A neurosurgical ultrasonic focusing assisted three-stage atomization cooling and postoperative wound film forming device has a transducer housing and a nozzle, wherein a horn is arranged in the transducer housing, at least two layers of piezoelectric ceramic sheets are arranged at the top of the horn, an electrode sheet connected with an ultrasonic generator is arranged between two adjacent layers of piezoelectric ceramic sheets, the bottom of the transducer housing is of a hemispherical structure, and a plurality of piezoelectric elements connected with the ultrasonic generator are arranged inside the hemispherical structure; and the nozzle is arranged at the bottom of the horn and connected with a medical nanofluid storage cup, compressed gas can also be introduced into the nozzle, and an electrode is also arranged inside the nozzle.

Bone grinding is one of common and basic surgical operations in skull base tumor removal surgery. In clinical practice, surgeons often use high-speed micro grinding wheels to remove bone pathology. However, the high-speed grinding produces a large amount of heat, which results in osteonecrosis and thermal damage to surrounding tissues and also has certain influence on the coagulation function of tissues. Saline drip cooling is often used in clinic, and part of the grinding heat is taken away by natural convection. The grinding thermal damage receives clinically recognized concern because the temperature cannot be determined during the grinding process and the degree of thermal damage cannot be controlled. Kondo et al. pointed out that in the cast saline cooling mode, the maximum critical temperature of thermal damage is 43° C., and when the temperature is more than 43° C., the optic nerve will be damaged, leading to blindness in severe cases. In term of bone grinding, facial paralysis and femoral head necrosis are also common problems in orthopedic surgery. Therefore, in the bone grinding surgery, the temperature control is directly related to the success or failure of the surgery.
By search, D. J. Filicicchia et al. from USA Illinois Spraying Systems Company invented an ultrasonic atomizing nozzle with a conical spray feature (patent number: ZL 200880125586.7), in which compressed air is applied to a nozzle assembly, and guided to an atomizing surface through ports, compartments and channels communicating each other. To obtain conical spray, the ports, compartments and channels guide the compressed air to rotate around an atomizing rod. Atomized droplets are entrained in the air as the rotating compressed air leaves the nozzle assembly through the adjacent atomizing surface. The rotating compressed air pushes the droplets forward, and the droplets move circumferentially outward in the form of conical spray.
By retrieval, Xiang Dong et al. from Tsinghua University invented a combined ultrasonic atomizing device (patent number: ZL 201010122821.4), in which the axis of a first-stage low-frequency ultrasonic atomizing nozzle and the front-end atomizing surface of a second-stage high-frequency ultrasonic atomizing nozzle array are configured at certain angle, and on the basis that a good liquid film is formed on the atomizing surface of the second-stage high-frequency ultrasonic atomizing nozzle array, sufficient amplitude is provided to cause the liquid to break into fine mist droplets under the action of surface waves, thereby enlarging the adaptive range of liquid atomization.
By search, Xiang Dong et al. from Tsinghua University invented a phase-controlled ultrasonic atomizing nozzle (patent number: ZL 201010122838.X), in which array elements are distributed in a group uniformly-spaced annular array manner, a support inlaid with the array elements is sandwiched between a front cover and a rear cover, the tip of a horn is a liquid atomizing surface, and the liquid to be atomized arrives at the surface through a central channel. By adopting the phase-controlled ultrasonic transducer array scheme, the size of a piezoelectric sheet of a single array element is reduced, a higher ultrasonic atomizing frequency can be provided, and based on the same horn, the amplitude of the atomizing surface can meet the atomization requirement of high-viscosity liquid.
By search, Li Hua et al. from Suzhou University of Science and Technology invented an ultrasonic focusing vapor mist cooler (patent number: ZL 201010221499.0), including a rear cover plate, a piezoelectric ceramic sheet, an electrode sheet, a horn, a focusing disc, a vibration transfer rod and a vapor mist cover, wherein the rear cover plate, the piezoelectric ceramic sheet and the electrode sheet are clamped by threads at the front end of bolts and the horn, the focusing disc is clamped between the vibration transfer rod and the horn by a dowel screw, the vapor mist cover is adhered to the focusing disc with an adhesive, the vibrator portion is of a sandwiched transducer structure, and the cooler has the advantages of large power capacity and strong vapor mist focusing capability, can furthest reduce the consumption of a coolant while ensuring efficient cooling, and thus achieves environment-friendly cooling.
By search, Mao Cong et al. from Changsha University of Science and Technology invented a lubricating and cooling method and device for a cutting process (patent number: ZL 201010551978.9), adding nano-particles with particle size of 20-40 nm at a volume ratio of 1-5% into vegetable oil or deionized water, adding a dispersant with a volume ratio of 0.05-0.15% and performing ultrasonic vibration at a frequency of 10-40 kHz to obtain a uniform oil-based or water-based nano-particle suspension with good dispersibility, sufficiently atomizing the nano-particle suspension into mist particles having a micron-scale diameter under the action of compressed air of 0.3-1 MPa, and ejecting the high-pressure mist particles by a nozzle to break through a cutter and an air barrier layer on the surface of a workpiece and reach a cutting zone so as to lubricate and cool the cutting zone.
By search, Li Hua et al. from Suzhou University of Science and Technology invented a split type ultrasonic focusing vapor mist cooling device (patent number: ZL 201310029236.3), in which transducers of an ultrasonic atomizer and an ultrasonic focuser are designed independently. The inherent frequencies of the ultrasonic atomizer and the ultrasonic focuser do not need to be the same. Compared with an integrated ultrasonic focusing vapor mist cooler, the split type ultrasonic focusing vapor mist cooling device is easy to manufacture, the relative positions of the ultrasonic vibration focuser and the ultrasonic vibration atomizer are easy to adjust, the ultrasonic vibration atomizer and the ultrasonic vibration focuser have higher power, the effects of ultrasonic atomization and ultrasonic focusing are better, and the late maintenance is convenient.
By search, Li Tao et al. from Qianteng (Nanjing) Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. invented a natural focusing ultrasonic atomizing nozzle (patent number: ZL 201410648984.4), in which a liquid nozzle is fixedly arranged below a housing through a shock-absorbing support mechanism, a liquid outlet concentrically surrounds the end face of an atomizing head, and the nozzle can effectively solve the problems of the existing natural diverging atomizing nozzle, such as large size, ineffective liquid splash in the center hole, large relative air consumption, small maximum liquid flow rate and short spray distance.
By search, Wang Xiaoying et al. from Jiangsu University invented an electrostatic atomizing nozzle (patent number: ZL 201510161434.4), in which swivel ribs form a ribbed flow channel. When the swivel rotates, liquid enters the electrostatic atomizing nozzle in the circumferential direction, the liquid has a large axial velocity at the outlet of the ribbed flow channel, and the liquid mist at the outlet of the nozzle is tapered. The rotating seal realizes reliable axial seal, and needle electrodes are arranged reasonably to ensure the dryness of the electrodes and improve the charging efficiency and the electrical safety. The nozzle has the advantages of low energy consumption, less blockage and good charging effect, and can realize remote axial transport of rotary atomization.
By search, Li Haiying et al. from North China University of Science and Technology disclosed a double-medium atomizing nozzle for ultrasonic assisted atomization (application number: 201510630442.9), in which a piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer generates ultrasonic waves to produce a cavitation effect on water in a liquid chamber, at the same time, the oscillation of the ultrasonic waves also prevents impurities in the water from accumulating in the liquid chamber, thereby preventing the impurities in the water from accumulating on the inner wall of the nozzle and avoiding the phenomenon of nozzle blockage. The ultrasonic waves cause cavitation of the water in the liquid chamber to assist atomization, the cavitated water is ejected from a first spout, and the high-pressure steam is ejected from a second spout to impact a liquid film so as to break the liquid film.
By search, Song Zhiming from Dongguan Changyuan Spraying Technology Co., Ltd. designed a split type ultrasonic nozzle (patent number: ZL 201520738520.2), in which a core axially communicating with the nozzle body is arranged inside the nozzle body, a connecting pipe is arranged at the inlet end of the nozzle body, and a liquid flow channel is formed among the outer wall of the core, the outer wall of the connecting pipe and the inner wall of the nozzle body. An ultrasonic vibrating head is arranged outside the outlet end of the nozzle body, and multiple atomization is formed by combining the nozzle with the ultrasonic vibrating head.
By search, Wang Weiqiang et al. from Ningbo University designed a three-stage atomizing ultrasonic nozzle assembly (patent number: ZL 201520881683.6), in which a piezoelectric ceramic transducer is fixedly connected with the large end of a tapered horn, the small end of the tapered horn is fixedly connected with an atomizing nozzle, flow channels for introducing liquid are arranged in the piezoelectric ceramic transducer and the tapered horn, a plurality of atomizing holes distributed uniformly in the circumferential direction are arranged in the atomizing nozzle, the atomizing holes communicate with the flow channels, an atomizing disc is fixedly arranged at the small end of the tapered horn, and three-stage atomization of the liquid can be realized.
By search, Gao Jianmin et al. from Jiangsu University disclosed a low-frequency electrostatic ultrasonic atomizing nozzle (application number: 201610198692.4), in which a liquid inlet channel is arranged in the axial center of a horn of the nozzle, an air inlet channel is arranged at a position deviating from the axial center, a concave spherical surface is machined at the top of the horn of the nozzle, and a suspended ball is arranged on the concave spherical surface. The suspended ball is rotated at a high speed using compressed air moving axially eccentrically, the suspended ball generates an electric field by energizing the electrode, the droplets generated by low-frequency ultrasonic atomization are atomized again by static electricity, carrying electrostatic charges, and the charged droplets are ejected from the nozzle. Therefore, the nozzle breaks through the bottleneck that the low-frequency ultrasonic atomizing nozzle is difficult in generating superfine droplets, and enables the droplets to carry electrostatic charges so as to increase the adhesion thereof.
By search, Gao Jianmin et al. from Jiangsu University disclosed a two-phase flow ultrasonic atomizing device (application number: 201610334607.2), in which the liquid to be atomized is ejected by an air atomizing nozzle for the first atomization, and the ejected high-speed droplets impact on a high-frequency vibrating ultrasonic transducer and are broken into finer droplets for the second atomization.
By search, the existing pneumatic atomizing nozzles or electrostatic atomizing or ultrasonic atomizing nozzles all implement atomization using a single mechanism or a combination of two mechanisms, so that the atomizing effect of droplets cannot achieve the desired effect; and the droplets ejected from the nozzle body cannot be effectively and controllably injected into a grinding zone, and part of the droplets will be emitted into the surrounding environment, thereby reducing the convective heat transfer in the grinding zone. At present, there is no device or method that can achieve effective and controllable injection of droplets into a grinding tool/bone wedge constraint space while achieving superfine atomization of the droplets.
The electrospun fiber is soft, light and thin, and is full of nano-pores. As a wound dressing, it can fully bridge the wound. On the one hand, it reduces the stimulus of the external environment to the wound, protects the body fluid of the wound from evaporating too fast, and ensures that the wound can be exposed to the external fresh oxygen to facilitate the repair and growth of cells; and on the other hand, the electrospun nanofiber can filter most of bacteria and dust in the air to prevent the wound from being infected.
By search, Qin Xiaohong et al. from Donghua University invented an ultrasonic oscillating electrospinning nozzle and a method thereof (patent number: ZL 201110152579.X), in which a spinning solution or melt is added to a spinneret through an automatic infusion device, a controller and a high voltage are started, and the spinning solution or melt forms a Taylor cone under the action of ultrasonic oscillation and is jet up. The device overcomes the surface tension of the spinning solution or melt, forms multiple jets, increases the yield of electrospinning, and improves the spinning stability of the nozzle.
By search, Kong Qingshan et al. from Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Process, Chinese Academy of Sciences designed an ultrasonic-assisted electrospinning nanofiber preparation device (patent number: ZL 201220603914.3), in which an ultrasonic generator and an electrospinning preparation technology are combined, thereby exerting the characteristic that the polymer solution forms micro-droplets under the action of ultrasonic waves, overcoming the surface tension of the solution and the gravity of the droplets, easily forming a jet flow under the action of a high-voltage electric field and then forming nano-fibers, and improving the efficiency of preparing nanofibers by electrospinning.
By search, Chen Ming et al. from Yangzhou University invented a preparation method of porous electrospun nanofibers (patent number: ZL 201310600984.2), dissolving a polymer into an organic solvent, adding inorganic nanoparticles, performing ultrasonic dispersion to obtain an electrospinning solution, then spinning with the electrospinning solution on an electrospinning machine to obtain composite nanofibers of the nanoparticles and the polymer, finally, soaking the composite nanofibers of the nanoparticles and the polymer into a pore forming liquid to remove the nanoparticles and drying the composite nanofibers to obtain porous electrospun nanofibers. The obtained porous nanofibers have larger specific surface area and active sites than ordinary electrospun fibers, and can improve the load and the adsorption capacity.
By search, Yang Min et al. from Qingdao University of Technology invented a bone surgery grinding experimental device for cooling and electrostatic atomization film formation (Patent No.: ZL 201510604889.9), in which a grinding head is mounted at the lower end of an electric spindle, a grinding cooling device is arranged inside a grinding head handle or around the grinding head, an electrostatic atomization film forming device is arranged around the grinding head, and the grinding experimental device is suitable for reducing the temperature of a grinding zone in drip cooling, flood cooling, mist cooling, nanofluid mist cooling, phase change heat exchange type grinding heads, hydrophilic grinding heads, electrostatic atomizing inner cooling grinding tools, etc.
By search, Fang Feiyu et al. from Guangdong University of Technology disclosed an ultrasonic porous bubble electrospinning device (application number: 201510778831.6), in which a high-voltage electrostatic generator is connected with a receiving device and a reservoir respectively, an electric field required to generate a jet is formed between a rotating center of a support arm and the reservoir, and an exhaust device is arranged above a bowl-shaped rotating surface to form airflow passing through the bowl-shaped rotating surface from the bottom to the top. The spinning efficiency per unit time is greatly increased, and the problem of difficult collection of a three-dimensional fiber bracket is also solved.
By search, the conventional electrospinning devices all have the characteristic of large size, which is not conducive to the flexible and convenient use of a surgeon in a narrow space. Only the electric field force of droplets overcomes the surface tension so that the droplets form a jet, and the formed fibers are thicker. There is no spinning device or method that enables an operator to operate flexibly while superfine fibers are formed, and even there is no device that can effectively inject a coolant after superfine atomization into a grinding zone for cooling, and can realize film forming coating of the superfine spun fibers on a surgical wound.

Neurosurgical ultrasonic focusing assisted three-stage atomization cooling and postoperative wound film forming device


A method of insulating a cathode ray tube and an electrical insulator composition for a cathode ray tube enabling an electrical insulator to be produced without material loss and enabling improvement of the bonding strength between a stem and a stem base and the insulation property between stem pins, when attaching to a stem, which is provided at the cathode ray tube and has a tip and stem pins projecting therefrom, an insulating stem base, which comprises a base through which pin through holes are formed and has provided projecting from the front surface thereof a tip holder, in a state with the stem pins inserted through the pin through holes and the tip held in the tip holder, said method comprising the steps of molding an electrical insulator composition comprising an uncured self-adhesive silicone rubber into a predetermined sheet shape by using a transfer mold to obtain an electrical insulator, arranging the electrical insulator in a state extending from the positions of the pin through holes on the back of the base of the stem base to the tip holder and adhering it to the back of the base, folding the portion of the electrical insulator extending to the tip holder to the inside surface of the tip holder, and attaching the stem base to the stem.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of insulating a cathode ray tube used for electrical equipment having high voltage electrodes, in particular color television receivers, video and computer monitors, etc., applied to the insulation between stem pins to which a high voltage is supplied and to an electrical insulator composition for a cathode ray tube used for insulation between high voltage stem pins of a cathode ray tube and between other electrodes to which a high voltage is supplied.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, as shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C, a stem 20 is integrally attached to a neck of a cathode ray tube by fusing together the glass at is periphery and the glass around the end edge of the neck 1a. A stem base 30 is attached to the stem 20. The stem 20 is provided with a plurality of stem pins 21 at its periphery serving as electrodes in a predetermined pin circle shape and with a tip 22 projecting from its center portion. Note that the illustration of the stem pins 21 is omitted in FIG. 1C.
The stem base 30 is made of a polycarbonate or other plastic having an excellent insulating property and comprises, as shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 2, a circular base 31, a tip holder 32 provided at the center portion of the base 31 for holding the tip 22 of the stem 20, a sector-shaped stem pin holder 33 provided on the base 31 in a state also serving as a part of a side wall of the tip holder 32 for holding the high voltage stem pins 21, and a skirt portion 34 extending downward from the peripheral edge of the base 31. The base 31 is formed, corresponding to the stem pins 21, with pin through holes 35 through which the stem pins 21 are inserted at the time of attaching the stem base 30 to the stem 20.
As a method of the related art for electrical insulation between the stem pins 21 of the stem 20 to which the stem base 30 is attached, a method of interposing an electrical insulator 40 shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B between the stem 20 and the stem base 30 as shown in FIG. 1B is known. The electrical insulator 40 is formed as a thick disk shape and is formed at its center portion with a tip through hole 41 for inserting the tip 22 of the stem 20. Further, pin through holes 42 through which all of the stem pins 21 including the high voltage stem pins are inserted at the time of placing the electrical insulator 40 on the stem 20 are formed corresponding to the stem pins 21.
The electrical insulator 40 is prepared by, for example in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 8-111191, extruding into a tape shape a viscous electrical insulator composition comprising 100 parts by weight of a silicone compound having an electrical insulation property plus 2 parts by weight of a silane coupling agent and 1.5 parts by weight of an organic peroxide (hereinafter referred to as the xe2x80x9cinsulator compositionxe2x80x9d) and punching out a disk shape using a die set. Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 7-94100 discloses a method of obtaining an electrical insulator by molding a viscous insulator comprising a silicone compound similar to the above publication into a flat plate of a large area and punching out disk shapes by a molding tool.
In both publications, first, the electrical insulator 40 shown in FIG. 4A is adhered to the back of the base 31 of the stem base 30 shown in FIG. 4B as shown in FIG. 4C. Then, the stem pins 21 are inserted through the pin through holes 42 of the electrical insulator 40 and the pin through holes 35 of the stem base 30 and the tip 22 is inserted through the tip through hole 41 of the electrical insulator 40 and the tip holder 32 of the stem base 30. In that state, the stem base 30 is attached to the stem 20 of the cathode ray tube 1, then pressed and heated to bond it so as to achieve electrical insulation between the stem pins 21.
Summarizing the problems to be solved by the present invention, in the inventions disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) Nos. 8-111191 and 7-94100, however, since both punch out disk shapes from an insulator composition of a tape shape or a flat plate shape by a die set or a molding tool, the portion remaining after punching becomes wasted, that is, there is a disadvantage of a loss of the material loss.
Also, because the disk is produced by punching, it is difficult to mold the electrical insulator into a shape corresponding to a complicatedly shaped stem or stem base of a cathode ray tube. As a result, it ends up allowing air to become entrained between the stem base and the stem at the time of attaching the two. When air is entrained, disadvantages are caused such as a decline in the insulation property between the stem pins 21 due to the entrained air, an inability to draw out 100% of the electrical characteristics of the cathode ray tube, and insufficient bonding force between the stem and the stem base.
Note that since it is difficult to mold an electrical insulator into a complicated shape in the related art as explained above, an electrical insulator of substantially the same size as the base of the stem base has been prepared to provide insulation between all stem pins projecting from the stem. However, in actuality, it is possible to achieve sufficient electrical characteristics of the cathode ray tube by just insulation between the high voltage stem pins among the plurality of stem pins.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method of insulating a cathode ray tube enabling production of an electrical insulator without loss by efficiently using the electrical insulator composition.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of insulating a cathode ray tube enabling easy molding of an electrical insulator into a shape corresponding to a complicatedly shaped stem and stem base of the cathode ray tube by transfer molding and thereby enabling attachment of the stem base to the stem without entrainment of air.
A still other object of the present invention is to provide an electrical insulator composition for a cathode ray tube which is very effective in realizing a cathode ray tube improved in bonding of the stem and the stem base and improved in the insulation property between the high voltage stem pins by the above method of insulating a cathode ray tube.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of insulating a cathode ray tube for insulation between stem pins using an electrical insulator when attaching to a stem, which is provided at the cathode ray tube and has a tip and stem pins projecting therefrom, an insulating stem base, which comprises a base through which pin through holes are formed and has provided projecting from the front surface thereof a tip holder, in a state with the stem pins inserted through the pin through holes and the tip held in the tip holder, comprising the steps of molding an electrical insulator composition comprising an uncured self-adhesive silicone rubber into a predetermined sheet shape by using a transfer mold to obtain an electrical insulator, arranging the electrical insulator in a state extending from the positions of the pin through holes on the back of the base of the stem base to the tip holder and adhering it to the back of the base, folding back the portion of the electrical insulator extending to the tip holder to the inside surface of the tip holder, and attaching the stem base to the stem.
According to the above aspect of the present invention, since an electrical insulator composition is molded by using a transfer mold (hereinafter the molding will be referred to as xe2x80x9ctransfer moldingxe2x80x9d) to obtain an electrical insulator, there is no loss of the electrical insulator composition such as when obtaining an electrical insulator by using a die set or molding tool. Also, due to the transfer molding, it becomes possible to easily mold the electrical insulator into a shape corresponding to the complicatedly shaped stem and stem base of the cathode ray tube. Further, since the electrical insulator is arranged in a state extending from the positions of the pin through holes toward the tip holder when adhering it to the back of the base of the stem base, and since the portion of the electrical insulator extending to the tip holder is folded back to the inside surface of the tip holder prior to attaching the stem base to the stem, the entrainment of air can be suppressed at the time of attaching the stem base to the stem.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrical insulator composition for a cathode ray tube comprising an uncured self-adhesive silicone rubber, wherein the uncured self-adhesive silicone rubber comprises, with respect to 100 parts by weight of a silicone compound, 0.001 to 15 parts by weight of a bonding aid and 0.01 to 5 parts by weight of a vulcanization agent and has a Williams plasticity adjusted to 100 to 300.
According to the above aspect of the present invention, since 0.001 to 15 parts by weight of a bonding aid is added to the silicone compound, an electrical insulator composition achieving a bondability effectively and having an excellent releasability from the transfer mold when used for transfer molding can be obtained. Also, since 0.01 to 5 parts by weight of a vulcanization agent is added, an electrical insulator composition having an excellent rubber strength and enabling work using this electrical insulator composition to be performed with good work efficiency is obtained. Furthermore, since the composition is adjusted to a Williams plasticity of 100 to 300, the releasability from the transfer mold is excellent when using the electrical insulator composition for transfer molding and the composition can be easily molded into a complicated shape. Accordingly, an electrical insulator composition comprising a silicone compound to which an adhesive and vulcanization agent are added in the above ranges has an excellent releasability from a transfer mold, is easily molded into a complex shape, is easy to handle and is otherwise extremely suited to transfer molding, and has an excellent rubber strength.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrical insulator composition for a cathode ray tube comprising an uncured adhesive silicone rubber, wherein the uncured adhesive silicone rubber comprises, with respect to 100 parts by weight of a silicone compound, 0.001 to 15 parts by weight of a bonding aid, 0.1 to 10 parts by weight of a cross-linking agent, and 0.0001 to 1 part by weight of a platinum compound and has a Williams plasticity adjusted to 100 to 300.
According to the above aspect of the present invention, since 0.001 to 15 parts by weight of a bonding aid is added to the silicone compound, an electrical insulator composition achieving a bondability effectively and having an excellent releasability from the transfer mold when used for transfer molding can be obtained. Also, since 0.1 to 10 parts by weight of a cross-linking agent is added, an electrical insulator composition having a predetermined hardness and an excellent insulation property can be obtained and, since 0.0001 to 1 part by weight of a platinum compound is added, an electrical insulator composition which cures by a suitable curing rate can be obtained. Further, since the compound is adjusted to a Williams plasticity of 100 to 300, the releasability from the transfer mold is excellent when using the electrical insulator composition for transfer molding and the composition can be easily molded into a complicated shape. Accordingly, an electrical insulator composition comprising a silicone compound to which bonding aid, cross-linking agent, and platinum compound are added in the above ranges has an excellent releasability from a transfer mold, is easily molded into a complex shape, is extremely suited to transfer molding, cures at a suitable curing rate, and has an excellent insulation property.

Method of insulating stem pins of a cathode ray tube


An information recognition processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention includes a storage unit configured to store statistical information indicating results of identification information recognition processing in which an image of a first object to be read is read to acquire a plurality of first read images of different image brightness levels, and recognition of identification information included in the first read image of each brightness level is tried, an image reading unit configured to read an image of a second object to be read to acquire a plurality of second read images of different image brightness levels, and a recognition unit configured to preferentially execute a recognition process of identification information included in the second read image of a predetermined brightness level of the plurality of second read images of the different image brightness levels, based on the statistical information.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an information recognition processing apparatus and information recognition processing method, which recognize identification information such as a barcode printed on a postal item or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of postal processing, a destination recognition apparatus which recognizes a destination recorded on each postal item is known. In order to recognize a destination recorded on a postal item within a short time, it is important to accurately find out a destination region on the postal item within a short time.
Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 11-238097 discloses a technique in which a read postal item image, which is read in advance from a postal item, is compared with a registered postal item image, which is registered in advance, and when the read and registered postal item images meet a similar condition, a destination region is found out from the read postal item image with reference to destination region information registered in association with the registered postal item image.
The aforementioned destination recognition apparatus is configured by, for example, a plurality of computers, which execute distributed processes. However, a barcode recognition apparatus, which recognizes a barcode recorded on a postal item, is normally configured by a single computer. The barcode recognition apparatus recognizes a barcode by selecting an optimal recognition result from a plurality of barcode recognition results by a plurality of recognition processes, or by applying another recognition process when the barcode cannot be recognized by these plurality of recognition processes.
However, the barcode recognition apparatus often does not cope with a delay process. For this reason, a maximum processing period of barcode recognition tends to be strictly restricted. Hence, before execution of an effective recognition process, the maximum processing period has elapsed, and a timeout has occurred. In such situation, the recognition performance of the barcode recognition apparatus cannot be fully used, and may often lower.
For example, in a recognition process which reads an image from a postal item to acquire a plurality of images of different image brightness levels and uses these plurality of images, it is desirable to start the process from an image with a brightness level suited to the recognition process. However, the barcode recognition apparatus selects images in a predetermined order, and starts the recognition process. For this reason, before execution of the recognition process using the image of the brightness level suited to the recognition process, the maximum processing period has elapsed, and a timeout has occurred.
A specific printer often prints a barcode which is hardly recognized. Such barcode cannot be recognized by a normal recognition process, and another recognition process has to be applied. However, the barcode recognition apparatus is set to apply the other recognition process as needed after application of the normal recognition processes. For this reason, before execution of the other recognition process, the maximum processing period has elapsed, and a timeout has occurred.

Information recognition processing apparatus and information recognition processing method


Systems and methods convey anticoagulated blood suspension from a donor into a separation device for component separation. One or more components are retained for therapeutic use, while one or more are returned to the donor. The systems and methods monitor the rate at which anticoagulant carried in the returned components is being returned. The rate, expressed in terms of milligram (mg) of anticoagulant per kilogram (kg) of donor body weight per unit of time of blood processing, is compared to a nominal rate that is correlated with donor comfort.

Today blood collection organizations routinely separate whole blood into its various therapeutic components, such as red blood cells, platelets, and plasma.
One separation technique that is in widespread use today uses a multiple blood bag system. The bag system includes a primary blood bag and one or more transfer bags, which are integrally connected to the primary bag by tubing. The technique collects from a donor a single unit (about 450 ml) of whole blood in the primary blood bag. The donor is then free to leave.
The donor's whole blood later undergoes centrifugal separation within the primary bag into red blood cells and plasma rich in platelets. The plasma rich in platelets is expressed out of the primary bag into a transfer bag, leaving the red blood cells behind. The plasma rich in platelets then undergoes further centrifugal separation within the transfer bag into a concentration of platelets and plasma poor in platelets. The plasma poor in platelets is expressed from the transfer bag into another transfer bag, leaving the concentration of platelets behind.
Using multiple blood bag systems, all three major components of whole blood can be collected for therapeutic use. However, the yield for each component collected is limited to the volume of the components that are contained in a single unit of whole blood. Furthermore, because red blood cells are retained, United States governmental regulations prohibit collecting another unit of whole blood from the donor until six weeks later.
Certain therapies transfuse large volumes of a single blood component. For example, some patients undergoing chemo-therapy require the transfusion of large numbers of platelets on a routine basis. Multiple blood bag systems simply are not an efficient way to collect these large numbers of platelets from individual donors.
On line blood separation systems are today used to collect large numbers of platelets to meet this demand. On line systems perform the separation steps necessary to separate a concentration of platelets from whole blood in a sequential process with the donor present. On line systems establish a flow of whole blood from the donor, separate out the desired platelets from the flow, and return the remaining red blood cells and plasma to the donor, all in a sequential flow loop.
Large volumes of whole blood (for example, 2.0 liters) can be processed using an on line system. Due to the large processing volumes, large yields of concentrated platelets (for example, 4.times.10.sup.11 platelets suspended in 200 ml of fluid) can be collected. Moreover, since the donor's red blood cells are returned, the donor can donate whole blood for on line processing much more frequently than donors for processing in multiple blood bag systems.
Nevertheless, a need still exists for further improved systems and methods for collecting cellular-rich concentrates from blood components in a way that lends itself to use in high volume, on line blood collection environments, where higher yields of critically needed cellular blood components like platelets can be realized.

Systems and methods for on line collection of cellular blood components that assure donor comfort


An inscribed character is recognized with a device including a memory for storing signals representing the shapes of plural inscribed characters, a sensor for the shapes of inscribed characters, a comparator for the stored signals and signals from the sensor, and a display. The comparator compares a signal representing the sensed shape of the inscribed character and the stored signals representing the shapes of plural characters likely to be inscribed to derive signals representing plural selected candidate characters similar in shape to the inscribed character. In response to the signals representing plural selected candidate characters similar in shape to the inscribed character the plural candidate characters are displayed on a first region of the display abutting a second region where there is a representation of the inscribed character. One of the displayed plural candidate characters that is the intended character for the inscribed character is selected by an operator pressing a stylus against the intended character. A signal indicative of which of the displayed candidate character is the selected character is derived and causes the selected character to replace the inscribed character.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement in hand-written character entry apparatus.
2. Description of the related Art
Hitherto, various types of hand-written character entry apparatuses have been known which recognize hand-written characters input through a tablet input devices or the like and display standard character patterns corresponding to the result of the recognition, while encoding the characters for the purpose of storage or transfer to another device.
Difficulty is encountered in processing of Japanese words due to presence of a plurality of modes of characters such as "Kanji", "Hiragana", "Katakana", "alphabet" and "numerals". There are some characters which are very similar in shape to each other but are of different modes of character. For instance, a hiragana character "" and a katakana character "" can hardly be discriminated from each other. This applies also to the case of discrimination between a hiragana character "" and a katakana character "".
In order to correctly recognize such characters on the known hand-written character entry apparatus, a method has been proposed and used in which the hand-written characters are input after designation or appointment of a specific character mode. When such a method is used, a problem is encountered in that recognition of hand-written character is failed despite repetition of the entry operation, due to, for example, habit or tendency of character form peculiar to individual operator.
Another known method for obtaining correct recognition result is to extract and display, as candidate character, all the characters having configurations similar to that of the entered hand-written character, so that the operator can select the correct character from among those on display. To enable the selection of the correct character from among the displayed candidate characters by means of a tablet input device as is the case of hand-write entry of character, a menu area is provided on a specific area of the display for the purpose of displaying candidate characters, and the correct character is picked up as the operator appoints the position of the correct character by means of an appointing device, i.e., a tablet input device.
Thus, the known hand-written character entry apparatuses suffer from disadvantages in that the operator has to turn eyes from the position where the recognition result is displayed to the menu area each time the candidate characters are shown for selection, and in that the operator is obliged to move the appointing device such as tablet input device from the hand-write entry position to a position corresponding to the menu area. Consequently,entry of hand-written characters is quite laborious and troublesome.
In view of the above-described problems encountered with the known arts, an object of the present invention is to provide a hand-written character entry apparatus which can provide exact recognition result without requiring the operator to frequently turn eyes and frequent movement of the position of the appointing device such as a tablet input device.
To this end, according to the basic form of the present invention, there is provided a hand-written character entry apparatus of the type having an input device for inputting hand-written characters and a display device, wherein hand-written character pattern inputted by the input device is recognized and a plurality of candidate characters having configurations similar to that of the recognized character pattern are extracted and standard character patterns corresponding to the candidate characters are displayed for selection on the display device, the hand-written character entry apparatus comprising: means for providing, at a position in the display device corresponding to the position where the hand-written character is input by the input device, an input character display area for displaying a first candidate character exhibiting the highest degree of similarity among the candidate characters; means for providing, at a position in the display device adjacent to the input character display area, a candidate character display area for displaying the plurality of candidate characters including or excluding the first candidate character; means for detecting that a signal appointing any portion of the candidate character display area has been input through the input device; and means for replacing the first candidate character with the candidate character displayed at the portion of the candidate character display area appointed by the input device.
In a preferred form of the invention, a plurality of the input character display areas are provided and the candidate character display area is provided for each of the input character display area.
In this form of the invention, the arrangement may be such that a candidate character display area associated with one of the input character display area is displayed in a window which overlies another input character display area or areas.
Preferably, the input device and the display device are constructed as a unit with each other.
According to a different preferred form of the present invention, the hand-written character entry apparatus further includes, in addition to the features of the basis form: means for appointing, by the operation of the input device, at least two successive input character display areas from among a series of input character display areas displaying first candidate characters; means for conducting kana-kanji conversion of the batch of first candidate characters displayed in the at least two successive input character display areas appointed by the operation of the input device, so as to extract a plurality of candidate kanji characters; means for enabling a first candidate kanji character in one of the at least two successive input character display areas while enabling the plurality of candidate kanji characters in the candidate character display area including or excluding the first candidate kanji character; and means for replacing the first candidate kanji character with another candidate kanji character selected through the input device out of the candidate kanji characters displayed in the candidate character display area.
According to the basic form of the invention as described, a first candidate character obtained on the basis of the result of character recognition is displayed in an input character display area corresponding to the position where the hand-written character has been entered, and a plurality of candidate characters including or excluding the first candidate character are displayed in the candidate character display area adjacent to the above-mentioned input character display area. When a signal is input through the input device so as to appoint any portion of the candidate character display area, the first candidate character is automatically replaced with the candidate character which is displayed at the appointed portion of the candidate character display area.
When a plurality of input character display areas are provided and a candidate character display area is associated with each of the input character areas, a series of hand-written characters entered through the input device are displayed at a time to enable the user to grasp the context of a sentence and to effect change or replacement of the candidate character for each of the input character.
When the candidate character display area associated with one of the input character display area is displayed in a window overlying another input character display area, the overall display area and, hence, the area of the input device can be reduced advantageously.
When the input device and the display device are integrated in an superimposed manner, operation such as replacement of the candidate character is facilitated because the position where the character is entered and the position where the entered character id displayed coincides with each other.
According to the different preferred form of the invention stated above, it is possible to easily conduct entry of hand-written characters, as well as character;kanji conversion and replacement of candidate kanji characters.


Providing a broadcast system wherein storage of contents on the receiving side and use restriction on the stored contents, etc. can be performed per service provided by contents providers. In a storage-based digital broadcast system wherein contents transmitted from a sending side are stored on a receiving side then reproduced, the sending side transmits service structure information for describing relational structure between services provided by contents providers and reference information for associating the contents with the service structure information in advance, and the receiving side receives and stores service structure information and reference information and uses the received service structure information and reference information to manage storage of contents. It is possible to control contents per service based on service structure information and information that can be reorganized from reference information.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a storage-based digital broadcast system that receives and stores data contents and AV (Audio-Visual) contents on the receiving side sent from the sending side and reproduces the data contents and AV contents, etc. in viewing, and a transmitter and a receiver used in the system, and in particular to a storage-based digital broadcast system wherein storage of contents on the receiving side and use restriction on the stored contents, etc. can be controlled per service provided by contents providers, and a transmitter and a receiver used in the system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In digital broadcasts, storage-based broadcast systems have been developed where programs and contents transmitted from the sending side are received and stored on the receiving side and users reproduce to view the programs and contents when it is convenient for them.
In this broadcast system, broadcast programs and the associated program additional information (contents) are transmitted and SI (Service Information) such as EIT (Event Information Table) and LIT (Local event Information Table) to define program scenes and ERT (Event Relation Table) to define relationship between scenes are broadcast as guidance information on programs, etc. On the receiving side, it is possible to receive and store broadcast programs and contents and use SI to reproduce for example only news programs from among stored programs and contents or to view a particular scene of a program.
In the future digital broadcasts, a broadcast form is expected where providers that create and provide contents will be separated from broadcast operators and that broadcast operators will only multiplex and transmit contents provided by contents providers.
Information indicating a contents provider and information on the services to which the contents belong will be described for individual contents.
The Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H07-177109/(1995) indicates adding codes to a plurality of information pieces and determining the priority of display that is based on each code. A code used in this disclosure has an inherent meaning so that the meaning of the code cannot be changed later.
Terms used herein will be defined below.
AV (Audio-Visual) data: Stream format data such as image, voice and subtitle data.
Data contents: Non-stream format data associated with broadcast programs. For example, HTML, XML, BML, moving pictures (MPEG and MOV), still pictures (JPEG, GIF) are included. Individual contents can be identified using identifiers.
AV contents: AV data related to data contents among AV data. Individual AV contents can be identified using identifiers.
Contents: Data contents and AV contents, which partially reference each other.
Service: Information that groups contents.
In related art storage-based broadcast system s, it is not easily possible to automatically store in a receiver the contents that belong to a service provided by a contents provider, nor set or change the validity term of contents stored in the receiver for each service provided by the contents provider.
In case wishing to execute such processing in a related art system, it is necessary to describe information on the contents provider and the service to which the contents belong for individual program and all the contents. This results in transmission of huge data thus worsening the transmission efficiency.
In a related art system, it is impossible to describe the relationship between a plurality of contents providers to which the contents are related, or describe the relationship between a plurality of programs or contents that relate to each other.
In case a single provider is concerned, the contents are transmitted in various forms from various broadcast operators or in various service forms from a single broadcast operator, or separately with shifted timings due to limited transmission bandwidth. In this way, it is difficult to receive contents with the structure (relationship between contents) intended by the provider maintained.
Appending data that indicates the corresponding service to contents prevents change of service.
The invention solves such problems and aims at providing a broadcast system where storage of contents on the receiving side and use restriction on the stored contents, etc. can be implemented per service provided by contents providers and a transmitter and receiver used in the system.

Storage-type broadcast system, transmitter and receiver

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A system for synchronization of a food preparation appliance and a holding station comprising a food preparation appliance for processing a food during a food preparation cycle and a holding station for maintaining food for a first predetermined period of time. The appliance and holding station communicate with each other. The appliance sends a signal to at least one holding when the food is transferred after the completion of the food processing cycle. A timer operatively coupled to the holding station. The timer countdown the elapsed time after the food has been prepared. Upon food transfer from appliance to the holding station, the remaining countdown is transferred from the appliance timer to the holding station timer. Holding station has a first countdown of the first elapsed time period and a second countdown of a time period less than the first elapsed time period by a predetermined time period.

This invention is directed to the synchronization between a food preparation apparatus and a food holding station and, in particular, a method and apparatus for synchronizing the amount of food leaving the holding station during a given time period and being prepared at the preparation appliance.
As is known in the art in commercial kitchens, food is prepared at a food processing appliance such as an oven, a fryer or the like. However, in order to meet demand, more food than is immediately necessary is often prepared. Therefore, restaurants, cafeterias, quick serve restaurants and the like make use of holding stations, usually heated devices near the point-of-sale or service to maintain the food in a heated edible condition. However, food safety guidelines put maximum limits on the amount of time at which food may be held at the holding station. By way of example, fried fish may be held at a holding station for only forty minutes. After the forty-minute holding period, the food cannot be used for restaurant consumption.
Often, the holding station is remote from the food preparation area. Currently, servers must empirically monitor the holding station to determine when food will run out. Food may run out by either consumption or the elapsing of the holding time. The holding time requires continuous monitoring by food servers. As servers monitor the holding station, they will indicate to the food preparers that more food may be required. However, as a result of servers multitasking with functions other than monitoring the holding area, the holding area runs out of food product before the holding time elapses, or the holding time elapses before an order is made to the food preparation area for more food. As a result, the holding area may go empty even when there is demand for food.
Accordingly, a method and apparatus for overcoming this shortcoming is desired.

Method and apparatus for food preparation and holding station synchronization


An internal combustion engine having a compression ignition initiation device is provided. The compression ignition initiation device includes a body defining a chamber and an outlet from the chamber. The device further includes means, within the chamber, for generating a combustion initiating shock front from the outlet. A method is provided, including compressing a mixture of fuel and air in an internal combustion engine cylinder to a point less than a compression ignition threshold, and initiating ignition of the mixture by subjecting it to a shock front.

Internal combustion engine technology continues to advance. Improvements in reliability, emissions quality and fuel efficiency are revealed on an almost daily basis. Over the last several decades, particular attention has been paid to technologies capable of reducing the levels of certain emissions in exhaust from internal combustion engines. One class of emissions compounds of special interest is known in the art as "NOx", and includes various nitrogen-oxygen compounds. Various schemes have been proposed over the years for operating internal combustion engines such that the relative quantities of NOx in the engine exhaust are reduced. One approach showing much promise involves running the engine relatively lean, such that the amount of fuel in the mixture combusted in the cylinder is less than a stoichiometric amount of fuel.
One particular type of engine technology capable of lean burning operation that has received much attention in recent years is known in the art by various names such as homogenous charge, or premixed charge compression ignition, or "HCCI". In HCCI operation, fuel is typically delivered to an engine cylinder relatively early in an engine cycle, such that there is relatively more time available for mixing of the fuel and air prior to ignition and combustion. Once within the cylinder, the fuel and air mixture is compressed until autoignition commences. The relatively greater amount of time available for the fuel and air to mix tends to result in a more rapid heat release than in conventional engines. In conventional compression ignition engines, the rate of heat release is controlled in part by the rate of fuel injection, whereas in spark ignited engines, heat release is controlled in part by a finite turbulent flame propagation traversing the combustion space. HCCI operation has neither of these natural controls.
While homogeneous charge operation has shown great potential for NOx reduction, there is still room for improvement. In the context of compression ignition engines in particular, there is a limit as to how lean the fuel and air mixture may be, while still reliably autoigniting. Cylinder pressures sufficient to induce autoignition of lean charges can be impracticable with conventional hardware. Moreover, many HCCI engines are only able to operate across a portion of their theoretical load range, due at least in part to the relatively high pressure spikes which can result from the rapid, fairly uniform ignition of the fuel and air mixture throughout the cylinder. In particular, the relatively larger amounts of combusting fuel necessary to accommodate larger loads can simply create more pressure than the engine components can withstand.
A further challenge to HCCI engine designers relates to the difficulty in autoigniting a fuel and air mixture at a desired time. HCCI engines lack a natural control mechanism for ignition timing, such as the spark timing and fuel injection timing of spark ignited and conventional compression ignition engines, respectively. Moreover, ignition timing in HCCI tends to be sensitive to speed and load changes, combustion characteristics of previous engine cycles, and the specific fuel formulation and decomposition properties. As much of the potential of HCCI strategies for improved emissions quality relies upon igniting a lean mixture at a prescribed time such as at or near top dead center, the technology has yet to fulfill certain of its promises.
One attempt at improving lean burning engine operation is known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,595,181 to Najt et al. Najt utilizes an engine operating scheme wherein a pulse jet of reacting fuel mixture from a pre-chamber mixes with an ultra dilute premixed fuel-air charge in a main chamber. After the charge has partially combusted, rapidly expanding combustion gases ignite the remaining ultra dilute mixture by compression ignition. In other words, in Najt et al. there appears to be an initial flame from the pulse jet which thereafter ignites sufficient fuel to raise the in-cylinder pressure to a level sufficient for compression ignition. While Najt et al. provides one means that may have applications in certain systems, the design has various drawbacks. For instance, only a portion of the charge can achieve the advantages typical of HCCI operation. Furthermore, to the extent that any true HCCI operation is possible with Najt et al., at higher speeds and loads the engine must switch over to a conventional combustion regime.
The present disclosure is directed to overcoming one of more of the problems or shortcomings set forth above.

Compression ignition initiation device and internal combustion engine using same


The last-in terminals of temporary binding circuits are located with relation to their corresponding joint connectors. The last-in terminals are removably held in a temporary holding jig which is inserted into the joint connectors and remain therein when the holding jig is withdrawn. Branch circuits may also be established by means of conductive clips having suitably located contacts. By this Invention, the last-in terminals of the temporary binding circuits can be practically and efficiently processed. Moreover, the use of a female housing to be connected to the joint connector can be eliminated.

In general, a wire harness is an electric wiring system containing a number of cables, often comprising as many as 400-500 circuits. When producing such large scale wire harnesses, a plurality of unit cable binding assemblies (called temporary binding circuits) is first manufactured. These are then electrically connected by various means by what is called the final binding process.
The temporary binding circuit contains last-in terminals which are fastened to the ends of a plurality of cables comprising the wire harness and are mounted onto a connector at the final binding of the temporary binding circuits or when connecting the wire harness to a desired device (the last-in process). In other words, this last-in terminal is left exposed on the end of the cable until the last-in process is carried out.
The existence of the last-in terminal creates various problems in manufacturing wire harnesses; e.g. its susceptibility to deformation during transport. Obviously, if the terminal is deformed, mounting on a connector becomes difficult, continuity of the cable may be compromised, etc. Similarly, there is a tendency of cable components fastened to the last-in terminal to become entangled with other cable components, thus making handling difficult.
Also, the last-in process is labor intensive; i.e. there are many cases wherein a plurality of last-in terminals is connected to a common connector. In such cases, cables connected to the last-in terminal which had been previously inserted prevented the last-in terminals of succeeding temporary binding circuits from being inserted. In energizing each cable of the temporary binding circuits, the terminals on the cables are inserted into a female housing in advance, and then connected to the joint connector.
Since the operation is carried out manually, a problem arises in making certain that each last-in terminal is inserted into its proper connector. Particularly in view of the large number of binding circuits which are often present, this can be a serious problem and a cause of rejection of completed harnesses. A further problem resides in testing the continuity of the individual circuits. Such tests require that the terminal be mounted on a connector in a specified position. However, before the last-in process is completed, the terminal has not yet been mounted. Therefore, carrying out the continuity test to determine the integrity of the circuit is extremely difficult.


An article comprises a substrate and a functional polymeric phase change material bound to the substrate. In some aspects the functional polymeric phase change material is chemically bound to the substrate and can be accomplished by at least one of covalent bonding or electrovalent bonding. The functional polymeric phase change material can comprise a reactive function selected from the group consisting of an acid anhydride group, an alkenyl group, an alkynyl group, an alkyl group, an aldehyde group, an amide group, an amino group and their salts, a N-substituted amino group, an aziridine, an aryl group, a carbonyl group, a carboxy group and their salts, an epoxy group, an ester group, an ether group, a glycidyl group, a halo group, a hydride group, a hydroxy group, an isocyanate group, a thiol group, a disulfide group, a silyl or silane group, an urea group, and an urethane group, and wherein the substrate comprises at least one of cellulose, wool, fur, leather, polyester and nylon. Methods of producing the articles are also disclosed.

The modification of textiles to provide temperature regulating properties through the generalized use of phase change materials (PCMs) is known. The use of microencapsulated PCM (mPCM), their methods of manufacture and applications thereof have also been widely disclosed. For example, the following references all use microcapsules in their application:                1. U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,801—Fabric with Reversible Enhanced Thermal Properties        2. WO0212607—Thermal Control Nonwoven        3. U.S. Pat. No. 6,517,648—Process for Preparing a Non-Woven Fibrous Web        4. JP05-156570—Fibrous Structure having Heat Storage Ability and its Production        5. US20040029472—Method and compound fabric with latent heat effect        6. US20040026659—Composition for Fabricating Phase-Change Material Microcapsules and a Method for Fabricating the Microcapsules        7. US20040044128—Method and Microcapsule Compound Waterborne Polyurethane        8. US2004011989—Fabric Coating Composition with Latent Heat Effect and Method for Fabricating the Same        9. US20020009473—Microcapsule, Method for its Production, Use of same, and Coating Liquid with Such        10. JP11350240—Production of Fiber having Adhered Microcapsule on Surface        11. JP2003-268679—Yarn having Heat Storage Property and Woven Fabric using the same.
Microcapsules, however, are expensive, can rupture, need additional resinous binders for adhesion, and can cause poor fabric flexibility and properties.
Numerous other disclosures outline the development of temperature regulating textiles by first manufacturing a fiber that contains a PCM or mPCM. For example, the following all disclose compositions, methods of manufacture, processes, and fabrics created from synthetically manufactured fibers. While this might be acceptable in some circumstances, the applications disclosed below omit all of the natural cellulosic and proteinaceous fibers and fabrics such as cotton, flax, leather, wool, silk, and fur. They also do not allow for the post treatment of synthetic fibers or fabrics.                12. US20030035951–Multi-Component Fibers having Enhanced Reversible Thermal Properties and Methods of Manufacturing Thereof.        13. U.S. Pat. No. 4756958—Fiber with Reversible Enhance Thermal Storage Properties and Fabrics made there from.        14. JP5331754—Heat Absorbing and Releasing Nonwoven Fabric of Conjugate Fiber        15. JP6041818—Endothermic and Exothermic Conjugate Fiber        16. JP5239716—Thermally Insulating Conjugate Fiber        17. JP8311716—Endothermic and Exothermic Conjugate Fiber        18. JP5005215—Endothermic and Exothermic Conjugate Fiber        19. JP2003027337—Conjugate Fiber Having Heat-Storing and Heat-Retaining Property        20. JP07-053917—Heat-Accumulating and Heat-Insulating Fiber        21. JP2003-293223—Endothermic Conjugate Fiber        22. JP02289916—Thermal Storage Fiber        23. JP03326189—Fiber with Heat Storage Ability        24. JP04-219349—Heat Storage Composition        25. JP06-234840—Heat Storage Material        26. JP Appl. #2001-126109—Heat Storage Fiber, Method of Producing the same, and Heat Storage Cloth Material        27. JP03352078—Heat Storage Material        28. JP04-048005—Fabric Product with Heat Storing Ability        29. WO0125511—Thermal Energy Storage Materials        30. JP02317329—Heat Storage Fiber-Method for Producing the same and Heat Storage Cloth Material        31. WO2004007631—Heat-Storage Material, Composition Therefore, and uses of these        32. JP2003-268358—Heat-Storage Material use around Body        33. JP2004-011032—Temperature-Controllable Fiber and Fabric        34. JP2004-003087—Heat Storable Composite Fiber and Cloth Material having Heat-Storing Properties        35. JP06200417—Conjugate Fiber Containing Heat-Accumulation Material and its Production        36. CN1317602—Automatic Temp-Regulating Fibre and its Products        37. U.S. Pat. No. 5,885,475—Phase Change Materials Incorporated throughout the Structure of Polymer Fibers
In addition, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,851,291, 4,871,615, 4,908,238, and 5,897,952 disclose the addition of polyethylene glycol (PEG), polyhydric alcohol crystals, or hydrated salt PCM to hollow and non-hollow fibers. The fibers can be natural or synthetic, cellulosic, protein based, or synthetic hydrocarbon based. The non-hollow fibers have PEG materials deposited or reacted on the surface to act like PCM. These are problematic in that they are very hydrophilic causing excessive moisture absorption problems, and wash durability problems. There is no known disclosure of the use of acrylic, methacrylic polymers or other hydrophobic polymeric PCMs for these applications.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,004,662 mentions the use of acrylate and methacrylate polymers with C16 to C18 alkyl side chains as PCMs but not as unencapsulated or functionalized or reacted to the surface of fibrous textiles.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,259,198 and 4,181,643 disclose the use of crystalline crosslinked synthetic resin selected from the group of epoxide resins, polyurethane resins, polyester resins and mixtures thereof which contain, as crystallite forming blocks, segments of long-chain dicarboxylic acids or diols as PCMs, but not in conjunction with fibers or textiles.
Specific fiber and textile treatments or finishes in which specific compounds are reacted onto the substrate to provide some thermal change (usually based on moisture) have been disclosed. These systems are not based on long side chain alkyl, or long chain glycol acrylates or methacrylates that undergo a thermal phase change to provide improved latent heat effects. Examples include:                38. JP2003-020568—Endothermic Treating Agent for Fiber Material        39. JP2002-348780—Hygroscopic and Exothermic Cellulose-Based Fiber        40. JP2001-172866—Hygroscopic and Exothermic Cellulose-Based Fiber Product having Excellent Heat Retaining Property        41. JP 11-247069—Warm Retainable Exothermic Cloth
Various disclosures describe the use of acrylic or methacrylic copolymers containing long chain alkyl moieties for textile finishes but only for properties such as grease repellency, soil resistance, permanent press properties, and quickness of drying. They do not disclose or mention the use of high purity polymers as PCMs, latent heat storage treatments or textile finishes which can impart temperature regulation and improved comfort. More specifically, they do not disclose advantageous polymer architecture such as mol. wt., mol. wt. distribution or specific copolymer architecture. Example include:                42. U.S. Pat. No. 6,679,924—Dye fixatives        43. U.S. Pat. No. 6,617,268—Method for protecting cotton from enzymatic attack by cellulase enzymes        44. U.S. Pat. No. 6,617,267—Modified textile and other materials and methods for their preparation        45. U.S. Pat. No. 6,607,994—Nanoparticle-based permanent treatments for textiles        46. U.S. Pat. No. 6,607,564—Modified textiles and other materials and methods for their preparation        47. U.S. Pat. No. 6,599,327—Modified textiles and other materials and methods for their preparation        48. U.S. Pat. No. 6,544,594—Water-repellent and soil-resistant finish for textiles        49. U.S. Pat. No. 6,517,933—Hybrid polymer materials        50. U.S. Pat. No. 6,497,733—Dye fixatives        51. U.S. Pat. No. 6,497,732—Fiber-reactive polymeric dyes        52. U.S. Pat. No. 6,485,530—Modified textile and other materials and methods for their preparation        53. U.S. Pat. No. 6,472,476—Oil-and water-repellent finishes for textiles        54. U.S. Pat. No. 6,387,492—Hollow polymeric fibers        55. U.S. Pat. No. 6,3803,36—Copolymers and oil-and water-repellent compositions containing them        56. U.S. Pat. No. 6,379,753—Modified textile and other materials and methods for their preparation        57. US20040058006—High affinity nanoparticles        58. US20040055093—Composite fibrous substrates having protein sheaths        59. US20040048541—Composite fibrous substrates having carbohydrate sheaths        60. US20030145397—Dye fixatives        61. US20030104134—Water-repellent and soil-resistant finish for textiles        62. US20030101522—Water-repellent and soil-resistant finish for textiles        63. US20030101518—Hydrophilic finish for fibrous substrates        64. US20030079302—Fiber-reactive polymeric dyes        65. US20030051295—Modified textiles and other materials and methods for their preparation        66. US20030013369—Nanoparticle-based permanent treatments for textiles        67. US20030008078—Oil-and water-repellent finishes for textiles        68. US20020190408—Morphology trapping and materials suitable for use therewith        69. US20020189024—Modified textiles and other materials and methods for their preparation        70. US20020160675—Durable finishes for textiles        71. US20020155771—Modified textile and other materials and methods for their preparation        72. US20020152560—Modified textiles and other materials and methods for their preparation        73. US20020122890—Water-repellent and soil-resistant finish for textiles        74. US20020120988—Abrasion-and wrinkle-resistant finish for textiles
Although present compositions and methods are functional, they do not take advantage of the unique nature and functional aspects that accompanies the use of polymeric materials for the phase change material.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Articles containing functional polymeric phase change materials and methods of manufacturing the same


Various aspects of the present disclosure are directed to monitoring battery cells. In accordance with various embodiments, a battery pack having a plurality of battery cells connected in series is monitored. Current is separately injected into individual ones of the plurality of battery cells, such as by operating a balancing circuit coupled across an individual cell, to inject current (e.g., positive or negative) into the cell. For each of the battery cells, an output is provided to indicate cell voltage of the battery cell responsive to the current injected therein. An output indicative of current through each of the battery cells is provided as well. From the respective outputs as corresponding to each individual cell, amplitude and phase characteristics of the current and voltage outputs for each of the cells are extracted to provide an indication of an impedance characteristic of the cell(s).

In many rechargeable battery applications, such as used in battery systems for hybrid/electric vehicles, large numbers of series-connected batteries are used to generate a high voltage that can be used to drive components such as an automotive motor. In such systems, it is important to understand the SoH (State of Health) and the SoC (State of Charge) of the series-connected batteries (e.g., a battery pack).

Battery monitoring circuit, apparatus and method


A system optimally assigns pseudo-noise (PN) offsets in a cellular network that includes several sectors. The system sets parameters for the cellular network, determines potential interference between each of the sectors and mobile units in the cellular network based on the set parameters, and identifies constraints for each of the sectors based on the determined potential interference. The system then approximates a highest co-offset protection value for successful PN offset assignments based on the determined potential interference and the identified constraints, and selectively adjusts a sector co-offset protection value using the approximated highest co-offset protection value as a starting point to obtain optimum PN offset assignments.

The present invention relates generally to cellular or mobile communications systems and more particularly to a method for optimally assigning pseudo-noise (PN) offsets to base stations in a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) cellular network based on the IS-95A standard to maximize co-offset and adjacent offset protection and to minimize interference in the network.
A CDMA cellular network is a digital spread spectrum communications system. The CDMA network includes several base stations each providing digital service to mobile units located in different geographical regions. Communication between a mobile unit and a base station in an IS-95A-based CDMA network occurs on reverse and forward CDMA channels. The reverse CDMA channel is a mobile unit-to-base station direction of communication that carries traffic and signaling information. The forward CDMA channel is a base station-to-mobile unit direction of communication that carries pilot, sync, and paging signals in addition to traffic signals.
The reverse CDMA channel includes access channels and reverse traffic channels. The access channels are used by the mobile unit to initiate communication with a base station, and to respond to paging channel requests.
The forward CDMA channel consists of a pilot channel, a sync channel, up to seven paging channels, and up to sixty-three forward traffic channels. Each of these channels is orthogonally spread by an appropriate Walsh function and then spread by the quadrature pair of PN sequences (I and Q) at a fixed rate of 1.2288 million chips per second.
The base station of a sector continuously transmits on the pilot channel of each active forward CDMA channel. A mobile unit operating within the coverage area of the base station uses this continuous transmission for synchronization. The network assigns each base station of the cell site a specific time (or phase) offset of the pilot PN sequence to identify a forward CDMA channel. A given base station uses the same pilot PN sequence offset, or simply PN offset, on all CDMA frequency assignments. For example, all traffic, sync, and paging channels transmitted from a single base station share the same PN offset. An offset index (0 through 511 inclusive) identifies distinct pilot channels. This offset index specifies the offset value from the zero offset pilot PN sequence. Each offset index increment represents the interval between pilot channels in increments of 64 chips (i.e., 52.08 ms).
An active mobile unit maintains four sets of pilot channels when communicating with a base station of a CDMA sector: the Active Set, the Candidate Set, the Neighbor Set, and the Remaining Set. The Active Set consists of all the pilot channels that the mobile unit is currently using for demodulation. The Candidate Set contains all of the pilot channels that are not currently in the Active Set but have sufficient signal strength to be considered for soft or softer handoff. The Neighbor Set contains pilot channels that are not currently in the Active or Candidate Set, but may become eligible for handoff (e.g., pilot channels of nearby sites). The Remaining Set is the set of all possible assigned pilot channels in the CDMA network on the same carrier frequency, excluding the pilot channels defined in the other three sets.
Since all PN offsets in a network are time shifted versions of each other, it follows that with appropriate time delay, an incorrect pilot channel from any sector may be mistaken for a pilot channel in the Active Set. However, a large time delay between a mobile unit and a base station implies a large path loss and hence a weak pilot channel signal at the mobile unit Thus, if the PN offsets of different sectors have a large separation between them, a pilot channel signal would have a very high path loss and hence a very trivial probability of appearing within an active search window of another pilot channel. This makes an appropriate assignment of PN offsets crucial to ensure that a wrong pilot channel would be sufficiently weak so as not to cause any problems.
Reusing PN offsets is possible if: (1) a mobile unit being served by a base station is not interfered with by the pilot channel of another CDMA base station using the same PN offset, or (2) a base station in the network can uniquely identify all the pilot channel signals being reported by a mobile unit that it is serving.
The mobile unit uses a network-selected PILOT_INC parameter for the base station to determine which pilot channels to scan from among the Remaining Set, which is the set of all possible pilot channels in the system that are integer multiples of the PILOT_INC parameter on the current CDMA frequency assignment, excluding pilot channels in the other sets. A Remaining Set pilot channel is assigned a lower priority in the scanning order, than an Active, Candidate or a Neighbor Set pilot channel.
The setting of the PILOT_INC parameter by the network is crucial to PN offset index planning. It has an impact on the mobile unit""s Remaining Set pilot channel scanning rate, the amount of co-offset and adjacent offset protection available in the network, and the total number of offsets available. The PILOT_INC parameter is an integer having a valid range from 1 to 15. Low values of PILOT_INC provide good co-offset protection, more offsets from which to choose, and less reuse of offsets, and increase the time to scan the pilot channels in the Remaining Set of the mobile unit High values of PILOT_INC, on the other hand, provide good adjacent-offset protection, fewer offsets from which to choose, and more reuse of offsets, and decrease the time to scan the pilot channels in the Remaining Set of the mobile unit
Conventional PN offset planning methods are based on idealized hexagonal grid structures, and accomplished by fitting a highly irregular pattern of cellular base station locations to a tessellated hexagonal grid pattern. PN offsets are assigned by reusing the same PN offset a specified predetermined number of base stations away.
In order to plan for growth, these methods usually group PN offsets into a few groups, typically three for tri-sectored sites in the network. One sector of a base station is assigned a PN offset from one of the three groups. The other two sectors of the base station are assigned PN offsets from the other two groups, respectively. A few PN offsets in each group are reserved for growth of the network when new base stations are added. The remaining PN offsets in each group are used to make assignments. Such assignments by groups are not optimal in terms of reducing inter-sector interference. Moreover, the unused PN offsets constitute a wasted resource until the network grows.
Such methods make initial assignment choices very easy because the assignments can be made without computer assistance or optimized planning. After an initial assignment, irregularities are accounted for by manual modification of the assignment by an experienced engineer with local knowledge of the environment Unfortunately, PN offset planning under these idealized assumptions creates many inefficiencies due to the initial assignment""s inaccurate reflection of reality.
The irregularities that produce these inefficiencies are due to several factors. First, the need for base stations in a particular area is highly non-uniform because people do not tend to distribute themselves uniformly over large areas. They tend, for example, to cluster in neighborhoods, at work, and in cities. Second, choices for new base station locations are very limited due to factors such as zoning. Base station locations cannot be chosen in ideal locations even if the user traffic was uniformly distributed over a geographic area Lastly, areas that are covered by base stations are highly dependent upon the propagation environment lrregularities such as terrain, morphology, and reflecting structures produce highly irregular areas of coverage.
Automatic PN offset planning has heretofore found only limited application due to the need to account for several sets of constraints in a timely manner. Optimization systems must be able to handle large cellular networks with constraints on both co-offset and adjacent offset assignments. For example, the same PN offset cannot be used by neighbors of a base station or neighbors of neighbors of a base station. Adjacent offset protection must be provided to ensure that an adjacent offset does not propagate into a coverage area with significant power to interfere with the pilot channel. Both allowable PN offset separation and interference limits are constraints needed to address this problem adequately.
Many conventional systems handle optimization problems under minimum allowable PN offset separation constraints only. These systems are overly constraining since a range of PN offset prohibitions is needed between base station sectors rather than simply prohibiting use of every offset below a certain threshold interference. These systems also ignore factors such as interference from more than two assignments of the same offset.
By constraining the problem with minimum allowed offset separation between sectors, these systems tend to over constrain the PN offset assignment problem. For PN offset planning, two sectors interfere if the pilot channels arriving at the mobile unit are in phase with each other to within the search window of the mobile unit The systems look at all possible mobile unit locations to find a range of invalid PN offset separations that they use to constrain the problem. The constraint on PN offset separation, however, results in a range of allowable PN offsets rather than a minimum allowed PN offset separation.
Other systems handle interference as well as separation constraints. These systems are designed, however, for the different problem of making analog frequency assignments. Such problems tend to be large and arise from the need to plan for many assignments per analog frequency. These systems must use less complex methods than those that can be used for PN offset planning.
None of the conventional systems provide optimum PN offset assignment because none of these systems considers all possible interference mechanisms in the network, constraints on co-offset and adjacent offset protection, CDMA border and beacon sites, and preassigned PN offsets. Therefore, a need exists to provide optimum PN offset assignments in CDMA cellular networks.
Systems and methods consistent with the principles of the present invention address this need for optimum PN offset assignment by minimizing interference between CDMA pilot channels and enabling scalability for future growth without the need for a revised network-wide retune.
In accordance with the purpose of the invention as embodied and broadly described herein, the system consistent with the principles of the present invention optimally assigns PN offsets in a cellular network that includes several sectors. The system sets parameters for the cellular network, determines potential interference between each of the sectors and mobile units in the cellular network based on the set parameters, and identifies constraints for each of the sectors based on the determined potential interference. The system then approximates a highest co-offset protection value for successful PN offset assignments based on the determined potential interference and the identified constraints, and selectively adjusts a sector co-offset protection value using the approximated highest co-offset protection value as a starting point to obtain optimum PN offset assignments.

System and method for PN offset index planning in a digital CDMA cellular network


A sunshade comprising a plurality of U-shaped bails, pivotally joined together at each end by a plastic joint. A fabric web ensheathes the bails and creates a shade-providing canopy when the bails are spread apart from each other in fan-like fashion. A framing bail frames a fabric sleeve and provides means for supporting the sunshade in an upright position. The sleeve non-mechanically engages the sunshade to the back portion of a chair. A cover, that extends beyond the sleeve, is used when the portable sunshade is in a folded disposition. The ends of the cover are fastened together to keep the sunshade clamped shut. A strap is provided for ease of carrying the portable sunshade.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a portable sunshade, and more particularly to a foldable and retractable sunshade that can be used either freestanding or slip-mounted onto the back of a lounge chair.
2. Description of the Background Art
Most sunshades are designed to be permanently mounted or removably fastened to a chaise lounge, folding chair or infant car seat. While the permanently mounted sunshades are not portable at all, the portability of the removable sunshades is subject to the tedious task of mechanically fastening and unfastening the shade from the lounge by use of clamps or screws. Thus, with most portable sunshades some assembly is required.
Most sunshades are designed for use in conjunction with a chair or seat, and cannot be used freestanding. Because such shades must be mechanically attached to the side or seat member of a chair using clamps, screws, or clips, these shades have no base of their own upon which to balance or stand when not attached to an item of furniture. Shade users desiring to incline in a generally horizontal position while still using the shade, must do so on a reclinable lounge chair. They cannot use such shades in conjunction with, say a towel laid upon the sand at a beach, because there is no structural support upon which to attach the shade for stability and balance.
What is needed is a portable sunshade that simply engages a lounge or chair, requiring no mechanical attachment thereto, and is capable of standing on its own so as to be used in conjunction with a towel or blanket placed upon the ground.

Portable sunshade using sleeve means for removable attachment to the back of a lounge chair


A method of enhancing the quality of fruits and vegetables grown on trees and/or on plants by covering a substantial portion of the soil surrounding the plant or tree with a spunbonded nonwoven film-fibril sheet material that has been produced by a flash-spinning process. Preferably, the sheet comprises a plexifilamentary film-fibril sheet fabricated from a polyolefin such as polyethylene or polypropylene. When the spunbonded nonwoven film-fibril sheet material is used in this manner, it unexpectedly enhances fruit quality by providing excellent water resistance, moisture vapor permeability and air permeability.

In the past, various clear plastic sheets (i.e., films) have been used to cover agricultural greenhouses and tunnels in an effort to enhance plant growth. Recently, in the cultivation of citrus fruits in particular, a technique called mulch cultivation has been adopted. Mulch cultivation is used to enhance the quality of citrus fruit by controlling the state of the cultivated soil (e.g., ground surface is covered to inhibit the growth of weeds). Mulch cultivation also minimizes the effect of the weather (e.g., heavy rains) at the time of cultivation and it protects the ground through which the roots of the trees pass. Typically, mulch cultivation is accomplished by covering the ground surrounding the citrus trees with a colorless transparent sheet or a silver or black opaque sheet made of polyethylene or a vinyl chloride-based plastic. In particular, silver sheets consisting of a polyethylene or vinyl chloride-based plastic on which aluminum foil has been vapor deposited are useful in the mulch cultivation of peaches.
A problem with such prior art plastic sheets is that they do not allow water to pass therethrough and they have relatively no air-permeability and thus do not allow carbon dioxide or moisture vapor to evaporate from the soil underneath the plastic sheet. In cases such as this, where evaporation of moisture vapor and carbon dioxide is obstructed, the tree is weakened and the quality of the fruit is diminished. Therefore, in order to work effectively, these plastic sheets must be laid down on the ground during rainy weather so as to cover the ground through which the tree roots pass, and either removed during fair weather or folded back so as to expose the ground and allow carbon dioxide and moisture vapor to escape. Repeating this type of work up until the time of harvest is a problem because predicting the weather is difficult and such labor is time consuming and inefficient.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention is to provide a method of enhancing the quality of produce (e.g., fruits, vegetables and flowers) by using a particular kind of agricultural sheet material in place of the prior art materials currently in use. It is a further object of the invention to eliminate the above-described problems inherent in the prior art. In particular, the inventive method employs a spunbonded nonwoven film-fibril sheet material produced by a flash-spinning process which has excellent resistance to liquid water and yet excels in moisture permeability and air permeability. The spunbonded nonwoven film-fibril sheet material is able to improve the efficiency of the labor associated with mulch cultivation by not requiring sheet relocation during different weather conditions. Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the drawings and the detailed description of the invention which hereinafter follows.

Method of enhancing the quality of produce using an agricultural sheet material