A scroll compressor has a fixed scroll including a fixed spiral wall and a movable scroll including a movable spiral wall. Inner end portions of the fixed and movable spiral walls each have an arc-like shape. The inner end portion of the fixed spiral wall has smaller width than the inner end portion of the movable spiral wall does.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a scroll compressor suitable for a refrigeration circuit included in a vehicle air conditioning system.
2. Description of the Related Art
The scroll compressor includes a fixed scroll and a movable scroll that makes a revolving movement with respect to the fixed scroll. The movable and fixed scrolls form a compression chamber in cooperation with each other. The revolving movement of the movable scroll continuously causes the process of sucking a refrigerant serving as working fluid into the compression chamber, the process of compressing the sucked refrigerant in the compression chamber, and the process of discharging the compressed refrigerant from the compression chamber. For this discharge process, the fixed scroll is provided with a discharge hole near the center thereof.
Specifically, the fixed and movable scrolls have their respective end plates and spiral walls protruding from the end plates. The discharge hole is formed in the end plate of the fixed scroll. The compression chamber is formed in between the fixed spiral wall of the fixed scroll and the movable spiral wall of the movable scroll.
The scroll compressor disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 10-9157 further includes tip seals mounted to the end faces of the fixed and movable spiral walls, and bottom sheets are laid on the inner faces of the end plates of the fixed and movable scrolls. The tip seal of the movable spiral wall slides against the bottom sheet of the fixed scroll, whereas the tip seal of the fixed spiral wall relatively slides against the bottom sheet of the movable scroll. These tip seals and bottom sheets increase the airtightness of the compression chamber, namely refrigerant compression efficiency.
Pressure in the compression chamber rises as the compression chamber moves toward the discharge hole, and is maximized at the terminal stage of the compression process. Therefore, the inner end portions of the fixed and movable spiral walls as viewed in the radial directions of the fixed and movable scrolls receive a high reactive force due to a compressed refrigerant at the terminal stage of the compression process. The inner end portions are therefore required to have enough strength to endure the compression reactive force.
For that reason, like the scroll compressor disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 10-68392, the arc-shaped inner end portions of the fixed and movable spiral walls are thicker than the other portions of the spiral walls, and have a stepped shape. More specifically, each of the inner end portions has a base portion located on the end plate side of the corresponding scroll and a top portion located on the bottom sheet side of the counterpart of the above scroll. The base portions have greater width than the top portions do.
In the case of the scroll compressor disclosed in the Publication, the inner end portions of the fixed and movable spiral walls have the same shape and size. Therefore, based on the boundary between the inner end portion of the fixed spiral wall and the other portions, that is, a seal-off point between an involute curving face forming the inner face of the other portions in the fixed spiral wall and the arc-shaped face forming the inner face of the inner end portion of the fixed spiral wall, the location of the discharge hole, the size of the bottom sheet of the fixed scroll and the location of an inner end portion of the movable tip seal mounted onto the movable spiral wall are primarily determined in this order.
The location of the inner end portion in the movable tip seal is an important factor that determines the refrigerant compression efficiency. Therefore, the compression efficiency of the scroll compressor disclosed in the Publication is automatically determined only by the seal-off point, which makes difficult further improvement of the compression efficiency.


A monolithically integrated switched capacitor bank using MEMS technology that is capable of handling GHz signal frequencies in both the RF and millimeter bands while maintaining precise digital selection of capacitor levels over a wide tuning range. Each MEMS switch includes a cantilever arm that is affixed to the substrate and extends over a ground line and a gapped signal line. An electrical contact is formed on the bottom of the cantilever arm positioned above and facing the gap in the signal line. A top electrode atop the cantilever arm forms a control capacitor structure above the ground line. A capacitor structure, preferably a MEMS capacitor suspended above the substrate at approximately the same height as the cantilever arm, is anchored to the substrate and connected in series with a MEMS switch. The MEMS switch is actuated by applying a voltage to the top electrode, which produces an electrostatic force that attracts the control capacitor structure toward the ground line, thereby causing the electrical contact to close the gap in the signal line and connect the MEMS capacitor structure between a pair of output terminals. The integrated MEMS switch-capacitor pairs have a large range between their on-state and off-state impedance, and thus exhibit superior isolation and insertion loss characteristics.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to switched capacitor banks and more specifically to a monolithically integrated switched capacitor bank and fabrication method using micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) technology.
2. Description of the Related Art
Switched capacitor banks are used in microelectronics, especially in the area of RF and Millimeter band communications, to adjust the resonance of a tunable resonator, to alter the transfer function of or to tune a filter, or to match a load impedance of an amplifier. The capacitor bank's performance is evaluated based upon a number of different factors, including its capability of precisely selecting a plurality of capacitance levels over a wide tuning range, linearity, maximum signal and switching frequencies, Q (quality factor), power consumption, isolation, insertion loss, sensitivity to its surrounding environment (vibration, temperature, etc.), and integration. The requirements and relative importance of these different factors depend upon the specific application.
As shown in FIG. 1, a switched capacitor bank 10 includes an array of series-connected switch-capacitor pairs that are connected in parallel between a pair of output terminals 12a and 12b. Ideally the capacitor 14 has no associated resistance or inductance and the switch 16 has zero on-impedance and infinitely high off-impedance. A control circuit 18 switches a digital voltage signal to control the state of each switch 16 in the array to connect and disconnect the capacitors 14 and set the total capacitance seen at the output terminals 12a and 12b to one of a plurality of levels. The total capacitance of the switched capacitor bank is the summation of the capacitances of the switch-capacitor pairs that are connected in parallel. The capacitors can be arranged, for example, such that the switched capacitor bank has a logarithmic behavior; or they can be arranged to have an equal value so that the switched capacitor bank has a linear behavior. More typically, switched capacitor bank 10 consists of capacitors with binary values, i.e., C, 2C, 4C, 8C, etc., which provides a large range of possible capacitance values or a large capacitance ratio.
In one known implementation, discrete mechanical relays are wire bonded to discrete capacitors and controlled by a discrete control circuit. The mechanical relays' metal-to-metal contacts provide high isolation and low insertion losses. The discrete capacitors are formed on glass substrates to minimize their parasitic capacitance. As a result, the switched capacitor bank can be precisely tuned over a large range at very high RF (200 MHz-30 GHz) and millimeter (30 GHz-94 GHz) band frequencies. However, the lack of integration increases both the size and cost to the point that such a system is not feasible in current microelectronic applications.
In another known implementation, the switched capacitor bank and control circuitry are fabricated on a monolithic substrate using conventional planar IC fabrication techniques to form pairs of parallel-plate capacitors, either a metal-oxide-metal or a heavily doped polysilicon-oxide-polysilicon, and FET switches on the surface of the substrate. Integration is essential to minimize cost and to facilitate a large array. The integration of FET switches is a well understood and highly reliable process, in which the resulting devices are very high speed, in excess of 100 MHz, and insensitive to vibrations.
However, the parallel plate capacitors are associated with serial and/or parallel resistors and inductors. In addition, there is a parasitic capacitive coupling between the capacitor and the substrate, which creates an AC path for the high frequency signal to leak to the substrate. Furthermore, the semiconducting nature of the FET switch produces a non-zero insertion loss (typically 1 dB) in the on-state and a less-than-infinite isolation (typically no better than -30 dB) in the off-state. These losses, which increase with signal frequency, limit the capacitor bank's tuning range, level precision, maximum signal frequency, Q, etc. As a result, monolithically integrated switched capacitor banks are limited to applications having frequencies less than 500 MHz or to low-performance applications at higher frequencies.
Consequently, RF transceivers that operate at frequencies above approximately 1 GHz use multiple chip sets that are fabricated with different technologies to optimize the capacitors, the FET switches, and the control circuitry, respectively, to get satisfactory insertion loss and isolation. For example, the capacitors may be formed on a glass substrate, the FET switches on a gallium arsenide substrate, and the control circuitry on a silicon substrate.
MEMS have been used in such applications as pressure sensors, accelerometers, and nozzles, and have been proposed for use in RF telecommunications systems. In particular, a number of different types of MEMS switches have been developed. Petersen, K. "Micromechanical Membrane Switches on Silicon," IBM J. Res. Develop., vol. 23, 1979, pp. 376-385 discloses a chemical etching process for fabricating a mechanical switch, which is sensitive to vibrations and has poor insertion loss and isolation. Gretillat et al, "Electrostatic Polysilicon Microrelays Integrated with MOSFETs," in proceedings of Micro Electro Mechanical Systems Workshop, 1994, pp. 97-101 describes a switch for use in a automated testing applications, which exhibits large insertion loss and high frequency capacitive coupling to its polysilicon cantilever arm in its off-state. Yao et al. "A Surface Micromachined Minature Switch for Telecommunications Applications with Signal Frequencies from DC up to 4 GHz" In Tech. Digest, Transducer-95, Stockholm, Sweden, Jun. 25-29, 1995, pp. 384-387 describes a switch for use in RF telecommunications that uses electrostatic actuation to control a silicon dioxide cantilever arm to open and close a signal line, and has an electrical isolation of -50 dB and an insertion loss of 0.1 dB at 4 GHz.
As a type of mechanical relay, one would not normally integrate MEMS switches with microelectronic circuitry such as capacitors, but would instead use them in discrete multi-chip sets. The historical concern is that mechanical parts in general, and relays in particular, are not reliable. In particular, repeated cycles stress the cantilever arm and damage the mechanical contact, which in turn can increase the contact resistance and cause the switch to become welded shut. Furthermore, the switch's cantilever arm is typically very sensitive to vibrations that may cause false on-states. Thus, MEMS switches would be provided as a discrete chip that could be designed to try to reduce these problems, and which could be replaced if the chip should fail. Furthermore, the discrete capacitors can be formed on glass substrates, rather than semi-insulating substrates such as GaAs, which minimizes the parasitic coupling to the substrate.

Monolithically integrated switched capacitor bank using micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) technology


A method and apparatus for implementing incremental design changes. In various embodiments, primary outputs of a new design are compared for logical equivalence to corresponding primary outputs of a prior implementation. If the logic is equivalent, the implementation of the primary outputs from the prior implementation is reused to implement the corresponding primary outputs of the new design.

The present invention generally relates to the implementation of circuit designs, and more particularly to reusing selected portions of a prior circuit implementation to implement portions of a new circuit design.
The term xe2x80x9cnetxe2x80x9d as used herein refers to a conductive region connecting components of a user""s circuit design. For example, one net may connect the output terminal of an AND gate to the input. terminal of another AND gate and to the input terminal of a flip-flop. An AND gate is one component type, and a flip-flop is another component type. An xe2x80x9cinstancexe2x80x9d is a single occurrence of a component type. A xe2x80x9cnetlistxe2x80x9d is a list of all the nets that connect the component instances of a user""s design and the component instances connected by each net.
The circuit design process generally includes, in order, design entry, synthesis, optimization, device mapping, and place-and-route, along with functional and timing simulations to verify correctness. If an error is identified late in the process, much of the process may need to be repeated in order to integrate a design change.
One solution to avoid repeating the entire process of optimization, device mapping, and place-and-route is to only re-implement the parts of the design that changed from the previous design cycle. Although this solution may be fairly straightforward when using schematics for design entry (because changes to a schematic cause very little change in a netlist), it is more difficult when the design has been generated through the use of high-level languages and synthesis. That is, a small design change in a high-level language may substantially impact the entire design process, and the new implementation may no longer meet the designer""s timing requirements, fit the target device, or have the same pin assignments as the prior implementation. Thus, additional work may be required to address the problems that were introduced by a small design change. It is desirable that significantly different implementations do not result from relatively small design changes, so that additional engineering costs are not incurred. An incremental design method that addresses the aforementioned problems, as well as other related problems, is therefore desirable.
The present invention generally relates to the implementation of circuit designs, and more particularly to testing for logical equivalence between portions of a new circuit design and portions of a prior circuit implementation and reusing selected portions of the prior circuit implementation to implement the new circuit design. By testing for logical equivalence instead of testing for structural equivalence, the present invention eliminates unnecessary repetition of stages of the design cycle such as optimization, device mapping, and place-and-route.
In various embodiments, the invention generally includes comparing for logical equivalence primary outputs of the new design to corresponding primary outputs of a prior implementation. If the logic is equivalent, the implementation of the primary outputs from the prior implementation is reused to implement the corresponding primary outputs of the new design.
In another embodiment, attributes can be associated with the primary outputs of the new design to selectively control whether elements of the prior implementation are used to implement the primary outputs. Thus, a designer has control over which portions of a new design are to be implemented without regard to the prior implementation.
For outputs in the new design that are not present in the prior implementation and for outputs in the new design having logic that has changed from the prior implementation, the primary outputs of the new design are expressed in terms of the logic from the prior implementation, thereby reusing portions of the prior implementation for the new and changed primary outputs.
It will be appreciated that various other embodiments are set forth in the Detailed Description and Claims which follow.

Incremental logic synthesis system for revisions of logic circuit designs


A method that includes coextruding two or more thermoplastic resin streams through a profiled die plate, which die plate is shaped to form a nonplanar film (three dimensional) preferably with a regularly oscillating peak and valley structure that oscillates from a top surface to a bottom surface forming longitudinally extending ridges on both faces of the film. The film is formed by coextruding the film through the oscillating die plate opening causing partitioning of the resins in different zones in the width direction of the film. Flattening of the film results in a film with side-by-side zones formed of different polymers or relative proportions of polymers.

Coextrusion of multiple polymeric components into a single layer cast film is relatively common in the art. Often, multiple polymeric flow streams are combined in a die or feedblock in a layered fashion to provide a top to bottom multilayer film. The diverse polymer flowsteams are typically combined in a feedblock section or the like and then flow in a layered configuration into a conventional coat hanger die arrangement, where the flowstreams flatten out into a film-like flowstream and are extruded onto a casting roll or the like. This arrangement creates films where the polymers form into layers in the thickness dimension.
Alternatively, it is also proposed to provide more complicated coextruded film structures where the layers are partitioned not as coextensive layers in the thickness direction but partitioned along the width of the film. An example is where the polymers are partitioned in a side-by-side configuration or variations thereof to provide discrete included zones of a first polymer within a continuous matrix of a second polymer. U.S. Pat. No. 4,426,344 describes a complicated feedblock method which takes two coextruded melt streams initially arranged in the thickness direction, with a zig-zag interface, and redirects the top to bottom layered polymer flows into a side-by-side arrangement resulting in a film having a sinusoidal or zig-zag interface, with different zones in the width direction. Although the two halves were indicated as being formed of identical materials it is conceivable that different materials could be employed in the two halves though this is not specifically taught.
Japanese Kokai No. 8-187113 discloses the possibility of side-by-side coextrusion although a specific method for achieving this is not specifically disclosed. U.S. Pat. No. 6,221,483 also discloses a side-by-side coextrusion of an elastic material and an inelastic material for use in a diaper fastening tab. The elastic materials are intermittently spaced by inelastic material. The side-by-side arrangement is achieved by using an insert in a conventional two layer slot die which blocks off alternating lanes of the elastic and inelastic materials coming from the two slots and brings them together in an alternating fashion. This method requires that extreme pressure be applied to prevent leakage of the respective materials due to their differences in melt flow. The two materials would still tend to flow laterally in the die once they pass the insert. U.S. Pat. No. 4,787,897 also discloses a side-by-side arrangement of multiple layers, although in this case three zones are disclosed. There are two outer inelastic zones with a single inner elastic zone. The inner elastic zone is created somehow by coalescence of a single elastic melt stream in a die, but it is unclear how this is done. U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,856 discloses the possibility of creating discrete elastic strands or zones within an inelastic matrix by an inclusion coextrusion technique using a Cloeren-type three layer die feeding discrete strands of elastic into the center melt stream with two inelastic outer layers sandwiching the discrete elastic flowstreams.
All the above described methods describe methods for forming films. Anything other than simple multiple layers in the thickness dimension such as side-by-side layering or more complex layer arrangements, are created by modifications of either of the feedblock or the die wherein polymer melt flows are diverted or redirected or the like. These approaches are somewhat problematic in an enclosed die or feedblock. They require that melt streams of different polymeric materials be exposed to complex nonlinear flow patterns within the body of the die or manifold. This can result in complex flow interactions and problems with residue build up and the need for routine disassembling and cleaning. Also different materials do not generally combine in a predictable manner as the flow characteristics of the polymers in the die or manifold are not always the same. When the materials are combined, complex flow interactions occur between the convergence zones for the polymers and the extruder die lip resulting in films other than those specifically desired. The present invention addresses some of these problems by providing for side-by-side type relative layering in extruded films by altering the discrete thermoplastic resin streams in a film extrudate immediately at the die lip.


A threat detection system interface that provides translates threat diction information into a tactile signal for a user to indicate the direction and distance of an identified threat relative to an object. The threat detection system interface having applications for use with military vehicles, and in particular military aircraft, but also having application in connection with flight training simulators, computer and/or video games.

Aircraft and specifically military aircraft are routinely provided with threat detection systems. These threat detection systems may include for instance, RADAR, Global Positioning Systems ("GPS"), or any other appropriate detection system for the application, to detect surrounding threats. These threats may include, for instance, hostile aircraft or weapons whether air or land based. These threat detection systems typically include an interface, such as a visual and/or an audible warning to indicate proximity of a hostile aircraft and/or weapon. A visual interface display may further indicate the relative location of the hostile aircraft and/or weapon to the pilot's aircraft.
However, while an audible interface may provide the pilot with some information relating to the proximity of hostile aircraft and/or weapons, it will not inform the pilot of the hostile aircraft and/or weapon location relative to the pilot's aircraft.
Visual interfaces will provide this information, but because high performance fighter jets travel at such high speeds, it is disadvantageous for the pilot to have to split his attention between looking at, for instance, a visual interface such as a RADAR screen and keeping direct visual track of threats. Another challenge facing the pilot is that there are many instruments that must be consulted and potentially a number of different threats to identify and track visually, both directly in his field of vision and on the displays. As a result, the pilot may overlook a threat in a crowded airspace, which could have disastrous consequences.
In view of the forgoing, what is desired then is a threat detection system interface that will provide an alert to a pilot of an aircraft of the location of any hostile aircraft and/or weapon relative to the pilot's aircraft while not requiring the pilot to visually or audibly identify this information.
It is further desired to provide a threat detection system interface that will provide an alert to a pilot of an aircraft of the distance of any hostile aircraft and/or weapon relative to the pilot's aircraft while not requiring the pilot to visually or audibly identify this information.
It is still further desired to provide a threat detection system interface that will provide an indication to the pilot of both the location and distance relative to the pilot's aircraft of any hostile aircraft and/or weapon while not interfering with the pilot's ability to maintain visual contact of additional hostile aircraft and/or weapons.
It is still further desired to provide a threat detection system interface that will provide an indication to the pilot of the location and distance of multiple hostile aircraft and/or weapon relative to the pilot's aircraft while not requiring the pilot to visually or audibly identify this information.


The object of the present invention is to provide an organic thin film EL device that has an improved close adherence of a hole injection electrode to an organic thin film layer and a long life, maintaining uniform luminance and minimized performance deterioration over the lapse of time. The organic thin film EL device, which includes an electron injection electrode and a hole injection electrode with an organic thin film layer placed therebetween, has a part or the whole of the hole injection electrode formed of a carbon film. In addition, the carbon film is formed by a sputtering method.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical light emitting device used in displays, backlighting for liquid crystal displays, light sources for indicators and optical communications or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electroluminescent (abbreviated as EL hereafter) device is a light emitting device utilizing the light emitting phenomenon of solid fluorescent material under an application of an electric field, i.e. electroluminescence. At the present time, inorganic EL devices using inorganic material as the light-producing body have been successfully developed and used as EL devices in backlighting of liquid crystal displays, flat panel displays, and the like. However, the inorganic EL devices have such inherent defects as needing a high voltage of 100 V to 200 V for luminescence of the devices, difficulties in realizing color displaying or the like.
On the other hand, efforts in research of EL devices formed of organic material have been made for a long time, but such efforts have not materialized in commercialization of viable products due to inferior performance of the organic EL devices when compared with the inorganic EL devices. However, as appears in Appl. Phys. Lett. 51(1987) 913 by C. W. Tang and S. A. VanSlyke, an organic thin film EL device was proposed by Tangs and others in 1987.
More specifically, an organic EL device formed of two layers of organic material, a hole carrier layer and a light emitting layer, was able to operate under a DC voltage and produce high brightness luminance exceeding 1000 cd/m.sup.2 with an application of a low voltage of less than 10 V. Since that time on, R&D activities for a successful commercialization of similar organic thin film EL devices of a multi-layer structure have been carried out vigorously.
In connection with the foregoing organic EL devices, devices of various luminescent wavelengths including blue light that were difficult to produce in a form of inorganic EL devices have been realized through changing luminescent material and layer structures, thereby arousing interests in applying such EL devices to various light emitting products and full color displays.
However, due to the existence of many non-light-emitting spots on the luminant surface of the organic thin film EL devices available at present, it is rather difficult to obtain devices of uniform surface luminance, and also on account of a markedly increased number of non-light-emitting spots and a noticeable change in the brightness reduction observed over a long period the devices are kept long on the shelf or operated continuously, the EL devices that achieved a practical level in performance and usage have been not yet available.
The causes of the foregoing non-uniform luminance and performance deterioration over time may be attributed to lack of a sufficient adherence between the hole injection electrode and the organic thin film layer.
An effort to improve the adherence of the hole injection electrode to the organic thin film layer has been made by roughening the surface of the hole injection electrode through reverse sputtering or the like.
Although uniform luminance is improved for the initial period of operation through the foregoing attempt, such defects as an increase in non-light-emitting spots, when the device is kept long on the shelf and operated continuously, and a reduction in brightness, when the device is operated continuously, have not been corrected.
This is considered to be attributed to the poor adherence of the organic thin film layer, which is an organic substance, to the hole injection electrode, which is an inorganic substance, and also to peeling off of the organic thin film layer from the hole injection electrode when the device is kept long on the shelf or operated continuously because of an excessive difference in thermal expansion coefficient between both.
The object of the present invention is to provide an organic thin film EL device, and its manufacturing method, having uniform luminance and achieving a long life with a reduced change in performance over a long time period.

Organic thin film electroluminescent device and its manufacturing method

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A walking hoist has a pair of elongated parallel laterally spaced side members with opposite ends. A downwardly extending leg with upper and lower ends is rigidly secured to the ends of each side member. A pair of U-shaped crank members are rotatably secured to and extend between adjacent ends of the side members. The U-shaped cranks each have a bearing member secured to the upper ends of the legs. The crank arms are secured to the bearings and extend radially therefrom in a parallel direction and terminate in an outer end. A horizontal shaft extends between pairs of said crank arms at each end of the legs of the side members. The crank arms are longer than the legs. A circular drive disk is rigidly and operatively secured to the lower ends of the crank arms adjacent the opposite ends of at least one of the side members. A rotational drive assembly is operatively connected to the drive disk to rotate the drive disk in unison in the same direction. A load supporting frame extends upwardly between the horizontal shafts of the cranks and is rotatably secured to the horizontal shafts.

In northern climates, it is necessary to take docks and boat hoists out of the water on lakes and the like to avoid the adverse affects of the frozen water during the winter season. The removal of this equipment in the fall and the replacement thereof in the spring is a difficult, expensive and time consuming procedure.
It is therefore a principal object of this invention to provide a walking hoist capable of supporting a dock or hoist, that when powered, can be mobile to move into or out of the water upon command.
A further object of this invention is to provide a walking hoist that can be easily moved upwardly and downwardly along steep slopes.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a walking hoist that will easily operate on terrain or in water.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a walking hoist that is useful in raising or lowering objects even when not in a walking mode.
These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.


A system and method of creating a personalized sounds and visuals environment to address a person's individual environment and state by receiving output from a plurality of sensors, the sensors detecting the activity of the user and the environment in which the user is active. Sounds and/or visuals to be transmitted to the user for listening and watching on the user's device are determined based on one or more of the sensor outputs, a user profile, a user mode, a user state, and a user context. The determined sounds and/or visuals are transmitted and presented to the user, and the determined sounds and/or visuals are automatically and dynamically modified in real time based on changes in the output from one or more of the plurality of sensors and/or changes in the user's profile.

Distractions and stress are naturally introduced in day-to-day living; and, often, technological innovations intended to improve the quality of life often have a reverse effect with the difficulty, unreliability, and change brought about by the innovation. Decisions have to be made; appointments have to be made and kept; bills have to be paid; meetings have to be attended, projects have to be completed, reviewed, and revised; phone calls have to be timely made and answered; new procedures, technologies, and devices need to be implemented, and distractions have to be overcome.
People attempt to deal with these stress-causing issues in a variety of ways, including ignoring them, exercising, reading a fiction book, mediation, and eating, just to name a few. However, many of these attempts are ineffective because they cannot be utilized in the actual stressful circumstance or they are not responsive to the particular source of stress or the evolving environment of the individual. What is needed is a system for automatically and dynamically accessing information relevant to an individual's state and surroundings and present to the individual users a personalized transmission(s) of sound and/or visuals and/or a personalized control of the users' environment for focus or relaxation and preparing the individual users for their day or helping them unwind after one.

System and method for creating a personalized user environment


A clutch operator for a disconnectable clutch useful in a motor vehicle, and having a self-adjusting release bearing supported on a housing and in the form of a rolling-contact bearing designed as an inclined-shoulder bearing. The bearing has an outer bearing ring, a rotating inner bearing ring and rolling bodies guided between the rings. An adjusting ring at the inner bearing ring. A sliding element in a supporting region of the adjusting ring on the inner bearing ring, and being in the form of complementary spherical-cap segments. A noise-reducing and wear-reducing coating, on which a spring element connected to the disconnectable clutch is supported at a radially oriented annular flange of the adjusting ring.

Clutch operators of this type are known, for example, from DE 101 14 846 A1 and DE 101 24 663 A1, wherein an adjusting ring is supported against that side of the inner bearing ring which faces away from the rolling bodies. A spring element is assigned to the disconnectable clutch, and is preferably in the form of a cup spring, which bears nonpositively, by means of spring tongues, against the end side of a radially oriented annular flange of the adjusting ring. Furthermore, a sliding element which is fixed in position on the adjusting ring is fitted in a supporting region of the adjusting ring on the inner bearing ring. That adjusting ring is in the form of complementary spherical-cap segments thereof in order to achieve automatic orientation or pivoting of the release bearing with respect to the adjusting ring.
Furthermore, DE 101 25 691 A1 discloses a clutch operator of the generic type, in which the inner, rotating bearing ring has an annular flange, on which a run-on disk is fixed in position and on which the spring element of the disconnectable clutch is supported.

Clutch operator for a disconnectable clutch in motor vehicles


Aspects of the disclosure provide methods and apparatuses for storing service data. In some examples, an apparatus for storing service data includes processing circuitry. The processing circuitry receives service data of a user and determines, in a plurality of blockchains, a target blockchain according to a user attribute of the user. Based on the service data and an eigenvalue of a block header of a first block in the target blockchain, the processing circuitry generates a second block in the target blockchain. The first block is a previous block of the second block. The second block is used for recording the service data.

With development of network technologies, network bandwidth is greatly optimized, network services tend to be diversified, and a server can provide a user with rich services and quickly process a required service for the user.
In a process of processing service data of the user, to back up this service processing process, when receiving the service data of the user, the server may store the service data in a blockchain.
A data structure of the blockchain is blocks connected in chronological order, and the server needs to store the service data serially in the blockchain, resulting in low operation efficiency of the server.

Service data storage method and apparatus, storage medium, and electronic device

Tencent Technology (Shenzhen) Company Limited


A cutting insert may include a first surface having a polygonal shape, a second surface, a third surface and a cutting edge. The first surface may include a first corner, a first side, a first inclined surface located along the first side, and a second inclined surface located along the second side. In a plan view of the first surface, a width of the first inclined surface in a direction orthogonal to the first side may become larger as approaching the second side. A width of the second inclined surface in a direction orthogonal to the second side may become larger as approaching the first side.

As a cutting insert used in a cutting process of a workpiece such as metal, for example, a cutting insert is discussed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-523352 (Patent Document 1). The cutting insert discussed in Patent Document 1 may include a main cutting edge and a sub cutting edge formed on a ridge line where an end surface intersects with a peripheral side surface. The main cutting edge may be used in a face milling operation. The sub cutting edge may be used in a down milling operation. The down milling operation may also be called a slant milling process. The end surface may include a main rake surface located along the main cutting edge and a sub rake surface located along the sub cutting edge.

Cutting insert, cutting tool, and method for manufacturing machined product


Disclosed herein is a method to determine the biological function(s) of a target gene in a cell, the steps of which involve separately culturing a first population and a second population of the cell under same culturing conditions, the first population of the cell differing from the second population of the cell in that the first population of the cell has accepted the introduction of a methylated polynucleotide; comparing the first population and the second population of the cell to determine which biological difference(s) is/are present therebetween; and determining which biological function(s) the target gene is associated with based on the determined biological difference(s) between the first population and the second population of the cell.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method to determine the biological function of a target gene in a cell, which comprises: separately culturing a first population and a second population of the cell under same culturing conditions, the first population of the cell differing from the second population of the cell in that the first population of the cell has accepted the introduction of a methylated polynucleotide; comparing the first population and the second population of the cell to determine which biological difference(s) is/are present therebetween; and determining which biological function(s) the target gene is/are associated with based on the determined biological difference(s) between the first population and the second population of the cell.
2. Description of the Related Art
As genomes of numerous species have been sequenced completely, gene function research has drawn attention of scientists. To date, studies aimed at the biological function of a given gene mostly rely on traditional genetic and molecular manipulations such as knock-out, knock-in mutagenesis/transgenic assays, as well as knock down studies using small interfering RNA (siRNA) and antisense RNAs. Amongst these studies, the application of siRNA where the siRNA interferes with the expression of a specific gene has proved to be one of the most powerful means for interrogation of the gene's functions and can be used to target a specific gene or a batch of genes. However, the cost of siRNA is high and siRNA is unstable during delivery. Besides, these studies are all difficult to be expanded from the results of genomic profiling to a high-throughput interrogation of the functions of genes, indicating that their constructions/designs are more time-consuming.
Therefore, there still remains a need in the art to develop a method for functional analysis of specific gene(s) that is less expensive and more stable and convenient in practical use.
In addition to siRNAs, methylated oligonucleotides have been synthesized and used to inhibit the expression of genes as well. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,840,497 discloses a method for the silencing of specific genes by DNA methylation. The method involves introducing into a cell a single-stranded oligonucleotide containing 5-methyl deoxycytosine, wherein the single-stranded oligonucleotide has a sequence complementary to a sequence within the promoter region of the gene to be silenced, and wherein the sequence within the promoter region contains at least one CpG doublet.
WO 99/24560 discloses a method of inhibiting the expression of a gene in a cell, comprising the step of administering to the cell a single-stranded oligonucleotide comprising nucleotide units wherein at least one cytosine of a cytosine-guanine base pair contains a methyl group at the 5 position of the cytosine nucleotide.
In this invention, the applicants attempted to develop a method to determine the biological function(s) of a target gene in a cell using a methylated polynucleotide, the sequence of which is identical to or fully complementary to that of a portion of the target gene's nucleotide sequence at the promoter and/or the first exon region thereof. According to the applicants' method, a first population of the cell accepting transfection with the methylated polynucleotide is compared with a second population of the cell without accepting the transfection treatment. The observed biological difference(s) between the first and second populations of the cell is/are then relied upon as a basis for determining the biological function(s) of the target gene in the cell. To prove the practicality and usage of the applicant's method, a gene encoding thyroid hormone receptor interacting protein 10 (TRIP10) was chosen as the target gene and a methylated Trip10 DNA directed to the Trip10 promoter was tested in experiments using either human or rat mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs).
There has been an early report indicating that thyroid hormone receptor interacting protein 10 (TRIP10), also known as Cdc42-interacting protein 4 (CIP4), binds to activated Cdc42 in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that TRIP10 may act as a link between Cdc42 signaling and regulation of the actin cytoskeleton (P. Aspenström (1997), Curr. Biol., 7:479-487). Cdc42 plays a role in cell-cycle control, as it is needed for progression through G1. Recent evidence indicates that Cdc42 has a role in neural progenitors, maintaining them in a self-renewing state, a prerequisite for the maintenance of stem cells into adulthood (S. Cappello et al. (2006), Nature Neuroscience, 9:1099-1107). Thus, TRIP10 association with Cdc42 implies that TRIP10 may be involved in cell-cycle/growth.
It has also been reported that CIP4 accumulation and toxicity in striatal neurons may play a role in Huntington's disease (HD) pathogenesis (S. Holbert et al. (2003), PNAS, 100:2712-2717). Clinical evidence also suggests the interaction of TRIP10 with huntingtin (htt), the protein that regulates both cell growth and apoptosis and its abnormality is identified in the pedigree studies of Huntington's disease (S. Holbert et al. (2003), PNAS, 100:2712-2717). These findings indicate that TRIP10 may be involved in cell growth and apoptosis due to the interaction between TRIP10 and htt. However, the role of the Trip10 gene in cell fate/induction remains largely unknown.
The experimental results obtained by the applicants' method reveal that suppressed Trip10 expression is a critical signal for MSC-to-neuron differentiation and preventing MSCs from death. It is thus believed that the method developed by the applicants is an efficient and powerful tool for analyzing the biological functions of genes.

Determination of the biological function of a target gene in a cell


Connector (1, 11, 24, 26, 36, 40) for mounting on a substrate (2, 14, 23, 25, 35, 46) comprising one or more contact elements (13, 28, 29, 37, 44) accommodated in a housing (3, 12, 41), having a mounting side (19, 32, 39), which, in the mounted state of the connector (1, 11, 24, 26, 36, 40) is situated opposite a face of the substrate (2, 14, 23, 25, 35, 46). The fixing means of the connector (1, 11, 24, 26, 36, 40) consist of at least one element, projecting outside the housing (3, 12, 41) beyond the mounting side (19, 32, 39) and connected thereto, preferably a pin-type element (7, 47) for engaging in an opening (8, 48) of the substrate (2, 14, 23, 25, 35, 46). The at least one element (7, 47) is disposed so as to be displaced outwards from a wall (9; 15, 16; 38; 42, 43) of the housing (3, 12, 41), which wall (9; 15, 16; 38; 42, 43 ) adjoins the mounting side (19, 32, 39). The at least one fixing element (7, 47) can also be used for positioning and polarising purposes. A housing (3, 12, 41) provided with such fixing elements (7, 47) is suitable, in particular, for connectors (1, 11, 24, 26, 36, 40) having a pitch distance of 1.27 mm or less.

The invention relates to a connector having fixing means for mounting on a substrate, comprising one or more contact elements of electrically conducting material accommodated in a housing constructed from walls made of electrically insulating material, having a mounting side which, in the mounted state of the connector, is situated opposite a face of the substrate, the fixing means consisting of at least one element, projecting outside the housing beyond the mounting side and connected thereto, for engaging in an opening of the substrate.
A connector is shown having fixing means, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,327 assigned to the assignee of the present application. The fixing means therein consist of metal elements accommodated in one or more walls of the housing. To position the connector on the substrate, the housing is provided on the mounting side with outwardly projecting positioning projections.
In view of the current trend towards scale reduction of electronic components in order, on the one hand, to manufacture as small equipment as possible, which is suitable for insulation, and, on the other hand, in order to accommodate as many components as possible in equipment of given dimensions, for example in order to increase the number of functions of the equipment concerned, there is an increasing need for connectors of reduced dimension and/or connectors having as high a number of contact elements as possible without increasing the dimensions of the connector itself. Apart from, or in addition to, the use of suitably dimensioned contact elements, a reduction of the dimensions of the connector can also be achieved by constructing the walls of the housing with as little thickness as possible. However, this has consequences for accommodating a fixing element in these walls in accordance with the aforenoted U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,327. In order to achieve a mechanically adequate, rigid fixing, the fixing element should, after all, have a certain minimum thickness. Consequently, this method of fixing cannot be used in a housing having walls thinner than this minimum thickness.

Connector having fixing means for mounting on a substrate


A chip feeder comprising a sprocket for feeding intermittently a tape, which contains a plurality of chips and is sealed with a protective tape, at predetermined pitch intervals to a chip takeout portion; a roller for peeling the protective tape sealing the chip from the the tape fed intermittently; and a vacuum suction nozzle for taking up a chip out of the tape from which the protective tape is peeled off, wherein the roller peels the protective tape immediately before the vacuum suction nozzle takes out the chip when the tape is in a stationary state.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a chip feeding technology, and particularly to a technology which is used for effectively feeding chip-shaped electronic parts to a chip mounter.
2. Related Art Statement
In the case where chip-shaped electronic parts such as semiconductor devices, resistors, capacitors, or the like are mounted onto a circut board etc., it is considered that chips are lined and held on a tape at predetermined intervals; the tape is fed intermittently to a chip takeout portion from a tape supplying portion such as a tape reel; and then a chip is taken out of the tape to a chip mounter at the chip takeout portion to mount it on a board by the chip mounter.
In such a chip feeding technology, a protective tape is peeled off from the holding tape, and thereafter a chip is taken out of the holding tape at a chip takeout position. However, in the process of moving from the peeling position to the takeout position, there is a fear of a chip jumping out of the chip holding hole in the tape due to an external force such as vibration.
For that reason, U.S. Pat. No. 4,952,113 discloses to arrange a shutter member covering the chip holding portion after the protective tape is peeled off so that a chip is prevented from jumping out of the chip holding hole. However, such a structure has a disadvantage in that a moving mechanism for the shutter member necessitates a complicated and large-sized structure, an increased number of parts, and high speed movement that easily invites damage and unstable operation of the moving mechanism.


Methods and systems are described for a rotating shield brachytherapy device. As disclosed herein, the rotating shield brachytherapy (RSBT) apparatus may comprise a radiation source, a drive assembly, a catheter, and an applicator. The applicator can have an outer surface and opposed proximal and distal end portions and a longitudinal axis extending along a length of the catheter. The distal end portion of the catheter can comprise one or more radiation shields and is configured to receive the radiation source. The drive assembly can be configured to engage the proximal end portion of the catheter to selectively rotate the catheter about the longitudinal axis.

The present disclosure overcomes the limitations of intracavitary and interstitial (IC/IS) high-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDR-BT) for treating cancer by providing an IC-only approach with the potential to replace the IC/IS approach. The current disclosure has several advantages that are intended to address the impediments of IC/IS HDR-BT. HDR-BT is typically delivered with a radioisotope on a wire, which is translated throughout an intrauterine tube-shaped IC applicator. Cervical cancer tumors are often laterally extended and non-symmetric, and are also surrounded by bladder, bowel, rectum, sigmoid colon, and vaginal tissues. With this geometric problem, the radiation dose that can be delivered to the tumor is often limited by the presence of the bladder, rectum, and sigmoid colon, reducing the chances that the tumor can be controlled.

Apparatus and method for rotating shield brachytherapy


The described embodiments provide methods and systems for generating online dynamic content. The methods and systems enable content from online publications to be efficiently reused and repurposed in other data collections and publications.

Online publishers often employ a content management system (CMS) to manage workflows and publishing of news and entertainment content in a collaborative environment.
A CMS may be used in a live reporting scenario, for example, where an online publisher may wish to allow authorized individuals to directly report news regarding a current event. In another example, an online publisher may wish to encourage audience participation, by soliciting real-time comments and feedback in response to a live discussion. However, while conventional CMS systems might be adaptable to provide such features, frequent updating may require significant computing and bandwidth resources. One reason for this is that conventional CMS systems typically publish complete pages, which results in considerable redundancy when the complete page is repeatedly transferred to a client that is requesting frequent updates.
Users may wish to use a CMS to create and aggregate content such as web pages, papers, essays, stories, articles, posts, commentary, reviews, videos, and images, for example, and electronically publish the content for display on other user computing devices. The content may not be static and a user may update and republish the content. Multiple users may work together to create, aggregate, edit, update or moderate content. Multiple users work together to create, aggregate, edit, update or moderate content even when some or all of the users are in remote locations.
There is a need for an improved system and method for creating and managing online content that is dynamically changing in real-time.

System and method for generating digital content


Provided herein are systems for continuously measuring oxygen and carbon dioxide gas levels inside a cell culture incubator, comprising an oxygen sensor that uses LED based fluorescence technology to determine the amount of oxygen in the surrounding atmosphere, a carbon dioxide sensor that uses LED based Non-dispersive Infra-Red (NDIR) technology to determine the amount of carbon dioxide in the surrounding atmosphere, and electronics to wirelessly monitor the output from the oxygen sensor and carbon dioxide sensor. Most preferably, the system can be placed inside a cell culture incubator, and sensor readings are pre-compensated for temperature, pressure, and humidity. Also provided herein are methods of using the same.

The background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present disclosure. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
All publications and patent applications herein are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
Molecular oxygen (i.e., O2) is essential for aerobic respiration. While the concentration of oxygen in the atmosphere is approximately 21%, cells derived from multicellular eukaryotes, especially animal cells, are generally adapted to lower oxygen levels. Thus, it is generally desirable for in vitro cultures of such mammalian cells to expose the cells to specific amounts of oxygen in the cell culture chamber for optimal growth. In most cases, the amount of oxygen is lower than that of the atmosphere. With increasing interest in the performance of cell culture experiments under various oxygen levels, a range of technologies and instruments have been developed.
Most commonly, the concentration of oxygen within an incubator is controlled using a predefined gas mixture, or via individual gas sources (such as tanks with compressed gas) for which the volume of gas flow can be regulated to so generate a mixture with a desired oxygen content. Actual oxygen quantities in the incubator are then typically measured with oxygen sensors that are integral with the incubator. Unfortunately, such measurements are often not very accurate, particularly where strong excursions of oxygen content occur (e.g., due to opening of a door), or where the gas composition of the gas mixture temporarily fluctuates. Still further, and particularly where cells are grown under hypoxic conditions in an atmospherically controlled modular container that is placed in a larger incubator (see e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,315,769 or 10,138,455), measurement of the oxygen concentration within such modular containers is typically not known in the art.
Thus, even though various devices and methods for analyzing gas mixtures, and especially oxygen content in an incubator for cell culture are known in the art, all or almost all of them suffer from various disadvantages. Consequently, there is a need to provide improved devices and methods that allow for accurate and rapid determination of atmospheric parameters, and particularly O2 and CO2.


A system for the prioritization of quality of service (QoS) alerts and the analysis of the impact of such alerts on service uses a service model in which services are broken into one or more service components and sub-components. Creation of a service dependency model, which is driven by different phases of a service, is key to being able to understand how alerts at the lowest level of the network components affect the overall service for which they are but a component. Alerts are assigned a “handle” and a severity level. Rules are defined to be applied to the alerts to create a Component Status Indicator for each component including a handle. As each CSI propagates up towards the top of the service model dependency graph, each CSI gets modified according to predefined rules. A service impact index is created when the CSI is propagated to the top service component. For each service that is impacted, weights (multipler) are defined according to duration of the alert, number of subscribers, number of services, QoS class of the services impacted or other factors defined by user. The weights are used to multiply the SII to obtain the overall impacting index, which is sorted to obtain the priority list. This method can be employed either centrally at a network operations center or in a distributed manner by pre-processing at central offices. Information contained in the handle component of the CSI can be used to perform root cause analysis of the service impacting alerts so as to more efficiently identify and correct problems.

In telecommunications systems such as cellular systems based on TDMA, CDMA or GSM or 2.5G networks based on GPRS, service providers are challenged by competition to provide ever-improving service quality. As many different telecommunications services emerge, particularly many new wireless services, the service assurance problem becomes increasingly challenging. In the current Network Operation Center (NOC), it is not uncommon to receive hundreds to thousands of various alerts, warnings and alarms in various forms. The NOC personnel dealing with trouble shooting and problem resolutions are usually highly trained technicians specializing in certain specific technology areas. Traditionally, the NOC group is separate from the information technology (IT) organization managing applications and internal IP networks. Problems occurring in one domain are not normally handled with consideration of impacts from other domains. In particular, there is no methodology or procedure in place for the prioritization or root cause analysis of QoS problem.
Current service management is comprised of isolated network management systems and an information technology (IT) based management environment. Network management tasks consist of collecting large amounts of performance data, generating weekly or monthly reports and logging large amounts of events and alarms. Data are mostly generated by a number of disjoint Element Management System (EMSs) or, in some cases, by individual Network Elements (NE). In the service and application areas, traditional IT management platforms such as Openview from Hewlett-Packard, Unicenter from Computer Associates or Tivoli from IBM is popular for monitoring and logging of server and LAN-related alarms and events. There are, however, no correlation between these IT based management platforms and other EMSs. For each isolated domain, true service management is performed by the personnel taking care of a particular domain (application, core, access). Different domains normally are handled by different organizations, which are operated independently with little interaction among each other. There is no integrated and correlated view of service quality and there are inconsistent efforts toward service assurance or long-term planning.
The increasing dependence on wireless technology whether 2G, 2.5, or 3G cellular technologies or wireless LAN (WLAN) technology such as 802.11 WiFi based systems, adds additional complexity to service issues. Bottom-up service assurance systems are focused on collecting data from various network elements or sub-systems but are not focused on whether various services desired by the customer are actually being provided to the satisfaction of the customer.
The overall goal of impact analysis is to quantify service quality degradation with respect to certain predefined service level criteria. The result of such impact analysis can then be used to support the prioritization of service and network alarms, service QoS alerts, and network performance threshold crossing alerts or other performance impacting events with respect to trouble ticket generation. Additionally, the results may be used to support prioritization of network and service resource expansion or for the adjustment of service level agreements for marketing and contractual purposes.
As wireless services proliferate and as each has a shorter life cycle, it is becoming increasingly difficult to train NOC operators with the right skills to handle the various types of services related QoS problems. To assist the NOC personnel on prioritization of QoS alarms, it is desirable that there are tools to collect and extract relevant information regarding the alerts and prioritize them with respect to the impact on customers, quality of services and other criteria such as marketing and planning.
For each component of a service, there is a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) associated with it. Assuming that a service model has 40 components and each has 30 KPIs, that is a total of 1200 KPI for a service. If there are 20 services active at once, we can be potentially dealing with over a 20,000 KPIs. Suppose at a given time, there are 1% of the KPIs cross threshold and generate alerts that amounts to over 200 QoS alerts at a given time. Besides the volume of KPIs and their alerts, it is also difficult to write algorithms that are specific to a particular KPI. Therefore, the impact analysis algorithm has to deal with the scalability and complexity issues at the same time.
Further, it would be desirable to have a method and system to permit systematic prioritization of QoS alarms with respect to some quantitative impact index.
Additionally, it would be desirable to have a system and method that uses a dependency model of a service to prioritize and analyze alert impact.
It would also be desirable to have a method and system that is able to provide impact analysis for a large-scale network and does not suffer from scalability issues.
Finally, it would be desirable to have a method and system capable of assisting the network operator in a root cause analysis of the service impacting alerts identified by the alert prioritization and service impact analysis system.

Service impact analysis and alert handling in telecommunications systems


An approach is provided to improve security of security questions. In the approach, the system prompts a user for a security question. The security question and security answer associated with the security question are received by the system using a user input to the information handling system. Network-accessible data stores, such as social network accounts, are searched for the security answer resulting in search results. The searching results reveal a risk level which is identified by the system. The identified risk level is provided to the user, such as at a display device.

Security questions are a popular method used to ensure that a user is the actual person associated with an online account. However, given the level of information that is shared on purpose or inadvertently by the account holder, an acquaintance, or a complete stranger, in social networks, blogs, etc, it is often difficult to ascertain what pieces of information are suitable for use as a security question. One risk is that the account holder deliberately or inadvertently disclosed the potential security question and answer. While the account holder may not recall or remember such dissemination, the information may be available to others through a social network or through a computer network, such as the Internet. Another risk is that, while the account holder may have never disseminated the answer to a security question, someone else has divulged such information. For example, a popular security question is "What was your mother's maiden name?" While the user may have never divulged his mother's maiden name, a sibling, spouse, or other person may have divulged this information in a manner where strangers can easily ascertain the user's mother's maiden name.

Notification of security question compromise level based on social network interactions

International Business Machines Corporation


A cassette which is adapted to be insertable into and removable from an infusion pump. The cassette has a housing, a length of flexible tubing supported by the housing, and a first vertically movable member disposed in the housing. The first vertically movable member has a slot formed therein, and a portion of the flexible tubing is disposed within the slot. The first vertically movable member is movable between a clamped position in which the flexible tubing is clamped to prevent any substantial liquid flow therethrough and an unclamped position in which substantial liquid flow through the flexible tubing is enabled, and a spring is provided for biasing the first vertically movable member to the clamped position. The first vertically movable member may be designed so that the closure of a door of an infusion pump in which the cassette is inserted will cause the vertically movable member to be in the unclamped position to allow liquid flow through the flexible tubing. The cassette may have means for maintaining the first vertically movable member in the unclamped position, such as a retaining pin. The cassette has a second vertically movable member with a first surface and a second surface. The first surface has a portion which is arcuate in shape and adapted to substantially conform with a path of rotation defined by the rotary pump wheel of an infusion pump. The second surface of the second vertically movable member is disposed within the aperture formed in the upper surface of the housing so that the second vertically movable member may be vertically displaced due to physical contact with the second surface of the second vertically movable member.

The present invention is directed to a cassette for an infusion pump which may be inserted into and removed from the pump.
An infusion pump is used to automatically administer liquid medicant to a patient. The liquid medicant is supplied from a source of medicant and pumped into the patient via a catheter or other injection device. The manner in which the liquid is infused is controlled by the infusion pump, which may have various modes of infusion, such as a continuous mode in which the liquid medicant is continuously infused at a constant rate, or a ramp mode in which the rate of infusion gradually increases, then remains constant, and then gradually decreases.
Some infusion pumps utilize a cassette or module which may be inserted into and removed from the pump. One such module is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,257,978 to Haber, et al. The module 2 disclosed in that patent receives a length of an intravenous line 4 in its interior, and a length of silicon tubing 78 is connected to the intravenous line 4 to form a single continuous conduit. The module 2 is insertable into an infusion pump, in the form of a peristaltic pump 5, via a door 80 which may be opened and closed. The pump 5 is constructed so that it will operate only when the door is completely closed.


EL display has a luminescence unit having a luminescence layer being disposed between a pair of electrodes and a thin film transistor array unit controlling luminescence of the luminescence unit. An interlayer insulation film is disposed between the luminescence unit and the transistor array unit. An anode of the luminescence unit is connected electrically to the thin film transistor array via a contact hole of the interlayer insulation film. The thin film transistor array further has a current supplying relaying electrode that is connected to the anode of the luminescence unit via the contact hole of the interlayer insulation film. A diffusion prevention film is formed on the boundary face of the anode of the luminescence unit and the relaying electrode.

TFTs have been employed in driving circuits of display devices such as OLED displays and LCD displays, and are being developed for improving their characteristics. Emergence of large-sized and high definition displays require these TFTs to have large current driving performance. Recently, TFT made of a crystallized semiconductor film, e.g. polycrystalline silicon or micro crystallite silicon, as an active layer is attracting attention.
As crystallization process for semiconductor films, high temperature process using temperature of 1000 degrees Celsius or more has been established. Recently, low temperature process using temperature of 600 degrees Celsius or less is being developed. The low temperature process can reduce manufacturing cost because this process does not require a use of expensive substrate such as quartz having an excellent heat resistance.
The laser annealing which uses a laser beam for heating attracts attention as one method of the low temperature process. In this method, a laser beam is irradiated on a non single crystal semiconductor film (amorphous silicon or polycrystalline silicon) which is formed on a heat-resistant insulating substrate such as glass substrate, and the semiconductor film is melted as a result. The semiconductor film is then crystallized during a cooling process. Using this crystallized semiconductor film as the active layer (channel domain), TFT is formed integrally. The crystallized semiconductor film has a high mobility carrier, and this improves the performance of TFTs.
As the structure of these TFTs, a bottom-gated structure having a gate electrode disposed under a semiconductor layer is mainly used. Japanese Patent Application Publications JP2001-028486A1 and JP2009-229941A1 describe the examples of such TFTs.
JP2001-028486A1 describes a method of first forming a wiring (electrode) connected to a transistor on a substrate, and then forming a planarized insulation film (an interlayer insulation film) made of photosensitive polyimide by spin coat method so that the film covers the wiring (electrode). Next, a connection hole (contact hole) is formed on the planarized insulation film using lithography method. An organic EL device, which is being connected to the wiring through the connection hole, is then formed on the planarized insulation film.
JP2009-229941A1 describes a protective insulation film layered on a second metal layer (electrode) and a planarized insulation film (an interlayer insulation film) layered on the protective insulation film each having a contact hole for inserting a connecting contact which electrically connects the second metal layer and an anode electrode (lower electrode). The contact hole has a cone-shape that is convexed downward so that the inner surfaces of the protective insulation film and the planarized insulation film are connected without a step.

Thin film transistor array and EL display employing thereof


A multidimensional spectrometer encodes frequency information into laser pulses so that a frequency insensitive detector may be used to collect data for a multi-dimensional spectrograph only from intensity information and knowledge of a modulation providing the encoding. In one embodiment the frequency encoding may be done by a conventional interferometer greatly simplifying construction of the spectrometer.

The present invention relates to two-dimensional spectrometers.
Two-dimensional spectroscopy can reveal the interaction between coupled systems of atoms and/or molecules. In a 2D spectrum, electromagnetic transitions of atoms or molecules give rise to signals that, lie on the spectrum diagonal, and if there are interactions between transitions within or among molecules, then cross peaks will also appear in the spectrum. Thus, the diagonal and cross peaks can be used to deduce molecular structures or identify mixtures of compounds, etc. Multidimensional spectra of 3D or higher provide additional information.
To collect a 2D spectrum, one needs to generate multiple light pulses to interrogate the sample. Some examples for two-dimensional spectroscopy are described, for example, in US patent application 2006/0063188 filed Sep. 15, 2005 and US patent application 2009/0161092 filed Dec. 21, 2007 both hereby incorporated by reference.
Existing multidimensional spectrometers require specialized and complex optical components and are correspondingly expensive and difficult to manufacture.


A supercharger for an internal combustion engine including a turbocompressor having at least one compressor impeller and a suction side and a pressure side, a flywheel mass for storing drive energy, an auxiliary motor for driving the compressor impeller and the flywheel mass, and a first shut-off element which is arranged on the suction side of the turbocompressor, the region between the first shut-off element and the compressor impeller of the turbocompressor forming a suction-side compressor air space, and the turbocompressor being designed in such a way that, after the first shut-off element is closed, the suction side compressor air space can be substantially evacuated.

It is known to compress the air which is fed to an internal combustion engine for the combustion in the cylinders by way of exhaust gas turbochargers which are driven by the exhaust gas energy of the internal combustion engine or by way of mechanical superchargers. A performance increase of the internal combustion engine is achieved as a result. If mechanical superchargers are used, they can be driven directly by the internal combustion engine, for example via a belt drive, or they can be driven by an auxiliary motor, for example an electric motor.
If the air which is fed to the internal combustion engine is compressed by an exhaust gas turbocharger, it is known that, in the case of sudden load requests, for example during the transition from the part load range into the full load range during acceleration of a vehicle which is driven by way of the internal combustion engine, the exhaust gas turbocharger is not capable of providing the charge air quantity which is required to provide the torque which is requested from the internal combustion engine. This effect is frequently also called "turbo lag". This is caused by the fact that the existing exhaust gas energy is not sufficient to drive the turbocharger in such a way that the desired boost pressure can be provided. Inertia of the turbocharger also leads to a delay in the build up of boost pressure occurring.
These problems are solved firstly by structural changes of the turbocharger, for example by turbochargers with a variable turbine geometry. Another solution which is known in the prior art consists of providing an electric motor on the shaft of the turbocharger (what is known as an "electrically assisted exhaust gas turbocharger").
A third option consists of providing a mechanically driven supercharger in addition to the exhaust gas turbocharger, which supercharger provides boost pressure only when, on account of sudden load requests, the exhaust gas turbocharger is not capable of providing the required boost pressure immediately, that is to say is subject to turbo lag. Here, the mechanical supercharger can in principle be driven by the internal combustion engine, as is also predominantly the case in mechanical superchargers which are used exclusively to supercharge the internal combustion engine. Since, here, the mechanical supercharger assists merely the exhaust gas turbocharger at certain operating points, however, assisting mechanical superchargers of this type are predominantly driven not by the internal combustion engine itself, but rather by a dedicated auxiliary motor.
In order, during this turbo lag, for it to be possible for the missing, required boost pressure which is not provided by the exhaust gas turbocharger to be provided by the mechanically driven additional supercharger, the latter has to have a very short response time. If the mechanical supercharger is driven only when it is required for the provision of the charge air, delays occur as a result of the running up of the mechanical supercharger. For running up, the superchargers which currently respond most quickly require a start up time in the order of magnitude of from 350 to 400 ms. If the mechanical supercharger is driven by an electric motor, a very high current consumption by the electric motor occurs during this running up. However, a current consumption of this type is not permissible in the case of conventional 12 volt vehicle on-board electrical systems, since it can lead to considerable voltage dips. It lies in the order of magnitude of 350 A starting current and 250 A steady current in the case of an output power in the order of magnitude of 2.6 kW.

Supercharger for internal combustion engines


A system for detecting moisture characteristics of a material of a complex structure while the material is in situ or forms part of the complex structure. The system includes at least one moisture detection sensor positioned proximate the material of the complex structure while the material is in situ. The system also includes a controller in data receiving communication with the moisture detection sensor.

Moisture ingression into and saturation of materials forming complex structures, such as aircraft, automobiles, boats, buildings, and the like, is a problem faced by complex structure manufacturers. When introduced into the materials of complex structures, moisture can cause structural degradation, arcing, shorting, and an increase in weight. Accordingly, to compensate for the ingression and saturation of moisture in materials of complex structures, the materials are specifically selected and configured to compensate for the negative consequences caused by moisture in the materials.
Moisture detection devices and techniques for complex structures in operation are not available. Therefore, a prediction of the ingression and saturation levels of moisture in materials of a complex structure is based on small material samples or coupons removed from a non-operational complex structure, or pre-manufacturing test samples or coupons. Because material samples being tested for moisture characteristics are ex situ (e.g., taken from a non-operational or destroyed complex structures), manufacturers design the materials of complex structures with unduly conservative predictions or allowances for moisture ingression and saturation levels. Such conservative allowances result in excessive or heavier materials, which increase the overall weight of the complex structure, and can reduce the efficiency of the complex structure.
Moreover, ex situ moisture detection techniques are conducted before or after operation of a complex structure. Accordingly, conventional moisture detection techniques are not equipped to provide moisture detection in real-time for an operational complex structure.


Vehicle arresting beds, for installation at the ends of aircraft runways, are effective to safely decelerate aircraft entering the bed. The arresting bed is assembled of a large number of blocks of cellular concrete having predetermined compressive gradient strength, so that aircraft landing gear is subjected to drag forces effective to slow a variety of types of aircraft, while providing deceleration within a safe range of values. An arresting bed typically includes an entry region of a depth increasing from 9 to 24 inches formed of blocks having a first compressive gradient strength. A second region, which may be tapered into the first region and increase in depth to 30 inches, is formed of blocks having a greater compressive gradient strength. An aircraft thus experiences increasing drag forces while it travels through the bed, to provide an arresting capability suitable for a variety of aircraft. A protective hardcoat layer of cellular concrete of strength greater than the blocks overlays the blocks to enable service personnel to walk on the bed without damage. Arresting bed systems may be provided in alternative configurations, such as a bed formed of an aggregate including pieces of cellular concrete with or without interspersed pieces of other compressible material and covered by a hardcoat layer.

This invention relates to systems for slowing travel of vehicles and, more particularly, to cellular concrete arresting bed systems to safely decelerate an aircraft which runs off the end of a runway.
Aircraft can and do overrun the ends of runways raising the possibility of injury to passengers and destruction of or severe damage to the aircraft. Such overruns have occurred during aborted take-offs or while landing, with the aircraft traveling at speeds to 80 knots. In order to minimize the hazards of overruns, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) generally requires a safety area of 1,000 feet in length beyond the end of the runway. Although this safety area is now an FAA standard, many runways across the country were constructed prior to its adoption and are situated such that water, roadways or other obstacles prevent economical compliance with the one thousand foot overrun requirement.
Several materials, including existing soil surfaces beyond the runway have been assessed for their ability to decelerate aircraft. Soil surfaces are very unpredictable in their arresting capability because their properties are unpredictable. For example, very dry clay can be hard and nearly impenetrable, but wet clay can cause aircraft to mire down quickly, cause the landing gear to collapse, and provide a potential for passenger and crew injury as well as greater aircraft damage.
A 1988 report addresses an investigation by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on the feasibility of developing a plastic foam arrestor for a runway at JFK International Airport. In the report, it is stated that analyses indicated that such an arrestor design is feasible and could safely stop a 100,000 pound aircraft overrunning the runway at an exit velocity up to 80 knots and an 820,000 pound aircraft overrunning at an exit velocity up to 60 knots. The report states that performance of an appropriate plastic foam arrestor configuration was shown to be potentially "superior to a paved 1,000 foot overrun area, particularly when braking is not effective and reverse thrust is not available." As is well known, effectiveness of braking may be limited under wet or icy surface conditions. (University of Dayton report UDR-TR-88-07, January 1988.)
More recently, an aircraft arresting system has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,764 to Larrett et al. In accordance with the disclosure of that patent, an aircraft arresting area is formed by adhering a plurality of stacked thin layers of rigid, friable, fire resistant phenolic foam to each other, with the lower-most layer of foam being adhered to a support surface. The stacked layers are designed so that the compressive resistance of the combined layers of rigid plastic foam is less than the force exerted by the landing gear of any aircraft of the type intended to be arrested when moving into the arresting area from a runway so that the foam is crushed when contacted by the aircraft. The preferred material is phenolic foam used with a compatible adhesive, such as a latex adhesive.
Tests of phenolic foam based arrestor systems indicate that while such systems can function to bring aircraft to a stop, the use of the foam material has disadvantages. Major among the disadvantages is the fact that foam, depending upon its properties, can typically exhibit a rebound property. Thus, it was noted in phenolic foam arresting bed testing that some forward thrust was delivered to the wheels of the aircraft as it moved through the foamed material as a result of the rebound of the foam material itself.
Foamed or cellular concrete as a material for use in arresting bed systems has been suggested and undergone limited field testing in the prior art. Such testing has indicated that cellular concrete has good potential for use in arresting bed systems, based on providing many of the same advantages as phenolic foam while avoiding some of phenolic foam's disadvantages. However, the requirements for an accurately controlled crushing strength and material uniformity throughout the arresting bed are critical and, so far as is known, the production of cellular concrete of appropriate characteristics and uniformity has not previously been achieved or described. Production of structural concrete for building purposes is an old art involving relatively simple process steps. Production of cellular concrete, while generally involving simple ingredients, is complicated by the nature and effect of aeration, mixing and hydration aspects, which must be closely specified and accurately controlled if a uniform end product, which is neither too weak nor too strong, is to be provided for present purposes. Discontinuities, including areas of weaker and stronger cellular concrete, may actually cause damage to the vehicle that is being decelerated if, for example, deceleration forces exceed wheel support structure strength. Such nonuniformity also results in an inability to accurately predict deceleration performance and total stopping distance. In one recent feasibility test utilizing commercial grade cellular concrete, an aircraft instrumented for recording of test data taxied through a bed section and load data was acquired. Even though steps had been taken to try to provide production uniformity, samples taken and aircraft load data from the test arresting bed showed significant variations between areas where the crush strength was excessively high and areas where it was excessively low. Obviously, the potential benefit of an arrestor system is compromised, if the aircraft is exposed to forces that could damage or collapse the main landing gear.
A 1995 report prepared for the Federal Aviation Administration entitled "Preliminary Soft Ground Arrestor Design for JFK International Airport" describes a proposed aircraft arrestor. This report discusses the potential for use of either phenolic foam or cellular concrete. As to phenolic foam, reference is made to the disadvantage of a "rebound" characteristic resulting in return of some energy following compression. As to cellular concrete, termed "foamcrete", it is noted that "a constant density (strength parameter) of foamcrete is difficult to maintain" in production. It is indicated that foamcrete appears to be a good candidate for arrestor construction, if it can be produced in large quantities with constant density and compressive strengths. Flat plate testing is illustrated and uniform compressive strength values of 60 and 80 psi over a five to eighty percent deformation range are described as objectives based on the level of information then available in the art. The report thus indicates the unavailability of both existing materials having acceptable characteristics and methods for production of such material, and suggests on a somewhat hypothetical basis possible characteristics and testing of such materials should they become available.
Thus, while arresting bed systems have been considered and some actual testing of various materials therefor has been explored, practical production and implementation of an arresting bed system which, within specified distances, will safely decelerate aircraft of known size and weight moving at a projected rate of speed off of a runway, has not been achieved. The particular material to be used, as well as the configuration and fabrication of an arresting bed, are all critical to the provision of an effective arresting bed system. To provide an effective arresting bed for vehicles of a range of sizes, weights and bed entry speeds, requires use of bed designs, materials and fabrication techniques capable of providing predictable drag effects and rates of vehicle deceleration. Computer program models or other techniques may be employed to develop drag or deceleration objectives for arresting beds, based on calculated forces and energy absorption for aircraft of particular size and weight, in view of corresponding landing gear strength specifications for such aircraft. However, such objectives remain merely an abstract goal in the absence of effective bed configurations, materials and fabrication techniques appropriate to convert arresting bed objectives into reality to achieve the desired results. As a result, prior information as to potential arresting bed materials and deceleration objectives has been inadequate to enable fabrication of a practical arresting bed suitable for use by commercial passenger aircraft and other vehicles.
Objects of the invention are, therefore, to provide new and improved vehicle arresting bed systems and such systems having one or more of the following advantages and capabilities:
assembly from pre-cast cellular concrete which has been acceptance tested; PA1 block or aggregate assembly enabling progressive variation of both depth and compressive strength characteristics; PA1 predetermined arresting characteristics, substantially independent of weather conditions; PA1 long-life weather resistant construction; PA1 hardcoat covering to support pedestrian access; PA1 ability of crash/fire/rescue vehicles to fully maneuver on an arresting bed; PA1 ease of exit by passengers from a vehicle which has entered an arresting bed; and PA1 ease of repair by block or aggregate replacement following use by an overrunning vehicle.


Alignment of two video sequences, one being a reference video sequence and the other being a processed video sequence corresponding to the reference video sequence, is performed using selected partial pictures from the reference video sequence. The reference video sequence is evaluated for portions that have maximum information content spatially and/or temporally to select the partial pictures, and the location and size of the partial pictures are stored together with the reference video sequence. The processed video sequence is then initially aligned to the reference video sequence by first finding the locations of features from the partial pictures in the processed video sequence to provide a coarse misalignment error between the two video sequence, and then using a correlation algorithm with a scanning window based on the size of the partial pictures to refine the misalignment error. Once the processed video sequence is aligned with the reference video sequence by using the refined misalignment error, measurement of the differences between the two sequences may be obtained as an indication of the amount of degradation of the processed video sequence with respect to the reference video sequence.

The present invention relates to the measurement of the degradation in video sequences, and more particularly to a method of aligning two video sequences using selected partial pictures, one sequence being a reference sequence and the other being a processed sequence to be measured for degradation.
Conventional measurement of a video sequence has occurred in the analog, broadband domain using conventional waveform monitors and vectorscopes. As the video sequence moved into the digital domain, using a serial digital format, the resulting digital sequence has conventionally been converted into the analog, broadband domain for typical video measurements. However with the compression of the video sequence for storage or for transmission over lower bandwidth transmission media and subsequent decompression, the resulting decompressed video sequence is not an exact copy of the original, uncompressed video sequence. Other types of modifications to which the video sequence may be subjected include transmission through a CODEC, recording on tape, format conversion, satellite or broadcast transmission, composite encoding, etc. A measure of the amount of modification or degradation of the processed video sequence compared to a reference video sequence, the measure being related to the observability of flaws in the pictures by a human observer, is desired.
One such measurement instrument is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/605,241 filed Feb. 12, 1996 by Bozidar Janko and David Fibush entitled "Programmable Instrument for Automatic Measurement of Compressed Video Quality" and is implemented in the PQA200 Picture Quality Analysis System manufactured by Tektronix, Inc. of Wilsonville, Oreg. The PQA200 compares a reference video sequence with a processed video sequence using a Just Noticeable Difference (JND) algorithm originally developed by David Sarnoff Research Laboratories, Inc. To assure that the pictures within the sequences to be compared are comparable and give consistent results from test to test, the comparable pictures are identified and aligned. The PQA200 uses identification and alignment markers that are added to the reference video sequence prior to processing and which are robust enough to survive the processing. By aligning the markers, consistent and meaningful measurements may be made. However these alignment markers, being within the active video portion of the pictures, are visible to an observer.
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard T1.801.03-yyy, "Digital Transport of One-Way Video Signals--Parameters for Objective Performance Assessment", suggests using a correlation technique over the entire picture for each picture in the sequences being aligned. This is very compute intensive, with the resulting time required being such as to make realtime processes problematical.
What is desired is a method of video alignment between video sequences that is not visible to an observer and is capable of realtime processing.

Video alignment using a selected partial picture