A light, durable, and user friendly cover for a laptop computer that integrates the protective qualities of hard shell cases with the aesthetics of soft cut-and-sew covers is disclosed. The cover includes top and bottom panels configured to cover the display and keyboard portions, respectively. Each panel is independent and separate from the other and each is formed as a unitary component of a molded resilient polymer material, such as polycarbonate, that is configured to reversibly and retentively snap-fit over the outer surface of the laptop computer. Each panel includes a raised lip along its perimeter edge region that defines an internally extending recessed region on the panel's outer surface. Fabric and/or leather overlays are positioned, sized and adhesively coupled atop the recessed regions and are protected from delaminating, fraying, and/or peeling by the raised perimeter lip.

The present invention generally relates to the field of covers or cases for portable electronic devices, and particularly to fabric or leathered covered hard shell cases for computing devices such as laptop computers.
Portable electronic devices like smartphones, mobile phones, tablets, personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptop computers, pagers, media or MP3 players, and portable game consoles have had a transforming impact on how people play and record music, send and receive e-mail and text messages, browse Web pages, make phone calls, play and record video, take and view pictures, edit documents, interface with social media, and much more. These devices continue to revolutionize the way we interact, learn, connect, conduct business, and socialize. They help manage our daily lives, store valuable information including business and personal information (e.g., phone numbers, financial information, private photos or videos, and favorite music tracks), and can be a source of entertainment.
In today's on-the-go and always-connected world, it is not uncommon for consumers to continuously have their electronic devices with or near them, whether it be at work, home, or during business or leisure travel. Electronic devices, however, commonly include fragile components (e.g., screens, glass and/or aluminum or soft metal casings) that can be easily damaged and are manufactured with limited finishes that are not necessarily appealing to consumers in some or all environments or settings.
Various after-market hard and soft shell cases or covers have been developed to accessorize and protect portable electronic devices. Notwithstanding, the inventors here have recognized that there is a continued need to develop light weight, user friendly, protective cases, that uniquely meld the benefits of, and blur the lines between, soft and hard shell cases by providing aesthetically pleasing external surfaces found in cut-and-sew soft shell covers with the simplicity and durability of hard shell cases.


The present disclosure provides systems, methods, and computer program products for providing efficient embedding table storage and lookup in machine-learning models. A computer-implemented method may include obtaining an embedding table comprising a plurality of embeddings respectively associated with a corresponding index of the embedding table, compressing each particular embedding of the embedding table individually allowing each respective embedding of the embedding table to be decompressed independent of any other embedding in the embedding table, packing the embedding table comprising individually compressed embeddings with a machine-learning model, receiving an input to use for locating an embedding in the embedding table, determining a lookup value based on the input to search indexes of the embedding table, locating the embedding based on searching the indexes of the embedding table for the determined lookup value, and decompressing the located embedding independent of any other embedding in the embedding table.

Embeddings generally refer to a way of projecting objects from a high-dimensional space onto a lower-dimensional space. For example, image, video, text, and speech data may be represented in an object space, such as a two-dimensional or three-dimensional coordinate system. Each data point in the object space may represent an object with the proximity between each object indicating a degree of similarity or relatedness. In one example, synonyms generally may be positioned more closely together in the object space in comparison to unassociated or dissimilar words.
Machine learning models may utilize embedding tables to store and reference embeddings. Embedding tables become part of a machine learning model and embedding tables may be quite large in size. For example, embedding tables for dictionary words from one or more languages may have hundreds of thousands or even millions of entries. In particular, embedding tables can significantly increase the amount of memory and processing power required to run machine-learning models. As a result, it becomes increasingly difficult to serve large models at scale. Further, many types of computing devices, including mobile devices, generally lack enough computing resources to run large models.

Efficient embedding table storage and lookup


Methods are provided for detecting an analyte concentration/presence in a body fluid sample that include providing a set of at least two different evaluation rules, each evaluation rule adapted to derive a set characteristic values from an optical measurement curve, where at least one first characteristic value is derived from at least one first evaluation rule and at least one second characteristic value is derived from at least one second evaluation rule. The methods also include performing at least one multivariate analysis of the at least one first and second characteristic values by using at least one predetermined multivariate evaluation algorithm to derive at least one estimate value for at least one target variable Y of the state variables. The methods also include determining at least one analyte concentration by using the at least one target variable Y. Also provided are computer programs and devices that incorporate the same.

In the field of medical diagnostics, in many cases, one or more analytes have to be detected in body fluid samples such as, for example, blood, interstitial fluid, urine, saliva or other types of body fluids. Examples of analytes to be detected are glucose, triglycerides, lactate, cholesterol or other types of analytes typically present in these body fluids. According to the concentration and/or the presence of the analyte, an appropriate treatment may be chosen, if necessary.
In known devices and methods such as, for example, in analytical test systems, a time evolution of a measurement signal is observed after inserting or positioning the sample in or on the test system. Usually, such devices and methods use test elements having one or more test chemistries, which, in presence of the analyte to be detected, are capable of performing one or more detectable detection reactions such as, for example, optically detectable detection reactions.
von Ketteler et al. discloses that spectroscopic properties of highly purified cNADH could be determined for the first time and were compared to those of NADH. See, von Ketteler et al. (2012) Chemphyschem. 13:1302-1306. Carba-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (cNAD) may serve as a stable co-factor for an enzyme-based detection of glucose. When changing from NADH to cNADH, an about 50% increase in quantum efficiency could be observed, which—together with a large excitation wavelength and a higher stability—should make cNAD a well suited alternative as coenzyme for robust glucose detection.
EP Patent Application Publication No. 2 006 786 discloses a method and a glucose monitoring system for monitoring individual metabolic response and for generating nutritional feedback. The method includes a step of consecutively performing a plurality of measurements of a glucose level in a qualified subject by a measuring device. In the measuring device, first data corresponding to a measured glucose level is generated. This data is further transmitted to an analysis device. There, second data is generated representing at least one measure for variability of a glucose level of the subject from a time-series of glucose measurement represented by the first data. Embodiments are explained by presenting phase space diagrams (e.g., by a phase space diagram representing the glucose value) as well as the first derivative of the glucose progressions. Suitable frequencies for taking measurements are from 4 (i.e., a measurement every 15 minutes) to 60 (i.e., a measurement every minute) measurements an hour.
A representation of a function with their first derivative is well known in physics such as, for example, in presentations of space and momentum. See, e.g., Gerthsen et al., Physik 16:868-870.
EP Patent Application Publication No. 2 006 786 discloses visualizing a BG risk index, a measure for an overall risk of extreme blood glucose over time in the form of a phase space diagram.
EP Patent No. 1 702 559 discloses a method and a system for analyzing glucose metabolism; however, it is not concerned with actually measuring a glucose concentration but to a processing of data points. The data points may be processed by plotting a graphic phase space representation that may be provided to a physician as diagnostic aid. A function of the blood glucose concentration and/or at least one of its derivatives with respect to time may be used as phase space coordinates. The glucose concentration or a rate of change of the glucose concentration may be one of the phase space coordinates. A trajectory in phase space described by a sequence of data points may be analyzed to determine a disturbance parameter. The disturbance parameter may indicate which state of a disease of glucose metabolism is likely to be manifest. With progress of an illness, a regulation mechanism for an adjustment of the blood glucose concentration may be useful.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,448,067 discloses a method and an apparatus for determining a chemical component from a sample, where the sample is measured on a test strip with the help of a color reaction. The method concerns finding the measurement time for measuring the reflection of the test strip. When a function reaches a predetermined value, the method calls for determining a measuring time, and determining from a reflection value measured at the measuring time a content of the chemical component in the sample, preferably the glucose content of a blood sample.
US Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0177406 discloses a slope-based compensation. A biosensor system determines an analyte concentration from an output signal generated from a light-identifiable species or a redox reaction of the analyte. The biosensor system adjusts a correlation for determining analyte concentrations from output signals with one or more index functions extracted from the output signals. The index functions determine at least one slope deviation value or normalized slope deviation from one or more error parameters. The slope-adjusted correlation between analyte concentrations and output signals may be used to determine analyte concentrations having improved accuracy and/or precision from output signals including components attributable to bias.
One or more slope deviation values may be determined that are responsive to one or more errors. Slope deviation values may be determined for temperature, hematocrit, and other contributors. In one example, the analyte generates output signals in response to a pulse sequence of a gated amperometry electrochemical analysis. A ratio parameter may represent a relationship between current generated by the analyte in response to two pulses of a gated amperometry pulse sequence. A %-bias of a measured analyte concentration in a biological fluid may be determined from or correlated with the output signals of the analysis, such as the intermediate currents generated by the analyte in response to a gated amperometry sequence. Output signals may be currents or potentials generated from the sample that are responsive to the input signal. Signals that are near or partially linear may be used. The %-bias in the correlation of analyte concentrations with output signals may be represented by one or more slope deviations obtained from one or more error parameters. Index functions may compensate the measured analyte concentration for one or more errors in the analyte concentration analysis. One or more index functions may be used. Index functions may be experimentally determined as regression equation. The compensation or correction of the analyte concentration value may be started with the error parameter accounting for the largest error in the output signal.
After compensating for the largest effect, any error remaining may be compensated or corrected with additional error parameters independent of the parameter responsive to the largest error. Successive corrected analyte concentration values may be determined using additional index functions, the bias in the determined concentration values may decrease until the bias level approaches the random noise level of the analysis.
Intl Patent Application Publication No. WO 2006/138226 discloses an arrangement and an algorithm for calculating the concentration of an analyte contained in a sample. Therein, a color change rate of a test chemical is detected, and a hematocrit is derived from the color change rate. An appropriate correction factor indicative of hematocrit is used for correcting a glucose concentration.
A known test element may be the one used with the Accu-Chek® Active system by Roche Diagnostics Deutschland GmbH.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,420,042 discloses a method of analytically determining the concentration of a component of a medical sample, in which a reaction of the sample with reagents leads to a time-dependent change in a measured quantity. Therein, the concentration correlates according to an evaluation curve with an input variable derived from a time-dependent change, where the calibration curve is ambiguous for at least a portion of the possible values of the input variable. To obtain an unambiguous correlation to a particular concentration, a training run and an analysis run are separately performed.
Intl Patent Application Publication No. WO 2011/131490 discloses a method of determining an analyte activity or concentration in a sample, particularly an automated algorithm for the quality control of reactions. Therein, plotting the fluorescence intensity of a reporter dye divided by the fluorescence intensity of a passive reference dye against the cycle number leads to a so-called sigmoid function, which is characterized by a background phase, an exponential growth phase and a plateau phase. Since the fluorescence intensity as a function of cycles relates to the initial number of template molecules in the sample, the curves can be used to quantify the amount of fragments in the sample by determination of a specific value.
US Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0070234 discloses a method of quantitatively determining an analyte in a sample. Therein, at least two calibration graphs are provided, where the calibration graphs have been generated by reacting in each case the same analyte-specific substance with different amounts of in each case the same test analyte for in each case a predetermined reaction time.
Intl Patent Application No. WO 2012/084194 discloses a method of determining an analyte concentration, wherein a first electrical potential excitation pulse to a body fluid sample in an analyte sensor is applied, and wherein a first current response of the body fluid sample to the first pulse is recorded. Thereafter, a second excitation pulse is applied to the body fluid sample in the analyte sensor, and a second current response of the body fluid sample to the second pulse is recorded. An analyte level in the body fluid sample is determined by compensating for sources of error based on the first current response to the first pulse.
US Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0235346 A1 discloses a method and a device for determining an analyte concentration in a physiological sample. For this purpose, an electrochemical signal based on a reaction taking place inside an electrochemical cell is recorded, from which a preliminary analyte concentration is derived. The preliminary concentration is then multiplied by a hematocrit correction factor to obtain the constituent concentration in the sample, where the hematocrit correction factor is a function of the electrochemical signal.
A measurement of glucose may be influenced by different hematocrit values. In known methods and devices, a point of time development of a remission signal, e.g. a kinetic curve, may be determined wherein at this point the gradient of the kinetic curve after wetting may decrease under a predetermined value (e.g., 2%/s). This criterion also is known as final value criterion or end value criterion. A remission value at this point in time, an end value, may be used in relationship to a value (e.g., a remission value) before the wetting (e.g., a blank value). A ratio between these two values such as, for example, a relative remission, may be used in combination with a calibration curve such as, for example, a code curve, for determining a glucose value (e.g., a glucose concentration.
These kinds of methods are disclosed in Intl Patent Application Publication No. WO 2008/135128. In particular, this document describes an analysis device with a test carrier for a photometric determination of an analyte in a body fluid. A control value of a control parameter is detected at one detection point during a processing after a calculation step, an error in the measurement and evaluation unit is recognized if the deviation of the control value from the expected value exceeds a predefined threshold value.
In such known methods and devices used in connection with analytical test systems, a propagation in time of a measuring signal, which may be observed after an intake or a sample application usually does not necessarily only have a dependency on the observed analyte, in particular on a presence and/or on a concentration of the analyte (e.g., it can be experimentally observed that in the context of a cNAD-developing, one-way test strips for detecting a glucose concentration in blood, a time propagation of a remission may also be dependent on a temperature such as on a temperature being present during a measurement, and probably also on an air humidity during the measurement and/or on a concentration of hematocrit of the sample). For example, the end value of a remission measurement may depend on the temperature. According to prior art, the end value of a remission measurement may be used to derive a glucose concentration by using a calibration curve. For example, a temperature dependency for a glucose concentration of 250 mg/dL may be more than 2% per Kelvin.
The measurement signal also may be dependent on different other state variables such as, for example, on a storage time of a reagent kit, on a storage time of the test strip, on a "history" of the test strip, and/or on the current state of the test strip. An example may be a change of a dry test chemical caused by or after one or more re-moisturizations. Properties of the measurement signal and/or another signal may be influenced by substances such as acetylsalicylic acid and/or citric acid, which may disturb the signal and/or the measurement signal. Alternatively or additionally, similar analytes may change the signal and/or the measurement signal in a noticeable way, where the similar analytes may be maltose and/or xylose. This may cause interferences and/or errors.
A main disadvantage of methods known from prior art may be, that the end value may not only be dependent on the glucose concentration but also on at least one more state variable as discussed above. There may be a deviation of a glucose value determined by using the end value criterion from a desired value for different concentrations of hematocrit. A prediction of a glucose concentration according to known methods may include deviations being dependent on hematocrit.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for methods and devices that at least partially avoid the disadvantages and shortcoming of many known systems and methods. Specifically, it is an object of the present disclosure to provide methods and devices that enable analyte detecting in a body fluid sample, where the analyte detection of the analyte may be less influenced by state variables such as, for example, at least one temperature and/or at least one air humidity and/or a hematocrit concentration and/or a history of a test element.

Methods of evaluating medical measurement curves, as well as computer programs and devices therefor


The invention discloses an engineered oncolytic respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), NS1 gene deficient RSV, and its usage to treat lung cancer by killing cancer cells with in vitro and in vivo evidences.

Lung Cancer: Treatment and Survival.
Lung cancers are divided by histopathology into small cell lung cancers (˜15%) and NSCLC (˜85%) [1]. In 2009, 219,440 new cases are expected and 159,390 persons are projected to die from lung cancer in the United States [2]. Prevailing treatments have only limited success in lung cancer, particularly NSCLC, which becomes resistant to the drugs used for chemotherapy.
Radiotherapy, alone or in combination with surgery or chemotherapy, is useful in the management of NSCLC [3]. However, tumor radio-resistance, including intrinsic radio-resistance before treatments and acquired radio-resistance during radiotherapy, makes radiotherapy problematic for NSCLC [4]. There is no effective treatment available for advanced or metastatic NSCLC [5]. The global increase in lung cancer, together with its poor survival rate and resistance to classical chemotherapy, underscores the need for development of novel therapeutic strategies.
Oncolytic Virotherapy.
Oncolytic virotherapy is a novel strategy using viruses, either naturally occurring or genetically modified, to selectively target and destroy tumor cells while leaving surrounding non-malignant cells unharmed [6]. Our preliminary data show that ΔNS1 RSV replicates to a high titer in lung tumor cells, compared to the normal WI-38 diploid lung cells (FIG. 2B), and ΔNS1 RSV, not wt RSV, specifically kills lung cancer cells, but not normal WI-38 or NHBE cells (FIGS. 2A and 4A and Table 1). NS1 protein functions as an anti-apoptotic factor (FIG. 4A, B) and deletion of NS1 restores the apoptotic pathway in tumor cells.
TABLE 1ΔNS1 RSV preferentially kills human lung cancer cells.Virus (MOI = 10)ΔNS1 RSVwt RSVCellsCPE (24 h post-infection)WI-38 cells (Human normal embryonic lung−−fibrolast)NHBE cells (Normal human bronchial epithelial)−−H157 cells (erlotinib-resistant)++++−H480 cells (erlotinib- and dasatinib-resistant)++++−H1299 cells (erlotinib-resistant and p53−/−)++++−H441 cells (erlotinib- and dasatinib-resistant)+++−H368 cells+++−H1335 cells++++−A549 cells (erlotinib-resistant, dasatinib-++++−partially resistant)H23 cells (erlotinib- and dasatinib-resistant)+++−Note:−: no CPE;+++: CPE 50%-75%;++++: CPE >75%
Biology of RSV NS1 Protein.
RSV genome contains individual genes for ten viral proteins [7]. The transcription of RSV genes is polar, with the promoter-proximal genes being transcribed more frequently than the promoter-distal ones. The NS1 gene is promoter-proximally located at the 3′ end of the viral genome and therefore its mRNA is the most abundant of the RSV transcripts in a linear start-stop-restart mode [8] (FIG. 1). NS1 protein is referred to as nonstructural since it has not been detected in RSV particles. NS1 is exclusively found in RSV-infected cells. Our group, along with others, has found that NS1 can counter the type I IFN signaling during RSV infection [9, 10], implying that NS1 plays a direct role in inhibiting the host's innate immune response.
Mitochondria as Targets for Anticancer Agents.
Evasion from apoptotic cell death unregulated cell proliferation and eventual tumor development is one of the hallmarks of oncogenic cell transformation. We found that ΔNS1 RSV selectively induces apoptosis in tumor cells (FIG. 4), and also decreases mitochondrial ΔΨm and promotes mitochondrial swelling in A549 lung cancer cells, suggesting that mitochondrially-mediated apoptosis participates in the anti-tumor effect of ΔNS1 RSV.
RSV can be rendered nonpathogenic by mutating the NS1 gene so that it no longer inhibits IFN release, which attenuates viral infection in normal cells. However, these nonpathogenic RSV, ΔNS1 RSV, are still oncolytic because tumor cells are defective in their ability to produce and respond to IFN and, therefore, efficiently support the propagation of ΔNS1 RSV.

Lung cancer therapy using an engineered respiratory syncytial virus


Disclosed is a polymer prepared from an .alpha.,.beta.-ethylenic unsaturated compound, characterized by having a structure represented by the following general formula (1): ##STR1## (where, R.sup.1 and R.sup.2, which are the same or different, a C1-C4 alkyl group, m is an integer of 1-10 and n is 0, 1 or 2) in the molecule.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a polymer having highly controlled molecular structure, a surface modifier for inorganic materials using the polymer, and a modified inorganic material using the modifier. In more detail, the present invention relates to a polymer having a hydrolyzable silanol group at the terminal and/or central part in the molecule. In addition, the present invention also relates to a surface modifier which affords desired dispersibility when applied for modifying pigment and other inorganic fine particles, and which affords such functions as adhesive, wetting and water-repellent properties when applied for treating the surface of the inorganic material. The present invention further relates to an inorganic material whose surface is modified by the surface modifier.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hitherto in order to improve affinity and adhesivity between and an organic material and an inorganic material, surfactants and coupling agents (e.g. chromium-type, silane-type, titanium-type) have been utilized. Among them, the silane coupling agents have been most extensively used because of high performance after modification and their cheap cost [E. P. Plueddemann: "Silane Coupling Agents," Plenum, N.Y., 1982].
Japanese Kokai Publication No. 95326/1981 discloses a pigment-dispersing liquid which is a copolymer having at least one alkoxysilyl group. In Japanese Kokai Publication No. 20197/1987, a block copolymer of p-alkoxysilylstyrene and styrene is disclosed.
The pigment dispersing liquid as described in the above Japanese Kokai Publication No. 95326/1981, however, gives rise to a problem of secondary aggregation of the pigment after the treatment, because the alkoxysilyl groups are present in unspecified position of the polymer molecule and tend to cause gelation between the resins and bridging among pigment particles. The block copolymer, as described in the above Japanese Kokai Publication No. 201917/1987, also has a problem in production. It is difficult that p-alkoxysilylstyrene is introduced in a specific position of the polymer molecule in a controlled amount, because the p-alkoxysilylstyrene have an extremely large polymerization rate. In addition, the silane coupling agents, have a relatively low molecular weight and therefore do not afford sufficient wettability or dispersibility as surface modifiers.

Polymer, surface modifier for inorganic materials and modified products thereof


An electrical interconnection substrate (20) is prepared to receive both wire bonded and soldered connections (60,64,66) by forming a dielectric solder mask (30) over the substrate (20), with openings (36) in the mask (30) to expose the contact pads (22) for which soldered connections are desired. The substrate (20) is exposed to a molten solder alloy (44) in a wave soldering process that dissolves the wire bonding material (28) (preferably gold) from the exposed pads (22) and deposits solder bonding pads (52) in its place. Excess solder is then removed from the substrate, and openings (54) are formed through the solder mask (30) to expose the wire bond contact pads (22'). The selective dissolving of gold bonding layers (28) and their replacement by solder pads (52) prevents the establishment of brittle gold-solder intermetallics, and the deposited solder (52) requires no further heat treatment for correct alloy formation.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the preparation of electrical interconnection substrates, particularly high density multiple interconnect (HDMI) substrates, to receive integrated circuit (IC) chips by both wire bonding and solder connections.
2. Description of the Related Art
HDMI multichip module wafers are typically fabricated to accept integrated circuit (IC) dies by either wire bonding the circuit leads to (typically gold) wire bond contact pads on the wafer, by a tape automated bonding (TAB) process, by solder bonding the leads to solder contact pads on the wafer, or by a combination of both wire and solder bonding. Working with both solder bonds and gold wire bonds on HDMI wafers is more complicated than the wave soldering process commonly used in printed wiring board (PWB) fabrication. With PWBs, as opposed to HDMI wafers, a patterned copper network on the board is coated with solder that wets only on the copper contact pads, not on the epoxy PWB material. There is accordingly no need to mask the PWB during the wave soldering process. With HDMIs, on the other hand, the interconnection substrate cannot simply be subjected to a wave soldering process, since that would preclude gold wire bonding to the same substrate. Even if a photoresist mask were used to protect the contacts intended for wire bonding, such masks are not compatible with the temperatures employed in wave soldering and the hot air knife typically used to remove unwanted solder. Furthermore, gold in the presence of solder forms brittle, undesirable intermetallic compounds.
The typical HDMI is initially provided with gold contact pads only, not solder contact pads or "bumps". The process previously used to allow for soldered contacts as well as wire bonded contacts involves first coating the HDMI wafer with a layer of photoresist, and then forming openings through the photoresist to expose the contact pads that are intended for solder bonding. The gold film is next selectively etched from the exposed contact pads, followed by a solder electroplating step to deposit solder in the contact pad locations from which the gold was previously removed. The wafer is then heated to a temperature at which the lead and tin in the solder melt and form an alloy. The photoresist is removed, along with the overlying unwanted solder, prior to formation of the solder alloy at the desired contact pad locations.
A primary problem with this method is that, because the plated solder must be heated to achieve the proper alloy, the alloy may not be consistent from wafer to wafer; this can lead to variations in solderability, which is an serious drawback. Moreover, the wafer preparation process is complicated by the additional steps required to remove the gold from the desired solder contact pads, and to afterwards heat the deposited solder sufficiently to form an alloy. The heat treatment must be performed in an inert atmosphere, typically nitrogen, which is fairly expensive to provide. The additional processing increases both the cost and the time required to prepare the HDMI substrate.

Electrical interconnection substrate with both wire bond and solder contacts


An auto tray switching method that is invoked when a misfeed occurs includes automatically switching to a different paper tray that has appropriate paper stock to continue a job. A misfeed signal is indicated only if the tray in which the misfeed occurred is selected by a user for another job.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to printing machines that include multiple media feeders/trays, and more particularly, to a method for automatically switching to another of said multiple media trays when a misfeed from a selected media tray is detected.
2. Description of Related Art
Currently, when a misfeed occurs, the marking engine immediately shuts down and the user is requested to check the paper in the paper feed tray or purges paper upstream of the jam and then shuts down. Marking is stopped and the job is paused until the user follows given instructions. This can be frustrating for users magnifying the impact of the misfeed, especially if they have submitted a large job and have waited a while before going to the machine expecting to just pick up their prints.
Heretofore, various jam clearing methods have been employed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,896,344 shows a marking machine that includes a system that automatically clears itself of jams in the machine when the machine is unattended. The paper transport is enabled to move forward and backward and when a jam occurs it will automatically move backward until the jam is cleared. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,231,567 a method and apparatus for clearing jams in the transport path of a copier includes the steps of sensing a jam, clustering in process sheets at the jam or at a location upstream of the jam location, while simultaneously allowing the sheets downstream of the jam location to continue. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,010,127 a buckle chamber is provided along a sheet path where jammed sheets are compiled during a down cycle during a jam.
Unfortunately, even though the jam clearance techniques of the above prior art are useful, the misfeed problems of virgin sheet input feeders mentioned-hereinabove are still present.

Automatic tray switching for continued marking after media tray misfeed


A fuel injection system with a high-pressure fuel injection pomp is provided for pressurizing fuel and delivering it for injection into an internal combustion engine. The system and the high-pressure fuel injection pump have an inlet, a return port, at least one plunger, a suction, channel positioned between the inlet and plunger, and a bleed valve connectively arranged at the suction channel of the high-pressure fuel injection pump, A selector valve is provided between the inlet, and return port.

The invention relates to a high-pressure fuel infection pump and to a. fuel Injection system comprising a high-pressure fuel injection pump.
Such high-pressure fuel injection pumps and fuel injection systems comprising such pumps are normally used for pressurizing fuel and for delivering it for injection into an internal combustion engine.
Rising prices of crude oil-derived fuels and fears of its Imminent shortages have in recent years led to further developments in production processes of alternative fuels and internal combustion engines for their use. One of the potentially important alternative fuels that can be effectively produced from a variety of stocks including biomass is dimethyl ether (DME). DME, with its soot-free combustion and high cetane number, is very well suited for diesel-type internal combustion processes. However, DME has a relatively high volatility (compared with normal diesel fuel) and, therefore, has to be pressurized, to approximately 5 bar in order to be liquid at room temperature. There are a number of advantages of having fuel supplied in liquid form for injection Into a diesel-type internal combustion engine, and thus fuel injection equipment (FIE) suited for DME or other similarly volatile fuel should be specially designed to prevent unwanted vaporization of the fuel or to effectively remove vapour cavities from such parts of the injection system where vapour can disrupt normal operation.
High-volatility fuels can be prevented from boiling by selecting a higher pressure and/or lower operating temperature. hi a particular engine application, fuel must be supplied to the injection pressure-generating part of the FIE at an optimum combination of fuel feed pressure and temperature. In selecting that optimum combination, the cost and complexity of the fuel feed system are significant controlling factors. Imbalance towards an higher feed pressure would, whilst allowing operation, at elevated temperatures, increase system cost, complexity, weight and energy consumption, at the same time itself causing extra fuel heat-up. On the other side, lowering fuel feed temperature beyond a certain limit would not be feasible, for obvious reasons.
In order to shift the combination between the fuel feed pressure and temperature towards more energy-efficient and less expensive balance, a number of design solutions are used in prior art systems. One such solution is recirculation of fuel feed flow throughout the system at a rate exceeding the rate of fuel consumption by the engine. By this means, equalization of temperatures between the coldest (such as fuel tank) and the hottest parts of the system is achieved and therefore the risk of local vaporization is reduced. Another approach is thermal insulation of parts of the system that are most exposed to heat sources.
For a number of reasons, the most suitable type of FIE for high-volatility fuels such as DME, is a common rail system well-known in the art. Such a system usually incorporates a multi-plunger high-pressure pump that supplies fuel under high pressure to injectors via a common rail. Over many years of development and use in the diesel engine industry, the typical high-pressure pump of a common rail system has evolved to incorporate the output control concept based on the inlet metering principle and fixed plunger displacement. This makes use of a single electronically controlled inlet metering valve (IMV) to define the amount, of fuel reaching the plungers during their respective inlet strokes. At a given feed pressure, varying the valve's restriction varies the output of the plungers which, in. turn, at a given engine consumption, varies the common rail pressure.
The single IMV, fixed, displacement route-plunger type of pump is widely accepted in common rail FIE on the grounds of its relative simplicity as compared to variable-displacement pumps. However, when high-volatility fuels are used, improvements to such a pump are necessary to ensure reliable performance across the full operating range of an engine. This is because in this type of pump there is a significantly large volume of fuel, situated in the suction channel leading fuel from the IMV up to the plungers, the pressure in which most, of the lime needs to be controlled to a lower level than the available feed pressure for the purpose of pump output control. By definition, this volume of the suction channel is then separate from the recirculated fuel feed circuit, and thus vulnerable to overheating and fuel vaporization. One way of alleviating this problem is to thermally insulate the suction channel from the surrounding parts. This works well down to a certain minimum fuel flow in the suction channel, but still the vaporization can take place when the flow is under that minimum, or when there isn't flow at all, for a relatively long period of time. The operating conditions requiring extremely low or no output from the high-pressure pump and correspondingly low through-flow in the suction channel, can occur frequently and it can be necessary for the pump to change from that to full output almost immediately, such as when a hot engine needs to start or when high torque is demanded after a period of engine braking. Once fuel is allowed to vaporize in the suction channel, the hydraulic efficiency of the pump is dramatically reduced and it can then take a long time before the pump can provide full output, unless special, action, is taken.
It is known in the art to provide a separate bleed function for the suction channel in order to be able to remove vapour from that channel instead of trying to liquefy it. The latter is usually a much longer process than vaporization, and to provide for liquefaction in a relatively hot pump, the feed pressure system would need to be capable of relatively high pressure and would therefore be unnecessarily complex, heavy and expensive. Bleeding the suction channel which is thermally insulated from the hot pump body, with a relatively cold and low-pressure fuel from the feed recirculation line, can simultaneously and effectively cool that channel and restore normal operation of the pump much easier. In that and other prior art systems, the bleed valve for the suction channel is electronically controlled, either by a separate electrical actuator or by means of an extended range actuator that simultaneously controls the bleed valve and the IMV. This adds cost because of the actuator(s) and. the need of a more sophisticated control algorithms for the engine management system (EMS).
In prior art systems, for the bleeding of the suction channel to be effective, a separate return line is provided between the bleed valve and the downstream of the feed pressure-setting restriction in the re-circulation circuit. This is necessary because otherwise the bleed path becomes parallel to the main re-circulation path that is designed to have as low restriction as possible up to the teed pressure-setting restriction, and in that case the pressure head across the suction channel and the bleed valve would be too small to drive the vapour out of the pump. In systems where the pressure-setting restriction has to be positioned relatively far away from the pump, the extra cost and complexity caused by the need for such separate return line, can be significant.
It is desirable to provide a fuel injection system comprising a high-pressure fuel injection pump that is less vulnerable to vapour formation in the fuel.
It is also desirable to provide a system for injection of high-volatility fuels, as for instance DME, for internal combustion engines.
It is also desirable to provide a system of injection of high-volatility fuels, such as DME, that has an improved performance and a lower cost, compared to prior art systems.
A general advantage of an aspect of the present invention is that it ensures automatic and effective removal of vapour that may form in the fuel and disrupt normal operation of the fuel injection pump, thereby enhancing the reliability and robustness of the control of delivery of pressurized fuel for injection into the internal combustion engine.
According to an aspect of the invention, a fuel injection system for pressurizing fuel and delivering it for injection into an internal combustion engine is proposed, wherein said system comprises a high-pressure fuel injection pump with an inlet (for receiving fuel from e.g. a fuel tank), at least one plunger (that pressurizes the received fuel and delivers it to injectors for injection into the internal combustion engine), a suction channel positioned between the inlet and the at least one plunger (thereby connecting the inlet of the high-pressure fuel injection pump with the inlet port of the at least one plunger), and a bleed valve connected to the suction channel for removal of vapour that may in certain circumstances form in the suction channel, and for cooling down the suction channel in order to prevent conditions causing further vaporization of the fuel in the suction channel. The fuel injection, system further comprises a return port (for leading any leakage and recirculated fuel back to a fuel tank). To ensure effective removal of vapour by the bleed valve, a selector valve is installed between the inlet and the return port.
In a preferred embodiment of an aspect of the invention, the selector valve is able to open or close the hydraulic connection between the inlet and the return port. An inlet -metering valve (IMV) is installed between the inlet and the suction channel for fine control of output of the high-pressure pump. For conditioning of incoming fuel that the IMV receives, a re-circulation of pressurized fuel is provided by means of a feed pump supplying fuel to the inlet, and an hydraulic flow restriction downstream of the return port. Advantageously, a non-return valve is employed to function as the bleed valve, having its inlet connected to the suction channel. The selector valve is actuated by a return spring and the pressure developed by the plunger, such that when the plunger pressure is below a p re-determined level, the spring closes the selector valve, and when the plunger pressure is above said level, the spring is compressed and the selector valve is open. The selector valve ensures the effective removal of vapour and cooling of the suction channel by selecting the series connection of the inlet, the suction channel and the return port, such that full re-circulation flow is established via the suction channel. Preferably, the said predetermined level of plunger pressure is chosen to be somewhat below the minimum setpoint pressure at which the engine is designed to operate, but at the same time above the pressure that the high-pressure pump is able to maintain when the fuel in the suction channel is vaporized. Then, in the event of uncontrolled vaporization in the suction channel leading to uncontrolled plunger pressure drop, the selector valve will close the connection of the inlet to the return port and establish full re-circulation flow through the IMV, the suction channel and the bleed non-return valve, thereby quickly removing the. vapour already formed and cooling the suction channel to prevent further vaporization. By this means, the pump will regain full output and quickly restore its outlet pressure to a given setpoint, at which instant further rise of output pressure would be cheeked by the IMV controlled by the EMS, Simultaneously, the increased plunger pressure will compress the spring to re-open the selector valve, such that the re-circulation flow will be resumed around the inlet of the IMV to ensure absence of hot spots and reliable delivery of liquid fuel to the inlet.
The invention, according to an aspect thereof advantageously allows a common teed pressure-setting restriction to be positioned downstream of the return port, because the selector valve allows establishing a series connection of the inlet and the suction channel to the return port, such that the bleed function is not reteriorated by by-pass recirculation flow from the inlet to the return port.
In another embodiment of an aspect of the invention, any or both of the bleed and selector valves are made electronically controlled, such that it is possible to control the bleed function with the EMS.

Fuel injection system with pressure-controlled bleed function


The linearity of switched-capacitor, pipeline digital to analog converters is improved by balancing the settling behavior of its pre-charge switches. In more detail, a switched capacitor DAC includes a number of substantially identical cells, one cell for each bit of an input digital word. A number of switch driver circuits are used to apply respective switch control signals to turn respective switches on and off. Advantageously, the switch control signals differ by an amount determined to equalize the gate-to-source voltage difference between different switches.

As progress in Digital-to-Analog Converter (DACs) technology continues to yield devices capable of operating at greater and greater conversion rates, they are capable of supporting an increasing number of applications. For example, very high-speed DACs enable digital processing in applications that had once been limited to the analog domain. Such applications include wired and wireless communication systems. See for example, A. Rofougaran et al., "A single-chip 900-MHz Spread-Spectrum Wireless Transceiver in 1-μm CMOS-Part I: Architecture and Transmitter Design," IEEE Int. J. of Solid-State Circuits, vol. 33, no. 4, April 1998, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. These new applications often demand greater control of harmonic distortion and limitations in power consumption.
One emerging DAC architecture is a pipeline, switched-capacitor DAC as described in "A Quasi-Passive CMOS Pipeline D/A Converter," by F. J. Wang, G. C. Temes, S. Law, published in the IEEE Int. J. of Solid-State Circuits, vol. 24, no. 6, December 1989, (the "Wang" reference) incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. An attractive characteristic of this architecture is that it intrinsically does not suffer from major output glitches, which are a common source of distortion in DACs. On the other hand, current implementations are affected by a number of other circuit shortcomings that limit the practically achievable dynamic linearity.
A conventional switched-capacitor, pipeline DAC is composed by cascading a number of substantially identical cells that cooperatively synthesize an analog representation of a digital quantity by a charge-sharing algorithm driven by input digital data. Each cell includes a storage capacitor and is uniquely associated to a respective bit of the digital input. The capacitor is used to store an intermediate result of the data conversion and further as a processing element for the conversion algorithm. In more detail, each capacitor in the pipeline of cells is pre-charged to one of two different reference voltage levels depending on the logic state of the bit associated with the cell. This type of switched-capacitor DAC is discussed in more detail below.
At least one problem with this approach relates to the settling behavior of the capacitors' pre-charge process. Namely, the settling behavior depends on the digital code to be converted. Thus, the settling behavior for a cell associated with a logical "1" input will be different than the settling behavior of the same cell associated with a logical "0." This result is referred to as a "code dependence" that leads to a degradation in the linearity of the DAC. Further complicating matters, the source circuit providing the reference voltage levels is also disturbed by the pre-charge process. This disturbance is also code-dependent and further limits linearity.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods and apparatus to balance reference settling in switched-capacitor pipelined digital to analog converter


A virtual machine control apparatus 100 controls execution of a first type virtual machine A210 and a second type virtual machine 220. The first type virtual machine A210 includes a start detection unit 261 which detects an operation in the first type virtual machine A210 to start usage of a device (external storage device 160). The first type virtual machine A210 also includes a start signal output unit 262 which outputs a start signal when the start detection unit 261 detects the operation to start usage of the device. The second type virtual machine 220 includes a control unit (external storage device driver 272) which, when the start signal output unit 262 outputs the start signal while the device is in set in a low power mode (electrical power set to off), sets the device in a normal mode (electrical power set to on).

A virtual machine control apparatus that implements a plurality of virtual machines operating independently of one another is a known art. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses an OS (Operating System) switching apparatus, which is one example of the above type of virtual machine control apparatus.
In a situation where the plurality of virtual machines operating independently of one another share use of a device, when more than one of the virtual machines performs an operation to control the device, a race condition for control of the device occurs therebetween, and consequently there is a possibility that the device cannot be used correctly.
Therefore, in a situation such as described above, generally only one of the virtual machines (referred to below as virtual machine A) has a device control unit for controlling the device. When any of the other virtual machines is to use the device, the other virtual machine uses the device by requesting the virtual machine A to control the device.

Virtual machine control apparatus and virtual machine control method

Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America


A medical dressing, specifically adapted to comprise a machine-readable tag for allowing efficient and safe inspection during use of the medical dressing is described. A medical dressing arrangement and to a computer implemented inspection method applied in conjunction with the medical dressing is also described.

A pressure ulcer is a localized injury to the skin and/or the underlying tissue that results from pressure, typically in combination with friction and shear. Several factors can lead to pressure ulcers or pressure injuries, such as high pressure, uneven pressure distribution, disturbed microclimate, friction at the skin, and internal shear stresses. Pressure ulcers often arise among persons being bedridden for various reasons, such as for instance due to long term hospitalization or other causes of immobility. When the same location on the body is exposed to sustained pressure and shear, a pressure ulcer can develop in that location. Pressure ulcers typically develop in soft tissue under skin that covers bony areas of the body, for example the heels, ankles, the hips or the sacral buttocks. The necrosis in soft tissue spreads to the skin resulting in the formation of a pressure ulcer. Patients particularly at risk are those suffering from diabetes, cardiovascular conditions, incontinence, and arthritis.
The sacrum is an area that has a higher risk of developing pressure ulcers than other areas. The anatomy and physiology of the sacrum make the tissue very vulnerable to pressure. Patients that have been hospitalized or bedridden for a longer period require additional precautions to prevent sacrum ulceration. While pressure causes compression of the tissues, shear forces occur between the layers of the tissues and tend to tear and separate them. A pressure ulcer may originate in the soft tissue (fat or muscle) in the sacrum region, and spread to the skin, where it becomes visible. Not only does a pressure ulcer cause great discomfort and/or pain to the affected person, but it also causes difficulties to nursing personnel and/or other caregivers. In addition, pressure ulcers represent a big challenge to the healthcare system and are associated with high costs.
Pressure ulcers are largely preventable. When pressure ulcers occur, they can become painful wounds that require months to heal. In a hospital or care facility, caregivers adhere to specific protocols to prevent the occurrence of pressure ulcers. One important part in the prevention regimen is regular inspection of the skin. In some hospitals, the caregivers apply dressings to areas at risk of developing pressure sores. The dressings used are primarily designed to handle blood and body exudates stemming from existing wounds, scars or blisters and not for prophylactic purposes.
Furthermore, when a dressing has been applied, the skin underneath the dressing must be regularly inspected, typically at least twice a day, to assess the skin status and the potential progress of a pressure ulcer. The inspection of the skin area requires the dressing to be opened, and detached from the skin. One option would be to remove the dressing and apply a new dressing after having checked the relevant skin area. However, this is both costly and time consuming. Alternatively, nursing personnel may detach the dressing by gripping and lifting an adhesive border of the dressing (i.e. the portion of the dressing surrounding the pad) so that the relevant skin area can be checked, and then the dressing can be re-applied by re-attaching the adhesive border to the surrounding skin.
With the above in mind, it may be desirable to provide means for allowing the regular inspections to be performed caregivers and staff in the most efficient and safe manner.

Medical dressing having identifiable information tag that is only readable if portion of dressing is exposed


A device used for measuring the orientation of a human head about one or two axes and converting that information into an electrical signal in the analog or digital domain includes a headset and includes one or two electromechanical orientation sensors which provide an electrical signal that corresponds to the orientation of the head without any reference to an off-of-the body reference. The orientation sensor includes a signal generating device, such as a variable resistor, coupled to the torso of the user via a mechanical linkage. As the head moves, the linkage moves and changes the resistance of the variable resistor. The change in resistance corresponds to the orientation of the head. One orientation sensor is used to measure the horizontal, or lateral angle, of the head with respect to the torso, or shoulder blades. Two orientation sensors mounted on each side of the head measure both the lateral and vertical angles of the head with respect to the torso, or shoulder blades. Also disclosed is a single sensor having two signal generating devices wherein one signal generating device detects primarily lateral movement while the other signal generating device detects primarily vertical movement.

The invention relates generally to position and/or orientation sensing devices and more particularly to devices for facilitating the tracking of a head or other movable object.
Various devices are known for measuring the orientation of the head (head tracking). Head tracking finds many useful applications. For example, the military uses head tracking to aim gun turrets and to provide heads-up tactical information for the pilot of an aircraft. The private sector uses head tracking as a third hand to allow a handicapped individual to steer a motorized wheelchair, or to allow an individual to manipulate a cursor on a computer screen.
Another application includes the use of head tracking to provide a virtual environment for the user--generally known as "virtual reality", Teachings of such application may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,984,179 (Waldern); 4,884,219 (Waldern); and 5,130,794 (Ritchey). "Virtual realty" describes the host of applications that involve the use of a virtual environment to allow human-machine interaction at a more intuitive level than by typing commands on a keyboard or using a mouse-type device to communicate with a machine. Head tracking is necessary to generate a first-person virtual environment. Typically, the user wears video screens over both eyes and a host computer generates three-dimensional views that correspond to the position of the user's head.
With many known systems, a fixed reference point is compared with the position or orientation of the head by linking the head to the fixed reference point by way of mechanical linkage, optic linkage, ultrasonic linkage, or magnetic linkage, and measuring the position or orientation of the head relative to that fixed reference point. Such systems are described in U.S. Patent Nos. 4,954,815; 4,565,999; 4,682,159; 5,142,506; and 4,688,037. However, a problem arises with such known head tracking devices since the fixed reference point is off of the body and requires the use of an off-the-body transmitter and receiver configuration that limits the user to a confined space because of the limited range of the transmitters. Known mechanical linkage systems also constrain the user.
The transmitter-receiver configurations typically have a freedom of movement advantage over the mechanical linkage systems but generally require more time to process the received electromagnetic signals before the position/orientation information may be output from the device. This time is referred to as latency or lag time. The off-body mechanical linkage provides almost instantaneous output, or negligible lag time, but severely limits the movement range of the user. Furthermore, such systems tend to be complex and subsequently costly to manufacture and use.
Another device, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,068,645, offers an advantage over the off-the-body link by using gravity as its fixed reference point and therefore contains only a receiver mounted on the headset. This device is relatively non-restrictive to the user since gravity exists everywhere on the earth. However, such a device may not be readily used in low gravity applications or non-gravity applications such as in outer space. Secondly, this device may be prone to a pendulum effect. The device measures the head position by comparing the orientation of the head to the surface level of a liquid in a spherical container. The liquid's surface stays level due to gravity while the user's head tilts the spherical container. However, the liquid will not stay perfectly level because of inertia, but will rock back and forth when the user's head moves quickly. Such a pendulum effect may hinder the performance of this device. Thirdly, such a device typically only measures the head's angle along a vertical axis. It cannot measure the head's lateral movement along a second axis. Consequently there exists a need for a head tracking device which overcomes the disadvantages of the aforementioned prior art devices.

Device for determining an orientation of at least a portion of a living body


A repellant system for repelling nuisances such as insects from an area around a surface such as a table. The repellant system generally includes a base, a first receiver extending from the base, a first linkage frictionally adjustable within the first receiver, a second receiver adjustably connected to the first linkage, and a second linkage frictionally adjustable within the second receiver. A motor in the base may be utilized for automated rotation of the first receiver on the base. An adjustment connector links the first linkage with the second receiver. A pair of mounts on the second receiver and second linkage removably retains a sheet roller which dispenses a sheet which will deter insects and other nuisances.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a repellant device and more specifically it relates to a repellant system for repelling nuisances such as insects from an area around a surface such as a table.
Description of the Related Art
Any discussion of the related art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such related art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.
Nuisances such as insects are common in outdoor settings. For example, when camping or enjoying a meal on an outdoor deck, gnats, flies, bees, and the like can ruin an otherwise peaceful experience. The buzzing sound of insects can disturb the serenity typical of such outdoor settings. Additionally, insects raise concerns relating to health when they are repeatedly landing on food or beverages and then flying away.
Because of the inherent problems with the related art, there is a need for a new and improved repellant system for repelling nuisances such as insects from an area around a surface such as a table.


An earphone antenna includes an audio signal transmission path formed by connecting a first shield wire of a coaxial cable to a ground, connecting a central conductor of the coaxial cable to a pair of first signal lines of an earphone cable via a capacitor which exhibits high impedance in a frequency range of audio signals and low impedance in a frequency range of high frequency signals, and connecting a second signal line and a grounding wire, respectively, to the pair of first signal lines via a high frequency choke which exhibits low impedance in the frequency range of audio signals and high impedance in the frequency range of high frequency signals. Connecting the second shield wire to the ground causes formation of a sleeve antenna by the earphone cable and the second shield wire.

The present invention relates to an earphone antenna for portable radio equipment which is put on a human body during use, and to portable radio equipment provided with this earphone antenna.
Conventionally, in portable radio equipment to be carried on a human body during use, such as a pager, a radio receiver, an LCD television receiver and the like, a rod antenna or an earphone antenna which utilizes a signal wire for transmitting audio signals to earphones is used as an antenna. For example, such an earphone antenna is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-163529.
In the portable radio equipment which uses a rod antenna and/or an earphone antenna, when put on a human body for use, there has been a problem that because of a significant deterioration of antenna performance when put on the human body, such as in television broadcasts where signals with a large amount of information, e.g., video signals, are processed, a sufficient reception sensitivity cannot be obtained.
In particular, the earphone antenna which utilizes the signal wire for transmitting audio signals to the earphones as an antenna has had a problem that because the earphone and/or the signal wire make direct contact with the human body, the human body has caused a significant influence on the radio equipment via the antenna to substantially deteriorate the stability of reception.
Further, in television broadcasts in Japan, for example, VHF bands from 90 to 108 MHz (1-3 channels), and from 170 to 222 MHz (4-12 channels), as well as the UHF band from 470 to 770 MHz (13-62 channels) are used. Therefore, an LCD television receiver for receiving television broadcasts is required to receive high frequency signals in an extremely wide band range from 90 to 770 MHz. Accordingly, with a conventional rod antenna or earphone antenna, the performance of which is inferior to a fixed-type antenna, it has been extremely difficult to secure a sufficient sensitivity in the required frequency band range.
Still further, because the rod antenna and the earphone antenna are monopole antennas which resonate at λ/4, their reception sensitivity is greatly influenced by the ground size of the portable radio terminal, thereby limiting the design of the portable radio equipment.

Earphone antenna and portable radio equipment provided with earphone antenna


Provided is a stationary phase for supercritical fluid chromatography that includes a carrier on which is supported a polymer that includes a pyrrolidone backbone in the repeating units of the main chain.

Chromatography is the most effective means among methods for analysis of the components of a mixture and the contents of the components, and for separation and purification of the components. In chromatography different substances are separated by utilizing the substance-specific distribution ratio (also understood as the adsorption equilibrium) between a porous solid (stationary phase) spatially immobilized in a column or a tube, known as a capillary, and a fluid (mobile phase) that moves through the voids in the porous solid. Gas chromatography and liquid chromatography are typical here. A gas is used as the mobile phase in the former.
In order for a separation target to move mixed in a gas phase, however, a certain vapor pressure must exist, and as a consequence only a relatively limited range of analytes, i.e. of low molecular weight and having no charge, can be utilized. Liquid chromatography, by contrast, uses a liquid as the mobile phase and can be applied to most substances, so long as a suitable mobile phase is selected. On the other hand, liquids generally have high viscosities, and hence limits are imposed by a rise in viscous resistance when good separation is to be secured using a long column or capillary.
Supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) was invented as a technology that can overcome the shortcomings of both gas chromatography and liquid chromatography. Supercritical fluid chromatography exploits the characteristics of a supercritical or subcritical fluid, i.e. dissolving other compounds much better than a gas, and having a lower viscosity and a higher diffusion rate than a liquid. Herein SFC using carbon dioxide as the supercritical fluid is generally used to in terms of safety and from the viewpoint of equipment considerations, and its use is gradually becoming more widespread. Besides SFC there is also chromatography that uses electrical attraction and so-called thin-layer chromatography (a variant of liquid chromatography), in which paper or a powder is consolidated in a thin layer, but the scope of application of the foregoing is not very broad.
Typical modes for liquid chromatography are normal-phase chromatography, which uses a combination of a high-polarity stationary phase and a low-polarity mobile phase, and reversed-phase chromatography, in which these polarities are reversed. Attention has been given recently to HILIC, in which both phases are polar. In addition, chromatographic techniques based on specific interactions are also known, such as ligand exchange chromatography, which relies on metal ion/ligand interactions, and affinity chromatography, which utilizes biochemical interactions. The characteristics and separation mechanisms involved are generally understood, and their technical advances mainly concern improvements in particle shape for improving separation efficiency.
In contrast, the characteristics of supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) are reported to be similar to those of normal-phase chromatography. However, many aspects pertaining to characteristics and mechanisms are still not well understood, and there is also a line of thinking that envisages covering separation targets of wide polarity change through a gradual shift to reversed phase systems.
Stationary phases used in SFC are silica gel or silica gel having had the surface thereof modified with various atomic groups, for instance as disclosed in Non-patent document 1.
The modifying group may contain a saturated alkyl chain of various chain lengths, or may be a modifying group to which a one or two benzene rings or a condensed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon group are bonded via an alkyl chain or an alkyl chain that includes an amide bond or an ether bond, or a modifying group the characterizing feature of which is a halogen-substituted benzene ring, or a modifying group having a halogenated alkyl group bonded thereto, or a modifying group having bonded thereto a polar group such as a 2,3-dihydroxypropyl group, a CN group, or a NH2 group, and may be a polymeric modifying group such as crosslinked polystyrene, polyvinyl alcohol or polyethylene glycol. Carbon having a graphite structure is also a characteristic stationary phase. Among the foregoing, in particular (2-pyridyl)ethyl group-bonded stationary phases, referred to as 2-ethylpyridine, are frequently used in SFC. These stationary phases are preferably used since not only do they afford elution with sharp peaks, even for basic compounds that undergo tailing and exhibit broad peaks in ordinary stationary phases, but are also capable of suitably retaining acidic compounds as well.
As pointed out in Non-patent document 2, however, there are also not a few stationary phases having no differences in characteristics and which exhibit similar retention trends towards various compounds. Such being the case, the inventors have diligently pursued the development of stationary phases that can be used in SFC, acknowledging that the ability to discriminate among molecules having similar structures is a necessary requirement.
Silica gel or silica gel having had the surface thereof modified with various low molecular compounds constitutes herein the majority of stationary phases having been used to date in SFC. However, some cases have also been reported of stationary phases resulting from modifying the silica gel surface with polymers. In Patent Document 1, for instance, a polymer having an aromatic ring and a bipolar atomic group in repeating units of the main chain is used as the stationary phase. This is known to be not only effective for separation of various compounds, but also for bringing out good molecular shape recognition ability. These stationary phases were however problematic in that, unlike the 2-ethylpyridine columns described above, tailing occurred during analysis of basic substances, which resulted in broad peaks.
Further, such stationary phases are prepared by supporting the above polymer on a particulate or monolithic carrier. As a result, when a solvent capable of dissolving the polymer or a mixed solvent containing such a solvent is used as a developing solvent, part or the entirety of the stationary phase is dissolved, which may impair the functionality of the column.
Examples of the use of polyvinylpyrrolidone in chromatographic applications are known in the art.
In some examples, specifically, particles of poly(l-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) (PVP) having been rendered insoluble through crosslinking are packed into a column, to be used as a chromatographic stationary phase (for instance Non-patent document 2).
Bonding of PVP to the surface of silica gel, which is a hard gel, has also been attempted.
When for example silica gel is used as a stationary phase for separation of proteins or microorganisms, the properties of the target product may change due to so-called denaturation, and yield may drop significantly. Accordingly, attempts have been made to shield against the influence of silica gel through coating of the surface with a hydrophilic polymer, with a view to preventing the above occurrences (Non-patent document 3).
Various PVP bonding methods have also been tried. In one reported case, for instance, silica gel is coated with PVP, followed by a crosslinking treatment with γ-rays (Non-patent document 2). Another report discloses a method that involves bonding a silane coupling agent having a vinyl group or a methacryloxy group to silica gel, and then copolymerizing the silane coupling agent with vinylpyrrolidone monomers (Non-patent document 4). However these methods result generally in broad peaks, and are not very useful in HPLC.

Stationary phase for supercritical fluid chromatography


An imaging apparatus is provided and includes a solid-state imaging device including a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements; and a image data-generation unit that generates image data represented by a first luminance signal and a color-difference signal, based on signals from the plurality of the photoelectric conversion elements. The plurality of photoelectric conversion elements include a photoelectric conversion element for obtaining a second luminance signal. In the image data-generation unit, a signal in each pixel position of image data to be generated is interpolated, a third luminance signal is generated in the each pixel position from the interpolated signal, and the first luminance signal in the each pixel position is generated by synthesizing the second and third luminance signals.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus, including a solid-state imaging device containing a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements, and a color image data-generation unit that generates color image data represented by a luminance signal and color-difference signals, based on signals from the plurality of the photoelectric conversion elements.
2. Description of Related Art
A solid-state imaging device, having a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements including photoelectric conversion elements for detecting a luminance component and photoelectric conversion elements for detecting color components of R (red), G (green) and B (blue), has been proposed (see JP-A-2003-318375).
FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of a solid-state imaging device. The solid-state imaging device 1b illustrated in FIG. 3 includes a two-dimensional regular array, along vertical and lateral directions, of plural photoelectric conversion elements, and FIG. 3 illustrates 16 photoelectric conversion elements in total, with 4 elements in the vertical direction by 4 elements in the lateral direction. In FIG. 3, each square block represents a photoelectric conversion element, and a symbol written therein indicates a light component to be detected by such photoelectric conversion element. A symbol "Y" indicates a luminance component of the light, while "R" indicate a red component of the light, "G" indicates a green component of the light, and "B" indicates a blue component of the light. In the following description, the photoelectric conversion element marked with Y is also referred to as the photoelectric conversion element Y, that marked with R as the photoelectric conversion element R, that marked with G as the photoelectric conversion element G and that marked with B as the photoelectric conversion element B.
The solid-state imaging device illustrated in FIG. 3 has such a structure that, on a light-receiving face of each of the plural photoelectric conversion elements of same characteristics, arrayed along vertical and lateral directions, one of a Y-filter, an R-color filter which transmits an R light, a G-color filter which transmits a G light, and a B-color filter which transmits a B light is provided. The Y-filters are provided, among the photoelectric conversion elements arrayed along vertical and lateral directions, on the photoelectric conversion elements arranged in positions of a checkerboard pattern, and the R-, G- and B-color filters are provided on the photoelectric conversion element in remaining positions in the checkerboard pattern.
Thus, in the solid-state imaging device 1b illustrated in FIG. 3, in even-numbered rows, filters are arranged in an order of "Y, G, Y, G, . . . " on the individual light-receiving faces of the photoelectric conversion elements, and, in odd-numbered rows, a row containing an arrangement "R, Y, B, Y, R, . . . " and a row containing an arrangement "B, Y, R, Y, B, . . . " alternate, on the light-receiving faces of the photoelectric conversion elements.
The Y-filter is a filter having spectral characteristics correlated with luminance information and may be called a luminance filter, and an ND filter, a transparent filter, a white-colored filter and a gray-colored filter belong to this category, but a structure, in which no filter is provided on the light-receiving face of the photoelectric conversion element and the light directly enters the light-receiving face, may also be considered as a structure having a luminance filter.
Such solid-state imaging device is capable of detecting a luminance component and color components of the light separately, and can provide a resolving power for luminance not influenced by the color information, and a color reproducibility not influenced by the spectral characteristics of the luminance component.
Now, let us consider a case of generating color image data represented by a luminance signal and color-difference signals, based on the signals obtained from such solid-state imaging device.
In such case, an imaging apparatus equipped with the solid-state imaging device at first executes a signal interpolation process which interpolates, in each pixel position of the color image data to be generated and among necessary signals (4 signals including a luminance signal y and color signals r, g and b) in each pixel position of the color image data to be generated, the color signals and the luminance signal, not obtained from the photoelectric conversion element corresponding to each pixel position. For example, in a pixel position corresponding to the photoelectric conversion element Y in FIG. 3, color signals r, g and b are interpolated by the signals obtained from the photoelectric conversion elements around such photoelectric conversion element Y, and, in a pixel position corresponding to the photoelectric conversion element R in FIG. 3, signals y, g and b are interpolated by the signals obtained from the photoelectric conversion elements around such photoelectric conversion element R. Also in a pixel position corresponding to the photoelectric conversion element G in FIG. 3, signals y, r and b are interpolated by the signals obtained from the photoelectric conversion elements around such photoelectric conversion element G, and, in a pixel position corresponding to the photoelectric conversion element B in FIG. 3, signals y, r and g are interpolated by the signals obtained from the photoelectric conversion elements around such photoelectric conversion element B.
FIG. 4 illustrates a state after such signal interpolation process. In FIG. 4, each square block indicates a pixel position, and symbols in each block indicate signal components interpolated into such pixel position, wherein a symbol "y" represents a luminance signal, "r" represents a red signal, "g" a green signal and "b" a blue signal. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the luminance signal y and the color signals r, g and b are made present in each pixel position. Then the imaging apparatus generates, in each pixel position, color-difference signals Cr, Cb from the luminance signal y and the color signals r and b present therein, thereby forming color image data represented by the luminance signal y and the color-difference signals Cr, Cb.
The solid-state imaging device in the background art may utilize, as the luminance signal, not only the luminance signal y but also a luminance signal yrgb generated from the color signals r, g and b interpolated in each pixel position. In the case that the luminance filter is controlled to have such exact spectral characteristics as represented by a synthesizing equation of color signals r, g and b, there will be no difference in the color reproducibility of the luminance signal y and that of the luminance signal yrgb so that an image with satisfactory color reproducibility can be obtained even with the luminance signal y. However, when the spectral characteristics of the luminance filter y cannot be exactly controlled, the color reproducibility of the luminance signal y becomes inferior to that of the luminance signal yrgb, so that an image with satisfactory color reproducibility is difficult to generate in case of utilizing the luminance signal y. On the other hand, an image reproduction with the luminance signal yrgb provides a satisfactory color reproducibility, but the image resolution becomes inferior to the case of image reproduction with the luminance signal y.

Imaging apparatus using interpolation and color signal(s) to synthesize luminance


An electrical energy-generating heat sink system provides a convenient and economical method for continuously recharging an energy storage device in electronic devices.

Electronic devices in use today are requiring ever-increasing amounts of power. Portable energy sources in such devices provide only limited use until the unit is recharged or the energy source is replaced. Typically, recharging can only be performed when the device is not being used (e.g., by placing the energy source or the entire device in a recharging unit) or otherwise requires a hook-up to the power grid or other external energy source, e.g., automobile cigarette lighter.
In the mobile computing environment, one of the primary challenges has been to extend battery life to enable consumers to prolong the use of the device while mobile. In the past, this challenge has typically been met by building low power processors where power consumption is minimized through circuit design and/or power throttling features. However, persistent consumer demand for higher performance renders this approach impractical. For example, recently developed mobile applications use processors requiring 30 watts or more of power to be drawn off over a temperature of about 100° C. Other efforts have focused on extending battery life, although results, to date, have been incremental at best.
For the reasons stated above, there is a need in the art for a simple, yet effective means for extending the life of portable energy sources.

Electrical energy-generating system and devices and methods related thereto


Methods and systems expeditiously identify a company's or other entity's assets that are in some proximity of an incident or event, such as an emergency or other crisis situation. Buildings can be identified within a stated distance and direction from the location of an event. Additionally, an estimated number of employees and contract resources can be determined. A stand-alone computing device can be used to derive the information if AC power or network activity is lost. The stand-alone computing device provides a self-contained platform for determining assets of an entity.

The world seems to be getting more and more dangerous. Humankind seems to be under constant threat. Mother nature provides her share of threats: hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, tsunamis and other natural disasters. Regional conflicts and war also continue to threaten the well being of society. Furthermore, with the recent rise of terrorist attacks and threats, humankind must now be extra vigilant in protecting various assets and loved ones. The terrorist attacks that took place on Sep. 11, 2001, taught an invaluable lesson to the citizens of the United States and others around the globe. The devastation of the Twin Towers and resulting chaos, while terrible, provided an impetus to the American public not to be caught off guard again. In the midst of the chaos and afterward, businesses desperately attempted to locate vital assets. In many instances, it was difficult to track and to account for the assets in a timely manner, partly due to a lack of readily available identification, location, and other information associated with the assets.

Determination of an entity's assets associated with an event


A method and system for removing metadata from email attachments sent from mobile devices includes receiving an email with an attached document. The attached document has metadata removed to create a cleansed version of the attached document. The attached document is replaced by the cleansed version of the attached document, and the email is sent according to the address or addresses included in the email.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention relates generally to systems and methods of providing security for data. More particularly, the preferred embodiment relates to electronic cleaning metadata from email attachments, which may be sent from webmail on Exchange or PDA, handheld or mobile devices such as Blackberry, Treo etc.
2. Related Background
Electronic documents often include metadata relating to changes or prior versions of the document which may not be readily apparent to a person viewing the document in an application. For example, a Word document may include history information which is not displayed to a person viewing the document using Word on a PC (or may not be displayed in all views of a document). This is true for other types of electronic documents, including PDFs, Excel Spreadsheets, etc. Additionally, electronic documents may include additional metadata concerning the document, such as when the document was created, who created the document, etc. While many users may not be concerned with such information, such information may include sensitive or proprietary information that a user, or others, may not wish to share when the electronic document is shared. For example, a user emailing an electronic document may wish not to share some information relating to the history or creation of the document (or the user's employer may wish the user did not share such information outside the company).
The problem of document metadata is made more complicated by the use of smart phones, PDAs, and other mobile devices which may be used to send email, including email with attachments.
Conventional email and document editing and creation systems allow users to share electronic documents, but also allow users to share documents with sensitive metadata. Many desktop based Metadata removal products exist today including Metadata Sweeper by Litera Corp®, Out of Sight by SoftWise™, Protect by Workshare™, Metadata Assistant by Payne Consulting™ and iScrub by Esquire Innovations™, etc. None of these products offer Metadata cleaning of Documents attached to emails sent from PDA, BlackBerry™, Palm Treo™ or other handheld devices. Accordingly, a need exists to reduce the chances of unwanted or unauthorized sharing of metadata, particularly in the context of sharing electronic documents with mobile communications devices.
Accordingly, a need exists to provide an improved system of preventing unwanted or unauthorized transmission of electronic documents with metadata.

Methods and systems for managing metadata in email attachments in a network environment


A process for removal of sulfur-containing compounds from fatty materials is disclosed, in which the fatty material is contacted with a silica hydrogel. Use of this adsorptive process prior to hydrogenation improves oil quality and decreases hydrogenation times.

Fatty acid-based materials (fatty materials) such as glyceride oils, wax esters, milk fat, and other fatty acid compounds have a long history of use since many of these materials are naturally derived from plants (e.g., vegetable oils) or animals (e.g., tallow, milk fat, fish oil, etc.).
While these fatty materials often have been directly used in their crude state, for use in modern commercial products, these materials are typically subjected to a refining process. Refining processes may be used to remove various contaminants and impurities which are undesirable for reasons of health, performance, aesthetics, etc.
The fatty material may contain impurities such as color bodies, chlorophyll, phospholipids (phosphatides), trace metals, free fatty acids, gums, soaps, and/or other impurities. This variety of diverse impurities has led to the development of numerous refining processes involving particular combinations of chemical and/or physical treatment steps. A detailed review of refining processes for removal of these impurities may be found in the "Handbook for Soy Oil Processing and Utilization," David R. Erikson et al. (ed.), ASA/AOCS Monograph (1980).
Fatty materials may also comprise sulfur, either in the form of naturally occurring sulfur compounds or in the form of contaminants from various processing or refining steps. For example, certain glyceride oils, most notably canola and rapeseed oils are known to contain small amounts of sulfur in the form of episulfides, isothiocyanates, thiocyanates, oxazolidinethiones, sulfates and sulfur-containing fatty acids. These oil soluble sulfur compounds are the product of enzymatic decomposition of sulfur-containing glucosinolates in the plant seed, which occurs during processing of the seed. Fish oils are also known to comprise naturally occurring sulfur-containing compounds. Substantial proportions of sulfur are removed in degumming and alkali refining operations, but refined canola oils, for example, may still contain up to 9 or more ppm sulfur.
Sulfur compounds present both aesthetic and refining problems, They are implicated in the production of unpleasant odors during heating of the oils or other fatty materials. In addition, these sulfur compounds poison the catalysts used during hydrogenation, resulting in either increased catalyst usage (with a corresponding increase in the disposal burden) or longer hydrogenation times resulting in lower production rates. This is an economically important consideration, since enormous quantities of fatty materials are hydrogenated, a reaction in which some of the double bonds are removed in order to alter the material's viscosity (e.g., converting canola oil into margarine). Sulfur has not been found to be removed during conventional refining or oil treatment methods to sufficient extents to avoid problems in hydrogenation. In fact, total sulfur content may increase during treatment with activated bleaching earth (ABE).
One effect of the poisoning of nickel hydrogenation catalysts by sulfur is a shift in selectivity toward increased isomerization of triglyceride double bonds from the naturally occurring cis olefin isomer to non-naturally occurring trans olefin isomer. This reaction is thought to occur when a triglyceride fatty material adsorbs on the catalyst but is not hydrogenated before desorption. The increased trans isomer content typically raises the melting point but also has been cited as a health issue relative to the more naturally occurring cis isomer.
The presence of cis and trans isomers can be studied by infrared spectroscopy while the level of unsaturation can be quantified by NMR techniques. Thus, the ratio of cis-to-trans can be calculated and compared at a constant level of double bond hydrogenation. Higher cis/trans ratios would be observed when a catalyst was less sulfur poisoned. Thus, one possible result of adsorptive sulfur removal prior to hydrogenation would be less trans isomer and therefore a higher cis/trans ratio, resulting in a more natural product.
F. Cho-Ah-Ying et al., "Adsorptive Removal of Sulfur from Canola Oil,"Fat. Sci. Technol., No. 4, pp. 132-5 (1991), describes an investigation of physical adsoprtion of sulfur using alumina, alumina-silicate, diatomaceous silica and TriSyl.RTM. silica gel (Davison Division, W. R. Grace & Co.-Conn.) in conjunction with bleaching earths. The article reports that compared to the unactivated TriSyl.RTM. silica gel, the activated adsorbent (dried at 240.degree. C. for three hours) had a higher capacity for adsorbing Raney.RTM. nickel sulfur at all concentrations used. For that reason, Cho-Ah-Ying opted to use the activated silica gel adsorbent throughout the experiments. The article reports that the addition of 2 or 4% alumina, alumina-silicate, diatomaceous silica and silica gel (presumably the unactivated form) did not further improve the removal of sulfur.

Adsorptive removal of sulfur compounds from fatty materials


A handheld skin exfoliating apparatus has handle and head portions with two drums having different abrasiveness mounted on opposite sides of the head portion. A drive motor and gears are mounted to the handle and/or head portions and operatives to rotate the drums for exfoliate skin when a respective outer surface of one drum contacts the skin.

The present invention relates generally to the field of personal grooming, and in particular, to a new and useful dual head pedi apparatus to be used, for example, to exfoliate a user's feet.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,551,117 discloses a handheld exfoliating device for removing skin, e.g. from the bottom of the feet of a user, using a single drum having an abrasive outer surface to abrade the skin of the user during rotation of the drum.
Published international patent application WO 2014/118577 discloses a dermabrasion device for removing a hard, dry skin layer on a surface of the foot, that has a single concave or convex drum with an abrasive surface.
Since such devices are used most often by a user to exfoliate the feet, they are sometimes called a pedi. All such devices offer a user one drum at a time to exfoliate the skin, using one level of abrasion. A need remains for an personal, handheld pedi device that offers two levels of abrasion in one unit so that the user can, for example, first remove the roughest layer of skin using a rougher abrasive surface, then quickly switch to a less abrasive surface to smooth or polish the skin to its final fully exfoliated and groomed state.