A support frame assembly for attachment to a support mast of a transport apparatus may include a support frame with a pair of downwardly directed mounting posts. Support arms may be pivotally attached to an end of each mounting post. The support arms may each comprise a back support and an open position and a closed position. When the support arms are in the closed positioned the back supports may be substantially horizontally oriented defining a support area between the support arms, the back supports and the support frame. When the support arms are in the open position the back supports may be substantially vertically oriented and the support area is open opposite the support frame.

Various apparatuses for transporting individuals in a standing position are known. For example, Swedish patent SE-511982 discloses an aid apparatus for raising a disabled person from a sitting position to a standing position. This aid apparatus comprises a wheeled base in the form of a U-shaped frame having a post, which supports a lifting means, to which a lifting sling can be attached. The lifting sling may be positioned at least partially around the body of a person. The lifting means comprises a lifting arm having a free end which can be raised or lowered relative to the base and supports the lifting sling such that the lifting sling is also raised and lowered relative to the base.
While it is possible to use the above-mentioned aid apparatus to transport a disabled person in a standing position, the person has no fixed support against his back or in the lateral direction. Instead, the individual is suspended by the lifting sling, and may swing back and forth and laterally during transportation. Accordingly, during transport the person may be unstable and can only be transported a short distance.
Accordingly, a need exists for alternative apparatuses for transporting individuals in a stabilized standing or upright position.

Apparatus for transportation of a disabled person in standing position


A vehicle liquid dispensing system having a dispenser which may be retracted or concealed within the dashboard, a thermoelectric liquid heat exchanger for heating or cooling the liquids, an esthetically pleasing liquid reservoir and a pump: all components are disposed within the structure of the vehicle and do not take up passenger compartment space. In embodiments, an on/off switch may be provided to prevent dispensing, a switch may be provided at the dispenser to activate the pump, the pump may be electrical, and the fluid connections between the components of the system may be provided with connectors allowing easy cleaning.

It is a generally known problem that vehicles are not provided with liquid dispensers to provide hot or cold water to occupants of such vehicles.
Various attempts have been made to solve this problem.
US patent application Publication No. 20020023452 issued Feb. 28, 2002 to Duerr et al for COOLING CONTAINER FOR VEHICLES teaches an interesting under seat wine cellar.
US patent application Publication No. 20020017102 issued Feb. 14, 2002 to Bell for THERMOELECTRIC HEAT EXCHANGER is less irrelevant, as it teaches a heat exchanger arrangement between a liquid and a thermoelectric system. However, the liquid is then used as a coolant for items like seat cushions or (see FIG. 8) a conventional ice chest type cooler.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,361 issued Oct. 8, 2002 to Faria for VEHICLE BEVERAGE DISPENSER is an item that teaches a fountain on the dashboard of the vehicle. However, it uses air conditioning coolant, not thermoelectric means, and thus teaches away from devices using thermoelectric cooling and heating. Numerous patents make the choice to use engine liquids such as air conditioning coolant (R-134a, FREON, ethylene glycol) due to the great amounts of energy which an automobile engine can produce when compared to electrical systems.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,381 issued Jul. 25, 2000 to Hsiao et al for REFRIGERATOR FOR A MOTOR VEHICLE teaches an under seat ice-chest connected to vehicle refrigerants, presumably the air conditioning fluids.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,706 issued Jun. 20, 2000 to Kritchman for CHILLED DRINKING WATER SUPPLY FOR AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES is one of the items which uses the automobile's Freon (presumably including R-134 instead) in a heat exchanger to cool a drink.
One item of prior art (U.S. Pat. No. 6,065,939 issued May 23, 2000 to Lin for DRINKING WATER SUPPLY FOR AUTOMOBILE PURPOSE) may have a dispenser on the dashboard of a vehicle, that item, the '939 patent, teaches the use of an electric heater and may teach the use of an electric cooler, but it is not clear on this point: the item teaches two different structures for heating and cooling, which is normally unnecessary with a thermoelectric heater. It also appears to be a passenger space retrofit (a box), and thus is not disposed in the structural spaces of the vehicle. It has a "water storage bottle" which appears to be a commercial two liter soda pop bottle or something similar.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,091 issued Jul. 27, 1999 to Hong for DUAL-PURPOSE REFRIGERATOR FOR USE ON AN AUTOMOBILE is another one which uses automobile coolant fluids and thus teaches away from the use of thermoelectrical cooling and heating of liquids.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,701,754 issued Dec. 30, 1997 to Choi et al for AUTOMOBILE REFRIGERATOR teaches an automobile having a door set into the dashboard, but uses the air conditioning coolant system of the car, and does not cool and dispense liquids.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,497,918 issued Mar. 12, 1996 to Brilanchik for SYSTEM FOR DISPENSING A THERMALLY MANIPULATED DRINK IN A LAND VEHICLE is yet another one using the cooling abilities of the car AC fluids. This individual also proposes using the car ENGINE BLOCK COOLANT (ethylene glycol, for example) to heat as well as cool.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,649 issued Mar. 31, 1992 to Zorn for APPARATUS FOR COOLING A GLOVE COMPARTMENT IN A MOTOR VEHICLE is the item located using thermoelectrics to cool the glove box. This one does not implicate dispensing liquids.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,479 issued Oct. 29, 1991 to Carmi et al for THERMOELECTRIC DEVICE FOR HEATING OR COOLING FOOD AND DRINK CONTAINERS teaches a handheld cooler having thermoelectrics and the ability to be plugged into a 12 VDC outlet. It is in no sense "built-in" or concealed within the structure of the car: it takes up space in the passenger compartment of the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,384,512 issued May 24, 1983 to Keith for BEVERAGE HEATER AND COOLER is another type of retrofit (see the '939 patent above) which uses a console rather than the dashboard and does at least have thermoelectric heaters. It uses a recessed dispenser on its own body/console rather than one that can be hidden behind the dash.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,342,202 issued Aug. 3, 1982 to Knutson for BEVERAGE COOLING APPARATUS FOR CONNECTION TO AUTO AIR CONDITIONER obviously teaches a device for connection to the air conditioner, as does U.S. Pat. No. 4,140,150 issued Feb. 20, 1979 to Rundell for DRINKING WATER SUPPLY AND CONDITIONER FOR VEHICLES. This one is mounted "console" style but close to the dashboard. U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,571 issued Jul. 12, 1977 to Bollinger for DRINKING WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM is yet another using the air conditioner fluids.
Obviously, it is desirable to provide a liquid dispensing system which is built into the structure of the vehicle and thus takes up no passenger compartment space, yet which uses clean thermoelectric heating and cooling of the liquids.
It is further desirable to provide a liquid dispensing system which is esthetically pleasing.


A method performed by a user device includes receiving a request to open a first application associated with a selected file; retrieving, in response to the request, information regarding a user interface (UI) associated with the first application via which multiple operations on the selected file are automatically performed, and a set of second applications automatically associated with the first application based on a frequency of use of each of the second applications in performing respective ones of the multiple operations with respect to other files via the user device, the information regarding the UI including: information associated with a UI icon corresponding to the first application, and information identifying a set of icons, that each correspond to a respective different one of the set of second applications; presenting, via a display, the UI icon and the identified set of icons, based on the information regarding the UI; receiving, via the UI icon, an instruction to move the selected file to one of the identified set of icons; and performing a selected operation on the selected file using an identified application, of the set of second applications, that corresponds to the one of the identified set of icons.

Today's user devices are capable of using an ever-increasing variety of applications that continue to improve the user's experience. The ever-increasing variety of applications enable a user device to manage an array of file types, such as documents, images, video, music, text messages, data, etc., and/or to perform operations on the files, such as transferring, uploading/downloading, emailing, instant messaging, saving, opening, etc. Users usually perform a task by opening an application on a desktop of a user device (e.g., by opening a user interface associated with the application) and using the application to perform an operation on a file. However, users are performing increasingly complex tasks by opening a variety of applications on a desktop of a user device (e.g., by opening a variety of user interfaces associated with the variety of applications) that permit the user to perform multiple operations on a file. Unfortunately, performing the increasingly complex tasks, using the variety of applications, are making it more and more difficult for users to keep track of the multiple user interfaces corresponding to the variety of applications, which detracts from the user's experience.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

File management and transfer using user interface icons associated with applications


Disclosed in some examples are methods, systems, machine-readable media, and devices which operate a neural network defined by user code. A method includes identifying, operations from user code that are integral in operating the neural network, combining a subset of the identified operations into a single processing sequence to be transmitted to an array of hardware processors, performing operations that are not integral in operation of the neural network in a separate thread of execution from the operations that are integral in operating the neural network; and mapping results to the combined operations that were included in the single processing sequence.

Training a neural network typically includes a tremendous number of mathematical calculations. As neural networks increase in size and complexity using an increased number of training sets of data, the number of associated calculations needed to train the neural network increases exponentially.
In some scenarios, an array of processors are utilized to perform the calculations. However, because a neural network is often trained by propagating calculations through the neural network, subsequent operations must wait for results of previous ones. Accordingly, the operations that perform the propagated calculations are not readily parallelized.
In other examples, a neural network is defined, trained, and applied by user code. Considering the technical complexity of parallelizing the training and operation of a neural network, a user may or may not arrange or combine operations in an efficient manner.

Operating a neural network defined by user code


A method for performing projectile-based sport simulations. A striking apparatus is used to strike a projectile with striking means, the striking apparatus being configurable to alter its strike properties. The strike results from the strike are measured and are entered into a data base along with the corresponding strike properties. The process is repeated for a variety of strike properties. A sports practice device is then provided having a simulation projectile mounted to a flexible tether and sensor means. The striking apparatus is then used to strike the simulation projectile of the sports practice device using the same strike properties as entered into the database. A user strikes the simulation projectile of the sports practice device and sensor readings are measured. The strike results for the user's strike are calculated by correlating the sensor readings with the information entered into the database.

The aim of many projectile-based sports, such as hockey, soccer, baseball, or golf, is to direct a projectile, such as a ball or puck to a certain target, such as a net or a hole. For many projectile-based sports, the projectile is struck (with a club, bat or even a player's foot) and directed to the target. The more that a player can consistently direct the projectile to the target, the better that player will perform. For this reason, many players would like to practice their game in the comfort of their own home. For the purposes of illustration of the inventions disclosed herein, the game of golf will serve as the focus of discussions. However, it will become clear to the reader that other projectile-based sports are applicable to the present invention.
A system for accurately predicting the flight and roll of a golf ball is of immense value to the golfer, whether beginner or advanced. A number of configurations of golf practice mats have been produced and demonstrated, each with accuracy limitations in predicting the flight of a golf ball, for reasons that will be elaborated below.
The collision between club and ball is a violent event, of duration less than half a millisecond, in which forces of up to 10 kN are imparted by the club-face to the ball. During the impact, the ball deforms significantly, as much as a centimeter, and slides and rolls along the club face, beginning to spin, and finally recoils to depart the club, ending the impact event.
Each individual golf ball's physical properties and the time history of the forces acting upon the ball during the impact completely determine the flight of the ball through the air and its bounce and roll upon landing (assuming a standard atmosphere and ignoring the effects of wind and small-scale random phenomena). Yet, the physics of the impact event, and what happens to the golf ball during it, remain largely intractable due to the large number of variables that must be modeled and their numerical spreads. Empirical collision studies of golf balls against fixed barriers have shown that even the coefficient of restitution of golf balls is a complex, non-linear function of impact speed, angle and force. Ball composition adds another significant variable to the modeling task: while cover softness (the thin dimpled layer surrounding the core) affects the spin-rate acquired by the ball during the collision, the ball's core affects the linear momentum acquired by the ball. When all these variables are put together, small variations in the impact event produce large variations in its outcome. This is what makes the game of golf so hard to master. The ball's velocity along with spin rate, spin axis and even dimple pattern creates the lifting force, which determines the ball's trajectory.
Upon landing, the ball's forward momentum, which acts to keep the ball rolling, is opposed by the ball's backspin and the coefficient of friction with the course surface (again determined by the cover's stickiness and the dimple pattern). The bounce and roll distance, therefore, is again a function of the ball's construction.
A diagram of the forces at work through impact is shown in FIG. 6. The line S represents the shaft of club 100, and the angle it makes with the face of the club, F X F′, is called loft. If the axes, X, Y, and Z, were centered on ball 110 at the first instance of impact, with the Z axis representing the club-head velocity vector at that instant, the ball would be struck with a "lofted, slightly open" club face. The term "lofted" refers to the effective loft angle being greater than the loft of the club, due to the angle between F and Z being obtuse, and the term "slightly open" refers to the fact that the club face is aimed slightly to the right of Z (note that the normal to the face, A, is pointing slightly to the right of Z).
At the moment of contact, with the force vector being parallel to Z, the component of the force normal to the club face, A, begins to compress the ball, while the component of the force tangential to the club face causes the ball to begin sliding and rolling over the club face. The effective loft of the club influences the energy distribution in the departing ball between the linear kinetic energy and the rotational energy it acquires. The lie of the ball also plays a large roll in determining the energy distribution: a ball that is squeezed between the club and the ground at impact will tend to acquire a greater amount of spin, at the cost of linear velocity, while the opposite will be true for the teed ball.
Although FIG. 6 depicts the moment of contact, the collision between a golf club and ball lasts up to about 0.5 seconds, during which time the club and ball stay in contact, traveling together for an inch or less. Through impact, the forces on the ball change in magnitude and direction, thus no single moment in time can be predictive of the ball's flight and roll.
The departing ball's linear and spin kinetic energy components are a complex function of the swinging club's parameters—mass, velocity, deceleration through impact, effective loft angle, etc.—and the ball's parameters—the coefficient of restitution of the ball, which, along with the ball's mass, determines the amount of linear energy transfer, and the effective coefficient of friction which determines the amount of spin energy of the departing ball.
If the spin axis is tilted away from the horizontal, the lift experienced by the ball will also cause it to veer to the left or to the right, causing the weekend golfer's much-dreaded hook and slice, but also the coveted fade and draw that the professional golfer is able to command.
At the moment of landing, the golf ball will have a downward velocity component, a forward velocity component and residual spin. These dynamical parameters of the landing ball, together with its coefficient of restitution, rolling resistance and friction determine its bounce and roll, subject to the topography of the terrain and the type of surface it lands on.
Several means have been proposed in the art for estimating a golf ball's flight based on the acquisition of post-impact ball measurements. In a tethered ball golf practice device, the ball is attached to the mat by some secure means and yet is able to move freely within a constrained volume so that the feel of hitting the captive ball is similar to that of a free ball.
Various arrangements of tethered golf balls for golf practice mats have been proposed in the literature, such as the hung ball, the cantilevered ball (side attachment), and the teed ball. Designers have in some cases attempted to reduce the effect of the tether on the measurements, but have otherwise been unable to compensate for it. In the case of a free ball golf practice device, measurement or estimation of the ball's spin rate and spin axis, a task that is essential to the simulation's accuracy, is prone to large measurement errors because of the difficulty involved.
High-speed stroboscopic photography of specially marked balls is also limited to measuring spin about a single axis. Yet, three-dimensional spin is highly determinative of the golf ball's flight and roll, since spin can generate a lifting force that is greater than the force of gravity; hence errors in estimating the spin rate and axis cause large discrepancies between the predicted and actual ball behavior.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved system of golf simulation practice devices which compensates for the difficulties encountered with the prior art devices.

Projectile-based sports simulation method and apparatus


An inflatable restraint cushion for use in transportation passive restraint systems is provided. The inflatable restraint cushion according to the invention is of a foldable construction having two panels with generally straight line geometric profiles. The first panel is of generally a pyramidal configuration while the second panel is of an elongated rectangular configuration joined to and extending from the apex of the first panel. Mouth forming slits are cut into the base of the first panel, thereby dividing the base into right and left segments. The right and left segments of the base are folded towards one another and are seamed together. The second panel is thereafter folded in loop fashion towards the first panel and a single seam is used to join the mating edges of the first and second panels.

An inflatable cushion disposed within a supporting structure such as a dash panel, side door or other fixed portion of a car body in opposing relation to a seat in the vehicle plays an important role in protecting the occupants in a vehicle from injury due to collision against the car body. Typically, the inflatable cushion is inflated rapidly by the pressure of a reaction gas released from an inflator during a collision. This gas generation typically takes place when a gas generating agent in the inflator induces a chemical reaction by a collision signal from a collision detecting sensor when the deceleration of the vehicle exceeds a certain level. The gas which is generated by the generator is then conveyed to the inflatable cushion which expands outwardly as it fills with gas to create a protective barrier between the vehicle occupant and the dash panel or other portion of the vehicle body against which the occupant might otherwise be thrown.
Inflatable cushion systems commonly referred to as air bag systems have been used in the past to protect both the operator of the vehicle and passengers. Systems for the protection of the vehicle operator have typically been mounted in the steering column of the vehicle and have utilized cushion constructions directly deployable towards the driver. These driver-side cushions are typically of a relatively simple configuration in that they function over a fairly small well-defined area between the driver and the steering column. One such configuration is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,755 to Nelsen et al., the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Inflatable cushions for use in the protection of passengers against frontal or side impacts must generally have a more complex configuration since the position of a vehicle passenger may not be well defined and greater distance may exist between the passenger and the surface of the vehicle against which that passenger might be thrown in the event of a collision. Prior cushions for use in such environments are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,520,416 to Bishop, issued May 28, 1996; U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,594 to Krickl issued Oct. 3, 1995; U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,273 to Hawthorn et al. issued Jun. 13, 1995; U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,337 to Yamaji et al. issued May 31, 1994; U.S. Pat. No. 5,310,216 to Wehner et al. issued on May 10, 1994; U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,729 to Watanabe issued Feb. 25, 1992; U.S. Pat. No. 5,087,071 to Wallner et al. issued Feb. 11, 1992; U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,529 to Backhaus issued Jul. 31, 1990; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,792,873 to Buchner et al. issued Feb. 19, 1974, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
As will be appreciated, a full bodied cushion having a generally hemispherical profile may be desirable so as to provide coverage around a dash panel or door structure. The present invention provides an easily manufactured cushion of substantial depth having such a desired geometry.
Moreover, construction of the air bag according to the present invention permits highly efficient utilization of the material from which the air bag panels are cut. That is, the use of a small number of relatively simple substantially straight line geometries permits excellent nesting of the individual cut parts across the width of the formation material. This reduces the amount of wasted material surrounding the cut parts and thereby improves the overall efficiency of the process. Accordingly, the present invention represents a useful advancement over the known art.


Disclosed herein is a compliant catheter balloon with an improved elastic response and reduced longitudinal expansion, and a method of forming the same. The balloon comprises a SEBS block copolymer, which is longitudinally prestretched during the balloon manufacture process.

The present invention generally relates to medical devices, and in particular, to improved compliant expansion balloons for use with medical catheters.
Compliant inflatable balloons, of the type used with medical catheters, increase in diameter with increasing inflation pressure until the balloon burst pressure is reached, as is well-known to those of skill in the art. Such balloons are especially advantageous when used as an occlusion balloon, or as the securing element of an anchorable guidewire. In both applications, the balloon must be expanded to contact the blood vessel wall. In some treatment procedures, however, the clinician does not know the precise diameter of the blood vessel segment that the balloon must contact. In these situations, the compliant expansion profile of the balloon permits the clinician to make the required contact, by application of increasing inflation pressures to cause increased balloon radial expansion until contact is achieved.
Conventional compliant expansion balloons are generally made of elastomeric materials, such as latex and silicone. Balloons made of these materials utilizing conventional balloon formation techniques suffer from several disadvantages which adversely affect the balloon's performance.
One disadvantage of conventional compliant balloons relates to their elastic response. It is desirable for catheter balloons to have a predictable inflation profile. That is, the balloon should inflate to a certain known size upon application of a specific pressure. Moreover, the balloon should exhibit good elasticity, inflating to approximately the same size upon application of the same specific pressure or volume, even after the balloon has been inflated and deflated multiple times. However, conventional compliant balloons often do not exhibit this desired elastic response, and tend to inflate to larger sizes upon application of the same specific pressure each subsequent time they are inflated. This is because each inflation stretches the balloon, and upon deflation, the balloon does not return to its original deflated size, but instead is somewhat larger. Consequently, upon each subsequent inflation, the stretched balloon inflates to a larger size than before, making it difficult for the clinician to predict the amount of pressure that must be applied to inflate the balloon to the size needed to contact the vessel.
Another disadvantage of conventional compliant balloons relates to their longitudinal expansion. As described previously, compliant balloons tend to increase in radial diameter with increasing inflation pressure. In addition, many compliant expansion balloons also tend to increase in length with increasing inflation pressure. This is an undesirable expansion characteristic, as it creates an unwanted shearing force within the blood vessel, which could lead to vessel trauma.
Accordingly, there exists a need for compliant expansion balloons for use as occlusion balloons on catheters, or as securing members on anchorable guidewires, which have a predictable elastic response, a predictable longitudinal expansion, and a predictable diameter, at different volumes or pressures. In addition, there is a need for methods of making such balloons.


The present invention relates a method for concentrating a gas by applying a pressure difference to an adsorbent and an apparatus therefor, and particularly, a method for producing an enriched gas in a large amount by introducing a continuous production into every step of the process focusing on productivity rather than concentration of the product gas and an apparatus therefor. The present invention relates to a method incorporating the vacuum swing adsorption method with the pressure swing adsorption method, particularly the rapid pressure swing adsorption method which can continuously produce a desired material in a depressurization step to improve recovery rate of the desired material and productivity and an apparatus therefor. The apparatus according to the present invention is advantageously applied in a small size machine rather than for industrial uses. Particularly, when applied in a small size oxygen concentrator, it can be used in electric home appliances, air conditioners and water purifier, as well as medical products.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for producing an enriched gas having the concentration of a certain gas increased comprising separating the certain gas from a feed gas mixture by applying a pressure difference to an adsorbent selective for the certain gas, and an apparatus therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
The method for concentrating a certain gas using an adsorbent to increase the concentration of the gas is representatively classified into a method using the difference between transit rates of gases by applying a pressure to a gas separation membrane and a method of PSA (Pressure Swing Adsorption) type using a zeolite molecular sieve (ZMS) or a carbon molecular sieve (CMS), in which a pressure difference is applied to a container packed with the sieve material, whereby a gas of a certain component is adsorbed to the adsorbent while a gas of a relatively less adsorbable component is separated. The PSA has been widely used in various fields since the proposal by Skarstrom.
According to the PSA type, the adsorption of a gas is carried out at normal(atmospheric) pressure or higher and the desorption and regeneration is carried out at atmospheric pressure. The PSA which has been developed since 1950's is widely used in the industrial production of oxygen and nitrogen and recently is also applied to a small size articles such as a water purifier, an air conditioner, an air cleaner and a medical appliance, as well as an air drying, an oxygen concentration and a hydrogen purification. Oxygen obtained from the PSA is widely used in the industries which continuously consumes oxygen, concretely the electric arc steel making process, the wastewater treatment by adding air to the wastewater, the pulp bleaching, an ozone generator and the like. In recent, an oxygen-enriched gas instead of air is used in combustion for the purpose of low nitrification (NOx) and high efficiency and the biochemical field such as fermentation. Particularly, the oxygen concentrator has been applied in electric home appliances for air conditioning in an office and at home. FIG. 1 shows a representative Skarstrom cycle of a standard basic four-step process of the PSA using two adsorbent beds. Here, Pl and Ph represent a relatively low pressure value and a relatively high pressure value, respectively, of the operating pressure. The process comprises essentially a feed pressurization step, a blowdown step and a purge step. The adsorption is carried out during the feed pressurization while the desorption is carried out during the blowdown step and the purge step. The typical O2-PSA processes are described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,430,418; U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,888; U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,650,501 and 4,981,499. On the basis of the standard process, a pressure equalization step may be further added to construct a multi-step process. Since such multi-step process may show a severe fluctuation in discharge pressure, the number of the adsorbent beds should be increased to reduce the deviation of the fluctuation. The multi-bed system, though has a high efficiency, has a limitation in the size reduction. The PSA apparatus is advantageous for high concentration systems for medical use but disadvantageous for the electric home appliance aiming at the output rather than the concentration. Also, it has a defect in that the initial production cost is relatively high.
For example, referring to the conventional method (JP-A-No. 08-239204), as shown in FIG. 7, there are required a plurality of valves (14, 12a, 17a, 12b, 17b) or line (15) in an input port and also a plurality of valves (110a, 110b) in a production port. Also, a pressure equalizing line 112 for connecting an adsorbent bed A and adsorbent B is provided with a switch valve 113. Further, the pressure equalizing line 112 is provided with a detour pressure equalizing line 115 equipped with a locking means 114, which makes the structure complicated. An enriched gas is produced from lines 19a and 19b.
The PSA is subdivided into an original PSA type operated at atmospheric pressure or higher, a VPSA type operated at between atmospheric pressure or higher and vacuum pressure and a VSA type operated at atmospheric pressure or low, according to the operating pressure. The VSA type and the VPSA are exchangeably used, or inclusively designated the PSA. Examples of the V(P)SA type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,122,164; U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,004 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,246,676.
Representative evaluation factors of the PSA are concentration, recovery rate and productivity. In the conventional methods, the process design and system design are laid out considering mainly concentration, recovery rate and the initial investment in accommodation and operating cost, since they are focused on their industrial application. The RPSA (Rapid PSA) which has been developed in 1970's focusing on the output of a product gas could produce an oxygen-enriched gas in a several times great amount using pressure depression generated in an adsorbent bed packed with fine particles, unlike most of the PSA, in which the depression inside the adsorbent bed is absent or ignored. That is, since a desired gas is continuously produced during the depression step unlike the common PSA, it is possible to increase the recovery rate of the desired gas and the productivity of the adsorbent. FIG. 2 shows the standard three-step process of the RPSA comprising a pressurization step, a delay step and a depressurization step. The delay step as a middle step may be omitted, where appropriate. As shown in FIG. 2, the production is continued in the respective steps and the pressurization step and the depressurization step take place in a short time of several seconds. Typical examples of the RPSA are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,406,675; U.S. Pat. No. 5,827,358; U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,680 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,565,627. The method of this type has been partially applied in an emergency oxygen supply apparatus for a pilot and some industrial uses but not yet applied in commercial small size home appliances.
For a small capacity oxygen concentrator to be combined with an air cleaner and an air conditioner for domestic use, the high concentration of the industrial use is actually meaningless since the ultimate oxygen concentration of a target space is at a level of about 21 to 23% where people feel pleasantness. For a water purifier, it is known that an oxygen concentration of 50% or higher is sufficient to increase the dissolved oxygen. Therefore, the adoption of the RPSA method which can accomplish high productivity is not preferable for a small size machine.
The PSA operated at a pressure of at least normal pressure shows good efficiency when constructed in a small size. However, when a commonly used pressure of 2 atm to 5 atm is used, problems of noise and heat generation of a pump and durability may occur. Therefore, it cannot be used in an electric home appliance for indoor use. Recently, there have been proposed methods for increasing recovery rate while reducing the adsorption/desorption pressure at maximum, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,892, U.S. Pat. No. 6,010,555 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,506,234. However, these methods have limitations since a high performance adsorbent should be used and the adsorbent are hardly recycled. Also, since the methods are not focused on small size machines and productivity, they are only suitable for medical use but not for application in a small size home appliance. In order to be applied to a small size home appliance, a process to make the maximum productivity at low power consumption is needed.
The VPSA operated at between atmospheric pressure and vacuum pressure can guarantee a more quiet operation than the PSA. However, as described above, the conventional method has difficulties in the construction at a low cost due to the complex multi-step control and the use of a valve apparatus and a surge tank.
In the absolute VSA only operated at atmospheric or lower, the adsorption and desorption is carried out by means of a main vacuum pump and a concentrated gas is supplied using an air blower. Thus, this method is advantageous in that the problems related with noise and heat generation of a vacuum pump may work out considerably since the pressure difference applied on an adsorbent is small. However, two pumps should be essentially needed in the construction of a machine, which makes this method economically disadvantageous. Also, upon application in a small size machine, it is necessary to use a high performance adsorbent, since the productivity is low. Further, when 3or more of adsorbent beds are used in the construction of a machine, the valve control becomes complicated and thus is not suitable for use in a small size air conditioner.

Gas concentration method and its apparatus


A photographic element is disclosed that relies upon high bromide silver halide grains that are sulfur and/or gold sensitized for latent image formation. Coated to receive exposing radiation directly from a layer containing the latent image forming grains is a non-imaging layer containing (a) tabular silver halide grains (i) comprised of greater than 50 mole percent bromide, based on silver, (ii) having a thickness in the range of from 0.03 to 0.20 .mu.m, and (iii) having an average aspect ratio of greater than 20, and (b) silver halide epitaxy selectively positioned adjacent edges of said tabular grains in said non-imaging layer, said silver halide epitaxy (i) containing greater than 50 mole percent chloride, based on silver, and (ii) accounting for from 0.1 to 50 percent of the total silver in the composite grains.

It is well known in the silver halide photography that incident light used for imagewise exposure of a radiation-sensitive silver halide emulsion layer is only partially absorbed within that layer. If exposing light that has passed through the emulsion layer is reflected back, the reflected light, to the extent that it is absorbed during its second traverse, acts to increase the effective speed of the silver halide emulsion layer. Unfortunately, reflected light is known to reduce greatly image sharpness. In fact, the term "halation" was coined early in photography to describe this effect, since a bright object that is photographed without protection against reflected light appears to be surrounded by a halo, attributable to scattered reflected light. To avoid halation, it is a common practice to coat beneath the radiation-sensitive silver halide emulsion layer or layers of a photographic element an antihalation layer. The function of the antihalation layer is absorb light that has passed through the overlying emulsion layer or layers during imagewise exposure. Antihalation is described by Keller Science and Technology of Photography, VCH, New York, 1993, 3.2.16. Antihalation Coatings, pp. 68 and 69.
Kofron et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,439,520 demonstrates that the image sharpness of an underlying silver halide emulsion layer is increased when an overlying radiation-sensitive silver halide emulsion layer is selected to contain a high (>8) aspect ratio tabular grain emulsion.
The use of silver halide epitaxy to increase the sensitivity of high aspect ratio tabular grain emulsions was first disclosed by Maskasky U.S. Pat. No. 4,435,501. Other illustrations of composite grains formed by epitaxial deposition are provided by Research Disclosure, Vol. 389, September 1996, Item 38957, I. Emulsion grains and their preparation, A. Grain halide compositions, paragraph (7). More recent illustrations of silver halide epitaxy applied to tabular host grains are provided by Daubendiek et al U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,494,739, 5,503,971 and 5,576,168, Deaton et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,965, Eshelman et al U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,612,175, 5,612,176 and 5,614,359, and Levy U.S. Pat. No. 5,612,177.

Photographic elements containing composite reflective grains


According to one embodiment, an audio-visual apparatus that has received operation information transmitted using infrared receives a response signal via a radio frequency from a remote controller set to a combination mode transmitting operation information using both infrared and a radio frequency. The remote controller that has received the response signal transmitted from the AV apparatus within a predetermined time is automatically set to a temporary infrared only mode transmitting operation information using infrared only in place of the combination mode.

1. Field
One embodiment of the invention relates to an audio-visual (AV) apparatus operated by a remote controller using wireless transmission, and to improvement of its control method.
2. Description of the Related Art
As already known, various audio-visual (AV) apparatuses have come into wide use. An optical disk reproduction apparatus reproducing an optical disk such as a digital versatile disk (DVD) is given as one example of an AV apparatus. In the foregoing AV apparatus, the user wireless-transmits operation information using a remote controller, and thereby, the apparatus is remote-controlled to various operation states and a stop state.
In this case, for general home AV apparatuses, the following two means for wireless-transmitting operation information to the AV apparatus from a remote controller are used. One employs an infrared method of transmitting the operation information using infrared rays as a transmission medium. The other employs a radio wave method of transmitting the operation information using a radio wave as a transmission medium.
Of the foregoing methods, according to the infrared method, a remote controller must be pointed toward the AV apparatus to transmit operation information in a state that there exists no obstacle that shields infrared rays on the straight line connecting the remote controller and the AV apparatus.
Conversely, the radio wave method is a method used for performing bidirectional communication between the remote controller and the AV apparatus. Thus, even if an obstacle exists on the straight line connecting the remote controller and the AV apparatus, the operation information is transmitted to the AV apparatus, and further, it is transmitted from the AV apparatus to the remote controller.
Currently, an audio-visual (AV) apparatus that is operable using a remote controller employing both the infrared method and radio wave method, is available. This kind of remote controller operates in the following three modes. One is an infrared only mode of transmitting operation information using only infrared rays. Another is a radio wave only mode of transmitting the operation information using only a radio wave. Another is a combination mode of simultaneously transmitting information using both infrared and a radio wave. The foregoing modes are settable by the user.
An AV apparatus receiving the operation information from such a remote controller has the following functions. One is a function of receiving the operation information transmitted using infrared rays. The other is a function of receiving the operation information transmitted using a radio wave. The foregoing AV apparatus can handle the operation information received using either of the foregoing functions.
As described above, the AV apparatus is remote-controlled using the remote controller having both the infrared method and the radio wave (frequency) method. This serves to obtain the advantages of the foregoing two methods. However, according to the combination mode, the remote controller simultaneously transmits the same content operation information using infrared rays and a radio frequency. For this reason, power consumption is greatly increased; as a result, this is a factor of shortening the lifetime of a battery.
Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2008-28582 discloses the following technique. According to the technique, the power supply to a radio transmit/receive module is stopped in a standby state, and power is supplied to an infrared transmit/receive module only. In this way, power consumption of a recorder is reduced. Further, when an operation instruction signal for changing the recorder from the standby state to a normal operation state, the recorder transmits a radio response signal to the remote controller to stop the transmission of the operation instruction signal. In the manner as described above, the power consumption of the remote controller is reduced.

Audio-visual (AV) apparatus and its control method


Liquid antacid compositions containing a tri- or di-ester buffer have a reduced final product pH providing for a more efficacious preservative system and better tasting product without compromising to acid neutralization capacity of the antacid.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to liquid antacid compositions and methods for their preparation. More particularly, the present invention relates to liquid antacid compositions containing a tri- or di-ester as a buffer. The compositions have a reduced final product pH providing for a more efficacious preservative system and better tasting product without compromising the acid neutralizing capacity of the antacid.
2. Description of the Related Art
Gastric antacids are agents that neutralize or remove acid from the gastric contents. Antacids are widely used in the treatment of various gastrointestinal disorders such as peptic ulcers and gastritis. Antacids are also used for the relief of acid indigestion, heartburn, dyspepsia, sour stomach, reflux esophagitis and the like. The clinical use of antacids is based on their ability to neutralize stomach acid and increase the pH of gastric secretions. Although antacids do not neutralize all gastric acid, increasing gastric pH from 1.3 to 2.3 neutralizes 90% and increasing pH to 3.3 neutralizes 99% of gastric acid. For optimal healing of peptic ulcers, most clinicians believe that gastric pH should be maintained at about 3-3.5. Accordingly, it is desirable that an antacid feature a high acid neutralization capacity and a rapid rate of gastric acid neutralization.
Antacids used today are made from a variety of inorganic salts such as calcium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, magnesium salts and aluminum salts. Magnesium hydroxide and aluminum hydroxide are the most potent magnesium and aluminum salts and are often used in combination. In addition, magnesium oxide, magnesium carbonate, aluminum phosphate, magaldrate, magnesium trisilicate, and aluminum sucrose sulfate (sucralfate) are also employed.
Antacids are available in both liquid suspensions as well as solid dosage forms. In general, liquid antacid suspensions are preferred to tablets or powders since they are more rapidly and effectively solubilized and have a greater ability to react with and neutralize gastric acid.
One of the major concerns with formulating an antacid liquid is the preservative efficacy. Liquid antacid preparations are generally susceptible to microbial contamination. The pH of any aqueous based solution is critical to controlling the microbial growth within the solution. Generally, acidic solutions (pH 3-6) are less susceptible to microbial growth than alkaline solutions (pH 8-9). Under most circumstances, the ability to restrict this microbial growth can be aided by the addition of a preservative. The degradation of the preservative in solution can in turn be affected by the pH of the finished product. In most situations, there is a perfect match between the finished product's pH and the pH range at which the preservative is most efficacious.
Some liquid antacid preparations, for example calcium carbonate, however, generally have a pH above 8.0 and no preservative systems approved in the United States function optimally at this pH. The alkyl esters of para-hydroxybenzoic acid (the parabens, e.g. butylparaben, methylparaben and propylparaben) are most widely used as preservatives because they offer the most efficacious option, but they degrade over time and this degradation process increases exponentially with an increase in pH. Consequently, in order to achieve adequate preservative levels throughout the shelf life of the product, higher levels of the preservative must be added initially. This can affect the taste of the finished product however, because preservatives such as the parabens are known to have a poor taste.
Accordingly, there is a need for a preservative system for highly alkaline liquid antacid preparations which effectively inhibits microbial contamination over the shelf life of the product without adversely affecting the taste of the finished product.
One way to inhibit degradation of the preservative would be to lower the pH of the antacid suspension. This may be done through the addition of buffers such as citric acid and tartaric acid. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,050 discloses calcium carbonate/magnesium salt antacid suspensions containing a carboxylic acid buffering agent such as tartaric acid. However, in order to lower the pH sufficiently to a level of around pH 7 where preservative degradation is minimal, large amounts of these buffers are required. The addition of such amounts of these acidic buffers can in turn adversely affect the acid neutralizing capacity of the antacid. Thus, there is a need for a method of reducing the pH of the antacid suspension to inhibit degradation of the preservative without adversely affecting the acid neutralizing capacity of the liquid antacid preparation.
Patent Application EP 0138540 describes liquid cimetidine suspensions which may contain an antacid, where the suspensions contain a buffer to maintain the pH at greater than 7 to enhance the taste of the suspension. Cimetidine has a pronounced bitter taste. The pH is preferably 7.2-7.8 and the buffer is preferably sodium citrate.


A misfire-detecting system for an internal combustion engine carries out self-diagnosis of the system. In the system, sparking voltage generated across a spark plug of a cylinder of the engine is detected, and the detected sparking voltage is compared with a first predetermined reference voltage value, and a time period is measured over which the detected sparking voltage exceeds the first predetermined reference voltage value. It is determined that a misfire occurred in the engine when the measured time period exceeds a predetermined time period value. It is determined whether the engine is in self-sustaining operation. When it is determined that the engine is in self-sustaining operation, it is determined whether the misfire-detecting system is abnormal. It is determined that the misfire-detecting system is abnormal when the detected sparking voltage is lower than a second reference voltage value. Alternatively or in combination, it is determined that the misfire-detecting system is abnormal when the detected sparking voltage has continued to be higher than a third predetermined reference voltage value over a predetermined time period.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a misfire-detecting system for internal combustion engines, and more particularly to a misfire-detecting system of this kind, which is equipped with a device for detecting abnormality thereof.
2. Prior Art
A spark plug of an internal combustion engine can suffer from abnormal ignition or misfires. The misfires are largely classified into ones attributable to the fuel supply system and ones attributable to the ignition system. Misfires attributable to the fuel supply system are caused by the supply of a lean mixture or a rich mixture to the engine, while misfires attributable to the ignition system are caused by so-called mis-sparking, which means that normal spark discharge does not take place at the spark plug. Mis-sparking occurs e.g. due to smoking or wetting of the spark plug with fuel, particularly adhesion of carbon in the fuel to the spark plug, which causes current leakage between the electrodes of the spark plug, or due to abnormality in the sparking voltage-supplying system.
The present assignee has already proposed a misfire-detecting system for detecting misfires attributable to the fuel supply system, which comprises sparking voltage-detecting means for detecting sparking voltage across electrodes of a spark plug, and misfire-determining means which determines that a misfire has occurred when a time period over which the detected value of the sparking voltage exceeds a predetermined voltage value exceeds a predetermined time period (Japanese Patent Application No. 3-326507).
However, the above proposed system is incapable of detecting abnormality in the system, such as a fault in a sensor for detecting the sparking voltage, or a disconnection or a ground-fault (short-circuit to ground) in wiring between the sensor and an electronic control unit for executing the misfire determination.

Misfire-detecting system for internal combustion engines


A process for efficiently manufacturing polyarylene sulfide copolymer in which polymers are well dispersed and which copolymer exhibiting superior mechanical properties. The process comprises reacting a polyarylene sulfide resin (A) and an amination agent (B) in a non-protonic organic solvent (C), and copolymerizing the resulting amino polyarylene sulfide resin (A') and a reactive elastomer (D) in a non-protonic organic solvent (C'), thereby obtaining a polyarylene sulfide resin (A") with the elastomer dispersed in the resin matrix.

1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to a process for preparing a polyarylene sulfide copolymer, the copolymer prepared by the process, and a resin composition comprising the copolymer. More particularly, the present invention relates to a process for preparing a polyarylene sulfide copolymer which is particularly useful as a material for various electrical and electronic parts; and parts for transportation equipment such as vehicles, to the copolymer prepared by the process; and to a resin composition comprising the copolymer.
2. Discussion of the Background:
In recent years, techniques of polymer blends and polymer alloys are used to improve characteristics of polymers, and the research related to these techniques are actively undertaken. The polymer blends and polymer alloys are commonly manufactured by kneading polymers by an extruder. A number of melt blend compositions of polyarylene sulfide resin and various other resins with improved characteristics have been disclosed.
Among these, a method for simply melting and kneading polyarylene sulfide having an amino group together with various types of reactive polymers was disclosed, for example, by Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 153262/1992 and No. 202363/1992.
In these techniques, however, there were problems that the amino group contained in the polyarylene sulfide does not sufficiently react with the reactive polymer due to incompatibility between the polymers and that dynamic characteristics are not necessarily improved due to inadequate dispersion of the polymers.
The present invention has been completed to solve these problems and has an object of providing a process for preparing a polyarylene sulfide copolymer exhibiting excellent dispersibility with other polymers and having superior dynamic characteristics, and a resin composition comprising this copolymer of polyarylene sulfide.

Process for preparing polyarylene sulfide copolymer, the copolymer prepared by the process, and resin composition comprising the copolymer


A particle remover includes an irradiation unit for irradiating plural lights onto a target from different directions, and for scanning the lights on the target, and a collector for collecting particles carried as a result of scanning of the lights.

The present invention relates generally to a remover, and more particularly to a particle remover that removes particles adhered to a reticle for an exposure apparatus that manufactures such devices as a single crystal substrate for a wafer, and a glass plate for a liquid crystal display ("LCD"). An application of the inventive particle remover is not limited to an exposure apparatus. Rather, the particle remover can be broadly applied to such optical apparatuses, as photoengraving, measuring projectors, motion picture projectors, and other projectors.
In manufacturing fine semiconductor devices, such as a semiconductor memory and a logic circuit, using the photolithography technology, a reduction projection exposure apparatus has conventionally been employed which uses a projection optical system to project a circuit pattern of a mask or a reticle onto a wafer, etc. to transfer the circuit pattern.
The minimum critical dimension ("CD") to be transferred by the projection exposure apparatus or resolution is proportionate to a wavelength of light used for exposure, and inversely proportionate to the numerical aperture ("NA") of the projection optical system. The shorter the wavelength is, the better the resolution is. In order to meet the recent demand for finer processing to semiconductor devices, use of exposure light that has a smaller wavelength have been promoted from an ultra-high pressure mercury lamp (such as the i-line with a wavelength of approximately 365 nm) to the KrF excimer laser (with a wavelength of approximately 248 nm) and the ArF excimer laser (with a wavelength of approximately 193 nm).
However, the lithography using the UV light has the limit to satisfy the rapidly promoting fine processing of a semiconductor device, and a reduction projection optical system using extreme ultraviolet ("EUV") light with a wavelength of 10 to 15 nm smaller than that of the UV light has been developed for efficient transfers of a very fine circuit pattern of 0.1 μm or less.
The exposure apparatus is required to accurately transfer the reticle pattern onto the substrate, and the conventional reticle has a pellicle so as to prevent particles that deteriorate the pattern transfer from adhering to the reticle. The pellicle is a thin film having high transmittance to the exposure light, a predetermined distance apart from the reticle. FIG. 13 is a schematic sectional view of the conventional reticle 1000 having a pellicle 1300. The reticle 1000 includes, as shown in FIG. 13, a substrate 1100, an absorber 1200, and the pellicle 1300. Exposure light EL is irradiated onto the reticle 1000, diffracted by the absorber 1200, generates diffracted light DL, and enters a projection optical system. Particles MP adhered to the pellicle 1300 are a predetermined distance apart from the reticle pattern or the absorber 1200, and are not imaged on a wafer due to defocus.
However, all the materials have high absorptance to the EUV light in the EUV exposure apparatus, and there are practically no materials usable for the pellicle. Accordingly, a configuration that removes a pellicle from a reticle is considered for the EUV exposure apparatus.
FIG. 14 is a schematic sectional view showing a reticle 2000 applicable to the EUV exposure apparatus. The reticle 2000 includes a substrate 2100 having a reflective multilayer film or coating, and an absorber 2200. The exposure light EL is irradiated into the reticle 2000, and generates the diffracted light DL via the reticle pattern or the absorber 2200. The particles MP that adhere to the reticle 2000 cause patterning defects that remarkably lower the yield of the manufactured semiconductor device. One proposal to reduce particle adhesions to the reticle uses a photoelectron method using the thermophoretic and/or electrostatic force. See, for example, D. J. Rader, D. E. Dedrick, E. W. Beyer, A. H. Leung and L. E. Klebanoff, "Verification studies of thermophoretic protection of EUV masks," Emerging Lithographic Technologies VI, SPIE Proceedings Vol. 4688 (2002), and R. Moors, G.-J. Heerens, "Electorostatic mask protection for extreme ultraviolet lithography", Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 316-320 (2002).
Another proposed particle removing technology is removing particles inside the exposure apparatus. For example, Japanese Patent Application, Publication No. 5-100182 proposes the removing technology of the particles or absorptive materials by using the light and by activating a collector having a transparent characteristic. The optical trap technology that condenses a laser beam and removes the particles utilizing the light intensity gradient near the condensing point is disclosed, for example, by Karel Svoboda and Steven M. Block, "Optical trapping of metallic Rayleigh particles," Optics Letters, vol. 19, No. 13, 1 Jul. 1994, and Arthur Ashkin, "Optical trapping and manipulation of neutral particles using lasers," Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. Vol. 94 pp. 4853-4860 (1997). The particle removing technology through the laser shock wave is disclosed, for example, in Andrew C. Tam, Wing P. Leung, Werner Zapka and Winfrid Ziemlich, "Laser-cleaning techniques for removal of surface particulates," J. Appl. Phys. 71(7), 1 Apr. 1992, although the technology is not for the reticle used for the EUV exposure apparatus. However, the prior art cannot satisfactorily remove the particles from the reticle, resulting in defects in the transferred pattern and lowered throughput due to a long time to remove the particles.
For example, Japanese Patent Application, Publication No. 5-100182 requires one collector for each absorptive material and is limited by the size of the collectable particle. In addition, when a particle is located, for example, between two adjacent convexes, in a solid structure (solid protruding artifact) that has a non-flat or undulating surface, the solid structure may obstruct the collection. Moreover, a method of removing a particle by irradiating the light onto it in one direction does not work if a structure blocks the light before the particle and cannot remove the particle.
Furthermore, the prior art reference entitled "Laser-cleaning techniques for removal of surface particulates" problematically causes damages of the reticle in removing the particles from it.

Particle remover, exposure apparatus having the same, and device manufacturing method


To destructively remove a refractory metal casting core from a cast part the part is exposed to a combination of nitric acid and sulfuric acid.

The invention relates to investment casting. More particularly, the invention relates to the removal of metallic casting cores from cast parts.
Investment casting is commonly used in the aerospace industry. Various examples involve the casting of gas turbine engine parts. Exemplary parts include various blades, vanes, seals, and combustor panels. Many such parts are cast with cooling passageways. The passageways may be formed using sacrificial casting cores.
Exemplary cores include ceramic cores, refractory metal cores (RMCs), and combinations thereof. In exemplary combinations, the ceramic cores may form feed passageways whereas the RMCs may form cooling passageways extending from the feed passageways through walls of the associated part.
After the initial casting of the part (e.g., from a nickel- or cobalt-based superalloy), the casting shell and core(s) are destructively removed. Exemplary shell removal is principally mechanical. Exemplary core removal is principally chemical. For example, the cores may be removed by chemical leaching. Exemplary leaching involves use of an alkaline solution in an autoclave. Exemplary leaching techniques are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,141,781, 6,241,000, and 6,739,380.
Especially where long and/or fine passageways are concerned, the leaching may be quite time-consuming. Problems faced in leaching include: minimizing adverse effects on the cast part; and effective leaching of both metallic and ceramic cores where a combination is used.


A backbone modified polymer comprising the reaction product of an elastomeric polymer and a sulfide modifier represented by Formula 1: AS—Y-Zm (Formula 1), and wherein Y is (C12-C100) aralkyl, (C12-C100) aryl, (C12-C100) alkyl, or (C12-C100) dialkylether (alkyl-O-alkyl), and wherein each may be optionally substituted with (C1-C4alkyl, (C1-C4alkoxy, (C7-C16aryl, (C7-C16 aralkyl, nitrile, amine, NO2, alkoxy, or thioalkyl; S is sulfur; A is hydrogen, —(S)p—R1 or -MR2R3R4; Z is —SH, —S-MR5R6R7, —S—(S)p—R8, —NR9R10, —NR11COR12, —O—CO—R13, —NCO, or —COOR14; M is silicon or tin; N is nitrogen; O is oxygen; m is the number one, two or three; p is the number one, two, three, four or five; R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7, R8, R9, R10, R11, R12, R13 and R14 are the same or different, and are each, independently, selected from hydrogen (H), (C1-C16) alkyl, (C6-C16) aryl, (C7-C16) aralkyl or (C3-C30) tri(hydrocarbyl)silyl, and wherein the hydrocarbyl groups are each independently selected from (C1-C16) alkyl, (C6-C16) aryl, or (C7-C16) aralkyl. The invention also provides related compositions, methods and articles.

It is generally accepted, that increasing oil prices force tire and rubber producers to contribute to the production of "fuel efficient" and thus fuel or gas saving tires. One general approach to obtain less fuel consuming tires consists in the reduction of the hysteresis loss. The hysteresis loss of a cross-linked elastomeric polymer composition is related to its Tan δ value at 60° C. (see ISO 4664-1:2005; Rubber, Vulcanized or thermoplastic; Determination of dynamic properties—part 1: General guidance). In general, vulcanized elastomeric polymer compositions having relatively small Tan δ values at 60° C. are preferred as having lower hysteresis loss. In tires, this translates to a lower rolling resistance and better fuel economy. One method to reducing hysteresis loss is to modify chain ends of uncrosslinked elastomeric polymers. Various techniques are described in the open literature including the use of "coupling agents" such as tin tetrachloride, which may functionalize the polymer chain end, and react with components of an elastomeric composition, such as for example with a filler. Examples of such techniques along with other documents of interest include: U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,281,383; 3,244,664 and 3,692,874 (for example tetrachlorosilane); U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,978,103; 4,048,206; 4,474,908; 6,777,569 (blocked mercaptosilanes) and U.S. Pat. No. 3,078,254 (a multi-halogen-substituted hydrocarbon such as 1,3,5-tri(bromo methyl)benzene); U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,069 (tin compound and organic amino or amine compound) and U.S. Publication 2005/0124740.
"Synthesis of end-functionalized polymer by means of living anionic polymerization" Journal of Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics 197 (1996), 3135-3148, describes the synthesis of polystyrene-containing and polyisoprene-containing living polymers with hydroxy (—OH) and mercapto (—SH) functional end caps, obtained by reacting the living polymer with haloalkanes containing silyl ether and silyl thioether functions. The tertiary-butyldimethylsilyl (TBDMS) group is preferred as protecting group for the —OH and —SH functions in the termination reactions, because the corresponding silyl ethers and thioethers are found to be both, stable and compatible with anionic living polymers.
Another method of reducing the hysteresis loss consists in a statistical backbone functionalization of polydienes. The number of functionalized positions along the rubber backbone can be higher compared with chain-end modification, where just one or two positions of one base polymer chain can be modified. Accordingly the interaction of the polymer chain with filler particles can be more intense in case of a backbone modification, when multiple (more than two) polymer backbone positions are modified. Thus, backbone functionalized polydienes have a potential for a lower hysteresis loss and a better compatibility with fillers, such as with carbon black and silica.
Examples for backbone modification of polymers.
Some typical examples for a polymer backbone modification were reported.
The Examples of such technique include:    (1) U.S. Pat. No. 6,933,358, and    (2) U.S. Pat. No. 7,041,761.
Polydienes prepared by using an anionic polymerization technology are usually made from butadiene, isoprene, and optionally styrene, as monomer sources. Functionalized conjugated diene or vinylaromatic monomers can be incorporated into the growing polymer chain, when interactions of the functional group with the initiator compound, often represented by n-butyllithium or sec-butyllithium, are avoided. Functionalized monomers, representing substituted styrene (1, 2) are shown below.

In the above structures, (R and R′ are hydrogen or an alkyl group; x is the number 1 to 10; m and n are the numbers 0 to 10). Functionalized monomers representing, substituted isoprene (1) are shown below.

The substituted styrene and substituted isoprene structures, as shown above, were incorporated into the elastomeric polydiolefin by being copolymerized with unfunctionalized conjugated diolefin, and optionally vinyl aromatic monomers. The functionalized polymers improved the compatibility of the rubber in tires with fillers, such as carbon black and silica. In particular, tire rolling resistance properties, and therefore hysteresis properties of tires were stated to be improved. For example 0.25, 1, 2 and 5 weight percentage of 4-(2-pyrrolidinoethyl)styrene (PES) or 3-(pyrrolidino-methyl-2-ethyl) α-methyl-styrene were incorporated into a butadiene-styrene backbone. The resulting functionalized polymer was applied to the preparation of silica-rubber compounds, and the rolling resistance related tan delta values were measured at 60° C. The reference polymer sample not containing any backbone functionalization resulted in a tan delta value of 0.145, while the highest modification degree (5 wt %) led to a decreased tan delta value of 0.073.
Polar groups containing compounds, called, and defined as, polar coordinator compounds in the present disclosure, however are known to influence the polymerization kinetic, and thus the 1,2-polybutadiene, as well as the styrene, composition distribution and concentration in the (co)polymer. Therefore the application of functionalized monomers requires the development of new polymerization recipes, when an equivalent microstructure of the functionalized polymer is desired. Accordingly, it is beneficial to modify the polymer backbone after essentially completing the monomer conversion.
There are a few references describing the vulcanization of polydienes with low molecular weight dithiols in the presence of peroxides.
The Examples of such technique include:    (3) Strecker, R. A. H., Rubber Chemistry and Technology, 44/3, (1971), 675-689, and    (4) U.S. Pat. No. 3,876,723.
According to reference (3), liquid polybutadienes were cured with dithiols of lower molecular weight, such as, for example, hexane-1,6-dithiol and 3,4-dimercaptotoluene in the presence of dicumylperoxide or t-butylperbenzoate, as initiator, at temperatures below 100° C. The products of the curing reaction had an improved stability against hydrolysis and air oxidation. Reportedly "strain at break" values decreased with an increasing dithiol concentration. No cure was obtained with the peroxide absent. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,876,723 (4) describes a method of curing a polydiene using a polydithiol, a polyepoxide and an amine compound (the last two compounds representing a radical initiator system) in a period of 50 to 84 hours at a temperature of 80 to 100° C. As result of the dithiol addition, increased vulcanizate elongation values were reported. Thus, both references describe peroxide initiated reactions of the dithiol with the polydiene.
For a backbone modification of a polydiene, prepared in solution, it would be beneficial to avoid the addition of peroxide initiators. The peroxide represents an additional component in the polymerization process, which also causes polymer chain crosslinking through radical formation along the polymer backbone. In addition the peroxide initiated functionalization requires extra time. Also side products of the peroxide initiator and of the amine component need to be considered, and in some occasions need to be removed. Therefore, it would be beneficial to react a thiol or sulfide containing compound with the polymer backbone, without having the need of auxiliary compounds.
Other references describe the curing of low molecular weight polybutadiene in the presence of low molecular weight dithiols.
The Examples of such technique include:    (5) U.S. Pat. No. 3,338,810, and    (6) U.S. Pat. No. 2,964,502.
A method of making a clear solid polymer comprising reacting a low molecular weight (C2-C6) alkyl polythiol Y(SH)n (n=2-6), and a liquid polydiene, in the presence of ultraviolet light, is described in reference (5). The molecular weight of liquid polydienes usually is considered to be below 50,000 g/mol, where it becomes waxy. The molecular weight of 1500 g/mol, given as example, is in the proposed range for a liquid diene polymer. A solid polymer is, according to the given examples, obtained after 15 or 30 hours respectively. In another reference (5) "in-situ" made 2,5-dimercapto-1,3,4-thiadiazole was reacted with liquid polybutadiene to produce a solid polymer product. The curing reaction was initiated by heating the mixture up to a temperature of, for example, 188° C. This temperature is needed for a relatively long period, such as exemplary, 73 hours.
The curing period as presented in reference (5) and (6) is very long. Compound vulcanizates prepared for tires need to be prepared in minutes, such as, for example, within 5 to 30 minutes. Accordingly such a long vulcanization period would not be acceptable for the production of elastomeric tire components. In addition liquid polymers can not be easily processed by a tire producer.
Additionally, vulcanizates are reportedly made from low molecular weight dithiol containing polydiene carbon black compounds. The dithiols were added in the course of the compounding or milling process.
Examples of such techniques include:
    (7) Hull C. M. et al., Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 40, (1948), 513-517.
In reference (7), the characteristic of emulsion butadiene-styrene rubber (GR-S rubber)—carbon black compound vulcanizates, prepared in the presence of low molecular weight dithiols was investigated. Modulus 300%, and tensile strength, of the compound vulcanizates changed when different dithiols were added. The tensile strength of vulcanizates made by using dithiols was mentioned to be higher than the use of one of dithiol free vulcanizates. The addition of dithiol compounds to the GR-S cement resulted in cement gelation, assumed to be caused from enhanced polymer chain cross-linking. Aside from the aforementioned gelation experiment, Table III suggests that the dithiols were always added as pure component to the carbon black compound mixture, prior to the vulcanization. Thus, the low molecular weight dithiols are only combined with an uncrosslinked elastomeric polymer during compounding. This approach is disadvantaged due to the difficulty of distributing the dithiol compound throughout the rubber mixture during compounding. That is, unlike the typical low viscous, solvent-based environment associated with most anionic polymerizations, the rubber compounding environment is typically highly viscous and solvent free, thus leading to a less homogenous distribution of the coupling agent throughout the composition. As consequence, the interaction of the functionalized polymer with the filler material and/or unsaturated segments of the polymer backbone is less balanced and thus less complete.
Another example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,696,523, describes hydroxyl group-containing rubbers built up from diolefins and from hydroxylmercaptanes and mercaptocarboxylic esters in combination with radical starters such as for example azobisisobutyronitrile or dilauroylperoxide. For a backbone modification of a polydiene, it would be beneficial to avoid the addition of radical forming initiator compounds as discussed above.
And yet polyfunctional thiol—monofunctional thiol mixtures were applied as chain transfer agent in the preparation of emulsion made styrene-butadiene latex (8).
Examples of such techniques include: (8) International Publication No. WO 02/50128.
After forming seed latex particles, in a first polymerization step, the polyfunctional thiol was added as component in a second and third step. The second and third polymerization step were performed to cover the seed latex particles with a first and a second shell. The resulting latex, when applied to the preparation of coated paper, was reported to have an improved polymerization stability, mechanical stability and adhesion. The dithiol was exclusively mentioned in the patent application to act as chain transfer agent, and thus the dithiol is not expected to yield a functionalized polymer using this technology.
Furthermore backbone modified polybutadienes of the general formula:
are described in reference (9), German Application No. 1,910,177, for the preparation of HIPS and varnish.
According to the reference (9), the preparation of the modified polybutadienes was performed through reaction of preferably low molecular weight polydienes (Mw<100,000 g/mol) with low molecular weight aminothiols (HS—R—NH2 and HS—R(COOH)—NH2) in the presence of suitable radical forming initiator compounds such as for example azodiisobutyronitril.
As stated above for a backbone modification of a polydiene, prepared in solution, it would be beneficial not to add peroxide initiators to avoid at least one of the following:    a) additional reaction time for a further modification step, and    b) problems with additional components in the polymer preparation process    c) carbon-carbon crosslink formation.
Therefore, it would be beneficial to react a thiol or sulfide containing compound with the polymer backbone, without having the need of auxiliary compounds. Also it would be beneficial to react sufficiently high molecular weight thiol or sulfide containing compounds with the polymer backbone to avoid a partial or complete removal of backbone modification agent prior to polymer modification, during polymer work-up, which often involves elevated work-up process temperatures.
Below described backbone modification mechanism is especially beneficial for high molecular weight polymers though no limitation is given to the molecular weight of polymers. In case of high molecular weight rubber, the proportion by weight of end groups is small and can therefore have only a small effect on the interaction between filler and rubber or between different rubber polymer chains. The present invention is intended to provide polymer chains in elastomeric polymer compositions having a much higher concentration of polymer bound effective groups for interacting with fillers and/or with polymer chains.


Various arrangements of fluidics systems are disclosed. In one arrangement, an aspiration circuit for a fluidics system is disclosed that selectively controls aspiration. The aspiration circuit comprises an aspiration line operatively connected to a surgical instrument, an aspiration exhaust line operatively connected to a waste receptacle; an aspiration vent line connected at a first end to the aspiration line; and a selectively variable vent valve operatively connected to the aspiration vent line. The variable vent valve may be selectively moved to vary aspiration pressure within the aspiration line. Other fluidics systems are disclosed that include a selectively positionable irrigation valve that may also be incorporated into a fluidics system that includes a variable vent valve.

The human eye functions to provide vision by transmitting light through a clear outer portion called the cornea, and focusing the image by way of the lens onto the retina. The quality of the focused image depends upon many factors including the size and shape of the eye, and the transparency of the cornea and lens.
When age or disease causes the lens to become less transparent, vision deteriorates because of the diminished light which can be transmitted to the retina. This deficiency in the lens of the eye is known as a cataract. Ophthalmic surgery is required for treating this condition. More specifically, surgical removal of the deteriorated lens and replacement with an artificial intraocular lens (IOL).
One known technique for removing cataractous lenses is phacoemulsification. During this procedure, a thin phacoemulsification cutting tip is inserted into the diseased lens and vibrated ultrasonically. The vibrating cutting tip liquefies or emulsifies the lens so that the diseased lens may be aspirated out of the eye. Once removed, an artificial lens is inserted therein.
A typical ultrasonic surgical device suitable for ophthalmic procedures includes an ultrasonically driven handpiece, an attached cutting tip, an irrigation sleeve and an electronic control console. The handpiece assembly is attached to the control console by an electric cable and flexible tubing. Through the electric cable, the console varies the power level transmitted by the handpiece to the attached cutting tip and the flexible tubing supplies irrigation fluid to, and draws aspiration fluid from, the eye through the handpiece assembly.
The operative part of the handpiece includes a hollow resonating bar or horn directly attached to a set of piezoelectric crystals. The crystals supply the required ultrasonic vibration needed to drive both the horn and the attached cutting tip during phacoemulsification and are controlled by the console. The crystal/horn assembly is suspended within the hollow body or shell of the handpiece. The handpiece body terminates in a reduced diameter portion or nosecone at the body's distal end. The nosecone accepts the irrigation sleeve. Likewise, the horn bore receives the cutting tip. The cutting tip is adjusted so that the tip projects only a predetermined amount past the open end of the irrigating sleeve.
In use, the ends of the cutting tip and irrigating sleeve are inserted into a small incision of predetermined size in the cornea, sclera, or other location of the eye. The cutting tip is ultrasonically vibrated along its longitudinal axis within the irrigation sleeve by the crystal-driven ultrasonic horn, thereby emulsifying the selected tissue in situ. A hollow bore of the cutting tip communicates with the bore in the horn that in turn communicates with the aspiration line from the handpiece to the console. A reduced pressure or vacuum source in the console draws or aspirates the emulsified tissue from the eye through the open end of the cutting tip, through the cutting tip and horn bores and through the aspiration line, into a collection device. The aspiration of emulsified tissue is aided by a saline flush solution or irrigant that is injected into the surgical site through a small annular gap between the inside surface of the irrigating sleeve and the cutting tip.
Known phacoemulsification systems may even use a surgical cassette to provide a variety of functions for vitreoretinal surgical procedures to assist with effectively managing irrigation and aspiration flows into and out of the surgical site through the surgical device. More specifically, the cassette acts as the interface between surgical instrumentation and the patient and delivers pressurized irrigation and aspiration flows into and out of the eye. A variety of pumping systems have been used in connection with a surgical cassette in fluidics systems for cataract surgery, including positive displacement systems (most commonly, peristaltic pumps) and vacuum based aspiration sources. A peristaltic system uses a series of rollers acting upon an elastomeric conduit to create flow in the direction of rotation, while vacuum based systems employ a vacuum source, typically applied to the aspiration flow through an air-liquid interface.
During surgical procedures, the hollow, resonating tip can become occluded with tissue. In such an instance, vacuum can build in the aspiration line downstream of the occlusion. When the occlusion eventually breaks apart, this pent up vacuum can, depending upon vacuum level and the amount of aspiration path compliance, draw a significant amount of fluid from the eye, thereby increasing the risk of anterior chamber shallowing or collapse. This situation is commonly referred to as occlusion break surge.
To address this concern, surgical consoles are configured with sensors in the aspiration path to allow detection of vacuum level and limiting of vacuum by the system to a predetermined maximum level. While limiting the maximum vacuum level in such a manner may be effective to reduce the potential magnitude of an occlusion break surge, such limitations on the maximum vacuum level can reduce effectiveness of lens removal and increase overall surgical time. In some systems, an audible indication of relative vacuum level and/or vacuum reaching the user preset limit may be provided so that the surgeon can take appropriate precautions.
For example, in some systems, vacuum is commonly relieved upon a command from the surgeon to open a vent valve that connects the aspiration line to a pressure source that is maintained at or above atmospheric pressure. Depending upon the system, this might be the irrigation line, the pump exhaust line or a line connected to atmospheric air (air venting system). However, there are some concerns with known vent valves. First, known vent valves are only configured for simple "on/off" action. For example, pinched tubing valves or elastomer dome type valves may provide satisfactory on/off control of fluid flow but do not exhibit consistent variable flow characteristics. As such, this type of valve has a very sharp surge recovery curve. Moreover, the configuration of dome type valves also may present operational challenges. For example, the operation of the valve is highly dependent upon the elastomer material to obtain a proper seat position, thus consistency of the material is very important. Further, the flow through the valve may also become clogged by debris if the opening formed by the elastomer is small. In addition, such a configuration may undesirably trap air bubbles. Use of these type of valves is also limited in that due to the nature of the on/off flow control limitation, an array of valves are need to support directing fluid flow from one circuit to another.
Alternatively, vacuum may be reduced or relieved by reversal of the pump rotation in positive displacement systems. While it is known to employ a system having bi-directional pump rotation to allow control of pressure/vacuum level based on user input and feedback from a pressure sensor in the aspiration line, such a system requires rapid acceleration and deceleration of the pump head mass. This can limit response time and cause objectionable acoustical noise.
Known cassettes used with consoles also allow the aspiration line to be vented, either to atmosphere or to a liquid so as to reduce or eliminate vacuum surge upon occlusion break. Prior art air vented cassettes allow ambient air to enter the aspiration line, however, venting air into the aspiration line changes the fluidic performance of the aspiration system by greatly increasing aspiration path compliance. Increased compliance can significantly increase the magnitude of occlusion break surge and also negatively affect system responsiveness. Liquid venting systems allow irrigation fluid to bleed into the aspiration line, thereby reducing any impact on the fluidic performance of the aspiration system. When higher aspiration vacuums are used, cassettes that vent the aspiration line to the irrigation line can cause high pressure surges in the irrigation line. Other systems provide a separate source of irrigation fluid to vent the aspiration line, requiring the use of two irrigation fluid sources and increasing the cost and complexity of the system.

Selectively moveable valve elements for aspiration and irrigation circuits


A portable handsfree for cable-connection to a mobile terminal is provided. The portable handsfree comprises a cable for connecting the portable handsfree to a mobile telephone at a first end of the portable handsfree and to a computer at another end of the portable handsfree such that data transmission between the mobile terminal and the computer can be enabled through the portable handsfree.

Electronic devices such as mobile telephones including wireless communication transceivers typically include both a user input interface in the form of keys or buttons, and a user output interface in the form of one or more displays. Audio interfaces are normally also included by means of speakers and microphones. In terms of traditional telephony services, user input keys are typically used for setting up calls, whereas the microphone and the speaker are used for standard speech communication.
In recent years, mobile telephones have become much more than pure speech communication devices. Fast development and miniaturization in battery technology and electronic components, as well as the breakthrough of small high resolution color displays, has lead to compact radio communication terminals more and more taking the form of media terminals. Many mobile telephones of today are capable of receiving FM radio, and comprise digital media players for playing music. Digital video may also be stored and presented on the display of some types of terminals. It is generally possible for a user to access locally stored media items through playlists including stored media items, or to access radio channels through radio station playlists. It is also possible to create personal playlists of e.g. locally stored music tracks, such as a playlist including a number of specifically selected songs, or a playlist with a predefined set of music tracks collected from a certain artist or representing a certain style or genre. Activation of that playlist will then trigger the media player to play the items defined in the list, either in the playlist order or in random order. Activation of an FM radio channel in a radio playlist will set a tuner to the frequency of that channel and play it in real time without storing. The played items are presented on the user output of the terminal, i.e. on the display in the case of video, or through a speaker or earpiece speaker in the case of audio.
Mobile telephones are known to operate with portable handsfrees or headsets which may be plugged into the handset of the mobile telephone to provide a handsfree talking facility. Historically, the portable handsfrees for mobile telephones were limited to voice communication. However, due to the fact that mobile telephones are more and more taking the form of media terminals as described hereinabove, recent portable handsfrees have been developed to also be operable to present music to the user through a speaker or earpiece speaker of the portable handsfree. As one example of this, the SONY ERICSSON W810i mobile telephone available from Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications may operate using a SONY ERICSSON HPM-70 Stereo Portable Handsfree. A portable handsfree 10 is schematically shown in FIG. 1, and includes a portable handsfree cable 11. The handsfree cable 11 comprises an in-line microphone portion 12. As is illustrated in FIG. 1, the handsfree cable 11 may be branched-off, at the microphone portion 12, into two separate end portions 11a, 11b. In the outer end of each of these two end portions 11a, 11b there are provided earpiece speakers 13a, 13b. Furthermore, the portable handsfree 10 may comprise a clip (not shown) or the like for securing the handsfree 10 to an item of clothing. Finally, the handsfree cable 11 also comprises a connector 14 for plugging into a jack on a mobile telephone (not shown).
The inventor of the present invention has realized that current music players, e.g. MP3 players such as the iPod shuffle available from APPLE COMPUTER have an advantage over current mobile telephones in that they may be plugged directly into a personal computer. Thus, it is easy for users of iPod shuffles to import music from other peoples' personal computers and use their iPod shuffles as portable "hard disks" without bringing a separate cable or the like. As of today, to do this with currently available mobile telephones, e.g. the SONY ERICSSON W810i mobile telephone available from Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, the user may need to bring a separate cable which is dedicated for connection and data transmission between the mobile telephone and the personal computer only. However, this may be annoying to the user if the user wishes to bring around as few articles as possible. Alternatively, if the personal computer supports the same memory stick, e.g. MS duo or M2, as the mobile telephone in question, music can be shared by users by interchanging music from each others' memory stick. However, when interchanging memory sticks between mobile telephones and personal computers there may be a risk that the memory stick can be lost or damaged. Therefore, the inventor of the present invention has realized that there is a need for an alternative means or way of connecting a mobile telephone to a personal computer to enable data transmission therebetween, such that the one or more of the disadvantages or deficiencies described above are at least partly mitigated, alleviated or eliminated.

Portable handsfree device for cable connection to a mobile terminal


The present disclosure provides a system comprising: a first group of computing nodes and a second group of computing nodes, wherein the first and second groups are neighboring devices and each of the first and second groups comprising: a set of computing nodes A-D, and a set of intra-group interconnects, wherein the set of intra-group interconnects communicatively couple computing node A with computing nodes B and C and computing node D with computing nodes B and C; and a set of inter-group interconnects, wherein the set of inter-group interconnects communicatively couple computing node A of the first group with computing node A of the second group, computing node B of the first group with computing node B of the second group, computing node C of the first group with computing node C of the second group, and computing node D of the first group with computing node D of the second group.

Current methodologies for distributed training of neural networks involve applying synchronized large minibatch stochastic gradient descent ("SDG") method on many distributed computing nodes to explore data parallel based acceleration. The inter-computing-node communication mode in such methodologies is the "AllReduce" algorithm. The conventional hardware interconnect for implementing the AllReduce algorithm is based on torus topologies, which suffers from many significant issues, including delays in long wirings and an inability to divide up computing nodes to assign multiple computing tasks.

Efficient inter-chip interconnect topology for distributed parallel deep learning


The method includes reducing output of one or more cylinders of an engine system without reducing output of the remaining cylinders of the engine system. The method also includes reducing imbalance of the engine system by supplementing the engine system with power in response to the output reduction of the one or more cylinders.

Cylinder cutout is a method of reducing or completely stopping combustion within one or more cylinders of an engine. Cylinder cutout is used during light loading conditions to improve efficiency of the engine, or during cold conditions to raise the temperature of the operating cylinders and subsequently the rest of the engine. However, the use of cylinder cutout can cause excessive noise and vibration within the engine due to an imbalance of torsional loads, on the engine.
Previous solutions to the noise and vibration associated with cylinder cutout have included limiting the magnitude of cylinder cutout, limiting cylinder cutout to allowed geographical locations (e.g., away from residential area), and limiting cylinder cutout to particular times of the day (e.g., between 8 am and 5 pm). These solutions reduce or isolate the engine noise and vibration to comply with local noise ordinances.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,073,488 (the '488 patent), issued to Hasler et al. on Jul. 11, 2006, discloses a method of controlling operation of an engine having a plurality of cylinders. The method described in the '488 patent includes monitoring a parameter associated with engine operation, determining a range of fluctuations of the parameter from a desired parameter value, and selectively disabling operation of at least one cylinder and less than all of the plurality of cylinders in response to the range of fluctuation being greater than a predetermined threshold. Although the '488 patent discloses a method of selectively disabling one or more cylinders in response to a fluctuation, it fails to disclose a method of reducing engine vibration and noise to an acceptable level.
The presently disclosed systems and methods are directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.

System and method for balancing an engine during cylinder cutout