An operating mechanism having a guiding circular plate (9b) provided at a side surface of a gear wheel (9), an annular groove (15d) formed in a pinion (15) into which the guiding circular plate (9b) is fitted whereby the relative position in axial direction between the pinion (15) and the gear wheel (9) does not change even if there is an axial displacement of the gear wheel (9) or the pinion (15) due to a play. Accordingly, there is obtainable a stable angular position of the gear wheel (9) in the disconnection between the pinion (15) and a clutch driving element (16), via a cam constituted by a end-face cam (a projection) (9a) provided at a side surface of the gear wheel (9) and the clutch driving element (16).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement of a force storing mechanism having a closing spring for a circuit breaker.
2. Discussion of Background
There is a requirement by a standard for the operation mechanism of a circuit breaker to have such a construction that the opening and closing of a circuit can be performed in succession without a delay. In order to meet the requirement of such standard, there is a conventional technique wherein a circuit closing operation is performed by the aid of an electric motor immediately after a circuit opening operation has been performed by using a mechanical energy stored in a force storing mechanism (a spring is generally used therein) so that energy is stored in the force storing mechanism for a successive circuit opening operation.
As a conventional mechanism for operating a circuit breaker, the construction and operation of the operation mechanism as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A-9-106741 (Japanese Patent Application JP7-264203) will be described.
FIG. 8 is a front view showing the construction of an operation mechanism of circuit breaker in its circuit-closing state; FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line A--A in FIG. 8; FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a portion in FIG. 9; and FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the detail of parts shown in FIG. 9. FIGS. 12a and 12b are diagrams showing the operations of the portion shown in FIG. 10. Throughout the Figures, expression showing directions of rotation are used on the basis of FIG. 8.
A lever 2 linked with a movable contact 100 (expressed by a sign of circuit in FIG. 8) is fixed to a main shaft 3 to which a rotating force is applied clockwise by a breaking spring 87 (expressed by a sign of spring), and is held in a closing position by a tripping latch 4. When the tripping latch 4 is turned counterclockwise by a tripping trigger mechanism 5, the lever 2 is turned counterclockwise to open the movable contact 100.
A gear wheel 9 is fixed to a cam shaft so as to rotate along with the cam shaft 8. A connecting pin 88 is provided on a side surface of the gear wheel 9. A closing lever 7 is fixed to a closing main shaft 6 to which a rotating force is applied counterclockwise by a closing spring (expressed by a sign of spring). A link 10 is provided to link the connecting pin 88 to an end portion of the closing lever 7. A lever crank mechanism (hereinafter, simply referred to as "mechanism") is formed by a crank formed between the center of the gear wheel 9 and the connecting pin 88; the link 10 as a connecting rod; and the closing lever 7 as a driver.
The gear wheel 9 is kept by a closing latch 11 at its closing awaiting position which is slightly shifted clockwise from a change point (an upper dead point) of the mechanism (i.e., a state shown in FIG. 8). When the closing latch 11 is turned counterclockwise by the actuation of a closing trigger mechanism 12, the closing lever 7 is turned counterclockwise and the gear wheel 9 is turned clockwise, respectively, by the mechanical energy stored in the closing spring 89. A cam 13 fixed to the cam shaft 8 together with the gear wheel 9 is rotated so that the lever 2 in its breaking position is returned to its closing position against the rotating force of the breaking spring 87 to thereby close the movable contact 100.
At the same time, a pinion 15 meshed with the gear wheel 9 is rotated counterclockwise through a clutch driving means 16 by the aid of an electric motor 17. Then, the gear wheel 9 is rotated clockwise against the rotating force of the closing spring 89 so as to return to the state shown in FIG. 8.
The above-mentioned elements are assembled with a frame 1 to form an operation mechanism. Among these elements, elements for transmitting a force from the electric motor 17 to the enclosing spring 89 via the clutch driving element 16, the pinion 15, the gear wheel 9, the link 10, the closing lever 7 and so on, constitute a force storing mechanism.
A clutch shaft 14 and the rotating shaft of the electric motor 17 are disposed in parallel to the cam shaft 8. These three shafts are connected in a form of a series of gear wheels comprising the gear wheel 9, the pinion 15 formed in an end of the clutch shaft 14, the clutch driving element 16 having a gear element (an outer ring 19) at its outer circumference and a gear formed in an end of the rotating shaft of the electric motor 17. The pinion 15 and the clutch driving element 16 constitute a clutch.
The cam shaft 8 penetrates frame walls 1a, 1b so that it is supported by a pair of bearings at the penetrating portions. A cam 13 is firmly fitted to the cam shaft 8 at an intermediate position between the frame walls 1a, 1b, and the gear wheel 9 on which a projection (an end-face cam) 9a is provided is firmly fitted to one of the free ends (which is at the side of the frame wall 1a) whereby the cam shaft 8 and the cam 13 are rotated in one-piece along with the rotation of the gear wheel 9. The cam shaft 8 is prevented from the movement in the axial direction beyond a play in the bearings.
The clutch shaft 14 also penetrates the frame walls 1a, 1b so that it is supported by a pair of bearings at penetrating portions in the frame walls 1a, 1b so as to be rotatable. The pinion 15 is provided at the end of the clutch shaft 14 at the side of the frame wall 1a. The clutch shaft 14 is allowed to move to some extent in the axial direction.
The clutch shaft 14 is provided with an inner wheel 18 at its outer circumference in the end portion at the side where the gear wheel 9 meshes with the pinion 15. Further, the clutch shaft 14 is provided with a hollow portion 14b at a center portion thereof having a cylindrical wall surface which is concentric with the inner wheel 18.
The pinion 15 comprises a toothed wheel portion 15a meshed with the gear wheel 9 and a shaft portion 15b integrally formed therewith. The shaft portion 15b is fitted rotatably in the hollow portion 14b of the cam shaft 8 through a stopper member 14c.
The inner wheel 18 is fitted to the clutch shaft 14 so as to be movable in the axial direction together with the clutch driving element 16. Radial grooves 18a are formed in an end portion (the end opposing the pinion 15) to be meshed with the toothed wheel portion 15 of the pinion 15.
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the pinion 15 and the inner wheel 18 to clarify the structure of the inner wheel 18.
The traveling distance of the clutch driving element 16 is regulated by the height of the projection 9a provided on the gear wheel 9 so that the meshing engagement between the pinion 15 and the radial grooves 18a of the inner wheel 18 is disconnected in the state that the clutch driving element 16 is pressed by the projection 9a and is moved toward the frame wall. While the gear wheel 9 is rotated clockwise to an appropriate location from a position which is slightly shifted clockwise from the change point of the mechanism to the closing awaiting position, the projection 9a provided on the gear wheel 9 presses the clutch driving element 16 toward the frame wall to move the clutch shaft 14 by a predetermined distance whereby the meshing engagement between the pinion 15 and the radial grooves 18a of the inner wheel 18 is disconnected.
The clutch driving element 16 is composed of the inner wheel 18, the outer wheel 19 and a one-way clutch 20 provided between the inner wheel 18 and the outer wheel 19 wherein the inner wheel 18 is fitted to the clutch shaft 14 so as to be rotatable and movable in the axial direction. The outer surface of the inner wheel 18 is fitted to the one-way clutch 20.
The outer wheel 19 is meshed at an outer peripheral toothed wheel portion thereof with a toothed wheel portion 17a formed in the shaft end of the electric motor 17 and fitted at the inner diametrical surface thereof with the one-way clutch 20 so that it is mutually rotatable with respect to the inner wheel 18 while not causing a relative movement in the axial direction. The one-way clutch 20 is adapted such that it transmits a torque from the outer wheel 19 to the inner wheel 18 only when the outer wheel 19 is rotated counterclockwise with respect to the inner wheel 18 as seen from the side of the pinion 15. The tooth width of the toothed wheel portion 17a formed in the end of the shaft of the electric motor 17 is formed so as to always mesh with the clutch driving element 16 even when it is displaced by the projection 9a.
A clutch spring 21 is disposed between the frame wall 1a and the clutch driving element 16 so as to push continually the clutch driving element 16 toward the pinion 15.
The operation of the mechanism will be described. The operation for storing a mechanical energy in the closing spring 89 after the closing of the movable contact 100 is as follows.
The electric motor 17 is rotated clockwise and the clutch driving element 16 is rotated counterclockwise by the toothed wheel portion 17a formed at the shaft end of the motor. When the closing spring 89 has released the mechanical energy, the projection 9a formed on a side face of the gear wheel 9 is at a position apart from the clutch driving element 16. Accordingly, the clutch driving element 16 is pressed by the clutch spring 21 so that the pinion 15 and the radial grooves 18a formed in the end portion of the inner wheel 18 are meshed with each other whereby the pinion 15 can be driven by the electric motor 17 through the clutch driving element 16.
When the gear wheel 9 is rotated and has slightly passed clockwise the change point of the mechanism, the projection 9a presses the clutch driving element 16 to move it toward the frame wall 1b. As a result, the linkage between the pinion 15 and the clutch driving element is disconnected. At this moment, the electric motor 17 does not drive the pinion 15.
After the disengagement of linkage between the pinion 15 and the clutch driving element 16, the gear wheel 9 is further rotated clockwise by a small amount by the force of the closing spring 89, and is stopped at its closing awaiting position by the closing latch 11.
Since the linkage between the clutch driving element 16 and the pinion 15 is disconnected just before the point where the mechanism reaches the closing waiting position, a force due to the output torque of the electric motor 17 is not applied to the closing latch 11 even if the electric motor 17 rotates due to inertia after the stopping of the gear wheel 9.
FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing a relation among the projection 9a, the outer wheel 19 and the gear wheel 9 shown in FIG. 10 for the purpose of explaining the problem in the above-mentioned conventional technique.
The projection 9a provided on a side face of the gear wheel 9 moves in the direction of arrow mark in FIG. 12a. Symbols X1 and X2 in FIG. 12b show respectively the position of the projection 9a in a state that the projection 9a begins to contact with the outer wheel 19 (namely, the clutch begins to disconnect) and the position of the projection 9a in a state that the outer wheel 19 has been pushed by the projection 9a so that it has finished the movement (toward the upper portion of the paper surface of the Figure).
Since the projection 9a is brought to contact with a gentle slope formed in the outer wheel 19, there is a fair fluctuation, between the position X1 and the position X2, depending on a position of a top portion of the projection 9a (a vertical position or a height) which is brought to contact with the outer wheel 19.
As understood from FIG. 10, the position of the top portion of the projection 9a varies not only depending on the height of the projection 9a but also a position of the gear wheel 9 in the axial direction, namely, a shift of the cam shaft 8 in the axial direction. Further, the position of the outer wheel 19 is influenced by a position of the pinion 15 in the axial direction (i.e., a position of the clutch shaft 14 movable in its axial direction). Accordingly, it is necessary that the above-mentioned fluctuation is absorbed by adjusting the height of the projection 9a so as to obtain correct operational positions X1, X2 of the clutch. In the conventional technique, there was a problem that the adjustment was difficult since a slight difference of height of the projection 9a caused a substantial change of angular position of the gear wheel 9, and the adjustment took much labor. Specifically, in the conventional force storing mechanism adapted to disconnect the clutch by pressing the outer wheel by means of the projection, there was produced a fluctuation in angular position of the gear wheel at the time of disconnection (or connection) of the clutch due to a fluctuation in the relative distance between the gear wheel and the outer wheel and a fluctuation in height of the projection, which resulted a reduction in the performance of a circuit breaker installing the force storing device therein. Accordingly, it was insufficient to merely adjust correctly the height of the projection to a regulated dimension, and it was necessary to finely adjust the height at an actually working site.


A sanitary shield includes a body formed from liquid absorbing material. An uppermost section is monolithically formed with a bottom section wherein the uppermost section is pivotal along a fulcrum axis transverse to a longitudinal axis of the body. First, second and third edges define an outer periphery of the bottom section, and fourth, fifth and sixth edges define an outer periphery of the uppermost section. A bend line indentation extends along the fulcrum axis and defines a line of weakness about which the uppermost section is pivotal. The uppermost section is disposed above a top edge of the litter container, and the bottom section is partially submerged beneath the litter housed within the litter container. The litter remains positioned forwardly of the bottom section. A mechanism affixes the bottom section of the body to an inner surface of the litter container.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to sanitary shields and, more particularly, to a disposable sanitary shield employed with kitty litter containers for absorbing and deflecting cat spray into the litter, thereby preventing noxious residue from collecting on adjacent walls and floors.
2. Prior Art
Animals while using waste systems involving litter or granules, newspaper, corn, peas, sand or any material in which to urinate or defecate often scratch and displace this material out of the waste management box to the surrounding area. The spreading of ammoniated and fecal infested waste absorbent material from an animal waste box, as referred to above, is a common but undesirable occurrence which happens in millions of American homes as well as in the homes of many foreign countries.
One prior art example shows an anti-litter spreading and containment device for pet animals. It consists in a fence-like structure which substantially surrounds and sits atop almost the entire perimeter of the animal's waste collection container. Unfortunately, this prior art example requires extensive assembly and time, and is complicated to use. This example also includes a plethora of pieces which can become lost or damaged, thereby rendering the invention useless for its intended purpose. In addition, this prior art example does not disclose a means of restricting pet spray from exiting the confines of the litter container.
Another prior art example shows an apparatus for preventing litter from being scattered upon the floor outside the litter box and beyond, whether strewn by the cat during or after using the litter box, or by the owner when cleaning the litter box. The present invention comprises an enclosure having a front side, a left side, a right side and a base. The present invention is designed to encourage the cat to step out of a litter box and into a tracked litter receptacle for collecting tracked litter. The front side, or the left and/or right sides near the front side of the enclosure, has/have portal(s) allowing a cat to step into the enclosure. The present invention is further designed to corral not only litter tracked on the bottom of the cats paws, but litter tossed, flipped and spilled out of the litter box. Unfortunately, this example also does not address the problem of containing pet spray within the confines of a litter box. In addition, this example requires additional floor space for use, which may be inconvenient for a user to provide.
Accordingly, a need remains for a disposable sanitary shield employed with kitty litter containers in order to overcome the above-noted shortcomings. The present invention satisfies such a need by providing an apparatus that is convenient and easy to use, is lightweight and durable in design, and absorbs and deflects cat spray into the litter, thereby preventing noxious residue from collecting on adjacent walls and floors. The apparatus also effectively prevents litter from being displaced outside of the confines of the litter container. The apparatus ensures a clean and healthy environment for the animal as well as other household residents. The apparatus can be used by private households, veterinary clinics, pet boarding facilities and animal shelters. The present invention is simple, effective and inexpensive.

Disposable sanitary shield for kitty litter containers


A system and method for decoding signals from a tire pressure monitoring (TPM) system and a remote keyless entry (RKE) system includes determining a signal strength of the signal. The method also includes evaluating at least a first bit and the signal strength of the signal. The method further includes determining a first bit threshold based on the evaluated first bit and the signal strength. The method includes storing the first data bit threshold in a memory of the controller and determining a logic state of a second bit of a signal based on the first data bit threshold.

Remote keyless entry (RKE) systems and tire pressure monitoring (TPM) systems are commonly installed on vehicles. The RKE and TPM systems include a transmitter, which transmits encoded signals or commands that are received by a receiver within the vehicle. As such, the vehicle receiver is configured to decode the receive signals and provide the decoded signal to a microprocessor within the vehicle for execution of the commands.
The encoded signals generated by the transmitter are conventionally in binary form. For example, the transmitted signal includes a digital data stream of logic one and logic zero bits. With the conventional systems, the criteria for determining whether a bit within the transmitted signal is a logic one or a logic zero is via a fixed threshold. Although the conventional RKE and TPM systems are configured to receive and decode the transmitted signal, there exists a wide horizon for improvement.
It is well known that under certain conditions, when utilizing the fixed threshold, the transmitted logic bits may be incorrectly interpreted by the receiver. For example, certain weather or atmospheric conditions cause the signal strength of the transmitted signal to be compromised which affects the interpretation of the transmitted signal. Thus, it is possible for a logic one bit to be interpreted as a logic zero bit and a logic zero bit to be interpreted as a logic one bit, thereby causing undesired performance of the RKE and TPM system.
The present invention was conceived in view of these and other disadvantages of conventional decoding strategies for RKE and TPM system signals.

Adaptive decode strategy for remote keyless entry and tire pressure monitoring system


A polymer sheet for use in a projection screen comprises polyorgano silsesquioxane microspheres that enhance light diffusing characteristics. Also disclosed is a projection screen comprising at least two glass plates and the polymer sheet disposed therebetween. Also disclosed is a method of manufacturing a polymer sheet by incorporating the microspheres with the polymer.

Projection screens, particularly rear, transmission, or back projection screens in which modulated light from a projector is illuminated on the side facing away from the viewer and that light is viewed on the side facing the viewer, are used mainly for presentations, for showing slides, films, and video, for television sets and the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,839,167, Eckelt, et al., describes a projection screen that allows viewing of the projected image on the side of the screen facing away from the projector as well as on the side facing the projector. The screen is said to have only a low flicker effect and no light spots or places with excessive gloss. The screen has a first glass plate facing the projector that has a translucent ceramic coating, a second glass plate facing away from the projector that has a surface roughness to prevent reflections, and a white translucent polyvinyl butyral (PVB) sheet therebetween that is said to provide dispersion and partial reflection of the light to achieve best possible reproduction of the image. However, designing the screen to both reflect and transmit light so as to allow viewing from both sides degrades the brightness and contrast of the image to the viewer. It is also not practical to view projected information and data such as text when it is displayed backwards, as would be the case depending on which side of the screen you are viewing.
In the case of a rear projection screen, it is desirable to have high light transmission by scattering and diffusing forward as much light as possible while limiting the amount of light reflection backwards. It is also desirable that the light be spread over a wide viewing area with no visible concentration or hotspot when viewing the screen. It is also desirable to have the projection screen limit ambient light reflecting off the screen so as not to degrade the image contrast. The projection screen must also be able to resolve the individual picture elements or pixels projected. Thicker sheets of polymer (e.g., greater than about 0.060 inches [about 1.524 mm] thick) such as those available for light diffusion with diffusion particles dispersed throughout the sheet appear milky and will not exhibit sufficient resolution or contrast. It is desirable that the screen be easy and inexpensive to manufacture as well as scalable to very large sizes. The screen should also be durable, easy to clean, and able to withstand outdoor exposure.
Advances in projector resolutions are starting to render screen designs, such as plastic lenticular sheets disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,515, Hasegawa, et al., more difficult and expensive to manufacture. The lens structure and pitch must be made smaller to accommodate higher resolutions; and they are also prone to moiré, speckle and other screen artifacts. Rear projection screens of the glass beaded type, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,378,252, Staehle, et al., while having good brightness and contrast suffer from an excess amount of mottle or blotch due to variations in the bead diameters. This causes the bead to have incomplete depth in the light absorbing layer and uneven light transmission across the screen. Surface relief holograms, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,939, Petersen, et al., while being high in light transmission and able to spread projected light over a wide area, are difficult and expensive to manufacture in larger sizes and are prone to pin hole defects causing excessive bright spots where the light is not diffused.
Many current PVB sheets designed to diffuse light do so by incorporating fine particles or pigments of a different refractive index, such as calcium carbonate, barium sulfate, silica, or quartz, into the PVB resin matrix. Particle size, morphology of the particle, concentration of particle to carrier resin, and the ratio of the refractive indices of the particle and the carrier resin all determine the quantity of scattered light. Typically, the particle size is between about 0.1 and about 10 microns. Too small of a particle size will become transparent to light and will not diffuse. Too large of a particle size and diffusion efficiency diminishes. Spherical particles are preferred as they exhibit a constant size to the projected light no matter what their orientation is within the carrier resin. This results in a more uniform and smooth appearance to the screen. If the contrast of the refractive indices is excessive, more light is reflected back and less is scattered forward. If the contrast is too low, the light is transmitted without being sufficiently scattered or diffused. Typically, the difference in refractive indices between the particles and the carrier resin is from about 0.06 to about 0.14. Particles of a lower refractive index than the resin are preferred. Particles having a higher index than the carrier resin will exhibit more light backscatter. The pigments should also be transparent or translucent so as not to be too opaque to light. Optically dense pigments such as titanium dioxide have a significant amount of light reflection and do not sufficiently scatter and diffuse the light forward. Some pigments are also difficult to disperse into the polymer resin matrix, or have a high specific gravity and settle out of dispersion. In other pigments, the morphology of the particle can significantly raise the viscosity of the resin matrix and make processing difficult. Selection of both pigment and carrier resin that maintains polarity of projected light is also desirable. There are applications with projection displays that utilize polarization of light to separate modulated light signals to two channels or views, one for the left and one for the right eye to show 3D images to the viewer. A polarization extinction ratio of at least about 25:1 is desirable to minimize ghosting or leaking from one channel to the other channel. Extinction ratios of 100:1 and above are preferred. Polymers such as polycarbonate or polyethylene terephthalate (PET) will depolarize light as will pigment such as calcite crystals.
Thus, there is a continuing need for improved polymer sheets that provide good light diffusion with an even appearance and minimal screen artifacts when used in projection screens.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Thermosetting compositions with improved latency are obtained by addition of a molten aromatic polyamine type curing agent to a liquid epoxy resin followed by cooling the mixture, causing the curing agent to form a suspension of fine particles in the epoxy resin by recrystallisation thereof. The compositions obtained can be used for the manufacture of prepregs with high latency for their use in processes requiring intermediate steps at 80.degree. C. over several hours.

Processes exist in the industry which use those aromatic polyamines, in particular M-DEA and M-DMA, as curing agents for certain epoxy resins such as the various types of ARALDITE.RTM., EPIKOTE.RTM. resins, EPON.RTM. resins, the resin obtained from the diglycidylether of bis-phenol-F, abbreviated here to DGEBF, and in particular the resin obtained from the diglycidylether of bis-phenol-A, abbreviated to DGEBA. In such processes, prior dissolution of the M-DEA or M-DMA in the DGEBA resin before impregnation into the reinforcing fibre, for example glass fibre, carbon fibre, ceramic fibre or a natural or synthetic fibre, is expressly recommended. The polyamine is normally dissolved in the epoxy resin to form a homogeneous solution using two principal methods, which are summarised below.
In a first method, the aromatic polyamine is dissolved in the epoxy resin which has been preheated to a temperature which is higher than the melting point of the polyamine used, or higher than the melting point of the polyamine with the highest melting point when a mixture of polyamines is used. Dissolution generally takes at least 15 minutes, very often 15 to 30 minutes. During that phase, the temperature must be kept at least at the melting point of the polyamine with the highest melting point in order to obtain a homogeneous solution. If necessary, the dissolution period is increased until a homogeneous solution is obtained. Despite rapid cooling, the fact that the polyamine is dissolved when hot, i.e., at a temperature which is at least equal to its melting point, causes the reaction (polyaddition) to begin, thus requiring the user to store the resin or prepreg at low temperatures, i.e., at a temperature which is sufficiently low for the polyaddition reaction to be severely limited and to thus obtain at a usable life of several tens of days, or several months. Without cold storage, i.e., at a minimum of minus 18.degree. C., the usable life of the homogeneous mixture obtained would only be a few hours, which is completely unsatisfactory for the envisaged use of such compositions.
The second recommended method consists of dissolving the polyamine or mixture of polyamines at low temperature in a suitable solvent with a relatively low boiling point, less than 100.degree. C. for example. The solvent is, for example, a ketone such as methyl-ethyl-ketone, abbreviated here to MEK. The polyamine solution is then added to the epoxy resin. This mixing method, which avoids heating to a high temperature, nevertheless requires subsequent elimination of the solvent.
There is a particular problem in this case, however, with solvent elimination, which problem is linked to the particular polarity of the polyamine-epoxy resin mixture and requires drying by heating to a temperature of 100.degree. C. for several minutes, particular when MEK is used as the solvent. Despite these precautions, about 0.8% by weight of solvent remains in the prepreg. This residual solvent limits the use of such a process to thin laminates, as the solvent bubbles when hot pressing (the pressing temperature is usually above about 120.degree. C.) causes undesirable porosity which can be an impediment to the envisaged use of the prepreg. Such prepregs can only be used for thick composites (over 1 millimeter thick, for example, usually less than 10 centimeters and generally about 5 millimeters to about 5 centimeters thick) if a vacuum contraction cavity coupled with a pressurized autoclave is used, thus severely complicating implementation of such a method. Further, it has been noted that the usable life of such a prepreg is usually of the order of several days and less than one week at ambient temperature and is only a few hours, generally less than 5 hours, at 80.degree. C., which is completely unsatisfactory for the envisaged use.
Clearly, such processes cannot be applied when drying is carried out under mild conditions, i.e., at a moderate temperature, for example less than about 100.degree. C.
In a third method, the polyamine or mixture of polyamines is mechanically ground into very fine particles, normally less than about 50 microns (1 micron=10.sup.-6 meter) then introduced into the epoxy resin, or the epoxy resin and the polyamine or mixture of polyamines are ground together in an apparatus such as a three-cylinder mill, etc. Such mechanical methods cannot produce homogeneous mixtures simply and safely.
Prior grinding of the polyamine or mixture of polyamines to a very fine powder requires the use of a rigorous protection protocol against micronized aromatic amine dust since such substances are relatively toxic and the user must be protected and must avoid all contact with and inhalation of such dust.
Grinding a polyamine-epoxy resin mixture requires carrying out at least the three following successive steps:
a) mixing a polyamine or polyamine mixture type curing agent with the epoxy resin, normally requiring sufficient heat to cause the dynamic viscosity of the medium to fall in order to be able to form as homogeneous a mixture as possible; PA1 b) passing the mixture obtained in step (a) into a grinding apparatus, for example a three-cylinder mill. During this grinding step, the polyamine particles and the epoxy resin particles segregate on the rollers. This phenomenon is limited when the polyamine-epoxy resin mixture is passed through the grinding system several times; PA1 c) finally, the product obtained in step (b), which is normally not sufficiently homogeneous, is sent to an apparatus which can produce a homogeneous mixture. This apparatus can, for example, be an anchor reactor. Such a method normally results in large losses of product and involves a large number of manipulations. PA1 it must be capable of producing a pot life or usable life if supported on reinforcing fibers, for example glass fibre or the equivalent thereof, which is greater than or equal to 20 days, normally about 30 days to about 4 months, usually about 30 days to about 2 months, for an average storage temperature which is less than or equal to 25.degree. C., normally about 0.degree. C. to about 15.degree. C., and usually about 0.degree. C. to about 5.degree. C.; PA1 it must be capable of producing a residual latency of at least 6 hours after pot storage or supported storage under the conditions described above, preferably at least 8 hours, at a temperature of about 70.degree. C. to about 90.degree. C., usually about 80.degree. C.; PA1 it must be capable of producing a residual latency of at least 8 hours, preferably at least 10 hours, and usually at least 11 hours, at a temperature of about 70.degree. C. to about 90.degree. C., usually about 80.degree. C., after pot storage or supported storage for a period of at least 90 days, normally about 90 days to about 6 months, and usually about 90 days to about 4 months, at a temperature of less than or equal to minus 18.degree. C., normally about -30.degree. C. to about -18.degree. C., and usually about -25.degree. C. to about -18.degree. C.; PA1 it must be capable of being deposited in conventional fashion, manually or mechanically, on a fibrous support such as glass fibre, carbon fiber, KEVLAR.RTM. or a metal fibre or wire, on ceramic fibre or on natural or synthetic fibre,; and PA1 finally, it must satisfy health and safety regulations.
Even at moderate temperatures, the time required to produce such a suspension of polyamine in the epoxy resin by mechanical means is sufficiently long to have a substantial and deleterious influence on the latency period which becomes much lower than the desired period for the envisaged use.
These methods, which are known to the skilled person, are thus not applicable to the production of a prepolymer which must satisfy the following conditions:

Method of using thermosetting compositions with improved latency


The disclosure relates operation where information of at least one selected resource from a pool of resources for control signals in uplink is signalled in downlink. At least one resource is selected from a pool of resources for control signals in the uplink, where after information of the selected at least one resource is signalled in the downlink. Communication of control signals in the uplink by at least one device is facilitated such that at least one non-selected resource from the pool of resources is used in sending of control signals in the uplink. The at least one resource is implicitly derived in accordance with a predefined rule.

A communication system can be seen as a facility that enables communication sessions between two or more nodes such as fixed or mobile devices, machine-type terminals, access nodes such as base stations, servers and so on. A communication system and compatible communicating entities typically operate in accordance with a given standard or specification which sets out what the various entities associated with the system are permitted to do and how that should be achieved. For example, the standards, specifications and related protocols can define the manner how devices shall communicate, how various aspects of communications shall be implemented and how devices for use in the system shall be configured.
A user can access the communication system by means of an appropriate communication device. A communication device of a user is often referred to as user equipment (UE) or terminal. A communication device is provided with an appropriate signal receiving and transmitting arrangement for enabling communications with other parties. Typically a device such as a user equipment is used for enabling receiving and transmission of communications such as speech and content data.
Communications can be carried on wireless carriers. Examples of wireless systems include public land mobile networks (PLMN) such as cellular networks, satellite based communication systems and different wireless local networks, for example wireless local area networks (WLAN). In wireless systems a communication device provides a transceiver station that can communicate with another communication device such as e.g. a base station of an access network and/or another user equipment. The two directions of communications between a base station and communication devices of users have been conventionally referred to as downlink and uplink. Downlink (DL) can be understood as the direction from the base station to the communication device and uplink (UL) the direction from the communication device to the base station.
In certain systems allocation of resources for the downlink and the uplink are handled independently. Uplink (UL) assignments or grants sent to the user equipment (UE) are used to inform the user equipment of resources the UE shall use to transmit data. By means of the grants dynamic allocation of resources can be provided. Transmission of the scheduling information causes scheduling overhead.
Signalling of other types of control information is also needed. The control information may be communicated for example on physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). For example, signalling for the purposes of error detection and/or correction may be provided by means of such signalling. Requests for retransmission of any information that the recipient node did not successfully receive are possible. For example, hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) error control mechanism may be used for this purpose. The error control mechanism can be implemented such that a transmitting device shall receive either a positive or a negative acknowledgement (ACK/NACK; A/N) or other indication regarding its transmission from a receiving device.
An example of resource allocation for HARQ can be given in the context of a concept known as carrier aggregation (CA). In carrier aggregation more than one carrier can be used for communications between two devices. In CA, when physical control channel (PDCCH) is from a serving cell, a pool of N HARQ-ACK resources are defined for user equipment (UE) and one of these resources is selected by a controlling network element to carry ACK/NACK payload. Information of all N resources in the pool is explicitly signalled via radio resource control (RRC) to the user equipment.
Increased utilization of advanced systems for various scenarios and different data traffic types increases the need to optimize the system further for a large number of users. A way to achieve this is to improve scheduling efficiency. In particular, reduction in scheduling overhead may be desired. It might be desired in certain applications to reduce downlink control signalling overhead caused by uplink and downlink scheduling. Optimization of signalling on physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) could be of particular advantage.
It is noted that the above discussed issues are not limited to any particular communication environment and station apparatus, but may occur in any appropriate station apparatus where internal communications are required.
Embodiments of the invention aim to address one or several of the above issues.

Allocation of communication resources for control signals in the uplink


An oroesophageal introducer assembly for atraumatically introducing a relatively large instrument such as an echotransducer positioned on the distal end of a gastroscope for performing an echocardiographic procedure. The introducer assembly includes an outer sheath having a tapered distal end and a passageway extending therethrough for passing the large instrument therethrough. The assembly further includes a dilator extending from the tapered distal end of the outer sheath for atraumatically dilating the esophagus during introduction. The assembly further includes an introducer guide for initial oral introduction into the esophagus and stomach of the patient. The outer sheath and dilator are interconnected at the proximal ends thereof for extending the tapered distal end of the dilator from the tapered distal end of the outer sheath. The interconnected outer sheath and dilator are then introduced atraumatically into the esophagus over the introducer guide. When positioned in the esophagus, the dilator is disconnected from the outer sheath, and the dilator and introducer guide are removed from the outer sheath and patient. A relatively large diagnostic instrument is introduced through the outer sheath for performing various diagnostic or treatment procedures. The inner and outer sheaths are comprised of a flexible material, with the outer diameter of the inner sheath being substantially less than the inner diameter of the outer sheath to maintain flexibility of the assembly during introduction into the esophagus.

A conventional echocardiographic study is performed on the chest of a patient using a hand-held high frequency or ultrasound transducer for achieving a non-invasive examination of cardiac structures, function, and flow patterns. In some cases, however, the transducer beam cannot adequately image a particular cardiac structure or area due to the thickness of a patient's chest wall, surgical dressings positioned on the patient's chest wall, or a medical condition such as a chronic lung problem (emphysema).
A solution to these limitations in echocardiographic study is the transesophageal technique, which utilizes a miniaturized echotransducer positioned on the tip of a steerable gastroscope shaft. This transducer is introduced into the esophagus through the mouth, and the echocardiographic study is performed through the esophageal wall or stomach by directing the transducer beam toward the heart. A transesophageal echotransducer, which is commonly 14 by 13 mm in rectangular cross-sectional dimension, is traditionally positioned on the distal end of a gastroscope and inserted into the esophagus adjacent the heart. The transducer is moved and repositioned for attaining various images. In addition, a transducer is often removed and replaced with a different transducer for imaging a different angle, particularly since small bi-plane transducers are not commercially available.
A problem with the introduction and positioning of a transducer in the esophagus of a patient is that transducer movement causes gagging and considerable discomfort to conscious patients. As a result, sedation or even general anesthesia is used. Furthermore, transducer movement causes trauma to the esophagus as well as other complications such as aspiration, respiratory depression, esophageal perforation, and bleeding. Several anatomical structures, such as a sphincter, the lateral piriform recesses near the cricopharyngeal region, and the right angle arrangement between the mouth floor and the esophagus in the pharynx, present problematic areas for the physician to negotiate during the introduction, positioning, and exchange of a transducer.
A possible approach to minimizing these negative effects is to introduce a transducer through an endotracheal tube, which is conventionally used for establishing or maintaining an airway in a patient with respiratory problems. A limitation of endotracheal tubes is that they are used for providing an airway lumen. As a result, endotracheal tubes typically have a relatively small inside diameter and are formed of relatively stiff and unkinkable material. Therefore, endotracheal tubes are unsuitable for protecting the esophageal wall during introduction, positioning, and exchange of one or more transducers therethrough.

Oroesophageal, instrument introducer assembly and method of use


A method and a tool for sealing cracked casing cement are described. In a wellbore in which a casing is deployed, the casing and the wellbore define an annulus sealed with a casing cement. The method includes vibrating a portion of the casing cement adjacent an outer wall of the casing. The portion of the casing cement includes multiple discrete cracks. Vibrating the casing cement connects the discrete cracks to form a crack network. After vibrating the casing cement to form the crack network, a sealant is injected into the crack network through the casing. The sealant seals the crack network.

Wellbores in an oil and gas well are filled with both liquid and gaseous phases of various fluids and chemicals including water, oils, and hydrocarbon gases. The fluids and gasses in the wellbore can be pressurized. A cased wellbore is a wellbore that has been sealed from the Earth and various sub-surface formations of the Earth. The cased wellbore can be sealed from the formations of the Earth by one or more casing tubulars. The annulus between the casing tubulars and the formations of the Earth can be filled with cement to seal the casing tubular to the formation of the Earth and prevent pressurized water, oil, and hydrocarbon gasses from flowing through the annulus to a surface of the Earth. The cement sealing the annulus can become cracked due to temperature or pressure cycles, inadequate cementing procedures, or downhole tools impact the casing causing vibration. The casing tubular can corrode or become damaged, creating a fluid pathway from the fluid filled wellbore through the casing tubular into the cracked cement in the annulus through which the pressurized liquids and gases can leak. The pressurized water, oil, and hydrocarbon gasses can subsequently leak to the surface of the Earth. Alternatively or in addition, the cracked cement can deteriorate the structural integrity of the wellbore.

Sealing cracked cement in a wellbore casing


Apparatuses, systems, and techniques are presented to perform monocular view synthesis of a dynamic scene. Single and multi-view depth information can be determined for a collection of images of a dynamic scene, and a blender network can be used to combine image features for foreground, background, and missing image regions using fused depth maps inferred form the single and multi-view depth information.

Users are increasingly creating and distributing digital content, such as images and video. Oftentimes, images captured of a scene or location will be captured using a single camera with a monocular view. In some instances it may be desirable to synthesize multiple such views or images of a scene, but reconstructing objects or content of a dynamic scene can be challenging, particularly to produce geometrically-coherent view synthesis using this set of two-dimensional images.


A device for introducing a catheter into a body site through the skin by means of an security non-piercing cage includes a steel spring flexible blade which is disposed in the cross section of the chamber of the nonpiercing cage near the proximal input thereof perpendicularly to a needle and is penetrable by the needle. The blade and the needle are adapted to interact in such a way that the blade is in a resting position and freely transversable by the needle when the needle is pushed in a distal direction, and the blade stops the needle and is flexed thereby when the needle is pulled in a proximal direction beyond a determined axial position in such a way that the flexed blade tilts the needle and exposes the inclined needle to a restoring force which pushes the needle off in the distal direction until the puncture end is stopped against the chamber wall. The invention can be used for intravenous catheters.

The invention aims to eliminate the risks of accidental pricking on removal of a puncture needle employed for the insertion of a catheter into any part of the body through the skin.
A large number of such prick-prevention arrangements have been proposes for this purpose.
Publication FR 2 836 385 describes an arrangement in which whole needle with its base is trapped within a case after its removal.
Publications EP 0 554 841 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,517 describe safety resources which include a cage to trap the point of the needle after its removal, where this cage contains a sprung steel blade which has a branch traversed by the needle, and another branch which is pre-stressed by the needle in an inactive position in which it bears laterally against the needle and which, in its active position, moves in front of the needle when this contact is removed due to withdrawal of the needle.
Publication EP 0 753 317 describes a cage which slides on the needle and which includes a sprung steel blade pre-stressed by contact with the needle in an inactive position for as long as the needle traverses the cage, and which is freed and acts to divert the needle when the latter has entered into in the cage.
Publication U.S. Pat. No. 5 447 501 describes an arrangement which includes a spring which is pre-stressed by the needle in an inactive position, and which diverts the needle when it is freed by withdrawal of the needle.
Other cage arrangements are also described in publications EP 0 456 694 (or U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,517), U.S. Pat. Nos. 623 499, 5,176,655, and EP 0 891 198 (or U.S. Pat. No. 6,001,080).

Device for introducing a catheter with a security non-piercing cage provided with a flexible blade


A fuel cell power system including at least one fuel cell, a ram air system and a cooling circuit in which coolant is intended to circulate for regulating a temperature of the at least one fuel cell. The cooling circuit comprises a ram air heat exchanger in the ram air system and the ram air system comprises a nozzle. The fuel cell power system further comprises a water tank and the fuel cell power system is arranged to flow water from the water tank to the ram air system so as to spray water in ram air via the nozzle. Thus, dimensioning of the ram air system which includes the ram air heat exchanger is reduced.

Fuel cell power systems are used with more and more electrical systems in order to supply electrical energy thereto. For instance, such electrical systems are electrical motors used for propulsion of aircraft. Such electrical motors receive electrical energy generated by at least one fuel cell and transform the electrical energy into mechanical energy. The mechanical energy may then be used by propellers to provide propulsion to the aircraft.
Operation of fuel cell power systems generate heat losses. In order to constrain fuel cell power systems temperature within an admissible range for proper operation of the fuel cell power systems, a coolant circulates in a cooling circuit in order to refresh the fuel cell power systems. The coolant heated up by the fuel cell power systems passes through a ram air heat exchanger of a ram air system. Since heat dissipation by the fuel cell power systems varies over operations of the aircraft, the ram air heat exchanger is dimensioned to enable coolant refreshment requirements in electrical energy highly demanding maneuvers of the aircraft. Dimensioning of the ram air system, including dimensioning of the ram air heat exchanger, is thus designed by taking account of most severe operation conditions, typically take-off phases. It has moreover to be considered that during take-off phases, aircraft speed is rather low, which means that the amount of air passing through the ram air system for refreshing the coolant is rather low compared with cruising conditions. It therefore means that the ram air system and the ram air heat exchanger are oversized for cruising, which is the main operation of the aircraft over time. This implies overload and increased drag in cruise.
It is desirable to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art. It is more particularly desirable to provide a solution that enables reducing dimensions of the ram air system, including dimensions of the ram air heat exchanger, used for cooling of fuel cell power systems in propulsion of aircraft. It is also desirable to provide a weight-effective and cost-effective solution.

Spraying water in ram air for fuel cell power systems in aircraft


An apparatus capable of simply and accurately measuring cornea refractive power and eye axis length at least necessary to select a proper in-the-eye lens for an eye to be examined without moving a slidable bed in a horizontal plane.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an ophthalmologic apparatus having a plurality of measuring and examining functions of different working distances, such as an apparatus in which the function of measuring cornea refractive power and the function of measuring eye axis length are compounded.
2. Related Background Art
Heretofore, a spectacle lens or a contact lens has been used for the reform of the refractive power after the surgical operation of cataract, but in recent years, it has been the practiced to insert an in-the-eye lens into the position of the removed crystalline lens. To choose a proper in-the-eye lens for a patient having an eye without the crystalline lens, it is necessary to know the cornea refractive power and the eye axis length, i.e., the length from the cornea to the retina.
In the past, however, there has been the inconvenience that the measurement of the cornea refractive power is effected by a cornea shape measuring apparatus and the measurement of the eye axis length is effected by a discrete ultrasonic measuring apparatus, whereafter the refractive power of the in-the-eye lens must be calculated.
An apparatus having both functions is proposed in U.S. application Ser. No. 906,271 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,764,006. In this case, it is desired that during the measurement of the shape of the cornea, the corneal reflection image be not eclipsed by the image of an eye axis length measuring probe which is present in the optical path.
It is also desirable to eliminate the necessity that the system for measuring the eye axis length be optically transparent.
Further, an apparatus in which a slidable bed need not be moved in a horizontal plane is desirable because an attempt to effect two measurements by moving the slidable bed in a horizontal plane in the direction of the optic axis results in the destruction of the alignment in a direction perpendicular to the optic axis.

Ophthalmologic apparatus having two measuring systems


A set of one or more terms can be derived from the voiced user input. It can be determined that the set of one or more terms corresponds to a specific digital document in a computer system, and that the set of one or more terms corresponds to at least one computer-executable command. The determination that the set of one or more terms corresponds to the at least one command can include analyzing the set of one or more terms using a document-specific natural language translation data structure. The translation data structure can be a computer-readable data structure that is identified in the computer system with the specific digital document in the computer system. It can be determined that the set of one or more terms corresponds to an element in the document, and the at least one command can be executed on the element in the document.

When interacting with digital documents stored in computer systems, a user typically provides input, such as in the form of a touch gesture on a screen or a mouse click, to open the document. The user then navigates the document to find one or more displayed elements in the displayed document. With an element displayed, the user may provide additional input to enter a value in the element. For example, the value may be a string of alphabetic characters, numerical characters, symbols, etc. Similarly, if a user is to read information from a document, the user can find the pertinent element in the displayed document and read the information. In addition to such interactions with input by hand motions and reading by sight, some computer systems allow text to be entered by voice input (speech to text) and to be read back by audible voice feedback (text-to-speech).

Actions on digital document elements from voice


An electroluminescence display device includes a first switching device for transferring a data current, which represents a data signal, using a first scan signal, a second switching device for transferring the data current from the first switching device using a second scan signal, a storage device for storing a charge voltage according to the data current transferred from the second switching device, a coupling unit for changing the charge voltage stored in the storage device in accordance with the first scan signal into a changed voltage, driving devices for generating a driving current in accordance with the changed voltage, and an organic light emitting diode for emitting light in accordance with the driving current.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention relate to a display device, and more particularly, to an organic electroluminescence display device. Although embodiments of the invention are suitable for a wide scope of applications, they are particularly suitable for supplying low current to an organic light emitting device (OLED) even in the case of a high data current being applied to the an organic light emitting device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, organic electroluminescence display (OLED) devices have attracted considerable attention as a display device of the next generation due to its advantages of high contrast ratio, high luminance, low power consumption, fast response time, and wide viewing angle. Because of such advantages, the organic electroluminescence display device is widely used for mobile phones, personal digital assistants, computers, and televisions. Furthermore, the organic electroluminescence display device is a self-light emitting type, thereby displaying visible light including blue light. Accordingly, the OLED device can display colors close to natural colors. Moreover, since the organic electroluminescence display device has fast response time of several microseconds, the organic electroluminescence display device can easily display moving images. Further, the organic electroluminescence display device has no limitation on viewing angle and is stable at low temperatures. Furthermore, the organic electroluminescence display device can be fabricated through a simple thin film fabrication process since the organic electroluminescence display device is an ultra-thin film type display device.
The organic electroluminescence display device displays images by driving pixels of M×N organic electroluminescence display devices using a voltage or current. A driven pixel emits light by electrically exciting a fluorescent organic compound. However, the organic electroluminescence display device has problems in that luminance is irregular and driving control becomes difficult due to sensitivity differences among blue, green and red fluorescent organic compounds if a voltage driving mode is applied to the organic electroluminescence display device in the same manner as a liquid crystal display device. Accordingly, a current driving mode is typically used in the driving of organic electroluminescence display devices.
An active matrix type organic electroluminescence display device is widely used, wherein a plurality of pixels are arranged in a matrix arrangement and image information is selectively supplied to each pixel through a switching device, such as a thin film transistor provided in each pixel. However, in a current driving mode, which drives a plurality of organic light emitting diodes (OLED) of the organic electroluminescence display devices using a current, a parasitic capacitance exists between a data line supplying a data current to a data signal and a cathode of the OLED. In this case, the capacitance occurring in the data line should be charged quickly to drive the organic electroluminescence display device at a high speed. However, problems occur in that a high current is required to quickly charge the capacitance of the data line, and the OLED is damaged if the high current flows in the OLED. In other words, the related art current driving mode has a problem in that the OLED to which the high current is supplied should be driven at a low current but yet high speeds are desired.

Organic electroluminescence display device


An icemaker according to present invention may comprise: a device body having an inflow penetration portion and a discharge penetration portion formed therein; a flow portion having an inflow opening and a discharge opening provided to penetrate the inflow penetration portion and the discharge penetration directly or indirectly, respectively, and having a flow space formed therein so as to connect with the inflow opening and the discharge opening; a cooling portion configured such that a refrigerant flows to at least a part of the periphery of the flow portion, thereby cooling water, which is introduced into the flow space through the inflow opening and flows therein, and turning the same into ice or cold water; and a separating/transferring portion for separating the ice, which has been generated in the flow space, from the flow space and transferring the same to the discharge opening.

An icemaker makes ice.
As an icemaker, an immersion-type icemaker in which an immersed member connected to an evaporator in which a refrigerant flows is immersed in water in a water tray, such that ice is formed on the immersed member has been used. Also, there is a spraying type icemaker including an evaporator in which a refrigerant flows, and making ice in an ice making portion by spraying water onto the ice making portion on an ice tray on which the ice making portion is provided. A flow type icemaker has also been used, which includes an evaporator in which a refrigerant flows, and makes ice in an ice making portion by flowing water to the ice making portion on an ice tray on which the ice making portion is provided.
Also, there is an auger type icemaker in which ice is made on an inner circumferential surface of a flow space by flowing a refrigerant to the periphery of the flow space in which water flows and rotating a screw member in the flow space such that the ice is isolated from the inner circumferential surface of the flow space and is transferred and discharged externally.
The auger type icemaker, however, may only make ice, and may not make cold water.


Disclosed herein are novel assays, systems and kits for selecting a treatment regimen for a subject with depression by identifying at least one nucleic acid polymorphism, e.g., but not limited to, at the MTHFR, MTR, or MTRR locus, and/or determining expression levels of peripheral biomarkers (e.g., SAM, SAH, 4-HNE, and/or hsCRP) in a test sample from a human subject. These biomarkers can be used to determine the effectiveness of treating a depressed subject with a folate-containing compound (alone or as an adjunct to an antidepressant). Additionally, these biomarkers can be used to select an appropriate treatment regimen for subjects with treatment-resistant depression (e.g., resistant to at least one selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor). Methods and compositions for treating at least one symptom (e.g., at least one core symptom) of depression in a subject and/or determining or improving the effectiveness of an antidepressant drug taken by a subject are also provided herein.

Recent estimates indicate that more than 19 million Americans over the age of 18 years experience a depressive illness each year. It has been generally believed that there is some form of association between folate-deficiency states and depression [1, 2 and 3], which in turn helps to explain prior observations on the myriad neuropsychiatric presentations of megaloblastic anemia [4]. Recently, the relevance of folate in other medical conditions, in particular neural tube defects [5] and cardiovascular disease, [6] and potential antidepressant efficacy of agents marketed as dietary supplements or "nutraceuticals," [7 and 8] such as S-adenosyl-methionine (SAMe), hypericum perforatum (St. John's wort), and omega-3-fatty acids, has been increasingly recognized. The field has gradually moved toward researching the impact of folate deficiency, replacement, and supplementation on the course and management of depressive disorders, in particular major depressive disorder, [9] and putative roles of folate in central-nervous-system function. [10, 11 and 12]. While significant advances in the treatment of depression have been made in the past decade, as many as 29% to 46% of patients with depression taking an anti-depressant are still partially or totally resistant to the treatment. Those who suffer from treatment-resistant depression have almost no alternatives. As not every treatment regimen is effective for each individual, there is a strong need to identify markers that can facilitate selection of an appropriate treatment regimen for a subject with depression.

Assays and methods for selecting a treatment regimen for a subject with depression


The phase locked loop (PLL) frequency synthesizer includes a phase detector receiving a reference signal, a controlled oscillator (e.g. a voltage controlled oscillator) connected to the phase detector and generating a synthesized frequency output signal based upon the reference signal, a mixer (e.g. an in-phase and quadrature-phase (IQ) modulator) connected to the controlled oscillator, a divider connected between the mixer and the phase detector, and a signal source driving the mixer. The frequency synthesizer and method have narrow frequency steps (e.g. as low as fractions of a Hertz) while using a relatively high reference frequency to maintain low phase noise. Furthermore, the fine frequency tuning resolution is achieved while also reducing output spurs and using a relatively simple topology.

Signal sources, sometimes referred to as frequency sources, are used to generate signals for use in many electronic systems. Applications requiring a source with both high-Q frequency stability/accuracy characteristics and frequency tunability generally require the use of a so-called "locked" signal source. In a locked source, a tunable source is locked to or otherwise derived from a fixed or "reference" source. Often the tunable source is locked to a reference source using one or more feedback circuits or feedback loops. In the case of a locked source using a feedback loop, once the feedback loop is closed the tunable source can achieve frequency stability and accuracy that are a function of the reference source frequency stability. Such a configuration of tunable and fixed sources locked together is known in the art as a synthesized source or simply as a frequency synthesizer.
A frequency synthesizer, then, is a signal source that generates an output signal from one or more reference signals. In general, a frequency synthesizer produces a signal including a single frequency selected from among a finite set of discrete frequencies available based upon the design of the synthesizer. Frequency synthesizers of various forms and designs are useful in a wide variety of applications including FM car radios, radar systems, handheld radios and test equipment, such as spectrum analyzers and signal generators.
In many cases, the synthesized signal produced by a given synthesizer is often at a higher frequency than that of the reference signal(s). The synthesized signal is typically a very stable, spectrally pure, single frequency signal having low or sometimes even very low phase noise. However, unlike other signal sources, such as a free-running voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), a given frequency synthesizer generally is capable of producing only a finite, although often large, number of selectable, discrete frequencies as an output signal. Therefore, frequency synthesizers are most often used where the frequency stability/precision and spectral purity are of paramount importance.
A number of different types of frequency synthesizers or methods of frequency synthesis are known including direct digital synthesis (DDS) and phase locked loop (PLL) frequency synthesis. The DDS uses a digital to analog converter (DAC) to convert a digital data stream into an analog output signal. The digital data stream is a digital representation of a sampled version of the desired output signal, thus the DDS directly synthesizes the output signal. In a PLL synthesizer, a feedback loop is used to compare and "phase lock" the output signal of a tunable frequency source, such as a VCO, to a stable reference signal produced by one or more reference sources. When locked, the PLL output frequency is typically a multiple of the reference signal or linear combination of the reference signal and other signals generated by the synthesizer. There are also hybrid synthesizers that combine one or more of these or other various frequency synthesis approaches.
A basic, single loop PLL synthesizer (SLS) used to synthesize a signal from a stable reference includes a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), a frequency divider, a reference oscillator, a phase/frequency comparator or detector (PFD), and a loop filter. The VCO produces an output signal, the frequency of which is proportional to an input control voltage. The frequency divider divides the output signal produced by the VCO to create a lower frequency signal. The frequency divider is a device that accepts a signal at a frequency f and produces an output signal at a frequency f/N where N is the division factor of the frequency divider.
The signal produced by the frequency divider is compared by the PFD to a reference frequency signal produced by the reference oscillator. The PFD, in turn, produces an error signal that is proportional to the phase/frequency difference between the frequency of the output signal of the frequency divider and the reference signal frequency, the error signal provided by the PFD output can take various forms, however commonly the error signal is presented as a "charge pump" configuration, where pulses of current form the error signal, The error signal is then filtered by the loop filter to produce the input control voltage of the VCO, the filtering is needed to remove the PFD comparison frequency and other spurious frequencies that would corrupt the spectral purity of the VCO, in the case of the "charge pump" PFD, the loop filter also integrates the current pulses to provide the DC control voltage that a VCO typically requires.
The action of the feedback loop of the PLL eventually causes or forces the error voltage to equal zero, a situation that is strictly true only when the output from frequency divider has the same phase as the reference signal. In essence, the VCO output signal is automatically adjusted by the feedback loop until the phase of the divided signal produced by the frequency divider equals the phase of the reference signal. Moreover, since the frequency of a signal is the derivative of the phase of the signal, for a pair of signals to have the same phase the signals must also have the same frequency. When the error voltage has been made equal to zero by the action of the feedback loop, the loop is said to be "locked" to the reference source.
Changing either the division factor N of the loop divider or the reference signal frequency can be used to change the frequency of the output signal. Generally but not always, the reference signal is fixed and the loop division factor is changed to affect tuning in a single loop frequency synthesizer (SLS).
Since low phase noise and minimizing spurious frequency content in the output signal are often key performance characteristics of a synthesizer, it is important to consider approaches that reduce or minimize the phase noise and spurious content. A synthesizer, with very high frequency operation and wide tuning range, typically requires special efforts to achieve good phase noise performance. Given that the phase noise "inside the loop bandwidth" (frequencies less than the loop filter frequency cutoff) in the single loop synthesizer is strongly effected by the value of N, one way to improve the phase noise "inside the loop bandwidth" is to reduce the division factor N. This can sometimes be accomplished in a satisfactory manner by increasing the reference signal frequency at the PFD.
However, while it is possible to increase the reference frequency to reduce N, there are limitations to this approach. In particular, unless a fractional-N loop divider (i.e. N not an integer) is used, the reference signal frequency at the PFD entirely determines the spacing between adjacent frequencies that can be synthesized by changing the N divider. The spacing between adjacent frequencies is often referred to as the "step size" or frequency resolution of the synthesizer. For example, if the reference signal frequency at the PFD is 10 MHz and N is an integer, the minimum step size of the synthesizer is 10 MHz. While fractional-N dividers can be used to lessen the step size limitations of using higher reference frequencies, there are additional problems with using fractional-N dividers, specifically the generation of fractional spurs which corrupt the spectral purity of the VCO.
A more commonly used technique to reduce N is to use an offset loop synthesizer. A basic offset loop frequency synthesizer (OLS) uses a low-noise, high frequency offset signal to downconvert or frequency shift the output signal of a main loop to a lower frequency prior to dividing the signal frequency in the main loop divider. The OLS comprises a VCO, an offset mixer, an offset signal source, a loop frequency divider, a PFD, a reference source, and a loop integrator.
The output signal of the VCO at a frequency f is mixed with an offset signal at a frequency fos. Generally, the offset signal frequency fos is chosen to be close to the output signal frequency f. The offset mixer, in turn, ideally produces output signals with the sum and the difference of the two input frequencies. The difference frequency is used to produce an intermediate frequency (IF) signal at a frequency fif. The difference signal is selected by using a lowpass filter and becomes the filtered IF signal. The filtered IF signal is then divided by the loop frequency divider and compared to the reference signal from the reference source by the PFD to produce an error voltage that is integrated by the loop integrator to produce the VCO control voltage. Typically, an output amplifier and a loop amplifier are used in the OLS, as mentioned above for the SLS.
When the loop is locked, the output signal frequency is equal to (fos−N*fref) or (fos+N*Fref), depending the polarity of the loop. Since the IF signal is at a frequency fif that is typically much lower than the VCO output signal frequency f, the division factor N required for a given reference signal frequency fref is typically much smaller than would be required for the SLS described above. Therefore, the phase noise gain associated with the loop division factor N is significantly reduced using an offset loop as in the OLS.
In sampler based synthesizers so-called crossing spurs may be a problem. In a synthesizer in which sampler IF signals cover a wide range of frequencies, nth order mixing products may fall inside the same frequency range as that of the sampler IF signal. These mixing products are generally unwanted and therefore spurious signals. Spurious signals resulting from nth order mixing products tend to move in frequency as the synthesizer is tuned, at a rate that is n times that of the desired, 1st order product. These spurs tend to cross the desired operational band, and are therefore referred to as crossing spurs. Unfortunately, since these nth order mixing products share the frequency range with that of the sampler IF signal, they cannot be filtered out using a filter.
While crossing spurs cannot typically be eliminated, the detrimental effect of crossing spurs can be reduced by decreasing the sampler IF signal frequency range. The narrower the frequency range of the sampler IF signal, the higher will be the order of the spurs that will cross the operational band of the sampler IF signal. Advantageously, the higher the order of a spur, the lower the amplitude of the spur and therefore, the less detrimental it is in terms of synthesizer performance.
Unfortunately, reducing the frequency range of the sampler IF signal for a given synthesizer design requires a larger selection of sample frequencies fs to minimize the sample frequency fs gaps. The frequency range of the sample frequency fs is generally determined by the minimum output frequency and the minimum sample frequency fs used. The maximum frequency gap that the sampler IF signal must cover is determined by the step size of sample frequency fs and the highest harmonic of the sample frequency fs being utilized. So there may be severe practical limitations on how narrow the sampler IF can be made in a given design.
Consequently, there are a number of conflicting requirements for the sampler-based PLL synthesizer. Compromises are often made to balance the requirements of the sample frequency fs and sampler IF signal range. The sampler output or sampler IF signal frequency range may need to be as small as possible to help to reduce the effect of crossing spurs and to simplify the requirements of the tuning reference or interpolation signal of the main loop. However, the frequency range of the sampler IF signal may need to be as large as possible to allow for a coarse stepped sample frequency fs. The coarser the frequency steps, the easier and less expensive it maybe to implement the sampling signal. The sampling signal should have a high frequency sampling signal frequency fs to minimize the harmonic number H. However, a small H requires the sample frequency fs to have a wider frequency range, making low phase noise more difficult to achieve. Moreover, the power level of the signal entering the sampler should be as high as is practical to produce the strongest sampler output signal and maximize the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of that signal. Maximizing the sampler output SNR helps to minimize the phase noise of the sampler. On the other hand, the signal level into the sampler should be as low as possible to minimize the generation of higher harmonics and thus to minimize power level of the crossing spurs.

Direct digital synthesis (DDS) phase locked loop (PLL) frequency synthesizer and associated methods


A wet cleaning cloth for cleaning stoneware areas has a textile carrier, with individual unbundled elastic fibres in a range from 1,000 to 2,000 per square centimeter extend from one side of said textile carrier. Said individual fibres are arranged at a certain distance from each other and extend with a length range of 2 to 12 mm from said carrier, said fibres having a free end with a sharp edge.

The present invention relates to a wet cleaning cloth for cleaning porous stoneware areas.
Wet cleaning cloths for cleaning porous stoneware areas are known of mop-type design in which cord-like structures extend 10 to 15 cm from a carrier. The cord-like structures themselves are made of individually twisted or cabled cords. It is known that cloths of this nature are used as covers for cleaning devices to clean porous stoneware areas.
The disadvantage of such a design is that porous stoneware areas can not be cleaned adequately with such cloths.
Porous stoneware areas are understood to be, for example, non-glazed natural stone floors, which have small pores in the surface as a result of the manufacturing process. These pores may also be grooves which have been produced, for example, by the grinding or cutting processes during the manufacture of such flooring.
Porous stoneware areas are also understood to be ceramic tiles which have been manufactured or subsequently processed in such a way as to produce a porous surface. Cast stone floors may also have a fine porous surface depending on the manufacturing method. So-called fine stoneware may also have a porous surface. The size of the pores is very small, measuring millimeters or fractions of millimeters.
Such floors are in wide use in public buildings or in commercially used buildings such as banks, factory halls or similar which are usually subject to maintenance cleaning, mostly on a daily basis.
It is not possible to adequately clean porous stoneware areas with the mop-like wet cleaning cloths mentioned above. An attempt was therefore made to improve the cleaning result by adding chemicals to the cleaning water.
The improvement achieved was negligible since it was discovered that the chemical additives attack the stoneware areas over the course of time and also tend to clog the pores instead of cleaning them.
German laid open application DE-OS 39 26 524 discloses a cleaning device with a cloth bonded to an absorbing body. The cloth is plushlike and contains bundles of fibers each with approximately ten individual fibers which are bent in U-shape and bonded to the base fabric by means of latex. The bundles bent in a U-shape are arranged in such a way that the two arms of the U project away from the base fabric, creating two bundles with free ends. The base fabric is made of approximately 100 to 150 fiber bundles per square centimeter, thus providing about 200 to 300 free ends of fiber bundles. Each bundle is made up of approximately ten individual fibers so that, on average, there are roughly 2,000 to 3,000 fibers per square centimeter. However, due to the fact that ten fibers are brought together in a bundle, a bundle of this nature is to be considered as a single operating xe2x80x9cbundled fiberxe2x80x9d. During a cleaning process one bundle works like one thick fiber since the ten individual fibers are disposed very close together. For this reason only about 200 to 300 fibers are in operation, effectively i.e. the respective fiber bundles.
European Patent Application EP-0 468 301 discloses a device for cleaning surfaces with fiber pieces made of plastic attached to a planar carrier. One end of the plastic fibers is attached to the carrier, leaving the other end projecting freely from one side of the carrier. A structure made of absorbing and wipe-resistant material is attached to the other side of the carrier facing away from the fiber pieces. The fibers have a fineness of 5 to 30 dtex and project 4 to 35 mm from the carrier. The fibers are made of polyester.
From WO 90/14 039 a cleaning cloth is known onto which cloth a non-woven fabric is attached in several zigzag patterns arranged side by side. There is no non-woven fabric present between the zigzag patterns.
It is object of the present invention to provide a wet cleaning cloth with which porous stoneware areas can be cleaned simply and effectively.
According to the invention a wet cleaning cloth for cleaning stoneware areas having pores in its surface comprises a textile carrier having individual unbundled elastic fibers extending from one side of said textile carrier, said individual fibers are arranged at a certain distance from each other for avoiding bunches of fibers, the number of said fibers per square centimeter ranges from 1,000 to 2,600, said fibers extend from said carrier with a length ranging from 2 to 12 mm, and said fibers have free ends with a sharp edge resulting from a cutting treatment for cutting said fibers to said length.
It was found that with such fibers an excellent cleaning result on porous stoneware areas is achievable. The individual fine fibers can penetrate into the fine pores and xe2x80x9cscratch outxe2x80x9d the dirt particles in these fine pores. The fine fibers, in particular those made of plastic material, have, within the selected length range of 2 to 12 mm, a particular elasticity, which enables such a cloth to tolerate the pressures usually acting on the cloth during cleaning processes with slight deformation or bending of the individual fibers so that the free ends of the fibers dislodge and absorb dirt as they pass over the smooth stoneware areas. Deformed or bent fibers reaching an area with pores will relax as a result of their elasticity or rigidity, enter the pores and xe2x80x9cscratch outxe2x80x9d even the finest particles from them. The sharp edge end enhances the scratching process. This mechanical process renders chemical cleaning agents dispensable under normal circumstances, i.e. it is completely sufficient to clean such floors with water and without chemical additives. The fibers may be made of plastic fibers or be a mixed fabric whereby the proportion of plastic fibers in relation to natural fibers (e.g. cotton) predominates.
It was furthermore found out that the dirt particles attached to the fibers are gradually transported in the direction of the textile carrier away from the area to be cleaned by means of the water wetting the surface of the individual fibers and as a result of the movement of the fibers as they deform and relax. This process is possible for each individual fiber due to the certain distance among each other, leaving sufficient space for a deformation and relaxation movement of each individual fiber. This causes the dirt particles to be gradually moved towards the carrier. The dirt particles removed from the stoneware collect here. This is something which is very easy to recognize. The dirt particles can then be removed simply by washing out the wet cleaning cloth. In order to achieve excellent cleaning results on porous stoneware areas it is sufficient to merely moisten the wet cleaning cloth and not to have it wringing wet.
With that advantage not only chemical additives can be dispensed during daily maintenance cleaning but also considerably less water is required, i.e. that the quantities of dirty cleaning water to be disposed of are smaller amount. In addition, the absence of chemical additives has the enormous advantage that the durability of the surface subjected to daily maintenance cleaning is considerably increased. Should the floor be very dirty or be soiled with dirt which is not water-soluble, as in car showrooms with tire marks or an oily film, chemical additives can, of course, be added to the cleaning water.
The wet cleaning cloths have a very long serviceable life, particularly if water alone is used, since the fibers themselves do not form an insoluble bond either with the water or with the particles of dirt.
In an embodiment of the invention the fibers extend in a range between 4 to 10 mm from the carrier, and extend in particular 6 mm.
These fiber lengths have proved to be particularly advantageous for the usual floors in buildings, i.e. particularly good results can be achieved with these lengths.
In a further embodiment of the invention fibers in the range from 1,400 to 2,200 per square centimeter, in particular 1,800 fibers per square centimeter are present.
Particularly good results can be achieved with this fiber number or density whereby the selection can depend on the size and the number of pores present in the stoneware areas to be cleaned.
In a further embodiment of the invention the fibers are polyester fibers.
The use of polyester fibers has the considerable advantage that even when wet, these fibers have a substantial affinity to dirt and fat particles which mean that such particles adhere to the fibers. The deformation/bending and relaxation of the individual fibers during cleaning, coupled with the existing water film, causes the dirt particles adhering to the polyester fibers to be transported particularly quickly in the direction of the carrier and to be collected here. Fibers made of polyester have a high mechanical stability and a sufficient elasticity so that the fine fiber pile can bear substantial pressure during cleaning and the fibers are nevertheless able to relax into the pores and dislodge dirt particles solely by mechanical means.
In a further embodiment of the invention the carrier is also made of polyester.
This measure has the advantage that not only the manufacturing of the wet cleaning cloth as a fabric is rendered easier, but that the dirt particles which can be removed using water alone are collected very well in the textile planar carrier made of polyester and can be washed out very easily.
In a particular embodiment of the invention the sharp edge at the free end of each fiber runs at an angle to the longitudinal axis of a fiber.
This has the advantage that a particularly sharp edge is obtained by slanting the edge along the longitudinal axis of a fiber, thus making it easier to scratch out dirt from the pores.
Preferably the fibers are cylindrical.
This has the advantage that the cylindrical geometry produces very elastic and mechanically stable fibers which provide for a long serviceable life in addition to an excellent cleaning result. The cylindrical fibers have identical bending characteristics in every working direction so that identical cleaning results can always be achieved irrespective of the cleaning direction. It is possible to use the wet cleaning cloth as a xe2x80x9cpad discxe2x80x9d on rotating cleaning devices.
In a further embodiment of the invention the fibers are pre-bent, particularly in an undulating form.
This has the considerable advantage that when the wet cleaning cloth is guided over the floor the fibers bend in a defined manner as a result of the pre-bending of the fibers during manufacture. This means that the fibers can be arranged relatively close together, but will not touch each other during a defined bend if, for example, all fibers bend or extend in the same direction in one area of the wet cleaning cloth. This means that each individual fiber can contribute, freely and without hindrance from adjacent fibers, to the transportation of the dirt particles adhering to it in the direction of the carrier by means of periodical relaxation and bending. This contributes to a substantial dirt absorption capacity of the wet cleaning cloth as a whole, whereby the dirt particles taken up in the free end area of a fiber can be transported quickly in the direction of the carrier during the same cleaning process, leaving the ends of the fiber free again to absorb more particles.
A cleaning cloth of the invention can be used as a cover for cleaning devices or as a hand-held cleaning cloth.
In particular, especially for use in maintenance cleaning of commercially used rooms such as offices or exhibition areas, the wet cleaning cloth measures 50xc3x9713 cm.
Using known cleaning devices and with the usual working pressures and usual handling, an excellent cleaning result can be achieved with this size of a wet cleaning cloth and with the fine-fiber pile of plastic fibers.
It has emerged that a wet cleaning cloth in the size of 40xc3x9713 cm or 40xc3x9711 cm produces excellent cleaning results in the maintenance cleaning of very fine stoneware areas, particularly in private households.
This size permits an optimum cleaning result to be achieved by a housewife with a hand-held cleaning device in one cleaning cycle, assuming the usual working pressure.
It is clear that the afore mentioned and following features can not only be implemented in the specified combinations but also in other combinations and alone without exceeding the scope of the invention.