Systems for launching one or more projectiles from a bore are provided. An exemplary system incorporates a shell, a projectile, an explosive charge and a wad. The shell includes a base and a casing, with the casing defining an interior. The projectile is located within the interior and is configured to be expelled from the shell casing. The explosive charge is located within the interior and is configured to expel the projectile from the casing. The wad is located within the interior and is configured to expel the projectile from the casing in response to detonation of the explosive charge. The wad includes petals and a petal stop, with the petals being movable between a closed position, in which free ends of the petals are arranged proximate to each other such that the petals at least partially surround the projectile, and an open position, in which the free ends of the petals are displaced from each other, the petal stop being configured to limit movement of the petals beyond the open position. Responsive to being expelled from a bore by detonation of the explosive charge, the petals move from the closed position to the open position, thereby retarding the wad and releasing the projectile.

1. Technical Field
The invention generally relates to projectiles.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical shotgun shell is formed of several basic components, including a shell base, a shell casing, primer, an explosive charge, a wad, and one or more projectiles usually shot. The wad surrounds the shot, with the wad and shot being located within an interior that is defined by the shell casing. The explosive charge is located between the wad and the shell base, with the primer being seated in the shell base.
The primer is used to ignite the explosive charge. Gas formed by the explosive charge pressurizes the interior of the shell casing and forces the wad and encased shot out of the shell casing and away from the shell base. As the wad and shot enter the bore of the shotgun in which the shotgun shell is loaded, the wad swells to seal against the inner wall of the bore. The pressure of the gasses continues to push the wad and encased shot through the bore until the wad and shot are expelled from the muzzle of the shotgun. As the wad exits the muzzle, segmented leaves or petals of the wad bend backward toward the muzzle due to air resistance. This causes a decrease in the forward motion of the wad and enables the shot to be released. The shot continues moving in a manner dictated by the force imparted to the shot by the wad and by any shape or constriction of the muzzle.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army


In expansion and reduction of the size of a macroblock in a moving image encoding, a compression ratio falls because an information amount for describing size information of the macroblock increases. An image decoding device includes a CU dividing unit and a CU-size storing unit. The CU-size storing unit has stored therein size information of an encoded CU in an encoding target picture to be stored and size information of all CUs in preceding and following pictures used for prediction. The CU dividing unit predicts a CU size in an encoding target position using the CU size information stored in the CU-size storing unit and determines a CU size of a final encoding target CU.

In a moving image encoding system represented by ITU-T H.264, an entire screen is divided into an encoding unit called a macroblock of 16 pixels×16 pixels to perform encoding.
In H.264, for an encoding target macroblock, a predicted value of a pixel value in the encoding target macroblock is determined using peripheral pixels and preceding and following pictures and a predicted error between encoding target pixels and the predicted value is entropy-encoded.
When the pixel value in the macroblock is predicted, intra-prediction for predicting the pixel value from the peripheral pixels and inter-prediction for predicting the pixel value from pixels of preceding and following pictures can be selected for each of macroblocks according to patterns in the macroblocks. The macroblock can be divided into prediction blocks smaller than 16 pixels×16 pixels to perform prediction. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, in the intra-prediction of H.264, the macroblock of 16 pixels×16 pixels is divided into sixteen prediction blocks of 4 pixels×4 pixels and peripheral pixels are copied to each of the prediction blocks in nine kinds of directions indicated by indexes 0 to 8 shown in FIG. 2, whereby pixels in the prediction blocks can be predicted.
As shown in FIG. 3, the macroblock is not divided and, in a prediction block of 16 pixels×16 pixels, peripheral pixels are copied in four kinds of directions indicated by indexes 0 to 3 shown in FIG. 3, whereby pixels in the prediction block can be predicted.
Concerning the inter-prediction of H.264, similarly, in the macroblock, the macroblock can be divided into smaller prediction blocks and motion vectors can be set for each of the prediction blocks. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, when a motion from a picture in the past is predicted, the macroblock can be divided into prediction blocks of 16 pixels×16 pixels, 16 pixels×8 pixels, 8 pixels×16 pixels, and 8 pixels×8 pixels (in this case, each of the prediction blocks can be further divided into 8 pixels×4 pixels, 4 pixels×8 pixels, and 4 pixels×4 pixels) and motion vectors different from one another can be set for the prediction blocks.
As explained above, the inside of the macroblock is divided into the prediction blocks and prediction is performed for each of the prediction blocks. Consequently, prediction accuracy is improved, for example, when a boundary of different patterns is present in the macroblock, leading to improvement of a compression ratio.
However, in the related art represented by H.264, the size of the macroblock is limited to a size equal to or smaller than 16 pixels×16 pixels. Prediction cannot be performed in a unit of a size larger than 16 pixels×16 pixels.
The selection of the intra-prediction or the inter-prediction can be set only in a macroblock unit. Therefore, the intra-prediction and the inter-prediction cannot be selected in a unit smaller than 16 pixels×16 pixels.
Therefore, in recent years, a technique for giving flexibility to the size itself of the macroblock and setting prediction blocks in a unit of a size larger than or smaller than 16 pixels×16 pixels has been disclosed (PTL 1 and NPL 1).


A tag-based policy architecture enforces information technology (IT) policy in a virtualized computing environment using cryptographically-verifiable metadata to authenticate compute resources coupled to a computer network and to authorize access to protected resources of the network. The compute resources are illustratively virtual machine instances (VMIs) provided by a virtual data center (VDC) of the environment, whereas the protected resources are illustratively virtualized storage, network and/or other compute resources of the VDC. Each VMI includes an intermediary manager, e.g., metavisor. The tag-based policy architecture includes an infrastructure having a centralized policy decision end point (e.g., a control plane of the VDC) and distributed policy enforcement endpoints (e.g., metavisors of the VMIs) to provide end-to-end passing of the cryptographically-verifiable metadata to (i) authorize instantiation of the VMIs at the control plane, and (ii) enforce access to the virtualized resources at the metavisors.

Many enterprises and their computer systems utilize virtual machines provided by a virtual data center (VDC) of a virtualized computing environment. The VDC may furnish virtualized resources, such as virtualized storage resources, virtualized network resources and/or virtualized compute resources that are accessible over a computer network, such as the Internet. A prior approach to enforcing access among such resources employs a configuration based on network layer, e.g. internet protocol (IP), address-based tables organized as firewall rules and/or a link layer configuration, e.g., groups of switch ports, organized as virtual local area networks (VLANs) to apportion the computer network into segments or subnets. The address-based tables and/or VLANs provide coarse-grained access control and enforcement to the virtualized resources depending upon location on the network segment, i.e., a resource connected to the network segment may communicate with other resources connected to the segment.
Configuration of the address-based tables/VLANs is generally static; a network administrator may be employed to define (create) the firewall rules of the tables or VLANs (e.g., groups of switch ports). In addition, updates to the configuration in a dynamically changing environment may be difficult and inefficient since the tables/VLANs are not human-readable or easily accessible. Although tools are generally available to facilitate automation of the configuration and updates, such tools are generally network segment based. For example, a virtual network switch (such as VMware NSX) may be used to implement VLANs for the network segment and to copy the contents of the firewall rules among the virtualized compute resources on the network segment to keep the tables synchronized.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method, apparatus, and article of manufacture for accelerated rendering of images with transparent pixels using a spatial index. A determination is made whether anything exists behind an object in an image. If not, then transparent pixels within the object are converted to a background color and rendered as opaque pixels.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer-implemented graphics systems, and in particular, to a method, apparatus, and article of manufacture for accelerated rendering of images with transparent pixels using a spatial index.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a computer-implemented graphics program, objects in images may contain transparent pixels. However, rendering transparent pixels can be slow. For example, in the prior art, such rendering is performed on a pixel-by-pixel basis requiring expensive blending or merging calculations of the transparent pixel with pixels behind the transparent pixel.
Thus, there is a need in the art for improved techniques for rendering transparent pixels in images in a computer-implemented graphics system. The present invention satisfies this need.

Accelerated rendering of images with transparent pixels using a spatial index


Disclosed are a neural electrode for measuring a neural signal and a method for manufacturing the same. In the method, an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode is formed on a substrate, an insulative passivation layer is formed on the substrate and the ITO electrode to expose a portion of the ITO electrode, and ITO nanorods are formed on the portion of the ITO electrode and the insulative passivation layer. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce electrical noise and improve a neurotrophic property by using the existing process.

1. Field
An aspect of the present disclosure relates to a neural electrode for measuring a neural signal and a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Studies on the development of materials for improving the performance of neural electrodes have conducted in in vivo or in vitro neural interface fields for recording neural signals from nerve cells.
As for the neural electrodes, a first-generation electrode made of metal wires such as white gold, gold, tungsten and iridium and a second-generation electrode including a semiconductor and a multi-electrode array were employed, and a third-generation electrode surface-modified as a nanostructure has been researched and developed.
To more accurately identify a nervous condition, it is necessary to record neural signals for each nerve cell. To this end, the size of neural electrodes is decreasing to that (about 10 μm) of the nerve cells.
In order to maintain valid signal measurement sensitivity even when the size of a neural electrode is small, the surface area per unit area of the electrode should be large. To this end, surface modification using a nanomaterial, etc. is being attempted.
An increase in the surface area of the electrode can reduce thermal noise and eventually improve signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).
Meanwhile, it is very important that neural electrodes are neurotrophic with nerve cells, and therefore, it is also very important that, in addition to the neurotrophic property of the neural electrodes, passivation materials of the neural electrodes are neurotrophic with the nerve cells.

Neural electrode for measuring neural signal and method for manufacturing the same

ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH INSTITUTE


A motive system for a patient lifting assembly, a patient lifting assembly and a method of operating a patient lifting assembly. The motive system includes an electric motor, numerous sensors and an adaptive control unit cooperative with one another so that a memory and processor that are part of the control unit that can respectively store and execute a computer readable and executable instruction set. By comparing collected data from the sensors during operation of the motor to corresponding reference values associated with one or more motor operational parameters—such as accumulated motor wear over time or differences in operating temperature of the motor—the system can selectively adjust the maximum amount of current available for use by the motor. In this way, changes in motor efficiencies that arise with these parametric changes can be taken into consideration when determining an upper limit on how much electrical current may be delivered to the motor for a given load.

The present specification generally relates to systems used in person lifting devices, such as mobile lifts or overhead lifts, and more particularly to adjustment of the operation of a motor within such systems that takes into consideration variations in one or more motor operational parameters.
Person lifting devices, typically in the form of a patient lifting assembly, may be used in home care settings, hospitals and related health care facilities to reposition or otherwise move a person in need of ambulatory assistance. Such assemblies are typically configured as either mobile or overhead variants. Regardless of the configuration, such devices include a sling or related support member that is cooperative with an electric motor (such as a DC motor) or similar mechanism so that a person positioned within the sling may be raised, lowered or otherwise repositioned or transported. In one conventional form, the motor is further coupled to a flexible strap, rigid arm, worm gear or other known actuator to form a lift unit that when secured to a frame or related support may provide patient lift and support functions. Typically, the lift unit defines a self-locking feature that—while valuable for providing fail-safe operation—tends to operate with relatively low efficiency.
The amount of electrical current used by the motor of patient lifting devices may vary in proportion to the load, which in a common form is based on the weight of the person being lifted. Such current is typically referred to as the operating current. Likewise, a maximum permissible amount of motor operating current is set to correspond to the maximum load rating for the patient lifting device; this is called the current limit or maximum current limit. The maximum load rating for patient lifting devices is commonly established by a governmental body or related regulating authority, and is based on the structural or related mechanical load-bearing limits of the various components that make up the patient lifting device. The authors of the present disclosure have determined that the motor—as well as other components—wear over time, and that such wear causes a variation in current consumption by the motor relative to its as-manufactured condition. They have furthermore determined that with particular regard to DC motors, increases in both operating temperature and the accumulated usage that leads to such such wear (at least up to a point for both) tend to equate to increases in such efficiency in that a motor under such conditions will produce the same torque at a lower amount of current consumption. Moreover, the authors of the present disclosure have determined that toward its end-of-life (EOL) operation, the motor may revert back and become less efficient, which in turn leads to operating conditions where the motor requires more current to lift the same load.
These increases in operational efficiency associated with motor use and temperature variations can lead to the motor actually being capable of lifting more than the permissible maximum load rating. That is to say, it is possible for the motor to consume more current than that permitted by the maximum current limit that is programmed into a control system that is used to regulate—among other things—motor operation. This is problematic in that even though the motor may be capable of provide lifting and related patient moving functions for an excessively heavy load, other portions of the patient lifting device are not. Accordingly, motor operation under such overloaded circumstances could—notwithstanding its excess capacity due to the efficiency gains attendant to increases in temperature or accumulated usage—lead to mechanical or structural failure of one or more of the other patient lifting device components. Contrarily, decreases in motor operational efficiency in EOL conditions are likewise problematic in that the control system may shut down the motor at a predetermined maximum current limit that the control system correlates to exceeding the maximum load rating notwithstanding that the actual load being lifted is within the acceptable limits established by such rating. That is, the control system could construe a given operating current at EOL as corresponding to a load that exceeds the maximum load that the patient lifting device is rated for, which in turn will cause the control system to not allow the motor to operate, leading to inadvertent shutdown of the patient lifting device.

Adaptive compensation of wear in person lifting assemblies


A graph-based iterative method is provided for selecting component modifications in an integrated circuit design that reduce the power consumption to a minimum while still meeting timing constraints. Channel-connected components are represented as nodes in a timing graph and edges in the timing graph represent directed paths. From the timing graph, a move graph is constructed containing a plurality of move nodes. Each move node represents a change to one of the components in one of the timing graph nodes. A given timing graph node can result in a plurality of move nodes. Move nodes can be merged into group nodes, and both the move nodes and group nodes are assigned a weight based on the change in power and timing effects of the associated components changes. These weights are used to select move nodes or group nodes. In general, a set of move or group nodes is selected representing the maximum cumulative weight and the components changes associated with the nodes in the set are performed on the integrated circuit design. Moves that cause timing violations are reversed. The node weights are updated following components changes and the selection of node sets is repeated iteratively until the power consumption converges to a minimum.

Circuit optimization is essential to perform power-performance trade-off. Most of the time, circuits are over-powered to meet timing (speed) constraints. This can be a big problem for high-performance chips for which there is increasingly important power limitations. Hence, most of the high-performance circuits are now becoming limited by power constraints. Although timing performance is still the primary target for integrated circuit (IC) manufacturers, power is recognized as the real performance limiter with current integration technologies. As devices shrink, they run faster at the expense of excessive leakage current. This poses itself as a tax on the performance, as the leakage power is becoming the dominant portion of the total power of a circuit, International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors, Semiconductor Industry Association, 2004. Available at http://public.itrs.net. Hence power optimization must be performed at various stages of the design flow.
Circuit optimization research used to be concerned with automatically tuning the circuit solely for timing performance, and the transistor width used to be the primary variable to be continuously tuned. Established transistor sizing methodologies can be roughly divided into two categories. The first is sensitivity-based discrete heuristics represented by TILOS, which is described in J. P. Fishburn and A. E. Dunlop, TILOS: A Posynomial Programming Approach to Transistor Sizing, International Conference on Computer-Aided Design Digest of Technical Papers, pp. 326-328 (1985) and J. M. Shyu, A. Sangiovanni-Vincentelli, J. P. Fishburn and A. E. Dunlop, Optimization-Based Transistor Sizing, IEEE Journal of Solid Slate Circuits, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 400-409 (1988). The transistor sizing operation is discretized, for example, a downsizing or upsizing operation can be defined as scaling the width of a transistor by a constant factor. The solution is optimal under certain simplistic delay f model, but suboptimal in general. The second is continuous nonlinear optimization, followed by snapping transistor sizes to the technology-imposed values as described in A. R. Conn, I. M. Elfadel, W. W. Molzen, P. R. O'Brien, P. N. Strenski, C. Visweswariah and C. B. Whan, Gradient-Based Optimization of Custom Circuits Using a Static-Timing Formulation, Proceedings of Design Automation Conference, pp. 452-459 (1999). Because its solution in the continuous domain is optimal and transistor widths are near-continuous variables, the quality is typically superior to discrete heuristics, at the cost of high runtime.
With the advent of multiple-Vt devices, voltage islands and multiple oxide thickness, the list of candidate variables is now expanded by a number of discrete operations, e.g., as described in K. Fujii, T. Douseki and M. Harada, A Sub-IV Triple-Threshold CMOS/SIMOX Circuit for Active Power Reduction, International Solid-State Circuits Conference Digest of Technical Papers, pp. 190-191 (1998), which often offer better power-delay tradeoffs than transistor sizing. Most prominently, because sub-threshold leakage current is an exponential function of Vt, see L. Wei, K. Roy and C. Koh, Power Minimization by Simultaneous Dual-Vth Assignment and Gate-Sizing, Proceedings of IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference, pp. 413-416 (2000), changing certain gates to higher Vt has the potential to achieve more power savings than gate sizing alone with the same timing budget. Recently gate-length is also suggested as a new design parameter, where it can be selected from a variety of alternatives as opposed to a single design length, P. Gupta, A. B. Kahng, P. Sharma, and D. Sylvester, Gate-Length Biasing for Runtime Leakage Control, IEEE Transactions on Computer-Aided Design, pp. 1475-1485, August 2006.
Since the optimal solution is most likely achieved by the simultaneous consideration of all design options, various methods have been proposed to incorporate multiple operations. However, it is not trivial to incorporate discrete variables into a continuous sizing methodology, and the cost is often sub-optimality and significant runtime increase. Therefore, most of these multi-variable methods are heuristics and are often based on sensitivities defined similar to TILOS.

Simultaneous power and timing optimization in integrated circuits by performing discrete actions on circuit components

International Business Machines Corporation


This invention is directed to a method and apparatus for forming an aggregate product from particulate material, and in particular for making an aggregate coal product from coal particles. The method involves the steps of 1) loading the coal particles into a mold having an open end and an inner surface defining, in part, a pressurization chamber, the open end of the mold having an outwardly flaring inner peripheral end surface, 2) pressurizing the coal particles within the pressurization chamber such that the coal particles aggregate to form the coal log, and 3) pushing the coal log out of the mold past the flared end surface so that the coal log expands as it passes the end surface. The method may also include the step of maintaining back pressure on the coal log as it is pushed out of the mold. In addition to coal logs, the mold configuration of this invention may be used for making other aggregate products from particulate materials.

This invention relates generally to apparatus and methods for making aggregate product from particulate material, and more particularly to apparatus and methods for making an aggregate coal product by compacting or extruding coal particles.
Coal is widely used as a fuel source for generating heat and is often transported over long distances from the mining area to the end user. In order that coal remain an attractive fuel source, it is imperative that means be devised to transport coal efficiently and economically.
Coal fines, which are extremely small coal particles typically having a diameter of about 1 mm or less, are produced in significant quantities by the washing of mined coal and possess a potentially significant heating value. However, their large water content often makes them difficult to handle and use as a fuel source. Currently, because coal fines cannot be dewatered and/or processed into a form which may be easily transported economically, they are usually collected in tailing ponds as a waste product of coal mining or coal preparation operations rather than being recovered. Coal fines represent a significant environmental problem which would be reduced if a process were available which could economically convert coal fines into a usable fuel source.
It has been suggested that mined coal particles, coal fines and other carboniferous particles could be processed into a more easily transportable and usable form by fabricating aggregate products from the particulate material. It is generally known that loose particles of coal can be formed into aggregate products (e.g., various shaped briquettes) by compacting or extruding a mixture of coal particles and a significant amount of a binder additive (e.g., pitch).
In particular, it is contemplated that cylindrical aggregates of coal, otherwise referred to as coal logs, can be easily transported through a hydraulic coal log pipeline, such as that described and shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,317 (Liu et al.). To withstand the rigors of transporting coal logs through the pipeline, the coal logs must be dense and have a high tensile strength to inhibit the coal logs from fragmenting during transport.
Conventional production of coal logs generally involves feeding coal particles mixed with a binder additive into a cylindrical mold and compacting or extruding the coal particles to form a coal log. The end surface of the mold is typically flat, presenting a sharp corner at the mold exit. As the coal log is ejected from the mold, elastic recovery of the coal log causes it to expand rapidly against the sharp corner of the mold exit, creating a high stress concentration in the coal log. A major problem associated with this type of production is the causation of deep circumferential cracks, or even splitting of the coal log into pieces (disks), due to the high stress concentration caused by the sharp cornered mold exit.
Tapered molds are sometimes used in industry to form aggregate products from particulate material. In this type of mold, the inner surface of the mold is tapered from one end of the mold to the other to allow the aggregate product to expand as it exits the mold. However, compacting or extruding particulate material in a mold having a fully tapered inner surface inhibits complete compaction of the particulate material, resulting in aggregate products which are of a lesser quality than products formed in a mold having a straight inner surface. Additionally, a fully tapered mold is impractical for use in forming coal logs because the product formed by the mold is generally conical, and would not travel properly through the coal log pipeline.
There is a need, therefore, for an improved method and apparatus for forming an aggregate product from particulate material, particularly in making coal logs from coal particles. This invention is directed to such a method and apparatus.
Among the several objects and features of the present invention are the provision of an improved mold, apparatus and method for making a stronger, higher quality aggregate product from particulate material; the provision of such a mold, apparatus and method which will produce coal logs having sufficient strength and durability to withstand the rigors of handling and transport; the provision of such an apparatus which recovers water released from the coal within the mold during pressurization; and the provision of such a mold, apparatus and method in which the time required to produce a coal log of increased quality is significantly reduced.
In general, this invention involves a mold for use in making an aggregate product from particulate material. The mold has open ends and an inner surface between the open ends defining, in part, a pressurization chamber for receiving the particulate material so that it may be pressurized to form the aggregate product. The pressurization chamber has a central longitudinal axis, wherein the inner surface of the mold is substantially parallel to the central longitudinal axis. One of the open ends of the mold has a flared inner peripheral end surface flaring outwardly away from the pressurization chamber and the central longitudinal axis for allowing expansion of the aggregate product as it is pushed out of the one end of the mold past the flared end surface.
In another aspect, an apparatus for making a coal log from coal particles comprises a frame, a mold supported by the frame having open first and second ends as set forth above, and pressurizing means supported by the frame operable to pressurize the coal particles within the pressurization chamber to form the coal log and to push the coal log out of the first end of the mold past the flared end surface.
In yet another aspect, a method for making a coal log from coal particles comprises loading the coal particles into a mold having an open end and an inner surface defining, in part, a pressurization chamber. The open end has a flared inner peripheral end surface. The coal particles are pressurized within the pressurization chamber such that the coal particles aggregate to form the coal log. The coal log is pushed out of the mold past the flared end surface so that the coal log expands as it passes the flared end surface.
Another aspect of the method of making coal logs from coal particles comprises loading the coal particles into a mold having first and second open ends and an inner surface defining, in part, a pressurization chamber. First and second rams are operated to apply compacting pressures to the coal particles in the pressurization chamber to form the coal log. After the coal log is formed, the compacting pressure applied by the first ram is reduced and the second ram continues to apply a force sufficient to push the coal log out of the mold while the first ram maintains a back pressure on the coal log as it is pushed out of the mold.
Other objects and features will become in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.

Apparatus and method for forming an aggregate product from particulate material

The Curators of the University of Missouri


A microchannel plate (MCP) for an image intensifier includes an active portion having an input surface area for receiving electrons and an output surface area for outputting multiplied electrons. The input and output surface areas are oriented horizontally with respect to each other and spaced by a vertical distance. A non-active portion surrounds the active portion of the MCP. The non-active portion includes at least one slot extending vertically into the non-active portion and extending horizontally to form a horizontal slotted area. When the MCP is positioned vertically above an electron sensing device having wires looping vertically above the electron sensing device, the slot is configured to receive a portion of the wires, resulting in a vertical clearance between the MCP and the electron sensing device. The wires loop a vertical looping distance above a surface of the electron sensing device, and a portion of the vertical looping distance is configured to be received within the slot of the MCP. The horizontal slotted area may be a rectangle, and the input and output surface areas may also be rectangles.

Image intensifying devices can use solid state sensors, such as CMOS or CCD devices. Image intensifier devices amplify low intensity light or convert non-visible light into regularly viewable images. Image intensifier devices are particularly useful for providing images from infra-red light and have many industrial and military applications. For example, image intensifier tubes may be used for enhancing the night vision of aviators, for photographing astronomical events and for providing night vision to sufferers of night blindness.
There are three types of image intensifying devices: image intensifier tubes for cameras, solid state CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) and CCD (charge coupled device) sensors, and hybrid EBCCD/CMOS (electronic bombarded CCD or CMOS) sensors.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a schematic diagram of an image intensifier tube, generally designated as 10. As shown, light energy 14 reflected from object 12 impinges upon photocathode 16. Photocathode 16 receives the incident energy on input surface 16a and outputs the energy, as emitted electrons, on output surface 16b. The output electrons, designated as 20, from photocathode 16, are provided as an input to an electron gain device, such as MCP 18. The MCP includes input surface 18a and output surface 18b. As electrons bombard input surface 18a, secondary electrons are generated within micro-channels 22 of MCP 18. The MCP generates several hundred electrons for each electron entering input surface 18a.
Although not shown, it will be understood that MCP 18 is subjected to a difference in voltage potential between input surface 18a and output surface 18b, typically over a thousand volts. This potential difference enables electron multiplication. Electrons 24, outputted from MCP 18, impinge upon solid state electron sensing device 26. Electron sensing device 26 may be a CMOS imager, for example, and includes input surface 26a and output surface 26b, as shown in FIG. 1. Electron sensing device 26 may be fabricated as an integrated circuit, using CMOS processes.
In general, the CMOS imager employs electron sensing elements. Input surface 26a includes an active receive area sensitive to the received electrons from MCP 18. The output signals of the electron sensing elements may be provided, at output surface 26b, as signals whose magnitudes are proportional to the amount of electrons received by the electron sensing elements. The number of electrons is proportional to incoming photons at the cathode. CMOS imagers use less power and have lower fabrication cost compared to imagers made by CCD processes.
The output of CMOS imager 26 produces an intensified image signal that may be sent, by way of a bus, to image display device 28. The output of CMOS imager 26 may be, alternatively, stored in a memory device (not shown).
To facilitate the multiplication of electrons between the input of the image intensifier tube, at input surface 16a, and the output of the image intensifier tube, at output surface 26b, a vacuum housing is provided. As shown, photocathode 16, MCP 18 (or other electron gain device) and CMOS imager 26 (or other electron sensing device) are packaged in vacuum housing 29. In addition to providing a vacuum housing, input surface 26a of the CMOS imager and output surface 18b of the MCP are required to physically be very closely spaced from each other.
Such close spacing presents a problem, because a conventional silicon die of a CMOS imager, for example, includes wires looping above the input surface of the imager for outputting the intensified image signal. Because these wires flare out from the silicon die and loop above the input surface, before they are connected to bond pads on a ceramic carrier holding the silicon die, it is difficult to closely space the input surface of the imager to the output surface of the MCP.
As an example, a conventional silicon die is shown in FIGS. 2a and 2b. As shown, chip 30 includes silicon die 32 attached to ceramic carrier 34. The silicon die includes an array of terminal pads 36 for providing input/output (I/O) signals. Hundreds of terminal pads 36 are typically disposed around the peripheral circumference of silicon die 32. Also shown in FIGS. 2a and 2b is an array of pads 38 disposed on ceramic carrier 34. Leads or wires 40 are attached by ultrasonic bonding of wires between I/O pads 36 and I/O pads 38, thereby making electrical contact between them. Extending from the bottom of ceramic carrier 34 are a plurality of pins 42, as shown in FIG. 2b, which are connected through via-holes (not shown) to the array of bond pads 38. In this manner, electrical contacts are made between bond pads 36 on silicon die 32 and the input/output of the chip, at the plurality of pins 42.
In a typical conventional configuration, wires 40 loop above the planar top surface of silicon die 32 and then descend down toward ceramic carrier 34, as shown in FIG. 2b. These wire loops above silicon die 32, in the case of a conventional CMOS imager (for example), prevent a tight vertical placement between the top active surface area of silicon die 32 and the output surface area of electron gain device 18. As best shown in FIG. 2c, output surface 18b of electron gain device 18 is placed in close vertical proximity to the input surface area of silicon die 32. However, because of the looping of wires 40, it is not possible to reduce the vertical space between output surface 18b and the top surface of silicon die 32. The lowest wire bond profile is limited to the wire bond height plus a vertical clearance to assure the wires do not contact the silicon surface and become shorted. The vertical clearance is also limited to the bondwire loop height plus a distance required to provide a voltage standoff between the output surface of the electron gain device and the input surface of the electron sensing device.
The present invention addresses this shortcoming by providing an electron gain device having rectangularly shaped slots, which allow for a tight interface and clearance between the electron sensing device and the electron gain device (for example an MCP).


An optical amplifier is added to the input of a photodetector to perform optical pre-amplification of an input optical signal before it is converted to an electrical signal by the photodetector. A controller utilizes a received power level to control a pump power level of a pump injecting pumping light into the optical amplifier. The pump power level is controlled in order to control the optical gain of the optical amplifier. The received power level may be measured by a receiving device that includes the photodetector and a power measuring device. The pump output power level may also be fed back to the controller to monitor the pump. A dual pass EDFA may be used as the optical amplifier and coupled to a selector to save space and reduce noise.

1. Field of Invention
The invention generally relates to optical communication receivers. The invention more particularly relates to optically pre-amplified receiver nodes.
2. Description of Related Art
In conventional long-haul optical communications applications, the loss between the laser transmitter and the receiver is typically fixed or otherwise substantially invariant. Therefore, a gain block with fixed optical gain serves the purpose of ensuring that the receiver will receive a signal within the receiver""s dynamic range.
In some applications such as metropolitan optical ring networks, however, the loss between the laser transmitter and the receiver often changes due to changes in the span loss or due to channel upgrades. During channel upgrades, extra OADMs (optical add drop multiplexers) are added into the optical path of existing channels, therefore the loss between the transmitter and the receiver changes.
Furthermore, a complete fiber cut, fiber disconnect or other major fault in either a long haul or metro application can cause a loss of signal. As recognized by the inventors, the restoration of the optical signal following a loss of signal event may damage the receiver and/or cause bit errors.
Hence, in these applications a smart pre-amplified receiver is needed that will adapt to changing conditions such as those outlined above.
The invention includes an optical signal converting apparatus for converting an input optical signal to an electrical signal, comprising: a photodetector having an input signal port and an output signal port; an optical amplifier optically coupled to the input signal port of said photodetector, said optical amplifier optically amplifying the input optical signal and outputting an optically amplified signal to the input signal port of said photodetector; a pump optically coupled to said optical amplifier, said pump injecting pumping light into said optical amplifier to provide the optical amplification of the input signal; a power measuring device optically communicating with said optical amplifier, said power measuring device outputting power measurements indicative of the amplified signal""s optical power received by said photodetector; and a controller operatively connected to said pump and to said power measuring device; said controller receiving the power measurements from said power measuring device; and said controller commanding a pump power level output by said pump to perform gain control according to the power measurements received from said power measuring device.
In one construction, the invention may use a receiving device that includes said photodetector and said power measuring device; said controller operatively connected to said pump and to said receiving device; said controller receiving power measurements from said receiving device indicative of the amplified signal""s optical power; and said controller commanding the pump power level output by said pump to perform gain control according to the power measurements received from said receiving device.
Moreover, said optical amplifier may be an erbium doped fiber amplifier.
The optical amplifier may also include a circulator having a first port, a second port, and a third port, wherein the first port of said circulator receives the input optical signal and outputs the received input optical signal to the second port of said circulator; an erbium doped fiber optically communicating with the second port of said circulator; a coupler optically communicating with said erbium doped fiber; an optical selector optically communicating with said coupler; an optical termination optically communicating with said optical selector; said pump optically communicating with said coupler, said pump injecting the pumping light into said erbium fiber via said coupler.
The invention may further include an optical bandpass filter optically communicating with an output of said optical amplifier and the input signal port of said photodetector, said optical bandpass filter having a bandpass including a center wavelength of the input signal.
The invention may also include an OADM receiving a wavelength division multiplexed signal and dropping at least one wavelength onto a drop output port; said optical amplifier optically communicating with the drop output port of said OADM.
Also, the OADM may be operatively connected to a ring or linear network.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

Gain controlled optically pre-amplified receiver apparatus and method


Stacking frying pans on top of each other tends to damage their non-stick coatings. Accordingly, a frying pan protector comprises a concave dish positioned between two stacked frying pans. The dish is made of a sufficiently yielding material to prevent scratching the non-stick surface on the bottom pan. The top surface of the protector is shaped to conform to the underside of the top frying pan. Spacers projecting from the bottom of the dish elevates it so that it supports the underside of the top frying pan. The spacers also minimize the surface area in contact with the non-stick coating on the bottom frying pan for further reducing the possibility of damage.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to frying pans.
2. Prior Art
The cooking surface of frying pans typically include a non-stick coating of polytetrafluoroethylene, sold under the trademark TEFLON. The non-stick coating prevents food from sticking to the pan, but it is easily damaged. Frying pans are often conveniently stacked on top of each other for compact storage. However, the rough underside the frying pan on top tends to scratch or abrade the non-stick coating of the frying pan on the bottom. Repeated stacking causes the coatings to wear off, so that food sticks to the pans during cooking.


A baitcasting reel includes a spool and a clutch controller disposed between right and left side bodies. The clutch controller acts also as a thumb rest disposed immediately rearwardly of the spool. The clutch controller is manually operable between a first control position to engage a clutch mechanism, and a second control position to disengage the clutch mechanism. A link mechanism connects the clutch controller to the side bodies such that a thumb rest surface of the clutch controller is maintained in a horizontal or forwardly inclined posture while the clutch controller is switched from the first control position to the second control position.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a clutch control mechanism for a baitcasting reel, and more particularly to a clutch control mechanism for a baitcasting reel having a clutch controller mounted between right and left side bodies and immediately rearwardly of a spool to be manually operable between a first control position to engage a clutch mechanism mounted in a spool drive line, and a second control position to disengage the clutch mechanism.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, the clutch controller is attached to the side bodies through oscillatable arms to be movable substantially arcuately between the first control position to engage the clutch mechanism and the second control position to disengage the clutch mechanism.
Consequently, with the movement between the first and second control positions, a thumb rest surface formed on the clutch controller has an angular posture thereof variable to hamper a control operation. The angular variations of the thumb rest surface are inconvenient particularly since the clutch controller is disposed between the right and left side bodies to act also as a thumb rest during fishing.
A construction to eliminate this drawback is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication Kokai No. 1990-29270, for example, wherein the clutch controller is movable along peripheral surfaces of the side bodies. With this construction, however, the clutch controller cannot be connected directly to the oscillatable arms extending from the side bodies. The clutch controller is guided in its movement from the first control position to the second control position by a guide mechanism formed on the peripheral surface of one side body, to minimize the angular variations of the thumb rest surface.
However, the guide mechanism cannot be formed with a high degree of precision without involving high manufacturing cost. In addition, such a guide mechanism is an extra component not essential to the clutch controller. The guide mechanism is therefore formed relatively coarsely. The coarse guide mechanism causes clattering of the clutch controller to inconvenience its use.

Clutch control mechanism for a baitcasting reel


A toss game comprising in combination a multi-panel assembly including generally flat multiple substantially identically shaped panels each having first and second surfaces bearing printed design indicia thereon. Each of the side margins of the middle panel is hinge connected to one side margin of each of the two end panels whereby the end panels are pivotally extendable into a generally planar relation one to another and to the middle panel in an open flat configuration and foldable against the middle panel in a closed configuration. The end panels are also attachable along a distal edge of each of said end panels to form a self-supporting polyhedron shape which is preferably a truncated pyramid. A portion of the panel surfaces is partially covered with a hook and loop material to form target areas at which a throw piece of sufficient weight is thrown. Each throw piece has printed design indicia on an obverse surface and hook and loop material attached to a reverse surface making the throw piece self-attaching when properly thrown against one of the target areas.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to toss games with throwable pieces, and more particularly to a toss game having multiple functions and configurations for tossing and stowing throwable design pieces.
2. Description of Related Art
Games which include throwable projectiles or throw pieces against a target are well known, starting with the game of darts. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,299,172, McMurray teaches a game with throwable pieces and variable target assembly, the game relying upon hook and loop releasable attaching material to implement attachment of the throwable pieces to the target assembly. Buselli, in Re 34,461 teaches a wall mounted decorative art apparatus convertible to a toss game with a catch area to collect the tossable projectiles against a plurality of hook material targets.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,736,955, Pollock teaches a pitch and toss game which includes a target and a plurality of throwing objects incorporating hook and loop material to effect attachment of the thrown object against the upper surface of the target. An aerial projectile and target apparatus for a lawn target game invented by Demas is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,324,042. A bag-like throwing member is thrown against a target defining a plurality of target zones. Only one side of the weighted throwing member includes hook and loop material to heighten the game challenge.
Another ball throw game is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,176 by Lapkewych teaching an upright target board formed of hook and loop material to releasably attach to a thrown ball striking the target board surface. Portions of the target board do not include the hook and loop material to heighten the game's challenge.
A beanbag toss game includes a target structure against which the bean bags are tossed is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,332,230. The target surface is at an incline and the target area is relatively small to heighten game challenge. A triple play game invented by Cota, et al. and disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,232,217 teaches three separate games of basketball, tetherball and target board all utilizing the same vertical pole net and backboard to play each of the individual games.
The following additional U.S. patents teach various additional forms of toss games against the target, the majority of which incorporate hook and loop material to effect attachment of the tossed object against the specifically structured target area as follows:                U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,530 to Roop        U.S. Pat. No. 5,549,302 to Lapsker, et al.        U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,504 to Powell        U.S. Pat. No. 3,895,804 to Lee        U.S. Pat. No. 3,997,162 to Scullin        U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,870 to Norman, et al.        U.S. Pat. No. 4,943,065 to DeLapa        U.S. Pat. No. 6,361,047 to Militello
The present invention provides a multi-faceted toss game utilizing a plurality of disc-shaped design enhanced throw pieces and a multi-paneled assembly having design indicia printed on both sides of each panel. The panels are hingedly connected together and pivotally moveable from a flattened configuration which may be wall hung to a polyhedron configuration to a closed configuration for protectively holding and carrying a plurality of the throw pieces themselves.


A method of producing an arteriovenous (AV) fistula includes producing an anastomosis between a primary blood vessel (e.g., a vein) and a secondary blood vessel (e.g., an artery). A collateral (or competing) blood vessel in fluid communication with one of the primary blood vessel or the secondary blood vessel is identified. A reversible flow restrictor is then applied to the collateral blood vessel to reduce a blood flow rate through the collateral blood vessel. In some embodiments, the anastomosis can be produced percutaneously. In some embodiments, the reversible flow restriction (or a portion thereof) can be removed from the collateral blood vessel. In other embodiments, the reversible flow restriction (or a portion thereof) can be adjusted to allow increased blood flow therethrough while within the collateral blood vessel.

The embodiments described herein relate to devices and methods for controlling vascular flow. More particularly, the embodiments described herein relate to flow control devices and methods for reversibly and/or selectively controlling blood flow in collateral blood vessels associated with a fistula.
In medical practice, there is often a need to connect conduits to one another or to a replacement conduit to treat disease or dysfunction of the existing conduits. Such connections between conduits are known as an anastomosis. Some known methods for creating an anastomosis include bringing two vessels into contact with each other and joining them together with sutures or clips. Examples of anastomoses include an intestinal anastomosis, a colostomy, and an arteriovenous (AV) fistula. An AV fistula is created by connecting an artery to a vein to produce a leak-free blood flow path between the artery and vein. AV fistulas are commonly used in connection with hemodialysis and provide a connection point at which a high flow rate of blood can be withdrawn from and returned to the body. Clinical evidence has shown that an autogenous fistula provides better long-term clinical results than either a central catheter access system or a graft, so AV fistulas a desired method for vascular access.
FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a known fistula 1, which includes the vein (also referred to as a primary vessel PV) coupled to the artery (also referred to as a secondary vessel SV). The fistula 1 includes an aperture 3 that allows blood to bypass from the secondary vessel SV to the primary vessel PV, as shown by the arrows in FIG. 1. The blood is withdrawn through a large access needle near the secondary vessel SV and is transported via a withdraw line 171 to a dialysis machine. The blood is processed by the dialysis machine to remove waste products and is returned to the primary vessel PV via a return line 172 and a second large return needle. The primary vessel PV forms an outlet flow path FPout through which the returned blood flows back towards the patient's heart. Although the fistula 1 is shown in FIG. 1 as being in a forearm, known methods also include establishing a fistula in the upper arm, near the wrist, in the thigh, and in rare cases, elsewhere in the body. Moreover, there are different methods for joining the adjacent vessels to produce a fistula. For example, the fistula can be an end-to-side fistula (see FIG. 2A), an end-to-end fistula (see FIG. 2B), or a side-to-side fistula (see FIG. 2C).
Because known dialysis machines and methods operate with high blood flow rates to accommodate shorter, high-efficiency sessions, known fistulas are targeted to achieve a flow rate of 500 ml per minute or greater during the entire dialysis procedure (often between 3 and 5 hours). Additionally, the segment of the primary vessel PV (e.g., the vein) in which the fistula is created generally needs to be long enough to allow adequate separation of the access needle and the return needle to prevent recirculation of dialyzed and non-dialyzed blood between the two needles. Such lengths should be about 6 cm or greater. To achieve these desired flow performance characteristics, known procedures for creating an AV fistula include allowing the newly created fistula to mature prior to being used for dialysis. Fistula maturation involves remodeling of the blood vessels (both the artery and the vein), which is triggered by the increased blood flow and accompanying change in hemodynamic forces. During the maturation process, which can take 3-4 months, the blood flow will increase to suitable levels, the diameter of the primary vessel will increase to a suitable size (e.g., at least about 4 mm), and the wall thickness of the primary vessel will increase to allow repeated cannulation. The maturation process is shown schematically in FIGS. 3A-3C, which show the primary vessel PV (e.g., the vein) and the secondary vessel SV (e.g., the artery) prior to being joined (FIG. 3A), the primary vessel PV and the secondary vessel SV as initially joined to create the fistula 1 (FIG. 3B), and the subsequent increase in the diameter of the primary vessel SV as a result of fistula maturation (FIG. 3C).
Known methods for surgically creating a fistula include first identifying the target vein and artery. The selected vein is then dissected and joined to the selected artery via sutures to create the fistula. Known surgical methods typically include ligation of any competing (also referred to as collateral) outflow veins that may direct flow away from the desired vein (i.e., the primary vessel) that is intended for dialysis. If the blood flow is split between too many vessels, a single outflow vein may not have sufficient flow to fully mature and/or support dialysis. Although such procedures may increase the likelihood that the selected vein will successfully mature, they also render the ligated veins permanently unusable. Accordingly, if the selected vein fails to mature, a new fistula must be created with entirely different vessels. For example, it is not uncommon for fistulas created via known surgical techniques to fail to mature due to stenosis associated with dissection and suturing.
Recently, new methods have been developed to create an autogenous fistula percutaneously. Percutaneous methods are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 9,439,710 entitled "Intravascular Arterial to Venous Anastomosis and Tissue Welding Catheter," which is expressly incorporated by reference in its entirety. Such percutaneous methods eliminate the need to surgically dissect the vein, suture it to the artery, and permanently ligate the competing veins. Since no veins are ligated during such percutaneous procedures, the resulting fistula can include multiple outflow veins. This is shown schematically in FIG. 4, which shows the inlet flow path FPin within the secondary vessel SV, the fistula 1, and the outlet flow path FPout in the primary vessel PV. FIG. 4 also shows three competing (or collateral) outlet vessels, CV1, CV2, and CV3. As a result of competing vessels, some percutaneously created fistulas can require additional time to mature for dialysis access.
Thus, a need exists for improved methods and devices for promoting the maturation of a fistula having multiple outflow vessels while still preserving the patency of the outflow vessels for potential future use.

Vascular flow control devices and methods


The invention relates to a method for making an inactivated vaccine of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae by inactivating the bacteria with Thimerosal. The resulting bacterin is mixed with an adjuvant of aluminum hydroxide and DEAE dextran and injected into pigs. The resulting bacterin and adjuvant mixture can also be mixed with other bacteria such as Bordetella and Pasteurella, for further adjuvant effect. Protective immunity against mycoplasmal pneumonia is elicited in swine using these vaccines.

Chronic pneumonia in swine has been recognized as a major problem in swine production for almost a century. The disease has a high morbidity with low mortality causing a chronic cough, dull hair coat, retarded growth and unthrifty appearance lasting several weeks. Characteristic lesions of purple to gray areas of consolidation particularly in ventral apical and cardiac lobes are observed in infected animals. Death may result from secondary infection or stress. One of the causes of chronic pneumonia is infection by Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae. Economic losses alone have been estimated at between 200 to 250 million dollars annually.
The bacteria was first identified in 1965. Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae is a slow growing, fastidious bacterium which lacks a cell wall. It is frequently difficult to isolate from the respiratory tract due to Mycoplasma hyorhinis, a common secondary agent also located in the respiratory tract.
The disease is spread by aerosol, produced by coughing, and by direct contact from an affected or convalescent carrier swine. Mingling of infected animals and uninfected animals results in early and frequent reinfection. Infection frequently starts with infection of piglets by carrier sows at farrowing. Because of current herd management techniques, infection may remain silent until later in life. Additional infection usually is observed after weaning when pigs are pooled. Overt disease is normally observed in pigs at six weeks of age or older. Average animal growth rates are reduced by about 16% with feed conversion rates being reduced by about 22%.
Surveys of slaughtered animals revealed lesions typical of Mycoplasma pneumonia in 30-80% of swine. Results from 337 herds in 13 states indicated that 99% of the herds had hogs with pneumonia lesions typical of Mycoplasma pneumonia. Therefore, the need for effective preventative and treatment measures are great.
Tiamulin, trimethoprim, tetracyclines and lincomycin have been shown to have some benefit. However, antibiotics are expensive and require prolonged use. Additionally, reinfection is an ever present problem. Antibiotics have not been shown to effectively eliminate spread of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae. Prevention by maintaining pathogen free herds is possible but reintroduction of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae occurs.
Vaccines generally employ one of four categories of antigens: live microorganisms administered via an unnatural route, live attenuated microorganisms, killed microorganisms and fractions or even a single antigen or product of a microorganism. In all situations, the goal is to present antigens without giving the disease. A number of different inactivating agents and means have been employed including formalin, azide, freeze-thaw, sonication, heat treatment, sudden pressure drop, detergent (especially non-ionic detergents), lysozyme, phenol, proteolytic enzymes and .beta.-propiolactone.
Thimerosal has been proposed for inactivation of certain bacteria unrelated to Mycoplasma in Greenberg et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,522,790 and Muggleton et al, 2,908,614. Ragland et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,607 inactivates their bacteria with formalin (column 4, line 59) but also later adds Thimerosal as a preservative. Thimerosal has not previously been used to inactivate Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae for vaccine use.
RespiSure vaccine sold by Smith Kline Beecham is a chemically inactivated Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae vaccine administered with an oil adjuvant. Petersen et al; Proc. Amer. Assoc. Swine Pract., Mar. 1991, p. 17-21 discloses inactivating Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae with formalin to produce a bacterin for potential vaccine use. Faulds et al, U. S. Pat. No. 4,985,243 uses freeze-thaw to extract antigens from Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae in order to prepare a vaccine.
Recombinant DNA techniques have been used to express an antigen which had potential for use as a vaccine. Schaller et al, U. S. Pat. No. 4,894,332.
Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae has been lysed and analyzed in terms of its proteins, for example, Wise et al, Journal of Bacteriology, 169: 5546-5555 (1987). However, it has not been established which one or ones are the critical proteins which must be recognized to elicit a protective immune response.
A number of vaccines in the past have used adjuvants to enhance the immunogenicity of an antigen. The mechanism of how adjuvants operate is not entirely known. Some are believed to enhance the immune response by slowly releasing the antigen while other adjuvants are strongly immunogenic in their own right and are believed to function synergistically. Among the adjuvants which have been used in various vaccines include, oil and water emulsions, complete Freund's adjuvant, incomplete Freund's adjuvant, Corynebacterium parvum, Hemophilus, Mycobacterium butyricum, aluminum hydroxide, dextran sulfate, iron oxide, sodium alginate, Bacto-Adjuvant, certain synthetic polymers such as poly amino acids and co-polymers of amino acids, saponin, iota carrageenan, "REGRESSIN" (Vetrepharm, Athens, Ga.), "AVRIDINE" (N, N-dioctadecyl-N',N'-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)-propanediamine), Mannite monooleate, paraffin oil, and muramyl dipeptide.
Yoshioka et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,917,819, used an aluminum hydroxide gel as an adjuvant in a formalin-killed Mycoplasma suipneumoniae vaccine, while Dayalu, Proceedings: Mycoplasma Pneumonia Symposium, Smith Kline Beecham, 1-15 (1990) states on page 12 that Kobisch et al (1987) used aluminum hydroxide in a Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae vaccine. Kishima et al, Veterinary Microbiology, 13: 335-42 (1987) have used dextran sulfate as an adjuvant in an azide-killed mycoplasma vaccine. Outside the field of bacterial vaccines, Roumanian Patent 75,100 has proposed a viral vaccine using aluminum hydroxide and DEAE dextran as an adjuvant. However, this combination has not been used to our knowledge with any bacteria, let alone as an adjuvant with Mycoplasma.
Regardless, the goal of a vaccine is to provide protection against natural infection. A detectable immune response, such as producing detectable quantities of antibodies, may not necessarily be protective. Thus, while vaccines have been attempted to protect swine from infection by Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, acceptable levels of protection have not been achieved.

Inactivated Mycolplasma hyopneumoniae and uses therefor


An intelligent sensor platform is provided with an architecture that takes advantage of a low cost microcontroller for overall sensor control. Outputs are all controlled directly by the microcontroller as are gains of signal processing amplifiers and thresholds for threshold detectors. The sensor can be remotely programmed using a remote control device or simple push button programming can be implemented. This abstract is not to be considered limiting, since other embodiments may deviate from the features described in this abstract.

There are many applications for sensors such as photoelectric sensors. These devices are used in many industrial applications to detect, for example, the presence or absence of a part on an assembly line. Such devices might, for example, incorporate a photoelectric transmitter and receiver which detects the presence or absence of varying amounts of light transmitted from the transmitter and received by the receiver as an indication of the presence or absence or type of the part on the assembly line. In other examples, an inductive sensor might incorporate an excitation oscillator (transmitter) and a receiver which detects the presence or absence or change in frequency of varying amounts of magnetic field originated by the transmitter.
In the industrial environment, there are many applications for such devices. Each application, in general, must be individually engineered and adjusted so that it functions properly within the parameters of the installation. For example, for a given transmitter output level, a small amount of receiver gain is needed in order to detect an object which is only a short distance away from the sensor. However, much larger receiver gain is required to detect the same object farther away from the sensor. Additional adjustments may be required to account for differences in size and background of the object and throughout the life of the sensor to compensate for the effects of the operating environment.
In conventional sensor systems, these gains are often adjusted by manual adjustment of a potentiometer. Unfortunately, in harsh industrial environments, these potentiometers can become dirty or noisy. Moreover, the potentiometers are frequently damaged by over or under adjustment and are prone to drift with time, component aging, vibration, etc. Furthermore, the fact that access to the sensors is required for routine adjustment can lead to a compromise in sensor location from the perspective of performance or safety. In some applications, significant system down time can be required to safely perform routine sensor adjustment and maintenance. Computer controlled sensors can be utilized to ameliorate some of these issues. However, the cost and size of computer controlled sensors has lead to poor acceptance in the marketplace.
The current state of the art in intelligent sensor architecture can be summarized in two approaches: 1) microcontroller based sensor units made to interface to discrete elements directly, creating high component count, fault susceptible, noise sensitive units; and 2) microcontroller based units made to interface to industry standard stand-alone ASICs, providing, inflexible component intensive solution with minimum 'system visibility'.
Currently, the sensor market is dominated by large and expensive to manufacture sensor devices which are application specific (i.e. no onboard microcontroller control). Over the last few years there has been a slow introduction of microcontroller controlled sensors which offer few additional features over the older type sensors but at significant price/size premiums. With the exception of the microcontroller these sensors are architecturally equivalent to their predecessors. Both types of the sensor families provide support for a variety of features, but they do so by providing a host of sensor models individually tailored to the application with a minimum number of user programmable configuration options and with a price structure based on the overall volume associated with each model. Since the cost of these units is also volume dependent market penetration of non essential features tends to be limited. Furthermore, custom feature sets that might be desirable by some users require significant engineering to produce limiting the economic attractiveness of small volume users.


An exercise device is disclosed that provides users with a way to effectively exercise their core muscles without going to a gym. The exercise device comprises a round tube, a pair of handles secured to the round tube, and at least one sphere inserted into the round tube, wherein a user rotates the exercise device in a circular motion causing the sphere to travel around the round tube. The round tube comprises an interior cavity with an internal track system for the spheres to travel. Typically, the spheres are weighted, and the exercise device comprises a plurality of spheres each of a different weight. Furthermore, the round tube can comprise an access panel positioned on the exterior surface of the round tube for inserting a sphere, and a pair of handles that span an inner diameter of the round tube and are secured to opposing sides of the round tube.

The core muscles in the torso help stabilize the spine and pelvis. These muscles are important, yet commonly neglected, as many people lack the time and energy required to go to the gym every day. A weak core can lead to poor posture, lower back pain and overall physical weakness. A solution is needed to allow users to work out these core muscles quickly and efficiently at home, whenever convenient.
The present invention allows users to get an effective core workout in the comfort of their own home. The exercise device comprises a round, hollow tube (i.e., doughnut-shaped), wherein a weighted sphere can be placed inside the tube, and the user rotates the sphere around the tube to work their core muscles. Users may also incorporate squats or lunges while using the exercise device. The exercise device can be used at home, or the device can easily be taken anywhere a user goes. Anyone who wants an effective core workout without going to the gym and without the need to purchase expensive exercise equipment may appreciate this unique invention.


Systems and methods are described herein to grow a layered structure. The layered structure comprises a first germanium substrate layer having a first lattice constant, a second layer that has a second lattice constant and is epitaxially grown over the first germanium substrate layer, wherein the second layer has a composite of a first constituent and a second constituent, and has a first ratio between the first constituent and the second constituent, and a third layer that has a third lattice constant and is epitaxially grown over the second layer, wherein the third layer has a composite of a third constituent and a fourth constituent, and has a second ratio between the third constituent and the fourth constituent, wherein the first ratio and the second ratio are selected such that the first lattice constant is between the second lattice constant and the third lattice constant.

A vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) is a type of semiconductor laser diode with laser beam emission perpendicular from the top surface of the semiconductor structure. VCSELs for wavelengths from 650 nm to 1300 nm are typically grown on gallium arsenide (GaAs) substrates with a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) formed from GaAs and aluminum gallium arsenide (AlxGa(1-x)As). This GaAs—AlGaAs system has been widely used because AlxGa1-xAs (for a broad range of x) is usually regarded as a lattice match to the GaAs substrate. Next generation VCSELs, with more complex designs, would lead to thicker epi stacks for which the assumed lattice match in the GaAs—AlGaAs system is no longer acceptable, due to higher levels of crystalline defects, and increased wafer bow caused by the increased thickness of the stacks. This situation is compounded by designs incorporating GaAs and AlAs, because the product of lattice mismatch and thickness is increased in a thick stack while the desire to move to longer wavelengths would increase layer thicknesses. The increase in thickness may create an increased total product of lattice mismatch and thickness between the substrate and other layers grown over the substrate, leading to increased stress in the semiconductor structure. The strain and the lattice mismatch contribute to a bow in the semiconductor wafer that reduces the stability of the VCSEL.


A precipitated silica suitable for thermal insulation applications and a process for its manufacture.

The use of alkali metal alkyl siliconates for the surface modification of precipitated silica has been disclosed. WO 2018/019373 discloses a process which comprises an acid, a compound selected from a precipitated silica and/or [SiO4/2] precursor material and an organosiliconate, wherein the modification reaction takes place during or directly after the reaction to produce the precipitated silica. The precipitated silica obtained from the process finds use as reinforcing filler in silicone elastomer composition, in toners or developers.
It has now been surprisingly found that the pore structure of precipitated silica obtained in the presence of alkali metal alkyl siliconates can be modified by using an organic acid, in particular a carboxylic acid, as the acid in the precipitation reaction. The resulting pore structure makes the precipitated silica particularly suitable for thermal insulation applications.

Precipitated silica and process for its manufacture


A rolling shutter and a slat for use in a rolling shutter are provided. The slat comprises a first receptacle and a second receptacle, wherein each receptacle is c-shaped and adapted to receive a retention screw, and wherein each receptacle projects from one or more of interior surfaces of the shutter slat.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to shutters and in particular to shutters of the roller type having improved resistance to storms and break-ins. Furthermore, this invention relates to a shutter having improved retraction capability.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional roller shutters are designed to provide security from break-ins or protection from storms. The shutters must maintain appropriate structural integrity while extended in order to provide security and protection, but the design of a roller shutter must also allow a user to conveniently extend or retract the shutter on demand. Even though conventional roller shutters may need to be extended and retracted frequently or unexpectedly, such shutters have been prone to jam and/or snag. In addition, various factors influence the strength of a shutter and its ability to withstand forces of nature and attempts by intruders to break in through the aperture enclosed by the shutter. The material choice for fabrication of the shutter is one such factor, as is the type of articulation between shutter slats. In addition, a shutter may be strengthened by increasing surface area contact of each shutter slat with a guard, typically a track that runs the full length of the building aperture covered by the shutter. Unfortunately, this surface area is limited by the requirement that the slats of a roller shutter must be capable of conforming to a roll, for convenient storage.
One such conventional roller shutter employs a single c-shaped boss located inside the hollow body of the shutter, into which a retaining screw may be inserted. The retaining screw then holds the slat in a fixed position within the guard, allowing the roller shutter to slide up and down the guard during retraction and extension, respectively, while purportedly preventing the roller shutter from undesirably disengaging from the guards. This shutter differs from the present invention because it bears only a single boss and does not employ a retention plate.
One result of this configuration is that the individual shutter slats easily jam during extension and retraction of the shutter. The single retention screw provided in each shutter slat allows the slat to wiggle undesirably within the guard, particularly when the articulation between slats is loose or when there is otherwise play between slats.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,631,749 to Zabala teaches a roller shutter in which each slat has one or more transverse ribs for support, as well as two sets of internal brackets running the length of the slat, in which retainers, or retaining screws, are disposed. The retainers of each slat slide along the guard assembly as the roller shutter is extended and retracted, and provide support to the roller shutter by restricting the motion of the slats. The '749 patent is different from the present invention because it requires support ribs that are separate and distinct from the brackets into which the retainers are received. Furthermore, the '749 patent does not teach or employ a retention plate to maximize surface area contact between the shutter slat and the guard.

Dual boss shutter slat with retention plate


Provided is a substrate processing apparatus capable of supplying pure water that is stabilized with respect to the concentration of nitrogen gas. First and second nitrogen concentration meters to measure the nitrogen gas concentration of pure water are respectively disposed before and after a concentration change part that can dissolve and degas nitrogen gas by using a hollow fiber type separation membrane. In order to maintain the nitrogen gas concentration of pure water at a target concentration value, the dissolution and degassing in the concentration change part are controlled by adjusting the degree to which a first valve on a nitrogen gas supply path and a second valve on a nitrogen gas degassing path are opened, based on a concentration difference between a target concentration and both of the first and second nitrogen concentration meters.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus used when a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer is subjected to a predetermined process such as a cleaning process, and a technique of controlling the inert gas concentration of a processing liquid.
2. Description of the Background Art
In a substrate cleaning process performed in the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device and the like, pure water, or a mixed liquid of pure water and hydrogen peroxide, ammonium etc. is used as a processing liquid. For example, a megasonic cleaning apparatus employs in some times such a processing liquid that is obtained by dissolving nitrogen gas, as an inert gas, in pure water under atmospheric pressure so as to have a concentration of approximately from 5 ppm to 20 ppm, in order to increase the efficiency of cleaning.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a conventional substrate processing apparatus 1000. The apparatus 1000 comprises mainly a pure water adjusting part 1001 and a processing part 1012.
The pure water adjusting part 1001 adjusts the nitrogen gas concentration of pure water to a predetermined concentration and then supplies it to the processing part 1012 that performs, for example, megasonic cleaning. The pure water so adjusted is obtained by dissolving nitrogen gas that is supplied from a nitrogen supply source 1004 provided as factory utility and the like via a nitrogen gas supply path 1005, in pure water that is supplied from a pure water supply source 1002 provided as factory utility and the like via a pure water supply path 1003.
The pure water adjusting part 1001 comprises a dissolving part 1006 for dissolving nitrogen in pure water supplied from the pure water supply source 1002, a nitrogen concentration meter 1007 for measuring the nitrogen gas concentration of the pure water passing through the dissolving part 1006, a pressure gauge 1008 for measuring the pressure of nitrogen gas supplied through the nitrogen gas supply path 1005, a flow meter 1009 for measuring the flow of nitrogen gas, a valve 1010, and a control part 1011 for controlling the opening and closing of the valve 1010, based on measurements of the nitrogen concentration meter 1007.
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a sequence of operating steps for dissolving nitrogen gas in the pure water adjusting part 1001, such that the nitrogen gas concentration of pure water has a predetermined target concentration C. As shown in FIG. 13, in the pure water adjusting part 1001, firstly, the supply of nitrogen gas to the dissolving part 1006 is stopped, and an initial nitrogen gas concentration C0, corresponding to the nitrogen gas concentration in the state that no nitrogen gas is dissolved in pure water, (i.e., blank data) is taken by the nitrogen concentration meter 1007 (step S1001). Subsequently, a required dissolution concentration ΔC is found by subtracting the obtained initial nitrogen gas concentration C0 from the target concentration C (step S1002). A target gas pressure Pt to the required dissolution concentration ΔC is found from a chart indicating the relationship between pressure and dissolved concentration (step S1003). Next, a gas flow Ft to the target gas pressure Pt is found from a chart indicating the relationship between pressure and flow (step S1004), and a gas pressure rising time T to the target gas pressure Pt is found from a chart indicating the relationship between pressure and pressure rising time (step S1005).
Thus, the initial setting value is determined, and a nitrogen dissolving process based on this value is started (step S1006). Thereafter, the nitrogen concentration meter 1007 sequentially measures nitrogen gas concentration, and the gas flow and gas pressure are controlled proportionally based on the measured value (step S1007). This enables to supply pure water in which nitrogen gas of a target concentration is dissolved.
Such nitrogen dissolving process is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-196879.
However, the nitrogen dissolving process in the conventional substrate processing apparatus suffers from the following problem.
Specifically, the initial nitrogen gas concentration C0 in the pure water supplied to the dissolving part 1006 can vary depending on the pure water manufacturing circumstances and storage environment in the pure water supply source 1002. When the supplied pure water has a higher nitrogen gas concentration than the target concentration C, the conventional method fails to reduce this concentration due to lack of the function of degassing nitrogen gas in the dissolving part 1006. In this case, it is therefore unavoidable that pure water having a higher nitrogen gas concentration than the target concentration C is supplied to the processing part 1012.
For example, when performing a megasonic cleaning in the processing part 1012, even with the same input electric power, the physical energy intensity exerted on the substrate varies depending on the nitrogen gas concentration. Since this variation affects the effect of cleaning a substrate, the use of pure water having a higher nitrogen gas concentration than the target concentration C lowers the percentage of removal of particles PRE or damages substrates to be processed in the processing part 1012, resulting in poor manufacturing yield.

Substrate processing apparatus and control method of inert gas concentration


A single-layer-type electrophotographic photosensitive member includes a layer disposed on an electrically conductive substrate, the layer including at least a charge-generating material, an electron transport material, a hole transport material, and a binder resin within the same layer. The charge-generating material contains a phthalocyanine pigment and N-type pigments including at least a perylene-based pigment and an azo-based pigment, and the total amount of the N-type pigments is 0.03 to 10 parts by mass relative to 1 part by mass of the phthalocyanine pigment.

As electrophotographic photosensitive members used in electrophotographic image forming apparatuses, it is known to use inorganic photosensitive members having a photosensitive layer composed of an inorganic material, such as selenium and a-silicone, and organic photosensitive members having a photosensitive layer mainly composed of organic materials, such as a binder resin, a charge-generating material, and a charge transport material. Among these photosensitive members, organic photosensitive members have been widely used because of the ease of production compared with inorganic photosensitive members, wider selectivity of materials for the photosensitive layer, and higher design freedom.
An example of such organic photosensitive members is a single-layer-type organic photosensitive member which has a photosensitive layer including at least a charge-generating material and a charge transport material within the same layer. As compared with a multilayer-type organic photosensitive member in which a charge generation layer containing at least a charge-generating material and a charge transport layer containing a charge transport material are stacked on an electrically conductive substrate, the single-layer-type organic photosensitive member is advantageous in that it has a simple structure, is easy to manufacture, and can suppress the occurrence of film defects, and thus it is widely used.
In recent years, the size of multi function peripherals and printers has been reduced and the printing speed has been increased. Accordingly, photosensitive members which are to be used in multi function peripherals and printers capable of high-speed printing are required to have higher sensitivity so as to be able to print with the high-speed process.
Conventionally, a metal-free phthalocyanine is used as a charge-generating material of the single-layer photosensitive member. However, there is a limit in achieving higher sensitivity. In contrast, an oxotitanium phthalocyanine has a higher quantum efficiency than the metal-free phthalocyanine and is a charge-generating material that is very useful in increasing the sensitivity of an electrophotographic photosensitive member.
However, when oxotitanium phthalocyanine is used in a high-speed process, charge acceptance of the electrophotographic photosensitive member degrades after repeated use, and fog, black stripes, density unevenness, and the like occurs in the resulting image. The reason for this is believed to be that, although advantages, such as high responsiveness, are achieved because the high sensitivity property of oxotitanium phthalocyanine causes a relatively large amount of charge generation, when oxotitanium phthalocyanine is used in the high-speed processes, a memory phenomenon occurs wherein a charge remains in the photosensitive layer and the difference in potential between the exposed portion and the non-exposed portion decreases.
In order to prevent the occurrence of the memory phenomenon, for example, an oxotitanium phthalocyanine and another phthalocyanine may be combined, or an oxotitanium phthalocyanine having a maximum peak at a Bragg angle (2θ±0.2°) of 27.2° in an X-ray diffraction spectrum and a charge transport agent may be incorporated into a photosensitive layer.

Electrophotographic photosensitive member and image forming apparatus including electrophotographic photosensitive member


In a dielectric filter (1) for base station communication equipment, a rectangular solid dielectric block (2) is provided with a plurality of ¼ wavelength resonators (3A1-3A4; 3B1-3B4), which are arranged along side planes (2c,2d) of the dielectric block and extend in parallel to each other and to the side planes (2c,2d). The dielectric block (2) is composed of dielectric ceramics having a relative dielectric constant of 5-20, and a size (H) in a direction orthogonally intersecting with the side planes (2c,2d) of the dielectric block (2) is 10-30 mm.

A communication system such as a mobile phone or portable telephone utilizes a mobile terminal or portable terminal that is compact and lightweight and is suitable to be carried around, and fixed base station communication equipment for communication with each of the portable terminals. Most of radio waves used in most of the communication systems are classified into a frequency band for base station reception that is oscillated at and transmitted from the portable terminal and received at the base station communication equipment, and a frequency band for base station transmission that is oscillated at and transmitted from the base station communication equipment and received at the portable terminal. In either the portable terminal and the base station communication equipment, such devices separates radio waves so that a transmission signal and a reception signal do not interfere with each other by using a filter, and carries out signal processing with respect to each of the radio waves.
As the filter used in the portable terminal, there is a ceramic filter, as described in Patent Document 1, for example. Weight reduction and size reduction have been advanced for the portable terminal along with the advance of technology so as to be easily carried around, and the filter used therein has also been reduced in size.
On the other hand, in a base station side, due to a wide communication area, radio waves need to be radiated from an antenna by using high power communication equipment. For this reason, as a transmission side filter for the base station communication equipment, one with a low loss has been required in order to supply a high powers amplified by a semiconductor device and so on, to the antenna economically. In particular, in the transmission side filter, a configuration needs to be such that the temperature of the filter itself does not increase as a result of the generation of heat due to a loss by the filter.
For this reason, in the base station communication equipment, as described in Non-Patent Document 1 for example, a filter of a type that uses, as a resonant element, a metallic rod inserted in a metallic enclosure, which is so-called a reentrant coaxial or cylindrical cavity resonator. Such a filter has a low loss, and has good heat release and conductivity in order for the generated heat to be less likely to cause a temperature increase since the filter is composed of metal. However, the reentrant coaxial or cylindrical cavity resonator has a large size and is expensive.
In recent years, a communication system of high speed and large capacity has been achieved, and a communication system using 1.5 to 4 GHz as a communication frequency band has been provided. In such a communication system, in accordance with increases in the number of the portable terminals and in lines of the base station, there is a tendency that a wide area is covered by narrowing a communication area of one cell, and instead thereof, increasing the number of the cells. For this reason, the number of the base stations has also been increased. If one including the reentrant coaxial or cylindrical cavity resonator as described above is used for the filter of the communication equipment installed in a number of the base stations as described above, problems that the filter is large, heavy, and expensive and not suitable for mass production become apparent.
In view of the above problems, there has been a desire for a practical filter for the base station communication equipment that is compact and lightweight, and inexpensive and can be mass-produced easily, in place of the filter including the reentrant coaxial or cylindrical cavity resonator.
From the viewpoint of size reduction and weight reduction, it is preferable that dielectric ceramics having a high relative dielectric constant be used. That is, a dielectric resonator has a length in an axial direction substantially proportional to 1/(relative dielectric constant)1/2, and the higher the relative dielectric constant becomes, the more a dimension in the axial direction becomes shortened. The reentrant coaxial or cylindrical cavity resonator is a ¼ wavelength dielectric resonator using air (having a relative dielectric constant of around 1) as a dielectric material, and a length in the axial direction of the reentrant coaxial or cylindrical cavity resonator having a resonance frequency at 2 GHz is 37.5 mm. On the other hand, a ¼ wavelength dielectric filter using dielectric ceramics having a relative dielectric constant 40 has a length in the axial direction of the resonator of 5.93 mm, and is shortened to around ⅙ of the length of the reentrant coaxial or cylindrical resonator.
As a filter for the base station communication equipment formed by using a block of dielectric ceramics for use in a communication system of a frequency band lower than 1 GHz, as described in Patent Document 2, for example. In a specific example shown there, a block of ceramics having a relative dielectric constant of 40 is used, and dimensions of the block is 77.6 mm in length, 11.74 in width, and 11.54 in height. A transmission frequency is 825 MHz through 845 MHz and a reception frequency is 870 MHz through 890 MHz, and as an electric characteristic, it is described that an insertion loss is 1.6 dB and a reception signal is attenuated for 55 dB. In addition, also in Patent Document 3, a dielectric filter using a block of ceramics having a relative dielectric constant of 40 is disclosed. Dimensions of the block is 81.3 mm in length, 30.0 mm in width, and 20.4 mm in height, and a transmission frequency is 453 MHz through 457.475 MHz and a reception frequency is 463 MHz through 467.475 MHz.
However, a practical dielectric filter for base station communication equipment that uses dielectric ceramics and is used in a frequency band equal to or higher than 1 GHz has not conventionally proposed.
Note that Patent Document 4 discloses dielectric ceramics having a high dielectric constant, a large Q, and a good temperature dependency characteristic of a resonance frequency as a material of a dielectric resonator used at a frequency band equal to or higher than 1 GHz. However, at a frequency band equal to or higher than 1 GHz, when a dielectric block composed of dielectric ceramics having a high dielectric constant is used, dimensional accuracy is strictly required for the dielectric block, and difficulty in processing increases, manufacturing cost increases, and it becomes impractical. In view of the above, as described in Patent Document 5 for example, it is suggested that dielectric ceramics having a relative dielectric constant of 10 to 20 is used to lower a dielectric loss, and also lower a temperature factor or coefficient of a resonance frequency. In addition, Patent Document 6 discloses dielectric ceramics having a relative dielectric constant equal to or lower than 20, a low temperature factor or coefficient of a resonance frequency, and a high Q value.    Patent Document 1: WO-A1-2000-515336    Patent Document 2: WO-A1-59-500198    Patent Document 3: JP-A-61-262301    Patent Document 4: JP-A-04-300243    Patent Document 5: JP-A-2002-201062    Patent Document 6: JP-A-2002-80273    Non-Patent Document 1: MICROWAVE FILTERS, IMPEDANCE-MATCHING NETWORKS, AND COUPLING STRUCTURES SEC. 8.13, COMB-LINE, BAND PASS FILTERS, McGraw-Hill 1964

Dielectric filter for base station communication equipment