A method and apparatus for the delaboration of ammunition, in particular for dismantling shells having a housing with a tubular housing portion made of steel and open at one end, a cone made of ductile metal and fitted into the tubular housing portion, the cone having a base with a tubular rim, and an explosive charge contained between the housing and the cone. The apparatus comprises a deformation tool, means for inserting the deformation tool into the tubular housing portion, an alignment tool for aligning the tubular housing portion with respect to the deformation tool, wherein the alignment tool has a recess for receiving an upper end of the tubular housing portion.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for the delaboration of ammunition, in particular for delaborating shells originating from cluster bombs or cluster rockets and having a steel housing that contains an explosive charge and a ductile metal cone. More particularly the invention relates to a method and apparatus for dismantling ammunition having a housing with a tubular housing portion made of steel and being open at one end, a cone made of ductile metal and fitted into the tubular housing portion, the cone having a base with a short tubular rim, and an explosive charge contained between the housing and the metal cone.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
DE 197 36 298 A1 of the present applicant discloses a method and an apparatus for the delaboration of a shell with a steel housing that contains an explosive charge and a cone made from copper or a copper alloy. The steel housing consists of a tubular housing portion that adjoins an open end and a tapered housing portion that adjoins a closed end. The closed end of the tapered housing portion has three bores. Two of the bores are for fastening a detonator and parachute unit to the outer surface of the closed end. The bore in the middle serves for igniting the explosive charge. The cone is fitted into the housing so that the tip of the cone faces towards the detonator and is located in a distance from the closed end, whereas the base of the cone faces towards the open end. In order to fasten the cone securely within the housing to keep it in place even under high acceleration forces the base of the cone is provided with a short unitary tubular rim which is partially expanded during the assembly of the shell into a form fit with an inner circumferential groove provided on the inside of the tubular housing portion. The explosive charge consists of compacted RDX within the steel housing and located between the cone and the closed end. Upon ignition of the explosive charge the cone will direct a jet of hot gas and copper vapor through the open end.
Some armies possess large quantities of such shells. Due to the fact that cluster bombs or cluster rockets have been banned this ammunition has to be delaborated. A fast, reliable and non-expensive method for dismantling such shells is disclosed in DE 197 36 298 A1.
This method comprises: removing the parachute and detonator unit, locating the ammunition in an upright position on a support for alignment with a compression punch, the open end of the tubular housing portion facing upwardly, then moving the compression punch downwardly and axially compressing the tubular housing portion. When the pressure is high enough a length of the tubular housing portion will bulge outwardly adjacent to the circumferential groove. The tubular rim of the cone will not bulge together with the tubular housing portion so that it is released from the form fit with the groove. Then the cone can be withdrawn through the open end of the tubular housing portion and thereafter the explosive charge be removed. A disadvantage of the method and apparatus according to DE 197 36 298 A1 is that very high pressures are needed to deform the tubular housing portion of the shell in order to disengage the cone from the groove in the housing portion.
In addition to the type of shell mentioned above there is a further type of shell where the tubular housing portion is provided with an inner cylindrical aluminum liner or insert in order to avoid the need for milling a circumferential groove into the hard steel of the shell and thereby to facilitate its production. In this type of shell the circumferential groove is provided in the inner wall surface of the aluminum liner. An example of this type of shell is disclosed in DE 202 15 938 U1 of the applicant together with two different apparatuses and methods for delaborating or dismantling such a shell.
The apparatus of FIGS. 1a to 1d of DE 202 15 938 U1 comprises an extraction tool and a punch for pressing the extraction tool into the housing portion. The extraction tool comprises an annular blade delimited by a cylindrical outer surface and a conical inner surface and having a sharp blade edge at the intersection of the outer and inner surface. The cylindrical outer surface of the blade has a diameter that is equal to the inner diameter of the aluminum liner. The conical inner surface of the blade is steeply inclined and intersects the vertical axis of movement of the extraction tool at an inclination of less than 30 degrees. Inwardly from the conical inner surface the extraction tool is provided with a circumferential groove which is delimited by the conical inner surface of the annular blade and by an opposing conical surface having the same angle of inclination. In order to remove the cone from the tubular housing portion of the shell the extraction tool is moved into the tubular housing portion of the shell. When the sharp edge of the annular blade reaches the top end of the tubular rim of the cone it is forced by the punch between the aluminum liner and the rim. This will deflect the tubular rim inwardly so that it will enter the circumferential groove. Upon further downward movement of the extraction tool the movement of the tubular rim into the groove of the extraction tool will disengage the outer rim portion from the groove of the aluminum liner. When the extraction tool reaches the position in FIG. 1(b) the cone has been completely separated from the form fit with the aluminum liner and will only adhere to the explosive charge. In order to expose the explosive charge the punch is moved upwardly thereby withdrawing the cone from the shell. In order to remove the cone from the extraction tool the latter comprises an inner bore and an ejecting tool within the inner bore. The ejecting tool is axially movable relative to the extraction tool in order to push the cone downwardly out of engagement with the extraction tool after the cone has been withdrawn from the tubular housing portion of the shell, as can be seen in FIG. 1(d).
However this type of extraction tool is only suitable for dismantling shells having an aluminum liner. This is due to the fact that the sharp edge of the annular blade tends to break when it comes into contact with the inner surface of a tubular housing section made of steel.
Furthermore this type of extraction tool faces problems with shells where the tubular housing portion is provided with a small inwardly projecting steel rib that is either immediately adjacent to the inner circumferential groove and engages into the ductile metal of the tubular rim of the cone or that is immediately adjacent to an end face of the tubular rim. The purpose of this rib and of the circumferential groove is to hold the partially expanded tubular rim of the cone in place within the shell.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for the delaboration of ammunition


Integrated display panel assemblies include a light conducting panel having opposite sides and an end portion for receiving light from one or more light sources for conduction through the panel. On one of the sides of the panel is a first light emitting area for causing a portion of the conducted light to be emitted from the panel for backlighting an LCD or other display supported by the panel in overlying relation to the first light emitting area. The remainder of the conducted light passes beneath the first light emitting area to other light emitting areas on the panel for illuminating other displays associated with the other light emitting areas.

It is generally known to provide backlighting for integrated display panel assemblies and the like. This invention relates to certain improvements in the backlight assemblies for such displays which provide more efficient distribution of light to illuminate the displays associated therewith and provide support for the associated displays. As used herein, the term displays means any type of image, key pad, switch and/or legend on a display panel assembly.


A first embodiment comprises reacting PSI with polyhydrazide selected from the group consisting of dihydrazides and trihydrazides and mixtures thereof, subsequently hydrolyzing the crosslinked PSI with base to produce crosslinked polyaspartate. A second embodiment comprises reacting PSI with hydrazine to form an intermediate product which is reacted with polyacyl chloride or polyester to produce crosslinked PSI followed by hydrolysis to form crosslinked salt. Isolation of the intermediate before reaction with the polyacyl chloride or polyester is unnecessary.

Polysuccinimide ("PSI", also referred to as "anhydropolyaspartic acid" or "polyanhydroaspartic acid") may be prepared by the thermal polycondensation of L-aspartic acid. This polymer is then typically base hydrolyzed to form polyaspartate salt ("PAS") which has industrial uses such as scale and corrosion inhibitors and as a lubricant in a metal working fluid(s).
Crosslinking PSI and then converting PSI to its corresponding polymer salt gives its corresponding polymer salt a much desired superabsorbent property (hereinafter such polymer salts are referred to as superabsorbent polymers or "SAP") This property is highly desired since the crosslinked PSI can absorb many times its own weight of a liquid (such as water) thereby creating another important utility for use in diapers and the like. Over seventy different kinds of diapers are sold today in a $3.6 billion-a-year United States disposable diaper market for infants and for persons who suffer from stress urinary incontinence, a debilitating medical condition. These superabsorbent polymers are used as sanitary materials for other hygienic articles, for agricultural materials such as water-holding materials for soil and sheets for seedlings, food-related material/s such as food-freshness-keeping agents and dehydrating agents, public works materials or building materials such as dew inhibiting sheets on buildings and water sealing agents, and the like.
These superabsorbent polymers of the prior art which are prepared by initially crosslinking polymers which are typically not biodegradable. They tend to be environmentally durable and can exist in water or soil semi-permanently. Such durability is a desirable property for some uses; however, in others it might raise a concern at times in view of undesired environmental preservation after disposal because durable materials are not readily biodegraded to other biodegradable.
There have been several technical reports and disclosures disclosing a technique(s) for preparing water-insoluble superabsorbent polymers by crosslinking polyamino acids which have excellent safety and degradability.
Use of crosslinked PSI as an absorber is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,525,703 ('703) to Dennis J. Kalota, issued on Jun. 11, 1996, wherein the crosslinking agent is a specific polyamine. In that '703 patent and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,525,682 to Nagatomo et al., and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,461,085 to Nagatomo et al., which issued Oct. 24, 1995, crosslinking is carried out in solution in an organic solvent such as dimethyl formamide or while suspended in water. To isolate the crosslinked polymer, the water must be removed or the polymer precipitated and the solvent removed.
Prior art technical literature (G. Giammona et al., Synthesis and characterization of water swellable .alpha., .beta.-polyasparthydrazide derivatives, 272 COLLOID & POLYMER SCIENCE 1637-1641 (1994); G. Giammona et al., Crosslinked .alpha., .beta.-Polyasparthydrazide Micromatrices for Controlled Release an Anticancer Drugs, 10 JOURNAL OF BIOACTIVE AND COMPATIBLE POLYMERS 28-40 (1995); and G. Giammona, 41 JOURNAL OF CONTROLLED RELEASE 195-203 (1996)) discloses that a water-swellable polymer can be made from partially crosslinking polyasparthydrazide and glutaraldehyde producing a crosslinked polyhydrazide product. The polyasparthydrazide is made by reacting polysuccinimide with equal moles of hydrazine. All the PSI units are converted to hydrazide with the hydrazine and then the hydrazides are partially bridged with glutaraldehyde. However, the instant invention is unique from the art in that the superabsorbent polymer of this invention is a crosslinked PAS (sodium) salt and is not a crosslinked polyhydrazide as the prior art literature discloses.
Water absorbency by such a crosslinked polyhydrazide, which is typical of the prior art, is quite low.

Crosslinked polyaspartate salts a process for their production


Tape drives and methods of operating tape drives are provided. The tape drive may include: a first reel motor for rotating a first reel having a data storage tape medium wound about the first reel; a data transfer head; a second reel motor for rotating a second reel to draw the tape medium from the first reel, across the data transfer head, and onto the second reel; and at least one adaptive bearing for guiding the tape medium between the first reel and the second reel, the adaptive bearing including a roller having a first rotational resistance as the tape medium travels past the adaptive bearing at a first linear velocity and having a second rotational resistance greater than the first rotational resistance when the tape medium travels past the adaptive bearing at a second linear velocity greater than the first linear velocity. The method may include: drawing a data storage tape medium across a data transfer head between a first reel and a second reel using a first reel motor and a second reel motor; guiding the tape medium between the first reel and the second reel using at least one roller; adjusting a rotational resistance of the at least one roller to apply a first rotational resistance as the tape medium travels past the roller at a first linear velocity and to apply a second rotational resistance greater than the first rotational resistance when the tape medium travels past the roller at a second linear velocity greater than the first linear velocity.

Storage subsystems, such as magnetic tape libraries, are widely used for storing information in digital form. These tape subsystems may include a storage subsystem controller for controlling one or more tape drive systems contained within the storage subsystem and for controlling other components of the storage subsystem, such as the tape picker, which is used to select and load tape cartridges into the tape drives. The storage subsystem may be coupled to a host system which transmits I/O requests to the storage subsystem via a host/storage connection.
Each tape drive reads and writes data to the primary storage medium, which can be, for example, a magnetic tape medium contained within a removable magnetic tape cartridge. The magnetic tape medium typically comprises a thin film of magnetic material which stores the data. The tape medium may be moved by the tape drive between a pair of spaced apart reels and past a data transducer to record or read back information. In one type of tape drive system, one of the reels is part of the tape drive while the other reel is part of the removable tape cartridge. For this type of tape drive system, the reel which is a part of the tape drive is commonly referred to as a take-up reel, while the reel which is a part of the tape cartridge is commonly referred to as a cartridge reel.
An exemplary tape drive system 100 is shown in FIG. 1. This tape drive system 100 uses a removable tape cartridge 106 containing a cartridge reel 108. A storage tape 110 having a thin film of magnetic material which stores data is wound about the cartridge reel 108. The storage tape 110 is moved between a take-up reel 120 and a cartridge reel 108, past one or more head assemblies 104 to record and/or read back information from the storage tape 110. With this system 100, upon insertion of the cartridge 106 into the tape drive 100, the storage tape 110 on the cartridge reel 106 is coupled to the take-up reel 120 of the tape drive 100. Subsequently, prior to removing the tape cartridge 106 from the tape drive 100, the storage tape 110 is rewound onto the cartridge reel 106 and is then uncoupled from the take-up reel 120.
One or more guides may be provided along the tape path to guide the storage tape 110 as it passes between the cartridge reel 108 and the take-up reel 120. In some types of tape drive systems, the guides may comprise stationary guides, which remain stationary as the storage tape 110 passes back and forth. At initial start up, a static frictional force exists between the storage tape 110 and the stationary guide. This static frictional force is overcome by a shear force generated when one of the reel drivers rotates one of the reels 108, 120 to pull the tape 110 across the stationary guide. Once the tape 110 begins moving, a cushion of air may be formed between the tape 110 and the stationary guide, thereby reducing the frictional force between the tape 110 and the guide. However, at initial start-up the shear force applied to overcome the static frictional force can cause damage to the tape 110. Over time, this may result in tape failures or data loss.
In the tape drive system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1, the guides comprise rotating rollers 102. As the storage tape 110 is drawn back and forth across the head assembly 104, the rollers 102 roll with the tape to thereby reduce stress on the storage tape 110. At initial start-up, a static frictional force again exists between the roller 102 and the tape 110. However, as the tape 110 begins moving, the roller 102 rotates with the tape, thereby reducing the shear stress on the tape media.
In operation, rollers 102 may introduce noise in the tape drive system 100, which may result in unpredictable positioning errors of the tape 110. Irregularities in the bearings, machining, and assembly can cause axial and radial runout of the roller 102. As the speed of the tape 110 increases, the amount of noise generated by the rollers 102 may increase as well, thus placing more demand on the head assembly positioning servo control system to accurately follow the data tracks on the tape 110.
As the desire for storage capacity for these tape cartridges 106 increases, it has also become desirable to increase the density of data stored and increase the data transfer from and into on the tape medium, to increase the linear tape velocity, and to decrease the thickness of the tape substrate. As a result, guiding the tape 110 past the head assembly 104 along an accurate invariant linear path has become increasingly difficult. One error phenomena is known as "lateral tape motion" or "LTM." LTM is a major source of tracking errors in linear tape recording. Lateral motion is movement of the tape in a direction orthogonal to primary direction of the tape path. One approach to minimizing LTM tracking errors is to provide a multi-roller tape guide structure, such as the type described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,414,585, to Saliba, entitled, "Rotating Tape Edge Guide", the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Servo mechanisms have also been used to prevent errors arising from LTM. An optical servo mechanism can be employed to track and monitor lateral motion of a magnetic tape relative to a head assembly 104. In response to detected lateral movements of the tape 110, the head assembly 104 can be actively positioned so as to maintain proper tracking. To this end, the magnetic tape 110 can be provided with an optically detectable servo track that can be detected by an optical pick up head that projects a beam of light onto the servo track and detects light reflected back from the servo track. The track position information from the servo track may be fed into a servo control loop that keeps the head assembly properly positioned. Through the use of a head-positioning actuator and closed-loop servo control algorithms, the servo system is able to position the head over track center, even as the tape is wandering through the tape path.
Unfortunately, in order to increase the transfer of data, the tape must be moved faster and a problem arises when the frequency of the lateral tape movement approaches or exceeds the frequency of the servo control loop, thereby limiting the total capacity of the cartridge. At this point, the servo mechanism may not be capable of maintaining proper positioning of the head assembly 104, resulting in tracking errors.


Holes having the same diameter as via holes are formed in predetermined positions in advance when forming wiring patterns on releasable carriers. The carriers with the wiring patterns are bonded on an insulating material, and a laser beam is irradiated from the side of the carrier using the holes in the wiring pattern as a laser mask to form via holes in the insulating material. The via holes and the holes in the carrier are then filled with a conductive paste. With the holes in the carrier that are matched in position with the via holes, lands in the conductor layers are precisely positioned relative to the via holes. A multilayer circuit board thus produced has lower electrical connection resistance and excellent mountability with improved performances. Also a manufacturing method thereof is achieved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multilayer circuit board and a manufacturing method thereof, and more particularly to a multilayer circuit board with via holes filled with conductive paste for providing interconnection between layers and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
As electronic equipment becomes lighter, thinner, and smaller, the size and terminal pitch of semiconductor chips and electronic components are reduced, and accordingly printed circuit boards and package boards become more densely packed. Information technology equipment now requires shorter wiring distances between chips as the signal frequency has increased. Multilayer printed circuit board (PCB) technology has become essential to build high density, high performance circuits.
The key issue of multilayer circuit boards is how to establish electrical connection between layers to form three-dimensional circuits. Double-sided boards, which are the first step to building multilayer circuit boards, are fabricated by drilling holes in an insulating material and plating the walls of the holes with a conductive material to achieve interconnection between the front and back surfaces (see, for example, "Build-up Multilayer PCB Technology" by Kiyoshi Takagi; The Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, LTD; published on Jun. 15, 2001; first edition; second printed version; p. 53-76). Sequential build-up boards such as surface laminar circuits (SLCs) of IBM also use plating for achieving interconnection, part of the insulating layer between circuit layers being removed by laser or the like.
While the plating method has the advantage of accomplishing a low resistance connection between fine circuits, it involves complex processes and a large number of process steps, which increases the cost and poses a limitation to the application of multilayer circuit boards.
As disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-147464, multilayer circuit boards using conductive resin paste instead of metal plating have been put in use recently and multilayer circuit boards are beginning to find wider applications.
One method of manufacturing multilayer circuit boards using conductive paste for interconnection will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 7A to FIG. 7H. FIG. 7A shows an insulating resin plate or film 71, in which via holes 72 are drilled as shown in FIG. 7B by laser. Conductive paste 73 is then filled in the via holes 72 by printing, to obtain an insulating layer 74 that has interconnecting parts at desired locations, as shown in FIG. 7C. Copper foils 75 are heat-bonded to both sides of the insulating layer 74 as shown in FIG. 7D, and wiring patterns 76 are formed in the copper foils 75 by etching as shown in FIG. 7E. These processes are repeated and several layers are bonded together (FIG. 7F to FIG. 7H) to obtain a multilayer circuit board 77.
Other methods include, as with SLCs, using a photosensitive resin for the insulating layer and forming via holes by exposure and development, or removing resin by chemical etching or dry etching.
In the meantime, the base material thickness of each laminated layer of multilayer circuit boards has reduced from approximately 0.1 mm to approximately 0.025 mm as the boards are more densely packed, especially in bare-chip multichip module packaging. Insulating films in such laminated boards tend to bend or wrinkle, because of which dimension stability is becoming hard to achieve.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-221426 shows a multilayer circuit board that uses conductive paste for interconnection and that provides a solution to this problem. The manufacturing method of this multilayer circuit board is described with reference to FIG. 8A to FIG. 8D. A laminate film is first prepared, which is formed by a polyimide film 81 that will be an insulating resin layer, a copper foil provided on one surface of the film, and an adhesive layer 83 of thermoplastic polyimide bonded to the other surface of the film. A resist film is heat-bonded on the copper foil, which undergoes exposure and development to form a resist mask pattern. This is followed by chemical etching to form a circuit pattern including lands 84 and fine apertures 85. Then, a PET film is bonded on the adhesive layer 83 and via holes 86 are drilled by YAG laser. Conductive paste 82 is filled in the via holes 86 by squeezing from the front surface of the PET film. When the conductive paste 82 is dry enough, the PET film is removed. FIG. 8A shows the thus obtained board 90 that will constitute one layer in a multilayer wiring board when laminated.
Another board 91 with a circuit pattern including lands 84 and fine apertures 87 is fabricated similarly, another copper foil 88 is prepared, and as shown in FIG. 8B, fine apertures 87 are formed by etching in the copper foil at positions corresponding to the via holes.
Next, as shown in FIG. 8C, the boards 90 and 91 and the copper foil 88 are superposed such that the via holes 86, the lands 84, and the fine apertures 87 are precisely matched in position.
The boards 90 and 91 and the copper foil 88 are then united by applying heat and pressure, as shown in FIG. 8D. The copper foil 88 is etched to form lands 89, to complete a three-layer board.
With this method, while using a thin film, a high rigidity is achieved because fabrication of each layer starts from a copper clad laminate consisting of a resin film and a copper foil which later form an insulating layer and a conductor layer, respectively.
On the other hand, this conventional method shown in FIG. 8A to FIG. 8D requires precise positioning between the via holes 86 and the lands 84 of the boards 90 and 91, and the fine apertures 87 of the copper foil 88, as they are superposed and united by applying heat and pressure. The positioning between via holes and lands is especially difficult, as lands in high density wiring have a very small diameter.
For example, in a conventional wiring level, if the land diameter is 0.3 mm and the via hole diameter 0.15 mm, the allowable range of error is ±0.53 mm in order that the via holes are inside the corresponding lands, whereas, in a high density wiring board, the land diameter and the via hole diameter are as small as 0.1 mm and 0.05 mm, respectively, in which case the allowable range of error would be ±0.018 mm. If the via hole is offset from the land, the electrical connection resistance increases or varies, which will lead to a problem.
High density boards use a 0.025 mm line/0.025 mm space wiring rule. However, with the chemical etching process, which is performed after forming a resist mask by exposing and developing a pattern in a resist film that is heat-bonded on the copper foil to form the wiring pattern including the lands 84 and the fine apertures 85, the line bottom of the circuit pattern may be made to be 0.025 mm wide, but the line top is usually reduced to approximately 0.015 mm wide by the side-etching effect. Such reduced pattern line width will make it difficult to mount semiconductor chips by wire bonding of gold wires, because the bonding points will easily be displaced from the pattern lines.
Multilayer circuit boards using conductive paste had the drawbacks that the electric resistance of the conductive paste was high and contact resistance between the paste and copper foil circuit was unstable, but various improvements have been made. In the case of using a 0.1 mm thick "B" stage prepreg made of aramid nonwoven cloth impregnated with epoxy resin to prepare multilayer circuit boards using conductive paste, when heat and pressure are applied to the prepreg and the copper foils in the uniting process, the prepreg is compressed between the copper foils and conductive fillers in the conductive paste make tight contact with each other and with the copper foil lands, whereby electrical connection is established. On the other hand, in the case of using a thin base material of about 0.025 mm thickness made of an insulating film such as polyimide and an adhesive layer for high density wiring boards, the thickness of the insulating material cannot be further reduced by compression, and therefore the wiring pattern including lands is embedded in the adhesive layer to increase the compression rate of the conductor paste layer, so that the conductive fillers make tight contact with each other and with the copper foil lands to establish electrical connection. With the above-described conventional board in which lands protrude from the insulating layer on the front surface of the board, the conductive paste could not be compressed enough to achieve the effect of reducing electrical connection resistance.

Multilayer circuit board and manufacturing method thereof


A composite gas separation module includes a porous metal substrate; an intermediate layer that includes a powder having a Tamman temperature higher than the Tamman temperature of the porous metal substrate and wherein the intermediate layer overlies the porous metal substrate; and a dense hydrogen-selective membrane, wherein the dense hydrogen-selective membrane overlies the intermediate layer. In another embodiment, a composite gas separation module includes a porous metal substrate; an intermediate powder layer; and a dense gas-selective membrane, wherein the dense gas-selective membrane overlies the intermediate powder layer.

Gas separation modules are commonly used to selectively separate a particular gas from a gas mixture. Two of the most common gas separation modules are polymer membranes and metallic composites. Polymer membranes can provide an effective and cost-efficient option for separating a gas at low temperatures. Where separations must be performed in conjunction with high-temperature processing, however, polymer membranes are generally unsuitable because they tend to thermally decompose.
The development of high-temperature processing, along with tighter environmental regulations, requires utilization of gas separation modules that provide high flux, high selectivity of separation, and the ability to operate at elevated temperatures. Instead of polymers, metallic composite modules can be employed to serve these needs. A composite gas separation module can consist of a metallic membrane having selective gas permeability mounted on a porous substrate.
An area of high-temperature gas separation that is of particular interest is the separation and purification of hydrogen gas from a reaction gas mixture. A composite module for selectively separating hydrogen gas at high temperatures can include a palladium (Pd) membrane. Ideally, the palladium membrane is permeable to hydrogen but not to other gases. When hydrogen gas (H2) contacts the membrane, the hydrogen molecules dissociate and hydrogen atoms diffuse into the membrane. Accordingly, hydrogen can selectively pass from a surrounding atmosphere through the palladium membrane. The selectively separated hydrogen atoms then reassociate into H2 gas and pass into a volume on the opposite side of the module.
The effective life of a typical composite gas separation module having a hydrogen-selective metal membrane bonded to a porous substrate often is limited by diffusion of substrate components into the membrane which decreases the hydrogen permeability of the membrane. The rate of diffusion of the substrate components is greatest when the substrate is at or above its Tamman temperature. A metal lattice at its Tamman temperature is subjected to considerable thermal (atomic) vibration. If there is an interface between two metals, such thermal vibration significantly increases the mobility of metal atoms and their consequent diffusion. The Tamman temperature of a material is equal to one-half of its melting point temperature in Kelvin. For example, in the case of a hydrogen-selective palladium membrane on a stainless steel substrate, palladium and stainless steel have melting point temperatures of 1552° C. (1825 K) and 1375-1400° C. (1648-1673 K), respectively. The corresponding Tamman temperatures are about 640° C. (913 K) and 550-560° C. (823-833 K), respectively. The lower of these Tamman temperatures determines the temperature where a significant increase in intermetallic diffusion can occur. Accordingly, at temperatures around 550° C. considerable thermal vibration and diffusion of stainless steel substrate components into a palladium membrane can be expected in such a composite gas separation module. The alloy created by the diffusion of stainless steel substrate components into a palladium membrane can have reduced hydrogen permeability.
One solution to this problem has been to use a ceramic substrate, which tends to exhibit less diffusion of substrate components into the hydrogen-selective metal membrane than a predominantly metallic substrate. However, ceramic substrates are typically more brittle than predominantly metallic substrates. Further, ceramic substrates can be more difficult to fabricate and also can be more difficult to join to other components in a gas separation system.
Gas separation modules formed purely of a hydrogen-selective metal such as palladium also have been used. Eliminating the presence of the substrate in such a gas separation module can remove the problem of intermetallic diffusion. However, such a module can be very expensive to produce and can lack the mechanical strength that can be required for high pressure and/or high temperature applications. For example, a gas separation module formed purely of a hydrogen-selective metal generally must have a much greater thickness than a composite gas separation module to provide adequate mechanical strength. This increase in thickness can reduce the gas flux that can be established through the module.
Therefore, a need exists for composite gas separation modules (and methods for their fabrication) that overcome or minimize the above-referenced problems.

Composite gas separation modules having high Tamman temperature intermediate layers


Present ice skates 10 have a relatively great distance between the sole and the surface of the blades 40 for contacting the ice in use. This leads to instability. The present invention provides an ice skate comprising a boot or shoe, a sole and at least one blade 140 integral therewith, wherein the distance between the blade surface, for contact with ice in use, and the underside of the sole is approximately 20 mm or less.

Multi-layer hierarchical dynamic cellular networks pose difficulties for traffic flow and management.
A classical cellular network includes or consists of core segment and Radio Access Network (RAN). The core segment comprises at least a IP connectivity gateway and mobility management function. The Radio Access Network (RAN) comprised base stations (BS) and mobile stations (MS). Each of the mobile stations is typically connected to one of the Base Stations (FIG. 2). The RAN may also include relays.
A hierarchal cellular network (FIG. 1) may comprise a conventional cellular network, however in addition the Radio Access Network (RAN) segment enables direct connection between Base Stations/Relays so that one Base Station/Relay is capable of relaying the traffic of the other Base Stations/Relays to the core segment or to other Base Stations/Relays in a higher layer, which is connected to the core segment.
Multi-layer hierarchical dynamic cellular networks pose difficulties for routing, traffic flow and management (e.g. the multi protocol-layers handling). These difficulties may occur since the base LTE architecture, protocols and core elements do not support this type of network topology.
The disclosures of all publications and patent documents mentioned in the specification, and of the publications and patent documents cited therein directly or indirectly, are hereby incorporated by reference.

Moving cellular communication system operative in an emergency mode


A transmitter node includes a first data transmission portion that transmits data in a first transmission time slot on a first transmission channel and a second data transmission portion that transmits the same transmission data from the first data transmission portion in a second transmission time slot on a second transmission channel that does not superimpose in time on the first transmission time slot. A receiver node includes a first data reception portion that receives data transmitted from the transmitter node in a first reception time slot superimposing in time on the first transmission time slot on the first transmission channel and a second data reception portion that receives transmission data transmitted from the second data transmission portion in a second reception time slot on the second transmission channel superimposing in time on the second transmission time slot. Data transmission and reception can be thus ensured even at a trouble.

1. Field of the Invention
In a case where a time division multiple access communication network system via a plurality of transmission channels is used in a limited space, such as inside an automobile or a ship, the respective transmission channels are installed in the same place. A trouble (for example, damage on communication data resulting from the occurrence of a noise) is therefore highly likely to occur on a plurality of the transmission channels in the same place at the same time.
The present invention relates to a method for ensuring transmission and reception of data in a time division multiple access communication network system via a plurality of transmission channels under any circumstance.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 11 is a view showing the configuration of a line switching system (network system) in the related art described in Japanese Patent No. 3908632 (Patent Document 1).
In the configuration of FIG. 11, the network system includes a plurality of communication nodes, all of which are interconnected via a duplex transmission channel: an active line and a spare line.
The term, communication nodes (also referred to simply as nodes), collectively means terminal devices and switching devices, which are components of the communication network.
In the line switching system (network system) of this configuration, each communication node normally transmits and receives data using the active line alone.
Upon detection of the occurrence of a trouble on the active line, a duplex switching device representing a line switching device continues communications by switching the transmission channel to the spare line.
As has been described, according to the line switching system (network system) in the related art shown in FIG. 11, even when communications are disabled due to the occurrence of a trouble on one of the transmission channels, it is possible for the transmission data to reach a receiver node via the other transmission channel by transmitting the data using a duplex transmission channel. Influences of the trouble to the overall network can be therefore lessened.
As another method, there is a method employed in a network shown in FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 in which communication nodes are interconnected in a ring shape via a plurality of transmission channels (for example, a duplex transmission channel).
FIG. 12 is a view showing the block configuration of each communication node of JP-A-9-36903 (Patent Document 2).
FIG. 13 is a view showing the configuration of a network of JP-A-9-36903 (Patent Document 2) in which communication nodes are interconnected in a ring shape.
The network includes a plurality of communication nodes, which are interconnected via a duplex transmission channel: a 0-system transmission channel and a 1-system transmission channel.
According to the ring-shaped network of this configuration, the respective communication nodes concurrently transmit the same data to the 0-system transmission channel and the 1-system transmission channel in the opposite directions at a time.
According to Patent Document 2, by transmitting the data in the manner described above, even when communications are disabled due to the occurrence of a trouble on one of the transmission channels (for example, the 0-system transmission channel), it is possible for the data to reach a receiver node by transmitting the data via the other transmission channel (for example, the 1-system transmission channel). Influences of the trouble can be therefore eliminated.
By employing the communication method in the ring-shaped network as described above in a bus-type network, which is a non-ring-shaped network shown in FIG. 14, it is readily anticipated that in a case where a trouble occurs on one transmission line, influences of the trouble can be eliminated by using data on the other transmission line that is being transmitted at the same time.
Herein, rings shown in FIG. 14 represent ring-type networks.
However, in order to transmit data via a duplex transmission channel using the method of Patent Document 1, transmission channels are switched after the detection of a trouble on one transmission line. Accordingly, the data being transmitted at the time of trouble detection fails to reach a receiver node because of the switching.
Meanwhile, in order to transmit data over the bus-type network via a duplex transmission channel using the method of Patent Document 2, a noise is generated on the both transmission channels in the same place. Moreover, the transmission data fails to reach a receiver node at the occurrence of a trouble, such as damage on the communication data.

Time division multiple access communication network system


The present invention provides a geometric/material computer model of hierarchical bone based upon the viscoelastic properties of longitudinal and alternate osteons. The viscoelastic properties of osteons include, for example, mechanical properties and osteon content of various components such as collagen, mucopolysacharides, hydroxyapatite, osteocytes and osteoblasts. The invention also provides a method for preparing such a model.

The viscoelastic behavior of bone is not yet well understood though it has been studied for more than 30 years. Systematic time-dependent mechanical studies have been limited to macroscopic samples and yield conflicting results, probably due to the heterogeneous micro- and ultra-structural composition of the tested macro-samples.
The best available models of long bone shaft either posit homogeneity, based on elastic properties that hypothesize non-existent structural symmetries (Rho, 2000), or non homogeneity, but discounting the lamellar distribution pattern (for a review see, Ascenzi M.-G. et al., 2000). These models do not provide local information for clinical use in orthopaedic and reconstructive surgery and in the design and placement of implants and prostheses because such models do not account for the mechanical properties of bone ultra- and micro- structure.
The currently used morphological classification of adult human bone dates back to Petersen (1930) and views bone as a four-order hierarchy, of decreasing scale. The structures corresponding to gross shape, distinguished as compact and cancellous bone, comprise the first order or macrostructure. The second order of compact bone, microstructure, includes osteons (also known as harvesian systems), their coaxial lamellar layers, and additional related structures, e.g. marrow. The third order, ultrastructure, consists mainly of collagen bundles and hydroxyapatite crystallites with some protein mucopolysaccharides. Molecular patterning between organic and inorganic phases comprises the fourth order.
Osteons
Osteons are the predominant component of bone microstructure (see e.g. Bloom and Fawcetts, 1986). Osteons are centrally provided with a vascular canal bounded by concentric layers of lamellae, each a few microns thick. Osteonic lamellae show molecular organization of a mostly collagen bundle organic framework embedded in ground substance (comprised of sugars, proteins and water) and hydroxyapatite crystallites of orientation analogous to the collagen bundles'. Osteons, a few centimeters long, are between 200 and 300 μm diameter.
Two osteon types have been named after the direction of their fiber bundle direction arrangements, known as "longitudinal" and "alternate". Longitudinal osteons consist of lamellae appearing dark under a polarizing microscope. Alternate osteons consist of lamellae appearing alternatively dark and bright. Dark lamellae, called longitudinal, consist of collagen bundles with marked longitudinal spiral course (Gebhardt, 1907). Bright lamellae, called transverse, were originally hypothesized by Gebhardt to consist of bundles with marked transversal course only, but have subsequently been found (Frasca et al., 1977; Giraud-Guille, 1988; Ascenzi A. et al., 2001) to include oblique bundles as well. Much is yet unknown about the properties and roles of these osteon components. However, longitudinal lamellae are thinner, richer in collagen, and poorer in hydroxyapatite crystallites than transverse lamellae (e.g., Marotti, 1993). Longitudinal lamellae are also hypothesized to contain more ground substance (Ascenzi A. et al., 2001).
The relative percent of mucopolysaccharides within any given osteon must decrease for its calcification to increase (Pugliarello et al., 1970). In fact, the remaining mucopolysaccharides need to form a substrate on which the hydroxyapatite crystallites can deposit and continue accumulating (Herring, 1971). Whether the low amount (less than 1%) of mucopolysaccharides makes a mechanical difference has not yet been investigated. Based on the results of a report by Sasaki and Yoshikawa, (1993), the relative percentage of mucopolysaccharides in each osteon type would probably differ between initial and final stages of calcification. Further, Minns et al. (1973) indicates that removal of ground substance in several connective tissues may decrease time-dependent mechanical effects.
Mechanical Testing of Osteons
Osteons have been studied for some 40 years. Frasca et al. (1976) isolated whole osteons from surrounding bone at their natural boundaries, but the irregular shape of osteons so isolated prevents systematic mechanical study. More recently, Ascenzi A. et al. (1994) provided a technique to isolate osteon samples of regular, uniform shape, suitable for systematic testing.
Mechanical testing of osteon samples has been limited to quasi-static monotonic testing (see Ascenzi M.-G. et al., 2000). Osteon sample testing uniformly confirms the dependence of their mechanical behavior on calcification, as established by the method of Amprino and Engstrom (1952) and collagen bundle direction distribution. Quasi-static cyclic torsional testing is underway (Ascenzi M.-G., 2000). The incompleteness of osteon research is principally due to the challenges presented by their microdimensions. Indeed, osteon sample isolation and testing is lengthy and requires competent personnel, as well as the custom design and fabrication of high-precision apparatuses for sample loading and property recording.
Viscoelasticity
Material science regards viscoelasticity as a characteristic feature of polymer containing materials. Bone, like most biological materials, contains polymers. Viscoelastic properties depend on temperature and moisture content, which the work will hold constant at physiological level. In viscoelastic materials, some of the elastic energy generated by application of external forces is dissipated as heat. Such dissipated energy may contribute to the force driving the bone remodeling process (Levenston and Carter, 1998).
Studies of the mechanisms that generate bone viscoelasticity, that can shed light on the physico-chemical origin of Wolff's law and the properties of osteons, have not yet been conducted. However, osteon viscoelastic behavior could differ between longitudinal osteons and alternate osteons at the same degree of calcification (initial and final) and within each osteon type between initial and final stages of calcification. The only reported mechanical testing of whole osteons, isolated at their natural boundaries, is a preliminary non-systematic monotonic dynamic torsional loading (Frasca et al., 1981). It indicates structure and strain dependence of shear storage modulus in osteons of unspecified type and degree of calcification, and a linear viscous behavior up to strain values of 10−4. However, this model does not explain the behavior of the osteon structural components.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a hierarchical geometric material bone model built on a solid understanding of bone ultra- and micro-structural mechanical properties. Such a model could provide clinicians with a tool to fundamentally improve the precision of their interventions. There is a further need in the art for knowledge about osteon sample behavior under dynamic loading in terms of osteon structural components. For such knowledge, the viscoelastic behavior of osteons, and the influence of calcification and collagen bundles' direction distribution on the viscoelastic behavior of osteons, will need to be elucidated. Another important parameter, the relative percentage of collagen and mucopolysaccharides in terms of osteon and lamellar types, has not yet been investigated. The work described herein addresses these and other needs in the art.

Modeling viscoelastic torsional properties of osteons


On the basis                of single-ended signals based on logic levels, and        of differential, in particular common-mode-based, signals,a circuit arrangement and a corresponding method are proposed, in which a full duplex data transmission is possible.

The bit transmission layer or physical layer (PHY) is the bottom layer in the O[pen]S[ystems]I[nterconnection] layer model, also called OSI reference model and denotes a layer model of the International Standards Organisation (ISO) which in turn serves as a design basis for communication protocols in computer networks.
The physical layer (PHY) is responsible for Combining, F[orward]E[rror]C[orrection], modulation, power control, spreading (C[ode]D[ivision]M[ultiple]A[ccess]) and the like and knows neither data nor applications, only zeros and ones. PHY makes logical channels (transport channels for U[niversal]M[obile]T[elecommunications]S[ystem]) available to the security layer (D[ata]L[ink]L[ayer]) above it, in particular to a partial layer called M[edia]A[ccess]C[ontrol] Layer.
In principle D-PHY provides a flexible, low-cost and quick serial interface for communication links between components within a mobile device.
As illustrated in FIG. 5A, in modern mobile phones a data source, for example an application processor, provides image data as D-PHY signals to the M[obile]I[ndustry]P[rocessor]I[nterface]-D[isplay]S[erial]I[nterface] for display on a connected data sink, for example on a connected display. Also, a data sink such as an application processor, can receive, via a MIPI-C[amera]S[erial]I[nterface], image data in D-PHY format from a connected data source, such as from a connected camera.
A DSI or DSI-2 or CSI or CSI-2 or CSI-3 based on the D-PHY protocol comprises up to four differential data lines and a differential clock line, which electrically connect the application processor by means of a copper cable with the display and/or with the camera. The data rate per differential data line is up to 1.5 Gbps (Gigabit per second).
This conventional sending and receiving of the D-PHY-DSI signals or the D-PHY-CSI signals via one to four differential data signals and a differential clock line is illustrated by way of example in the D-PHY interface configuration of FIG. 5B by way of two bidirectional data channels (=so called data lanes CH0+, CH0− and CH1+, CH1−) and a clock line (=so called clock lane CLK+, CLK−) between the modules of the master side (=data source, for example camera and/or application processor) and the modules of the slave side (=data sink, for example application processor and/or display unit). In the bidirectional multiple data lane configuration the abbreviation PPI in FIG. 5B stands for PHY Protocol Interface.
In this context, as can be seen in FIG. 5A, up to ten copper lines are required for data transmission for each connected display or for each connected camera (for example four times two data lines and one time two clock lines). Correspondingly high-resolution screens, television sets or cameras for example comprise an electrical M[obile]I[ndustry]P[rocessor]I[nterface]-D-PHY-data transmission interface.
This interface is used to transmit both H[igh]S[peed] data and L[ow]P[ower] data, wherein the data rate of the LP data is typically very much less than die data rate of the HS data. This is shown by way of FIG. 4, in which the respective voltage levels are shown for HS data transmission and for LP data transmission.
In this context the guidelines of the M[obile]I[ndustry]P[rocessor]l[nterface] D-PHY standard are mandatory for the transmission of H[igh]S[peed]−/L[ow]P[ower] data. L[ow]P[ower] data must obey a MIPI-specific protocol, which does not permit to transmit already established industry standards for the transmission of serial data with a small bandwidth, such as for example I2C (=Inter-Integrated Circuit), S[erial]P[eripheral]I[nterface] or other protocols, for although the last mentioned protocols have a need for the transmission of D-PHY-H[igh]S[peed] data, they in addition also require the transmission of further binary data which are not PHY-conform.
In particular the relevant MIPI standard permits albeit the transmission of L[ow]P[ower] data bidirectionally, but not bidirectionally at the same time, i.e. not full duplex (=duplex transmission), but only half duplex (=alternating transmission).
Therefore, if apart from L[ow]P[ower] data conforming to MIPI-D-PHY serial data is to be transmitted in addition which does not conform to the MIPI-Standard, even conveniently in full duplex (=duplex transmission), two or three separate electrical lines must for example be provided in known D-PHY systems for conveying the L[ow]P[ower] data not conforming to MIPI-D-PHY.
In some applications this may lead to geometric problems or space problems when the cables are run; such as in the following applications:                mobile phones with small links or        endoscopes which in view of their intended purpose should by nature have a minimal diameter throughout.
Such separate lines also lead to problems, because their normally unipolar data lines irradiate electromagnetic energy.

Circuit arrangement and method for transmitting signals


A self-decontaminating system for decontaminating a surface on demand is disclosed herein. The system contains an electrochemical cell and at least one portion of the surface forms a functional component of the cell. The system may include an electrocatalytic fabric which is flexible and resistant to tears and breaks, such that the fabric can be rolled up or pleated in order to provide a high surface area structure that can serve as an active filter. The fabric can function as a stand-alone system or a protective coating. Also disclosed are methods for fabricating, decontaminating, and regenerating the self-decontaminating fabric.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a non-destructive, electrically-activated, self-decontaminating system for decontaminating a surface and a self-decontaminating fabric which incorporates such a system.
2. Description of the Related Art
After exposure to hazardous chemical or biological agents, the surface of a contaminated object located in a battle field, or in a remote area subjected to an accidental release of hazardous materials, is generally difficult to decontaminate. The availability of decontamination systems at or near such sites is usually limited or non-existent and, in particular, the use of an external decontamination system may be difficult or impractical in a situation where a soldier or relief worker must enter an area on foot and therefore bear the weight or bulkiness of such additional items as well as the responsibility of ensuring they arrive intact. In addition, it may be difficult to regenerate the active ingredients of a decontamination system under such conditions if they become depleted.
It may also be difficult to physically access the surface of an object in order to decontaminate it, regardless of location, particularly electronics enclosed within or behind a protecting structure. Furthermore, many decontaminating agents are delivered as aqueous solutions which can be detrimental to the functionality of the device being treated, particularly those containing water-sensitive electronic components.
Health, safety, or environmental concerns may also be an issue. The nature of a surface such as human skin or clothing, for example, may not be amenable to decontamination by the systems available on site, and decontamination of objects used in facilities open to the public or located in residential or environmentally sensitive areas can be similarly difficult to treat with existing systems.
Various systems and compositions have been proposed in the past to neutralize surfaces contaminated by hazardous biological or chemical agents, including coatings of monomeric or polymeric compositions delivered as foams, sprays, liquids, fogs, aerosols, and photoactive compositions that generate ozone when irradiated with ultraviolet (UV) light. In addition, several types of activated ion exchange resins in the form of dry aerosols, dust coatings, or admixed with a carrier (to form a coating) have been used to decontaminate surfaces, and activated resin can also be used to decontaminate fluids. Furthermore, electron beam irradiation, high field ionization, and UV irradiation can be used to decontaminate surfaces.
However, each of these references suffers from one or more of the following disadvantages: the supply and transport of equipment such as UV lamps to a contaminated site would be impractical or impossible; the active ingredients are external and must be placed in physical contact with the contaminated surface of the object in order to decontaminate it; the composition or resin is active once applied but can not be activated on demand; the active ingredients are difficult to regenerate if depleted; the systems or coatings used for decontamination are inflexible or not resistant to tears or breaks; the solvents or carriers used to deposit the active ingredients are detrimental to the functionality of the object or device being treated; the technique requires an enclosed space, heavy or bulky equipment, or is too costly for remote or general applications; or activation of the system is hazardous to the environment or to human health or safety.


A singulator adapted for feeding articles of varying thickness is comprised of a driver with a movable and resiliently biased retarder, called a dancer. The dancer moves back and forth along the article flow path, in response to the passage through the nip of the articles being singulated, to automatically set the gap at the singulator nip. A dancer body motion may be linear or pivoting. The path of article travel through the singulator nip is at an angle to the downstream article flow path. Thus, when a takeaway device pulls on the article, the dancer moves to open the singulator gap slightly to enable the article to more freely be taken away. A preferred dancer has an endless belt and is spring biased to lightly contact the driver at the nip in the absence of an article; and, periodic reversal of driver direction engages the dancer belt surface at the nip and moves it upstream, thereby exposing a new surface. A takeaway device comprises a friction roller directly driven by a motor, where the combination has a particularly low moment of inertia. Thus, when the roller engages a slow moving article issuing from an upstream device, motor rotational speed of the combination sharply decreases, to avoid damage to the article surfaces.

Despite the great amount of engineering attention given in the past to the problem of high speed feeding or sheets and other more or less flat articles, there is a continuing need for improved machines to overcome deficiencies which limit continuous, error free, high speed feeding. In particular, improvements are needed in reliably singulating sheets and other articles which vary in thickness or character, and for singulating them in a manner which does not adversely affect their surface character.
When singulating paper sheets and other articles using typical prior art technology, for example--feed rollers in combination with retarder rollers or belts, double feeding or other problems such as blocking or curling can occur. One contribution to problems in even carefully configured equipment is that there is variation in the characteristics of articles being fed, even when they are of the same supposed character. Too frequently, operator intervention is required to adjust machines during operation. Similarly, extensive and careful set up is often required when changing a machine from processing one type article to another. Articles which have in the past caused feeding problems include articles having step change in thickness or varied surface texture, such as envelopes with flaps fed first, articles with body joints, window envelopes, plastic credit cards affixed to paper sheets, and heavily coated or printed articles, etc.
Another area where improvement is needed is in the retarders of singulators. Retarders wear if made of elastomer or plastic, or scrape unacceptable amounts of material from the sheet surfaces if made of abrasive ceramic. They tend to loose their effectiveness when debris, such as toner from photocopied pages, accretes on their operational surfaces. Thus, there is a need for conveniently and automatically presenting clean retard surfaces at singulator nips. Still another deficiency is that when sheets are taken away from a singulator at an increased speed, there is a tendency for slipping and rubbing on the surface of articles, either at the take-away rollers or the singulator feed rollers.

Feeder for flat articles of varying thickness


A device for promoting patency of a fistula includes an annular body and a plurality of vanes formed integrally with the annular body, and projecting inwardly from an inner radial surface thereof. The vanes are oriented so as to impart circumferential velocity components to blood passed through a lumen of the device, and such that an unobstructed line of sight parallel to a central axis of the annular body extends between adjacent ones of the vanes.

Renal disease is a significant health challenge in the United States and elsewhere. Lack of organ transplant availability means that most patients are treated by dialysis, with roughly ten times as many patients receiving hemodialysis versus other forms. To minimize treatment time, hemodialysis requires a relatively large blood volume flow rate typically achieved through an arteriovenous shunt created through surgery. This shunt creates a low resistance pathway that can result in significantly increased flow rate through an arteriovenous fistula. Grafts have also been widely used.
In recent years, arteriovenous fistulas have been increasingly used to the exclusion of grafts, as data has emerged demonstrating that fistulas tend to have better long term patency rates and reduced requirements for intervention. There are nevertheless various challenges associated with fistula usage. After surgical creation of an arteriovenous fistula, the inflow and outflow vessels must dilate sufficiently and the venous tissue must generally undergo a remodeling process known as fistula maturation in order to be able to sustain the high flow rates needed for dialysis. This maturation process is only successful in about sixty percent of arteriovenous fistulas.
Another common problem is tissue proliferation along the lumen of the vein know as neointimal hyperplasia or NIH. NIH may lead to stenosis, reduced flow and ultimately failure of the fistula. Abnormal flow through an arteriovenous fistula is often observed with auscultation in the nature of characteristic vibration, believed likely to stem from turbulent flow through the vasculature. Various devices and techniques for use in fistula formation have been proposed over the years. Such technologies, however, suffer from a variety of drawbacks and shortcomings as evidenced by the still relatively low success rates of fistula maturation. Moreover, some devices for fistula formation are purpose-engineered for certain specific applications and may be less well suited to others. U.S. Pat. No. 8,523,800 to Brenneman et al., contemplating a shunt rivet for implantation in the aorta and inferior vena cava, is one such example.

Device for promoting fistula patency and method


An electrical fitting having an improved arrangement on the trailing end for attaching electrical cables thereto. A tubular body having an inner bore includes a clip member secured externally thereto. At least one leg is included on the clip member extending from outward of the tubular body into the inner bore. The leg is of substantial length and is cantilevered over such a distance so as to enable easy insertion of cable within the inner bore at the trailing end. The electrical fitting is enables increased ease of securing metal clad or armored cable to a panel.

Several prior art connectors have been proposed for the attachment of electrical cables or conduits to panels or electrical boxes. Some of these, such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,335,488 to Gretz, include a tubular body with a cavity on the trailing end and a split ring that is inserted within the cavity. Typically the split ring includes one or more cable gripping tangs for securing a cable to the trailing end of the connector.
Although the electrical connector of the aforementioned prior art adequately secures an electrical cable to the trailing end, a more simple and alternative arrangement to release the cable is shown by the present invention. As a result, instead of the split ring being located within the tubular body, single or tandem cable gripping tangs are provided, which are easily accessible since they may be fastened externally to the tubular body.
Additionally, as a result of the limited space within the cavity, the length of the cable gripping tangs is limited. Thus the cable gripping tangs must be relatively short, making the tangs stiff and less flexible, which translates to a higher than desired amount of force required to insert a cable into the trailing end of the electrical connector.
What is needed therefore is an electrical connector that accepts a cable or conduit therein with a minimal amount of applied pressure, and that furthermore will easily release the cable when such release is desired.

Electrical fitting for snap in connection of cables


A networked data projecting system includes a server for storing one or more content items, a projector for projecting a projection content item selected from the content items, and an information processing terminal. The projector includes an IC card terminal, and a projection content identifier storing unit for storing a projection content identifier of the projection content item in the IC card when the IC card is held over the IC card terminal while the projection content item is being projected by the projector. The information processing terminal includes a projection content requesting unit for reading the projection content identifier stored in the IC card and sending the projection content identifier to the server. The server includes a projection content transmitting unit for sending the projection content item corresponding to the projection content identifier to the information processing terminal.

1. Field of the Invention
An aspect of this disclosure relates to a networked data projecting system, a projector, and a content projecting method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a meeting at an office, it is common to project documents onto a screen to allow participants of the meetings to view the documents. It is also a known technology to allow the participants to obtain the projected documents by accessing an external server storing the documents, and display the obtained documents on personal computers (PCs) placed in front of the participants.
In the descriptions below, a person performing a presentation at a meeting is referred to as a "presenter", and other participants of the meeting are referred to as an "audience". In a technology disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-290605, a presenter stores a document used for a presentation in a server. At an external place (e.g., an office of a client), the presenter accesses the server using a mobile terminal including a projector, retrieves the document from the server, and projects the document to perform a presentation before the audience. The presenter gives the audience access key information for accessing the server, and thereby allows the audience to obtain the document used for the presentation from the server.
With the technology disclosed in JP2002-290605, however, the audience needs to obtain the access key information and manually enter the obtained access key information in PCs, for example, to obtain the document from the server. Accordingly, it is troublesome for the audience to perform such manual operations during a presentation. Also, for the audience visiting the place where the presentation is being performed, it may not be practical to obtain the document from the server due to network limitations or restrictions.

Networked data projecting system, projector, and content projecting method


A wireless system architecture whereby high efficiency broadband transceiver systems can be deployed at an initial build out stage of the system in a cost-efficient manner. A home base station location is identified within each cluster of cells and rather than deploy a complete suite of base station equipment at each of the cells in the cluster, inexpensive translator units are located in the outlying cells serviced by the home base station in which low traffic density is expected. The translators are connected to directional antennas arranged to point back to the home base station site. The translators are deployed in such a way which meshes with the eventually intended frequency reuse for the entire cluster of cells. The translator to base station radio links operate in-band, that is, within the frequencies assigned to the service provider. For example, the available frequency bands are divided into at least two sub-bands, with a first sub-band is assigned for use as a home base station to translator base station communication link and a second sub band is assigned for use by the mobile station to translator communication link. If desired, a third sub-band can then be used for deployment of base transceiver systems in the conventional fashion where the base station equipment located at the center of a cell site communicates only with mobile stations located within that cell.

The ever increasing need for wireless communication services such as Cellular Mobile Telephone (CMT), Digital Cellular Network (DCN), Personal Communication Services (PCS) and the like, typically requires the operators of such systems to serve an ever increasing number of users in a given service area. As a result, certain types of base station equipment including high capacity broadband transceiver systems (BTS) have been developed which are intended to service a relatively large number of active mobile stations in each cell. Such broadband transceiver system equipment can typically service, for example, ninety-six simultaneously active mobile stations in a single four-foot tall rack of electronic equipment. This base station equipment typically costs less than $2000 to $4000 per channel to deploy, and so the cost per channel serviced is relationally low.
When coupled with efficient frequency reuse schemes, such as that described in a co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/331,455 entitled "A Method For Obtaining Times One Frequency Reuse in Communication Systems" filed by John R. Doner on Oct. 31, 1994 and assigned to AirNet Communications Corporation who is the assignee of this application, maximum efficiency in densely populated urban environments is obtained. According to that arrangement the cells are each split into six radial sectors and frequencies are assigned to the sectors in such a manner as to provide the ability to reuse each available frequency in every third cell. Although this frequency reuse scheme is highly efficient, it requires at least two complete sets of multi-channel transceiver equipment such as in the form of a broadband transceiver system (BTS) to be located in each cell.
However, when a wireless system first comes on line, demand for use in most of the cells is relatively low, and it is typically not possible to justify the cost of deploying complex multichannel broadband transceiver system equipment based only upon the initial number of subscribers. Because only a few cells at high expected traffic demand locations (such as at a freeway intersection) will justify the expense to build-out with high capacity broadband transceiver system equipment, the service provider is faced with a dilemma. He can build-out the system with less expensive narrowband equipment initially, to provide some level of coverage, and then upgrade to the more efficient equipment as the number of subscribers rapidly increases in the service area. However, the initial investment in narrowband equipment is then lost. Alternatively, a larger up front investment can be made to initially deploy high capacity equipment, so that once demand increases, the users of the system can be accommodated without receiving busy signals and the like. But this has the disadvantage of carrying the money cost of a larger up front investment.
Some have proposed various techniques for extending the service area of a given cell. For example, U.S. Pat. 4,727,490 issued to Kawano et al. and assigned to Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha, discloses a mobile telephone system in which a number of repeater stations are installed at the boundary points of hexagonally shaped cells. The repeaters define a small or minor array which is, in effect, superimposed on a major array of conventional base stations installed at the center of the cells. With this arrangement, any signals received in so-called minor service areas by the repeaters are relayed to the nearest base station.
Another technique was disclosed in U.S. Pat. 5,152,002 issued to Leslie et al., and assigned to Orion Industries, Inc., wherein the coverage of a cell is extended by including a number of so-called "boosters" arranged in a serial chain. As a mobile station moves along an elongated area of coverage, it is automatically picked up by an approaching booster and dropped by a receding booster. These boosters, or translators, use highly directive antennas to communicate with one another and thus ultimately via the serial chain with the controlling central site. The boosters may either be used in the mode where the boosted signal is transmitted at the same frequency as it is received or in a mode where the incoming signal is retransmitted at a different translated frequency.
Unfortunately, each of these techniques have their difficulties. With the first method, which uses an array of repeaters co-located with the primary cell sites, the implementation of diversity receivers becomes a problem. Specifically, certain types of cellular communication systems, particularly those that use digital forms of modulation, are susceptible to multi-path fading and other distortion. It is imperative in such systems to deploy diversity antennas at each cell site. This repeater array scheme makes implementation of diversity antennas extremely difficult, since each repeater simply forwards its received signal to the base station, and diversity information as represented by the phase of the signal received at the repeater, is thus lost.
The second scheme works fine in a situation where the boosters are intended to be laid in a straight line along a highway, a tunnel, a narrow depression in the terrain such as a ravine or adjacent a riverbed. However, there is no teaching of how to efficiently deploy the boosters in a two-dimensional grid, or to share the available translated frequencies as must be done if the advantages of cell site extension are to be obtained throughout an entire service region, such as a large city.

Cellular system plan using in band-translators to enable efficient deployment of high capacity base transceiver systems


A muscle is exercised by orienting the body such that the muscle must be flexed to support a part of the body from falling under its weight. The strength of the muscle is supplemented by a device which provides an adjustable resistance, and the resistance is progressively reduced as the muscle is strengthened. The preferred device includes a spring and structure to adjustably compress the spring and to arrange it between selected parts of the user's body.

Many devices and methods are known for use in exercising nearly all muscles of the human body. Most of these require the muscle being exercised to flex to operate the device. Many employ a spring or other device which acts in tension and require the user to pull the ends of the device apart to exercise the muscle.
Other forms of exercise are known which employ no assisting apparatus at all. For example, the sit-up is a well known exercise for developing the abdominal muscles.
The above forms of exercise are generally known as "dynamic" because the body parts are moving during the exercise. Another form of exercise, however, is known as "isometric" because the muscle is required to flex but is not required to move. For example, the position wherein one is supported with the hands while the feet are held in front of the body requires the abdominal muscles to be flexed while maintaining them stationary. This requires a significant amount of abdominal strength and is of value as an exercise only to those with such strength.


A thermoelectric cooler apparatus for a fiber optic system includes a first plate coupled to the fiber optic system and a second plate for coupling to a heat sink. The apparatus includes a first plurality of thermoelectric units and a second plurality of thermoelectric units being sandwiched between the first plate and the second plate for enhancing or retarding a heat transfer between the first plate and the second plate. The first plurality of thermoelectric units is connected to each other electrically in series. The second plurality of thermoelectric units is connected to each other electrically in series but insulated from the first plurality of thermoelectric units. The first plurality of thermoelectric units and the second plurality of thermoelectric units are configured such that a cross-section of the apparatus includes one or more of the second plurality of thermoelectric units being sandwiched by the first plurality of thermoelectric units.

The present invention is directed to fiber optic transport systems. Embodiments of the invention provide methods and system for improving reliability of fiber optic transport system using an interleaving dual thermoelectric coolers (TEC) configuration. Merely by way of example, the invention has been applied to dense-wavelength-division-multiplexing (DWDM) fiber optic transport system with integrated transmitter/receiver module. But it would be recognized that the invention has a much broader range of applicability.
Since its first deployment in the middle of 1990s, dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) has become a dominant technology for long haul and regional backbone transport networks, and is gradually making its way to metro area networks. In a conventional DWDM system, each optical component, be it a laser or a MUX filter, is individually packaged. A linecard is built around one or several optical components. For example, a transmitter card for a given wavelength includes a laser and a modulator (or an integrated laser/modulator). The laser chips sitting inside the laser packages are typically made of indium phosphide (InP) semiconductor compounds. The optical outputs of multiple transmitter linecards at different wavelengths are combined through a multiplexer linecard, which includes some MUX filters. A commonly used MUX filter is based on array waveguide grating (AWG) made of silica-on-silicon. The optical connections between the linecards are through optical fibers. The optical output from the multiplexer linecard is then amplified by an erbium doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) and launched into the transmission fiber. The optical outputs from the demultiplexer linecard, each at a wavelength by the ITU-T standards, are then fed into the receiver linecards. The optical connections between the linecards are generally made through optical fibers. A receiver card typically includes a photodetector, for example, a p-i-n (PIN) photodiode, or an avalanche photodiode (APD), that converts the input optical into an electrical signal for further processing. The photodetector chips inside the photodetector packages are typically made of InP semiconductor compounds.
Extensive efforts have been devoted recently to the integration of multiple transmitters/receivers along with AWG-based multiplexers and demultiplexers for its use in DWDM transport applications as a single integrated Tx/Rx module with the intent to reduce system footprints as well as the cost of Optical-Electrical-Optical (OEO) converter system. For example, ten transmitters and/or receivers, each operating at 10 G, have been successfully integrated in to a single line card with only one pair of fibers for line side connection. One of the drawbacks is its low yield and hence high cost. Different integration schemes have been proposed, including hybrid integration on silica/silicon which shows the promise of reducing the manufacturing cost.
One of the important applications of the integrated Tx/Rx module is to replace existing EDFAs in an optic network to have an OEO converter at every point of presence (PoP). This replacement has numerous advantages including the elimination of optical power management in the physical layer, simple and efficient network protection, and its flexibility/scalability. However, without protection, full OEO converter including such integrated Tx/Rx module will have much lower reliability than that of an EDFA. Even if 1:N protection is provided, there is still a need to further improve the reliability of the integrated Tx/Rx modules for them be used to replace EDFA at every PoP. The reliability of such integrated Tx/Rx module needs to be at least comparable to or better than that of EDFA to make the above replacement viable.
As a matter of fact, the total downtime of the DWDM fiber optic transport system has been bottlenecked due to the reliability of the integrated Tx/Rx modules which often need temperature control using thermoelectric coolers (TEC) because the lasers and the photo receivers work much better at lower temperatures. The failure mechanism for these devices is often associated with the failure of the TECs which eventually leads to malfunction or damage of the laser chips and receiver diodes.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view diagram of a conventional TEC module. As shown, the TEC module includes two plates made of heat conductive ceramics that is also a good electrical insulator. As shown, a series of P- and N-doped thermoelectric semiconductor elements or blocks is alternatively disposed and sandwiched between the two plates 101 and 103. Most TEC module is fabricated with a equal number of N-type and P-type blocks where one P and N block pair form a thermoelectric unit or couple which is usually called a Peltier diode. The series of Peltier diodes or alternating P-type and N-type thermoelectric semiconductor blocks are connected electrically in series and thermally in parallel. For example, any P-type/N-type block in the series may be connected its one end electrically, by a conductor 111 that is in thermal contact with one plate, to a corresponding end of only one neighboring N-type/P-type block. The same P-type/N-type block may be connected its opposite end electrically, by another conductor 113 that is in thermal contact with the other plate, to a corresponding end of another neighboring N-type/P-type block. When a DC voltage is applied to the TEC module, it causes a DC current to flow from an in-terminal 121 to an out-terminal 123, through each P-type block in a direction from one plate to another and alternatively through each N-type block in an opposite direction, resulting a Peltier effect, i.e., a current induced net heat transfer from one plate to another. As shown in FIG. 1, the TEC module in operation would make one plate 103 hot and the other plate 101 cold. Reversing the voltage polarity will reverse the heat transfer direction the first plate will now get cold and the second plate turns hot. When applying the TEC for active cooling, the "hot" plate 103 of the TEC module usually is mounted onto a heat sink, while the cold plate 101 of the TEC module is used for mounting a target system whose temperature needs to be controlled.
However, the TECs often have relative high failure rate. As a result, the failure rate of the integrated Tx/Rx module may be limited by the TECs used. Therefore, in order to make the integrated Tx/Rx module viable versus EDFAs in the optical transport system, it is desirable to improve the reliability of the thermoelectric cooler so that the full OEO converter reliability is at least comparable to or better that of an EDFA unit. Particularly, redundancy is considered to be useful to enhance the reliability.
As seen above, TEC failure is a bottleneck in reliability of the integrated Tx/Rx module in optical networks with frequent OEO conversions. Therefore, improved techniques for increasing TEC reliability are desired.

Method and system for redundant thermoelectric coolers for integrated DWDM transmitter/receiver


Techniques are disclosed for using a third-party application to access or edit a file within a cloud-based environment within a cloud-based platform or environment. In one embodiment, a method includes, in response to a request to access the content in the cloud-based environment, providing the third-party application with a login view to verify an identity of a user. The login view is generated from a server hosting the environment. The method further includes, upon the verification of the user's identity, providing the requested content to the third-party application.

With the advancements in digital technologies, data proliferation and the ever increasing mobility of user platforms which enable and encourage development of third-party applications have become ubiquitous in all sectors of modern society, and as a result, data becomes shared across multiple sources as is use of third-party applications. This has become relevant with the increase of electronic and digital content being used in social settings or shared environments of digital content compared to traditional stand-alone personal computers and mobile devices.
However, to date, content sharing across multiple platforms using various application lacks the capabilities that provide the third-party applications with access to content or files stored in a workspace that is shared among multiple users in an intuitive and integrated manner.
The same reference numbers and any acronyms identify elements or acts with the same or similar structure or functionality throughout the drawings and specification for ease of understanding and convenience.

Identification verification mechanisms for a third-party application to access content in a cloud-based platform


Negative-working imageable element can be used to prepared lithographic printing plates. These elements include a water-soluble contrast dye having a λmax in the range of from about 450 to about 750 nm and having an absorption that is lower than 10% with respect to the absorption of the radiation absorbing compound in the element at the wavelength used for exposure. The contrast dye is present in sufficient H-aggregation such that less than 40% of the entire absorption spectrum from the contrast dye is contributed by it in non-H-aggregated form.

Radiation-sensitive compositions are routinely used in the preparation of imageable materials including lithographic printing plate precursors. Such compositions generally include a radiation-sensitive component, an initiator system, and a binder, each of which has been the focus of research to provide various improvements in physical properties, imaging performance, and image characteristics. Such compositions are generally provided as imageable layers.
Recent developments in the field of printing plate precursors concern the use of radiation-sensitive compositions that can be imaged by means of lasers or laser diodes, and more particularly, that can be imaged and/or developed on-press. Laser exposure does not require conventional silver halide graphic arts films as intermediate information carriers (or "masks") since the lasers can be controlled directly by computers. High-performance lasers or laser-diodes that are used in commercially-available imagesetters generally emit radiation having a wavelength of at least 700 nm, and thus the radiation-sensitive compositions are required to be sensitive in the near-infrared or infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. However, other useful radiation-sensitive compositions are designed for imaging with ultraviolet or visible radiation.
There are two possible ways of using radiation-sensitive compositions for the preparation of printing plates. For negative-working printing plates, exposed regions in the radiation-sensitive compositions are hardened and unexposed regions are washed off during development. For positive-working printing plates, the exposed regions are dissolved in a developer and the unexposed regions become an image.
A contrast dye may be added to imageable elements to improve differentiation between exposed and non-exposed areas, to have a deep contrast in the exposed areas, to have at least some contrast between exposed and no-image area for baked plates, to have a certain contrast during inline manufacturing for maintaining high quality and yield, and to obtain a contrast between exposed and non-exposed areas for easier detection of malfunctions of the exposed material.
Thus, the contrast dye should exhibit a large extinction coefficient to obtain a deep contrast, be inert and not participate in material transformation induced by light absorption, and be easy to disperse in an alkaline processing solution with a pH<10 upon high loading, which facilitates these materials for simple processing.
Imageable elements containing photopolymers have become a likely use for contrast dyes. In particular, digital imaging in the violet or near-infrared region requires mostly addition of a contrast dye for some of the reasons mentioned above. Heterogeneous systems may include contrast pigments or homogeneous systems may include a soluble contrast dye. The use of the soluble contrast dyes make it more possible to process the imaged elements using an alkaline pH developer having a pH<10 and therefore it opens the possibility of simple processing. This could result in the use of a single processing solution for both violet and near-IR imaged elements.
Pigments have become very attractive as contrast materials for photopolymers despite some disadvantages. The use of pigments as contrast materials is described for example in Japanese Kokai 2002-189295 and EP 1,070,990 (Sorori et al.) and 1,520,695 (Goto) Many attempts to replace the pigment with either a water or organic solvent soluble dye have failed. The use of a water-soluble contrast dye is favored instead of a pigment because pigments tend to agglomerate in processing solutions, resulting in undesired sludge and high loading in the processor that requires frequent cleaning and shorter loading cycles.
WO 2008/046775 (Callant et al.) describes the use of water-soluble contrast dyes in lithographic printing plates that use the coalescence of particles to provide an image. The speed of such printing plates is undesirably slow. Printing plates that use coalescence to form an image only require thermal irradiation, such as near-IR lasers.