An external fixator for fixating fractures provides an elongated support rod that includes proximal and distal rod sections. Fixation pins are provided for engaging the patient""s bone tissue on opposite sides of a fracture. Clamps are rotatably supported upon the proximal rod section and distal rod section, each of the pins being movable in rotational fashion both with respect to the rod and with respect to the pins. At least one of the clamps has articulating portions that rotate and angulate relative to one another so that total adjustment is provided between the rod and the pins. The articulating portion can be rigidified using one set fitting or set screw.

The present invention relates to orthopedic surgical instrumentation, and more particularly relates to an improved fixator for use in the treatment of bone fractures such as distal radius fractures. Even more particularly, the present invention relates to an improved external fixator for the treatment of distal radius and other like bone fractures that will assist the surgeon in restoring anatomy of a fracture following an injury by allowing the surgeon to quickly manipulate the fixator to apply force to the ligaments in several directions so that the ligaments will reposition the bone fragments in their correct anatomical position and wherein the fixator includes a unique clamp arrangement that fully articulates, yet can be rigidly affixed in a selected configuration by tightening a single connector.
One of the most common fractures that is treated in emergency rooms is a distal radius fracture sometimes classified as a Colles fracture. One of the popular methods of treating distal radius fractures is to apply an external fixator for the purpose of reducing the fracture by ligamentotaxis, which is a method of distracting the wrist to allow the ligaments to push the bone fragments back in place.
Simple distraction of the wrist is sufficient to restore the original length of the radius, but may not adequately restore other anatomical features such as the tilt angle of the radial head commonly referred to as the radial tilt and the volar tilt.
An example of a technique of multiplanar ligamentotaxis is described by Dr. John Agee in an article published in Orthopedic Clinics of North America, Volume 24, No. 2, April 1993 and entitled xe2x80x9cExternal Fixation: Technical Advances Based Upon Multiplanar Ligamentotaxisxe2x80x9d. John Agee is the named patentee of three (3) United States Patents, namely, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,548,199; 4,611,586; and 4,922,856. The fixator developed by Dr. Agee provides a method of achieving multiplanar ligamentotaxis through gradual turning of worm screws.
Several fixation systems have been patented that relate to the holding of bone segments. An example is U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,334, issued to William Murray and entitled xe2x80x9cExternal Fixation Devicexe2x80x9d. The ""334 patent discloses a device for holding bone segments in known relation to each other. The apparatus includes a pair of bone clamp assemblies each secured to bone pins extending from the bone segments. A bridge extends between the pin clamp assemblies and a specialized high friction universal assembly connects the bridge to each of the pin clamp assemblies.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,676, issued to Jose Canadell et al., relates to an external fixator with controllable damping. This external fixator disclosed in the ""676 patent is for the correction and reduction of bone fragments. The apparatus comprises a bar fastened to a biocompression system on which the bar and system are disposed upon supports for fastening pins inserted into bones.
A spinal fixator reduction frame is the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 5,219,349. A reduction frame disclosed in the ""349 patent is secured to shaft handles extending from the pedicle screws of a Vermont Spinal Fixator type implant. Shaft clamps secure two T-handles of the reduction frame to the shaft handles. A lower-rod assembly joins the two opposite T-frames by means of lower-rod clamps. The shaft clamps are provided with four degrees of freedom. The joint between the lower-rod assembly and T-handle is provided with five degrees of freedom. The lower-rod assembly and the T-handle are provided with power screw threads to allow for precise translational control. The shaft clamps and lower-rod clamps are provided with taper fit joints to allow for infinite rotational adjustment and fixture. An upper-rod assembly is also provided on the T-handles to produce rotation of the T-handles by providing means for changing the distance between the upper ends of the T-handles. Finger grips are provided on the upper-rod assembly to allow the surgeon to easily use one hand to either apply or monitor the force acting along the upper-rod.
The Hardy U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,637, discloses an external modular fixator for immobilization of a fracture. The apparatus includes elements functioning as clamps and receiving anchor pins to be fixed in a predetermined angular position on either side of a fracture. A mobilization relay body is configured to be attached to the fracture. The mobilization body has a device for locking which is used to lock the clamps. A fixator and the mobilization relay bodies are lockable in various chosen arrangements. The device is shown affixed to a patent""s lower arm and wrist area.
The Pennig U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,465 refers to an osteosynthesis aid which is used in particular for the fixation of a pelvis and includes a central body which is formed of at least two arm or link members, each of which has an elongated slot through which a lock bolt is passed to provide a releasable clamped joint and each of which also has releasably secured ball-joint connection to an end-connecting clamp for bone-pin or bone-screw anchorage to an afflicted bone.
A Russian Patent SU 1491-492-A1 discloses a femur neck fracture osteosynthesis device that has a support in the form of plates with inclined slots for pins. The plates have apertures for pin locks. The pin locks are designed in the form of threaded rods with nuts and washers. The plates are in a parallel plane with an offset greater than the sum of the thickness of the plates and the pin diameter. The plates are interconnected by connecting pieces. Pins are passed through the aiming pin and are locked by the pin locks. This device has an advantage of simplifying the design by allowing a crossing-over angle in the planes parallel with the femur axis.
A patent that relates generally to orienting and securing a rod in a spatially adjusted position is the subject of the Jaquet U.S. Pat. No. 3,961,854, entitled xe2x80x9cApparatus For Orienting And Maintaining A Rod In Any Directionxe2x80x9d. The Jaquet patent discusses maintaining an object which one desires to place in diverse orientations as for example, a table lamp, a reflector, and also to employ the same in surgical uses.
The present invention provides an improved bone fixator that enables the orthopedic surgeon to restore the patient""s anatomy at a fracture following an injury. The present invention enables a surgeon to quickly manipulate the fixator and an articulating clamp (or clamps) to apply force to the ligaments in several directions so that the ligaments will reposition the bone fragments in their correct anatomical position and wherein a single fastener is tightened to rigidify the clamp and bone parts connected thereto.
Multiple pin clamps are placed along a rod to secure the rod to the bone. The pin clamps allow rotation around the bar as well as rotation around the clamp to allow the pins to be placed at a wide variety of angles and in multiple planes. A double pin clamp can be used to secure pins into selected bone parts such as the metacarpals of the hand. The multiple pin clamp also allows rotation about two axes. It can be rigidified in a selected position with a single fastener.
In the preferred embodiment, the pins are secured to the clamp by set screws. However, other clamping methods may be used (for example, clam shell clamps). The restoration of anatomical length is achieved by sliding the pin clamps along the rod to distract the ligaments.
For a wrist fracture, restoration of the volar tilt is achieved by loosening the set screws on the metacarpal pin clamp and rotating the rod to allow a vertical translation of the metacarpal pin clamp. Radial tilt can be restored by translating the metacarpal pins through the clamp to shift the wrist sideways. In extreme cases, the rotation can be adjusted by tightening the metacarpal pin clamp to the rod and rotating the rod.
The present invention provides an improved fixator apparatus for distal radius fractures that includes an elongated support rod having proximal and distal rod sections joined by a transverse rod section that offsets the proximal and distal sections. A pair of bends integrally joins the proximal and distal rod sections to the transverse rod section. Radius fixation pins are provided for engaging a patient""s radius bone tissue.
Radius support clamps are rotatably supported upon the proximal rod section for externally supporting the patient""s distal radius, the support clamps including openings that support the radius fixation pins. The support clamps allow rotation relative to the rod and relative to the radius fixation pins. Metacarpal fixation pins are provided for engaging the patient""s metacarpal bone tissue.
Hand support clamps are rotatably supported upon the distal rod section for externally supporting the patient""s hand. The hand support clamps include openings for holding the metacarpal fixation pins, the hand support clamps allowing rotation relative to the rod and relative to the metacarpal fixation pins. The proximal and distal rod sections are preferably generally parallel.
The proximal rod section has a central longitudinal axis and the radius support clamp and rod are so configured that the distal rod section is rotatable during use about the central longitudinal axis of the proximal rod section.
The metacarpal support clamp is slidable along the distal rod section during use for distracting the ligaments of the patient""s wrist.
The rod and support clamps are so configured that volar tilt is achieved by rotating the distal rod section relative to the proximal rod section when the support clamps are rotated with respect to the rod.

External fixator for distal radius fractures


An ion current detecting apparatus includes a capacitor C that is charged as a spark plug 3 discharges, a Zener diode ZD that limits a maximum voltage of the capacitor C while charging, a detection resistor R2 through which a discharge current of the capacitor C flows, and a comparator circuit 5 that compares a current value of the detection resistor R2 with a predetermined value. A charge quantity Q of the capacitor C at discharge start is set so that, as a consequence of a discharging operation of the capacitor C, discharge duration required until the current value of the detection resistor R2 falls below the predetermined value becomes longer than time duration in which the ion current generated by fuel combustion in the engine combustion chamber lasts. The ion current detecting apparatus automatically detects degradation in an insulation resistance in the spark plug, ensuring normal operation in engine control.

A typical ignition device of an internal combustion engine includes a spark plug disposed in a combustion chamber, an ignition coil that supplies energy on combustion to the spark plug, and an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) that controls ignition timing of the ignition coil.
For such an ignition device, it has been proposed to detect an ion current generated after combustion in the combustion chamber. According to a combustion state detected based on the ion current, it is possible to grasp an operation state of the internal combustion engine, or to realize various electronic controls such as lean combustion.
In general, an apparatus for detecting an ion current includes a capacitor that holds an electric charge caused by a current from the spark plug, a Zener diode that limits a voltage of the capacitor, and a load resistor that detects the ion current (Patent Documents 1 and 2).
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 04-194367
Patent Document 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-037031

Ion current detecting apparatus for internal combustion engine


A compound of the formula

HIV protease inhibitors are highly potent agents that inhibit the replication of HIV (human immunodeficiency) viruses and prolong the lives of individuals infected with HIV. Because of the hydrophobic nature of the active site of HIV protease, most HIV protease inhibitors are relatively lipophilic and poorly soluble. Consequently, the delivery of adequate amounts of protease inhibitors to provide antiviral efficacy often requires multiple capsules or tablets. Some protease inhibitors such as ritonavir are not absorbed in the solid state, and often require formulations to solubilize the drug substance.
In addition to being an effective inhibitor of HIV protease, ritonavir is also effective in inhibiting cytochrome P450 monooxygenase. Co-administration of ritonavir with a HIV protease inhibitor that is metabolized by cytochrome P450 monooxygenase often results in improvement in pharmacokinetics (i.e. increased half-life and increased blood levels, particularly increased minimum or trough concentration) of such HIV protease inhibitor. The co-formulated mixture of lopinavir and ritonavir has been shown to be a potent HIV protease inhibitor regimen. Currently, lopinavir/ritonavir is dosed twice daily at 400/100 mg, respectively, co-formulated as a solution in three soft elastic capsules. The three capsules are required because of the limited solubility of lopinavir and ritonavir, and the need for dosing as a solution.
Such solution formulations often result in high pill burdens and poor patient compliance. There is therefore a need for technologies that can provide good oral absorption from formulations with higher drug load per unit dosage.

Abstract: A compound of the formula

Abstract: is disclosed as a prodrug of an HIV protease inhibitor. Methods and compositions for inhibiting HIV protease activity and treating HIV infection are also disclosed.


Methods, systems, and computer readable media for packet flow modification are disclosed. According to one method, the method includes receiving one or more packets associated with a packet flow. The method also includes modifying payload information in the one or more packets. The method further includes receiving a subsequent packet associated with the packet flow. The method also includes modifying transport layer or higher layer information in the subsequent packet using information associated with the modified payload information or the packet flow.

Many nodes (e.g., computing platforms, smartphones, or network devices) may communicate data via packets, e.g., Internet protocol (IP) packets. Generally, one or more related packets may be referred to as a packet flow. For example, a node may receive media from a web server via a packet flow of one or more related packets. In this example, the packet flow may be identifiable using one or more common attributes associated with each packet of the packet flow. These common attributes may be known as a flow identifying tuple and may include a source address, a destination address, a source port number, a destination port number and/or protocol(s) in use.
When communicating data via sequenced or ordered packets, a protocol, such as a transmission control protocol (TCP) or a stream control transmission protocol (SCTP), may be used to provide reliable, ordered, and/or error-checked data (e.g., a stream of bytes or octets) between applications executing on different nodes. Some network operators, equipment testers, or other entities may want to modify data being communicated via packets. Conventional packet flow modification requires extensive resources and can be time consuming. For example, a packet modification entity may intercept or collect an entire packet flow, terminate the packet flow, (re)assemble data from the packets (e.g., de-packetize the data from the packet flow), perform modifications to the data, repackage the data into new packets (e.g., re-packetize the data into a new packet flow), and send the new packets to a destination. Since conventional packet flow modification requires packet deconstruction or de-packetizing of a packet flow and/or other resource intensive operations prior to modification, conventional packet flow modification cannot be perform at line rate or near line rate.
Accordingly, a need exists for improved methods, systems, and computer readable media for packet flow modification.


Biologically active heterodimeric human fertility hormones composed of two different subunits, each subunit being synthesized in the same cell transformed by at least one cell expression vector having heterologous DNA encoding each subunit with each subunit being controlled by a separate promoter. Preferred human fertility hormones include hCG, hLH and hFSH.

The present invention relates to the use of recombinant DNA techniques to produce heterodimeric human fertility hormones.
Various polypeptide chains have been expressed, via recombinant DNA technology, in host cells such as bacteria, yeast, and cultured mammalian cells. Fiddes, J. C. and Goodman, H. M. Nature, vol. 281, pp. 351-356 (1979) and Fiddes, J. C. and Goodman, H. M., Nature, vol. 286, pp. 684-687 (1980) describe the cloning of, respectively, the alpha and beta subunits of human choriogonadotropin (hCG).
Sugimoto U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,383,034, 4,383,035 and 4,383,036 describe processes for producing FSH, LH and hCG, respectively, in which human lymphoblastoid cells are implanted into a laboratory animal, harvested from the animal, and cultured in vitro; accumulated hormone is then harvested from the culture. This technique is not capable of producing substantially pure hormone free of any other human fertility hormone.
Cohen et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,468,464 mentions the production of fertility hormones by recombinant DNA techniques. However, Cohen et al only uses a prokaryotic system which cannot produce biologically active human fertility hormone.
Pierce et al, Ann. Rev. Biochem., 50, 465-95 (1981) states that the alpha and beta subunits of LH are known to associate in vitro. The subunits referred to in this paper are obtained by dissociating naturally occurring dimeric hormone and allowing the units to reassociate. Such a disclosure does not permit the prediction that when synthesized by non-specialized cells transformed with recombinant DNA, the subunits would be properly glycosylated and folded for association so as to produce a biologically active hormone.
While many human proteins have been produced by recombinant DNA techniques the production of biologically active heterodimeric hormones by such techniques has not heretofore been accomplished. Heterodimeric fertility hormones are produced in the human body by highly specialized, differentiated cells which have evolved over a long period of time to carry out the specialized formation of producing each particular hormone. The mechanism by which post-translational heterodimeric assembly occurs intracellularly in these differentiated cells is not known, but it is known that proper assembly is necessary for biological activity. Undifferentiated cells do not, as far as is known, normally produce hormones. Thus, whether or not a biologically active heterodimeric hormone could be produced in undifferentiated cells transformed with DNA encoding the alpha and beta subunits was totally unpredictable.

Nucleic acids encoding and recombinant production of the .beta. subunit of lutenizing hormone


An apparatus and method are implemented to track and manage system cycles stolen from a data processor by other processors in a multiprocessor data processor system. The apparatus and method maximize data throughput and minimize unused cycle resources within the multiprocessor data processing system.

In data processor systems having multiple processors, devices must be employed to allocate cycle resources between processors. A resource manager performing this function by allocating cycle resources to a data processor can easily track some of these cycle resources. Cycles used for code execution, data direct memory access (DMA) cycle steals (cycles unavailable to the data processor because of competition for a common resource), and other hardware services are easily tracked and accounted for because they are either periodic or predictable. However, cycles stolen because of asynchronous accesses to cycle resources by a second processor (such as a host personal computer) are not as easily tracked or managed.
Traditionally, the cycles stolen by the second processor have been limited by having the second processor pace itself through software timing loops in which it is assumed that each access to the data processor "steals" a constant number of cycles. This approach provides a crude method of estimating the worst case cycle steal threshold. As a consequence, reduced data throughput, and unused cycle resources result. Moreover, because the software timing loops are usually based on the second processor's system clock, typically a host processor's system clock which is different from the data processor system clock, the host's software is often required to perform a calibration step in order to adjust the timing loop counts.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for circuitry and methods that allow the second processor to precisely and deterministically limit and track all cycles stolen from the data processor core. Such circuitry and methods would provide a device for obtaining the maximum data throughput for a given cycle resource allocation. The same circuitry and methods would also eliminate the necessity for the software running on the second processor to perform a calibration to adjust the software timing loop counts.

System for counting clock cycles stolen from a data processor and providing the count value to a second processor accessing the data processor cycle resources

International Business Machines Corporation


An apparatus and method for using a radio frequency (RF chain) in a dual-network architecture are disclosed herein. An evolved node B (eNodeB) receives RF chain sharing information from user equipment (UE) associated with the eNodeB. The RF chain sharing information comprises indication of a non-usable frequency band or indication of which frequency band is supported for each of a first network and a second network that an RF chain is switchable between. The RF chain is included in the UE and at least a frequency band is shared between the first and second networks. The eNodeB transmits radio resource control (RRC) connection reconfiguration signaling to the UE to release a secondary cell (SCell) or perform inter-frequency handover of a primary cell (PCell) in response to the RF chain sharing information.

Dual wireless technology architecture (also referred to as dual-standby architecture) comprises user equipment (UE) using a first wireless technology for voice communications (e.g., phone calls) and a second wireless technology for data communications (e.g., web browsing). As an example, the first wireless technology can be 2nd Generation (2G) or 3rd Generation (3G) cellular technology, and the second wireless technology can be a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE)-Advanced technology. In 3GPP LTE Release-10 system, carrier aggregation (CA) is supported. CA is used to extend communication up to 100 megahertz (MHz) in Release 10. Such large bandwidth communication is achieved by the simultaneous aggregation of more than one Release 8/9 component carrier having bandwidths of 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, and up to 20 MHz, hence the term carrier aggregation, in which each carrier within the aggregated set of carriers is referred to as a component carrier. Under Release 10, up to five component carriers may be aggregated together to achieve the maximum bandwidth of 100 MHz.
If CA is supported in dual-standby architecture, it may be possible for a UE to share a radio frequency (RF) chain between the 2G/3G network and LTE network if the two networks' respective frequency bands are close to each other. If a RF chain is to be shared, the evolved node B (eNodeB or eNB) should be notified of whether it will be used for 2G/3G or LTE service. Currently the eNodeB is not provided this information.

RF chain usage in a dual network architecture


Category determination is performed on an object candidate extracted from a captured image after an exclusion process is performed in advance. In the exclusion process, a distance from a vehicle to the object candidate is calculated based on a size of the object candidate in a current image, a moved distance of the vehicle occurring in a time interval from a time a previous image was captured to a time the current image is captured is calculated, the size of the object candidate in the current image is decreased at a change ratio based on the distance to the object candidate and the moved distance, and a size of the object candidate in the previous image and a size of the object candidate decreased at the change ratio are compared. The object candidate with difference between them being determined to be larger than a predetermined value is removed.

Conventionally, there has been proposed a device which extracts various objects existing in the vicinity of a vehicle. Patent Literature 1 listed below discloses a method to mount a single infrared camera on a vehicle, to detect an object in the vicinity of a vehicle from an image captured by the camera, and to acquire a distance to the object based on a change ratio of a size of the object in the image.

Apparatus for monitoring vicinity of a vehicle


A metering device (24) for an agricultural planter (10) has a metering chamber (80) with a seed discharge (98) area and a metering disc (66) rotatable within the metering chamber (80). The metering disc (66) has plurality of seed pockets (68) for carrying seeds on the metering disc (66), the seed pockets (68) being disposed at mutually spaced locations about the metering disc (66). The metering disc also has a magnetic drive ring (136) in the outer periphery of the metering disc (66). The metering device also has a stator positioned adjacent the metering disc. The stator (132) interacts with the magnetic drive ring (136) to rotate the metering disc (66) within the metering chamber (80) such that the seed pockets (68) move successively in proximity to the discharge area (98) during rotation of the metering disc (66).

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to agricultural planting equipment and, more particularly, to a metering device drive motor for dispensing seeds and/or fertilizer.
2. Description of Related Art
As is well-known, a farmer engaged in mechanized planting of seeds utilizes a planting machine pulled behind a tractor. One form of planting machine commonly in use includes at least one rotating drum which holds the supply of seeds to be planted and has means for delivering the seeds to one or more chutes which conduct the seeds to the desired planting rows on the ground at various depths and spacings. The seeds are singulated and metered by a seed metering disc with pockets, holes or combinations thereof, and using either a vacuum or positive air pressure. Seed meters require a drive source to rotate the seed disc in order to singulate seed for planting.
Current technology typically uses a ground drive assembly that drives all meters simultaneously through a chain drive mechanism connected to a drive wheel that defines the rate of speed of forward motion of the planter. This mechanical drive assembly requires a multitude of rotating shaves, bearings, support brackets, sprockets, chains and idlers. This approach requires the implement to be stopped while one or more chains are moved and positioned about various sized sprockets or gears.
Other agricultural seed metering systems have been developed which allow the seed metering rate to be adjusted on the go while crossing a field. Such systems typically omit mechanical ground drive assemblies and instead rely on electronics to control hydraulic systems for accurate metering. To adjust the metering rate, the electronics control the hydraulic system to adjust the hydraulic oil flow sent to the hydraulic motor to adjust the rate at which the rotatable metering member is rotated.
Although such systems enable the metering rate to be adjusted on the go, such electronic metering systems are extremely expensive to implement and are difficult to diagnose and repair when damaged. Moreover, as compared to ground driven mechanical metering systems, such electronic metering systems require an additional hydraulic circuit to drive the hydraulic motors connected to the rotatable metering members. This additional hydraulic circuit increases hydraulic requirements of the work vehicle or tractor and when connected to open center hydraulic systems, can cause overheating problems. This drive assembly also requires a multitude of rotating shaves, bearings, support brackets, sprockets, chains and idlers.
Thus, there is a continuing need for an agricultural seed metering system that allows the operator to vary the speed of each metering unit individually, is adjustable on the move, and reduces the parts and space required for rotational power requirements.


A retainer for holding an optical element having three first grooves includes a first support member that supports the optical element through the first grooves, and a second support member that has three second grooves corresponding to the first grooves, and supports the first support member through the second grooves.

A reduction projection exposure apparatus has been conventionally employed which uses a projection optical system to project a circuit pattern formed on a mask (reticle) onto a wafer, etc. to transfer the circuit pattern, in manufacturing devices. The projection optical system causes interface and imaging of diffracted beams from the circuit pattern on the wafer.
The devices to be mounted on electronic apparatuses should be highly integrated to meet recent demands for miniaturization and low profile of electronic apparatuses, and finer circuit patterns to be transferred or higher resolution have been demanded increasingly. A shorter wavelength of a light source and a higher numerical aperture ("NA") in a projection optical system are effective to the high resolution as well as a reduced aberration in the projection optical system.
An optical element, such as a lens and a mirror, when deforming in a projection optical system causes aberration because an optical path refracts before and after the deformation and light that is supposed to form an image at one point does not converge on one point. The aberration causes a positional offset and short-circuits a circuit pattern on a wafer. On the other hand, a wider pattern size to prevent short-circuiting is contradictory to a fine process.
Therefore, a projection optical system with small aberration should hold its optical element(s) without changing a shape and a position relative to the optical axis of the optical element in the projection optical system so as to maximize the original optical performance of the optical element. In particular, the projection lens tends to have a larger caliber and a larger lens capacity due to the recent high NA in the projection optical system, and easily deforms by its own weight. In addition, a recently extensively developed exposure apparatus that uses extreme ultraviolet ("EUV") light ("EUV exposure apparatus") requires the projection optical system to include a small number of reflective elements or mirrors for the EUV light having such a characteristically short wavelength as about 10 to 15 nm, and precision of shapes of these mirrors and positions of these mirrors relative to the optical axis are extremely strict.
The EUV exposure apparatus is used for exposure of a circuit pattern of 0.1 μm, and has very strict critical dimension accuracy. Therefore, the mirror's surface shape is permitted to have deformation of only about 0.1 nm or less. Therefore, a processed shape of a mirror should be precisely reproduced in the EUV exposure apparatus after the mirror is assembled into the exposure apparatus.
However, the mirror is made of such a soft parent material that even a force applied by a retainer that holds the mirror or holding power would deform the mirror by about 0.1 nm. In addition, the mirror does not reflect all the exposure light, but absorbs the exposure light of 30% or greater. The absorbed exposure light would become residual heat, thermally expand the mirror, and change a shape of the mirror and its position relative to the optical axis. In other words, it has been difficult to hold a mirror in a projection optical system and maintain desired optical performance without changing a shape of the mirror or its position relative to an optical axis.

Retainer, exposure apparatus, and device fabrication method


A method for stabilizing in-situ soluble heavy metal contaminants in carbonate-containing land or submarine formations which comprises introducing into the carbonate-containing formation an aqueous solution of calcium chloride, wherein the solution contains a stabilizing amount of calcium ions. The contaminants and the carbonate form coprecipitates with the calcium ions which are insoluble in formation fluids, therefore substantially inhibiting the remobilization of the heavy metals with groundwater. The method is effective with heavy metals which exist in both anionic and cationic form in carbonate-containing land or submarine formations. The method may be used to treat land formations hundreds of feet below the surface, landfill deposits, or submarine formations to reduce soluble heavy metal contaminants to a few parts per million.

This invention relates generally to methods of restoring contaminated soils and groundwater in-situ using calcium chloride, and, more particularly, to a method for stabilizing soluble heavy metal contaminants in carbonate-containing land or submarine formations using aqueous solutions of calcium chloride to prevent the remobilization of these heavy metal contaminants by groundwater.
There is increasing concern over the hazards posed by the rising levels of heavy metals within the world's water supplies and land formations due to accidental spills, leaks, mining practices and poor disposal practices. Most heavy metals are toxic to some degree to all life-forms, and can have a deleterious effect on aquatic flora and fauna. In humans, toxic heavy metal poisoning can lead to severe nervous system disorders and can cause death.
Accordingly, numerous methods for the removal of heavy metals from land and submarine formations have been proposed. For example, contaminated water or soil could be removed from its location and subsequently treated offsite. However, this method is not only extremely time-consuming and costly, it presents added dangers associated with the transportation of such hazardous materials. In addition, it may not be feasible or practical from a cost standpoint to remove an entire contaminated area for treatment. Thus, significant amounts of contamination may remain even after application of such treatment methods.
Alternatively, it has been suggested that heavy metals situated in ground-water or soil can be mobilized and removed via solubilization techniques, wherein the effluent is subsequently pumped above ground, removed and treated. Again, such methods are typically very time-consuming and costly. In addition, this approach can potentially lead to undesirable further spread of the contamination.
It has further been suggested that heavy-metal-containing-soils can be treated in-situ by various precipitation techniques. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,354,942, issued to Kaczur et al., a method for the in-situ removal of soluble mercury from land and water areas using sulfur compounds is described. However, the use of sulfur compounds presents potential safety and health problems in itself.
The use of various calcium-containing-compositions to treat heavy metals in ground-water and/or soil is also known. However, there are significant disadvantages associated with the application of each of these methods. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,950,409, issued to Stanforth, there is disclosed a method for treating hazardous waste-containing soil using calcium carbonate in 35 the form of limestone. In Stanforth's method the soil must be intimately mixed with the limestone in order to render the soil nonhazardous. Accordingly, Stanforth's method is not intended to be utilized in-situ, especially underground, where such mixing would hot be feasible. Moreover, the addition of limestone underground would cause premature plugging once the solution was added, thereby preventing the entire contaminated area from being treated.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,981,394, issued to McLaren et al., a method of inducing carbonate cementation or precipitation of calcite as a sealant in soils, sediment, bedrock, and other alkaline materials is disclosed. In this method, solid particles of calcium chloride with limestone fines are plowed into the surface of the solid waste landfill, which is then wetted down with solution. These components react to produce crystals of calcium carbonate which cement soil particles together and fill void space to reduce porosity and permeability. This method results in severe plugging of the flow path for the area being treated, and thus, prevents the entire contaminated area from being treated. In addition, this method merely prevents further migration of the contaminants instead of achieving the more desirable stabilization of them.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,418,961, issued to Strom et al., there is disclosed an in-situ method for restoring soluble heavy metal contaminants in subterranean formations that have been subjected to uranium mining. Strom et al. teach to add restoration fluid containing small amounts of CO.sub.2 to a mining site containing calcium carbonate in order to induce precipitation of calcium with the heavy metal ions, and thereby stabilize the heavy metal contaminants. Alternatively, Strom et al. disclose that if the site does not contain calcium carbonate therein, or if the reaction with CO.sub.2 is not sufficient to reduce contaminants to acceptable levels, restoration may be achieved by injecting an aqueous solution of calcium chloride.
Strom's method is limited to removal of metal anions. Moreover, this method essentially limits the amount of calcium ion to be added to concentrations dictated by the solubility product of the calcium/heavy metal precipitate, which is a relatively minor amount. Accordingly, the method is slow, inefficient, and highly ineffective in reducing the level of contaminates to environmentally acceptable levels. As a result, groundwater in formations treated with Strom's restoration methods is likely to be re-contaminated with unacceptably high levels of heavy metal contaminants several weeks after treatment.

In-situ restoration of contaminated soils and groundwater using calcium chloride


An excitation circuit, which is used in an electromagnetic flow meter, measures a flow rate value for a fluid, based on an electromotive force. An excitation coil, which is provided on an outside of a measurement tube, is supplied with an excitation current, where, in response, the electromotive force, which is perpendicular to a magnetic field of the excitation coil that is generated in the fluid within the measurement tube, is detected by a pair of electrodes provided on the measurement tube.

Typically, in electromagnetic flow meters for measuring the flow rate of a fluid that is electrically conductive, the flow rate of the fluid that flows within a measurement pipe is measured by providing a magnetic excitation electric current that alternatingly switches polarities to a magnetic excitation coil that is disposed so that the direction of the magnetic field that is produced is perpendicular to the direction of flow of the fluid that is flowing within the measurement pipe, to detect the electromotive force that is produced between a pair of electrodes that are disposed within the measurement pipe perpendicular to the magnetic field produced by the magnetic excitation coil, and sampling and performing signal processing after amplifying the electromotive force that is produced between the electrodes.
As illustrated in FIG. 5, this electromagnetic flow meter 50 is structured from a detector 50A and a converter 50B.
The detector 50A is provided with a measurement tube 51, electrodes 52, and excitation coils 53, as the primary structures thereof.
The measurement tube 51, as a whole, is made from a cylinder of a non-magnetic metal, such as stainless steel, and, on the inside thereof, has a flow path 51F for the fluid that is subject to measurement.
The excitation coil 53 are made from a pair of coils that are disposed facing the outsides of the measurement tube 51, and have a function for generating a magnetic field B, in a direction that is perpendicular to the direction of flow of the fluid that is flowing within the flow path 51F, in accordance with an excitation current Iex that is supplied from a converter 50B.
The electrodes 52 comprise a pair of electrodes that are disposed so as to contact the fluid that is flowing within the flow path 51F, on the inner wall of the measurement tube 51, facing a direction that is perpendicular to the direction of the magnetic field B that is produced by the excitation coil 53, and have a function for detecting, and outputting to the converter 50B, an electromotive force E that is produced within the fluid in accordance with the excitation of the fluid by the magnetic field B.
The converter 50B has, as its primary circuit portions, a communication interface portion 55, a signal processing portion 56, and an excitation circuit 57.
The communication interface portion 55 is connected to a higher-level device (not shown), such as a controller, through a signal line W, and has a function for generating an operating power supply from the electric power that is supplied through the signal line W from the higher-level device to supply the various functional portions, and a function for sending, to the higher-level device through the signal line W through data communication, a flow rate value for the fluid, obtained from the signal processing portion 56.
The signal processing portion 56 has a function for generating, and outputting to the excitation circuit 60, an excitation signal comprising pulse signals that have a specific excitation frequency, a function for calculating a fluid flow rate through sampling and performing signal processing based on the signal amplification and the excitation frequency, of the electromotive force E detected by the electrodes 52, and a function for outputting, to the communication interface portion 55, the flow rate value thus obtained.
The excitation circuit 60 has a function for generating, and providing to the excitation coil 53, a square wave AC excitation current for switching and controlling the excitation polarity, based on the excitation signal from the signal processing portion 56.
In this type of electromagnetic flow meter 50, a variety of noises, including electro-chemical noises, fluid noises, slurry noises, and the like, are superimposed onto the electromotive force detected by the electrodes 52. Consequently, in order to calculate the flow rate value accurately from the electromotive force, it is necessary to reduce these noises. Here these noises have the so-called "1/f" characteristic of being greater the lower the frequency band. Because of this, the higher the excitation frequency, the better the S/N ratio, and thus the more precisely the value for the flow rate can be calculated.
On the other hand, when an AC excitation current, such as comprising a square wave, in this way, is applied to the excitation coil 53, the effect of the self-inductance inherent to the excitation coil will cause the rising edge of the excitation current to be less steep, and will produce a delay in the waveform. Consequently, because the wavelength of the excitation signal is shortened when the excitation frequency is increased, the proportion of the delay in the rising edge in relation to the wavelength is increased, shortening the period of time over which an adequate magnetic field is generated, and shortening also the average steady-state region for the amplitude in the electromagnetic force that is detected by the electrode. As a result, sampling of a stable electromagnetic force becomes difficult, resulting in an increase in the error in the value of the flow rate. Because of this, it is necessary for the ramping of the excitation current to be slow, even if the excitation frequency is high.
Conventionally, there has been a proposal for a technology for improving the rising edge of the excitation current when switching the excitation polarity, through charging, into a capacitive element, the reverse induced voltage that is produced by the excitation coil, and then reusing that as electric power for excitation. See, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H2-12221 and Japanese Patent No. 4004931).
As illustrated in FIG. 6, this type of excitation circuit 60 is structured from a switching circuit 61, a constant current circuit 62, a diode D60, a diode bridge DB, and a capacitive element C.
The constant current circuit 62 is a typical constant current circuit such as structured from an emitter-follower circuit made from, for example, a transistor Q, an op-amp OP, and a resistive element R, connected between the current output terminal Tout from the switching circuit 61 and the ground electropotential GND, where the driving current is supplied at a constant current from a power supply voltage VP to the switching circuit 61 based on a setting voltage Vcnt.
The switching circuit 61 has a function for generating, and supplying to an excitation coil L, an AC excitation current Iex through controlling polarity switching of the constant current that is supplied to the current input Tin from the power supply voltage VP by the constant current circuit 62, based on the excitation signals SA and SB, which comprise pulse signals that have mutually complementary phase relationships, outputted from a signal processing portion (not shown) of the converter.
The diode bridge DB has a function for rectifying the reverse induced voltage that is produced across (on both ends of) the terminals L1-L2 of the excitation coil L, to charge the capacitive element C. The AC terminals of the DB are connected, respectively, to L1 and L2, where the plus terminal is connected to one end of the capacitive element C, and the minus terminal is connected to the ground electropotential GND. The use of a Schottky diode structure in this DB can reduce the voltage drop in the forward direction in the individual diodes that structure the DB.
The capacitive element C is connected between the current input terminal Tin and the ground electropotential GND, and has a function for charging the reverse induced voltage that has been rectified by the DB.
The diode D60 is connected in series with the power supply voltage VP and the current input terminal Tin, and has a function for preventing back-flow, to the power supply voltage VP side, the charging voltage VC that is charged into the capacitive element C.
This switching circuit 61 is provided with four switching circuits SW 61 through SW 64 for turning the current ON/OFF, and of these, the circuit wherein SW 61 and SW 63 are connected in series and the circuit wherein SW 62 and SW 64 are connected in series are connected in parallel with each other. The terminal L1 of the excitation coil L is connected to the connection node between the contact terminal of SW 61 and the contact terminal of SW 63, and, similarly, the terminal L2 is connected to the contact node between the contact terminal of SW 62 and the contact terminal of SW 64.
As illustrated in the signal waveform diagram in FIG. 7, the excitation signals SA and SB are pulse signals, of the excitation frequency, that have a mutually complementary phase relationship, where, of these, SA controls SW 61 and SW 64, and SB controls SW 62 and SW 63.
Consequently, as shown at time T60, when there is a rising edge of SA and a falling edge of SB, SW 61 and SW 64 turn ON, and SW 62 and SW 63 turn OFF. As a result, a path is formed, as the path for the driving current that is inputted through D60 and Tin from VP, through SW 61→terminal L2→excitation coil L→terminal L1→SW 64→Tout→constant current circuit 62, to perform the polarity switching of the excitation current Iex.
On the other hand, as shown at Time T61, at the rising edge of SB and the falling edge of SA, SW 61 and SW 64 are turned OFF and SW 62 and SW 63 are turned ON. Because of this, a path is formed, as the path for the driving current, through SW 62→terminal L1→excitation coil L→terminal L2→SW 63→Tout→constant current circuit 62, to perform polarity switching of the excitation current Iex.
Here, when the polarity of the excitation current Iex is switched, the self-inductance of the excitation coil L produces a reverse induced voltage at the across-terminal voltage VL, across the ends L1-L2 of the excitation coil L. For example, at time T60, when the excitation current Iex is switched from the L1→L2 direction where it has been until this point, to the L2→L1 direction, the reverse induced voltage that is produced between the two ends L1-L2 of the excitation coil L causes the voltage at L2 to be higher than the voltage at L1. At this time, L1 is connected through SW 64 and through the constant current circuit 62 to the ground electropotential GND, and thus the high voltage generated at L2 is charged through the DB into the capacitive element C.
On the other hand, at time T61, when the excitation current Iex is switched from the L2→L1 direction where it has been until this point, to the L1→L2 direction, the reverse induced voltage that is produced between the two ends of the excitation coil L causes the voltage at L1 to be higher than the voltage at L2. At this time, L2 is connected through SW 63 and through the constant current circuit 62 to the ground electropotential GND, and thus the voltage generated at L1 is charged through the DB into the capacitive element C.
In this way, the reverse induced voltage that is generated in the excitation coil L at the time of polarity switching of the excitation current Iex is charged into the capacitive element C, and thus, during the time interval over which the charging voltage VC of the capacitive element C is higher than the voltage that is supplied from the power supply voltage VP through the diode D60, a current is supplied to the switching circuit 61 from the capacitive element C. This enables the provision of greater electric power to the Tin of the switching circuit 61, reducing the delay time from the timing of the switching of the excitation signals SA and SB until the excitation current Iex arrives at the maximum value. As a result, this makes it possible to cause the rising (or falling) of the excitation current Iex, even when at a high excitation frequency, to be faster than when compared to the case wherein the reverse induced voltage of the excitation coil L is not used (the waveform indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 7).
In this type of conventional technology, a high voltage difference is produced, through the reverse induced voltage of the excitation coil L, between the contact terminal sides of the switching circuits SW 61 through SW 64 and the control terminal side into which the excitation signals SA and SB are inputted. As explained using FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, above, a high reverse induced voltage is produced between the terminals L1 and L2 when the polarity of the excitation current Iex is switched, so the peak value of the charging voltage VC for the capacitive element C goes higher than the power supply voltage VP. For example, if the power supply voltage VP is 10 V, in some cases the charging voltage VC may increase to as much as 100 V through the reverse induced voltage within the excitation coil L.
Typically, the contact terminals to which the high voltage is applied for SW 63 and SW 64 are drain terminals of MOSFETs (N-channel), so the MOSFETs will not be damaged even if not of the high-voltage type. However, in the switches SW 61 and SW 63, typically the contact terminals to which the high voltages are applied, through the current input terminal Tin of the capacitive voltage C, are source terminals of MOSFETs (P-channel), so there is a problem in that SW 61 and SW 62 become damaged.
One strategy for avoiding damaging SW 61 through SW 64 through the high-voltage in this way is a method wherein guarding measures, such as limiting the peak value of the charging voltage VC are taken. In this method, the voltage that is charged into the capacitive element C is reduced, and thus there is a problem in that the reverse induced voltage of the excitation coil L is not used effectively as electric power for driving the excitation coil.
Moreover, as another method by which to prevent damage to SW 61 and SW 62 through the high-voltage in this way, one may consider the use of a high-voltage switching circuit made from a MOSFET that has adequate voltage durability performance, that is, from a high-voltage MOSFET, so as to not cause damage even if the reverse induced voltage of the excitation coil L is applied to these switches SW 61 and SW 62. As an example, while the absolute maximum rating (VDS) for the drain-source voltage in a normal MOSFET is about 20 V, in a high-voltage MOSFET, the VDS is about 100 V, or even greater than 100 V.
However, high-voltage MOSFETs tend to have higher resistance, where the excitation current Iex is produced by this resistance, and, as a result, there is a problem in that the excitation coil cannot be driven efficiently by the power supply voltage VP.
Moreover, as described above, the voltage on the contact terminal side, which is that which is turned ON and OFF by the MOSFET that structures the switching current, varies greatly, from the 10 V that is the power supply voltage VP to 100 V, which is the peak value of the charging voltage VC.
On the other hand, when a high-voltage is turned ON or OFF in a high-voltage MOSFET, a high-voltage must be applied to the gate terminal in combination with this voltage. Because of this, in order to control a voltage that has a broad scope of variability, the voltage at the gate terminal side must also be switched, and this has a problem in that it makes the control system extremely complex.
The present invention is to solve such problems, and an aspect thereof is to provide an excitation coil for an electromagnetic flow meter wherein the excitation current can ramp up quickly, through effectively using the reverse induced voltage of the excitation coil L, while avoiding damaging the switching circuit through high-voltage.

Electromagnetic flow meter excitation circuit and electromagnetic flow meter


A method and system for establishing a call between two endpoints residing on different media gateways in a decomposed voice over packet architecture. Cluster attributes identifying alternate bearer possibilities are exchanged between media gateways as part of capabilities negotiation which occurs during call setup conducted by an external call control element over a core network. The media gateways analyze the cluster attributes to determine whether bearer possibilities exist apart from the core network. If an alternate bearer possibility exists, the alternate is employed and the call is established via the alternate bearer directly between the media gateways, thus bypassing the core network.

A current trend in the telecommunications industry utilizes a decomposed voice over packet architecture in which a call control functionality is performed by one element and the actual bearing of data is accomplished by a second element. Prior to this decomposition technique, call control and call bearing were performed by one element, and the way that element worked was proprietary and unique to each telecommunications provider. Now, there are industry-wide standards, the call control element has been separated (logically, and in some cases physically as well) from the call bearing element, and telecommunications providers can work together to devise solutions to satisfy the constant demand on the telecommunications industry to provide faster and more complex services.
A media gateway is a network element that provides conversion between media (voice, video, data, etc.) and data packets carried over a core packet (IP, ATM, etc.) network. A media gateway supports a collection of endpoints. An endpoint sources and/or sinks one or more media streams.
In a conventional decomposed voice over packet architecture, an external call control element typically establishes a call between two endpoints on different media gateways via the core packet network. The call control element is logically external to the media gateway, while it may or may not reside in the same physical box or location. The external call control element is typically unaware of any possible connection between two endpoints other than the core packet network. It is possible that the two endpoints reside within the same network device or within different network devices that are in close proximity to one another. Alternative connections between endpoints are called alternate bearer possibilities, and may include such connections as ATM, virtual channel or TDM networks, pre-resolved IP paths, MPLS or VLAN networks or pseudo-wires, among others. In a decomposed voice over packet architecture, the external call control element is typically unaware of these alternate bearer possibilities.
In the prior art, however, it is known for the external call control element to discern that if a call originates and terminates on the same media gateway, there is a bearer possibility other than the core packet network. Media gateway control protocols including Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP), Trunking Gateway Control Protocol (TGCP), Network-based Call Signaling (NCS), Megaco/H.248 and SIP define syntax and semantics which allow the external call control element to specify an alternate bearer possibility when a call originates and terminates on the same media gateway. However, these constructs cannot be used in conjunction with endpoints which reside on different media gateways.

Method and system for bypassing a core network in establishing a call between endpoints on different media gateways


An HF control bi-directional switch component of the type having its gate referenced to the rear surface formed in the front surface of a peripheral well of the component, including two independent gate regions intended to be respectively connected to terminals of a transformer having a midpoint connected to the rear surface terminal of the component.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the forming of an HF (high frequency)-control switch.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,862,196, which is incorporated herein by reference, relates to a thyristor control structure comprising an HF (high frequency) control source connected via a transformer to the gate-cathode circuit of a thyristor, a diode being interposed in this gate-cathode circuit.
It is disclosed in the above-mentioned US patent that, if the HF frequency is high enough, a miniaturized transformer formed on a glass substrate may be used. In this patent, examples of operating frequencies on the order of 40 MHz or more are given. Various advantages of this control mode are mentioned: transformer miniaturization, simplified assembly of the transformer and of the thyristor, improvement of the insulation, control of head-to-tail thyristors etc.
It is also known, as illustrated in FIG. 1, to provide an assembly of the same type to control a bi-directional switch 1 having its gate-cathode circuit connected to a secondary winding of a transformer T with an interposed series diode D.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, bi-directional switch 1 of FIG. 1 may be a bi-directional switch of the type having its control referenced to the rear surface terminal. Such a component is schematically and partially illustrated in the cross-section view of FIG. 2. It comprises a power portion comprising NPNP and PNPN thyristors in parallel. These two thyristors are formed in a structure comprising a lightly-doped N-type substrate 10. On the lower and upper surface sides are formed P-type layers, 11 and 12, layer 11 being on the upper surface side and layer 12 on the lower surface side. In region 11, an N-type region 13 on the left-hand side of the drawing is formed so that a vertical NPNP thyristor is formed of region 13, of layer 11, or substrate 10, and of layer 12. An N-type 14 layer is formed on the rear surface side at least in front of the portion of P-type region 11 in which N region 13 is not formed. A vertical PNPN thyristor comprising regions and layers 11, 10, 12, and 14 is thus formed. In this type of component referenced to the rear surface, the gate is formed of an N+-type region 16 formed on the upper surface side of a peripheral well or diffusion wall 18 surrounding the entire bi-directional switch.
It should also be noted that U.S. published patent application No. 2005/0082565 of the applicant describes an HF control of a bi-directional component structure. This patent application specifically describes the case where the bi-directional component structure comprises a gate terminal and a gate reference terminal. The control signal is then applied between these terminals, the gate reference terminal being distinct from the main front surface terminal.
It is often attempted to decrease the sensitivity of bi-directional components to spurious triggerings linked to voltage peaks (dV/dt sensitivity) and to improve their switching performances, that is, in particular, for the conduction during a halfwave not to cause a conduction during a next halfwave of opposite polarity (di/dt sensitivity to switching). This, however, poses a problem in that, when a bi-directional component is desensitized to make it less sensitive to noise, it is also less sensitive to a normal control signal. This problem is all the more acute when the frequency of the HF control signal is desired to be increased, the power contained in each halfwave then being lower.


This invention is a safety mechanism that improves upon existing inventions in the field of barbeques and grills by minimizing grill fires and/or burning or overcooking of one's food. A barbeque includes a control panel that receives input from one or several thermocouples installed inside the grill. In the event of a grill fire, the thermocouples detect the high heat, send a signal to the control panel, that in turn activates a mechanical lift to move the barbecue's cooking-grid away from the flame.

The practice of barbecuing or grilling provides a uniquely delicious and enjoyable means of preparing food. Among other things, it allows food to be prepared over an open fire, creating a distinct, savory flavor. Moreover, because it can be practiced outdoors and in remote locations away from conventional kitchens, it allows the chef to prepare the food while participating in other social and/or festive activities.
Some dangers and inconveniences of grilling arise because of the risk of fire and/or burning or overcooking of one's food. For instance, several commonly grilled foods, such as fish and chicken contain oils and fatty substances that, when exposed to the open flame, can fuel a dangerous fire and/or result in the burning or overcooking of one's food. To avoid these common problems, the chef is required to closely supervise the food's preparation, monitor the flame size, and otherwise ensure that the food is not too close to the flame. If the chef becomes preoccupied, otherwise neglects the grill, or is merely inexperienced, his or her neglect can easily lead to a dangerous fire and/or accidentally burn the meal.
Several mechanisms have been developed to allow the chef to more easily carry out this function. U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,280 to Iverson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,390 to Ceravolo, U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,512 to Poe, Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,591,740 to Hsu, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,008 to Winkel all disclose means of varying the distance between the flame and food through manual, mechanical means. Each of them, however, still requires the chef's constant supervision of the food's preparation as well as the chef's manual adjusting of the height of the cooking-grid or the flame. Other grills utilize a cover that keeps air from entering the grill and, thus, stifling the flame by starving it of oxygen, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,535,749 to Schlosser et al. This mechanism, however, can only be used with charcoal-fueled grills and is imperfect because, although it can oftentimes prevent a dangerous fire, it will nevertheless sometimes allow food to become overcooked or burned.
Other grills utilize an adjustable gas valve that allows the chef to adjust flame size and intensity in order to regulate the temperature of the food and minimize fires and/or overcooking. Such mechanisms, however, still require the chef's constant supervision and cannot be used with grills that are fueled by charcoal rather than gas. Improvements on such gas mechanisms are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,041,768 to Giammona et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,242 to Higley, U.S. Pat. No. 6,684,757 to Petersen, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,733,276 to Kopping. Each of these patents discloses varying timing mechanisms that serve to automatically cut off gas supply to the grill at the expiration of a predetermined time period, thereby preventing a fire and/or overcooking of the food. These mechanisms, however, also suffer from several shortcomings. First, they can only be used with gas-fueled grills and cannot be used with charcoal-fueled grills, which many chefs prefer. Moreover, they do not provide a reliable means of minimizing fires because they operate based on a timer and grill fires are unpredictable and can ignite at any time. Finally, such timers will shut off the flame completely in order to prevent a fire and, in so doing, halt the cooking process altogether.
Therefore, there is a long-felt need in the art for a grilling mechanism that will automatically minimize fires and/or burning or overcooking of one's food, is compatible with both gas-fueled and charcoal-fueled grills, is sensitive to the constant changes in grill temperature, and will minimize a dangerous grill fire while still keeping food warm.


Systems and methods provide for execution of different provisioning engines within a resource provider environment. A user may submit a request to provision one or more resources using a particular provisioning engine, which may include a provisioning engine that is non-native to the resource provider environment. A control plane may evaluate and transmit requests to the provisioning engine executing within the resource provider environment. Operations associated with the provisioning engine may be executed and stored within a data store, which may be processed upon completion and made accessible.

As an increasing number of applications and services are being made available over networks such as the Internet, an increasing number of content, application, and service providers are turning to technologies such as remote resource sharing and cloud computing. Cloud computing, in general, is an approach to providing access to electronic resources through services, such as Web services, where the hardware and/or software used to support those services is dynamically scalable to meet the needs of the services at any given time. A user or customer typically will rent, lease, or otherwise pay for access to resources through the cloud, and thus does not have to purchase and maintain the hardware and/or software to provide access to these resources. The user may wish to utilize different provisioning engines based on their personal preferences when using services with different resource providers, but may experience problems with engine capabilities.

Provisioning engine hosting solution for a cloud orchestration environment


This invention relates to poly(trimethylene terephthalate)/poly(alpha-hydroxy acid) biconstituent filaments, methods for making the same and end uses thereof.

Poly(trimethylene terephthalate) ("PTT") and its use in many applications, including fibers, has been described in the literature. PTT is a polyester derived from terephthalic acid or an ester thereof and trimethylene glycol (also known as 1,3-propanediol) ("PDO"). The PDO may be prepared by various chemical or biochemical routes, including from various sugar sources such as corn, and thus can be prepared from a renewable resource. New PTT filaments having improved strength and stiffness (demonstrated by higher modulus) have been desired.
In addition, since terephthalic acid and its esters are presently prepared from petroleum base, it is desired to increase the green (renewable resource base) of PTT compositions without harming the overall properties of products.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 2003-041435 describes mixtures of PTT and 1-10 wt % of a polyester consisting essentially of polylactic acid. The mixtures are used to prepare hollow, crimped staple fibers. Poly(lactic acid) can also be prepared from a renewable resource, being prepared from lactic acid (2-hydroxypropionic acid) and its intermolecular esters that are in turn prepared from carbohydrates by lactic acid fermentation. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2003-041435 is focused on using polylactic acid to provide a more stable crimp.

Poly(trimethylene terephthalate)/poly(alpha-hydroxy acid) biconstituent filaments


The present disclosure provides a system and method for detecting faults related to lines linked to provide network services. The method includes storing a synthetic value for the performance of a line, receiving a measured value of a performance parameter of the line measured at a customer end and comparing the synthetic value with the measured value to determine if a fault condition exists.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to communication networks utilizing metallic links for providing services.
2. Description of the Related Art
Service providers provide a variety of services, such as Internet access, Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), Video-on-Demand, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), etc. over networks utilizing wire pairs. In one type of a network, content is transmitted over copper pairs between the service provider's central office or wire center and customer gateways. Typically, a separate wire pair connects a switch, such a Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer, located at the central office to several hundred customer premises, each corresponding to a separate port at the switch. The wire pair typically first terminates at a network interface device located outside the customer premise, from where it may be routed to a connection device, such a telephone jack and then to a customer gateway, such as a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) modem. DSL transmission typically utilizes differential signaling over the pair of wires. Such two-wire transmission can get impaired if one of the two wires is broken, imperfectly sliced or not connected to the DSL modem. Additionally, errors in wiring can occur at the customer interface and/or at the network end. Sometimes, only one of the two wires may be connected to the modem. In such a case, the DSL modem may be able to establish a circuit, but the quality of the service may be below an acceptable level. Unlike the plain old telephone (POTS) service, DSL line does not need a direct current (DC) path. Thus, a broken conductor may not completely disrupt the DSL service. If a customer does not have a telephone service on the DSL line, such a customer may not notice the lack of dial tone or the presence of crackle, which are indicators of line faults. Often the faults are analyzed utilizing electrical equipment at one or both ends of the line, which can be time-consuming and expensive. Thus, there is a need for an improved system for efficiently determining performance of DSL lines.

System and method for detecting continuity of network lines


A method and apparatus for curing large composite parts. The method utilizes a fiber metal mesh sheet (40) situated against a composite material(34) during a curing process. The fiber metal mesh sheet (40) provides a porous network for flow of the reaction by-products during a curing and vacuuming process, yet gives adequate structure to prevent both mark-off by vacuum ports (52, 70) and crushing of the porous network as a result of autoclave and vacuum pressure. External vacuum ports (52) are located in a bagging film (50) surrounding the composite material (34). Alternatively, vacuum ports (70) are located below the composite material (34). The use of the external vacuum ports (52), vacuum ports (70) located beneath the composite material (34), or both, shortens by-product flow path and provides adequate vacuum pressure over all areas of the composite material (34) to remove reaction by-products.

Airplane manufacturers are under increasing pressure to produce lightweight, strong, and durable aircraft at the lowest cost for manufacture and life cycle maintenance. An airplane must have sufficient structural strength to withstand stresses during flight, while being as light as possible to maximize the performance of the airplane. For these reasons and others, aircraft manufacturers have increasingly used fiber-reinforced resin matrix composites.
Fiber-reinforced resin matrix composites provide improved strength, fatigue resistance, stiffness, and strength-to-weight ratio by incorporating strong, stiff, carbon fibers into a softer, more ductile resin matrix. The resin matrix material transmits forces to the fibers and provides ductility and toughness, while the fibers carry most of the applied force. Unidirectional continuous fibers can produce anisotropic properties, while woven fabrics produce quasi-isotropic properties.
In one prior art method of producing fiber-reinforced resin matrix components for aircraft, a number of prepreg sheets were stacked on a lay-up mandrel. An example of such a process is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,765,942, incorporated herein by reference. The lay-up mandrel included internal plumbing extending to a number of vacuum ports at the upper surface of the lay-up mandrel. The vacuum ports were located on a circumference that extended a few inches outside the perimeter of the prepreg sheets located on the lay-up mandrel.
A parting film, such as fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP), was applied over the stack of prepreg sheets. A flexible, fiberglass breathable blanket was placed over the top of the parting film. The breathable blanket was larger than the prepreg sheets so that it contacted the vacuum ports at the surface of the lay-up mandrel. A vacuum bag was placed over and sealed around the entire structure, and the lay-up mandrel was placed in an autoclave and the prepreg sheets were cured.
During curing, vacuum was applied to the bag and the autoclave was pressurized so as to compact the prepreg sheets onto the upper surface of the lay-up mandrel. After the curing process was complete, the compacted and cured composite part was removed from the lay-up mandrel.
The curing process described above was not successful in formation of high quality, large thermoplastic composite parts. The prepreg sheets used in formation of thermoplastic composite parts were "wetted," or soaked with solvents, to carry the resin onto the fibers and create a tack similar to conventional thermoset composite prepreg sheets. The introduction of solvents into the prepreg sheets required that the solvent, as well as a number of other by-products of the curing process, such as ethanol, water, and volatiles (typically 15% by weight), be removed before and during the curing process to form a high quality composite part. The by-products may evolve during the heating or curing cycles, can be a residual solvent carried in the material, or can be produced as a result of the condensation and curing reactions that occur at elevated temperatures to convert the resin to a composite. The by-products can include water, solvents, and volatiles that are emitted by the resin during curing of composite material. The volatiles include organics that are the residue of protecting groups on the capping compounds of the monomer reactants of the resin, and organics that are emitted from the capping compounds when the capping compounds release their protective groups and react.
In prior art processes, the removal of by-products of the curing process was facilitated via the vacuum ports distributed around the perimeter of the lay-up mandrel. The breathable blanket provided a flow path for the by-products during vacuum.
Past experience has demonstrated that high-quality small thermoplastic parts can be fabricated using the composite forming methods described above. However, in large parts, where the flow path from portions of the composite part to the vacuum ports was greater than 1.5 feet, pores (pockets where no resin is present around the fibers) were produced at portions of the part removed from the vacuum parts as a result of air, moisture, and other by-products not being drawn during the curing process. The pores caused a drop in strength of the composite part.
To remedy this problem, prior processes increased the number of vacuum ports around the part. The results were mixed, and the majority of prior art processes were not successful in the fabrication of parts that have a flow path to the vacuum ports from central portions of the part that was greater than 1.5 feet (i.e., a part that was greater than 3 feet across).
The prior art used staged heating to drive off the excess solvent prior to reaching the melt and cure temperatures where the capping compounds released their protecting groups and then reacted. Other prior art processes increased the time to draw the by-products off, both during the heat-up and the dwell of the cure cycle. It was assumed that given enough time, a sufficient amount of the by-products would be removed from the part. One process lengthened the dwell time from 2 hours to 8 hours. This modification in the cure cycle resulted in an increase of maximum by-product flow path from 1.5 feet to 3 feet. However, the increase in dwell time was insufficient for creating composite parts that were greater than 6 feet across. This limitation made it impossible to make large panels like wing skins.
Another attempt to cure large thermoplastic panels involved the use of a lay-up mandrel made of a porous material such as monolithic graphite. The porous material permitted the extraction of some by-products directly through the lay-up mandrel, or along the lay-up mandrel's surface. One problem with this approach was that the monolithic graphite had poor strength, resulting in the need for structural support for rigidity and handling. The combined weight produced an extremely heavy lay-up mandrel, which was difficult to handle in a factory. The monolithic graphite was also difficult to machine. In addition, monolithic graphite chipped and cracked easily, making it an impractical material for a production environment.
Thus, there exists a need for an improved method for making a large fiber-reinforced resin matrix composite part substantially free of pores.

Method and apparatus for curing large composite panels


A window rain shield ventilator for installation in an open window, such ventilator having slideably extending first and second ventilator shield members attached, respectively, to first and second flange members, each flange member having at least one rotatable engagement member to aid in retaining the ventilator in the window's sash channels.

1. Field of the Invention
The device of this invention resides in the field of double-hung window ventilators and more particularly relates to a securely installed window ventilator that acts as a rain shield.
2. History of the Prior Art
The prior art has long appreciated that when the lower sash of a double-hung window is lifted and it is raining outdoors, wind can drive that rain directly into the room where the window is located. Window rain shield ventilators have been used to prevent rain from coming in an open window. Many of such window rain shield ventilators have been patented. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,914,728 to Plym teaches a ventilation bracket attached to the sides of a window frame extending inward and disposing a ventilator which extends upward from the window sill at an inwardly disposed angle to the window frame which will block rain from entering the room through the open window while at the same time allowing air circulation to occur freely therethrough. Many other rain shields have been taught in the prior art, such as U.S. Pat. No. 2,120,730 to Chemoski which teaches a similar inwardly extending shield member that is attached by end members to the window frame. U.S. Pat. No. 2,376,230 to Coffed teaches another embodiment of a sash ventilator. U.S. Pat. No. 2,460,760 to Mazza and U.S. Pat. No. 2,595,750 to Ferris teach an adjustable ventilator which can be attached in a non-permanently fixed installation to a window. Another embodiment of a window ventilator is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 2,701,515 to Rinker. U.S. Design patent D384,166 to Coats teaches a combined window ventilator and rain catcher that can be formed for insertion in one type of window which design allows for air circulation while still blocking rain from entering a room.


An optical sensor having a cover layer, an emitter disposed on a first side of the cover, a detector disposed on the first side of said cover, and a plurality of stacked independent adhesive layers disposed on the same first side of the cover, wherein the top most exposed adhesive layer is attached to a patient's skin. Thus, when the sensor is removed to perform a site check of the tissue location, one of the adhesive layers may also be removed and discarded, exposing a fresh adhesive surface below for re-attachment to a patient's skin. The independent pieces of the adhesive layers can be serially used to extend the useful life of the product.

The present invention relates to optical sensors, and in particular to pulse oximeter sensors.
Many types of optical sensors are used to measure physiological characteristics of a patient. Typically, an optical sensor provides emitted light which is then scattered through a portion of a patient's tissue and detected. Various characteristics of a patient can be determined from analyzing such light, such as oxygen saturation, pulse rate, tissue bilirubin, etc.
Pulse oximetry is typically used to measure various blood flow characteristics including, but not limited to, the blood-oxygen saturation of hemoglobin in arterial blood, the volume of individual blood pulsations supplying the tissue, and the rate of blood pulsations corresponding to each heartbeat of a patient. Measurement of these characteristics has been accomplished by use of a non-invasive sensor which scatters light through a portion of the patient's tissue where blood perfuses the tissue, and photoelectrically senses the absorption of light in such tissue. The amount of light absorbed is then used to calculate the amount of blood constituent being measured.
The light scattered through the tissue is selected to be of one or more wavelengths that are absorbed by the blood in an amount representative of the amount of the blood constituent present in the blood. The amount of transmitted light scattered through the tissue will vary in accordance with the changing amount of blood constituent in the tissue and the related light absorption. For measuring blood oxygen level, such sensors have typically been provided with a light source that is adapted to generate light of at least two different wavelengths, and with photodetectors sensitive to both of those wavelengths, in accordance with known techniques for measuring blood oxygen saturation.
Known non-invasive sensors include devices that are secured to a portion of the body, such as a finger, an ear or the scalp. In animals and humans, the tissue of these body portions is perfused with blood and the tissue surface is readily accessible to the sensor.
Certain types of optical sensors are applied to a patient's external tissue by way of an adhesive attachment, enabled by an adhesive layer on the sensor. During the monitoring of a patient, there is a need to remove the sensor to perform a site check of the tissue location, and this removal typically damages the adhesive layer. Furthermore, adhesive type sensors are often used with disposable type sensors where the photo emitter and the detector are mounted on a backing without the benefit of a rigid optical mount to maintain the emitter and detector's separation relatively fixed, and thus the sensor is subject to motion induced artifacts that may adversely affect measurement accuracy.
There is therefore a need to improve the functionality of adhesive-type optical sensors.


A universal holding frame provides convenience and safety for certain drill accessories which all have an elongate drivable shaft and a mounted storage barrel. The universal holding frame maintains the mounted storage barrel against rotation with the shaft of the drill accessory. It can contract and extend and be able to fit almost all drills.

For certain drill accessories, such as U.S. Pat. Ser. No. 10/680,146, titled drill accessory, they all have a rotatable storage barrel mounted on an elongate drive shaft to provide a storage area for other bits. In FIG. 1, 1 is the shaft, 2 is the storage barrel.
Because each bit is in a different shape, different weight, and usually there is an empty reserved recess on the storage barrel 2 for the bit that is being positioned on the shaft 1 and is being used, the barrel 2 is not balanced. Because of the friction, the storage barrel 2 has the trend to rotate with the shaft 1 when the shaft 1 is rotating. Once the storage barrel 2 rotates, the tool 10 and the drill 6 (in FIG. 1) will be instable. We need a way to make the barrel 2 stationary when the drive shaft 1 is rotating. One way is to use a hand to hold the barrel 2. This way always requires a hand available, not the best solution. Another solution mentioned in the patent application titled drill accessory, Ser. No. 10/680,146, is inserting a U shape spring between the storage barrel 2 and the drill body 6. This solution has some drawbacks: first, it's very hard for a U shape spring to fit all drills properly. Secondly, a U shape spring protrudes from a drill chuck, not safe and attractive. This invention provides a better solution.

Universal holding frame for certain drill accessories


An analyzer has a reaction disk for holding a plurality of reaction containers and a fluorophotometer for measuring fluorescence stemming from solutions in the containers. Most of the containers contain solid phases attached with antibodies but at least one container does not contain any solid phase. In normal operation of the analyzer, a test sample containing antigens and a latently fluorescent reagent such as an antibody labeled by an enzyme are added to a container containing a solid phase. In this container, a fluorescent substance is created through an enzyme reaction. Light is irradiated on the container and the fluorescence emitted from the fluorescent substance is measured. While measuring test samples, fluorescence stemming from a reference sample, such as quinine sulfate, is measured to produce values for the reference sample by which measured values for the test samples are corrected. Prior to measuring general test samples by the analyzer, fluorescence stemming from a reference sample in a container removed of any solid phase is measured and compared with a setting value. If the results of the comparison indicate that the normal operation will be difficult to continue, then the sampling operation by the pipetter is discontinued.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for automatic measurement of fluorescence and more particularly to an analytical method and apparatus applicable to measurement of a fluorescent substance created by adding a latently fluorescent reagent to a sample to be tested.
In the past, a radio-immunoassay method using radioisotopes has been employed widely in order to measure, with immunologic methods, a small amount of substances in a biological sample, but recently a measurement method using an enzyme or a liposome has been predominant.
An enzyme immunoassay method is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-62-50662. In this example, a complex of an antigen, an antibody and an enzyme is created on the surface of a bead and the intensity of fluorescence caused by an enzyme reaction, which develops when a substrate is brought into contact with the complex, is measured.
The above JP-A-62-50662 uses an ordinary fluorophotometer to measure reaction solutions and fails to refer to an apparatus using an automated reaction system and a fluorophotometer in combination.
On the other hand, in the field of automatic chemical analyzers, the analyzer itself changes (drifts) with time so that measured values are affected, by such a drift change, and therefore countermeasures against this problem have been contrived. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,043,756 discloses a method of photometry of light which is absorbed by reaction solutions of samples to be tested which are drawn into flow cells. Before carrying out measurements of the test samples, a reaction solution of a reference sample and a reagent blank are first measured with a view of correcting a standard curved, and a drift variation of the analyzer per se is corrected using a corrected standard curve.
When designing an immunoanalyzer by incorporating a fluorophotometer into an automatic analyzer, it is of significance to ensure high stability of the detection system and high reliability of results of measurement in the immunoanalyzer. In the measurement, quantitative measurement of a small amount of antigens or antibodies in a biological sample is needed and abnormality in performance of the optical system for fluorophotometry leads to impairment of analysis of small amounts. Further, degradation of the reagent is a factor in increasing measurement error in the analysis of small amounts.
The aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,043,756 describes drift variations of the analyzer but does not consider the performance degradation of the optical system and the reagent degradation. A reference sample used in this literature is a reaction solution prepared by reacting the same element as a target element in a test sample in the same way. In immunoanalysis, however, it is difficult to obtain a chemically stable solution of a substance which may be used as a reference sample in reactions.

Method and apparatus for automatic measurement of fluorescence


A contract association method and system. The method includes receiving, by a computing system from a requester, a command for creating a service request. The computing system places restrictions on accessing contracts associated with suppliers. The computing system receives a selection of a first requested skill from the requester. The computing system selects a group of contracts applicable to a group of suppliers. The computing system generates a service request document comprising a selection of a first supplier from the group of suppliers, a first contract of the group of contracts, and the first requested skill.

Selecting individuals from various entities to perform functions within an organization typically comprises an inefficient process with little flexibility. Typically, entities provide detailed information associated with the individuals. The detailed information may include resumes, pay rate requests, and lists of skills. Viewing and processing the detailed information may be very tedious and time consuming. Accordingly, there exists a need in the art to overcome the deficiencies and limitations described herein above.

International Business Machines Corporation


A toy consists of an inner balloon and a transparent outer balloon that define a chamber therebetween. The chamber is substantially filled by a first liquid and one or more fragile capsules containing a second liquid. The first liquid and the second liquid have the property that when they are mixed, a mixture is created that glows for several hours. The capsule(s) are broken, releasing the second liquid, and the toy is inflated, creating a balloon that glows in the dark.

The present invention relates to toys, and, more particularly, to toys that glow in the dark.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the prior art relative to the present invention: a hollow flexible sealed transparent plastic tube 10, such as is commonly sold for example at amusement parks and sports stadiums, or given out at parties. Substantially filling tube 10 is a first liquid 20. Inserted in one end of tube 10 is a fragile capsule 12 containing a second liquid 22. When capsule 12 is broken or torn, second liquid 22 mixes with first liquid 21, initiating a chemical reaction having one or more luminescent products that cause tube 10 to glow for several hours. The ends of tube 10 typically are provided with a mechanism that allows the ends of tube 10 to be joined one to the other, forming a necklace that the user can wear. In the specific example shown in FIG. 1, one end of tube 10 is provided with a male member 14 and the other end of tube 10 is provided with a female member 16. Inserting male member 14 into female member 16 closes tube 10 into a loop.
Typical examples of first liquid 20 and second liquid 22 are luminol (5-amino-2,3-dihydro-1,4-phthalazinedione) and hydrogen peroxide, respectively. One example of the prior art device is the "Laser Glow Light" marketed by Topstone Industries of Danbury, Conn.