A bonding width L between a head frame 5 and a flow path unit 12 in a direction orthogonal to an array of pressure producing chambers 7 is set to 0.5b.ltoreq.L.ltoreq.5a if it is assumed that a distance from the bonding end to the piezoelectric vibration element 2 closest to the head frame 5 is a and that the bonding ends of the head frame 5 interposing the piezoelectric vibration element 2 is b. Cracking of a spacer 6 or separation of the spacer 6 from a resilient plate 4 is prevented by ensuring a rigidity of the head frame 5 necessary for suppressing deformation of the flow path unit 12 and by causing the head frame 5 to absorb internal stresses of the flow path unit 12 caused by ambient temperature change.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an ink jet recording head for use in recording apparatuses such as printers for forming an ink image on a recording medium such as recording paper by splashing ink droplets.
2. Related Art
An ink jet recording head, which is designed to deform a resilient plate constituting one surface of a pressure producing chamber in a piezoelectric vibration element displacement direction so that an ink droplet is expelled from a nozzle communicating with the pressure producing chamber, can have such possibility of being driven at low voltage, of having high density, etc.
However, to expel an ink droplet, it is necessary to cause a piezoelectric vibration element to change the capacity of a pressure producing chamber. Therefore, a flow path unit constituting these pressure producing chambers must have as small a rigidity as possible. As a result, upon receiving a displacement of a piezoelectric vibration element at the time an ink droplet is expelled, the flow path unit is deformed as a whole unnecessarily; particularly, large stresses are applied to regions where the flow path unit is fixed to a head frame that is a member for bonding the flow path unit to the piezoelectric vibration element.
Thus, if the flow path unit is formed by bonding a nozzle plate, a spacer, and the resilient plate to one another, the bonded surface is separated or cracked, which is a problem.
Further, if the piezoelectric vibration element is bonded to a vibration plate at a high temperature, there is a difference between the temperature at the time of manufacturing the recording head and the temperature at the time of using the recording head, which in turn causes the flow path unit to be biased to the piezoelectric vibration element at all times due to a thermal expansion difference between the head frame and the piezoelectric vibration element. As a result, not only the ink expelling performance becomes inconsistent, but also the bonded surface is likely to be separated.
Further, the deformation of the flow path unit causes inconsistencies in the direction of the nozzle opening at the time of expelling an ink droplet on both end portions of the nozzle opening array and in the middle thereof, or inconsistencies in the force applied to the pressure producing chamber, which in turn causes fluctuations in the ink droplet falling positions on a recording medium and the amount of ink expelled, which is another problem.
To overcome these problems, an ink jet recording head is proposed in, e.g., Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei. 4-361045. This ink jet recording head is characterized as not only forming dummy pressure producing chambers that have nothing to do with printing on both end portions of the nozzle opening array, but also arranging piezoelectric vibration elements therefor, so that printing is effected only with pressure producing chambers that are toward the middle with respect to these dummy pressure producing chambers.
According to this example, the amounts of deformation of a region relevant to printing can be made uniform to prevent impairment of printing quality. However, the dummy pressure producing chambers and the piezoelectric vibration elements therefor must be arranged, which in turn makes the size of the recording head as a whole and reduces yield as much as the number of parts is increased.

Ink jet recording head with head frame and piezoelectric vibration elements having configuration for suppressing stress in flow path unit


A continuous electrochemical processing method and apparatus for electrochemically removing arsenic contaminants from contaminated aqueous solutions comprising: a) identifying the ion(s) to be removed and their oxidation state, b) identifying the pH of the solution, c) constructing an electrolytic cell with a corroding iron anode and an inert cathode surrounding a reaction zone therebetween into which the contaminated solutions are passed, d) applying the required electromotive force to precipitate the desired ionic species, and e) physically removing the precipitates from the aqueous solution.

1. Field
This invention pertains to removal methods for arsenic contaminants from neutral drinking waters. More particularly it provides an electrochemical insolubilization method and apparatus for the removal of arsenic contaminants from neutral drinking waters.
2. State of the Art
Various removal methods of heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions are known. For example, Bouard et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,857 disclose a process and device for the electrolytic generation of arsine. Brewster, U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,703 discloses a process and apparatus for removing arsenic from aqueous media utilizing ferrous ion provided by an electrochemical cell which is added to the aqueous media in a first step, followed by a second step of mild oxidizing conditions generated by the addition of hydrogen peroxide (Fentons Reagent). The ferrous ion then forms a hydroxide that is oxidized to an oxyferric oxide and the arsenic present at a +3 oxidation state is oxidized to a +5 oxidation state. A precipitate is formed which consists of hydroxy ferric oxide to which the arsenic oxyacid is adsorbed (co-precipitated).
O'Connor et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,182,023 discloses a process for treating arsenic-containing aqueous waste using ultra filters to remove solids. It is followed by a chemical treatment to adjust the pH range from about 6 to 8. Then, antiscalents and antifouling material are added. The chemically treated filtrate is then subjected to a reverse osmosis process to result in a permeate stream having less than about 50 parts per billion arsenic.
Gallup, U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,769 discloses a method of treating an aqueous solution containing one or more arsenic compounds in a +3 oxidation state. The method comprises contacting the aqueous solution with a halogenated organic oxidizing agent to convert the +3 arsenic to a +5 oxidation state.
McClintock, U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,643 discloses a treatment method for removing arsenic from water via conditioning the water with one or more additives including an iron salt, an acid, and an oxidant until the water contains more ion than arsenic, is acidic, and has an oxidation-reduction potential of about plus 600 mV. A reagent is then added to the conditioned water until it becomes basic and the water and additives are then reacted in a reaction chamber wherein iron and arsenic are coprecipitated in the form of iron arsenate and iron hydroxide or iron oxide. The treated water is then separated from the precipitate by settling or filtering.
In the article entitled "Use of Electrochemical Iron Generation for Removing Heavy Metals from Contaminated Groundwater" by M. D. Brewster and R. J. Passmore published in the Environmental Progress (Vol. 13, No2) May, 1994 at page 143, the authors discuss an electrochemical iron addition process developed by Andco Environmental Processes, Inc. The process employs electric current and steel electrodes to put ferrous and hydroxyl ions into solution. Once added, the chemistry is manipulated with the addition of various ions to provide coprecipitation and adsorption conditions capable of simultaneously removing a wide variety of heavy metals. For example, hydrogen peroxide was introduced to convert Fe+2 to Fe+3, and arsenite to arsenate. The pH was then adjusted to precipitate and adsorb various heavy metal oxides.
The method described below provides a continuous processing method to remove ions from an aqueous solution by: a) identifying the ion(s) to be removed and their oxidation state, b) identifying the pH of the solution, c) constructing an electrolytic cell with a corroding anode and an inert cathode surrounding a reaction zone therebetween, and d) utilizing an iron anode to electrochemically precipitate the desired ionic specie for physical removal of the precipitates from the aqueous solution. The method avoids the need for additional reagents and the removal problems associated therewith. It also reduces the ion concentration left in the treated aqueous significantly less than the other methods described above.

Electrochemical insolubilization of anionic arsenic method and apparatus


A urine analysis device includes a light emitting part, a light receiving part and a control part. The light emitting part includes a plurality of light emitting diodes. The light emitting diodes provide a light to an inspected object. The inspected object has a plurality of inspected areas. The light receiving part receives the light reflected by the inspected object. The control part drives the light emitting part and receives an electric signal from the light receiving part.

1. Field of the Invention
Example embodiments of the present invention relate to a urine analysis device. More particularly, example embodiments of the present invention relate to a digital and portable urine analysis device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a urine analysis device used in a hospital for a diagnosis is very expensive and is too big to be personally carried.
Recently, a portable urine analysis device with a small size has been developed and in the portable urine analysis device, urine is dropped on a strip so as to diagnose proteinuria, glucosuria, occult blood and so on.
In the portable urine analysis device, a semi-quantitative value may be read due to a variation of color data which is detected on the strip within one minute. Thus, a transition of proteinuria, glucosuria, occult blood and so on of a patient is continuously monitored, and thus an emergent treatment may be performed in an abnormal state of the patient. Accordingly, the portable urine analysis device with a small size is very useful.
Generally, the portable urine analysis device includes a three-color light emitting diode (LED), an optical fiber waveguide and a photo-detector. The light emitting diode emits the colors corresponding to diagnosis items of the strip to the photo-detector though the optical fiber waveguide. Thus, the photo-detector may read diseases based on the light receiving from the diagnosis items of the strip.
However, in the portable urine analysis device uses a single light emitting diode to detect a plurality of the diagnosis items of the strip through the optical fiber waveguide, so that the light reflected by the diagnosis item of the strip may be received by a photo-detector adjacent to the photo-detector corresponding to the diagnosis item. Accordingly, the portable urine analysis device may incorrectly diagnose the disease.


Provided herein are methods for the production of glycopyrronium tosylate and glycopyrronium tosylate compositions. Also provided herein are compositions useful in the production of glycopyrronium tosylate. Additionally provided herein are glycopyrronium tosylate compositions. Glycopyrronium tosylate is useful for the treatment of, among other conditions, hyperhidrosis.

Glycopyrrolate is a salt of quaternary ammonium cation of the muscarinic anticholinergic group. Glycopyrrolate, typically as a bromide salt, has been described for the treatment of a variety of conditions including diarrhea (U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,214,792 B1 and 5,919,760 A), urinary incontinence (U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,204,285 B1 and 6,063,808 A), and anxiety (U.S. Pat. No. 5,525,347 A). Glycopyrrolate has also been described for the treatment of hyperhidrosis in U.S. Pat. Appl. No. US 2010/0276329 A1.
Glycopyrrolate has been made available as a bromide salt or an acetate salt. The bromide salt of glycopyrrolate is sold as Rubinol®. The term "glycopyrrolate" as used in the label for Rubinol® refers to the bromide salt, also more formally referred to as glycopyrronium bromide. Glycopyrronium tosylate has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,558,008 B2. Glycopyrrolate used pharmaceutically is the racemic threo form.
Glycopyrronium bromide is commercially available and the synthesis has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,956,062 and in Finnish Pat. No. 49,713. Several routes for the production of glycopyrronium tosylate have been described in U.S. Pat. No. U.S. Pat. No. 8,558,008 B2.

Process for production of glycopyrronium tosylate


In a microfluidic system using electrokinetic forces, the present invention uses electrical current or electrical parameters, other than voltage, to control the movement of fluids through the channels of the system. Time-multiplexed power supplies also provide further control over fluid movement by varying the voltage on an electrode connected to a fluid reservoir of the microfluidic system, by varying the duty cycle during which the voltage is applied to the electrode, or by a combination of both. A time-multiplexed power supply can also be connected to more than one electrode for a savings in cost.

There has been a growing interest in the manufacture and use of microfluidic systems for the acquisition of chemical and biochemical information. Techniques commonly associated with the semiconductor electronics industry, such as photolithography, wet chemical etching, etc., are being used in the fabrication of these microfluidic systems. The term,"microfluidic", refers to a system or device having channels and chambers which are generally fabricated at the micron or submicron scale, e.g., having at least one cross-sectional dimension in the range of from about 0.1 .mu.m to about 500 .mu.m. Early discussions of the use of planar chip technology for the fabrication of microfluidic systems are provided in Manz et al., Trends in Anal. Chem. (1990) 10(5):144-149 and Manz et al., Avd. in Chromatog. (1993) 33:1-66, which describe the fabrication of such fluidic devices and particularly microcapillary devices, in silicon and glass substrates.
Applications of microfluidic systems are myriad. For example, International Patent Appln. WO 96/04547, published Feb. 15, 1996, describes the use of microfluidic systems for capillary electrophoresis, liquid chromotography, flow injection analysis, and chemical reaction and synthesis. A related patent application, U.S. application Ser. No. 08/671,987, entitled "HIGH THROUGHPUT SCREENING ASSAY SYSTEMS IN MICROSCALE FLUIDIC DEVICES", filed Jun. 28, 1996 by J. Wallace Parce et al. and assigned to the present assignee, discloses wide ranging applications of microfluidic systems in rapidly assaying compounds for their effects on various chemical, and preferably, biochemical systems. The phrase,"biochemical system" generally refers to a chemical interaction that involves molecules of the type generally found within living organisms. Such interactions include the full range of catabolic and anabolic reactions which occur in living systems including enzymatic, binding, signaling and other reactions. Biochemical systems of particular interest include, e.g., receptor-ligand interactions, enzyme-substrate interactions, cellular signaling pathways, transport reactions involving model barrier systems (e.g., cells or membrane fractions) for bioavailability screening, and a variety of other general systems.
Many methods have been described for the transport and direction of fluids, e.g., samples, analytes, buffers and reagents, within these microfluidic systems or devices. One method moves fluids within microfabricated devices by mechanical micropumps and valves within the device. See, Published U.K. Patent Application No. 2 248 891 (Oct. 18, 1990), Published European Patent Application No. 568 902 (May 2, 1992), U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,271,724 (Aug. 21, 1991) and 5,277,556 (Jul, 3, 1991). See also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,132 (Dec. 21, 1990) to Miyazaki et al. Another method uses acoustic energy to move fluid samples within devices by the effects of acoustic streaming. See, Published PCT Application No. 94/05414 to Northrup and White. A straightforward method applies external pressure to move fluids within the device. See, e.g., the discussion in U.S. Pat. No. 5,304,487 to Wilding et al.
Still another method uses electric fields, and the resulting electrokinetic forces, to move fluid materials through the channels of the microfluidic system. See, e.g., Published European Patent Application No. 376 611 (Dec. 30, 1988) to Kovacs, Harrison et al., Anal. Chem. (1992) 64:1926-1932 and Manz et al. J. Chromatog. (1992) 593:253-258, U.S. Pat. No. 5,126,022 to Soane. Electrokinetic forces have the advantages of direct control, fast response and simplicity. However, there are still some disadvantages with this method of operating a microfluidic system.
Present devices use a network of channels in a substrate of electrically insulating material. The channels connect a number of fluid reservoirs in contact with high voltage electrodes. To move fluid materials through the network of channels, specific voltages are simultaneously applied to the various electrodes. The determination of the voltage values for each electrode in a system becomes complex as one attempts to control the material flow in one channel without affecting the flow in another channel. For example, in a relatively simple arrangement of four channels intersecting in a cross with reservoirs and electrodes at the ends of the channels, an independent increase of fluid flow between two reservoirs is not merely a matter of increasing the voltage differences at the two reservoirs. The voltages at the other two reservoirs must also be adjusted if their original flow and direction are to be maintained. Furthermore, as the number of channels, intersections, and reservoirs are increased, the control of fluid through the channels become more and more complex.
Also, the voltages applied to the electrodes in the device can be high, i.e., up to a level supportive of thousands of volts/cm. Regulated high voltage supplies are expensive, bulky and are often imprecise and a high voltage supply is required for each electrode. Thus the cost of a microfluidic system of any complexity may become prohibitive.
The present invention solves or substantially mitigates these problems of electrokinetic transport in a microfluidic system which uses another electrical parameter, rather than voltage, to simplify the control of material flow through the channels of the system. A high throughput microfluidic system having direct, fast and straightforward control over the movement of materials through the channels of the microfluidic system with a wide range of applications, such as in the fields of chemistry, biochemistry, biotechnology and molecular biology and numerous other fields, is possible.

Variable control of electroosmotic and/or electrophoretic forces within a fluid-containing structure via electrical forces


A table, particularly an orienting and welding table comprises a table plate having a surface provided with uniformly distributed cylindrical throughgoing openings arranged in a grid with a uniform distance therebetween.

The present invention relates to a table, and in particular to an orienting and welding table.
Tables of the above mentioned general type are known in the art. The known tables are used for assembling devices, frames and the like from individual parts and then fixing them with welding points. The known tables can be further improved.

Table, particularly orienting and welding table


Current methods of drug administration to the lungs are inefficient. ‘Endotracheal Tube with Aerosol Delivery Apparatus III’ is specifically designed for uniform intrapulmonary delivery of aerosolized medication in patients on mechanical ventilation. As opposed to the current methods of drug delivery where aerosol particles are generated at the proximal end of the ETT, with majority of the particles adhering to the endotracheal tube during delivery, this invention bypasses the endotracheal tube by generating aerosol particles at its distal end. The invention consists of two coaxial hollow tubes fused to each other. The inner coaxial tube and/or one or more secondary cannulation(s) in the wall of the outer coaxial tube terminate at proximal and as MDI adapters and at the distal tip as a single or multiple micrometric orifices. The device generates one or more aerosol plumes with different geometries, velocities and orientations made possible by variations in the ID, shape, trajectory and orientation of secondary cannulation(s) and the distal orifice(s) to ensure effective aerosol delivery to respiratory system.

The present invention, "AEROSOL DELIVERY APPARTUS III", relates to medical-surgical devices designed for improved intrapulmonary deposition of aerosol particles both quantitatively as well as qualitatively in patients on mechanical ventilation via endotracheal tube. Multiple medications readily lend themselves for pulmonary administration. Many diagnostic and therapeutic agents that can be utilized through this route are the bronchodilators, anti-inflammatory agents like steroids, antibiotics, anticholinergics, heparin, surfactant, antiproteases, gene transfer products, insulin, radioactive dyes, etc.
The advantages of intrapulmonary drug delivery as opposed systemic administration are well known. The desired effect at the site of local delivery as opposed to systemic administration minimizes side effects and is the preferred methodology for delivery of several medications. Conventional methods for aerosol delivery have resulted in failure of effective drug delivery to the lungs. They are limited not only in total dose delivery but have also failed to achieve uniform intrapulmonary drug distribution. The two methods currently available for intrapulmonary drug delivery are highly inefficient. They are:
(I). Liquid bolus: The medication is instilled in the form of liquid bolus via a bronchoscope or through an ETT. The distribution by this method is non-uniform. Also there is a significant risk of inducing respiratory distress and hypoxemia.
(II) Aerosol Inhalation: Conventional methods of aerosol drug delivery have employed Metered Dose Inhalers (MDI's) with low boiling point propellants (CFC, HFA) or aerosol particles generated by heat, traditional compressed air nebulizers, or ultrasonic nebulizers. Even though these methods produce aerosol particles in respirable range (<5 microns) compared with the liquid bolus medication, they are limited in total dose delivery and lack-uniform distribution of medication to the lungs. Only a small fraction of the medication reaches the lungs as the majority of the aerosol particles either adhere to the nasal passages and oropharynx or are exhaled out. Efficiency of aerosol delivery drops even further in patients who are intubated and require mechanical ventilation.
Beck et al found that inhalation of nebulized material through an endotracheal tube resulted in deposition of only 1.87% of the delivered particles to the lungs. Methods employing a combined ventilator dispenser and adapter (U.S. Pat. No. 335,175) or other spacer devices with MDI's have revealed equally poor results as most of the aerosol particles adhere to the ETT, the connectors and the inspiratory limb of the corrugated plastic tube.
Investigators over the years have designed numerous endotracheal tubes in an attempt to overcome the hurdles associated with conventional methods of drug delivery to the respiratory system in patients on mechanical ventilation. Most designs of endotracheal tubes so far have only addressed the issue of drug delivery in the form of liquid bolus by incorporating drug irrigation devices in the traditional ETT in the form of secondary canalization with multiple micrometric openings (U.S. Pat. No. 5,146,936).
Factors that influence uniform delivery of aerosol particles in the tracheobronchial tree are the mid-mean diameter of aerosol particles (which should be in the respirable range, i.e. <5 microns), velocity of the aerosol plume, geometry of the aerosol plume (narrow vs. wide), site of the plume generation (proximal to ETT, distal to ETT, or in the lumen of the ETT), orientation of the plume (central vs. eccentric), time of actuation of MDI in the respiratory cycle, temperature and humidity in the respiratory circuit, etc. These features have not been addressed by any of the currently available endotracheal tubes incorporating drug irrigation devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,584,998 to McGrail describes an ETT with up to three secondary lumens in addition to the primary lumen in which one lumen can serve the purpose of delivering atomized gases to the patient.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,463 to McConnell shows ETT with a secondary lumen in the wall of the main lumen to deliver liquid medication to the respiratory system.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,714 to Smelser also describes an ETT with a secondary lumen to deliver medication to the respiratory system. The second lumen splits into two branches that terminate as two orifices, one at the distal tip and other along the exterior wall of the ETT.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,504,224 to Anne M. Buret, Pam Jeblenski, and Robert A. Virag describes an ETT with a secondary lumen in the wall of the ETT that terminates at a perforation (Murphy eye). The single stream of medication splits when it impacts on the distal edge of the opening resulting in delivery of medication both internally and externally of the ETT.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,730 to George Baran later continued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,079,413 assigned to the same inventor describes a catheter system for delivery of aerosolized medicine for use with pressurized propellant canister. The system includes an extension catheter that has a length such that the proximal end is connected to the canister and the distal end is positioned in the primary lumen or secondary lumen of the ETT beyond its distal end in the respiratory system. The system is not practical for many reasons. The invention describes an extremely complex system for centering the device in the lumen of the ETT which would require a significant amount of time to be spent in the tracheobronchial tree prior to delivery of medication. Hence, there would be interference with the ventilatory function and increased airway resistance at the time of manipulation of the device in the tracheobronchial tree. Secondly the system is complex enough to require a highly trained member of the professional staff, especially MD to carry out the operation. This may not be possible as currently all methods of drug delivery to tracheobronchial tree in patients on mechanical ventilation require either nursing staff or respiratory therapists and not necessarily MD's. Thirdly the system for prevention of impaction losses, especially carinal impaction is extremely expensive and there is no data demonstrates that the system will function effectively. Overall the system described in the invention is not of any practical clinical utility and hence it is currently being used as an experimental tool in research laboratories.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,223 assigned to George Baran describes a nebulizing catheter system similar to U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,730. This system describes the flow of liquid medication through the lumen of a catheter which is nebulized at its tip by a flow of pressurized gas through a coaxial lumen.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,579,758, 5,594,987, 5,606,789, 5,513,630, 5,542,412, 5,570,686 show a delivery device for intratracheal administration of drug in aerosol form called 'Penn Century Intratracheal Aerosolizer (Microsprayer)' The clinical utility of this device in humans at this time is extremely limited because of its high cost and need for sterilization after every use and as such it is solely being used as a research tool.
In summary, none of the prior art medical devices provide means for effective local delivery of medication to the tracheobronchial tree of both lungs in a cost effective manner.

Endotracheal tube with feature for delivering aerosolized medication


A computer implemented system is disclosed for providing a graphical user interface (GUI) for an application program. The system includes a renderer, a proxy, and a workflow manager. The renderer is defined to render the GUI. The proxy is defined to provide to the renderer each component necessary for rendering the GUI. The proxy appears to the renderer as a single monolithic application program. The workflow manager is defined to communicate one or more document viewers and their associated user interface components to the proxy for provision to the renderer. The document viewers and their associated user interface components represent components necessary for rendering the GUI.

The present invention relates to a method and system for providing a user interface for application programs. More specifically, the present invention provides a method and system for providing a graphical user interface for application programs implemented with component architectures such as COM (Component Object Model), DCOM (Distributed Component Object Model), CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture) and the like.
Applications programs with graphical user interfaces (GUI's) are well known and have existed since at least the Xerox Star computer. Initially, such user interfaces were written specifically for each application program, effectively from scratch, and thus required a significant amount of effort to program and debug. More recently GUI's have been implemented with frameworks or architectures provided by operating systems such as Apple's Macintosh or Microsoft's Windows, or by user interface systems such as the X Windows system. In addition to simplifying the construction of a user interface for an application program, each of these frameworks and systems could provide an interface with a common look and feel for application programs implemented under it. For example, most application programs implemented for Apple's Macintosh allowed users to delete files by dragging them to a trashcan icon.
While such GUI's are a significant improvement over early hard-coded GUI's, they still suffer from some disadvantages. For example, the GUI for an application program is usually fixed, and can not easily be updated to include new program features or capabilities without recompiling or reinstalling the entire application program. This is becoming especially problematic as application programs are now being implemented with component architectures, such as COM, DCOM, CORBA and the like, and such architectures permit new capabilities and/or features to be added to existing application programs by adding or changing appropriate modules of the program. To date, the updating of the GUI for such component implemented programs has not been easy to accomplish.
A further disadvantage exists in that, while a common look and feel may be available for programs implemented in a particular operating system or GUI system, this look and feel is generally not independent of the operating system or GUI system and thus the user must be retrained, to some extent, to use even the same program when it is run on a different operating system or GUI system.
A relatively recent development in user interfaces has been the adoption and acceptance of the world wide web and it's associated html-based browser paradigm. Despite limitations in early versions of html, the web browser paradigm is now widely employed and most users are familiar with it to some extent. Recent versions of html, especially dynamic html (DHTML), have removed some of the limitations of earlier versions, such as the requirement to employ java applets or to reload the entire page in order to update material on a web page. However, html-based browsers are still limited in the uses to which they can be put and they do not, by themselves, provide the services and features required to implement a GUI for an application program, especially not for an application program implemented in a component architecture.
It is desired to have a user interface method and system which allows the web browser paradigm, or the like, to be employed as the GUI for application programs implemented with a component architecture.

User interface method and system for application programs implemented with component architectures


A power feeding apparatus includes a power feeding stop section that stops, all together, the supply of electric power to a plurality of sensors connected to the power feeding apparatus. Each of the sensors outputs a signal including timing information indicating the timing at which the supply of electric power is stopped by the power feeding stop section. A synchronization section synchronizes the output signals of the plurality of sensors based on the timing information.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a sensor system, a power feeding apparatus, and a synchronization method in the sensor system.
2. Related Art
As a technique for evaluating object motion such as a golf swing, an image taken by a camera has limited analysis information. In that regard, it is proposed to dispose a plurality of sensors such as acceleration sensors and gyro sensors on a golf club to perform swing analysis, as disclosed in JP-A-2008-73210 for example.
When analyzing object motion, a plurality of sensors are attached to an object. In JP-A-2008-73210, a gyro sensor and an acceleration sensor are attached to a shaft portion of a golf club, and a gyro sensor and an acceleration sensor are also attached to a head portion.
For analyzing object motion based on outputs from the plurality of sensors attached to the object in this manner, the outputs from the plurality of sensors need to be time synchronized. This is because information at the same time or at the same position of the object needs to be acquired from the plurality of sensors. In doing so, when, for example, a synchronizing signal is time-sequentially transmitted from a host terminal to the plurality of sensors, the outputs from the plurality of sensors cannot be time synchronized precisely because the timing of receiving the synchronizing signal varies among the plurality of sensors.

Sensor system, power feeding apparatus, and synchronization method


An image input/output control apparatus includes a control device for controlling input/output of image data with an external apparatus, plural image processing devices for performing predetermined image processes to the image data, and plural data transfer devices for connecting each of the plural image processing devices and the control device like a ring and performing data transfer among them. The plural image processing devices and the control device are composed respectively on different units, whereby the structure of the apparatus can be easily changed, and a decrease in processing speed due to the competition for buses can be reduced without increasing the number of parts necessary for bus control.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image input/output apparatus, an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, a data communication apparatus and a data communication method which perform a predetermined image process for image data.
2. Related Background Art
A digital multifunctional machine which includes various functions such as a scanner function, a printer function, a copying machine function, a network function and the like has been known, and in such the digital multifunctional machine, functional operations are generally controlled by an image input/output control apparatus called a controller.
In recent years, according as the digital multifunctional machine becomes sophisticated, an image input/output control apparatus capable of effectively processing a large amount of data is desired, and a controller for a multifunctional apparatus structured on a single semiconductor substrate as shown in Japanese Patent Application (Laid-Open) No. 11-45225 is proposed. Besides, a controller for a multifunctional apparatus structured so that plural image processing units are connected to a single shared bus represented by a PCI (peripheral component interconnect) bus is proposed.
However, if it tries to add or change a processing function when processing capability is insufficient, since the above controller of the multifunctional apparatus includes an image processing unit, a system control unit and the like on the single semiconductor substrate, there is a problem that such a structure can not be easily changed.
Further, even if the controller includes the PCI bus, such the controller has the structure that image data is sent in the shared bus. Therefore, even if the number of processing units increases to increase the processing capability, there is a problem that system performance is limited by the single shared bus.
In such a case, it is possible to provide a high bus control function so that the system performance is not limited. However, there is a problem that the number of structural parts increases, and thus the price of the apparatus becomes expensive as a whole.
Further, for example, in a case where a scanning operation and a printing operation are simultaneously performed, even if the apparatus includes plural image processing units, there is a problem that the processes concentrate on the one image processing unit and thus the competition for the image processing unit may occur.
Further, a technique to packet image data and then process a generated packet for improving efficiency of process, reducing memories, and the like is proposed. In general, when packet image data is transmitted, information representing the data length is written on the packet header, whereby the packet is transmitted among various units after the packet length was established.
However, in such a case where the packet image data is transmitted after the data was compressed, since the packet length is not established if the data compression does not end, it is necessary to transmit the packet image data after the compression ended. That is, a buffer for storing the packet image data before it is transmitted is necessary. Here, it is generally difficult to predict the data capacity after the data was compressed, and there is a possibility that the data capacity after the data compression becomes larger than the original data capacity. If so, since it is necessary to secure the capacity of the buffer to have sufficient room, a remarkably large capacity might become necessary when the maximum capacity of the image data included in the image data packet to be processed is large.

Image input/output control apparatus, image processing apparatus, image processing method, data communication apparatus, and data communication method


An electronic component includes a lead frame; a semiconductor chip arranged above the lead frame; and a connection layer sequence arranged between the lead frame and the semiconductor chip, wherein the connection layer sequence includes a first intermetallic layer including gold and indium or gold, indium and tin, a second intermetallic layer including indium and a titanium compound, indium and nickel, indium and platinum or indium and titanium, and a third intermetallic layer including indium and gold.

To connect a semiconductor chip to a lead frame, the semiconductor chips are often soldered to the lead frame during production of electronic components. Due to the difference in the thermal expansion behavior between the semiconductor chip and the material of the lead frame, tensions arise during cooling from the soldering temperature to room temperature in the composite of semiconductor chip and lead frame. These can lead to initiation of cracks, for example, in the carrier material of the semiconductor chip if the electronic component is subjected to mechanical load. For example, a gold-tin solder is used for soldering semiconductor chips to lead frames. With this solder the soldering temperature is around 300° C. Due to the high soldering temperature and the different thermal expansion behavior, considerable thermally induced mechanical loads occur during the cooling of the composite of lead frame and semiconductor chip. If the component is subjected to further mechanical load, this can lead to failure of the solder joint or to the initiation of cracks in the substrate or the solder joint. To ensure a good connection of the semiconductor chip to a lead frame, the solder must sufficiently wet the surface of the lead frame during soldering. A suitable surface of the lead frame is therefore required to be sufficiently wetted by the solder.
It could therefore be helpful to provide an improved method of attaching a semiconductor chip to a lead frame, and an electronic component.

Method of fastening a semiconductor chip on a lead frame, and electronic component


A signal detection scheme is provided. According to the provided signal detection scheme, a received signal is correlated in a frequency domain with a reference signal. Additionally, the reception power of the received signal is calculated and the correlation value is normalized with the reception power. Therefore, a single threshold value may be used regardless of the reception power of the received signal when comparing the correlation between the received signal and the reference signal with the threshold value in order to determine whether the received signal is a desired signal or noise.

Multicarrier data transmission schemes have been widely studied and, to some degree, employed as high-speed wireless data transmission schemes between two independent communication devices or in wireless telecommunication systems. Such multicarrier data transmission schemes include, for example, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) scheme. In multicarrier systems, several data symbols are typically transmitted in parallel on a plurality of subcarriers. In order to enable data transmission between a transmitter and a receiver, the receiver must be able to detect a given synchronization or pilot signal transmitted by the transmitter. The synchronization or pilot signal may be attenuated due to fading caused by a radio channel and, thus, may arrive at a very low power level at the receiver. Thus, an efficient signal detection method is needed for detecting synchronization signals and/or pilot signals within a multicarrier signal received in a radio receiver.
In OFDM systems, signal detection may be carried out in either time or frequency domain. The signal detection is typically based on correlation of a received signal processed for detection. The signal detection procedure may be blind or pilot assisted. In blind signal detection, the autocorrelation properties of the received signal, particularly the correlation properties caused by the use of a cyclic prefix, are typically employed. In pilot assisted signal detection, the received signal is correlated with a known signal and if the two signals have enough correlation, the signal is determined to have been detected.
The signal detection is usually based on comparison of a calculated correlation value of the received signal with a threshold value. Since the correlation value is calculated from signal samples having given reception power levels, the correlation value is affected by the reception power of the received signal. Therefore, the threshold value must be calculated by taking into account the reception power of the received signal. In practice, the threshold value has to be calculated for every signal detection procedure. This increases the amount of signal processing and, thus, the complexity of a radio receiver carrying out the signal detection procedure.

Signal detection in multicarrier communication system


In a method to measure widths of measured parts placed on a platform, a computing device connects to one or more charge coupled device (CCD) cameras. The method controls each of the CCD cameras to capture a digital image from a measured part that is placed near the CCD cameras, obtains the digital image of the measured part from each of the CCD cameras in a predefined order, and obtains a binary expression from the digital image of the measured part. When the measured part is placed in a correct position on the platform, the method further obtains three points from an upper boundary of the measured part in the binary expression and another three points from a lower boundary of the measured part in the binary expression, and calculates width of the measured part according to the obtained six points.

1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to data measurement systems and methods, and particularly to a computing device and method for measuring widths of measured parts using the computing device.
2. Description of Related Art
Measurement is an important phase in manufacturing and is closely related to product quality. If a plurality of measured parts (e.g. a narrow gauge) of an object is measured, a high precision measurement apparatus is used to measure a width of each of the measured parts one by one. However, the measurement apparatus is expensive, and measurement of the measured parts one by one adversely affects efficiency. Therefore, there is room for improvement in the art.

Computing device and method for measuring widths of measured parts

HONG FU JIN PRECISION INDUSTRY (ShenZhen) CO., LTD.


The invention relates to a method for inducing protection against the 4 serotypes of dengue fever in a patient, comprising:                (a) the administration of a monovalent vaccine comprising a vaccinal virus of a first serotype of dengue fever, and        (b) the administration of a tetravalent vaccine comprising vaccinal viruses of the four serotypes of dengue fever,in which administration (b) is made between at least 30 days and not more than 12 months following the first administration (a).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for inducing protection against the 4 serotypes of dengue fever in a patient, comprising:                (a) a first administration of a monovalent vaccine comprising a vaccinal virus of a first serotype of dengue fever,        (b) a second administration of a tetravalent vaccine comprising vaccinal viruses of the four serotypes of dengue fever, and
in which the second administration (b) is made between at least 30 days and not more than 12 months after the first administration (a).
2. Summary of the Related Art
Dengue fevers are caused by four viruses of the flavivirus genus which are of similar serological type but differ from the antigen point of view (Gübler et al., 1988, in: Epidemiology of arthropod-borne viral disease. Monath T P M, editor, Boca Raton (Fla.): CRC Press: 223-60; Kautner et al., 1997, J. of Pediatrics, 131: 516-524; Rigau-Pérez et al., 1998, Lancet, 352: 971-977; Vaughn et al., 1997, J. Infect. Dis., 176: 322-30). Infection with a serotype of dengue fever may produce a spectrum of clinical disease from non-specific viral syndrome to severe fatal hemorrhagic disease. The incubation period for dengue fever after a mosquito bite is approximately 4 days (from 3 to 14 days). Dengue fever is characterized by a two-phase fever, headaches, pains in various parts of the body, prostration, eruptions and lymphadenopathy (Kautner et al., 1997, J. of Pediatrics, 131: 516-524; Rigau-Pérez et al., 1998, Lancet, 352: 971-977). The viremic period is of the same as the febrile period (Vaughn et al., 1997, J. Infect. Dis., 176: 322-30). Cure of dengue fever is complete after 7 to 10 days, but prolonged asthenia is normal. Reduced leukocyte and platelet numbers frequently occur.
Hemorrhagic dengue fever is a severe febrile disease characterized by homeostasis abnormalities and an increase in vascular permeability which can lead to hypovolemia and hypotension (dengue fever with shock syndrome), often complicated by severe internal bleeding. The mortality rate for hemorrhagic dengue fever can reach 10% without treatment, but is ≦1% in most centers with experience of treatment (WHO Technical Guide, 1986. Dengue hemorrhagic fever: diagnosis, treatment and control, p. 1-2. World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland).
Routine laboratory diagnosis of dengue fever is based on isolation of the virus and/or the detection of antibodies specific to dengue fever virus.
Dengue is the second most important infectious tropical disease after malaria, more than half of the world's population living in areas where there is a risk of epidemic transmission. There are estimated to be 50-100 million cases of dengue fever every year, 500,000 patients hospitalized for hemorrhagic dengue fever, and 25,000 deaths. Dengue fever is endemic in Asia, the Pacific, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Dengue fever virus infections are endemic in more than 100 tropical countries and hemorrhagic dengue fever has been documented in 60 of these countries (Gubler, 2002, TRENDS in Microbiology, 10: 100-103; Monath, 1994, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 91: 2395-2400). A number of well-described factors would appear to be implicated in dengue fever—population growth, unplanned and uncontrolled urbanization, in particular associated with poverty, an increase in air travel, lack of effective mosquito control and deterioration of sanitary and public health infrastructure (Gubler, 2002, TRENDS in Microbiology, 10: 100-103). Travellers and expatriates are increasingly being warned about dengue fever (Shirtcliffe et al., 1998, J. Roy. Coll. Phys. Lond., 32: 235-237). Dengue fever has been one of the main causes of febrile diseases among American troops during deployments in tropical areas where dengue fever is endemic (DeFraites et al., 1994, MMWR, 1994, 43: 845-848).
The viruses are maintained within a cycle involving humans and Aedes aegypti, a domestic mosquito which bites during the daytime, and prefers to feed on man. Infection in man is initiated by injection of the virus during the blood meal of an infected Aedes aegypti mosquito. The salivary virus is mainly deposited in the extravascular tissues. The first category of cells to be infected after inoculation are the dentritic cells, which then migrate to the lymphatic ganglia (Wu et al., 2000, Nature Med., 7: 816-820). After initial replication in the skin and lymphatic ganglia, the virus appears in the blood in the course of the acute febrile stage, generally for 3 to 5 days.
Along with the dentritic cells, monocytes and macrophages are among the first targets of dengue fever virus. Protection against homotypic reinfection is complete and probably lasts a lifetime, but cross-protection between the different types of dengue lasts from less than a few weeks to a few months (Sabin, 1952, Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 1: 30-50). As a consequence, an individual may become infected with a different serotype. A second infection due to dengue fever is in theory a risk factor for the development of severe dengue fever. However, hemorrhagic dengue fever is multifactorial—factors include the strain of virus involved and the age, immune status and genetic predisposition of the patient. Two factors play a major role in the occurrence of hemorrhagic dengue fever—rapid viral replication with a high level of viremia (the severity of the disease being associated with the level of viremia; Vaughn et al., 2000, J. Inf. Dis., 181: 2-9) and a major inflammatory response with the release of high levels of inflammatory mediators (Rothman and Ennis, 1999, Virology, 257: 1-6). There is no specific treatment against dengue fever. Treatment for dengue fever is symptomatic, with bed rest, control of the fever and pain through antipyretics and analgesics, and adequate drinking. The treatment of hemorrhagic dengue fever requires balancing of liquid losses, replacement of coagulation factors and the infusion of heparin.
Preventive measures are currently based on control of the vector and personal protection measures which are difficult to apply and are costly. No vaccine against dengue fever has at present been approved. Given that the four serotypes of dengue fever are in circulation in the world and that they have been reported as being involved in cases of hemorrhagic dengue fever, vaccination should ideally confer protection against the four serotypes of dengue fever virus.
When immunizing with a tetravalent vaccine, it may happen that the response is induced predominantly against only one or at most 3 serotypes. There is therefore a need for a method which makes it possible to reduce interference between the different serotypes and makes it possible to induce neutralizing antibodies against the 4 serotypes of dengue fever.

Method of immunization against the 4 serotypes of dengue fever


A semiconductor structure comprises a substrate having a first conductive type; a deep well having a second conductive type formed in the substrate; a first well having the first conductive type and a second well having the second conductive type both formed in the deep well and the second well spaced apart from the first well; a gate electrode formed on the substrate and disposed between the first and second wells; an isolation extending down from the surface of the substrate and disposed between the gate electrode and the second well; a conductive plug including a first portion and a second portion electrically connected to each other, and the first portion electrically connected to the gate electrode, and the second portion penetrating into the isolation. The bottom surface of the second portion of the conductive plug is covered by the isolation.

1. Technical Field
The disclosure relates in general to a semiconductor structure and a method for manufacturing the same, and more particularly to a semiconductor structure having conductive plug and a method for manufacturing the same, thereby simultaneously decreasing the on-resistance and increasing the breakdown voltage of the semiconductor structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Reduction of feature size, improvements of the rate, the efficiency, the density and the cost per integrated circuit unit are the important goals in the semiconductor technology. With the development of semiconductor technology, high power devices have been applied to a variety of electronic products in different fields. Laterally diffused metal oxide semiconductor (LDMOS) or extended drain metal oxide semiconductor (EDMOS) is widely used in high voltage or high power PMIC (power management integrated circuit) application as the driving device.
On-resistance (Ron) is one of key factors of the semiconductor device. The lower the on-resistance or the specific on-resistance (Ron-sp), the lower the power consumption of the semiconductor device. Ron is a very important characteristic for the PMIC products, especially for the portable IC devices. Many improvements have been disclosed by modifying the structures of LDMOS or EDMOS devices; for example, changing the shape of STI or wells. However, Ron improvement is still limited on current LDMOS or EDMOS devices. No more than about 5% of improvement on the ratio of Ron to breakdown voltage (Ron/BVD) has been achieved by using well scheme or implant optimization.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Semiconductor structure and method for manufacturing the same


Provided is a phase change memory device including: a phase change memory unit comprising a phase change layer pattern; a laser beam focusing unit locally focusing a laser beam on the phase change layer pattern of the phase change memory unit; and a semiconductor laser unit generating and emitting the laser beam towards the laser beam focusing unit. Thus set or reset operations in the phase change memory device uses laser beams locally applied, thereby reducing the consumption power and preventing destruction or change in information stored in neighboring cell during the operations of unit cell.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a memory device, and more particularly, to a phase change memory device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, memory devices are classified into volatile and non-volatile memory devices. Volatile memory devices lose stored information when the power is cut off. In contrast, nonvolatile memory devices do not lose stored information when the power is cut off. Dynamic random access memory (DRAM) is an example of one type of volatile memory devices. Volatile memory devices require a refresh operation to be performed during operation. The refresh operation is performed to restore stored information, which is lost due to generation of a leakage current of a memory device, after intervals separated by a predetermined period of time. Thus the disadvantage of volatile memory devices is the large consumption power.
When volatile memory devices can be replaced with nonvolatile memory devices, reduction in consumption power is expected and thus a few types of nonvolatile memory devices are being used or researched. Most of the nonvolatile memory devices currently being used are flash memory devices. However, flash memory devices have low operation speeds, require relatively high voltages, and have a characteristic such that they are not reliable during re-writing operations, thus are used exclusively in mobile appliances such as digital cameras or mobile phones.
A phase change memory (PRAM) has been strongly suggested as the next-generation of nonvolatile memory device to replace flash memory devices. A phase change memory device uses a phase change layer, the resistivity of which changes according to the crystalline state. The phase change memory device stores information by controlling the crystalline state of the phase change layer by applying electric joule heat due to a current or a voltage to the phase change layer under appropriate conditions. The phase change memory device performs a set operation by changing the phase change layer from an amorphous state having a high resistance to a crystalline state having a low resistance (on-state, logical value of "0"), and performs a reset operation by changing the phase change layer from the crystalline state having a low resistance to the amorphous state having a high resistance (off-state, logical value "1"). The information stored in the phase change memory can be read by measuring the change in the resistance value due to the crystalline state of the phase change layer.
However, the phase change memory device needs to satisfy following conditions to be selected as a next-generation nonvolatile memory device.
First, the phase change memory device currently requires relatively large consumption power since the phase change memory device is driven by controlling the crystalline state of the phase change material using the electric joule heat which is generated when a current or a voltage is applied to the phase change layer. Thus the consumption power needed for driving the phase change memory device should be significantly reduced in order for phase change memory devices to be used practically.
Second, when the crystalline state of unit cells of the phase change memory device are changed, information stored in neighboring cells should not be destroyed or changed by the electric joule heat. This is of particular significance as the distance between the memory cells in the memory cell array of the phase change memory device having high integration degree is continuously being reduced. The electric joule heat generated when a predetermined cell is operated should not be an impeding factor for the operation of neighboring cells.

Phase change memory device having semiconductor laser unit

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


An antenna array may include an antenna element configured to receive an RF signal. A PIN diode may selectively couple the antenna element to an RF source. Biasing the PIN diode may cancel the received RF signal at a stub coupled to the diode thereby reducing stray capacitance of the PIN diode. A method for switching antenna elements is also disclosed. A PIN diode coupled to an antenna element is biased thereby reflecting the received RF signal out-of-phase within a stub such that the signal is canceling and stray capacitance of the PIN diode is reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to wireless communications networks. More particularly, the present invention relates to the switching of selectable antenna elements utilizing p-type, intrinsic, n-type (PIN) diodes thereby reducing or eliminating certain radio frequency (RF) resonance functions of the antenna element.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wireless communications systems are burdened with an ever-increasing demand for higher data throughput. These same systems are concurrently driven by the need to reduce interference that can disrupt data communications. For example, in an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) 802.11 network, an access point may communicate with one or more remote receiving nodes over a wireless link. The wireless link may be susceptible to interference from other access points and stations (nodes), other radio transmitting devices, changes or disturbances in the wireless link environment between the access point and the remote receiving node, and so forth. In some instances, the interference may be of such significance as to force communications across the wireless link at a lower data rate or to completely disrupt the wireless link all together.
As disclosed in, for example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/010,076 and 11/041,145, Ruckus Wireless, Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif., has utilized a series of antenna elements to produce a substantially omnidirectional radiation pattern. This pattern may be generated when two or more antenna elements are selectively coupled to an RF signal source. In some instances, this selective coupling occurs through the use of one or more PIN diodes.
Stray capacitance is an undesirable capacitance existing between two conductors. Stray capacitance may be found in the context of a PIN diode due to the semi-conducting nature of the same. Stray or "parasitic" capacitance also tends to occur between parallel traces on a printed circuit board (PCB) or between traces planes on opposite sides of a PCB. The occurrence and effects of stray capacitance are often overlooked during modeling and may lead to serious performance issues after a PCB and its constituent elements (e.g., radio equipment and antenna elements) are constructed and assembled. Stray capacitance may result in greater noise, reduced frequency response, and even system instability.
The stray capacitance of PIN diodes in an antenna array, especially in a series of PIN diodes, may hinder the operation of the antenna array and/or the components thereon. While stray capacitance may never be entirely eliminated, stray capacitance may, generally, be controlled. Stray capacitance is, therefore, a performance attribute that may drive the cost of a PIN diode. At a given operating frequency, a PIN diode with relatively low stray capacitance is typically more expensive than a PIN diode with higher stray capacitance.
In addition to expense, certain techniques for eliminating stray capacitance may require additional components to be located on or coupled to the PCB. These additional components may increase difficulties related to manufacturing and design with respect to configuring various elements in a finite space. These additional components, too, may increase the cost of manufacture.
There is a need in the art to reduce stray capacitance with respect to selective antenna elements utilizing PIN diodes. Reduction of stray capacitance should occur without significantly increasing manufacture costs. Reduction of stray capacitance should also avoid negatively affecting overall antenna design. Any reduction of stray capacitance should not interfere with the selective coupling and switching of an antenna element utilizing a PIN diode.

Reducing stray capacitance in antenna element switching


Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a system, for generating an analytical energy model from a conceptual representation or a mass form model. In one aspect, actions include receiving a conceptual representation of a building including one or more user-defined floor levels and multiple surfaces defining volumetric space, and, responsive to a request to generate an analytical energy model, automatically generating the analytical energy model by: deriving geometric information from the conceptual representation; defining one or more mass volumes; algorithmically assigning one or more surface types to mass volume surfaces; defining one or more thermal mass zones based on the mass volumes and a corresponding number of user-defined floor levels; deriving thermal properties of the one or more thermal mass zones; and combining the defined one or more thermal mass zones, the derived thermal properties, and predefined analytical energy model parameters to generate the analytical energy model.

This disclosure relates generally to computer aided design (CAD) tools and techniques for generating an analytical energy model.
Whole building energy analysis is becoming increasingly important as energy prices increase and regional governments mandate conformance with stricter energy efficiency standards and/or reduction in carbon emissions. Modeling building heating, cooling, lighting, ventilation, and other energy flows typically requires the creation of an analytical model including various analytical energy model parameters to represent the physical structure, occupancy needs, and building services to meet those needs. For example, the structure parameters may represent the physical geometry of the building, including exterior form as well as internal thermal zoning, the type of surfaces that define the building geometry (e.g., wall, window, door, floor, roof, skylight), and the physical construction of those surfaces. Further, some parameters may represent the occupancy requirements for the building and the volumetric spaces that make up the building.
The analytical models are typically based on massing models used by Architects or Engineers to define the form of the building. In addition to the massing models, detailed information regarding the exterior form of the building, internal boundaries that make up thermal zones, location of glazing, and the physical construction of the various building elements (e.g., made of brick, double-paned glass, etc.) is generally required to obtain a valid analytical model. Generation of the analytical model is typically carried out in a rationalization process that adds the additional details to the information provided in the massing models. Due to the amount of information typically defined manually and processed, the rationalization process can be complex and time consuming, thus making it difficult to develop an energy model during early stages of the building design process.


A new non-slipping shoulder strap assembly for helping a users to securely carry bags on their shoulder. The inventive device includes an elongate shoulder strap for resting on a first shoulder of a wearer and having a shoulder resting portion and a pair of end portions to which a load may be attached. An elongate armpit strap is coupled to the shoulder strap resting portion and extends around the torso under a second shoulder. A waist strap is coupled to the shoulder strap end portions and extends around a waist underneath the second shoulder.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to carrying straps and more particularly pertains to a new non-slipping shoulder strap assembly for helping a user to securely carry bags on their shoulder.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of carrying straps is known in the prior art. More specifically, carrying straps heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art carrying straps include U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,984; U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,288; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 328,188; U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,935; U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,194; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,332.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new non-slipping shoulder strap assembly. The inventive device includes an elongate shoulder strap for resting on a first shoulder of a wearer and having a shoulder resting portion and a pair of end portions to which a load may be attached. An elongate armpit strap is coupled to the shoulder strap resting portion and extends around the torso under a second shoulder. A waist strap is coupled to the shoulder strap end portions and extends around a waist underneath the second shoulder.
In these respects, the non-slipping shoulder strap assembly according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of helping a users to securely carry bags on their shoulder.


A method for particle size detection comprises passing particles in a fluid medium relative to a light source which generates a light field the optical axis of which is transverse to the direction of fluid movement relative to the said light source and having a plurality of non-interferometrically formed variations in intensity spaced along the direction of movement of the particles relative to the light field, detecting variations in light intensity caused by the particles as they pass through the variations in the light field, and measuring the size of a detected particle substantially independently of the optical characteristics of the particle by plotting the mean peak signal as a function of the normalised peak-to-trough variation in the output pulses generated by the passages of the particle through the light field.

Particle sizing by means of optical techniques using Doppler methods which measure the amount of light scattered by the particle as it passes through a light field is widely practised. For biological particles of diameter 1-10 .mu.m and sub-micron particles the scattered light levels are low. Usually therefore particles are made to flow in a focused light field through a flow cell.
Particular sizing techniques based on Doppler methods require the interferometric combination of crossed laser beams to create a structured pattern. This requires the coherent laser light sources and precision lasers, or more recently, the use of diffraction gratings. The extent of the structured light field necessarily occupies a large part of the inspection volume and consequently requires quality optical components. These requirements are not consistent with the manufacture of a low cost particle sizing equipment.
A problem of known techniques that rely purely on scattered light is that the region of focus is frequently subject to significant variations in radiant intensity when it occupies practical sample volumes. A given particle passing through a region of high focal intensity can therefore scatter the same signal as a larger particle in a region of defocus. It has been proposed to overcome this problem by providing a composite light beam incorporating a concentric trigger of one wavelength through the centre of a surrounding analysis beam having a second wavelength. Only particles whose presence is indicated by the trigger beam are analysed. This occurs when the particle traverses the uniform region of the analysis beam. Measurements of the intensity of scattered light are thus made under repeatable conditions of particle illumination. This technique still requires high precision optics however and does not overcome the difficulty that the intensity of light scattered by particles is not a single valued function of the particle size, so that light intensity does not necessarily provide a reliable indication of particle size.
For example in medical bacteria tests in urine, tests for bacteria (typically 1-4 .mu.m) may not clearly be distinguished from residual red cells (5-8 .mu.) or even white cells (10-15 .mu.m). Additionally still greater expense and complexity is involved.
Thus particle size measurement based solely on the detection of the intensity of the light obscured by a particle as it passes through a uniform focused light field is subject to the major limitation that the signal is a combined function of:
(a) the position of the particle relative to the focal point of the illumination beam PA1 (b) the size, refractive index and absorbtion of the particle.
The first of these limitation means that a large particle passing outside of the focus can generate the same amplitude of obscuration as a small particle passing through the focus. This ambiguity is generally overcome in practice by constraining the flow to the region of focus with the result that the system is vulnerable to blockage and unsuitable for a line measurement. Even under these conditions particles of the same size but having either different refractive indices or absorbtion can give different signals.
The present invention is concerned with reducing the above mentioned disadvantages.


A variable-wavelength light source is provided with a first laser medium, a first optical resonator constituted of a total reflection mirror and a half-mirror, a second laser medium, a second optical resonator constituted of a total reflection mirror and the half-mirror, a first filter having a pair of first mirrors configured to cause first light and second light to be transmitted and reflected selectively, a second filter having a pair of second mirrors configured to cause the first light and the second light to be transmitted and reflected selectively, a first drive mechanism configured to operate the first mirror and the second mirror in conjunction with each other, and a second drive mechanism configured to operate the second mirror.

Conventionally, variable-wavelength light sources are used as communication lasers for wavelength multiplex communication and tuned to specific wavelengths for use. Variable-wavelength light sources are capable of high efficiency, high precision, size reduction, and high speeds. Variable-wavelength light sources are attracting attention because they are also applicable to simple spectrometers, tomographic image acquisition devices, etc. Technologies related to variable-wavelength light sources are disclosed in Patent Literatures 1 and 2.
In Patent Literature 1, a variable-wavelength laser is disclosed. The variable-wavelength laser is easily manufactured in a small size and has high power in a wide variable-wavelength range. This variable-wavelength laser includes an external resonator and a transmission Fabry-Perot interference filter. The external resonator is constituted of one laser element and a pair of reflection mirrors. The transmission Fabry-Perot interference filter is arranged to be tilted toward an optical path within the external resonator. The transmission Fabry-Perot interference filter is a Fabry-Perot type filter formed in micro-machine technology. The transmission Fabry-Perot interference filter changes a transmission wavelength by controlling a gap between two thin-film mirrors. The variable-wavelength laser changes an oscillation wavelength of emission light by controlling a transmission wavelength of the transmission Fabry-Perot interference filter.
In Patent Literature 2, a light-emitting apparatus having a wide variable-wavelength band is disclosed. This light-emitting apparatus includes a plurality of surface light-emitting lasers and a control unit. The plurality of surface light-emitting lasers have different wavelength bands from one another. The control unit variably controls a wavelength of light emitted from the light-emitting apparatus using a total wavelength band in which the wavelength bands are combined as a variable-wavelength band. The control unit changes the wavelength of light radiated from the surface light-emitting laser by controlling an amount of electric current to be supplied to each surface light-emitting laser.


A flexible diagnostic workstation comprises is equipped to read label information on well strips of loaded well plates and on loaded reagent kit holders, automatically perform the pre-analytical steps of an immuno-assay which consists of a sequence of operations in accordance with scheduled test requirements for each microwell, read the results according to either a standard singleplex ELISA or multiplex test format as indicated by the well strip label, and report the results.

Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay ("ELISA") is a biochemical technique commonly used as a medical diagnostic tool to detect the presence of an antibody or an antigen in a sample. During an ELISA test, a sample containing an analyte is subjected to a biochemical process taking place within an individual microwell of a multi-well plate (also known as a "microtiter plate"), for example a standard 96-well plate has an 8×12 array of individual microwells. Depending on the particular test being conducted, a predetermined capture antibody or bio-molecule may be immobilized on the bottom surface of each microwell, and controlled amounts of various fluids (e.g. blocking solution, washing solution, test sample, detection antibody, primary and secondary antibodies, and substrate) may be added to the microwell according to a predetermined protocol that may include periods of controlled incubation and washes. The result of the biochemical process may be viewed using an optical detector measuring absorbance, fluorescence, and/or luminescence, or other properties, to provide a qualitative and/or quantitative test result.
In traditional ELISA testing, all of the wells in a standard 96-well plate are tested for the same analyte, and a single ELISA protocol is used for the entire plate. This standard ELISA has been extended into a profile screen for a panel of analytes in special cases where in each 8 well strip of a plate has a specific analyte. Consequently, if it is necessary to test for more than one analyte, traditional ELISA is costly with respect to sample volume, reagents, and total throughput time.
Newer multiplexed immuno-assay formats provide a multiplexed platform (known as a microarray) containing individual spots of different antigens or capture antibodies on a single microwell bottom. Alternatively, a multiplexed immuno-assay may comprise magnetic bar-coded particles on which specific analyte molecules are immobilized whereby samples may be tested simultaneously for multiple analytes. Each particle is uniquely identified by the barcode. As such, a plurality of bar-coded particles may be provided in each microwell.
A variety of prepared well plates and well strips (a linear strip of wells inserted into a well plate) are commercially available in either standard singleplex or multiplex formats, and specific reagent kits are also commercially available for performing different ELISA/immuno-assay protocols.
Heretofore, automated diagnostic workstations have been designed to perform either standard (singleplex) ELISA testing or multiplex immuno-assay testing, but not both. The standard ELISA workstations are widely used in clinical as well as research settings, whereas higher-priced microarray or magnetic bar-coded particle processing and scanning workstations tend to be found mainly in research settings. Because prior art workstations cannot combine a standard singleplex ELISA based on colorimetry/absorbance with multiplex immuno-assay formats, all the microwells in commercially available well plates are configured either for standard singleplex ELISA or multiplex immuno-assays. Both standard and multiplex wells are not found in the same microtiter plate.
Also, information about loaded well plates and reagent kits may need to be manually programmed into such workstations by an operator to permit full automation of the associated protocol, which can lead to human error.


A magnetic screen assembly (13). The assembly (13) is to be located in a duct (10) to screen a flowable substance passing in a direction (11). The assembly (13) has a screening position (A) so that the substance passes through the screen, and a cleaning position (B) at which the screen assembly (13) is spaced outwardly relative to the housing (12) to facilitate cleaning of the assembly (13).

Disclosed in Australian Innovation Patent No. 2007100714 is a variable aperture screen. The screen has a base with a plurality of magnetic bars that are spaced by apertures. Steel items, in the material passing through the screen, are removed by being attracted to the bars. The bars consist of two sets, with relative movement between the sets adjusting the apertures between the bars. Each set of bars is mounted on a base so that the bars of each set are moved in unison.
A disadvantage of the above described screen is that it is generally complex and therefore expensive to manufacture. A further disadvantage is that frequently a set of bars that is being adjusted may be difficult to move.
Many situations exist in the Food industry where, because of increased regulation and standards, it becomes necessary to upgrade existing older style grate type magnets. A number of problems exist in respect of carrying out the upgrade, those problems include:                1. Existing old type grate magnets are often in a housing and removable as a 'drawer' for external cleaning. Where access is not ideal, this can be difficult even dangerous.        2. The grate bars may be covered by non magnetic "sleeves" and the magnet elements withdrawn substantially out of the sleeves until the extracted magnetics drop off Sleeves reduce available magnetic strength.        3. The magnetic grate bars may be pulled through external cleaning devices until collected magnetics material drop off. If cleaning devices are tight and efficient, pulling a number of bars simultaneously through cleaning devices is difficult unless power assisted.
Due to varying product characteristics and lump sizes it is difficult for manufacturers of grate magnets to initially propose an ideal gap between magnet bars which both minimizes blockage and maximizes magnetic separation efficiency. Prior devices provide long horizontal slot/s or numbers of holes into which bars can be added to adjust the gap or removed to increase the gap between the bars. Uncovered holes or portion of slots is also not suitable for hygienic applications. Because modern magnet bars are extremely powerful and forcefully attracted to each other, it is unsafe and impractical to completely remove or unscrew such bars in order to effect gap adjustment.
In a column of falling material, there may be different densities of material. The centre of the column may be denser than the extremities.
Issues calling for replacement of grate magnets include:                Lack of magnetic strength as in the case of old style or "sleeve type magnets"        Difficulty of cleaning where magnet bars ends are bounded by or attached to a "frame".        Difficulty in removing, replacing and cleaning a "drawer" type grate magnet.        Lack of magnetic coverage of the product stream because bars are too widely spaced.        Product blocking the grate due to the magnetic bars being too close to each other.        Unequal abrasive wear on the outer tube containing the magnets.        The existing grate not being sufficiently hygienic to satisfy today's food grade standard.
In the following description a screen is also intended to mean a grate.
Magnetic separation devices are known in which a substance (such as a gas, liquid or powder) is passed through the device for the purposes of removing ferrous and other magnetic materials. These previous devices have a number of magnetic fingers that extend transverse of the material flowing through the device.
A first disadvantage of known liquid or powder magnetic separation devices is that they are difficult to clean. A further disadvantage is that it is often necessary to support the magnetic bars at both ends, that is the bars are attached to an end plate as well to a door or lid. A still further disadvantage is that in the use of high powered magnets, when they are being placed in a machined outer housing of the device, the magnets are attracted and hold tightly to the sides of the device. This causes difficulties in respect of sealing and centrally placing the lid. The effect is a problem when the housing is a machined casting and becomes work hardened and therefore magnetically susceptible even though it is an austenitic stainless steel.


A station device includes: a communication unit wirelessly communicating with a mobile device that forms a subnet with the station device; a user input unit that receives a user command input for terminating a connection with a first access point and connecting to a second access point; and a controller that controls the communication unit so as to transmit, to the mobile device, connection change information for changing a connection of the mobile device in response to the user command.

1. Field
Apparatuses and methods consistent with exemplary embodiments relate to a station device and a wireless communication method thereof, and a mobile device and a wireless communication method thereof, and more particularly, to a station device capable of wireless communication with another station device using an access point and a wireless communication method thereof, and a mobile device and a wireless communication method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, there is an increasing demand for mobile devices, such as laptops, personal digital assistants (PDAs), etc. In accordance with this trend, a wireless local area network (LAN) using an access point is widely used in order to perform wireless communication via radio signals, infrared signals, etc.
In such a wireless LAN environment, an access point may be connected to a station device, such as a television (TV), and accordingly an Internet service provided from the access point may be used by the station device.
If the access point of the station device is changed, an access point for various devices connected to the station device needs to be changed so that the various devices connected to the station device can use the Internet service provided from the new access point.
Under the related art wireless LAN environment, however, even if the access point of the station device is changed, the access point for the various devices connected to the station device is not changed.
Moreover, in order for a user to change the access point for the various devices to an access point connected to the station device, the user has to search for a new access point to which the user wants to change and then change various settings for the new access point individually on the various devices.

Station device and wireless communication method thereof and mobile device and wireless communication method thereof


An integrated measurement system for measuring a plurality of parameters is disclosed. The integrated system includes a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor configured for modulating a wavelength of an FBG input signal to provide an FBG output signal corresponding to an FBG parameter, a fiber Faraday rotator (FFR) sensor module configured for rotating a polarization and modulating an intensity of an FFR input signal to provide an FFR output signal corresponding to an FFR parameter, wherein the FBG sensor and FFR sensor module are coupled to provide an integrated system output signal, and a detection system configured for receiving the integrated system output signal and for using the integrated system output signal to obtain values associated with at least one FBG or FFR parameter.

The invention relates generally to measurement systems and, more particularly, to integrated measurement systems using optical sensors.
Many systems are subjected to effects such as stress and heat, which may be detrimental to the structural integrity of a system. Further, systems such as wind turbines are subjected to lightning hits, which can be detrimental to the wind turbine blade structure. Wind turbines, in particular, are generally subjected to a high risk of lightning strikes as they are preferentially placed at high and windy locations in order to achieve high productivity. For wind turbine blade monitoring, the mechanical stresses are as important as the localization and classification of lightning impacts. Such systems beneficially require the monitoring of current and magnetic field along with stress and temperature.
Currently, to monitor various parameters, individual measurement systems are used to monitor each parameter. Individual monitoring results in separate interrogation, detection, and data acquisition systems, which may give rise to additional cost and space constraints for many systems.
Therefore, there is a need for measurement systems and methods for measuring a plurality of parameters without the aforementioned drawbacks.

System and method for integrated measurement using optical sensors


A connector arrangement for packaged electrical systems, such as motor control centers includes a component connector assembly mounted to component supports for providing network signals and control power to components on the support. A mating prewired connector assembly in the enclosure is forced to mate with the component connector assembly when the component support is fully engaged within the enclosure. Thereafter, the component support may be partially withdrawn from the enclosure to disconnect main power from the component support, while leaving network connections and control power connections by virtue of the mated connectors. The connectors engage by non-sliding contact both when fully engaged and when the components are partially withdrawn from the enclosure.

The present invention relates generally to the field of packaged electrical components, and more particularly to a novel connector arrangement and system for interconnecting supported components in an enclosure with prewired connectors within the enclosure.
A wide range of packaged electrical and electronic systems have been developed that control industrial, commercial, marine and other processes. In general, such systems include both electronic monitoring and control equipment, as well as switchgear, controllers, and other power electronic equipment that drive loads. In an industrial setting, for example, motor control centers (MCCs) are large systems that house component supports or "buckets" within enclosures. The enclosures may be grouped into separate bays such that particular circuit portions may be supported on the component supports within different bays. The components typically include computer devices, such as programmable logic controllers, but also power electronic devices, such as inverter drives, motor starters, and so forth. Protective circuitry, including fuses, circuit breakers, and so forth are typically also included, along with conventional switchgear, such as relays and contactors. All of these circuit components are ultimately supported on component supports accessible through doors of the enclosures.
A particular issue that arises in some packaged electrical systems is the access to the components, and provision of network and power signals to the components even when they are not enabled for driving loads. In a typical MCC, for example, network signals, control power signals, and three phase power are all typically provided to components in the component supports. The three phase power is ultimately applied to the controlled loads. The control power is used to energize components within the system, such as relays, contactors, and so forth. The network signals serve to control such switchgear, and to exchange signals between the system and remote components and monitoring equipment.
Systems have been developed that can provide for network signals and control power when main power is disabled or disconnected from component supports in such systems. In one known system, for example, a sliding connector is used between the component supports and mating connectors within the enclosure. This sliding connector maintains contact between the conductors within the enclosure and the component support (and therethrough, the components). Conventional stabs extending from the component supports, however, can be disconnected from buses that route the main power through the enclosure. Thus, by partially extracting the component supports from their fully-engaged position, main power can be disconnected, while nevertheless providing network signals and control power for maintenance, testing, and servicing of the components supported by the component supports.
A drawback in such conventional systems is the use of a sliding connector system. During initial installation, such connectors often perform quite well, although their performance degrades over time. As the system ages, and particularly as the component support is withdrawn and reinserted into the enclosure, connections in the sliding assemblies may deteriorate, resulting in faulty signal transmission, and even bit errors in data transmission.
There is a need, therefore, for improved techniques for providing network signals and control power in packaged electrical systems. There is a particular need for a system that will provide reliable connections to network and control power conductors, and that does not suffer from the degradation over time consequent with sliding connector assemblies.

Electrical system having withdrawable unit with maintained control and communication connection