imaging camera; recording a second reflectance (R2) of the surface at 0.620 to 0.670 μm using the spectral imaging camera; recording a third reflectance (R3) of the surface at 0.841 to 0.876 μm using the spectral imaging camera; calculating an ice index based on the first reflectance, the second reflectance, and the third reflectance; providing a thermometer; recording a surface temperature of the surface using the thermometer; and detecting a presence of the ice on the surface based on the ice index and the surface temperature. A system for detecting an ice on a surface is also disclosed.

Between 2002 and 2012, winter weather was the cause for 540,000 car collisions (10% of collisions annually), 150,000 car-related injuries and 1,900 car-related fatalities, according to the U.S. Federal Highway Administration. The risk of vehicle crashes significantly increases because of the presence of winter precipitation. Hazards associated with winter weather also have significantly impacts on public transportation and commerce, since ice or snow on ground leads to slower speeds, reduced reliability, dense traffic congestion, and more accidents. Winter road conditions besides dry (e.g., wet, icy, snow) should be closely reported, in a cold-freezing winter.
The combination of precipitation and sub-freezing temperatures are the two key parameters for icy road formation. Wind is the third important parameter for reducing temperature. Winter storms with heavy snow can apparently cause the road problem. In addition, freezing rain is a particularly dangerous form of precipitation. Further-more, even precipitation falls to the surface as a liquid can freezes at the surface where temperatures are below the freezing point. Besides the weather conditions, road texture also plays a role on ice formation. An example is that the bridges or road shoulders, with even slight slope at the surface, can lead to ice formation much easily, when temperature and water conditions are optimal, due to the micro-scale turbulences near ground.
There are two primary modes for ice to form on roadways irrespective of frozen precipitation: (1) freezing of pooled rain water and (2) freezing of condensed water from the air along the surface. Rain can be in liquid form during daytime hours but freeze overnight as the temperatures decrease. Alternatively, in very humid locations, water vapor can condense onto roads in sub-freezing conditions. This is known as frost or hoarfrost, which can form black ice in areas not commonly associated with snow or ice. Both of these methods of road ice production create dangerous driving conditions outside of the setting of a winter storm or wintery precipitation. This makes forecasting and identification of road ice formation more challenging.
Remotely sensed road icy status would alert drivers to slow speed and thus reduce risk on the road. In addition, highway maintenance administration in Department of Transportation need road ice conditions to de-ice treatment to clear road. Many other users, for example, an airport facility manager also need to detect road ice condition on the airport for a safe landing of airplane.
There is a need for a method and a system for accurately and conveniently detecting ice on road.

Method and a system for detecting road ice by spectral imaging


An electrophotographic apparatus is provided with a control device for controlling the heating temperature of the fixing unit in accordance with the detected result by use of a condition detection mechanism. The control device controls the fixing unit: (a) to set the heating temperature thereof to a fixing possible temperature when the condition detection device detects that the imaging operation of the imaging device is initiated or has been continuing, (b) to set the heating temperature to a stand-by temperature lower than the fixing possible temperature when the condition detection device detects that a stand-by condition, in which the imaging operation is interrupted, continues for a first predetermined time, and (c) to set the heating temperature to a save-energy temperature, lower that the stand-by temperature, when the condition detection device detects that the stand-by condition has been continuing for a second predetermined time.

The present invention relates to an electrophotographic apparatus having imaging means utilizing an electrophotographic process.
Conventionally, an electrophotographic apparatus having imaging means utilizing an electrophotographic process is provided with a sheet convey path along which a sheet is conveyed, an image forming mechanism for forming an image on the sheet conveyed along the sheet convey path, and a fixing mechanism for fixing the toner image on the sheet thereon. The fixing mechanism includes a pair of heat rollers which are in rolling-contact with each other, and which fix the toner image onto the sheet by a heat.
In the conventional electrophotographic apparatus, it is necessary to utilize heat energy for the fixing operation. As a result, a large amount of heat energy would be necessary to maintain the heat temperature in the fixing mechanism to a fixing possible temperature. This causes a so-called energy loss. In order to solve the problems in the energy loss, in other words, to save energy, the temperature is conventionally lowered from the heat possible temperature to a stand-by temperature when the image forming operation suspends for a predetermined period of time.
Such a lowering of the temperature in the fixing mechanism to the stand-by temperature can certainly save energy rather than to maintain the temperature in the fixing mechanism to the fixing possible temperature. In recent years, however, the demand to save energy has increased.


A tool for manufacturing of a reinforcement bar structure, wherein the tool comprises a main body, a jaw arrangement, a tying device and an arrangement configured for moving the jaw arrangement between a gripping state and a tying state. A system for manufacturing a reinforcement bar structure, wherein the system comprises a supply of reinforcement bar material, a bending apparatus, a holding apparatus and a group of robots wherein at least one robot of the group of robots is equipped with the tool for manufacturing a reinforcement bar structure. A method for transporting and attaching a reinforcement bar during manufacturing of a reinforcement bar structure using a tool comprising a main body, the method comprising gripping a reinforcement bar, tying together the reinforcement bar with another reinforcement bar by looping a wire around the reinforcement bars, tightening the wire around the reinforcement bars, forming a knot, and cutting the wire.

Today it is known to use industrial robots to build reinforcement bar cages. There are several advantages with using industrial robots for building the reinforcement bar cages, e.g. the cages can be built quicker, cost of production can be lowered and an improved control of quality can be achieved. In addition, if having the industrial robots placed on site, large reinforcement bar structures can be built efficiently since the need for truck transportation of these large reinforcement bar structures can be avoided.
By using industrial robots it is also possible to increase the complexity of the reinforcement bar structure without risking that production time and/or quality issues increase. More complex reinforcement bar structures may e.g. result in that a plurality of different sizes can be used in order optimize the cost of production.
In order to be able to build the reinforcement bar cages or other reinforcement bar structures the industrial robots are equipped with tools for holding the reinforcement bar during the transport as well as during attachment of the reinforcement bar, as well as tools for attaching the reinforcement bar to other reinforcement bars by welding or tying.
In order to be able to achieve a reliable robot-based system for manufacturing of reinforcement bar structures, reliable tools for holding and attaching reinforcement bars are part of the solution. There is thus a need for improved tools in order to be able to deliver improved systems.

Tool, a system and a method for manufacturing of a reinforcement bar structure


An image processing method includes obtaining a first YUV image captured by an on-board image acquisition device operating in a log mode, converting the first YUV image to a second YUV image having a same image format as an image captured by the on-board image acquisition device operating in a normal mode, and transmitting the second YUV image.

Currently, high-definition real-time video image transmission systems (also referred to as video image transmission systems) are becoming more and more widely used. For example, the video image transmission system may be an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) camera system. The unmanned aerial vehicle camera system may primarily include an unmanned aerial vehicle sub-system and a remote control sub-system. An on-board image acquisition device may be installed on the unmanned aerial vehicle sub-system to capture video images in real-time. The on-board image acquisition device may operate in a normal mode or a log mode. Compared to the normal mode, the log mode may allow the on-board image acquisition device to digitally compress the video image bandwidth. The digital bandwidth compression function may transform the video images and may dynamically compress the video image bandwidth. Thus, the dynamic data of the captured video images may be preserved to a maximum extent.
In the related art, when receiving a shooting instruction, the on-board image acquisition device may enter in the log mode. In the log mode, the on-board image acquisition device may compress the captured video image and transmit the compressed video image to the remote control sub-system for a user to preview in real-time. However, because the video image is bandwidth compressed, the video image previewed by the user may be distorted in color and brightness. The user may be unable to determine how to adjust the shooting parameters of the on-board image acquisition device, such as exposure and aperture, based on the distorted video image. Thus, the operation mode of the on-board image acquisition device has to be switched from the log mode to the normal mode. After the shooting parameters are adjusted in the normal mode, the operation mode may be switched back to the log mode. As such, in the process of dynamically adjusting the shooting parameters based on the changing shooting environment, the operation mode of the on-board image acquisition device may be frequently switched to adjust the shooting parameters to achieve desired shooting effects. As a result, operating the on-board image acquisition device is not straightforward, and the shooting efficiency and effectiveness of the unmanned vehicle camera system are reduced.

Image processing method, apparatus, device, and video image transmission system


An automated system (10) for providing access data (42) concerning an item of business property includes a master database (34) containing master data (36) concerning the item and an accesser (16) that provides an access request. A manager (14) coupled to the master database (34) retrieves selected master data (36) from the master database (34) and generates access data (42) for the item using the master data (36). The manager (14) receives the access request and, in response, provides the accesser (16) with access data (42) concerning the item.

Many organizations provide access to information concerning items of business property according to the needs of the organization, the characteristics of the items, and the security credentials associated with persons or entities that desire such access. It is often desirable to provide access to selected information concerning items of business property in response to a request or other information provided by an accesser. For example, an accesser might request access to selected information concerning excess items to match a particular excess item to a recipient within or outside the organization.
As organizations become larger and more complex to serve a variety of internal and external information requirements, organizations may provide access to selected information concerning items of business property using various techniques. A known technique for providing access to selected information concerning an item of business property uses manual request, authorization, information gathering, and information delivery processes that are often relatively slow, labor intensive, and equipment intensive. In addition, information concerning these items may not be maintained in a location that allows sufficient access by potential recipients.
As a result, accessing the selected information may require several days, causing consequent backlogs and undesirable delays, and matching an excess item to a recipient may be performed inadequately, improperly, or not at all. Furthermore, information concerning items that is not properly updated may result in improper payment or nonpayment of property taxes, lease, maintenance, license, and other recurring or other payment obligations, improper depreciation determinations, and unsatisfactory use of available equipment resources. Moreover, organizations using such techniques may have little flexibility to support internal or external time, space, and equipment constraints.

Automated system and method for providing access data concerning an item of business property


The invention provides a autostereoscopic display device with a particular design of lenticular lens array (lens pitch and slant angle) to optimize the quality of the views provided to the user, when a multi-primary pixel layout is used, with at least four sub-pixels of at least three different colors. The slant angle and lens pitch is related to the pixel pitch (in the row and column directions) as well as the number of different color sub-pixels.

A known autostereoscopic display device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,064,424. Without going into detail, the known devices comprise a regular two dimensional display panel having a row and column array of display pixels each having red green and blue sub-pixels acting as an image forming means to produce a display. An array of elongate lenticular lenses extending parallel to one another and with its long lenticular lens axes slanted with regard to the pixel columns overlies the display pixel array and acts as a view forming means. Outputs from the display sub-pixels are projected through these lenticular lenses, which function to modify the directions of the outputs.
Each of the lenticular lenses overlies a respective group of two or more display sub-pixels such that the output of the sub-pixels of a group is projected into mutually different directions therewith providing so called views in different directions.
The output of all lenticular lenses provide a sub-image (of the image displayed on the display panel) per view such that when a viewer receives different views in his/her left and right eyes, respectively he/she observes a stereoscopic image. The sub-images are thus parallactic.
In the disclosed device more than two views can be provided with the sub-images being such that as a user's head is moved from left to right across these views within a field of view of the autostereoscopic display, a series of successive, different, stereoscopic views are observed creating, for example, a look-around impression.
In the known display the sub-images have a lower resolution than the native resolution of the display panel as determined by the pixel array as the sub-pixels of a group of sub-pixels end up in different views. To even loss of resolution in a view between row and column direction and also reduce brightness intensity variation across views the lenticular lenses are slanted with respect to the pixel columns. The use of slanted lenses is thus recognized as an important feature to produce different views with good pixel structure and near constant brightness.
Traditionally, display panels are based on a matrix of pixels that are square in shape. In order to generate images in color, the pixels are divided into sub-pixels. Traditionally, each pixel is divided into 3 sub-pixels, transmitting or emitting red (R), green (G) and blue (B) light, respectively. Sub-pixels of equal color are typically arranged in columns.
Recently, display manufacturers have started looking into alternative pixel layouts with the aim, given the same number of sub-pixels, to achieve:                a higher perceived resolution and/or        a larger color gamut, and/or        a higher brightness (or reduced power consumption).
Several of the alternative pixel layouts have made it to the market. However, these changes in the pixel design require adaptation to the lenticular design, for optimal performance in terms of the pixel structure, evening of resolution loss and/or brightness properties (color density) in the views when using these alternative display panel pixel layouts.


A hydrostatic unit includes a hydraulic machine that is connected mechanically and hydraulically to a pressure medium supply via an adapter piece and a rotary leadthrough.

The disclosure relates to a hydrostatic unit, in particular a traction drive, and to an adapter piece which is suitable for this purpose.
A hydrostatic traction drive of this type is disclosed in DE 100 30 900 A1 and is used, for example, in agricultural or forestry utility vehicles for driving steerable wheels/axles. According to said document, a drive of this type has a hydraulic motor which is connected, for example, via a gear mechanism to the steerable wheel and is therefore also moved correspondingly when steering lock is applied. In the known solution, an axle stub is provided on the chassis side, on which axle stub a wheel support and therefore also the hydraulic motor and the gear mechanism are mounted via steering knuckle pins. In the known solution, the pressure medium supply of the hydraulic motor takes place via a rotary leadthrough which is mounted on the axle stub in the region of the steering knuckle pins and the rotatable section of which is also moved in accordance with the steering movement, with the result that fixed pipework is made possible between the inlet and outlet connections of the hydraulic motor and the connections of the rotary leadthrough.
It is the problem in said solution that the space for routing the pipeline is very restricted, with the result that considerable outlay in terms of apparatus and mounting is required, in order to install the pipelines.
DD 75 032 discloses a solution, in which ducts for the pressure medium supply of the hydraulic motor are formed in a control housing. However, the connection to the pressure medium inlet and the pressure medium outlet then takes place via hoses which are also pivoted when steering lock is applied and therefore have to be of elastic configuration. In a construction of this type having flexible hoses, it is disadvantageous that said hoses can be damaged as a result of the constant steering movements and become brittle and fragile over time. In addition, in particular when used in agricultural utility vehicles, there is the risk that the hose lines are torn off during operation.
In contrast, the disclosure is based on the object of providing a hydrostatic unit, in particular a drive, in which a rotatably mounted hydraulic motor can be supplied with pressure medium with increased reliability and a low outlay.


In one embodiment, a method includes receiving power at a power consumer device coupled to a power provider device by a cable. The received power is supplied at a first current at an input of the power consumer device and is supplied to a load in the power consumer device. The method includes measuring a rate of change of the voltage at the input of the power consumer device, and determining whether the rate of change of the voltage at the input of the power consumer device is less than a first target rate of change of voltage. The current received at the input of the power consumer device is reduced to a second current lower than the first current if the rate of change of the voltage at the input of the power consumer device is greater than the first target rate of change of voltage.

Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard developed that defines the cables, connectors and communications protocols used in a bus for connection, communication, and power supply between electronic devices.
In many portable products, USB is often used both as a communication port and as a power delivery port to accommodate battery charging. For example, a standard USB 2.0 compliant port may provide a maximum power delivery of 7.5 W (5V at 1.5 A) to a dedicated charging port that may be used to recharge the battery of a portable device. However, as the battery capacities of portable devices are increasing, for example, from 5600 mAh to 8000 mAh and 10000 mAh, the charging time for these devices increases accordingly. For example, using a standard USB 2.0 compliant port, it takes about 2 hours and 40 minutes to recharge a 5600 mAh battery, but it takes 4 hours and 45 minutes to recharge a 10000 mAh.
Faster charging times may be achieved by increasing the charging current and/or charging voltage. USB Power Delivery (PD) specification specifies using certified PD aware USB cables with standard USB type A/B connectors to deliver up to 100 W of power at 20 V. USB PD requires the use of PD-aware cables. For example, PD-aware cables with USB-micro B/AB connectors may support a maximum power of up to 60 W at 20 V, 36 W at 12 V and 10 W at 5 V. Consequently, under new USB standards, currents up to 5 A and power up to 100 W may be transferred through power delivery aware cables.
USB specification requires specification on the electrical parameters for the USB cables. For example, USB specification requires that USB cables have an American Wire Gauge (AWG) rating of 24-26, and further require that micro-B connectors have less than 50 mΩs.
However, USB cables including PD-aware cables may not be able to safely handle the large currents. For example, the cables may become defective during use due to field stress. Additionally, some of the USB manufacturers may not have good quality control. The large power supplied through a defective USB can pose a significant safety risk. Similarly, due to backward compatibility, end users may not be aware of the necessity to use the newer PD-aware cables.

Cable quality detection and power consumer devices


A system includes a topper support having a first end and a second end opposite the first end. The first end of the topper support is configured for operative coupling to an upper end of an umbrella. The second end is positioned above the upper end of the umbrella when the first end is coupled to the upper end of the umbrella. The second end of the topper support is configured for operative coupling to an accessory topper. A system includes an umbrella, an accessory topper, and a topper support. The topper support is configured for operatively coupling the accessory topper to the umbrella. A system includes an umbrella, an accessory topper, and an adapter. The adapter is configured for operatively coupling the accessory topper to the umbrella. A system includes an umbrella having an accessory topper as a permanent component of the umbrella.

Outdoor entertainment is often impeded by weather conditions, sun, rain, wind, insects, animals, etc. Relatively large umbrellas may be used for shielding and/or shading from the aforementioned impediments. It may be difficult to distinguish and/or identify individual umbrellas. For example, a plurality of beach umbrellas may be found on a beach which are used to provide areas of shade. It may be difficult to ascertain which umbrella belongs to an individual if the plurality of umbrellas appear to be substantially similar.
In many situations, umbrellas are preferably portable and easy to disassemble/assemble. For example, a beach umbrella is preferably capable of efficient transfer from the beach to a vehicle and vice versa.

Umbrella accessories and adapters thereof


A planetary gear lubrication unit includes a planetary gear unit having a sun gear and a carrier that has a plurality of pinion shafts, wherein each of the plurality of pinion shafts rotatably supports a pinion, a plurality of side plates that support the plurality of pinion shafts, and a rotating shaft arranged in a center portion of the planetary gear unit, in which lubrication oil supplied from the rotating shaft is led to a portion of the pinion shafts that support the pinions.

The present invention relates to a planetary gear lubrication unit.
There exists a lubrication unit in a planetary gear unit of a transmission arranged in the output path of a drive motor of a hybrid drive system in which a receiver is provided in a carrier of the planetary gear (see FIG. 7 of Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-2004-66898).
The receiver is provided protruding toward a carrier side and is open radially inward. Lubrication oil from an oil hole in a rotating shaft is dispersed via thrust bearings by centrifugal force generated as the rotating shaft rotates. The dispersed lubrication oil is caught by the receiver which protrudes in the axial direction and is open on the inner radial side. The lubrication oil in the receiver then flows through oil holes in the pinion shaft and lubricates a bearing that supports the pinion.


Disclosed are compositions that inhibit brain blood vessel leakage, compositions for treating autism spectrum disorders, methods of treating autism spectrum disorders, and methods of screening for an autism spectrum disorder.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are pervasive neurodevelopmental disorders diagnosed in early childhood when acquired skills are lost or the acquisition of new skills becomes delayed. ASDs onset in early childhood and are associated with varying degrees of dysfunctional communication and social skills, in addition to repetitive and stereotypic behaviors. In many cases (25%-50%), a period of seemingly normal development drastically shifts directions as acquired skills are lost or the acquisition of new skills becomes delayed.
In recent years, the number of people with an ASD has increased considerably to approximately 1 in 150 children, but it is not clear whether this increase is because of a higher prevalence of the disorder, improved awareness by clinicians, or a combination of both.
A number of studies have reported that patients with ASDs have in their blood antibodies against brain proteins. Brain blood vessels can become leaky (permeable) at some point during a child's development and allow circulating immune cells to be exposed to brain proteins that were mistaken by the immune system as foreign. As a result, antibodies are made against those brain proteins. Such antibodies against brain proteins can disrupt normal brain function and, alone or together with other circulating immune cell-derived destructive molecules, can contribute to brain damage and to the pathogenesis of ASDs. Moreover, increased brain blood vessel leakage can increase intracranial pressure and contribute to macrocephaly reported in many children with ASDs, thus further compromising brain function.
There is currently no explanation for what caused the brain blood vessels to become leaky. Identification of molecules that can make brain blood vessels leak could lead to the development of diagnostic markers. Preventing brain blood vessel leakage in susceptible children, or reversing brain blood vessel leakage in children who have already developed ASDs, could provide a novel therapeutic intervention.
Currently, there are no known defined mechanisms of pathogenesis, diagnostic markers, or curative therapy available for ASDs. An important need therefore exists for methods and compositions that are effective to screen for and treat ASDs. Various embodiments of the invention address these needs.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods of treating autism spectrum disorders and compositions for same

Theta Biomedical Consulting & Development Co., Inc.


A method of using a thermocouple is provided. The method includes, but is not limited to, disposing at least one temperature sensor at each of two or more respective portions of an electrical connector adapted to receive thermocouple signals, measuring temperatures at the two or more portions, and calculating the temperatures at each terminal of the electrical connector based on measured temperature values of the two or more respective portions having the disposed temperature sensors. The method also includes, but is not limited to, calculating a cold junction temperature of a terminal for at least one thermocouple channel carrying the thermocouple signals based on measured or calculated temperature values of the terminals, or a combination thereof.

The present invention relates generally to the field of temperature measurement and thermocouple devices. More particularly, the invention relates to a novel technique for effectively determining thermocouple cold junction temperature in a multi-channel terminal configuration.
Thermocouples are devices used to measure temperature and are one of the more versatile temperature sensors available. These temperature sensors or transducers are generally rugged and relatively inexpensive, and may be constructed of various metals. Thermocouples may be used to measure a relatively wide range of temperatures (e.g., −200° C. to 2600° C.) in a variety of applications and environments. In general, thermocouples rely on the principle that a voltage potential occurs when there is a temperature gradient along the length of a conductor.
A thermocouple device is formed by joining two conductors or wires of dissimilar metals to form a junction of the two wires called a measuring junction (or sensing junction, and so on). Although almost any two types of metal can be used to make the thermocouple wires, a number of standard types are used because they possess predictable output voltages and can handle large temperature gradients. The several types of thermocouples available may be designated by capital letters that indicate their composition according to American National Standards Institute (ANSI) conventions. For example, a J-type thermocouple has one iron conductor and one constantan (copper-nickel alloy) conductor.
The thermocouple measuring junction may be encased in a sensor probe, for example, with the probe positioned at the point of temperature measurement (i.e., at the temperature source). In principle, as the temperature of the measuring junction changes with the temperature source, a temperature gradient is formed (along the wires) between the measuring junction and the opposite free ends of the two wires. Advantageously, a predictable thermoelectric voltage is generated as a function of this temperature gradient. By taking into account the composition of the two dissimilar metal wires, this generated thermoelectric voltage (sometimes called the "Seebeck" voltage) can be related to the temperature gradient along the wires. This temperature gradient is summed with a reference or "cold" junction temperature to give the temperature of the source being measured. Thermocouple measurements typically require sensing or determining the reference temperature (the cold junction temperature) where the thermocouple wires connect to the voltage measurement system.
In construction, the two free ends of the thermocouple wires may be connected at a voltage measuring instrument (e.g., an analog to digital instrument, voltmeter, control instrument, temperature control module etc.) to measure the thermoelectric voltage. The connection of these two wires to the voltage measuring instrument is accomplished by using an electrical connector. An electrical connector is an electro-mechanical device for joining electrical circuits as an interface using a mechanical assembly. The connection formed using the electrical connector may be temporary, as for portable equipment, require a tool for assembly and removal, or serve as a permanent electrical joint between two wires or devices. There are hundreds of types of electrical connectors, including such devices as terminal blocks, posts, crimp-on connectors, insulation displacement connectors, plug and socket connectors, blade connectors, and ring and spade terminals. Sometimes, the electrical connectors are divided into two portions, with each portion connected with one of the two wires or devices to be connected to each other. Sometimes, the two portions of the electrical connector form a male/female arrangement.
When the two free ends of the thermocouple wires are connected at a voltage measuring instrument (e.g., an analog to digital instrument, voltmeter, control instrument, temperature control module etc.) to measure the thermoelectric voltage, the two free ends of the thermocouple wires are connected to the voltage measuring instrument using a connector, such as a terminal block, and forms a second junction of the thermocouple wires called a reference junction (or cold junction). The connection of these two wires at the connector forms the second junction of the wires called the reference junction (or cold junction). The term "cold junction" comes from the traditional practice of holding this reference junction at zero degrees Celsius in an ice bath. However, maintaining an ice bath is not practical for most measurement applications. Thus, the actual temperature of the point of connection of the thermocouple wires to the measuring instrument is measured and recorded. As discussed above, the cold junction may be formed at the electrical connector which connects the two free ends of the thermocouple wires to the voltage measuring instrument. Sometimes, the electrical connector, and therefore the cold junction, is a single piece, such as with a terminal block, and other times, the electric connector and the cold junction may be divided into two or more pieces or portions, with each portion connected with one of the two wires or devices to be connected to each other.
Typically cold junction temperature may be sensed by a thermistor or other temperature sensor or device such as a semiconductor temperature sensor, which is in relatively good thermal contact with the input connectors of the measuring instrument. Again, this second temperature reading, the cold junction temperature, is used by the measuring instrument to calculate the true temperature at the thermocouple tip, the measuring junction.
In sum, to determine the measured temperature of the source (i.e., the component, process, system, equipment, etc.) at the measuring junction of the two wires, the calculated temperature gradient based on the measured voltage is summed with the cold junction temperature (e.g., measured with a thermistor) at the voltage measuring instrument or terminal block. Thus, in operation, a thermocouple measures temperature by generating a voltage (e.g., millivolt) proportional to the temperature difference between the measuring and cold junctions of two dissimilar metals. For smaller changes in temperature, the voltage is substantially linearly proportional to temperature difference. For relatively larger changes in temperature, the relationship may become non-linear.
In ever-increasing demanding applications in precision temperature measurement, and with equally-demanding desires to reduce costs, the cold junction temperature measurement can be problematic. In a variety of configurations, errors in the measurement of the cold junction temperature give errors in the measurement of the source temperature. A typically accurate but expensive technique is to use a high-accuracy thermistor affixed to each terminal or to the channel that contains the two terminals. A less expensive but also less accurate solution is a single integrated circuit sensor. A particular problem is with electrical connectors which have multiple portions. For example, an electrical connector may have a first portion connected to a circuit board encased within a housing, and a part of that first portion may even be extending from the circuit board and out of the housing, and a second portion which is separate from the first portion and which may connect to the first portion outside of the housing and away from the circuit board.
Relatively significant temperature gradients may exist across both portions of the electrical connector, including the first portion which is connected with the circuit board within the housing and between the components within the housing and the second portion which resides in the atmosphere outside the housing. There is a need, therefore, for cost-effective and accurate measurement of cold junction temperature in an electrical connector having multiple portions.

Multichannel thermocouple compensation for three dimensional temperature gradient


A storage partition adapted for partitioning an area proximate a corner or along a flat wall having a partitioning means selectively repositionable between (a) a first position wherein access to the area is prohibited and (b) a second position wherein unimpeded rolling access to the area, via a floor surface, is permissible.

School districts, in particular, have building structures that have various areas that are commonly accessed by students and other individuals, such as multi-purpose rooms, school gymnasiums and recreational areas. These areas generally have numerous entranceways and are often times occupied by individuals during times other than normal school and/or working hours. For example, it is not uncommon to have a school gymnasium occupied during evening hours by individuals playing basketball, volleyball, or the like.
As a result of the continuous accessibility to the above-mentioned areas, which are identified as being merely illustrative and in no way meant to be exclusive to the types of areas in which the present invention may be utilized, school districts are generally concerned about both safety and security in these areas. If adequate storage space is not provided in these areas, and often times it is not, such items, including but not limited to, mobile folding cafeteria tables, folding tables, gym apparatus, folding chairs, stacking chairs, scorers tables and other potential tripping/injury hazards have no place to be safely stored. Further, leaving these items out in the open where they are readily viewed and accessible invites a would be thief to pilfer the item for their own use. Generally, the stealing of such items takes place during evening hours when the only employee in the school is normally a janitor who is generally preoccupied with attending to other duties.

Apparatus for securely and safely partitioning an area


The components of a portable radio are distributed over a user's body to utilize the user's body as a vehicle for carrying the radio. A patch antenna mounted across a user's shoulder improves the user's ability to receive and transmit by minimizing body shielding effects. A control unit including a talk button, display, key pad and speaker is mountable to the user's other shoulder in close proximity to a user's ear and mouth for faster and more efficient communication. The power supply includes a plurality of battery packs that are mountable about the user's waist. The radio components are thus positioned to optimize their use while efficiently and comfortably utilizing the user's body to support the radio.

The present invention relates to mobile communication devices and, in particular, to a portable radio that has its components distributed about a user's body, utilizing the body as a vehicle to carry the radio.
People who serve the public such as police officers, fire fighters, utilities personnel and the like, require portable mobile communication devices in order to perform their job. Although existing portable radio technology is smaller and more convenient than in the past, existing technology suffers from several drawbacks. For example, as duty shifts increase to twelve hours and longer, battery power must be increased correspondingly to enable lasting communication devices. On current radios, however, added battery power is typically achieved using a cumbersome and unbalanced mass attached to the radio itself. Moreover, when a radio is worn on the user's hip, the user's body can get in the way of the antenna and interfere with the signal. Some radios attach the antenna to the shoulder speaker mic, but since the antenna projects upward and must be worn outside the clothing, it can get in the way or get caught.
Still further, radios that are worn on a user's hip can be difficult to access quickly and are far away from the user's ear, sometimes resulting in missed communications.

Body conformal portable radio and method of constructing the same


A method for dwelling a portion of a web is disclosed. A web can be conveyed at a first velocity by an apparatus comprising a first traversing guide and a second traversing guide operatively connected in a fixed spatial relationship. The first traversing guide and the second traversing guide can be moveable from a start position in a substantially linear path. The first traversing guide and the second traversing guide can be moved in a first direction at a second velocity equal to about one half the first velocity for a dwell time. One or more processing stations can bond the at least two layers of the web. The first traversing guide and the second traversing guide can be accelerated and decelerated in a second direction opposite the first direction until the first traversing guide and the second traversing guide are returned to the start position in a return time.

Along an assembly line, various types of articles, such as for example, diapers and other absorbent articles, may be assembled by adding components to and otherwise modifying and advancing, continuous webs of material. For example, in some processes, advancing webs of material are combined with other advancing webs of material. In other examples, individual components created from advancing webs of material are combined with advancing webs of material, which in turn, are then combined with other advancing webs of material. Webs of material and component parts used to manufacture diapers may include: backsheets, top sheets, absorbent cores, front and/or back ears, fastener components, and various types of elastic webs and components such as leg elastics, barrier leg cuff elastics, and waist elastics. Once the desired component parts are assembled, the advancing web(s) and component parts are subjected to a final knife cut to separate the web(s) into discrete diapers or other absorbent articles. The discrete diapers or absorbent articles may also then be folded and packaged.
Various methods and apparatuses may be used for attaching different components to an advancing web. Some production operations are configured to advance substrates in a machine direction at a constant speed. However, when advancing webs have components added thereto or are otherwise subjected to processing operations during production, it may be necessary to slow or stop the advancing web. For example, it may be necessary to slow or stop an advancing web passing through a processing station configured to perform such operations as, for example, gluing, welding, and adding discrete components. In an attempt to avoid having to vary the speed of the entire length of a substrate passing through an assembly line, some devices can be used to vary the speed of a portion of the substrate without affecting the speed of the entire substrate. However, such devices may only be configured to slow or stop the portion of the advancing web passing through a processing station for an instant or a very short duration of time, such as the time to process one single product. In turn, the processing stations may not be able to complete their respective functions during the relatively short time period while the web is slowed or stopped.
Other attempts have been made to process an advancing web such that the overall manufacturing line speed is not affected. For example, devices that shuttle the processing equipment at the speed of the web during processing and index the shuttle back to again process with the speed of the web have been developed. Due to the shuttling, which includes abrupt directional changes both horizontally and vertically, these devices are limited to smaller sizes and lighter weights. Further, these devices are limited as to how fast they can be shuttled; transferring a device at a high speed with high mass is difficult to control.
Still further, as the demand for consumer products increase, manufacturers are faced with having to produce products faster or at higher manufacturing throughput speeds. Thus, equipment is being developed which requires greater web handling capability. Accordingly, a need exists for a device that can suspend a portion of an advancing web for a predetermined dwell time, thereby keeping the web stationary for a time period longer than required to process a single product. For example, an apparatus is needed to stop a constantly advancing web at a gluing station so that three products can be glued and subsequently transported such that the line speed downstream of the apparatus is maintained. As previously stated, various methods and apparatuses have been developed to handle changing the web speed such that a fast operation, such as gluing or welding, that takes substantially less time than the period of one product, can be performed on one or more products. However, the current apparatuses are unable to handle a web such that one or more processes can be performed on the web over a time period greater than the time it takes to discharge one product from the complete manufacturing process. Stated another way, the current apparatuses are unable to handle processing a web for longer than the time allotted to move one product through the apparatus to maintain the desired line-speed downstream of the apparatus. Thus, a need exists for a device to handle the web such that more than one process can be performed on the web such that two or more products are processed simultaneously at zero speed for a time period longer than the time period required to process one product without affecting the overall speed of the web in subsequent manufacturing operations.

Method for providing a localized dwell in an advancing web


A supersonic flight aircraft having a longitudinally forwardly extending fuselage having an axis in the direction of flight, and a wing, and which comprises the wing extending generally laterally relative to the axis, and having a leading edge angled forward or rearwardly relative to a normal to the axis at an angle , and the wing having leading edge sharpness defined by upper and lower wing surfaces, which taper toward the leading edge to define an angle .delta., closely proximate the leading edge at all spanwise locations; the angle and sharpness .delta. characterized in that at design supersonic cruise flight conditions, the wing has an attached shock, that is, the forwardmost shock wave produced in association with the wing extends generally along or rearwardly of the leading edge, whereby laminar boundary layer conditions are maintained over the leading edge and adjacent the surface of the wing; there being flap means associated with the wing leading edge that comprises upper and lower leading edge skins capable of being controllably expanded chordwise, a structure between the skins, which permits the chordwise expansion of the skins, and means for causing relatively greater chordwise expansion of the upper skin than the lower skin, to generate downward defection of the leading edge.

This invention relates generally to long-range, supersonic cruise aircraft, and improvements in the wings of such aircraft.
Supersonic transports (SSTs) have been proposed in the past; however, swept-back wings of such aircraft have introduced inefficiencies, due to high skin friction development resulting from the turbulent boundary layer air flow associated with such highly swept wings. This skin friction drag contributes to undesirably high fuel consumption, and results in concomitant high operating expense and short range. Furthermore, the high sweep and short span of such wings results in very inefficient subsonic flight and poor takeoff and landing performance.
Accordingly, the main obstacle to widespread acceptance of the supersonic transport is its relatively poor range and fuel efficiency, resulting in uncompetitive economics. The basic cause of this uncompetitive performance is the low lift to drag ratio (L/D) of presently used and proposed SSTs, at both supersonic and subsonic speeds.
For more than three decades, the aeronautical community has tried to improve the L/D (lift-to-drag ratio) of long-range, supersonic military and civil aircraft designs. Despite these efforts, the gains have been marginal and far from the 30%-plus improvement in cruise L/D needed to approach the range and operating economics of subsonic transports. All of the aerospace industry-proposed designs are based on modifications of the delta wing (a point-forward triangle). The reason for this choice is that the modified delta wing (and other highly swept forms) has been shown theoretically to have lower supersonic drag, due to lift, than a wing planform with relatively low sweep, and also lower wave drag, due to thickness. In consequence, the delta wing can be thicker, thus reducing structural weight and providing more volume for fuel and equipment.
The delta wing family also has recognized disadvantages; and because it has been the sole candidate for SSTs, these disadvantages are widely assumed to be unavoidable for all SSTs. Two of these disadvantages are the delta wing's high drag, due to lift at subsonic speed, and low maximum lift, even at an uncomfortably high angle of attack. These traits lead to the need for high power and high speed during takeoff and landing, resulting in high noise levels.


Provided are a light unit and a liquid crystal display (LCD) having the same. The light unit comprises a housing; at least one first printed circuit board (PCB) arranged in the housing in a first direction; at least one second PCB arranged in the housing in a direction opposite to the first direction; and light emitting diodes mounted on the first and second PCBs.

Among various displays such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) using electro-optical effect, a plasma display panel (PDP) using gas discharge and an electro-luminescence display (ELD) device using field emission effect, LCDs are most actively being researched.
Since LCDs are a receive optical device in which images are displayed by controlling light amount inputted from an outside, they essentially need a separate light source, i.e., backlight device, for irradiating an LCD panel.
Such a backlight unit uses a light emitting diode (LED) and a light emitting lamp such as a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL).

Light unit and liquid crystal display device having the same


The state of a plurality of electric storage blocks connected in serial is determined. Each of the electric storage blocks includes a plurality of electric storage elements connected in parallel. Each of the electric storage elements includes a current breaker configured to break a current path in the electric storage element. When a first voltage characteristic is shifted from a second voltage characteristic, it is determined that the current breaker is operated. The first voltage characteristic is acquired from a voltage sensor acquiring an open circuit voltage of each electric storage block and indicates a change in the open circuit voltage with respect to a capacity of the electric storage block. The second voltage characteristic is calculated from a capacity retention rate and a variation of the capacity and indicates a change in the open circuit voltage with respect to the capacity of the electric storage block.

Patent Document 1 has described an assembled battery having a configuration in which a plurality of cells are connected in parallel and a fuse is connected to each of the cells connected in parallel. The fuse blows in response to passage of an excessive current to break the current path. Patent Document 2 has described a technique in which the operation of a current breaking mechanism included in a battery is detected on the basis of a change in internal resistance of the battery.

Electric storage system determining operation of current breaker


Foundry cores and molds for casting metals are prepared by forming a binder comprising a polyol, an isocyanato urethane polymer and a urethane catalyst. The binder additives and resin formulations of the invention are especially useful for casting non-ferrous metals, for example, the casting of aluminum, magnesium and other lightweight metals. The cores and molds produced for casting aluminum and other lightweight metals exhibit excellent shakeout while retaining other desirable core and mold properties.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates broadly to foundry binders based on organic resins and specifically to resinous binder compositions that are formed by the reaction of phenol formaldehyde condensates and polyisocyanates, known in the foundry trade as phenolic urethanes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Phenolic urethanes are widely described in the prior art and have been in use for several decades as foundry core and binders. Sand binders form molds or cores for casting of metals, especially aluminum and other lightweight metals which are cast at relatively low temperature. For example, phenolic urethanes based on high molecular weight phenolic resins (i.e., an average of at least 3 aromatic rings per molecule) are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,409,579 and 3,676,392 to Robins. Phenolic urethane foundry binders of a lower molecular weight type are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,148,777 to LaBar et al. and 4,311,631 to Myers et al. While the binders described by these prior patents have, in general, been successful with respect to casting ferrous based metals, which are cast at relatively high temperatures, problems have been observed in using the same binder systems in the casting of aluminum with respect to the breakdown and shake out of the cores after solidification of the metals (also called Thermal Sand Removal, or TSR).
In order to provide a core or mold that is strong enough to maintain its shape and surface during the casting of metals, a fairly high level of binder is required. This is true not only with the phenolic urethane binders but the alkyd-oil binders, the polyester polyol binders, and other types of binders known in the field. However, when sufficient binder is mixed with the sand to form cores and molds having adequate strength to permit handling of the cores or molds and adequate abrasion resistance and hot strength, the resulting cores and molds are difficult to break down and it is difficult to remove the sand from the metal casting, particularly when the casting is made at the relatively low casting temperatures of the light metals, such as aluminum.
Because of the practical importance of this problem to the practices of the foundry art, several approaches have been used in the past to eliminate this problem. On the one hand, organic additives such as sugars have been incorporated into the sand mix. On the other, the quantity of binder has been reduced. Binders with inherently less strength or low heat resistance have also been used. Some have incorporated organic peroxides in the binder in order to aid the oxidative degradation of the said binder at high temperatures; others have included inorganic peroxides in their sand mix. While these efforts have been, by and large, successful in reducing the shake-out problem, there have been highly undesirable aspects associated with them obvious to those familiar wit the art. Therefore, the foundry art has been seeking to find a binder system which will produce cores and molds having adequate strengths and abrasions resistance, but which breaks down well at the casting temperatures of aluminum and magnesium to provide easy shake out.

Urethane binder compositions for foundry applications


Methods and compositions for inhibiting fouling in vinyl monomers are disclosed. Alkylphosphonate esters or acids thereof are added to vinyl monomers, particularly ethylene dichloride, that are undergoing processing to inhibit fouling.

During the petrochemical processing of chlorinated hydrocarbons, they are commonly heated to temperatures of 38.degree. C. to 815.degree. C. This processing typically comprises production and purification processes such as distillation and fractionation. Ethylene dichloride (EDC) is most commonly used in the production of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM).
Ethylene dichloride, also known as 1,2-dichlorethane, is produced from ethylene by two different processes: the direct chlorination of ethylene and the oxychlorination of ethylene. Direct chlorination uses ferric chloride, tetrachloroferrate salts, aluminum chloride or cupric chloride as catalysts.
Oxychlorination of ethylene is typically incorporated into an integrated vinyl chloride plant in which hydrogen chloride, recovered from the dehydrochlorination or cracking of ethylene dichloride to vinyl chloride, is recycled to an oxychlorination unit. The process further employs an oxygen-containing gas such as air or oxygen.
As a result of these processes, ethylene dichloride will often contain impurities such as iron complexes due to the catalyst and corrosion of process equipment and other organic chloride compounds and tars. Ethylene dichloride must be purified prior to its cracking to produce vinyl chloride monomer and the impurities formed during the production of ethylene chloride must be removed. The most common impurities in ethylene chloride include but are not limited to butadiene, chloroprene, vinylidene chloride, chlorinated methane, acetylene, and ethylene. This is typically accomplished with washing and distillation steps. However, after some usage the distillation and purification units begin to foul due to the accumulation of impurities. The deposition of these impurities, often polymeric in nature, result in less efficient economies of production as well as shut-down to clean the fouled unit.

Compositions and methods for inhibiting fouling of vinyl monomers


A power supply having a stable reset function a mobile electronic unit is provided that simultaneously resets the digital signal processing unit and the controller in a mobile electronic unit. The stable reset function occurs during the period of time when the power source of the mobile electronic unit is changed by removing an AC adapter from the mobile electronic unit and applying the power source of the battery which was previously installed in the mobile electronic unit. The power supply having a stable reset function includes a power supply unit, a first reset unit, which, when at least one output voltage from the power supply unit is abnormal, generates a first reset signal, a second reset unit, which, when the input power source from the adapter or battery is less than a predetermined reference voltage, generates a first reset signal, and a controller which is reset by means of one of the first and second reset signals, and when the second reset signal is applied thereto, controls the power supply unit to cut off the source voltages for the digital signal processing unit.

A digital camera is a type of mobile electronic unit which is fundamentally different than a conventional film-type camera. The digital camera photographs a subject through an optical lens system and stores photographed image information as digital data in a memory card. The digital data stored in the memory card can be processed using a computer and can be easily supplied via a network. Accordingly, the demand for digital cameras is expected to substantially increase.
In order for a digital camera to operate, a power source must be supplied from an AC adapter or a battery. If an AC adapter is connected to a digital camera in which a battery has already been installed, the digital camera uses the power supplied from the AC adapter because a ground is connected to the negative terminal of the AC adapter. If the AC adapter is removed from the digital camera in which a battery has been installed, the digital camera uses the power supplied from the battery because the ground is connected to the negative terminal of the battery. Since the AC adapter cannot be removed at the same time the battery power source is applied, the ground is in a floating state during the time period while the AC adapter is being removed. During this time period, the battery source voltage applied to the digital camera is rapidly reduced. Until the AC adapter is completely removed from the digital camera and the power source is supplied from the battery (several to several tens of ms), the digital signal processing unit is in an unstable state, and the LCD screen displays an abnormal image. Accordingly, a need exists for a stable reset function to simultaneously reset the digital signal processing unit and the controller in a mobile electronic unit digital when the power source is changed from an AC adapter to the battery in the mobile electronic unit.
In FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional camera power supply unit 14 that generates source voltages is connected to a power source through a fuse 13. For example, first and second source voltages Vd1 and Vd2 are supplied to a digital signal processing unit 15, and a source voltage Vm is supplied to a controller 16, specifically a microcontroller. The camera power supply unit 14 uses the power source supplied from an adapter 11 or a battery 12. A reset unit 17 determines whether the source voltage Vm for the controller 16 supplied from the camera power supply unit 14 is abnormal and resets the controller 16 if the source voltage Vm is abnormal.
However, in FIG. 2, a DC 5V power source is supplied from the adapter 11 at periods b and c where the ground is in a floating state, that is, during a transition period between removing the adapter 11 and applying the power source from the battery 12. During the transition period, the voltage is reduced to 0V at a steep slope during period b and is maintained at 0V during period c. The interval of periods b and c varies according to the speed at which the AC adapter 11 is removed from the digital camera. After period c, a power source Vbatt, supplied from the battery 12, is applied to the digital camera.
The source voltage Vm applied to the controller 16 is not reduced as rapidly as the DC 5V power source supplied from the adapter 11. The source voltage Vm is maintained at an original voltage until part of the way into period c, but then is reduced, and finally restored to the original voltage at a predetermined period of time after period c. The first and second source voltages Vd1 and Vd2 of the digital signal processing unit 15 start to be reduced during period b, but are restored to the original voltage at a predetermined period of time after period c.
As described above, the respective source voltages Vd1, Vd2, and Vm of the digital signal processing unit 15 and the controller 16 are not simultaneously reduced due to a communication error between the digital signal processing unit 15 and the controller 16 during the transition period between removing the adapter 11 and applying the power source of the battery 12. This causes several problems to occur. During period c, the controller 16 operates normally because the fall in power source voltage is small. However, the digital signal processing unit 15 is reset and then starts operating again without an initialization process which causes the LCD screen to display an abnormal image.

Power supply having stable reset function in mobile electronic unit


A temperature-compensated crystal oscillator including an oscillation circuit which includes an oscillator, a temperature detector, a voltage variable capacitance element coupled to an oscillation loop of the oscillation circuit, and a temperature compensation circuit. The temperature compensation circuit is configured to apply a compensation voltage to the voltage variable capacitance element to compensate a temperature change in response to temperature data detected by the temperature detector. The temperature compensation circuit has a plurality of correction point data. The respective correction point data is set in advance for each divided temperature zone, selects a first correction point data in a lower temperature zone and a second correction point data in a higher temperature zone, as compared with the detected temperature data, performs an interpolation between the first and second correction point data by a weighted averaged first-order interpolation, and generates the compensation voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a temperature-compensated crystal oscillator using a resonator such as a crystal, and a temperature compensation method for an oscillator.
2. Description of Related Art
A crystal oscillator is used as an oscillation element for obtaining a reference frequency in communication with a mobile phone, a GPS device or the like.
The crystal oscillator has a very high accuracy of oscillation frequency but it still has a slight temperature characteristic, and a usual AT-cut crystal oscillator shows a cubic curve.
An oscillator in which temperature changes are compensated by controlling the cubic curve to be cancelled is called a temperature-compensated crystal oscillator (TCXO).
There are two types of temperature compensation methods, i.e., an analog temperature compensation method and an LSI temperature compensation method, and the LSI temperature compensation method is the mainstream method because it has an advantage of reducing the size.
An LSI includes a temperature compensation circuit and an oscillation circuit. As the temperature compensation circuit, there have been proposed various methods, for example, the temperature compensation circuit is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-198736.
The most representative temperature compensation circuit employs a method in which a voltage represented by a cubic curve is generated in an LSI to control an oscillation frequency of a voltage controlled crystal oscillator (VCXO).
In order to generate the cubic curve, the LSI has a thermometer (a first voltage) and combines a DC voltage (zero-order voltage), a secondary voltage and a tertiary voltage generated by a square-root circuit and a cube-root circuit. By using coefficients at the time of combining the voltages as parameters, the cubic curves can be freely drawn as shown in FIG. 1.
This is expressed as a following equation (1).V=A(T−T0)3+B(T−T0)2+C(T−T0)+D  (1)
Until now, the temperature characteristic of the crystal oscillator can be relatively accurately compensated by adjusting these four parameters of A, B, C and D in the Equation 1.

Temperature-compensated crystal oscillator and temperature compensation method for oscillator


An inspection method of vitreous silica crucibles includes: a measurement step of measuring an infrared absorption spectrum or a Raman shift of a measurement point on an inner surface of the vitreous silica crucible; a determining step of predicting whether or not a surface-defect region occurs at the measurement point based on an obtained spectrum to determine a quality of the vitreous silica crucible.

In manufacture of a silicon single crystal, the Czochralski method (the CZ method) using a vitreous silica crucible has been employed. In this method, a seed crystal is contacted to the melt surface while rotating in a horizontal direction on a silicon melt surface at a high temperature of approximately 1420° C. which is the melting point of silicon, then pulled gradually to manufacture a single crystal; and a vitreous silica crucible of high purity is used in order to store the silicon melt.
In recent years, a diameter of the silicon single crystal has been increased due to a demand for efficiency of semiconductor device processes. As a result, the diameter of the vitreous silica crucibles has also been increased. The size of vitreous silica crucibles is, for example, 28 inches (about 71 cm), 32 inches (about 81 cm), 36 inches (about 91 cm), and 40 inches (about 101 cm) in diameter. A crucible with a diameter of 101 cm is a enormous crucible having a weight of about 120 kg, and the mass of silicon melt contained therein is 900 kg or more. That is, during the pulling of silicon single crystal, 900 kg or more silicon melt of about 1500 degrees C. is contained in the crucible. As a result, a distance from an external carbon heater to the center of the silicon single crystal, and an amount of melted polysilicon are increased, which causes the temperature in the vitreous silica crucible to become higher. Moreover, the pulling time may be prolonged, and a pulling may last 2 weeks or more. In order to maintain the solid-liquid interface of the silicon melt central part which is contacted with the single crystal near the silicon melting point of 1420 degrees C., the temperature of the vitreous silica crucible is set as high as 1450-1600 degrees C. In the pulling of silicon single crystal which may last 2 weeks or more, the extent of deformation of sidewall sagging of a rim portion of the vitreous silica crucible may be 5 cm or more.
Brown cristobalite is generated on the inner surface of the vitreous silica crucible when contacting with the silicon melt at a high temperature for a long time. As the pulling of a silicon single crystal proceeds, cristobalite grows in a horizontal direction and vertical direction with respect to the inner surface of the vitreous silica crucible to form a ring-shaped spot (brown ring). The formed brown ring is likely to peel off. The peeled-off brown ring is conveyed into the silicon single crystal when falling/mixing in the silicon melt. As a result, the pulled-up silicon ingot is polycrystallized, and the single-crystal yield is reduced.
Bubbles contained in the inner surface of the vitreous silica crucible are also a main cause of decrease in single-crystal yield. As erosion of the inner surface of the vitreous silica crucible proceeds, the bubbles in the inner surface of the vitreous silica crucible enter the silicon melt. The single-crystal yield is reduced by the bubbles in the silicon melt being included in the silicon ingot. In addition, under a high temperature condition for a long time, bubbles contained in the inner surface of the vitreous silica crucible expand significantly. The expanded bubbles cause a deformation of the vitreous silica crucible and a nonuniform inner surface. As a result, a melt surface vibration occurs in the silicon melt, and the single-crystal yield is reduced.
In order to solve such a problem, for example, Patent Literature 1 proposes a method for pulling of silicon single crystal stably by limiting the number of brown rings in a predetermined position within a certain range. In addition, Patent Literature 2 discloses that an amorphous component ratio of the vitreous silica crucible is identified by using a Raman laser.

Inspection method of vitreous silica crucible


A method of estimating the chromaticity of illumination of a colored image consisting of a plurality of color-encoded pixels. The image colors are first mapped into an intensity-independent chromaticity space which is then divided into a plurality of separate regions. For each region, a first binary value is assigned to the region if the region contains no chromaticity value; or, a second binary value is assigned to the region if it does contain a chromaticity value. The assigned values are then applied as inputs to a pre-trained neural network having two output ports and at least one intermediate layer containing a plurality rality of ports connectible between selected input ports and the output ports. The chromaticity space values which characterize the input image's chromaticity of illumination are then derived at the output ports. The network is pretrained trained by initially connecting an arbitrary number of the intermediate layer ports to selected input layer ports. A weight value is associated with each connection. The weight values, which have the effect of altering signals transmitted along each connection by a selected amount, are initialized with random values. Each one of a plurality of pre-stored data sets, each containing values characterizing presence or absence of color in selected regions of one of a corresponding plurality of known colored images, are sequentially presented as inputs to the network and the chromaticity space values derived at the output ports are compared with known chromaticity space values characterizing illumination of the known colored image to derive an error value representative of difference therebetween. The weight values are adjusted in response to the inputs in accordance with the well known back propagation algorithm. After the weights are adjusted the intermediate layer ports are adaptively reconnected to the input layer ports to eliminate connections to input layer ports which repeatedly receive zero value inputs. The training process continues until the error value is less than a selected threshold.

Colors expressed in a standardized form are preferable because they can be used, for example, by a robot to recognize objects on the basis of color. Non-standardized colors are so variable that a robot can not make reliable decisions on the basis of color.
Colors expressed in standardized form are also useful for reproducing the colors in images more accurately. For example, the colors in a color image captured by a camera under illumination conditions that differ in color temperature from those for which the camera is color balanced will generally look "wrong". For example, if a camera balanced for indoor incandescent light is used in outdoor daylight conditions, colors in the outdoor-captured image will look too blue since there is more blue in the daylight than there is in the indoor incandescent light.
Digital color images can be created either by direct digital imaging on a charge-couple device ("CCD") chip, by digitization of a video camera's analog output, or by digitization of images printed on paper, transparencies or film. In each case the basic principle whereby the resulting digital pixel values composing the image colors are created is the same. In particular, the spectral power distribution (spectrum) of the light reflected from a point on a matte surface is generally the product of the spectral power distribution of the illumination incident at that point and the percent surface spectral reflectance function of the surface. For a surface with a shiny, specular component the reflected light also includes a second component which has the same spectrum as the incident illumination. In either case, the spectrum of the reflected light as a function of position forms the light entering the camera and is known as the color signal. For each pixel, the digital color image's value depends on the imaging device's spectral sensitivity functions and on the spectrum of the incoming color signal.
For sensitivity functions which are sensitive over a relatively narrow range of wavelengths and which do not overlap significantly, the change in the resulting pixel value created by a change in the incident image illumination can be approximated well by scaling by the amount by which the color of the incident illumination changed. In this context, "the color of the incident illumination" means the camera's response to an ideal white surface viewed under that illumination. If the sensitivity functions are not relatively narrow band, then a technique called "spectral sharpening" can be used to combine the output responses of the functions, prior to scaling, in order to optimize the scaling performance (see: Finlayson et. al. "Spectral Sharpening: Sensor Transformations for Improved Color Constancy", J. Opt. Soc. America, May, 1994, pp. 1553-1563). If the color of the ambient illumination can be determined, then the difference between the color of the ambient illumination and the desired illumination can be used to produce an image which is colored as if it were taken under the desired illumination. This process is often described as color correction. The present invention facilitates accurate estimation of ambient illumination and thereby facilitates image color correction.
The "grey-world" method is one well known prior art technique for estimating the color of the incident illumination. With the grey-world method, the color of the incident illumination is estimated as the average of color in the image. This method is very unreliable because the average is very unstable. For example, the image of a large field of grass will be primarily green, so the average color in the image will be green, even though the skylight illumination illuminating the grass is far from green. Color correction of such an image based on the grey-world technique produces readily perceptible color errors throughout the image.
Another prior art method of estimating the color of the incident illumination is the Retinex method (see: "The Retinex Theory of Color Vision", E.H. Land, Scientific American, 1977, pp. 108-129). This method effectively uses the maximum value found within the image for each of the three RGB color channels as the estimate of the color of the illumination. This method is unstable because it depends on the assumption that somewhere in every scene there will be a surface which is maximally reflective in each of the three color channels. This assumption is frequently violated.
Another prior art method of estimating the color of the incident illumination is described by Wandell et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,648,051. For 3-band color images, Wandell et al calculate the best two-dimensional subspace of the three-dimensional space of image colors and then extract a model of the illumination based on the normal to that subspace. Unfortunately, this method is unreliable because the assumption that colors will lie in a two-dimensional subspace is generally violated.
Another prior art technique estimates the spectrum of the incident illumination, from which its color is easily derived, by placing a set of surfaces of known percent spectral reflectance in the image where their color will be recorded in the image. This method has limited practical utility, since in general it is not possible to include the known surfaces in the image prior to imaging the image.
The 2D convex hull gamut mapping algorithm is another prior art technique, which considers the set of possible illuminants that could map the observed gamut of image pixels to a canonical gamut of expected possible pixels under the standard, known illuminant. See: "Color Constancy in Diagonal Chromaticity Space", Finlayson, Proc. IEEE Fifth Intl. Conf. on Computer Vision, June, 1995, pp. 218-223. Although gamut mapping sometimes yields more accurate results than other prior art techniques, it is more time consuming.
Von Kries adaptation is another prior-art color correction technique which can be used once the illumination is known. This is a process of scaling the RGB channels by a correction factor. See: "Necessary and Sufficient Conditions for Von Kries Chromatic Adaptation to Give Color Constancy", West et al, J. Math. Biology, 1982, pp. 249-258.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,079 Usui describes a method of estimating the illumination by using a 3-input, 3-output neural network as a decorrelator to minimize the correlation between the R, B and G bands of a color image. The neural network by itself does not accomplish color constancy; instead, it is trained to decorrelate the R, G, and B bands from one another. Usui's neural network uses only 6 weights, depends on unsupervised instead of supervised learning, uses a feedback instead of a feed forward process, and functions only to decorrelate the signals in the color bands. Moreover, Usui performs passive input-image-independent color correction. In other words, Usui's correction steps are fixed once his neural network has been trained. By contrast, the present invention uses the input image data to adaptively determine the color correction to be applied.

Method of estimating chromaticity of illumination using neural networks