The present invention relates to a cell for optical analysis, wherein a flow space of a low depth is formed by attachment, using a simple double-coated tape without out special processing, of a micro flow channel through which a liquid sample passes, thereby enabling: a very easy manufacturing method; a reduction of manufacturing costs, thereby allowing the cell to be more widely used; a maintenance of a short path length of light with respect to the flow space in which the liquid sample flows, thereby enabling accurate optical analysis without diluting a sample with high absorbance; an expansion of a flow space region along the plane vertical to the light-passing direction, thereby enabling smoother optical analysis and improving the accuracy of optical analysis.

In general, various experiments or analyses are in progress in a variety of research institutes, school laboratories, hospitals, and the like. Especially, in the biochemical experiment or analysis, an experiment or analysis is conducted using various solutions for analysis of components for various kinds of research data or samples.
As one of these experimental and analytical methods, an optical analysis method is widely used in which light is irradiated onto a liquid sample. Such a optical analysis method is one in which light is irradiated onto the liquid sample using a separate light source, the light having passed through the liquid sample is received and detected by a separate light detector, and the components or characteristics of the liquid sample are calculated through analysis of the detected light.
At this time, the liquid sample is typically provided to a separate transparent cuvette so as to allow the liquid sample to flow into the cuvette, and then light is irradiated onto the liquid sample flowing in a constant flow within the cuvette so that a precise analysis can be performed on the liquid sample. In this case, the cuvette is manufactured in a wide variety of forms depending on the type of the analysis or the liquid sample. The cuvette is constructed of a single cell structure on a disposable basis without an inconvenience of the inner cleaning work so as to perform a simple analysis.
The cuvette is made of a transparent material such as glass or acryl, and includes a flow channel formed therein so as to allow the liquid sample to flow therethrough. In the optical analysis of the liquid sample, light is irradiated onto and penetrates through flow channel in the cuvette to analyze the characteristics of the liquid sample flowing in the flow channel formed. At this time, the inner flow channel of the cuvette is required to be formed such that its vertical distance or thickness is very short in a micro unit along a direction in which the light passes through the flow channel, so that an accurate optical analysis can be performed on the liquid sample with high absorbance owing to a shortened path length of the light passing through the liquid sample.
In other words, in case of a liquid sample with high absorbance, as the path length of the light passing through the liquid sample becomes shorter, an optical analysis can be performed more accurately. Thus, the flow channel of the cuvette has a great effect on accuracy and reliability of the optical analysis of the liquid sample depending on the thickness of the flow channel in which the liquid sample flows in a direction in which the light passes therethrough.
Therefore, the flow channel formed in the cuvette to allow the liquid sample to flow therein is required to be formed very thin in a micro unit, if necessary. However, there occurs a problem in that since it is difficult to make the inner flow channel of the cuvetter very thin, an expensive advanced machining equipment is often needed, which leads to an increase in the manufacturing cost and time. In addition, such a cuvette is not used in small-sized laboratories due to its high price.

Detection cell for optical analysis of liquid sample


A novel method and apparatus for fabrication of blazed and slanted fiber Bragg gratings is disclosed. The method comprises the step of simultaneously exposing the fiber with two mutually coherent light beams so as to create an interference pattern along a longitudinal axis of the fiber, wherein each one of said beams is brought into a line focus, which coincides with the core of the fiber. Further, the plane comprising the beams is rotated to provide a second angle relative to the fiber direction, said rotation giving rise to a blazing angle of the photo-induced grating elements.

There is a rapidly growing demand for high-quality optical Bragg gratings with arbitrary phase and index profiles, as these gratings are key elements in many components that are used in WDM networks. Over the past few years, several methods that improve the quality and the flexibility in the grating fabrication process have been developed. A straightforward approach is to scan a UV beam over a long phase mask in a fixed relative position to the fiber. Non-uniform profiles can in this case be fabricated either by post processing the illuminated region or by using a phase mask that contains the appropriate structure. Complex grating structures can also be synthesized by moving the fiber slightly relative to the phase mask during the scan.
In 1995, a novel versatile sequential technique for venting long and complex fiber gratings was demonstrated by R. Stubbe, B. Sahlgren, S. Sandgren and A. Asseh, in "Novel technique for writing long superstructured fiber Bragg gratings", in Photosensitivity and Quadratic Nonlinearity in Glass Waveguides (Fundamentals and Applications), Portland, PD1 (1995) and by A. Asseh, H. Storøy, B. E. Sahlgren, S. Sandgren and R. A. H. Stubbe, in "A writing technique for long fiber Bragg gratings with complex reflectivity profiles", J. Lightw. Techn. 15, 1419–1423 (1997). The idea was to expose a large number of small partially overlapping subgratings—each containing a few hundred periods or less—in sequence; where advanced properties such as chirp, phase shifts and apodization were introduced by adjusting the phase offset and pitch of the subgratings. In the setup that was used in the above-mentioned references, each subgrating was created by exposing the fiber with a short UV pulse while the fiber itself was translated at a constant speed. The UV pulses were triggered by the position of the fiber relative the UV beams, which was measured by a standard helium-neon laser interferometer.
Bragg gratings normally have their grating elements aligned normal to the waveguide axis. However, there is an increasing interest in producing gratings which have their elements at an angle to the waveguide axis, known as blazed Bragg gratings. Such blazed Bragg gratings are difficult to fabricate efficiently and with appropriate precision with previously know methods and apparatuses.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,730,888 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,897 both relates to methods and apparatuses to photo-induce blazed gratings in optical fibers. The blazed gratings are formed by tilting the projection system relative to the fiber. However, there are several problems with these known methods. To be able to tilt the projection system relative to the fiber the equipment becomes complex and costly. Further, it is difficult to achieve an adequate focus on the fiber in the whole exposure area. Hereby, the known methods becomes slow and inefficient, with a low through-put. Still further, with the known methods it is only possible to produce blazed gratings with a limited blazing angle, whereas blazed gratings with larger angles of inclination is very complicated to produce, or even not possible to produce at all.

System and method for fabricating Bragg gratings


A cutting table assembly for oxy cutting comprising a cutting table having a slab loading face and mounted for pivotal movement between a loading position in which the loading face is generally horizontal and a cutting position in which the face is oblique, and a pair of torches mounted on the table. The loading face is constituted by a pair of loading subfaces separated by a slot and the torches are mounted in the slot below the loading face. The torches are positioned at opposite ends of the slot prior to the initiation of the cutting action and, upon the initiation of the cutting action, move toward each other and cut into opposite ends of the slab. A pair of gantries are mounted on the table and each carries a deburring device positioned in overlying opposition to a respective torch. Each gantry further includes a plurality of spaced downwardly directed nozzles which are supplied with compressed air to generate an air curtain.

This invention relates to oxygen cutting apparatus ad procedures and more specifically to apparatus and procedures for slitting a steel slab utilizing an oxy torch.
Various procedures are known for slitting steel slabs. For example, it is known to place a slab edgewise on a series of feed rollers that carry the slab forward past an oxy cutting torch between pairs of loose mounted vertical rollers. It is also known to slit or cut a slab while lying horizontally or on edge and suspended by means of electro magnets located below the feed rollers.
Whereas these and other slab cutting procedures are generally satisfactory, they are not amenable to the provision of a high volume, high quality manufacturing line operation for slitting slabs.

Method and apparatus for slitting steel slabs


A semi-autonomous downhole taxi with fiber optic communication is described. The taxi includes a housing configured to travel within a horizontal section of a wellbore. A docking station is detachably attached to the housing. The docking station is configured to couple to a wireline to pass the taxi through a vertical section of the wellbore. The docking station is configured to be detached from and re-attached to the housing. A fiber optic cable spool is attached to and carried by the housing. A fiber optic cable is wound on the fiber optic cable spool. The fiber optic cable mechanically connects the docking station and the housing. The fiber optic cable is configured to unspool from the fiber optic cable spool as the housing, detached from the docking station, travels through the horizontal section of the wellbore. The fiber optic cable is configured to pass data between the docking station and the housing. The data is associated with wellbore operations to be performed by the taxi in the horizontal section of the wellbore.

Well operations involve conveying tools and sensors to different depths in the wellbore. In non-horizontal wellbores, for example, vertical wellbores, well tools can be conveyed using wireline, slickline or coiled tubing using gravity. In horizontal wellbores or wellbores in which the effect of gravity is insufficient to convey the well tool to certain locations, tractors or taxis can be used to propel the well tool to such locations. In certain instances, the tractor can remain coupled to a wireline that can pull the tractor or the taxi out of the wellbore.

Semi-autonomous downhole taxi with fiber optic communication


A process for the production of warp knitted fabric uses a ground guide bar (L1) and at least two guide bars (L2 and L3) with partial threading. Threads (14) of a first additional thread system are worked with a main lap, which comprises a two row repeat. Threads (15) of a second additional thread system alternate between this main lapping and a pattern lap. Thread consumption in in the pattern lap are kept the same as in the main lap by using displacements that are larger and smaller than that in the main lap. A warp knitting machine (1) for providing such a process comprises appropriate control arrangements ( 6, 7, 8) for the displacement of the ground guide bar (L1) and the additional guide bars (L 2, L3). Furthermore, a novel warp knitted fabric is produced thereby. It is thus possible, by simple means, to produce a warp knitted fabric which is differently structured both in the warp direction, as well as in the weft direction.

The invention is concerned with warp knitted fabrics and a machine and process for preparing such warp knitted fabrics. Conceptually, the process is performed with a ground thread system laid by a ground guide bar as the ground fabric. At least two additional thread systems, which are taken from a common warp beam, are each processed by a supplemental guide bar with partial threading. Conceptually related to this process is a warp knitting machine having a ground guide bar and at least two additional guide bars served from a common warp beam with partial threading. The machine also has a ground and at least two additional control arrangements for displacing guide bars. The invention also relates to a fabric produced in accordance with such a process.
In known processes (German OS 1785 138) two additional guide bars perform, in each stitch row, underlaps of different size next to each other. These laps, under tensioned conditions, are altered every two rows or more, so that within each pattern repeat they average out, so that each of the additional guide bars performs the same number of different laps. In the example (of the reference) a partial threading and four row repeat is foreseen for each additional guide bar with one full and one empty, in which two tricot laps and two satin laps alternate with each other in every stitch row to a satin lap. This gives an upper surface structure which is differentiable from smooth fabric. Structuring is, however, not strongly emphasized since the long underlaps are crossed with the underlaps of the tricot and are thereby held down. If one wishes to produce patterned fabric one can only obtain a stripe type pattern.
A purpose of the present invention is to obtain a patterned warp knitting which has a differentiated structure both in the weft direction and in the warp direction.

Warp knitted fabric and process and machine therefor


A submergible fish cage comprising: a float; a fish cage; at least one (1) anchor weight; and at least one (1) cable, one end of the cable attached to the float element, a middle portion of the cable attached to the fish cage, the bottom end of the cable attached to the anchor element, the cable being shorter than the depth of the water in which the submergible fish cage is placed; the float having a trim tank adapted to be flooded with water, the trim tank adapted to be blown free of water with air, the float element having a minimum of buoyancy sufficient to float itself supporting the fish cage and cable when the trim tank is flooded with water, the float element having a maximum of buoyancy sufficient to float itself supporting the fish cage, anchor weight and cable when the trim tank is charged with air; and the anchor weight having sufficient weight to submerge the float, cage, cable and anchor weight when the trim tank is flooded with water.

The present invention is directed to a system and device for the aqua farming of fish in open bodies of water. At the present time, most fish farm systems employ ponds and/or tanks to raise fresh water and salt water fish. These operations are successful but have several drawbacks. Such systems have a fairly high capital requirement for the purchase or lease of the land and for the construction of the ponds and tanks which must be fabricated of materials resistant to the corrosive effects of fresh or salt water. The operation of the tanks and ponds are also expensive because the water quality of the ponds and tanks must be carefully controlled. If the water quality is allowed to deviate from the normal, the growth rate and health of the fish is dramatically affected. In fact if the water quality is not strictly controlled, the growth rate of the fish decreases and the mortality rate increases. A further disadvantage of raising fish in ponds and tanks arises from the health considerations. Fish are subject to a number of diseases. Once a tank or pond is infected, it is virtually impossible to save the fish being raised in the pond or tank. A further disadvantage associated with tanks and ponds is their susceptibility to temperature fluctuations caused by weather conditions. During hot spells, the water temperature of a tank or pond can reach 80.degree. F. or more unless the water is cooled or flushed with cool water. Several years ago, ponds in Texas were subject to a prolonged hot spell and it caused the pond water temperature to raise--most of the ponds did not have water cooling facilities--and large fish kills resulted from the elevated pond water temperatures. During freezing spells, the water temperature of a tank or pond can drop to near freezing unless the water is heated or flushed with warm water. There have been incidences during cold spells in Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana where pond water temperature has dropped to near freezing resulting in large fish kills. Even when the water temperature does not reach the extremes of 80.degree. or 32.degree. F., warm or cool water temperatures can adversely affect the fish growth rate. Another problem associated with the construction and operation of artificial ponds and tanks is the availability of water and the disposal of byproducts. Ponds require an initial charge of water to fill and require make-up water and flush water during the operation in order to maintain the minimum quality of water for fish growth. Tanks also require an initial charge of water and make up water during operation. If the tank has a water treatment set-up, the water does not have to be flushed but make up water is required and if the salt and/or minerals content of the water builds up, the water must be diluted with fresh water. Solids filter out of the water must be disposed of in an environmentally acceptable manner.
Because of these problems, a number of attempts have been made to raise fish in open bodies of water, such as in the ocean and in large lakes. The waters of the open bodies of water, because of currents and the winds, are constantly being churned so that the water does not stagnate. This is an ideal environment for the raising of fish. However, the raising of fish in an open body of water has its own difficulties including caging the fish, harvesting the fish from the cages, feeding the fish, and protecting the fish cage and the fish therein from actions of current, waves and wind on the open bodies of water.


In one embodiment, a delivery apparatus handle, such as for a mechanical heart valve frame can comprise an actuation knob with a toggle mechanism that can toggle the actuation knob from a first state in which the actuation knob is operable to cause the linear or rotational movement of multiple elements or sets of elements, such as tubes that are attached to, e.g., a mechanical heart valve frame to cause expansion or collapsing of the frame, to a second state in which only a single element or set of elements is moved, allowing for additional operations, such as, e.g., locking the frame and/or releasing it from the delivery apparatus.

Malfunctions within the human heart, such as those resulting from valvular diseases, frequently require repair of the native valve or replacement of the native valve with an artificial valve. There are a number of known repair devices (e.g., stents) and artificial valves, as well as a number of known methods of implanting these devices and valves in humans. In one known technique, a prosthetic device is configured to be implanted in a less invasive procedure by way of catheterization. For example, a collapsible transcatheter prosthetic heart valve can be crimped to a compressed state and percutaneously introduced in the compressed state on a catheter and expanded to a functional size at the desired position by mechanical expansion or using a self-expanding frame or stent.

Delivery apparatus for a prosthetic heart valve


A fuel pump including a low pressure infeed leading to a pumping chamber, a pumping plunger for pressurizing fuel in the pumping chamber, an outlet valve for delivering pressurized fuel from the pumping chamber to a high pressure outlet line during pumping, and an overpressure relief valve connected between the high pressure outlet line and the pumping chamber. A ball type relief valve element is spring biased to close against the relief valve seat. The spring is in a spring chamber that is fluidly isolated from the pumping chamber while the valve element is closed, preferably in direct hydraulic communication with the low pressure infeed, thereby reducing dead volume during normal pumping. The spring can act on the valve element through a piston, and in an alternative embodiment, the piston can provide a spill path from the pumping chamber to the low pressure infeed.

The present invention relates to high pressure fuel supply pumps for gasoline engines.
Single piston, cam driven fuel pumps have become a common solution for generating high pressure fuel for common rail direct injection gasoline engines.
It is known in the industry that the pump must incorporate an outlet check valve to prevent pressure bleed back from the rail while the pump is in the intake stroke cycle. It has become an industry requirement to incorporate a pressure relief valve within the pump to protect the entire high pressure system from an unexpected excess pressure caused by a system malfunction. In order to protect the rail and fuel injectors, the pressure relief valve must be in hydraulic communication with the rail. Two executions of such hydraulic communication, in parallel with the pump flow, are described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,401,593 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,132,558. The executions described in the prior art are successful in their ability to achieve a reasonable relief pressure by hydraulically disabling the relief device during the pumping event when normal high pressure line pulsations occur.
While these executions are sufficient for current gasoline direct injection systems that operate up to about 200 Bar rail pressure, there is a significant limitation for future systems that will operate at higher pressures required to meet forthcoming emissions regulations. Because the pressure relief valve flow returns to the pumping chamber, its associated spring and spring cavity are in direct communication with the pumping chamber. This spring cavity adds significant dead volume to the pumping chamber circuit volume that must be compressed during each pumping event. Higher operating pressures require increased pressure relief valve opening pressures, higher spring loads, and increased spring cavity volume to accommodate the increased spring size. This added dead volume combined with the increased pumping pressures has a significant detrimental effect on pump efficiency.

Pressure relief valve for single plunger fuel pump


A method, a unit and a computer program product for providing topology awareness information within an IP network includes a central node and a plurality of routers, wherein the probe is implemented in a router within the IP network and the probe belongs to a topology awareness system, that includes: elements for obtaining and maintaining relationship with other probes within the IP network, elements for collecting information about other network elements e.g. routers and switches, elements for communicating topology information with the central node of the topology awareness system, and elements for obtaining information concerning local resources on the router where the probe is implemented.

Many communication networks are migrating towards all-IP solutions. As the variety of applications based on IP networks grow, the need for sophisticated control and management systems increases. IP networks are by nature de-centralised. Each network node, i.e., router, can operate individually without the control of a central authority. There are applications that would benefit from central control and network operators often want to be in control of their network using a single centralised operations centre. In other words, applications or systems that need information on how routers are interconnected and how they route traffic between each other are becoming more common.
Herein, all systems providing the desired topological information are denoted as topology awareness systems.

Method for providing topology awareness information within an IP network


An image forming apparatus includes an image bearer; a transfer device; a transfer bias power source; and a controller to control the transfer bias power source. The transfer bias power source outputs the voltage that alternates between a transfer-directional voltage and a return-directional voltage. The transfer-directional voltage having a polarity transfers the toner image from a side of the image bearer to a side of the recording medium. The return-directional voltage has an opposite polarity to the polarity of the transfer-directional voltage. The controller reduces a frequency of the output voltage as a value of a ratio of A to B decreases while changing the value of the ratio of A to B. In this case, A is a time period of application of the return-directional voltage within one cycle of the output voltage, and B is a time period of the one cycle of the output voltage.

Technical Field
Aspects of the present disclosure relate to an image forming apparatus.
Related Art
In an image forming apparatus that employs an electrophotographic method, a belt type image bearer bearing an image contacts a transfer device opposed to the image bearer to form a transfer nip, thereby transferring a toner image onto a recording medium in the transfer nip. In such a configuration, when using a recording medium having a coarse surface or an embossed surface such as Japanese paper (also known as Washi), a pattern of light and dark (unevenness of image density) according to the surface condition of the recording medium appears in an output image. More specifically, toner does not transfer well to such embossed surfaces, in particular, recessed portions of the surface. This inadequate transfer of the toner appears as a pattern of light and dark in the resulting output image. In view of the above, when a superimposed voltage, in which a direct current voltage is superimposed on an alternating current voltage, is applied as a transfer voltage, the superimposed voltage is applied in a transfer direction for a longer time period than in a direction opposite to the transfer direction to improve the transferability.

Image forming apparatus with a controller to control an alternating transfer bias


This forming involves a composition including: poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) or PEDOT; polystyrene sulfonate or PSS; a compound (A) having formula:

Organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells are devices capable of converting solar energy into electric energy by using organic semiconductor materials, to create a photovoltaic effect. Active materials, as well as the architectures of such devices, are still evolving to meet performance and lifetime criteria enabling to widen the field of application of such technologies. The methods for manufacturing such devices also remain a constant concern.
In a conventional OPV cell structure, a substrate 1 is covered with the following successive layers:                an electrically-conductive layer 2 containing a conductive oxide used as a first electrode;        a semiconductor hole transport layer 3, also called HTL or also P layer;        an active layer 4 made of organic semiconductor material;        a semiconductor electron transport layer 5, also called ETL or also N layer; and        a conductive layer 6 used as a second electrode.
In an inverted structure, also called NIP structure, such as schematically shown in FIG. 1, the stack has the following sequence:                substrate 1;        a conductive layer 6 containing a conductive oxide used as a first electrode;        an n (or N) semiconductor layer 5;        an active layer 4;        a p (or P) semiconductor layer 3;        a conductive layer 2 used as a second electrode or upper electrode.
One of the main advantages of the OPV technology is the possibility to entirely form the devices by a wet process, via a varied range of printing and/or coating methods: inkjet, silk screening, slot-die, photogravure, spray coating, spin coating, flexography, or doctor blade coating . . . .
To date, the so-called "inverted" structure of OPV cells appears as the most promising since it enables to achieve the longest lifetimes. In such a configuration, the P layer, which is the hole transport layer or HTL, is thus arranged at the surface of the active layer.
Currently, the hole transport layer is generally obtained from a formulation or dispersion containing PEDOT:PSS. It comprises:                Poly(3,4-EthyleneDiOxyThiophene) or PEDOT having the following chemical structure:
                n being a positive integer        PolyStyrene Sulfonate or PSS in proton form (right-hand side) or not (left-hand side), having the following chemical structure:
x and y being positive integers.
PSS being a water-soluble polymer, most PEDOT:PSS formulations contain water.
Now, in OPV cells, the active layer onto which the formulation containing PEDOT:PSS is intended to be deposited is strongly hydrophobic and thus has a poor wettability by aqueous solutions.
Accordingly, the wetting ability or the ability of the PEDOT:PSS suspension to spread on the active layer is generally poor. It is thus difficult to perform continuous and uniform depositions without carrying out surface treatments.
An alternative to such treatments is to adapt the formulation intended to form the hole transport layer in order to improve its ability to wet the hydrophobic active layer.
Thus, and as an example, different solutions have been envisaged to solve this problem of compatibility between the active layer and the P layer containing PEDOT:PSS:
Document Voigt et al. (Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 95, 2011, 731-734) describes the adding of a solvent (isopropanol) and/or of a non-ionic and non-conductive fluorosurfactant (Zonyl® FS300) to a PEDOT:PSS formulation to arrange it on the active layer by photogravure. However, the OPV cells thus obtained have a relatively low performance and a plasma treatment of the surface remains necessary.
Document Weickert et al. (Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 95, 2010, 2371-2374) discloses the dilution of the formulation in a large quantity of alcohol (2-propanol) and the performing of a deposition by spray-coating on the active layer. However, the dry matter content being very low after dilution, the layer has a small final thickness. In relation with the specific spray-coating technique, it is possible to compensate for this small thickness by repeating the operations, but this is not feasible for most deposition techniques. Further, such a technique appears to be incompatible with the subsequent printing of an electrode, the article reporting the evaporation of the electrode.
Another option has been provided in document Lloyd et al. (Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 95, 2011, 1382-1388). It comprises carrying out a plasma treatment on the active layer to make it more hydrophilic. However, such a treatment creates defects and degrades the layer.
There thus appears to be an obvious need to identify new technical solutions improving the forming of a hole transport layer containing PEDOT:PSS on the hydrophobic active layer of an optoelectronic device, and more generally of a layer containing PEDOT:PSS on a hydrophobic support.

Forming of optoelectronic devices, particularly of inverted-type OPV cells

Abstract: with 0<x/y<1; Ar1 and Ar2 representing two aromatic rings, which may be identical or different; Ar1 and/or Ar2 comprising at least one hydrophobic substituent on its ring.

Commissariat A L'Energie Atomique Et Aux Energies Alternatives


In order to reduce the exposure of a detector surface 180 of a photo-multiplier 160 to stray charged particles, an off-axis structure is interposed between the resonant structure and the detector surface of the photo-multiplier. By providing the off-axis structure with at least one reflective surface, photons are reflected toward the detector surface of the photo-multiplier while at the same time absorbing stray charged particles. Stray particles may be absorbed by the reflective surface or by any other part of the off-axis structure. The off-axis structure may additionally be provided with an electrical bias and/or an absorbing coating for absorbing stray charged particles.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a device or system for removing stray charged particles during the detection of photons in a high frequency system, and in one embodiment to a reflector-based system with a stray electron absorbing structure between a source of photons and a photo-multiplier.
2. Discussion of the Background
In systems that utilize photo-multipliers to detect the arrival of photo-emissions, known photo-multipliers can produce false detection readings when stray electrons, either instead of or in addition to the desired photons, strike a detector surface in a photo-multiplier. Such a false detection may lead the photo-multiplier to incorrectly indicate the number of photons that were incident on the detector surface.


The present invention is an optical multiplex communication system in which an optical wavelength division channel and an optical code division channel can coexist, wherein a WDM channel section 86 has a wavelength demultiplexer 36 and WDM channels W1 to W4. An optical pulse string 83-3 is demultiplexed by the wavelength demultiplexer 36, and for channel W1, an optical pulse 37 with wavelength λ1 is input to an intensity modulator 114 and converted into an optical pulse signal of channel W1, and is output as a wavelength division optical pulse signal 115, where transmission information of channel W1 is reflected. An optical delay unit 116 provides a required time delay to a wavelength division optical pulse signal, so as to not match a position of an optical pulse constituting a wavelength division optical pulse signal 117 on a time base, and a position of a chip pulse constituting an encoded optical pulse signal which comes from an OCDM channel, and has a same wavelength as this optical pulse, on a time base.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical multiplex communication system in which Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) transmission/reception and Optical Code Division Multiplexing (OCDM) transmission reception can coexist.
2. Description of Related Art
In order to increase speed or increase capacity of optical fiber communication, optical multiplex communication technology for transmitting a plurality of channels of optical pulse signals simultaneously on one optical fiber transmission line has been studied. As a means of optical multiplex communication, WDM, to identify a channel by the wavelength of optical pulses constituting an optical pulse signal, and OCDM, to identify a channel by pattern matching of encoded optical pulse signals, have been researched.
First, the configuration and function of an example of an OCDM device (e.g. see N. Wada, et al: "Error-free transmission of 2-channel×2.5 Gbit/s time-spread/wavelength-hop OCDM using fibre Bragg grating with supercontinuum light source", ECOC' 99, 26-30 Sep. 1999, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-209186) will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2A to G. FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting the time-spread/wavelength-hop OCDM system. FIG. 2A to G are diagrams depicting the time waveform of signals at each location of the time-spread/wavelength-hop OCDM system.
This OCDM system is comprised of a transmission section 40 and a receive section 60 connected to a transmission line 52. The transmission line 52 is an optical fiber. FIG. 1 shows a device assuming 2 channel transmission/reception to prevent explanation from becoming unnecessarily complicated. It is obvious from the description herein below that an OCDM system which allows 3 or more channels of transmission/reception can be implemented in the same way merely by increasing the number of channels.
The transmission section 40 has an encoder 44 of the first channel, and encoder 48 of the second channel and an optical multiplexer 50. The encoder 44 of the first channel encodes an optical pulse signal 43 of the first channel with a code provided as code 1, and outputs it as the encoded optical pulse signal 45 of the first channel. The optical pulse signal 43 of the first channel is output from a signal generator 42 of the first channel. The encoder 48 of the second channel also encodes an optical pulse signal 47 of the second channel with a code provided as code 2, and outputs it as an encoded optical pulse signal 49 of the second channel. The optical pulse signal 47 of the second channel is output from a signal generator 46 of the second channel.
FIGS. 2A and B are diagrams depicting the time waveforms of the optical pulse signals of the first and second channels respectively, and one optical pulse constituting each optical pulse signal is shown respectively as a representative example. An optical pulse constituting the optical pulse signal of the first and second channels includes optical components of different wavelengths λ1, λ2 and λ3. To illustrate this, a rectangle enclosing number 1, 2 or 3, which represents wavelength λ1, λ2 or λ3, is stacked on a same point in time. Here an optical pulse signal, comprised of three different types of wavelengths, will be described. However, the number of types of wavelengths included in an optical pulse is not limited to three, but the same description will be applied to the case when two or four or more types of wavelengths are included.
An optical pulse including optical components with different wavelengths λ1, λ2 and λ3 means that if this optical pulse is separated and arrayed on the wavelength base, this optical pulse is dispersed into optical pulses of which the central wavelengths are λ1, λ2 and λ3. An optical pulse comprised of a single wavelength optical component, which is acquired by dividing the wavelength of an optical pulse including a plurality of optical components, may be called a "chip pulse" herein below.
Hereafter an optical pulse including different wavelength components is shown by stacking up a rectangle enclosing an identification number to indicate the wavelength of that wavelength component on a same point in time. In FIG. 2A to G optical pulses of the second channel are shaded with hatching in order to identify an optical pulse of the first channel and an optical pulse of the second channel.
FIGS. 2C and D show an encoded optical pulse signal 45 of the first channel and an encoded optical pulse signal 49 of the second channel on a time base. As FIG. 2C shows, in the case of the encoded optical pulse signal 45 of the first channel, for example, the optical pulse constituting the optical pulse signal 43 of the first channel is dispersed, by the encoder 44, into optical pulses (chip pulses) having central wavelengths λ1, λ2 and λ3, which are time-spread on the time base. As FIG. 2D shows, the encoded optical pulse signal 49 of the second channel is also dispersed into chip pulses and are time-spread on the time base. The code being set in the encoder of the first channel (code 1) and the code being set in the encoder of the second channel (code 2) are different codes, so the positions of the respective chip pulses of the encoded optical pulse signals of the first and second channels arrayed on the time base are different, as shown in FIGS. 2C and D.
In this way, the encoding performed by the transmission section 40 of the device shown in FIG. 1 is a method of time-spreading the optical pulse on the time base, and encoding by dispersing it into the optical pulses (chip pulses) having central wavelengths λ1, λ2 and λ3 constituting the optical pulse, so this is called "encoding by time-spread/wavelength-hop codes". In other words, encoding by time-spread/wavelength-hop encoding is performed for the optical pulse signals 43 and 47 of the first and second channels by the encoder 44 of the first channel and the encoder 48 of the second channel respectively.
FIG. 2E shows the optical code division multiplex signal 51 when the encoded optical pulse signal 45 of the first channel and the encoded optical pulse signal 49 of the second channel are multiplexed by the multiplexer 50. The multiplexer 50 plays a part of a multiplexer for multiplexing a plurality of channels of optical signals. As FIG. 2C shows, the chip pulse string constituting the encoded optical pulse signal 45 of the first channel and the chip pulse string constituting the encoded optical pulse signal 49 of the second channel are superimposed on the same time base.
The optical code division multiplex signal 51 propagates the transmission line 52, and is sent to the receive section 60. The receive section 60 has a splitter 62, a decoder 64 of the first channel and a decoder 68 of the second channel. The splitter 62 divides the intensity of the optical code division multiplex signal 51 and supplies one to the decoder 64 of the first channel as a split optical code division multiplex signal 63, and supplies the other to the decoder 68 of the second channel as a split optical code division multiplex signal 67. The decoder 64 of the first channel decodes the split optical code division multiplex signal 63 with a code provided as code 1, which is regenerated and output as an optical pulse signal 65 of the first channel, and is input to the signal receive section 67 of the first channel. The optical pulse signal 65 is recognized as a receive signal of the first channel in the signal receive section 67 of the first channel.
The decoder 68 of the second channel also decodes the split optical code division multiplex signal 67 with a code provided as code 2, which is regenerated and output as the optical pulse signal 69 of the second channel, and is input to the signal receive section 71 of the second channel. The optical pulse signal 69 is recognized as a receive signal of the second channel in the signal receive section 71 of the second channel.
The optical pulse signal regenerated by the decoder of the receive section may be called a "decoded optical pulse signal" herein below.
FIGS. 2F and G show decoded optical pulse signals when the intensity of the optical code division multiplex signal 51 is divided by the splitter 62 of the receive section 60 for each first and second channel, and decoded by the decoder 64 of the first channel and the decoder 68 of the second channel.
The decoded optical pulse signal 65 of the first channel will be described. In FIG. 3F, which shows the light intensity of the first channel on the time base, the chip pulse which comes from the optical pulse signal of the second channel is indicated by a hatched rectangle enclosing a number to identify the wavelength, while the rectangle enclosing a number to identify the wavelength is not hatched for the chip pulse which comes from the optical pulse signal of the first channel.
The chip pulse, which comes from the optical pulse signal of the first channel, is a chip pulse encoded with a code provided as code 1 and generated, so if decoded with the same code provided as code 1, each chip pulse is arranged to be the same position on the time base, canceling the time delay generated during encoding. In other words, an original optical pulse signal is regenerated as an auto-correlation waveform.
In the case of the time waveform of light intensity with respect to the time base of the first channel shown in FIG. 2F, unshaded rectangles enclosing numbers 1, 2 and 3 are stacked at a same point in time. On the other hand, the shaded rectangles enclosing numbers 1, 2 and 3 are distributed at different locations on the time base and appear as a cross-correlation waveform. The shaded rectangle enclosing the number 1, 2 or 3 is a chip pulse which comes from the second channel and is a chip pulse constituting the enclosed optical pulse signal encoded with code 2. In other words, the encoded optical pulse signal components of the chip pulse, which comes from the second channel, are formed as a time-spread cross-correlation waveform again, since encoding and decoding are executed with different codes, and therefore the time delay generated during encoding is not cancelled during decoding.
The time waveform of the light intensity with respect to the time base of the second channel in FIG. 2G has an opposite relationship from above. In other words, the chip pulse which comes from the second channel forms an auto-correlation waveform, and the chip pulse which comes from the first channel forms a cross-correlation waveform. This is because the chip pulse which comes from the second channel is encoded with the code provided as code 2, and decoded with the code provided as code 2.
The optical code division multiplex signal 67, of which intensity was divided, is decoded with the code provided as code 2, so in the case of the chip pulse which comes from the first channel encoded with the code provided as code 1 included in the optical code division multiplex signal 67, the time delay generated during encoding is not cancelled during decoding, and a time-spread cross-correlation waveform is formed again. For the chip pulse which comes from the second channel encoded by the code provided as code 2 included in the optical code division multiplex signal 67, on the other hand, the time delay generated during encoding is cancelled during decoding, and an auto-correlation waveform is formed again.
As described above, the decoded optical pulse signal 65 of the first channel and the decoded optical pulse signal 69 of the second channel are formed as the sum of an auto-correlation waveform and a cross-correlation waveform respectively. As FIGS. 2F and G show, the auto-correlation waveform and the cross-correlation waveform have different peak intensities (peak of the auto-correlation waveform is larger), so if the cross-correlation waveform components are removed by performing threshold judgment, that is judging whether the peak value of the waveform is higher or lower than the threshold value which is set in advance, then only the auto-correlation waveform components can be extracted. If the auto-correlation waveform components can be extracted in each channel, the transmitted information can be received by converting the auto-correlation waveform, which is the respective regenerated optical pulse signal, into an electric signal.
In addition to the time-spread/wavelength-hop method, a method of encoding an optical pulse signal using a single wavelength light may be used for the encoding and decoding method. In the case of this method, an optical pulse constituting the optical pulse signal is separated into chip pulses, and encoding is performed by assigning a phase difference to each chip pulse, and arranging them on the time base (for example, see P. C. Teh, et al: "Demonstration of a Four-Channel WDM/OCDMA System Using 255-Chip 320-Gchip/s Quarternary Phase Coding Gratings" IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, Vol. 14, No. 2, February 2002, pp. 227 to 229). This encoding is sometimes called "encoding by time-spreading".
As an example of the means of implementing encoding and decoding, Super Structure Fiber Bragg Grating (SSFBG) is known. SSFBG is constructed by arranging a unit fiber Bragg grating (FBG) in series along the wave guiding direction. From each unit FBG, Bragg reflected light having a specific wavelength is generated.
The structure and operation of an encoder based on SSFBG will now be described with reference to FIGS. 3A and B. FIG. 3A is a diagram depicting the configuration of SSFBG which is constructed by a unit FBG1, unit FBG2 and unit FBG3 of which Bragg reflection wavelength is λ1, λ2 and λ3 respectively, arrayed in series along the wave guiding direction. As FIG. 3A shows, when incident light including three types of wavelengths λ1, λ2 and λ3 enters SSFBG, Bragg reflected lights of which wavelength is λ1, λ2 and λ3 are reflected from each unit FBG to the input end. FIG. 3B shows the effective refractive index distribution of the core of the optical fiber where SSFBG is formed.
The refractive index modulation period (may be called "grating pitch") of the unit FBG1, unit FBG2 and unit FBG3 are Λ1, Λ2 and Λ3 respectively as FIG. 3B shows. Generally the refractive index modulation period Λ and the Bragg reflection wavelength λ have the relationship λ=2nΛ. Here n is an average refractive index of FBG. In other words, the Bragg reflection wavelength λ of the unit FBG is determined by determining the grating pitch Λ of the unit FBG.
If a plurality of unit FBGs having different grating pitches are arranged in series in one optical fiber, a light with a waveform corresponding to the grating pitch (hereafter may be called "Bragg reflected light") is acquired from each unit FBG. The Bragg reflected light which is reflected from each unit FBG is reflected with a different time delay respectively according to the location where the unit FBG is positioned. Encoding by time-spread/wavelength-hop based on SSFBG uses this phenomena.
Now a configuration example of the encoder using SSFBG will be described with reference to FIG. 4. The decoder has the same configuration, so only the encoder is described here. The encoder in FIG. 4 is comprised of an SSFBG 10 and an optical circulator 18. The SSFBG 10 is further comprised of a unit FBG1, unit FBG2 and unit FBG3.
Optical pulses to be encoded are input from an input port 14 to the SSFBG 10 via the optical circulator 18 as an input light. The SSFBG 10 has the unit FBG1, unit FBG2 and unit FBG3, so the Bragg reflected lights having different wavelengths are reflected from each unit FBG. These Bragg reflected lights are output from an output port 16 via the optical circulator 18 as encoded optical pulses.
An encoder that can implement encoding by time-spread/wavelength-hop, other than the above mentioned SSFBG, is a means constructed by combining AWG (Arrayed-Waveguide Grating) and an optical delay line (e.g. see S. Yegnanarayanan, et al: "An incoherent wavelength hopping/time spreading code-division multiple access system", ECOC' 99, 26-30 Sep. 1999).
A method of extracting auto-correlation waveform components by separating the auto-correlation waveform components and the cross-correlation waveform components from the optical pulse signal decoded at the receive side, other than the above mentioned method of using threshold judgment, is a method based on a time gate. The method based on a time gate is a method of using a time gate means which adjusts the time so that the cross-correlation waveform component and the auto-correlation waveform component do not overlap, and allows signals to pass only in the time zone when auto-correlation waveform components pass.
As the time gate means, a method based on a time gate using an electron-absorption modulator (EA modulator) is known (e.g. see Naoki Minato, et al: "Transmission design and evaluation of data rate enhanced time-spread/wavelength-hopping optical code division multiplexing using fiber-Bragg-grating" Technical Report IEICE, CS 2003-17, OCS2003-24, PS2003-24, May 2003, pp. 49 to 54). In other words, a time gate is implemented by increasing the transmittance of the EA modulator only in the time zone when the auto-correlation waveform components pass, and decreasing it in the time zone when cross-correlation waveform components pass. Clock signals are used for the control of transmittance of the EA modulator.
Also as the time gate means, a method based on a time gate using an SOA (Semiconductor Optical Amplifier) is known (e.g. see K. Kitayama, et al: "Optical Code Division Multiplexing (OCDM) and Its Applications to Photonic Networks" IEICE Trans. Fundamentals, Vol. E82-A, No. 12, December 1999, pp. 2616 to 2626). According to this method, an optical clock is extracted first from a part of a signal decoded by a mode locked laser diode. Then the decoded signal and the optical clock are input to the SOA, and are synchronized in the SOA to generate a Four Wave Mixing (FWM) effect. And the time gate means is implemented by allowing only optical pulses in the time zone, when SOA is in ON status, to pass the SOA by the Four Wave Mixing effect generated synchronizing the optical clock.
A feature of the optical communication system based on OCDM is that the increase/decrease of the number of channels can be handled flexibly. In the optical communication system based on OCDM, a channel can be added merely by adding the type of codes, only if the size of the ratio of the peak value of the cross-correlation waveform components and the peak value of the auto-correlation waveform components can be assured to be at a level where the cross-correlation waveform components can be removed from the decoded optical pulse signal so as to extract the auto-correlation waveform components. In other words, a new channel can be added merely by adding an encoding section and a decoding section where a new code corresponding to the new channel to be added is set, without changing the composing portion for the channels, other than the channel to be added in the optical communication device.
The transmission/reception based on OCDM has the above mentioned advantageous feature where a plurality of channels of optical pulse signals can be transmitted simultaneously in one optical fiber transmission line.
Therefore if a system, where WDM transmission/reception and OCDM transmission/reception can coexist, can be implemented by attaching the OCDM transmission/reception system to the WDM transmission/reception system in parallel, the number of channels which allow transmission/reception can be further increased. But in order to implement a system where WDM transmission/reception and OCDM transmission/reception can coexist merely by attaching the OCDM transmission/reception to the WDM transmission/reception system in parallel, the wavelength band of a conventional optical multiplex communication system based on WDM must be changed.

Optical multiplex communication system and delay quantity adjustment method


The present invention discloses a composite device for high-precision laser additive/subtractive manufacturing, which consists of a sealed shaping chamber, an inert protective gas source and a machine-shaping platform; wherein, the inert protective gas source is connected to the sealed shaping chamber; and the machine-shaping platform is arranged in the sealed shaping chamber, as well as there is a light path selection system is arranged right above the machine-shaping platform; in addition, there is a machining position is equipped on the machine-shaping platform, meanwhile, there are lead screws are arranged under the machine-shaping platform.

Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is a laser additive manufacturing technology based on manufacturing physical parts by material discrete-gradual accumulation method, which uses high-power laser as heat source to melt metal powder layer by layer, and thus manufactures parts with complex and fine structure (high machining precision) directly. Such technology can realize fast and modeless near net shaping of dense materials with complex structures, and thus proposes new ideas for the integrated preparation of parts with complex and fine structure, especially provides a simple, fast, low-cost, and greening flexible manufacturing technology, which is accomplished from powder to entire parts for such industries as aeronautics and astronautics, medical equipment, precision machine tools, electronic and telecommunication, and has an excellent application prospect.
However, due to being subject to the influence of powder size, adhered powder and spheroidizing of powder, interlayer step effect, spot size of laser focusing, microcracks, and residual tensile stress and deformation caused by uneven heating, there is still a big gap between the complexity and fineness of SLM shaped parts, surface roughness, density and comprehensive mechanical properties and user expectation.
Therefore, it is of great significance to develop a technology which can address various problems of SLM shaped parts, such as low precision of geometric dimension, poor surface quality, strong residual tensile stress and existence of quite a lot of internal defects, and thus complete high-precision and integrated near net shaping.

Composite device for high-precision laser additive/subtractive manufacturing

SHANGHAI UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING SCIENCE


Maneuverable strollers are disclosed herein. An example stroller disclosed herein includes a frame having a front wheel and rear wheel to support the frame. An intermediate wheel is positioned between the front wheel and the rear wheel. The example stroller includes a support having a first end and a second end, where the first end supports the intermediate wheel and the second end supports the rear wheel. The support to pivotally couple the intermediate wheel and the rear wheel to the frame, the support defining a pivot axis positioned between the intermediate wheel and the rear wheel when the support is pivotally coupled to the frame.

Strollers are known in the art. Typically, known strollers include a foldable frame, wheels, and one or more seats to support a child or infant in a seated, prone, and/or lying position. Stroller frames are usually foldable in at least one direction to allow the stroller to collapse to a folded position.


A helicopter tug system features a helicopter with skids. A powered track assembly features a microprocessor connected to a power supply, a drive hub and an idler hub, a track located on the drive hub and the idler hub, a motor connected to the drive hub and the power supply, a receiver connected to the microprocessor, and a clamp located on a track assembly top. A caster support features a caster support frame having a wheel and the clamp located on a caster support frame top. The system features a radio control unit with a transmitter and a radio control power supply. A first powered track assembly is attached to the first helicopter skid and a first caster support is attached to the second helicopter skid. The radio control unit sends a first signal to the first track assembly to move the helicopter.

Many times, an aircraft, or more specifically, a helicopter needs to be moved into or out of a hangar or to another location but cannot reasonably be moved under its own power. A tug, or tugging device can be used to move the helicopter safely, although the tug, which in some ways may resemble a pallet jack, can be cumbersome to use. An improved tugging system is needed for moving helicopters. The present invention features a helicopter tug system for moving a helicopter without initializing the drive system of the helicopter.
Any feature or combination of features described herein are included within the scope of the present invention provided that the features included in any such combination are not mutually inconsistent as will be apparent from the context, this specification, and the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art. Additional advantages and aspects of the present invention are apparent in the following detailed description and claims.


A method and apparatus for intrastromal refractive surgery is disclosed wherein tissue at selected locations within the stroma of the cornea is photoablated using a pulsed laser beam. The apparatus includes an optical system for forming a shaped laser beam having a waist at a predetermined distance from the optical system. The pulse duration and pulse energy of the laser beam are selected to cause ablation to occur in front of the waist (i.e. between the waist and the optical system). To achieve this, a pulse energy is used that exceeds the minimum pulse energy required for ablation at the waist. By ablating in front of the waist, a relatively large ablation zone (per pulse) is created (compared to ablation at the waist). Furthermore, while the laser is scanned through the cornea to effectuate a refractive change, the optical system maintains a uniform waist for the laser beam.

It is well known that the refractive properties of the cornea can be altered by the selective removal of corneal tissue. For example, a myopic condition of the eye can be corrected by selectively removing corneal tissue from the central portion of the cornea. Similarly, a hyperopic condition can be corrected by selectively removing corneal tissue within a peripheral ring surrounding the central portion of the cornea.
With this in mind, a general knowledge of the anatomy of the cornea is helpful to appreciate the problems that must be confronted during refractive corrections of the cornea. In detail, the cornea comprises various layers of tissue which are structurally distinct. In order, going, in a posterior direction from outside the eye toward the inside of the eye, the various layers in a cornea are: an epithelial layer, Bowman's membrane, the stroma, Descemet's membrane, and an endothelial layer. Of these various structures, the stroma is the most extensive and is generally around four hundred microns thick. Additionally, the healing response of the stromal tissue is generally quicker than the other corneal layers. For these reasons, stromal tissue is generally selected for removal in refractive correction procedures.
In greater detail, the stroma of the eye is comprised of around two hundred identifiable and distinguishable layers of lamellae. Each of these layers of lamellae in the stroma is generally dome-shaped, like the cornea itself, and they each extend across a circular area having a diameter of approximately nine millimeters. Unlike the layer that a particular lamella is in, each lamella extends through a shorter distance of only about one tenth of a millimeter (0.1 mm) to one and one half millimeters (1.5 mm). Thus, each layer includes several lamellae. Importantly, each lamella includes many fibrils which, within the lamella, are substantially parallel to each other. The fibrils in one lamella, however, are not generally parallel to the fibrils in other lamellae. This is so between lamellae in the same layer, as well as between lamellae in different layers. Finally, it is to be noted that, in a direction perpendicular to the layer, each individual lamella is only about two microns thick.
One technique for altering the refractive properties of the cornea involves the use of a pulsed laser beam to photoablate stromal tissue. In this technique, a pulsed laser is focused beneath the anterior surface of the cornea to photoablate tissue within the stroma. Heretofore, it has been suggested that the optimal photoablation of tissue with minimal side effects can be obtained using a laser beam having a pulse duration of 100 femtosecond (fs) focused to an ablation spot size of approximately 10 μm with a pulse energy approximately equal to the ablation energy threshold. However, with these parameters, a typical refractive procedure (e.g. a procedure involving the ablation of an area having an approximate diameter of 6.5 mm) would require an undesirably long scan time. Specifically, a single pass of the laser beam over an area this size may require approximately 400,000 pulses, and further, the corrective procedure may require several passes. Thus, for a typical laser beam having a pulse repetition frequency of approximately 10 KHz, each pass would take almost 40 seconds.
It is to be appreciated that procedures requiring a lengthy scan time (e.g. 40 seconds or more) can pose a number of serious problems. One such problem involves the movement of the eye during a scan. To overcome eye movement, eye restraint is often used. Unfortunately, restraining the eye is only somewhat effective and long periods of eye restraint can cause serious discomfort for the patient. In addition to eye movement, patient blinking is another factor that must be considered during a corneal laser procedure. Each time a patient blinks, a new tear film is deposited on the anterior surface of the cornea. Each tear film affects the optical path of the laser beam in a slightly different manner, affecting the precision of the operation. Thus, it is preferable to perform an entire laser scan with a single tear film, if possible. Typically, 10 seconds is about the maximum time that a patient can restrain from blinking, thus it is preferable to complete an entire laser scan in less than about 10 seconds.
In addition to requiring an unacceptably long laser scan, operating at or near the ablation energy threshold has other drawbacks. Specifically, operating at or near the ablation energy threshold is non-optimal because statistical fluctuations of the tissue ablation process are more pronounced (compared with ablation at energies significantly above threshold) leading to ablation non-uniformities. These ablation non-uniformities, in turn, can create undesirable refractive inhomogeneities.
In all surgical procedures, damage to non-target tissue is to be avoided. During photoablation of target tissue, nearby (non-target) tissue is heated. Although some heating of non-target tissue can be accommodated without damage, excessive heat must be avoided. In greater detail, for stromal tissue, a temperature rise of about 3° C. can be tolerated without long-term cell damage. In contrast, temperature increases of between about 8° C. and 23° C. can result in tissue shrinkage, cell denaturation, loss of cell function and coagulation.
During photoablation, a series of gas bubbles are formed as the laser beam is scanned through the stroma. If the ablation sites are created too closely together and the bubbles are large, the bubbles may overlap. Typically, it is this overlap that is responsible for most of the heat damage to non-target tissue. Generally, ablation using a relatively large pulse energy results in a relatively large bubble, and conversely, ablation using a relatively small pulse energy results in a relatively small bubble. With this in mind, one way to prevent bubble overlap and its associated heat damage is to use relatively low pulse energies to create relatively small bubbles. However, as indicated above, relatively low pulse energies can lead to ablation nonuniformities and unacceptably long procedure times.
In light of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide methods and apparatuses suitable for photoablating a relatively large amount of targeted stromal tissue in a relatively short scan time without heating non-target tissue to harmful temperatures. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide methods and apparatuses for photoablating stromal tissue at pulse energies sufficient to prevent non-uniform ablation and with little or no adverse side effects. Another object of the present invention is to provide stable and efficient methods and apparatuses for photoablating stromal tissue. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide methods and apparatuses for changing the refractive properties of a cornea which are easy to use, relatively simple to implement, and comparatively cost effective.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for intrastromal refractive surgery

20/10 Perfect Vision Optische Geraete GmbH


A system includes a data collection engine, a plurality of items including radio-frequency identification chips, a plurality of third party data and insight sources, a plurality of interfaces, client devices, a server and method thereof for preventing suicide. The server includes trained machine learning models, business logic and attributes of a plurality of patient events. The data collection engine sends attributes of new patient events to the server. The server can predict an adverse event risk of the new patient events based upon the attributes of the new patient events utilizing the trained machine learning models.

A radio-frequency Identification (RFID) chip can transmit information to a reader in response to an interrogation signal or polling request from the reader. The RFID chip can be incorporated in a tag (RFID tag) which is placed on a medical item such as a patient or doctor identification so that information can be passively captured. An RFID tag can be an active-type with its own power source, or a passive-type or battery-assisted passive type with no or limited power source. Both the passive-type and battery-assisted passive type will be referred to here as passive-type for sake of brevity. Placing an active-type RFID tag on some items may not be feasible due to financial considerations, weight, etc. On the other hand, placing a passive-type RFID tag on items may be more feasible; however, a power source will be needed to passively obtain information.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies such as machine learning and deep learning have become ever present due to technological advances in data storage and processing. Machine learning at its most basic is the practice of using algorithms to parse data, learn from it, and then make a determination or prediction about something in the world. So rather than hand-coding software routines with a specific set of instructions to accomplish a particular task, the machine is "trained" using large amounts of data and algorithms that give it the ability to learn how to perform the task. Deep learning involves neural networks inspired by our understanding of the biology of our brains all those interconnections between the neurons. But, unlike a biological brain where any neuron can connect to any other neuron within a certain physical distance, these artificial neural networks have discrete layers, connections, and directions of data propagation.

System, server and method for predicting adverse events


A transparent and stable aqueous solution of a substrate for a determination of lipase, comprising triglyceride uniformly solubilized therein, a method for determination of lipase activity in a sample, employing the aqueous solution, and a process for the manufacture of a lyophilized product capable of forming the aqueous solution are disclosed. A process for the manufacture of a transparent and stable aqueous solution of triglyceride is also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transparent and stable aqueous solution of triglyceride substrate for a determination of lipase, a method for a determination of lipase activity in a sample, employing the aqueous solution, and a process for the manufacture of a lyophilized product capable of forming the aqueous solution. Further, the present invention also relates to a process for the manufacture of a transparent and stable aqueous solution of triglyceride.
2. Description of the Related Art
The enzyme lipase is naturally widely present in, for example, animals or plants, and the activity thereof is determined for various purposes; i.e., from a clinical point of view, it is particularly important for an early detection of diseases in pancreas, for example, acute pancreatitis, pancreas cancer, or the like.
Various methods for the determination of lipase are known, but the following two methods are most widely employed in the clinical field:
1. Nephelometry PA1 2. Method Using Synthesized Substrate Other Than Triglyceride
This method comprises carrying out an enzymatic reaction while using a suspension of triglyceride (typically, olive oil) or glycerol ester of a higher fatty acid as a substrate, and then measuring a reduction of turbidity of the suspension by an absorbance thereof. But this method has the following disadvantages:
a) The lipase activity does not always coincide with the reduction of turbidity. For example, in emulsified samples, some samples show an increased absorbance.
b) The lipase activity is calculated from the measurement of the turbidity reduction. This is an indirect determination of the enzymatic activity.
c) When the lipase activity is low, the sensitivity and reproducibility are poor.
In this method, esters of fatty acid derivatives or alcohol derivatives, for example, monoglyceride, 1,2-diglyceride, p-nitrophenol laurate, dimethylcaprol tributyrate, .alpha.-naphthyl palmirate and the like are employed as a substrate. But, when the synthetic substrate is insoluble in water, this method encounters not only the disadvantages mentioned in the above item 1, but also a problem of a poor substrate-specificity such that the synthetic substrate may be hydrolyzed by esterases other than lipase. Although a water-soluble substrate can remedy the disadvantages mentioned in the above item 1, this method still has the problem of the substrate-specificity such that the substrate may be hydrolyzed by esterases other than lipase.
Under these circumstances, the inventors of the present invention carried out various research protects to develop a method for a determination of lipase, taking into account the following points:
a) Because lipase is the enzyme for hydrolyzing a triglyceride having long-chain fatty acids, triglyceride is used as the substrate.
b) Instead of measuring the reduction of the turbidity (substrate), the fatty acid, monoglyceride or glycerol formed from hydrolyzation of triglyceride with lipase is directly measured.
c) The method is simple and can be applied for a clinical examination.
Japanese Examined Patent Publication (Kokoku) No. 59-39168 (Japanese Patent No. 1271605) discloses a process for the manufacture of a transparent solubilized aqueous solution of a water-insoluble material. This process comprises the steps of adding the water-insoluble material into an aqueous solution containing a nonionic surfactant, heating the whole, while stirring, to a temperature higher than a cloud point of the surfactant solution, and then cooling, while stirring, to a temperature of the cloud point or less to form a transparent solution. According to this Japanese Publication 59-39168, the aqueous solution thus obtained is very stable, and turbidity does not result from a change of the pH or a decrease of the concentration by dilution with water or buffer. This Japanese publication 59-39168 also teaches that the process is very useful for the manufacture of a stable standard solution of triolein, and that the transparent aqueous solution of triolein makes it possible to simply and accurately measure the lipase activity by a photometer. Although this Japanese Publication 59-39168 contains a relatively general description, it does not describe a concrete means of actually realizing a method for the determination of lipase activity in a sample.
In connection with the transparent solubilized aqueous solution of the water-insoluble material, the inventors of the present invention found another process for the manufacture thereof, as disclosed in Japanese Application No. 61-234520 filed on Oct. 3, 1986 (published on Apr. 21, 1988 as Unexamined Publication (Kokai) No. 63-91136).
Further, the inventors found that the transparent aqueous solution disclosed in Japanese Publication 59-39168 and Japanese Application 61-234520 can be employed as a substrate solution in the determination of lipase activity.
In addition, the inventors found that this transparent aqueous solution can be stored for a long term by a lyophilization thereof without a denaturation.

Method of determining lipase activity using a transparent stable aqueous solution of triglyceride substrate


A signal processing apparatus has a first circuit board having a digital/analog converter, a second circuit board having an operational amplifier, a connector connecting the first circuit board and the second circuit board, a transmitter on the first circuit board, and a controller on the second circuit board. The digital/analog converter converts, to an analog signal, a digital signal as a reference of a voltage to be applied to a capacitive load and outputs the analog signal. The operational amplifier is connected to the capacitive load at an output terminal thereof via a switching element, and amplifies the voltage of the analog signal to output. The transmitter transmits a predetermined signal to the second circuit board via the connector. The controller prevents the voltage of the analog signal from being applied to the capacitive load when the predetermined signal is not received in the second circuit board.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a signal processing apparatus, a droplet ejection apparatus, and a signal processing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been known a droplet ejection apparatus in which by applying a voltage to a piezoelectric element to deform the piezoelectric element, a droplet is ejected (e.g., see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2000-94670).
FIG. 12 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration example of a conventional drive circuit that applies a voltage to a piezoelectric element in a droplet ejection apparatus.
As shown in FIG. 12, this drive circuit 300 includes a digital/analog converter 302, an operational amplifier 304, and a current amplifier circuit 306. The digital/analog converter 302, an operational amplifier 304 and the current amplifier circuit 306 are connected in series. Moreover, piezoelectric elements 310 are each connected to the current amplifier circuit 306 via a switching element 308.
When a digital signal indicating a voltage as a reference of a voltage to be applied to each of the piezoelectric elements 310 is input to the digital/analog converter 320, the digital signal is converted to an analog signal in the digital/analog converter 302. The voltage of the analog signal is amplified by the operational amplifier 304 and the current thereof is current-amplified by the current amplifier circuit 306 to be output to each of the switching elements 308.
Each of the switching elements 308 switches between two states of a conduction state and a disconnection state according to a control signal (not shown), and when the switching element 308 is in the conduction state, the voltage of the analog signal output from the current amplifier circuit 306 is applied to the piezoelectric element 310.
The drive circuit as described above is generally configured on one circuit board, and thus even if some of components which configure the drive circuit have trouble, the whole drive circuit is exchanged. In this case, components which do not have any trouble are also consequently exchanged, which incurs waste in cost.
As a method for avoiding such a situation, a method in which the drive circuit is divided to make plural circuit boards and only the circuit board including the component having trouble is exchanged is considered. In this case, as a position where the drive circuit is divided, a position between the operational amplifier and the current amplifier circuit, and a position between the digital/analog converter and the operational amplifier are considered. In the former portion, a connection line for passing current to NPN and PNP transistors needs to be thicker and shorter, and a negative feedback loop also needs to be shorter for avoiding noise contamination than in the latter position. In view of these, the latter position is preferable.
In the case where the respective circuit boards obtained by dividing the circuit board on which the above-described drive circuit is configured between the digital/analog converter and the operational amplifier are connected via a connector, if a connection condition between the circuit boards is favorable, the voltage for drive is applied to the piezoelectric element via the switching element by putting a drain-source area of the switching element into a conduction state. In a conventional drive circuit, control is performed so as not to generate a potential difference in the drain and source area of the switching element.

Signal processing apparatus, droplet ejection apparatus and signal processing method


Provided is an anonymization system for performing distributed, stateless, and persistent anonymization of with variable encoding. The anonymization system may receive a first file with at least a first data element. The first data element may include a tag and restricted data. The anonymization system may change a first encoding of the tag having a first size to a second encoding having a second size that is smaller than the first size. The anonymization system may replace the restricted data with different anonymized data based on a persistent mapping of the restricted data to the anonymized data, and may output the first data element with the second encoding of the tag and the anonymized data to a database or an anonymized second file.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA") compliant systems, advertisers, real-time traffic systems, and/or other systems may access files that contain private, confidential, and/or restricted data. To ensure compliance with any regulations and/or prevent exposure of the data, the data within the files may be anonymized or deidentified to remove or replace the private, confidential, and/or restricted data prior to the systems accessing the files and/or the data of the files.

Systems and methods for distributed, stateless, and persistent anonymization with variable encoding access


A PoE powered device and method of operation are provided. The device includes a first port unit configured to negotiate receipt of a level of PoE power from a power sourcing equipment. The power is received on a first pair of taps on a first communication port. A detection unit is configured to detect a presence of a first optional circuit load and to detect a presence of a second optional power load. A control circuit is configured to establish connectivity between a second pair of taps on the first communication port and a second powered device port unit in response to the detection unit detecting the first optional load, and further configured to establish connectivity between the second pair of taps and a third pair of taps on a pass-through communication port in response to the detection unit failing to detect the first load and detecting the second load.

Numerous powered devices utilize power over multi-pair Ethernet cables. The IEEE 802.3af-2003 Power over Ethernet (PoE) standard, ratified in June, 2003, defines a standardized approach by which power sourcing equipment (PSE) is able to provide a powered device (PD) with up to 15.4 watts of DC power over, for example, a category 5 (CAT 5) twisted pair communication cable. The IEEE 802.3at-2009 PoE standard, later ratified Sep. 11, 2009, defines a standardized PoE approach by which a powering sourcing device (PSE) is able to provide a powered device (PD) with up to up to 25.5 watts of DC power over, for example, a category 5 twisted pair communication cable.
A category 5 cable includes 8 wire connectors grouped into 4 wire-pairs. The PoE standards based approaches provide DC power over 2 out of the 4 wire-pairs included in the cable and such pairs are generally referred to as a PoE powered pair. A "pair of PoE taps" refers to the center taps of Ethernet magnetics used to couple and decouple power to and from the PoE powered pairs of a CATx cable. Therefore, a pair of PoE taps refers to a set of two taps with one tap being used for current delivery and a second tap being used for current return. Contemporary telecommunications systems can then utilize the remaining pairs in the cable as data lines, although, in some contemporary systems, power and data may be implemented on the same twisted pair. However, as telecommunications devices adapt to meet new communication demands, such devices may have different power needs or demands. For example, as more functionality is added to communication devices and systems, such devices and systems may include powered peripheral devices that couple with or are plugged into the main communication devices. Such peripheral devices will need additional power. Accordingly there is a need in the art for an improved method and system of delivering power to communication devices. There is also a need to have flexibility in such power delivery to respond to situations where additional power may be selectively needed or not needed.

Method and apparatus for distributing power over communication cabling


A system and process enable a device to adjust the duration of various power modes based on usage of the device. The process includes operating a device at a fully operational power level, counting a first wait time, modifying a first wait time modifier in response to detection of image generating device use prior to expiration of the first wait time, and reducing power consumption from the fully operational level to a low power level in response to expiration of the first wait time.

Many imaging devices, such as printers, scanners, and copiers, operate at different power consumption levels. When the devices are not generating images or have not been used for some specified period of time, they typically operate in a power saving mode. These modes are sometimes known as standby modes, low power modes, or sleep modes. In the power saving mode, the devices draw enough power to support low voltage electronics that are awaiting actuation for operation of the device for printing, scanning, or copying. In response to a user touching or depressing a device actuator or in response to receipt of a print job, the device controller activates components that draw additional power in preparation for use of the device. For example, a scanner may warm up a scanning lamp and a printer or copier may warm a fuser roll. Once the device has been used, it may remain at the higher power consumption level for some predetermined monitoring period of time to maintain one or more components within an operational temperature range. The device remains at the operational level of power consumption in anticipation of imminent subsequent usage. This action reduces the number of cycles experienced by the components, which helps preserve their operational life, and also reduces or eliminates wait time for the customer. Upon expiration of the monitoring period without further use, the device returns to the power saving mode.
Solid ink printers and laser printers, in particular, have some power intensive functions to perform in preparation for being ready to print. For example, in a laser printer, the fuser typically operates at 150 to 200° C. In the case of a solid ink printer, the print head typically operates at about 130 to 140° C. and the imaging drum operates at about 60 to 65° C. A solid ink printer in standby mode typically reduces the print head and image drum temperatures in order to conserve energy. The print head temperature is held at a temperature slightly above the solidifying temperature for the melted ink. While this mode of operation reduces the electrical power consumption of the solid ink printer, it does not necessarily reduce power consumption that is comparable with printing technologies that do not require heating of the ink to maintain it in a liquid state. Also, in order to avoid the time waiting for the print head or imaging drum to achieve operating temperature, the optimal point from a customer usage standpoint may be at higher power consumption levels. Therefore, improvements in printer hardware and software are desirable to reduce power consumptions levels in printers that meet current and future government energy conservation standards while providing prompt response times for customers.

System and method for reducing power consumption in a device


A method, apparatus, and article of manufacture for optimizing a query in a computer system. Grouping operations are optimized during execution of the query in the computer system by: (1) translating the grouping operations into a plurality of levels, wherein each of the levels is comprised of one or more grouping sets with the same number of grouping expressions; (2) deriving the grouping sets on a level-by-level basis, wherein the grouping sets in a base level are obtained from the database and the grouping sets in a next one of the levels are derived by selecting as an input a smallest one of the grouping sets in a previous one of the levels with which it has a derivation relationship; and (3) combining the derived grouping sets into an output for the query.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to database management systems performed by computers, and in particular, to the optimization of queries by dynamic selection of optimal grouping sequence at runtime for grouping sets, rollup and cube operations in SQL query processing.
2. Description of Related Art
Computer systems incorporating Relational DataBase Management System (RDBMS) software using the Structured Query Language (SQL) interface are well known in the art. SQL has evolved into a standard language for RDBMS software and has been adopted as such by both the American Nationals Standard Institute (ANSI) and the International Standards Organization (ISO).
To better support business intelligence (BI) and online analytic processing (OLAP) applications, a set of grouping operations, in addition to the standard GROUP BY clause, have recently been included into SQL, to allow users to create various groupings of data in a single SQL query. The set of grouping operations include GROUPING SETS, ROLLUP, CUBE and a scalar GROUPING function.
The GROUP BY clause specifies how the set of rows is to be sub-divided or grouped. Rows with the same values for the expressions in the group by clause are grouped together. GROUPING SETS allows the user to specify several groupings of data are to be calculated, including a "subtotal" row. ROLLUP and CUBE are special cases of the generic GROUPING SETS operation, which can be thought of as "super group" operations because they provide many groupings in a single statement. In addition, a new scalar function, GROUPING, is provided to work in conjunction with these extensions.
What is a needed in the art are techniques that optimize the execution of queries containing a GROUP BY clause with one or more GROUPING SETS, ROLLUP and CUBE operations with or without scalar GROUPING functions. Specifically, there is a need in the art for techniques that avoid unnecessary steps in the execution of such queries. The present invention satisfies these needs.

Dynamic selection of optimal grouping sequence at runtime for grouping sets, rollup and cube operations in SQL query processing

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A dryer appliance includes a cabinet. The cabinet defines an interior volume. A drum is rotatably mounted within the interior volume of the cabinet. The drum defines a chamber for the receipt of clothes for drying. An additive reservoir is mounted in the cabinet. The dryer appliance also includes a spray nozzle for spraying additive from the reservoir into the chamber. The dryer appliance further includes a pump which pumps the additive from the reservoir to the spray nozzle. The pump may be spring-loaded and may include a piston and a spring. The pump may be connected to the reservoir by a first one-way valve and may be connected to the spray nozzle by a second one-way valve.

A conventional appliance for drying articles, e.g., articles of clothing, such as a clothes dryer (or laundry dryer) typically includes a cabinet having a rotating drum for tumbling clothes and laundry articles therein. One or more heating elements heat air prior to the air entering the drum, and the warm air is circulated through the drum as the clothes are tumbled to remove moisture from laundry articles in the drum. Gas or electric heating elements may be used to heat the air that is circulated through the drum.
In operation, ambient air from outside is drawn into the cabinet and passed through the heater before being fed to the drum. Moisture from the clothing is transferred to the air passing through the drum. Typically, this moisture laden air is then transported away from the dryer by, for example, a duct leading outside of the structure or room where the dryer is placed. The exhausted air removes moisture from the dryer and the clothes are dried as the process is continued by drawing in more ambient air.
In certain situations, it may be desirable to provide one or more additives to the clothes within the drum, e.g., additives may be provided to reduce wrinkling, to improve the scent of the clothes, and/or other fabric treatment additives such as fabric softener may be provided. For example, a user may prefer more fragrant clothes, or the laundry may have been sitting in the drying chamber for an extended period and may smell slightly stale or musty. Conventional means of providing additives include manually placing dryer sheets or other additives within the drying chamber prior to activation of the dryer. Alternatively, clothes may be washed and dried again, resulting in excessive energy and water usage.
Accordingly, a dryer appliance having improved features for storing an additive and selectively providing the additive to the interior of the drum would be advantageous.


A multi-task boot strap system and method for expediting boot up initialization processes are presented. In one embodiment, a multi-task boot strap method includes accessing interrupt vector table information stored in a non-volatile memory. For example, an interrupt vector table and corresponding interrupt service routine information associated with a system management (SM) bus controller operation are accessed from a read only memory (ROM). A program interrupt controller (PIC) is initialized to interpret the interrupt information from the non-volatile memory. This permits the operation of the system management bus controller to be performed in a multi-tasking environment (e.g., operating the SM bus controller in an interrupt mode). A processor can be configured to retrieve the boot up information (e.g., serial presence detect data) and process interrupts with interrupt service routine information retrieved from non-volatile memory. The processor can performing other multi-task operations while waiting for an interrupt during boot up operations.

Electronic systems and circuits have made a significant contribution towards the advancement of modern society and are utilized in a number of applications to achieve advantageous results. Numerous electronic technologies such as digital computers, audio devices, video equipment, and telephone systems have facilitated increased productivity and reduced costs in analyzing and communicating data in most areas of business, science, education and entertainment. Electronic systems providing these advantageous results often include systems that are started by a boot process. Properly booting up a system is often critical to proper system functionality. While the boot process is very important it can take some time to complete and other productive work is delayed.
The boot process typically causes a computer system to start executing instructions in a bootstrap loader program (e.g., a short machine language program). For example, personal computers often include boot instructions in a nonvolatile memory, such as a read only memory (ROM), that are automatically executed upon startup. A boot process is usually started by an indication the power is turned on for a computer system, a reset switch is pressed and/or a software restart instructions are executed. The bootstrap instructions typically include instructions for directing some hardware tests and initializations. The boot instructions also typically search for the location of the operating system instructions, load the operating system instructions and pass control to the operating system.
One of the first boot instructions usually executed are basic input/output system (BIOS) instructions. The BIOS software can usually direct the performance of a number of different functions. The BIOS is typically machine code that allows a processing unit to perform tasks such as initialization, diagnostics, loading the operating system Kernel from mass storage and routine input/output ("I/O") functions. Upon a bootstrap trigger event (e.g., power up), a processor typically boots up by fetching instruction code residing in the BIOS storage locations. The BIOS start up also usually involves performing a power on self-test (POST) for the various components included in the computer system to ensure everything is operating correctly. In addition to ensuring the individual components operate correctly the BIOS can make sure other chips, hard drives, ports and CPU function together. In some systems the BIOS also activates other BIOS chips on different cards installed in the computer system. For example, SCSI and graphics cards often have their own BIOS chips.
Traditionally systems execute instructions in polling mode during initialization. For example, systems typically initialize bus controllers and memories in a polling mode. As part of a typical computer system initialization, a processor attempts to retrieve serial presence detect data (SPD). However, the processor typically waits through numerous polling cycles for the information to be available.
As systems become more complex, bootstrap activities can become very involved and take longer to complete. In addition, applications are becoming more sophisticated and many modern systems and applications have boot up timing requirements that are getting shorter. Traditional boot up approaches often have difficulty meeting these timing requirements.

Multi-tasking bootstrap system and method