A hydrogen gas storage container has a canister with at least one outlet opening for charging and discharging gas, the canister enclosing a metal hydride capable of absorbing and desorbing hydrogen gas and a gauge for measuring the capacity of hydrogen remaining within the hydride material. To further permit distribution of the hydrogen throughout the hydride material, a porous matrix may be disposed within said metal hydride material for providing efficient distribution of hydrogen gas to said metal hydride material. The fuel gauge may further comprise subassemblies for determining the hydrogen capacity, each of which depends for operation on a different property of the metal hydride material. For example, a pressure gauge sensitive to the plateau pressure indicative of the hydrogen capacity, a piezoelectric sensor that in combination with a rigid chamber in which hydride material is closely packed provides a pressure differential indicative of hydrogen capacity, or a resistivity sensor that in combination with a chamber in which hydride material is packed provides a resistance differential indicative of hydrogen capacity.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to hydrogen storage devices and more particularly relates to such devices utilizing metal hydrides for storage of high volume of hydrogen at lower pressures.
2. Background Art
With the increasing use of hydrogen gas in industrial and commercial applications, conventional methods of storing hydrogen as a gas under pressure are seen to present undesirable risks. Hydrogen storage as a gas is typically done in large, bulky steel cylinders at very high pressures (e.g., 2,000 psi).
Hydrogen may be stored in liquid form, typically in insulated containers at very low temperatures. Energy must be used to keep the temperature low to prevent the liquid hydrogen from evaporating or boiling off. Hence, cryogenic hydrogen production and storage is highly inefficient because of the extremely cold temperatures at which the storage vessels must be maintained.
More recently, attention has been directed to the storage of hydrogen in metallic compounds, known as hydrides. Metal hydrides can store large amounts of hydrogen at low pressures and in relatively small volumes. Low pressure storage of hydrogen in containers containing hydrides is relatively safe and allows the construction of hydrogen containers having forms significantly different than those storing gaseous hydrogen. Examples of low pressure hydride storage containers can be found in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,250,368, 5,532,074 and 5,623,987, which are incorporated by reference herein.
Additionally, hydrogen storage containers are sold by the assignee of the invention under the trade name Ergenics ST-Series hydrogen storage units utilizing hydrides manufactured by the assignee hereof, for example, HY-STOR® 208 hydride alloys. Additional information about these storage units and hydride alloys is available on the website of the assignee of this invention, found at www.ergenics.com. The use of solid hydridable materials to store hydrogen is also disclosed in numerous patents, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,508,514, 3,516,263, 4,036,944, 5,518,528, 5,697,221 and 5,906,792.
Such metal hydride storage units have many uses and applications in a variety of industrial and laboratory applications and environments. The diversity of applications requires a storage system that can provide the user with a reliable source of hydrogen at a variety of capacities. Small storage units are commonly used as hydrogen sources for laboratory experimentation, as in the examples described above. Much larger units are needed to provide the quantity of hydrogen necessary for vehicular transportation systems or in utility applications. Hydrogen storage systems are needed that will allow for quick and easy use of the hydrogen gas, and the storage system, regardless of the size and capacity of the container, must be robust enough to perform properly and reliably under a wide range of environmental conditions.
Another major consideration is the ability of a user of a hydrogen storage device to measure or gauge the amount of hydrogen gas in the hydride container available for further utilization, as and when needed. An accurate gauge is ideal, but even a gauge of the amount of hydrogen gas availability is desirable that is accurate to within 15–30%.
The construction and normal operation of known metal hydride hydrogen storage systems make it especially difficult to accurately gauge the amount of hydrogen gas available. It is possible to accurately estimate the amount of hydrogen gas available in the above described gas containers which store hydrogen in a gas state from the ideal gas law (PV=nRT), because the amount of hydrogen is directly proportional to the pressure, when temperature is maintained at a constant value. This is possible because in those types of storage systems, the volume, V, and temperature, T, remain essentially constant as an amount of hydrogen gas (n) is utilized and being withdrawn from the system. The utilization of hydrogen gas, as it is withdrawn from the container is indicated by a reduction in the amount of hydrogen (n), and produces a directly proportional reduction in pressure, P. Thus, it is possible to estimate to a very accurate degree, the amount of hydrogen gas available in the container by an accurate reading of the pressure, P.
However, because the hydrogen gas is incorporated into the lattice structure of the metal hydride, storage containers using hydrides cannot rely on the pressure P as a directly proportional measure of the amount of hydrogen gas (n) remaining in the container. It is thus necessary to provide a fairly accurate measure of hydrogen gas contained within a container, similar to a fuel gauge in a standard internal combustion automobile.


A coupling arrangement includes an inverted u-shaped frame having opposite legs joined by a transverse bight portion. The lower draft links of a tractor three-point hitch are connected to lower ends of the legs of the frame for pivoting about a horizontal transverse axis. Located centrally between the frame legs along the bight portion of the frame is an angle member having a horizontal limb defining a first link and being joined to a vertical limb defined in part by an upwardly projecting bearing axle. An implement draft tongue includes a forward extension to which upwardly and downwardly projecting bearing axles are fixed along a vertical axis. The coupling arrangement includes a second link spaced vertically above the first link and having ball joints in its opposite ends respectively mounted to the bearing axle of the angle member and the upwardly projecting bearing axle of the draft tongue. A ball joint is mounted in the first link and is received on the downwardly projecting bearing axle of the draft tongue. Accordingly, the first and second links and the ball joints they carry act to transfer tensile and compressive loads between, and permit universal movement between, the implement and the tractor.

The invention concerns a coupling arrangement for a towed implement with a frame for a connection that can pivot vertically from and with respect to a towing vehicle and a component for the connection to the implement.
An European Patent Specification published on 23 Aug. 1989 under No. 196,427 reveals a mowing implement that can move on two wheels with a draft tongue that can be connected to an agricultural tractor through a coupling arrangement. On the side of the agricultural tractor, the coupling arrangement is connected only to the lower draft arms and hence can pivot vertically with respect to the agricultural tractor. On the side of the implement, a component is provided that contains two U-shaped connecting devices each of which has a pivot axis which permits a connection of the frame similar to that of an articulated shaft through the lower draft arms to the draft tongue. The coupling device that is connected to the frame, free to pivot vertically, is open downward, while the coupling device that is rigidly connected to and engages the forward end region of the draft tongue is open to the rear, where a first link above the drawbar and a second link below the drawbar each engage a pivot axis.
German Patent Application No. 42 36 166 published on 28 Apr. 1994, discloses a coupling arrangement that contains an attaching frame connected to the three-point hitch which can be attached through a ball coupling to a pivot axle on the underside of an implement draft tongue. This coupling arrangement requires a three-point implement hitch to be provided for attachment to a pair of lower draft links and an upper center link of a tractor three-point hitch.


Provided are an optical pickup and an optical information storage system including the same. The optical pickup includes a diffracting element that splits incident light into main light and a plurality of sub light. The diffracting element has at least three regions including first through third regions. A second region is disposed between a first region and a third region and has a phase difference from the first and third regions. The optical pickup detects a tracking error signal by using light diffracted by the diffracting element.

1. Field
The following description relates to an optical pickup capable of implementing a tracking servo that is compatible with multiple types of optical information storage media.
2. Description of Related Art
In order to implement a tracking servo, an optical pickup may split light into zeroth-order light and first-order light by transmitting the light through a grating, and may perform an operation on signals which are obtained by detecting the zeroth-order light and the first-order light.
In the case of using a grating that has a diffraction grating pattern on a single side, a spacing between zeroth-order light and first-order light is typically determined for a single disc type such as a digital versatile disc (DVD), a spacing between zeroth-order light and first-order light for a compact disc (CD) is determined according to wavelength characteristics. However, because a refractive index for a wavelength of the light for CD (i.e. infrared light) is smaller than a refractive index for a wavelength of the light for DVD (i.e. red light) a spacing between zeroth-order light and first-order light diffracted from the grating is greater in the light for CD than in the light for DVD.
As the zeroth-order light and the first-order light for DVD are closer to each other on the optical information storage medium, eccentric characteristics become easier to view. However, in a DVD dual layer (DL) disc, an increase of a parasitic curve in an S-curve may cause recognition limitation. Due to the recognition limitation, it is necessary to maintain a predetermined distance between the zeroth-order light and the first-order light. However, the predetermined spacing between the zeroth-order light and the first-order light for the DVD deteriorates eccentric disc characteristics of the CD.

Optical pickup and optical information storage system including the same

Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology Korea Corporation


Method for operating a brake system of a motor vehicle having a hydraulic service brake device with hydraulically actuated wheel brakes on at least one front axle of the motor vehicle, and a parking brake device with wheel brakes, which can be actuated in each case by an electromechanical actuator, on a rear axle of the motor vehicle, wherein a motor vehicle actual longitudinal deceleration is measured, wherein during a braking operation by the hydraulic service brake device a braking operation is carried out by the parking brake device while the motor vehicle is traveling, wherein a motor vehicle setpoint longitudinal deceleration which is to be achieved is determined, and the electromechanical actuators of the parking brake device are actuated in such a way that the motor vehicle actual longitudinal deceleration is adjusted to the motor vehicle setpoint longitudinal deceleration.

Motor vehicles are known which comprise a hydraulic service brake system for front axle and rear axle and a parking brake system which can be activated by the driver by means of an EPB operator control switch and comprise electromechanical parking brakes (EPB) at the wheels of the rear axle. An emergency braking function which, when the EPB operator control switch is activated by the driver during travel, cause a hydraulic braking operation to be triggered by means of the service brake system in order to brake the vehicle with a preset deceleration, is also known in such brake systems. This function is also known as a dynamic braking function (DBF). If the (hydraulic) dynamic braking function (DBF) is not available, the actuator dynamic braking function (ADBF) can be used, as a fallback level, in which the electric parking brakes (EPBs) are used at the rear axle for a braking operation during travel. In this known operating method, the front axle rolls freely, i.e. is unbraked, and the rear axle is braked with the electric parking brakes. The known ADBF is merely activated or deactivated digitally by the driver actuating the EPB operator control switch, i.e. there is no provision for the brake application forces to be made available in a way which can be metered in an analog fashion. In the case of a corresponding operator control command, the electric drives of the electromechanical parking brakes are energized in the brake application direction until a tendency of the EPB-braked wheels to lock can be detected. The energization is then reversed until the tendency to lock is no longer present, in order then to apply the brakes again and to repeat this process cyclically. The rear wheels are therefore braked by means of the electric parking brakes at their stability limit, i.e. with the maximum achievable deceleration effect. This method is accordingly based on control algorithms which react to the slip of the EPB-braked wheels. In this context, the slip is determined by virtue of the fact that the current measured wheel rotational speed is compared with a reference rotational speed which is proportional to the vehicle speed (referred to as the (vehicle) reference speed). The known ADBF uses (only) the measured wheel rotational speed information of the front wheels to form the vehicle reference speed, since said front wheels roll freely during the breaking with ADBF and therefore do not have any slip themselves.

Method for operating a brake system for motor vehicles, and brake system


Disclosed in this specification is a process for separating a microorganism from a sample by selectively hybridizing the microorganism's nucleic acid with a labeled probe. Suitable labels include antigens as well an enzymes. In one embodiment, an antigen is introduced to the sample which is activated by the enzyme. The labeled microorganism is then exposed to a substrate that is coated with an antibody which is specific to the activated antigen, thus binding the labeled microorganism to the substrate. The substrate may be, for example, a magnetic substrate such as a paramagnetic bead.

It has been a longstanding objective in the art to be able to separate a specific group of microorganisms from a sample. Traditionally, a sample that contains a plurality of microorganisms is diluted and applied to a nutrient rich culture media. Due to the high dilution of the original sample, individual microorganisms are effectively isolated from other microorganisms that were also present in the sample. Over time, colonies of bacteria grow on the media—each colony originating from one of the individual microorganisms. Since each colony shares the same progenitor, such colonies contain only a single type of microorganism. Such colonies may be collected and used to generate substantial quantities of essentially pure microorganisms.
For such a technique to function, the microorganism must be culturable. For reasons that are not clear, the vast majority of microorganisms fail to grow when they are removed from their natural environment. It appears that there is a synergistic relationship between many neighboring species of microorganisms that prevents many species of microorganism from being cultured in isolation. This is a matter of great concern for microbiologists. Often, a scientist wishes to generate antibodies that are specific to a given species of microorganism. However, when the scientist is unable to isolate the microorganism from its environment, the scientist is unable to generate such antibodies.
Cell enrichment/purification approaches have been reported in the literature, but all have significant limitations which hinder their successful application to uncultured microorganisms. Immunomagnetic separation has been shown to be an efficient and sensitive method for the enrichment and isolation of cells in a wide variety of medical and food samples and few environmental samples. See Biotechnology Progress, Vol. 18, (April, 2002), pp. 212-220. In this technique, paramagnetic beads coated with antibodies specific to surface antigens of the target cells are used to label these cells and subsequently separate them from unlabelled cells in a magnetic field. While effective in the medical field, a significant drawback of this method is the requirement for antibodies that are specific to the target organisms. Production of such specific antibodies requires a pure sample of the organism itself. Such pure samples are often not available using conventional techniques.
Optical trapping and manipulation of bacterial cells and viruses with infrared lasers can be applied to collect individual cells. However, this method is time consuming and gives only a small amount of cellular material for analysis. See Review of Scientific Instruments, Vol. 75, (September, 2004), pp. 2787-2809.
Flow cytometry is another method that has been applied to enrich cells. To date, the inventor is aware of only one report showing the enrichment of hybridized bacteria from sediment using flow cytometry. Such a technique is illustrated in a paper to Kalyuzhnaya et al. See Applied & Environmental Microbiology, Vol. 72, (June, 2006), pp. 4293-4301. Kalyuzhnaya et al. enriched hybridized Type I and Type II methanotrophs from Lake Washington sediment. Abundances of target cells in lake sediment samples were 4.7% (percent of total cell counts, Type I methanotrophs) and 1.2% (Type II methanotrophs). After flow cytometric sorting, Type I methanotrophs comprised 59% of the clone library (no cell counts were performed) and Type II methanotrophs counted 47.5%. Another report (Applied & Environmental Microbiology, Vol. 70, (October, 2004), pp. 6210-6219) shows sorting of bacterial groups from plankton after CARD-FISH with purities ranging from 96% to 97%. Flow sorting of activated-sludge microorganisms, hybridized with fluorescein labeled oligonucleotide probes, has been reported by Wallner et al., (Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol. 63, (November, 1997), pp. 4223-4231. Here, Acinetobacter was enriched from 0.3 to 0.6% total abundance in the original sample to 35 to 84% in the sorted fraction. Leptotrix was enriched from 12 to 13% in the original sample to 69 to 82% in the sorted fraction.
Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is commonly used in microbial ecology studies to visualize microorganisms, most often directed toward the 16S rRNA. Until recently, FISH has been limited to the detection of highly expressed rRNA genes. To overcome this limitation, Pernthaler et al. (Applied & Environmental Microbiology, Vol. 68, (June, 2002), pp. 3094-3101) described an adaptation of FISH called CARD-FISH that uses fluorescently labeled tyramides as a substrate for the probe-delivered horseradish peroxidase. Using CARD-FISH the hybridization signal can be increased up to 1000-fold and even slow growing microbes from deep subsurface samples (Nature, Vol 433, (February, 2005), pp. 861-864) can be detected. This method has also recently been applied in a modified protocol for the FISH detection of messenger RNA. See Pernthaler, A., and Pernthaler, J. "Simultaneous fluorescence in situ hybridization of mRNA and rRNA for the detection of gene expression in environmental microbes." in: Leadbetter, J. R. (ed)., Methods in Enzymology (San Diego: Elsevier, 2005), pp. 352-371.
Complementary polyribonucleotide probes have been used in conjunction with paramagnetic substrates by Stoffels et al. to separate one species from an artificially produced mix of species (Environmental Microbiology, Vol. 1, (March, 1999), pp. 259-271). Stoffels et al., used polyribonucleotide probes of about 300 bases length, targeting a highly variable region in domain III of the 23S rRNA. The probes of Stoffels have significant limits when compared to oligonucleotide probes: (A) the database for 23S rRNA sequences is much smaller (about 20,000 sequences) than the 16S rRNA database (about 500,000 sequences), thus the possibility to design probes that cross-react with other species is relatively high; (B) the length of these probes complicates probe design; and (C) these probes are RNA probes, which makes them highly susceptible to degradation by RNases, which are present in every sample and every microbe and even survive fixation.
Therefore, a process for separating a desired group of microorganisms from a plurality of microorganisms is desired.


A microscope with a light source that produces an illumination light beam for evanescently illuminating a sample includes an adjustment mechanism with which the polarization of the illumination light beam may be changed.

The task of the present invention is to disclose a microscope that enables variable adjustment of the penetration depth of illumination light during evanescent illumination of a sample.
This task is solved by a microscope wherein an adjustment mechanism is provided with which the polarization of the illumination light beam may be changed.
A further task of the present invention is to disclose an illumination module for a microscope that enables illumination of a microscopic sample during evanescent sample of illumination with adjustable penetration depth.
The further task is solved by an illumination module wherein the illumination module can be coupled to a microscope for the purpose of evanescent illumination of a sample, and wherein an adjustment mechanism is provided with which the polarization of the illumination light beam may be changed.
It has been recognized, according to the invention, that the penetration depth (and the light power) of an evanescent illumination field in a sample is dependent on the polarization of the illumination light that strikes the cover glass-sample interface or the sample holder-sample interface, respectively.
By means of the microscope according to the invention or the illumination module according to the invention, respectively, the orientation of sample objects (such as molecules, cell components, etc.) may also advantageously be determined, as well as the corresponding isotropy of the refracted space.
In a preferred variant, the microscope exhibits an objective with an objective pupil, whereby the illumination light beam for evanescently illuminating the sample exhibits a focus in the area of the objective pupil. Preferably, an adjustable beam deflector is provided with which the position of the focus within the objective pupil may be moved. This creates an additional possibility for changing the penetration depth.
It has also been recognized, according to the invention, that in addition to the polarization, the penetration depth of an evanescent illumination field in a sample is dependent on the angle at which total reflection occurs at the cover glass interface or at the sample holder interface, respectively. This angle is directly correlated with the angle relative to the optical axis at which the illumination light beam provided for evanescent sample illumination exits the objective via the front lens. This angle, in turn, is dependent on the distance to the optical axis at which the illumination light beam passes through the rear focal plane of the objective (pupil). In order to have available a largely parallel illumination light beam for evanescently illuminating a sample, the illumination light beam must exhibit a focus in the rear focal plane of the objective. Finally, the distance of the focus to the optical axis of the objective determines said angle, and thereby the penetration depth of the evanescent field in the sample that is to be tested.
In a preferred embodiment of the microscope according to the invention, an adjustable beam deflector is arranged in the beam path of the illumination light beam. The beam deflector preferably comprises at least one galvanometric mirror. In order to position the focus at any given location within the objective pupil, the beam deflector preferably comprises two galvanometric mirrors, which cause deflection of the illumination light beam in different lateral directions (e.g., x- and y-direction). The beam deflector may also comprise rotatable or tippable prisms and/or rotatable or tippable mirrors. The use of acousto-optical or electro-optical deflection elements can also be envisioned.
The adjustment mechanism with which the polarization of the illumination light beam may be adjusted preferably comprises a phase plate, preferably a rotatable λ/2 plate—preferably motorized. The adjustment mechanism may also comprise a Faraday rotator and/or a Pockels cell and/or a double-refractive material and/or a liquid crystal cell.
In a particularly preferred embodiment of the microscope or of the illumination module, respectively, the adjustment mechanism is the control element of a regulator, which adjusts the polarization according to settings input by the user.
In a very particularly preferred variant, storage memory is provided in which—preferably sample-specific—polarization settings are stored to achieve different penetration depths. In this manner, adjustment, according to the invention, is quantifiable and reproducible.
A control mechanism is preferably provided to measure and/or monitor the polarization of the illumination light beam. In a preferred variant, the control mechanism is the measuring element of the regulator.
Advantageously, the control mechanism may comprise a beam splitter that outcouples the measuring light from the illumination light beam. In an advantageous embodiment, the control element comprises at least one detector that detects the light power of at least a part of the measuring light.
A particularly preferred variant is one in which the control mechanism comprises at least one polarization analyzer, which is preferably arranged in the beam path of the measuring light before the minimum of one detector. It may, for example, be a polarization foil, a double-refractive prism (e.g., a Glan-Thomson prism), or a polarization beam splitter, which may, for example, be implemented as a cube.
In a particular embodiment of the microscope or of the illumination module, respectively, the polarization beam splitter splits the measuring light into an s-polarized measuring beam and a p-polarized measuring beam. Preferably, two detectors are provided, of which one detector receives the s-polarized measuring beam and the other the p-polarized measuring beam. In this manner, precise conclusions may be drawn from the light power measured by both detectors regarding the polarization of the illumination light beam. Preferably, a processing module is provided with which the measurement data are processed. The processing module may also be a component of the regulator.
At least the light source and the adjustment mechanism are preferably integrated into an illumination module that may be detachably coupled to a microscope stand or to an already existent microscope. The illumination module preferably also comprises the control mechanism. A bayonet coupling is preferably provided.
The microscope preferably comprises a camera and/or a CCD element and/or an EMCCD element for the purpose of imaging.
In a preferred variant, a power adjustment mechanism is provided to change the light power of the illumination light beam. This may, for example, be a mechanical beam attenuator, an LCD module, or an electro-optical—or acousto-optical—component (e.g., AOTF).
The microscope preferably comprises a scanning microscope, in particular a confocal scanning microscope.
In a particular variant, at least the light source and the adjustment mechanism are integrated into an illumination module, which preferably may be coupled to a microscope and/or to a microscope stand.
The illumination module according to the invention provides the advantage that it may be coupled as a retrofit to an already existent microscope or microscope stand.

Illumination module for evanescent illumination and microscope


Methods are disclosed for the treatment of nausea and vomiting in a patient suffering therefrom comprising administering 4-(2-fluorophenyl)-6-methyl-2-(1-piperazinyl)thieno[2,3-D]pyrimidine.

Emesis is the act of vomiting and can be described as the forceful expulsion of gastrointestinal contents through the mouth brought about by the descent of the diaphragm and powerful contractions of the abdominal muscles. Emesis is usually, but not always, preceded by nausea (the unpleasant feeling that one is about to vomit). Retching or dry heaves involves the same physiological mechanisms as vomiting, but occurs against a closed glottis, which prohibits the expulsion of gastric contents. Vomiting, nausea, retching or combinations thereof can be caused by a number of factors including, but not limited to, anesthetics, radiation, cancer chemotherapeutic agents, toxic agents, odors, medicines, for example, serotonin reuptake inhibitors, analgesics such as morphine, antibiotics and antiparasitic agents, pregnancy and motion. Conditions which are associated with vertigo (e.g., Meniere's disease and vestibular neuronitis) can also cause nausea, vomiting, retching or any combination thereof. Headache, caused by, for example, migraine, increased intracranial pressure or cerebral vascular hemorrhage can also result in nausea, vomiting, retching or any combination thereof. In addition, certain maladies of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, for example, cholecystitis, choledocholithiasis, intestinal obstruction, acute gastroenteritis, perforated viscus, dyspepsia resulting from, for example, gastroesophageal reflux disease, peptic ulcer disease, gastroparesis, gastric or esophageal neoplasms, infiltrative gastric disorders (e.g., Menetrier's syndrome, Crohn's disease, eosinophilic gastroenteritis, sarcoidosis and amyloidosis),gastric infections (e.g., CMV, fingal, TB and syphilis), parasites (e.g., Giardia lamblia and Strongyloides stercoralis), chronic gastric volvulus, chronic intestinal ischemia, altered gastric motility disorders and/or food intolerance or Zollinger-Ellison syndrome can result in vomiting, nausea, retching or any combination thereof. However, in some cases of vomiting, nausea, retching or any combination thereof, no etiology can be determined despite extensive diagnostic testing (e.g., Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome).
Nausea, vomiting and retching are defined as acute when symptoms are present for less than a week. The causes of nausea, vomiting and retching of short duration are often separable from etiologies leading to more chronic symptoms.
Nausea, vomiting and retching are defined as chronic when symptoms are present for over a week. For example, symptoms can be continuous or intermittent and last for months or years.
The vomiting reflex is triggered by stimulation of chemoreceptors in the upper GI tract and mechanoreceptors in the wall of the GI tract which are activated by both contraction and distension of the gut as well as by physical damage. A coordinating center in the central nervous system controls the emetic response. This center is located in the parvicellular reticular formation in the lateral medullary region of the brain. Afferent nerves to the vomiting center arise from abdominal splanchnic and vagal nerves, vestibulo-labyrinthine receptors, the cerebral cortex and the chemoreceptor trigger zone (CTZ). The CTZ lies adjacent in the area postrema and contains chemoreceptors that sample both blood and cerebrospinal fluid. Direct links exist between the emetic center and the CTZ. The CTZ is exposed to emetic stimuli of endogenous origin (e.g., hormones) as well as to stimuli of exogenous origin, such as drugs. The efferent branches of cranial nerves V, VII and IX, as well as the vagus nerve and sympathetic trunk produce the complex coordinated set of muscular contractions, cardiovascular responses and reverse peristalsis that characterize vomiting.
Of significant clinical relevance is the nausea and vomiting resulting from the administration of general anesthetics (commonly referred to as, post-operative nausea and vomiting, PONV), chemotherapeutic agents and radiation therapy.
In fact, the symptoms caused by the chemotherapeutic agents can be so severe that the patient refuses further treatment. Three types of emesis are associated with the use of chemotherapeutic agents. The first, is acute emesis, which occurs within the first 24 hours of chemotherapy. The second, is delayed emesis which occurs 24 hours or more after chemotherapy administration. The third, is anticipatory emesis, which begins prior to the administration of chemotherapy, usually in patients whose emesis was poorly controlled during a previous chemotherapy cycle.
PONV is also an important patient problem and one that patients rate as the most distressing aspect of operative procedure, even above pain. Consequently, the need for an effective anti-emetic in this area is important. As a clinical problem PONV is troublesome and requires staff around to ensure that vomitus is not regurgitated, which can have very serious clinical sequelae. Further, there are certain operative procedures where it is clinically important that patients do not vomit. For example, in ocular surgery where intra-cranial ocular pressure can increase to the extent that stitches are ruptured and the operative procedure is set back in terms of success to a marked degree.
There are a number groups of agents that are used clinically for the treatment of emesis. These groups include: anticholinergics, antihistamines, phenothiazines, butyrophenones, cannabinoids, benzamides, glucocorticoids, benzodiazepines and 5-HT3 receptor antagonists. In addition, tricyclic antidepressants have also been used on a limited basis.
The phenothiazines, which include prochlorperazine and chlorpromazine, block dopamine type-2 receptors in the CTZ. However, the side effects, for example, extrapyramidal symptoms, such as, dystonia and akathisia, sedation, anticholinergic effect and orthostatic hypotension make the use of the phenothiazines a less than desirable therapy.
Anticholinergics used in the treatment of nausea and vomiting, include scopolomine (e.g., in treating motion sickness). However, drowsiness is a significant side effect.
Antihistamines (dimenhydrinate and diphenhydramine) are mainly used for motion sickness and in antiemetic combinations to reduce extrapyramidal side effects of dopamine receptor antagonists. As a single agent, the antihistamines have modest antiemetic activity and include sedation and anticholinergic effects as the major drawbacks.
Butyrophenones, for example, haloperidol and droperidol, work by blocking dopamine receptors in the CTZ. The side effects of butyrophenones include akathisia, dystonia and hypotension.
Cannabinoids such as tetrahydrocannabinol and nabilone have shown limited efficacy (see, e.g. Sallan et al., N. Eng. J. Med., 302: 135–138 (1980)). In addition, the side effects include euphoria, dizziness, paranoid ideation and somnolence.
Benzamides include, for example, metoclopramide, cisapride and trimethobenzamide. However, side effects which include extrapyramidal symptoms and diarrhea make the use of benzamides a less than desirable therapy.
Benzodiazapines include, for example, lorazepam. Side effects of the benzodiazapines include perceptual disturbances, urinary incontinence, hypotension, diarrhea, sedation and amnesia.
Corticosteroids such as dexamethasone and methylprednisolone are useful in combination therapy, but shown little efficacy as a single agent. Side effects include, hyperglycemia, euphoria, insomnia and rectal pain.
The antiemetic property of tricyclic antidepressants has been assessed on a limited basis (see, e.g., Prakash et al., Dig. Dis. Sci. 43(9):1951–1956 (1998)) and cyclic vomiting syndrome (Prakash and Clouse,Am. J. Gastroenterol., 94(10): 2855–2860 (1999).
However, the undesirable side effects associated with the use of tricyclic antidepressants are a significant drawback for this therapy. For example, the anticholinergic properties of the tricyclic antidepressants can cause dry mouth, constipation, blurred vision, urinary retention, weight gain, hypertension and cardiac side effects, such as palpitations and arrhythmia.
Antagonism of the 5-HT3 receptor has been the focus of antiemetic therapy. More specifically, 5-HT3 receptors are widely distributed in the mammalian central, peripheral and enteric nervous systems. The enteric nervous system resides within the walls of the gastrointestinal tract. 5-HT3 receptors have been found to play an important role in the control of vomiting in a variety of mammals including humans (Veyrat-Follet et al., Drugs 53(2):206–234 (1997)). The receptors are present in the part of the brain that is involved in controlling vomiting as well as in the gastrointestinal tract. Receptors at both locations have been shown to be involved in vomiting. It is thought that 5-HT released from the enterochromaffin cells of the gastrointestinal mucosa acts on 5-HT3 receptors to initiate the vomiting reflex. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy, two important clinical causes of vomiting, can cause release of 5-HT from the enterochromaffin cells. Chemotherapeutic agents also appear to act directly on the chemoreceptor trigger zone (CTZ) of the vomiting center in the brain that then feeds onto neurons containing 5-HT3 receptors to initiate vomiting. That is, activation of the chemoreceptor trigger zone (CTZ) triggers the release of neurotransmitters that activate the vomiting center. CTZ neurotransmitters that are thought to cause emesis include, but are not limited to, dopamine, serotonin, histamine and norepinephrine.
However, improved treatment regimens are still needed. For example, the use of 5-HT3 receptor antagonists such as ondansetron, granisetron and tropisetron has been shown to be less effective for delayed nausea and vomiting than for acute symptoms. In addition, efficacy of the 5-HT3 receptor antagonists appears to be less pronounced for moderate emetogenic chemotherapy regimens than for cisplatin-containing regimens. Further, control over nausea appears to be significantly less than control over vomiting. Further, the efficacy of the agents appears to diminish across repeated days and across repeated chemotherapy cycles (see, e.g., Morrow et al., Cancer 76(3): 343–357 (1995)).
As such, improved methods for the treatment of vomiting, nausea, retcning or any combination thereof are needed.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method of treating nausea, vomiting, retching or any combination thereof


One or more embodiments provide for a method. The method includes receiving a document including text. The method also includes receiving different definitions of a position in the document of an identifier-value pair within the text. The identifier-value pair includes an identifier identifying an information type in the text and a value including an entry of the information in the text. The method also includes determining which of the different definitions correctly point to the position to form a number of correct definitions. Each of the different definitions correctly points to the position when the identifier-value pair is found on a first attempt using a definition of the different definitions to search for the identifier-value pair. The method also includes, responsive to the number of correct definitions at least matching a threshold value, issuing a command to perform data scraping on the document to extract the value of the identifier.

Data scraping is a computerized technique in which a computer program extracts data from human-readable output coming from another program. For example, a program may output information on a screen to be read by a user, such as to view a spreadsheet of information on a web browser. Data scraping may involve extracting data from the image presented on the screen, or from hypertext markup language (HTML) data used to command a computer to render the screen. Data scraping may be performed on different documents, including portable document format (PDF) documents, extensible markup language (XML) documents, or many other types of documents. The extracted data can then be translated into a format more useful to the computer for further automated processing.


The present application is directed to systems and methods to control access to an interior of an image forming device. The image forming device may include a body with a door that is movable between open and closed positions. In the open position, access is gained to an interior of the body. A controller controls a latch through a motor arrangement to lock and unlock the door. A user interface may be positioned on an exterior of the body to allow a user to enter commands to lock and unlock the door. Additional elements may also be included within the interior of the image forming device and operated with the motor arrangement.

The present application is directed controls for operating an image forming device and, more specifically to assemblies for a latch to control access to an interior of the image forming device.
Image forming devices, such as but not limited to printers, copiers, and facsimile machines, include one or more imaging units. The imaging units may include toner, developer rollers, photoconductive rollers, and others that are necessary for image formation. The imaging units are removable and can be replaced as necessary, such as when the toner is depleted. Therefore, it is necessary that the image forming devices be constructed to allow access to the imaging units for removal and replacement.
Access to the imaging units is beneficial for users during replacement but may also allow access to nefarious individuals intent on stealing the imaging units. Therefore, it may be necessary to secure the image forming device in a manner that prevents this type of theft.
Accessing the imaging units while the image forming device is operating may result in a media jam or poor image formation. Therefore, it may also be necessary to limit access to the imaging units to times when the image forming device is not operating.

Systems and methods to control access to an interior of an image forming device


Chlorine-containing polymers, e.g., PVC and poly(vinylidene chloride), are effectively heat-stabilized by formulating therewith at least one zinc stannate and/or at least one zinc hydroxystannate, characteristically in combination with at least one organozinc compound, at least one organocalcium, organobarium, organomagnesium or organolanthanide compound, and at least one beta-ketoaldehyde, beta-diketone, 1,4-dihydropyridine monomer or polymer, beta-ketoester, beta-aminocrotonic ester, mercaptocarboxylic ester or alpha-phenylindole.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to novel compositions of matter based on chlorine-containing polymer and comprising an effective stabilizing amount of a zinc stannate and/or zinc hydroxystannate.
This invention also relates to the use of the zinc stannates and/or zinc hydroxystannates as heat stabilizers for chlorine-containing polymers.
The chlorine-containing polymers to which the present invention relates are, in particular, poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), which is the most significant commercially; poly(vinylidene chloride); copolymers predominantly comprised of vinyl chloride recurring units prepared from vinyl chloride and other monomers copolymerizable therewith; and mixtures of polymers or copolymers, a predominant proportion of which is derived from vinyl chloride.
In general, any type of PVC is suitable, whatever the process for the preparation thereof - bulk polymerization, suspension polymerization, dispersion polymerization or any other type--and whatever its intrinsic viscosity.
The homopolymers of vinyl chloride may also be chemically modified, for example by chlorination.
Numerous copolymers of vinyl chloride may also be stabilized against the adverse effects of heat, namely, yellowing and degradation. These are, notably, the copolymers prepared by copolymerization of vinyl chloride with other olefinically unsaturated comonomers copolymerizable therewith, such as, for example, vinyl acetate or vinylidene chloride; maleic or fumaric acids or their esters; olefins, such as ethylene, propylene and hexane; acrylic or methacrylic esters; styrene; and vinyl ethers such as vinyl dodecyl ether.
These copolymers typically contain at least 50% by weight of vinyl chloride recurring units and preferably at least 80% by weight of vinyl chloride recurring units.
The compositions according to the invention may also comprise mixtures based on chlorine-containing polymers containing minor amounts of other polymers, such as halogenated polyolefins or acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene copolymers.
PVC, whether alone or in admixture with other polymers, is the primary chlorine-containing polymer comprising the compositions of the present invention.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known to this art that the conversion of chlorine-containing polymers, and more particularly of PVC, at elevated temperatures cannot be accomplished without the addition of heat stabilizers thereto.
Indeed, if the chlorine-containing polymer is heated to processing temperatures, objectionable coloration appears which alter its appearance, an important characteristic for numerous applications.
This disadvantage is overcome by incorporating therein stabilizers essentially consisting of metal or organometallic compounds adopted, in particular, to absorb the hydrochloric acid produced by the degradation of the polymer.
These heat stabilizers are essentially organic derivatives of zinc or cadmium in combination with organic derivatives of calcium, barium or magnesium.
They may be accompanied by other compounds, typically designated "costabilizers" or "secondary stabilizers", the purpose of which is to supplement and intensify their effect, in particular as regards the appearance characteristics of the final product.
This is the case with mixed metal systems based on derivatives of cadmium and barium, or of zinc and barium, or of zinc and calcium, which have to be accompanied by costabilizers such as epoxide compounds, organic phosphites, dihydropyridines and/or betadiketones.
Among these metal systems, those which include cadmium derivatives are becoming less and less used, because of the deleterious effects of cadmium.
The formulations of chlorine-containing polymers containing combinations of organic derivatives of zinc and barium, or organic derivatives of zinc and calcium, with organic costabilizers, are typically suitable for such applications as, for example, the production of shaped transparent rigid bottles or films for exterior use.
However, in certain instances--severity of the conditions of thermodynamic conversion, intrinsic instability of certain such polymers--it is necessary to increase the effectiveness of the customary stabilizers insofar as the appearance of the final product is concerned, and especially the permanence of this effectiveness, when the thermal stresses are intensified and prolonged.

Zinc stannate/zinc hydroxystannate heat-stabilized chloropolymers


Motion of a magnetic bubble material is caused by subjecting magnetic bubbles within the material to a magnetic field gradient. The bubbles respond to the magnetic field gradient by producing forces angled from the direction of the magnetic field gradient. The magnetic bubbles are constrained from moving within the magnetic bubble material, which is rotated in the magnetic field gradient to cause Bloch lines in bubble domain walls to rotate within the material. This produces forces causing the material to move.

Magnetic bubbles are generally cylindrical-shaped regions within a material in which a magnetization vector direction within the bubbles is opposite to a magnetization vector direction in the material outside the bubbles. Materials producing magnetic bubbles are often thin crystalline films, but magnetic bubbles are not limited to such materials.
Magnetic bubbles have been studied primarily as prospects for information storage and processing. Although considerable knowledge has been developed on magnetic bubbles, they have so far not been widely exploited for other uses.
From the extensive literature on magnetic bubbles, the following selections provide basic information on magnetic bubble characteristics, to aid in understanding this invention:
"Formation of Normal and Hard Bubbles by Cutting Strip Domains", by Hideki Nishida, Tsutomu Kobayashi, and Yutaka Sugita, IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, Vol. MAG-9, No. 3, September 1973, pages 517-520. PA1 Magnetic Bubble Technology, 2nd edition, by A. H. Eschenfelder, Springer-Verlag, 1981, title page and pages 70-74. PA1 Ferromagnetodynamics, The dynamics of magnetic bubbles, domains and domain walls, by T. H. O'Dell, Halsted Press Book, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1981, title page and pages 16-24, 98-114. PA1 "Forced Shear Flow of Magnetic Bubble Arrays", by R. Seshadri and R. M. Westervelt, The American Physical Society, Physical Review Letters, Volume 70, Number 2, Jan. 11, 1993, pages 234-237. PA1 "Commensurate-incommensurate transitions in magnetic bubble arrays with periodic line pinning", by Junmin Hu and R. M. Westervelt, The American Physical Society, Physical Review B, Volume 55, Number 2, Jan. 1, 1997-II, pages 771-774.
My copending patent application No. 09/090,369, filed Jun. 4, 1998, suggests ways that magnetic bubble materials can be exploited to produce motion. It proposes moving bubble material in response to a magnetic field gradient by using a magnetic bubble material that allows, but also resists, magnetic bubble movement within the material.

Utilization of magnetic bubbles to produce a motive force


A data storage cartridge having a display for displaying the storage capacity remaining on the cartridge. The display is driven by a controller and a power cell housed within the cartridge. Electrodes along an edge of the cartridge connect with electrodes within a data storage drive and information regarding the status of the cartridge is transferred to the controller. The controller and display are powered by a rechargeable cell. Current is provided to the electrodes to recharge the cell while the cartridge is in the data storage drive.

The present invention relates generally to the field of removable computer data cartridges. More particularly, the present invention relates to a disk cartridge wherein an integral display indicates the remaining storage capacity available on the cartridge.
Monitoring the storage capacity remaining on a conventional disk cartridge requires that the cartridge be inserted into a disk drive and accessed by a computer. Where a large number of cartridges are used, searching for a cartridge with adequate remaining capacity to store a file is cumbersome.
If a disk is selected that has slightly less remaining capacity than is required to store a large file, a "disk full" message may not appear until almost the entire file is written to the disk. For many applications, particularly using the MSDOS operating system, files may not span the end of a disk. Partially written files are therefore lost.
This problem is especially critical where files are transferred via modem. Large files take a significant amount of time to transfer and the entire file iady be lost if the transfer is interrupted before completion because the storage cartridge is full.
As the storage capacity and access speed of disk cartridges increase so does their cost. More efficient use of disk cartridges is desirable to reduce the overall cost of data storage.
A device has been proposed that would allow users to determine the remaining storage capacity on a computer disk without having to insert the disk into a computer. U.S. patent application No. 08/778,604 describes a disk cartridge with a mechanical pointer visible to the user. The pointer is positioned by a mechanical actuator located in the disk drive of a computer. As data is written to, or deleted from, the disk the actuator moves the pointer to indicate the storage capacity remaining on the disk. When the disk is removed from the disk drive the user can inspect the pointer to see how much space remains on the disk.
The above-identified system of suffers from several drawbacks. Impact to the disk housing many cause inadvertent movement of the pointer resulting in an incorrect capacity reading. The addition of mechanical parts to both the disk cartridge and the disk drive is undesirably complex, particularly in small notebook or palm-top computers where space is at a premium. Accurately judging the amount of storage capacity on a disk by the position of a small pointer is difficult.

Disk cartridge with programmable LCD capacity display indicator


A framing mechanism may be provided that enables passing of messages over an addressed bus. This creates a form of information hiding, which passes information by converting an addressed bus interface to a message-based bus interface. Address-based information in a transaction may be replaced with additional information that specifies framing details comprising, for example, a check pattern and length information. The check pattern provides a mechanism for determining whether frame information may be valid. An end device may utilize this length information to determine an actual length of an incoming frame. The combination of the check pattern and the length information may provide a pattern for resynchronizing a data stream when errors are detected. The framing mechanism may operate over existing addressed buses without requiring host side controller hardware modifications and additional host side software driver may be utilized to add the framing information.

In conventional systems, message passing may be utilized as an interface that facilitates communication between a host and intelligent device(s). For example, the universal serial bus (USB) protocol provides a message passing mechanism over a serial hardware bus to facilitate communication between a host device and one or more end devices. The USB protocol allows larger units of data such as data frames to be conveyed over a serial bus within USB packets, and each USB packet may be addressed to a particular end device and a logical endpoint within the end device. This is achieved without using a more specific address. This allows an intelligent USB device to further process the frame.
An addressed bus such as PCI, PCMCIA/CF, and/or SDIO may comprise a 32-bit, 26-bit, or 17-bit address as part of each command, which is utilized for routing or directing corresponding data to or from a specific location within a device. These addressed buses may not directly support the higher-level concepts of framing, which may comprise composing a larger sequence of data octets from a number of smaller individual bus transactions. Additionally, these addressed buses may not directly support addressed messages, which are messages that are addressed only to device or to some logical function or endpoint within the device but not to a specific memory address location within the device. This may be problematic for an intelligent device, which intends to further process the data before directing it to/from an underlying media device because it requires a lower level, more entangled sharing of memory regions on the device between the intelligent device and software that may be executing on a host.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.

Method and system for efficient framing on addressed buses


An intraoperative neuromonitoring system for evaluating nerve function via a plurality of neural monitoring modalities includes an invasive medical instrument, a plurality of stimulating electrodes, a plurality of peripheral sensors, a patient module, and a control unit in communication with the patient module. The control unit is configured to maintain a range of acceptable values for each of a plurality of different neural monitoring modalities, determine, for each of the plurality of different neural monitoring modalities, whether the respective modality is within the range of acceptable values for that respective modality based on the indication of neuromuscular activity from one or more of the plurality of peripheral sensors, and provide an indication on a common screen displayed via the display, whether each respective neural monitoring modality is inside or outside of the range of acceptable values for that modality.

Intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring is a continually evolving field that aims to localize and monitor neural structures according to their functional basis within a human patient and, ultimately, it seeks to preserve the structural integrity of these neural structures during surgery or other invasive procedures. During spinal surgery for example, several neural structures may be placed at risk for potential injury—e.g., the spinal cord, one or more nerve roots, the lumbar plexus, and many (if not all) relevant vascular supply members going to and from the aforementioned elements.
Several electrophysiological modalities are currently available for monitoring various aspects of the central and peripheral nervous system during surgery or other invasive procedures in order to maintain their structural and/or functional integrity. Each neural monitoring modality offers a unique set of benefits and limitations as well as offering varying degrees of sensitivity or specificity as diagnostic techniques. For example, the most frequently used neural monitoring modalities for spinal procedures are SSEPs, MEPs, freerun or spontaneous EMG (sEMG), and triggered EMG (tEMG). In order to optimally preserve or protect the neural structures from structural or functional damage during spinal surgery, an interdisciplinary effort among the surgical, neuromonitoring, and neuroanesthesia teams is imperative.
Beyond the acquisition and communication of data required for intraoperative monitoring lies the art and science of interpreting the numerous permutations of results offered by multimodality intraoperative neuromonitoring, during a wide variety of spine surgeries. Oftentimes it is the interpretation and correlation of this data with particular structural or functionality impingements that is of the most benefit to the surgeon and, ultimately, the health of the patient. It has been found, however, that consistent and reliable interpretation of multiple modalities of information has been lacking and the structural and functional functioning of the patient's neural system has been impinged upon.
To that end, a need exists in the prior art for a neurophysiological monitoring system which monitors the neural pathology of a patient during an operation, interprets the data of multiple modalities of information being aggregated through such neural monitoring, and communicates such interpreted information to the surgeon and/or others in the operating chamber in a reliable and consistent manner. It is to such a neurophysiological monitoring system that the presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s), process(es), methodology(ies) and/or outcome(s) is directed.

Intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring system


The control stage buckets for a steam turbine have airfoils which are hollowed out to form an interior cavity within the airfoil. The cavity opens through the radial inner platform of the bucket and terminates short of the tip of the bucket. The buckets are therefore of reduced weight. This reduced weight causes reduced creep damage in the axially extending dovetails along the rotor rim.

The present invention relates to a control stage for a high temperature steam turbine and particularly relates to buckets of the control stage having internal cavities within the airfoils of the buckets to reduce the weight of the bucket and creep damage in the turbine rotor.
The control stage of a steam turbine, i.e., the first stage of the turbine downstream of the control valves and steam inlets, creates unique loading on the control stage buckets. Typically, there are four inlets for admitting steam to the control stage, with a control valve for each inlet. The inlets are generally arranged in quadrants. Consequently, steam is emitted over segments of arcs and is therefore not uniformly applied on the first stage bucket airfoils. Because of this unique non-uniform flow and, hence, loading on the control stage, and over long-term operation at high temperatures, creep damage can and does occur in the turbine rotor, particularly in the coupling between the buckets and the rotor.
Typically, the buckets are secured to the rotor by dovetails. For example, the buckets may have first are second dovetails extending in an axial direction. Alternate dovetails on the rotor are received between the first and second bucket dovetails. The remaining rotor dovetails are received between the bucket dovetails of next-adjacent bucket. The rotor is typically formed of a material which does not have the high creep or rupture strength characteristic of the creep or rupture strength of the buckets end, accordingly, creep damage can and does occur about the rotor dovetails. Conventionally, the dovetails of the bucket and rotor are secured to one another by insertion of axially extending crush pins in openings formed in both the bucket and rotor dovetails. Creep strains around the pinholes of the dovetails, particularly in neck regions of the rotor dovetails, have been demonstrated. Accordingly, there is a need to control the loads or stresses in those regions to prevent creep strain from causing cracks to develop in the rotor dovetail.

Reduced weight control stage for a high temperature steam turbine


A seatbelt assembly with a buckle has male and female mating parts, in which the male part includes features to prevent disengagement operation by a child. The child resistant features include added ribs, webbing in the form of flanges or struts, or barbs or prongs that increase the difficulty for disengaging the buckle. The female part can have an arcuate outer surface to increase the overall durability of the buckle and resist damaging external forces or damaging misuse. The female part can also be provided with lateral shoulders to make the female part harder to withdraw and thus more child resistant. The seatbelt assembly with the child resistant buckle can be operated easily by an adult, while remaining secure from disengagement by a typical child.

The present invention is directed to a child seatbelt assembly with a child resistant buckle and, in particular, to an improvement in the type of buckle commonly used in many children's safety seats, strollers, baby carriages, shopping cart seat belts, etc. A prior art buckle for use with a seatbelt assembly is made, for example, by Illinois Tool Works (ITW) and others and is well known. Referring to FIG. 9A, a prior art buckle has two latch members 10 of a male part 20 that slide into a slot 12 of a female part 30 and have barbed ends 14 that engage in female pan 30. The prior art buckle can be manipulated, by some young children, in a way that permits the buckle to be undone. As is well known, the two barbed ends 14 are pressed toward each other to allow male part 20 of the buckle to be removed from female part 30.
Others have attempted to provide a child resistant buckle for use with a seatbelt assembly. For example, see Gallbreath, U.S. Pat. No. 5,991,985 which provides a third fastening element and includes a depressable button to allow the third fastening element to be undone. This buckle is cumbersome because it requires that the user learn an additional motion in order to undo the buckle, i.e., the user must at the same time depress the side latches and the center button to undo the buckle and release the seatbelt strap.
Retainer strap seatbelt assemblies with conventional buckles are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,101,687 and 6,101,690, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. These seatbelt assemblies are typically used in shopping carts to help restrain children in the carts and prevent injury. However, the buckles in these seatbelt assemblies are not designed to be child resistant to any certain extent.
Indeed, no readily adoptable standard for child resistant buckles is presently available. However, because of the importance of providing a child resistant buckle, it would be desirable to provide a buckle that is not easily opened by children under a certain age, for example 4 years old, but is readily opened by adults or older minors, for example, of 16 years of age or older.
An example of a child resistant buckle in a seatbelt assembly is found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/081,353, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated into the present application by reference. The buckle includes a number of features to increase the child resistant properties of the buckle. However, there is no readily available data that suggests one design is more appropriate for providing child resistant properties than another design.
Moreover, when the types of buckles and straps described above are used in an environment where the buckles are typically subjected to high impact and compression forces, the buckle can be damaged. A typical application for the buckles and straps are on child safety restraints, or seatbelts, used on grocery shopping carts. When carts are nested together with one another for storing large numbers of carts easily, for example, the buckles can be caught between the carts and can be subjected to high impact and compressive forces. Impact forces like these tend to cause the buckle to crack or even shatter. Compressive forces can deform the buckle beyond a point of elastic resilience, resulting in an unworkable buckle. In addition, if it is desired that the buckle exhibit certain features, such as child resistance, the forces applied to the buckle should not disrupt the desired features.
In addition, the seatbelt assembly is sometimes misused in connecting grocery carts together, for example, to tow a number of carts together. These occasions of misuse can produce high tensile strain on the buckle, causing the buckle to fail and resulting in damage to buckle components.


A moving object detection device comprising: an object distance setting part, determining the distance to a moving object that moves the most based on a distance image, in which information on distances to image-taken objects are embedded, and a difference image, in which the movements of moving objects are embedded as movement information; an object distance image generating part, generating an object distance image corresponding to the abovementioned distance; and a contour extraction part, extracting a contour inside the object distance image to detect a moving object.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns a moving object detection device, a moving object detection method, and a moving object detection program for detecting, from images taken by cameras, moving objects that exist in the images.
2. Description of Relevant Art
As a prior art of detecting, from an image taken by a CCD or other type of camera, objects that exist in the image, there is for example the art wherein initial ambiguous contours of objects are set as contour models and these contour models are reduced and deformed according to predetermined rules to extract the contours of the objects and thereby detect the objects (active contour model: snakes). In an object detection art based on this contour extraction, the edges of objects with movement (moving objects) are detected from images that are successive in time and the edges are joined to the contour models to extract the contours of moving objects and thereby detect the moving objects (see for example, Patent Literature 1).
Also as an art of separating and extracting individual objects from position (distance) information obtained from a stereo image, etc., there is the art wherein, for example, in a region that is recognized as an object in three-dimensional space, a restricted object position calculation region, in which the object is positioned, is set as an initial region according to the size of the object, the relative position of the object position calculation region with respect to the position of the center of gravity in three-dimensional coordinates of the object is computed, and when this relative position is within a predetermined range with respect to the position of the center of gravity, the position of the center of gravity is specified as the position of the object to thereby extract the object (see for example, Patent Literature 2).
Also as an art of detecting moving objects from images taken by a moving camera, there is the art of analyzing the movement of the moving camera from luminance information in images that are successive in time, this movement is presumed to be the movement of the background, and, based on the differences of the successive images and the movement of the background, the regions of moving objects are detected and extracted as contours (see for example, Non-Patent Literature 1).
[Patent Literature 1]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei-8-329254 (p. 7, FIG. 9 and FIG. 10).
[Patent Literature 2]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei-7-49950 (pp. 4 and 5, FIG. 1).
[Non-Patent Literature 1]
Matsuoka, Araki, Yamasawa, Takemura, Yokoya, "Extraction and Tracking of Moving Object Contours from Moving Camera Images and Real-Time Processing by DSP," The Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers, Technical Report of The Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers, PRMU 97–235, 1998.
However, of the above-described prior arts, with the art of the first example, wherein contour models are joined to edges, detected from successive images, to extract the contours of moving objects and thereby detect the objects, in a case where a plurality of objects exist adjacently in the taken images, these plurality of objects are recognized as a single object.
Also, of the above-described prior arts, with the art of the second example in which objects are extracted based on the center-of-gravity positions of the objects, calculations must be performed repeatedly until the relative position of the object position calculation region with respect to the center-of-gravity position falls within the predetermined range and thus the time for object extraction becomes long. This art thus could not be applied to a device, such as a moving robot, that is to perform recognition (extraction) of persons and other objects in real time.
Also, of the above-described prior arts, with the art of the third example in which moving objects are detected by a moving camera, since the entireties of images taken by the moving camera are processed as object regions for contour extraction, the calculation amount becomes large and thus a high-speed processing device is required for successive extraction of the contours of moving objects in real time. Furthermore, as with the above-described first example, in a case where a plurality of objects exist adjacently in the taken images, these plurality of objects are recognized as a single object.
There was thus a need for a moving object detection device, a moving object detection method, and a moving object detection program which enable the calculation processes for performing contour extraction of moving objects to be lightened even with images taken by moving cameras and enable detection of individual objects at high speed even in cases where a plurality of objects exist adjacently in the images taken.

Moving object detection device, moving object detection method, and moving object detection program


An integrated information system is provided for a plant with interactive processes running in functional equipment subsets, such as a nuclear power generation plant. Sensors are operatively coupled to monitor processes and equipment in the plant, collecting sample data for assessing operational conditions and for predicting maintenance requirements based on loading of the equipment. One or more processors access the sample data and compares present conditions to diagnostic specifications, technical specifications and historical data stored in memory and indexed to equipment subsets and functional operating groups. The processor(s) generate prioritized reports to alert users to potential operational and/or maintenance problems. In addition to the prioritized reports, the processor accesses and outputs to the users reports of the diagnostic and technical specifications applicable to the process parameters exhibiting the potential problems. These specifications are provided in successive levels of detail and are cross referenced between related processes and related items of equipment. The information system integrates operations, maintenance, engineering and management interests in a common database of information via network-coupled data terminals.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of plant control and management information systems, and in particular to an integrated plant monitoring and diagnostic system for shared use by the operations, maintenance and engineering departments of a nuclear power plant. The system collects and monitors operating parameter data via sensors, generates prioritized condition reports including present conditions and anticipated impending conditions to be addressed by preventive maintenance or operational changes, and provides users with background technical and historical data that is ranked and cross referenced by related operational systems and related articles of equipment.
2. Prior Art
Various management information systems are known for monitoring and recording process parameters in connection with power generation as well as with industrial processes generally. These systems often are reactive in that they respond to present levels of monitored parameters, or at most respond to present trends to control generation of alarms and the like when a parameter exceeds preset values or threatens to do so. A typical process control system monitors sensed parameters to ensure that they remain within preset limits defined by the programmer of the system. Often the present levels can be displayed graphically to highlight trends.
Another form of management information system is known in connection with scheduling of maintenance procedures. By defining a useful life for each article of equipment among a number of articles which are related or inter-dependent, it is possible to schedule repair, replacement or preventive maintenance operations more efficiently so as to minimize downtime. The idea is to plan replacement or repair of articles of equipment for as late as practicable before an actual failure, preferably using intelligent scheduling procedures to minimize downtime by taking maximum advantage of any downtime. The scheduling system prompts or warns plant personnel to attend to each of the articles which may need attention at or soon after the time at which the maintenance of any particular article becomes critically important.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,908,775--Palusamy et al discloses a cyclic monitoring system which counts down a defined useful life expected for various structures in a nuclear power plant. This system is responsive to operating levels in the plant, and increases the predicted aging rate of plant structures to account for variations in usage including transient loading. A sampling module is provided to detect the current loading of monitored equipment periodically. Transient and steady state operating levels are determined from the sampled data and used to generate a usage factor. Equipment degradation due to fatigue and the like is anticipated by integrating the usage factor over time. Whereas operating levels and transient disturbances are taken into account in assessing the wear on plant equipment, the system can be used to plan maintenance and replacement activities or alternative plant operations, using a more accurate estimation of the useful life of the plant components.
The predictive maintenance system according to Palusamy '775 incorporates both operational data and a defined useful life data indexed to articles of equipment. However, the system is such that it primarily serves only maintenance functions. It would be advantageous to provide a system that benefits operational and engineering departments as well. The present invention is intended to accomplish this by integrating not only information regarding usage and expected useful life, but by further integrating design and technical specifications and historical data into a system that monitors operational levels as well as equipment conditions. This data is provided in a hierarchical data acquisition and processing system providing shared access by the different departments, especially operations, maintenance and engineering. The data is arranged and cross referenced for presentation of meaningful reports for each of the departments.
Nuclear reactors for generation of electric power are heavily instrumented to enable efficient plant operation and to ensure safety. U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,898 Bogard et al discloses a system operable to record and report neutron emission levels in and around the reactor as well as pressure and flow parameters, for accurately assessing the accumulation of stress on the operating structures. U.S. Pat. No. 4,935,195--Palusamy et al similarly attempts to factor corrosion of the coolant flow path structures for assessing the useful life of reactor components.
Typically, monitoring equipment for a nuclear power plant or similar process is associated specifically with a particular structure or operating system of the plant. For example, in Bogard et al the monitoring system is specifically associated with coolant flow structures. In Palusamy '195 the monitoring system is associated with the neutron emissions. For the most part, monitoring systems of this type are dedicated either to safety purposes (e.g., to detect an unsafe condition and to shut down and/or generate alarms automatically), or to operational control (e.g., to control the positions of valves and the like during ongoing plant operation). Routines which accumulate a usage factor for assessing the loading factor on a particular subsystem could use much of the same data which is collected by safety and control instrumentation. However, the prior art fails to provide a fully integrated system that can take full advantage of the available instrumentation.
It would be advantageous to provide such an integrated system which not only monitors various articles of plant equipment, but which also accounts for the interdependence of the subsystems, makes decisions or predictions in view of stored design criteria, and makes all this information available generally to plant personnel. In specifying the subsystems, design criteria and technical specifications were merged under the assumption that the subsystems would operate under certain conditions. Operational conditions such as equipment problems can change the loading level for a given article of equipment or subsystem, and also the loading levels of other articles and subsystems that are related to or interdependent with the given ones. Therefore, the interrelations of the articles or subsystems, their design specifications, their history and their current conditions should all be taken in account when assessing operational conditions and maintenance needs, or when evaluating operations on an engineering level.
It is generally advisable for plant management and/or maintenance personnel to collect any available data regarding the subsystems operating in a plant or in an area of the plant, to coordinate maintenance and repair activities. In this manner, a downtime for work on one or more articles or subsystems can be used for simultaneous work on others. However, a comprehensive calculation and analysis of relevant plant conditions can be lengthy and costly. In a monitoring system where information on operational conditions is only immediately available to the operators (e.g., for safety and/or control purposes), engineers, scientists, maintenance technicians, managers and headquarters staff must collect and analyze much of the same information in planning their activities. Each group tends to collect and analyze data in a manner that is best suited to their own area of concern. Nevertheless, an integrated arrangement is certainly more efficient and useful than one in which the various departments operate substantially independent information systems.
The present invention is intended to integrate diagnostic and predictive instrumentation for a number of interdependent plant systems, for taking advantage of available synergies. Furthermore, safety and control parameters are collected using a data network arrangement that is shared by primary and auxiliary system control and protection groups, plant maintenance groups, plant engineering and management. In order to accomplish this objective, the plant computerized information system is integrated generally with instrument data collection from a variety of sources, and stored design criteria information. The operational parameters are factored together in an integrated diagnostics and monitoring system with technical specifications for condition directed maintenance and aging management. Specific, actionable diagnostic information on equipment condition is developed, including cross referenced selection of background technical data, whereby operations and maintenance decisions can be made more effectively and from a greater base of knowledge.
The diagnostics and maintenance arrangement according to the invention puts control and safety parameter information to use by the engineering and maintenance departments rather than only the operations control personnel. Conversely, the system makes maintenance and engineering information available to operations and safety groups, thus providing various useful lines of communication and data access availability.

Plant maintenance with predictive diagnostics


The present invention provides a height-adjustable pillow comprising: a lower member; an upper member which is disposed above the lower member, in such a way as to be able to move vertically relative to the lower member; and a raising and lowering device for adjusting the height of the upper member by moving the upper member.

In general, a pillow serves to support the head of a user such that the user can remain in a comfortable position while sleeping, and thus generally has a predetermined height and a suitable cushioning function. Such a pillow includes a pillow body filled with a stuffing and a pillow cover covering the pillow body. The stuffing may be implemented as buckwheat chaff, rice chaff, latex, sponge, cotton, hair, a functional material, or the like.
People sleep in a variety of postures, i.e. people lie on backs, sides, or stomachs. When a person rests with the head supported on a pillow while lying on his or her back, the back of the head, the cervical spine, and the back are substantially in line, such that the user may not be significantly uncomfortable even if the height of the pillow used is relatively low. However, when the person attempts to sleep on the side with the pillow of the same height, the cervical spine becomes curved due to the difference in the height between one shoulder and one side of the face, causing the person to be uncomfortable. In contrast, when a relatively higher pillow is used, the person may feel relatively comfortable when lying on the side. However, when the person lies on his or her back, the head may be raised, whereby discomfort is likely.


A device for preparing drinks that incorporate a capsule selection function connected to a system for brewing the contents of the capsules to enable brewing to take place under optimal conditions. The device includes a storage system comprising capsules arranged in several sets, a mechanism for capturing a capsule individually from a set and releasing the capsule into a brewing system. The capture mechanism is able to move between the storage system and the brewing system and is designed in such a way as to adopt at least two positions, a first or reception position in which the capsule is held and is able to be transferred by the capture means and a second or release position in which the capture means can be opened to release the capsule from the capture mechanism. The device provides advantages in the handling of the capsule after its selection, in particular, its transfer, the brewing of its contents, and, optionally, the ejection of the spent capsule in a reliable, rapid and automated manner. In addition, the invention provides more reliable usage with no problems of pouring and draining the liquid extract.

The present invention relates to a device for preparing a drink from capsules containing a substance to be brewed in a brewing system forming part of the device. The present invention is more particularly to do with selecting and handling a capsule in such a device.
It is known practice to prepare drinks such as coffee from capsules containing a predetermined amount of ground roasted coffee. Capsules have the advantage of simplifying the operations of preparing the drink, ensuring clean preparation without leaving visible grounds, and giving precise control over the quantity and quality of the prepared product, all in a reproducible manner.
In general terms, the method of brewing the contents of a capsule consists in (i) enclosing the capsule in a pressure-resistant chamber, (ii) piercing one of the faces of the capsule, usually by means of spike(s) or blade(s) situated in a part with a water inlet also referred to as the "bath", (iii) introducing a quantity of hot water into the capsule to create an environment at a pressure of several bar inside the component to produce the liquid coffee extract, and then (iv) releasing the liquid coffee extract through the opposite face of the capsule, which, when contacted by projecting parts, opens due to the internal pressure created inside the capsule. The advantage of this method of brewing from capsules arises from the fact that the brewing conditions (particularly temperatures, pressures and times) can be controlled because both the contents and packaging of the capsules are made under precisely controlled conditions.
In most commercially available brewing devices, the capsules are loaded by hand individually into the brewing capsule holder, which usually corresponds to the base part from which the liquid extract is then poured. The capsule holder may come in a variety of forms, usually in the form of a spoon with bayonet engagement as in traditional expresso machines, or in the form of movable jaws that close under the action of a toggle mechanism. There are also capsule loading systems of the movable drawer type for transferring the capsule in a simplified loading movement—linear horizontal or other—into the brewing system. Such a system is described in European application 1 153 561. However, these systems only take a limited number of capsules inserted into the system by the user himself or herself.
There is however a need for capsules to be fed from a capsule store without the need for the capsule to be handled directly but instead encouraging a more automated placing of the capsules in the brewing system. There is also a need to provide stores for capsules of either the same or different kinds, while also being very easy to fill. Certain systems have already been described in patent publications. For example, Swiss patent application No. 471,570 relates to automatic coffee machines comprising a mechanism for heating and dispensing water, a mechanism for storing filled cartridges containing coffee powder interacting with a receiving disc and transporting the cartridges in order to place them in front of a hot-water discharge nozzle and remove the cartridges after infusion; all these mechanisms being operated by motors in a synchronized configuration. The cartridges are transported individually from hoppers on a disc with holes, to a pressurized water outlet. Such a device is rudimentary and is not designed to supply a modem brewing system in which the enclosure is completely closed around the capsule in order for brewing to take place under precisely controlled and reproducible conditions of pressure, time and temperatures. Moreover, ejecting the cartridge from the disc requires dislodging the cartridge from the disc by lifting the cartridge, which can lead to problems with jamming and recovery.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,240,832 relates to a device for supplying portions of ground coffee to a brewing unit having a magazine able to hold a plurality of portions of coffee and means for discharging individual portions into the feeder device. The capsule discharging system is relatively complex and uses several pairs of catches operated by pairs of operating components which are themselves controlled by an electromagnet. Each series or tube of portions of coffee possesses its own unloading components rendering the system relatively complex, inefficient and expensive. In addition, the system demands great precision and perfect synchronization of the movements of the discharging components, which must act at the same time to prevent the portions of coffee becoming stuck in the system. With repeated cycles and with wear of the parts, such a system may prove to be unreliable and prone to more or less serious failures. Another problem is that the brewing chamber receiving the portion must pivot sideways to line up with the direction of the brewing support, before moving upwards to meet said support in a linear movement. The repeated combination of complex movements on several axes is likely to affect the precision of the brewing system, to modify the brewing conditions in the course of time, encourage premature wear of mechanical parts and so reduce the reliability and life of the device. Another disadvantage is that the brewing occurs in an upward direction, the extracted liquid passing out at the top of the brewing support, so a tube to the cup filling point has to be provided. Such a configuration poses problems of draining the liquid.
The invention now provides seeks to overcome the disadvantages of the known devices of the prior art.

Device and method for selecting and brewing the contents of a capsule to prepare a beverage