A Meeting Attendee Instant Messaging (MAIM) utility is provided and embeds Instant Messaging (IM) functionality in a calendaring software. When a meeting request is sent out from the calendaring application, the request receives invitee responses, which automatically populates a Meeting Invitee Status Display (MISD). The MISD graphically illustrates which invitees have accepted the request to the meeting (i.e., attendees), and also provides an indication of a current IM status of each attendee to the meeting. The meeting facilitator may optionally select specific attendees or all attendees and initiate a one-to-one or group IM chat session with the selected attendees to begin a chat. The group IM session chat is initiated from within the MISD without providing the meeting facilitator with anything other than the e-mail addresses or e-mail IDs of the attendees.

1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to computer systems and devices, and in particular to software application processes on computer systems and devices. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a method and system for enhancing meeting calendar/scheduling software application processes on computer systems and devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
A growing number of computer users rely on the meeting scheduling/calendaring functions that are provided by conventional electronic calendaring and/or e-mail applications. One of the functions provided by these applications is the scheduling of meetings (e.g., conference calls) with one or more individuals (invitees) and issuing the invitations for such meetings to the invitees' electronic devices or electronic mailboxes, etc. Often, the meeting is conducted via telephone (e.g., a telephone conference), and the calendaring function simply enables the person calling the conference (hereinafter referred to interchangeably as "meeting owner" or "facilitator") to inform the invitees of the meeting's topic, date, and time. Also, the use of the calendaring function enables the invitees to provide an electronic response (RSVP) to the invitation/request.
The invitees are typically identified by an e-mail or other electronic address (e.g., IP address or computer machine (MAC) address) and provide an electronic response from that address. The invitees typically provide a response (RSVP) message indicating the invitee's intention or ability to attend or not attend the meeting/conference. Certain calendaring/scheduling software may prompt the invitee to respond with an acceptance or rejection and then automatically return the response to the meeting facilitator.
In a somewhat analogous art, a large number of computer users have some sort of instant messaging (IM) application on their computer system and/or other portable electronic device, such as a cell phone or personal digital assistant (PDA). Certain applications, e.g., Lotus Notes® and MSN Hotmail®, provide some association between the e-mail software and associated IM software. This association enables cross-features, such as: (a) a user of the IM software selecting one of the IM identities (or addresses) and automatically opening the e-mail engine to send an e-mail to the e-mail address corresponding to the IM identity (ID) and/or (b) the e-mail inbox displaying an icon indicating whether or not the user is currently logged into his computer (or his IM service), or some other current IM status of the user. However, current IM applications are independent of the calendaring function whether or not provided within or associated with the e-mail engine.
Utilizing the calendaring function, the facilitator of a meeting (interchangeably referred to as a conference call, which represents one type of meeting that may be scheduled) will electronically invite people to a conference call, and may then follow up with a reminder message, delivered via e-mail or via phone. However, even with such reminder methods prior to the time at which the meeting is scheduled to begin, it is not uncommon for the facilitator of the meeting/conference call to be made to wait for invitees to join the call. Frequently, the facilitator has to call those invitees after the meeting/conference call is scheduled to begin to remind the attendee to call in to the conferencing center. When the meeting attendee is online, an astute facilitator may be able to send a reminder by opening his/her IM client and sending the attendee an IM message reminding the attendee that the meeting is about to begin. This process requires that the attendee be "online," and the facilitator has to open his IM portal, recognize that the attendee's IM status is "online", and then open the chat session with that one attendee.
With the current IM systems, the facilitator may individually establish an IM session with each attendee who has not yet joined the meeting and prompt/remind that person that the call has in fact begun. Thus, the facilitator has no way of knowing if the person is online unless that facilitator opens his/her IM client and has that attendee's IM ID added to the list of contacts in the IM client. To provide this reminder to multiple attendees requires that each attendee have an online presence and his/her IM ID included within the list of contacts in the facilitator's IM client. More likely than not, the persons (invitees) with whom these meetings are scheduled are not the same people that are "close" enough to be included in the facilitator's list of IM contacts. Thus, while the facilitator may be able to ping one or more of the attendees via the IM portal, many others attendees may not be reachable without some other means of contacting the person outside of the telephone conference itself or e-mail addresses. Additionally, in other situations, the facilitator may also wish to start an IM session with all attendees to a meeting to share a URL or some other bit of information electronically. Without having an IM group established, this process becomes cumbersome and discourages use of the IM chat to share such information.
Today, the facilitator could individually invite each "accepted" invitee to a chat to see where the person is and remind the person of the conference call/meeting. In the Lotus Notes® environment, the facilitator may also/possibly use NotesBuddy® to create a group chat. However, this would require knowledge of each attendee's note signing ID and/or manual creation of a specific contact group of the note signing IDs for that specific meeting. However, since each meeting may involve different numbers and different sets of participants, manual creation of a group for each meeting schedule is time-consuming and inefficient.

Method, system and computer program product for enabling electronic chat with online calendar invitees


A multiple cell battery charger configured in a parallel topology provides constant current charging. The multiple cell battery charger requires fewer active components than known serial battery chargers, while at the same time preventing a thermal runaway condition. The multiple cell battery charger in accordance with the present invention is a constant voltage constant current battery charger that includes a regulator for providing a regulated source of direct current (DC) voltage to the battery cells to be charged. The battery charger also includes a pair of battery terminals coupled in series with a switching device, such as a field effect transistor (FET) and optionally a battery cell charging current sensing element, forming a charging circuit. In a charging mode, the serially connected FET conducts, thus enabling the battery cell to be charged. The FETs are controlled by a microprocessor that monitors the battery cell voltage and cell charging current and optionally the cell temperature. The microprocessor periodically adjusts the charging current of each cell to maintain a relatively constant current. When the microprocessor senses a voltage or temperature indicative that the battery cell is fully charged, the FET is turned off, thus disconnecting the battery cell from the circuit. Accordingly, the battery charger in accordance with the present invention utilizes fewer active components and is thus less expensive to manufacture than known battery chargers configured with a serial topography while at the same time providing constant current charging to avoid a thermal runaway condition.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a battery charger and more particularly, to a battery charger for charging two or more rechargeable battery cells using a parallel battery charger topology which provides constant current charging.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various portable devices and appliances are known to use multiple rechargeable battery cells, such as AA and AAA battery cells. In order to facilitate charging of the battery cells for such multiple cell appliances, multiple cell battery chargers have been developed. Both parallel and series topologies are known for such multiple cell battery chargers. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,821,733 and 6,580,249, as well as published U.S. Patent Application U.S. 2003/0160593, disclose multiple cell battery chargers configured in a series topology. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,034,506 and 6,586,909 as well as published U.S. Patent Application U.S. 2003/0117109 A1 disclose battery chargers configured in a parallel topology.
In multiple cell battery chargers configured in a series topology, a series charging current is applied to a plurality of serially coupled battery cells. Because the internal resistance and charge on the individual cells may vary during charging, it is necessary with such battery chargers to monitor the voltage across and/or temperature of each cell in order to avoid overcharging any of the serially connected cells. In the event that an over-voltage condition is sensed, it is necessary to shunt charging current around the cell to prevent overcharging of any of the individual serially connected cells. Thus, such multiple cell battery chargers normally include a parallel shunt around each of the serially connected cells. As such, when a battery cell becomes fully charged, additional charging current is thus shunted around the cell to prevent overcharging and possible damage to the cell. In addition, it is necessary to prevent discharge of such serially connected battery cells when such cells are not being charged.
Various embodiments of a multiple cell battery charger configured with a serial charging topography are disclosed in the '733 patent. In one embodiment, a Zener diode is connected in parallel across each of the serially connected battery cells. The Zener diode is selected so that its breakdown voltage is essentially equivalent to the fully-charged voltage of the battery cell. Thus, when any of the cells become fully charged, the Zener diode conducts and shunts current around that cell to prevent further charging of the battery cell. Unfortunately, the Zener diode does not provide relatively accurate control of the switching voltage.
In an alternate embodiment of the battery charger disclosed in the '733 patent, a multiple cell battery charger with a series topology is disclosed in which a field effect transistors (FET) are used in place of the Zener diodes to shunt current around the battery cells. In that embodiment, the voltage across each of the serially connected cells is monitored. When the voltage measurements indicate that the cell is fully charged, the FET is turned on to shunt additional charging current around the fully charged cell. In order to prevent discharge of battery cells, isolation switches, formed from additional FETs, are used. These isolation switches simply disconnect the charging circuit from the individual battery cells during a condition when the cells are not being charged.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,580,249 and published U.S. Patent Application No. U.S. 2003/01605393 A1 also disclosed multiple cell battery chargers configured in a serial topology. The multiple cell battery chargers disclosed in these publications also include a shunt device, connected in parallel around each of the serially coupled battery cells. In these embodiments, FETs are used for the shunts. The FETs are under the control of a microprocessor. Essentially, the microprocessor monitors the voltage and temperature of each of the serially connected cells. When the microprocessor senses that the cell voltage or temperature of any cell is above a predetermined threshold indicative that the cell is fully charged, the microprocessor turns on the FET, thus shunting charging current around that particular battery cell. In order to prevent discharge of the serially connected cells when no power is applied to the battery charger, blocking devices, such as diodes, are used.
Although such multiple cell battery chargers configured in a series topology are able to simultaneously charge multiple battery cells without damage, such battery chargers are as discussed above, not without problems. For example, such multiple cell battery chargers require at least two active components, namely, either a Zener diode or a FET as a shunt and either a FET or diode for isolation to prevent discharge. The need for at least two active devices drives up the cost of such multiple battery cell chargers.
In order to avoid the problems associated with multiple cell series battery chargers, multiple cell battery chargers configured in a parallel topology are known to be used. Examples of such parallel chargers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,034,506 and 6,586,909, as well as U.S. Published Patent Application No. U.S. 2003/0117109. U.S. Pat. No. 6,586,909 and published U.S. Application No. U.S. 2003/0117109 discloses a multiple cell battery chargers for use in charging industrial high capacity electrochemical batteries. These publications disclose the use of a transformer having a single primary and multiple balanced secondary windings that are magnetically coupled together by way of an induction core. Each battery cell is charged by way of a regulator, coupled to one of the multiple secondary windings. While such a configuration may be suitable for large industrial applications, it is practically not suitable for use in charging appliance size batteries, such as, AA and AAA batteries.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,034,506 discloses a multiple cell battery charger for charging multiple lithium ion cells in parallel. As shown best in FIG. 3 of the '506 patent, a plurality of serially connected lithium ion battery cells are connected together forming a module. Multiple modules are connected in series and in parallel as shown in FIG. 2 of the '506 patent. Three isolation devices are required for each cell making the topology disclosed in the '506 patent even more expensive to manufacture than the series battery chargers discussed above.
Another problem associated with parallel battery chargers is thermal runaway. In particular, it is known parallel battery chargers provide constant potential charging. With such constant potential charging, as the cell voltage increases, the temperature and charging current of the cell also increase. Continued constant potential charging of the battery cell causes the current to continue to rise as well as the rate of change of the temperature to increase significantly, resulting in a thermal runaway condition. Thus, there is a need for a battery charger which requires fewer active components than known battery chargers and is thus less expensive to manufacture and also avoids a thermal runaway condition.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Pseudo constant current multiple cell battery charger configured with a parallel topology


The present invention relates to compositions and methods for promoting healing of cutaneous, mucosal and/or mucocutaneous lesions associated with the presence of a mycoplasma and one or more non-mycoplasma microorganisms. The compositions and methods of the invention also relate to the reduction of joint pain, column pain, and/or skeletal muscle pain.

Mycoplasmas represent some of the smallest self-replicating microorganisms, and have unique properties among the prokaryotes. These properties include the need for cholesterol to maintain their membrane envelope, and the absence of an external wall. Mycoplasmas are known to cause pulmonary infection in humans, and it is widely known that mycoplasmas can cause disease in most animals including humans as well as animals of commercial importance such as cattle, swine, and fowl. (Razin et al., 1998, Microbiol. and Molecular Biology Review, 62(4):1094-1156; Maniloff et al. Eds., 1992, Mycoplasmas, Molecular Biology and Pathogenesis, American Society for Microbiology, Washington).
Frequent co-occurrence of mycoplasma with other microorganisms, such as chlamydia, has been observed in diseases involving cell proliferation (International Patent Application No. PCT/BR01/00083, filed Jul. 3, 2001 and BR PI 0002989-0, filed Jul. 3, 2001). This association appears to increase the virulence of both pathogens. Mycoplasmal lipoproteins are potent macrophage activators and have a comparable activity and distribution in mollicutes as the LPS of Gram-negative bacteria. (Razin et al. Eds., 2002, Molecular biology and pathogenicity of mycoplasmas, Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York). Recently described toll-like receptors (TLR) in macrophages that are activated by products from pathogens such as mycoplasmal lipoproteins and LPS from bacteria have been demonstrated to be important for activation of the immune system and it appears that the efficacy of the immune response depends on which concomitant TLR s are activated. (Akira et al., 2001, Nature Immunol. 2:675-680).
Archaea are the most ancient microorganisms existing in nature, but have been characterized only recently. See, Woese et al., Proc Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 74: 5088-5090 (1977). They inhabit extreme environments and are constituted by lipid monolayer membranes. Rich alkaline atmosphere with sodium ions and metals prevents proliferation of other bacteria, but is favorable to archaea's growth. Archaea have been isolated from alkaline waters from the Dead Sea, the Great Salt Lake and Yellowstone National Park. They have a small size, can—just barely—be viewed with an optical microscope, and observation of structural details requires electron microscopy. See, Howland et al., The surprising archaea. Discovering another domain of life, Oxford University Press (New York, 2000). Some are considered hyperthermophilic as they survive in very high temperatures.
Another unusual characteristic of some archaea is that they appear to use metal as an energy source. See, Amend et al., F. E. M. S. Microbiol. Rev. 25: 175-243 (2001). It is considered that archaea usually need an anaerobic or nearly anaerobic environments to carry out oxidation-reduction reactions with participation of different chemical compounds, including metals.
Recently, a new kind of extremely small archaea, which is dependent on bigger archaea, was described and named nanoarchaea. See, Huber J et al., Nature 417: 63-67 (2002). With the exception of archaea that reside in the mammalian intestine and produce methane gases, there is no report of archaea existing within plants or animals. See, Florin T H J et al., Am. J. Gastroenterol. 95: 2872-2879 (2000).
Cutaneous lesions, for example, psoriasis and radiodermatitis resulting from radiotherapy, present obstacles to successful wound healing, as the lesions result from continued exposure to causative factors such as radiation therapy for cancer, or immune system dysfunction in psoriasis. In particular, the persistence of radiodermatitis lesions often requires the suspension of radiation therapy during cancer treatment in order to permit healing of the lesions. Such interruptions can be detrimental to the successful treatment of cancer.

Compositions for promoting wound healing and treating psoriasis


A dispenser head for mounting on a fluid dispenser, said dispenser head comprising a body (1) provided with a dispenser orifice (10), said head being provided with a cap (2) that is displaceable between a closed position, in which it covers said dispenser orifice (10), and an open position, in which it does not cover said dispenser orifice, said cap (2) being connected in permanent manner to said body (1), regardless of the position of said cap.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dispenser head for mounting on a fluid dispenser, and in particular to a head including a cap for selectively covering and uncovering a dispenser orifice, and it also relates to a dispenser provided with such a head.
(2) Description of Related Art
Putting a cap into place on a dispenser head generally fulfils several purposes. The first is to avoid the dispenser orifice becoming clogged between two actuation operations. The cap can also avoid fluid leaks. The cap can also avoid the fluid contained in the reservoir being in permanent contact with the surrounding ambient air, which could possibly cause microbiological contamination of the fluid that is to be delivered and/or cause a change in the chemical composition of said fluid. Thus, the purpose of caps found in the prior is selectively to mask and unmask a dispenser orifice through which fluid contained in a reservoir can escape following actuation by a user. Thus, the purpose of such caps is to cover the dispenser orifice while the user is not using the dispenser, and to uncover it by removal of said cap when the user desires to dispense a quantity of fluid. The cap is thus normally removed by the user exerting axial traction on the cap, so as to detach said cap completely from the dispenser head. However, the cap can be removed accidentally, e.g. while a dispenser is being carried in a bag, and this might result in liquid leaking into the bag. In addition, after using the dispenser, the user may omit to replace the cap on the dispenser head, and this might result in the negative consequences mentioned above.


A marine propulsion system that utilizes a transmission shift sequence to control shifting of the propulsion system transmission between forward and reverse gears. The marine propulsion system includes a controller that executes the transmission shift sequence using engine speed and transmission fluid pressure signals to determine the timing of various steps in the shift sequence. The controller is connected to a shift actuator for the transmission and to an engine speed throttle to thereby control transmission shifting and engine speed as a part of the transmission shift sequence. By monitoring engine speed and transmission fluid pressure, and by controlling transmission shifting and engine speed settings, the transmission shift sequence can provide the operator with the ability to carry out quick shifts that will neither stall the engine nor damage the transmission clutch.

Marine vessels in use today use marine propulsion systems that typically include the following sub-systems: an engine to provide power, a transmission to transfer drive power to a propeller, and a control system to provide control of engine speed and transmission engagement. An operator or pilot of the vessel nominally has control of the engine speed and transmission shifting through one or more operator controls. Using these operator controls, the transmission can be shifted between forward and reverse, usually through a neutral (transmission disengaged) position, and the engine speed can be set as desired by the operator.
Engine stalling is a problem sometimes encountered when operating a marine vessel, and often this occurs when the vessel is moving in one direction at high speed and the operator suddenly shifts the transmission into the opposite gear. The stall is the result of the linear momentum of the vessel moving through the water which imparts a drag load on the propeller that tends to keep the propeller, transmission, and engine rotating in the same direction. Reversing the transmission under these circumstances, however, places a sudden increased load on the engine because of the drag load on the propeller. As a result, the engine is often unable to overcome the sudden increased load and, therefore, the engine stalls.
Another problem can arise when a pilot attempts to avoid the engine stalling problem. Faced with a potential engine stall, a pilot will often "race" the engine prior to shifting it into the reverse gear. Racing the engine, however, can lead to transmission clutch damage caused by excessive engine speed prior to full engagement of the transmission clutch to the engine. To avoid damage to the transmission, marine transmission manufacturers recommend maximum acceptable engine speeds (typically 1,000 RPM) for all transmission shifts including neutral to forward or reverse, and forward or reverse through neutral to the opposite gear. Exceeding the maximum acceptable engine speed during a shift tends to result in excessive clutch temperatures and possibly clutch failure.
Attempts to alleviate the above problems usually involve using electronic controls, or "blind timers", to delay the time between shifting the transmission and increasing of the speed of the engine to allow the transmission clutch to fully engage the engine and propeller driveshaft. This method is only effective under specific conditions, such as where the drag load on the propeller decreases by a sufficient amount during the time delay such that the engine can overcome the sudden increased load without stalling. In some instances, however, this method may be ineffective because the shift is not delayed long enough and the engine stalls, or because the delay is too long resulting in an unnecessarily long shift delay.


A stand for a display device, such as a flat-panel display, selectively accommodates mounting surfaces having disparate orientations with improved stability and durability, to facilitate viewing of the flat-panel display in either of at least two physical states of orientation as necessary or desired, specifically, with respect to both horizontal and vertical mounting surfaces. The stand includes a pivoting arm for receiving the display device, the pivoting arm including a locking member having at least two locking devices; a support arm for receiving a base; and a locking release coupled to the pivoting arm by a pivot pin and coupled to the support arm by a releasing pin for loading an elastic member, the locking release including a lever having an upper end for receiving the pivot pin and a lower end for receiving the releasing pin and compressing the elastic member, the upper end including a set of locking devices formed in correspondence to the at least two locking devices of the locking member to enable a selective engagement between one of the locking devices of the lever and one of the locking devices of the locking member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stand structure, and more particularly, to a stand for supporting the display device of a flat-panel display. Although the present invention is suitable for a wide scope of applications, it is particularly suitable for a flat-panel display enabling an adjustable configuration with respect to a desktop or wall mount environment.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Display devices, including flat-panel displays such as those for displaying video images and other data output, are viewable by a user (viewer) positioned is front of a screen. Though the user is most typically seated at a desk, viewing may be desirable under a variety of circumstances. For example, a flat-panel display may be arranged on a surface of another orientation, such as an interior wall of a room. Therefore, the flat-panel display should include a stand enabling more than one viewing angle. That is, the stand may be adjustable and may permit a range of movement of 90 degrees or more, to enable the flat-panel display to be placed on a desk (i.e., a horizontal surface) or be hung on a wall (i.e., a vertical surface).
Referring to FIG. 1, a contemporary stand for supporting a display device, e.g., a flat-panel display, as described above is basically comprised of a pivoting arm 101 coupled to a support arm 102. The pivoting arm 101 is configured to receive the display device to be supported and to transfer its weight to the support arm. For example, the pivoting arm 101 may enable a rotational coupling to a rear side of the display device, allowing a rotational movement of the display device with respect to the support arm 102. Meanwhile, the support arm 102 is coupled at one end (e.g., an upper end) to the pivoting arm 101 and is configured at its other end (e.g., a lower end) to be fixed to a base (not shown), to thus support the display device at a predetermined height, or distance, with respect to the base.
The pivoting arm 101 comprises a support body 103, including at least one first support link 103a corresponding to the rear side of the display device and at least one second support link 103b connected at one end (e.g., a mounting end) to the first support link. A chamfered hole 103bb is formed in the other end (e.g., a pivot end) of the second support link 103b to receive a pivot pin 105. A first boss 102a for receiving the pivot pin 105 is disposed at the upper end of the support arm 102 and is arranged adjacent to the pivot end of the second support link 103b. An annular device 104 having a set of locking recesses 104a arranged around its perimeter and receiving the pivot pin 5 is provided on a side of the first boss 102a of the support arm 102, to be interposed between the first boss and the pivot end of the second support link 103b. A second boss 106 is fixed to an inner wall of the support arm 102 and securely receives a releasing pin 107. A retractable lever 108 is fixed at a lower end to the releasing pin 107, using a securing clip 109, and has a tapered distal end 108b for selectively engaging with one of the locking recesses 104a. The retractable lever 108 may be selectively inserted into a slotted opening 102b, which is formed lengthwise in a sidewall of the support arm 102, to extend roughly from the releasing pin 107 to the annular device 104, and includes at one end a seat 108a for receiving the releasing pin.
Here, it should be appreciated that, with the support arm 102 assembled to the pivot arm 101, the base may be aligned with and then securely coupled to the lower end of the support arm 102. Meanwhile, the first support link 103a of the pivot arm 101 may likewise be aligned with and then securely coupled to the display device itself. Thus, the stand may, according to the orientation (arrangement) of the display device, be manually adjusted to facilitate viewing.
For example, for viewing when the display device is arranged on a desktop or other mounting surface, the releasing pin 107 is pressed to enable the retractable lever 108 to slide outwardly along the length of the releasing pin and thus emerge from the slotted opening 102b, to thereby disengage with the corresponding locking recess 104a of the annular device 104, allowing a manual rotation of the support body 103 of the pivoting arm 101 according to a desired viewing with respect to the mounting surface. In doing so, the releasing pin 107 loads a spring (not shown) fitted to the releasing pin, between the second boss 106 and the retractable lever 108. Once the desired viewing angle is obtained manually, the retractable lever 108 is reengaged with another locking recess 104a of the annular device 104. A release of the releasing pin 107 causes, under a restoring force of the spring, the retractable lever 108 to retract into the slotted opening 102b and thereby secure the engagement with the locking recess 104a and the corresponding viewing angle. The same adjustment process may be followed for a display device being moved from the desktop to a wall or back again.
According to the contemporary stand as described above, however, the retractable lever 108 is easily separated from the locking recess 104a of the annular device 104, due to the nature of the tapered distal end 108b. Moreover, the weight of the display device is applied, via the pivoting arm 101, to the retractable lever 108 and is concentrated on the tapered distal end 108b, which is susceptible to fracturing.


A shower soap assembly is provided for mounting to a shower head fixture. The assembly has open opposite ends and soap holding screens mounted within for holding a cake of soap. When soap is desired, the housing is moved to a down soap loaded position such that water from the shower head nozzle passes through the housing dissolving the soap, and soapy water is dispensed through the output end. When soap is no longer desired, the housing is moved to an upright position out of the path of the stream of water.

This invention relates to the field of accessories for a shower head assembly. Current shower assemblies provide a spray of only water. A person desiring a shower must take soap and apply it to the area to be washed, and then rinse the soap off in the shower head stream. A problem exists for applying the soap to areas which are not easily reached by persons, for example the middle back, or for elderly or handicapped persons who don't have the range of motion required to reach all areas of the body with soap.
An object of the present invention is to provide an accessory for attaching to a shower head which will dispense soap in the spray of water from the shower head, allowing for application of soap to "hard-to-reach places".
A further object of the invention is to provide a housing having soap holding screens mounted therein such that water passing through the housing will dissolve soap which is held in place by the screens.
Another object of the invention is to provide a simple device which may be detachably affixed to a shower head fixture, which will not interfere with the natural flow of water from the shower head.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a handle for easily moving the soap holder from the upright to the down soap loaded position.
A final object is to provide a water pressure release channel to allow water to by-pass the screens and blow through the housing in the event they become clogged with soap.
The method and means of accomplishing each of the above objects as well as others will become apparent from the detailed description of the invention that follows hereinafter.


A method implementing dynamic camera presets. An image is received. A list of bounding boxes and a list of classification values are generated from the image. A set of tags, for the image, are generated from the list of bounding boxes and the list of classification values. A tagged image incorporating the set of tags into the image is presented. In response to a user input, a tag selection identifying a tag of the set of tags is received. View settings are adjusted to focus on a bounding box, from the list of bounding boxes, corresponding to the tag selection. An adjusted image is presented using the view settings.

Video conferencing solutions are used to share information and connect users between remote locations. Users participating in a video call may control the visual conferencing experience. Currently, manual controls are used for a user to adjust the pan, tilt, and zoom of the camera view to the user's desired position while on a video conference call. Specifically, the user identifies the exact location of the desired position and then manually adjusts the pan, tilt, and zoom of the camera to match the location.


A sheet-feeding type scanning apparatus and an automatic sheet feeding method are provided. The sheet-feeding type scanning apparatus includes a scanning module, a first sheet input tray, a first sheet pick-up roller assembly, a sheet ejecting tray, a sheet transfer channel, a plurality of transfer roller assemblies, a sheet ejecting roller assembly, a sheet-feeding sensor and a clutch module. Once a first sheet article of multiple sheet articles placed on the first sheet input tray are fed into the internal portion of the sheet-feeding type scanning apparatus to trigger the sheet-feeding sensor, the clutch module is disabled. At this moment, a second sheet article placed on the first sheet input tray fails to be fed by the first sheet pick-up roller assembly. Therefore, the double feeding problem is solved.

Scanning apparatuses are widely used for scanning images of documents. The scanned images can be converted into electronic files, which are then stored, processed or spread. With increasing development of scanning technologies, the scanning apparatuses have experienced great growth and are now rapidly gaining in popularity.
In the early stage, the scanning apparatus can scan one side of the document. For scanning both sides of the document, after one side of the document has been scanned, the document should be manually turned over so as to scan the other side of the document. As known, the process of manually turning over the document is troublesome. Recently, an automatic document feeder is usually integrated into the scanning apparatus. After a stack of documents to be scanned are placed on the sheet input tray of the automatic document feeder, the sheet-feeding mechanism of the automatic document feeder will successively transport the sheet to perform the scanning operation without the need of manually turning over the documents. This means of automatically feeding the sheet sheets is both time-saving and efficient. It is found that the scanning apparatuses are improved according to the generation development and the diverse demands.
Generally, the pick-up roller and the separation roller of the sheet-feeding type scanning apparatus are abraded after a long-term use period. As such, a so-called double feeding problem occurs when a stack of documents are fed into the internal portion of the sheet-feeding type scanning apparatus. Once the double feeding problem occurs, two or more documents are simultaneously fed into the internal portion of the sheet-feeding type scanning apparatus. Since second document is partially or completely superimposed with the first document when the double feeding problem occurs, the second document is incompletely scanned or fails to be scanner. In other words, the double feeding problem is detrimental to the performance of the sheet-feeding type scanning apparatus.
Therefore, there is a need of providing a sheet-feeding type scanning apparatus for solving the double feeding problem.

Sheet-feeding type scanning apparatus and automatic sheet feeding method


The present disclosure provides a method for forming a semiconductor device. The method includes providing a substrate having a metal pattern, and forming an etch stop layer over the substrate. The etch stop layer includes a first material. The method also includes forming a diffused area in the etch stop layer by diffusing a second material from the metal pattern to the etch stop layer, and forming an insulative layer over the etch stop layer. The diffused area includes a lower etch rate to a first etchant than the insulative layer. A semiconductor device is also provided.

Via etching process employed in certain integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing processes has adopted an aluminum oxide film as an etch stop layer which is subsequently removed by wet etching or dry etching. To properly remove the Al2O3 by wet etching, an undercut equal to the thickness of the Al2O3 results. This poses a problem for reliability and yield in the subsequent gap filling process. On the other hand, removing an etch stop layer by dry etching often causes damage to the metal underneath the etch stop layer, which may also lead to reliability issue and high Rc.

Semiconductor device and method of forming the same

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY LTD.


An apparatus for weighing materials online is disclosed, which belongs to an art of online weighing of material. The apparatus comprises: a light-emitting unit, emitting light beams irradiating on the surface of materials transported on a belt to form a bright projection which has the same shape as that of a upper contour of a cross-section of the material; and a CCD camera for continuously picking up images of the bright projection on the upper contour of the cross-section of the material; and an image capture unit, connected to the CCD camera for continuously capturing the images; and a central processing unit, connected to the image capture unit for processing the images captured by the image capture unit to compute a weight of the material. The present invention has many advantages, such as, high precision, good reliability and stability, which applies to the belt without a constant speed and a condition that a bulk shape and the bulk density of the material change largely. And the radiation safety of the present invention is good.

Now two popular apparatus for online weighing are electronic belt scale and nuclear belt scale.
The common ground of the two apparatus lies in that both of them measure the load of materials on a conveyor belt and the speed of the belt, then get an instantaneous flux through multiplying the load by the speed, and finally obtain the cumulative weight of the material within a period of time through an integral or a summation operation.
The difference of these two apparatus lies in:
The electronic belt scale performs a contacting measurement by means of a pressure sensor, and determines the material load by measuring the weight of the material in a given area of the belt with a given length. If the flux is big, the accuracy of the electronic belt scale is high. But while the speed of the belt's movement is relatively high, the accuracy will decrease obviously. The electronic belt scale always has a huge size and a complicated structure, especially the one with better accuracy. And as it employs the contacting style measurement, the varieties of many factors can make great effect on measurement accuracy, such as change in tension of the belt, change in hardness of the belt and movement deviation of the belt. Therefore electronic belt scales need elaborate maintenance to keep steady accuracy.
The nuclear belt scale performs a non-contacting measurement, determining the material load by measuring the radiation absorption of the material. Nuclear belt scale has many features, such as, small volume, less maintenance and good stability. But under a condition of big flux and high load, due to the power limitation of a radioactive source, the intensity of the radiation having passed through the material and received by a detector is too low, which will influence the accuracy. Additionally, the changes in characteristics of the material, such as, the variety, composition, amount of water included and the change in the shape of a cross-section on the belt may influence the measurement accuracy. Therefore, nuclear belt scale has a low accuracy in general. And a complicated calibration needs to be done to ensure that the nuclear belt scale works well.
Although the nuclear belt scale and the electronic belt scale have their own advantages and disadvantages, they both can not meet the requirements of high precision and high reliability in some industries, such as metallurgy industry, chemical industry, and mining industry. It is an urgent affair to seek an online weighing apparatus with high precision, high stability, easy operation, and easy maintenance.


A method and system is configured to characterize regions of an environment by the likelihoods of transition of a target from each region to another. The likelihoods of transition between regions is preferably used in combination with conventional object-tracking algorithms to determine the likelihood that a newly-appearing object in a scene corresponds to a recently-disappeared target. The likelihoods of transition may be predefined based on the particular environment, or may be determined based on prior appearances and disappearances in the environment, or a combination of both. The likelihoods of transition may also vary as a function of the time of day, day of the week, and other factors that may affect the likelihoods of transitions between regions in the particular surveillance environment.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of video surveillance, and in particular to a system and method for tracking objects that are occluded while traversing a surveillance scene, or occluded as the object traverses from one scene to another.
2. Description of Related Art
Video surveillance systems often include object-tracking capabilities, wherein an identified object, or target, is continually identified as the object travels within a scene, or set of scenes. Generally, multiple objects are simultaneously tracked. The objects may include people, vehicles, parcels, and so on.
In a typical surveillance system, one or more cameras are strategically placed to optimize the video coverage provided. As an object traverses a camera's field of view, an object-tracking module searches each sequential image frame for the target, based on the appearance of the target within a prior image frame. The appearance of the target in each sequential frame will not generally be identical to its appearance in the prior frame, due to changes in the object's posture and orientation as it moves, or due to changes in lighting conditions, camera angle, as the object enters different areas, and so on. Generally, the amount of change from frame to frame is limited, and the identification of a similar, albeit not identical, object in each sequential frame is fairly straightforward.
Object-tracking becomes more difficult if an object disappears from a scene, then reappears at a different location in the scene, or in a different scene. Such a disappearance-then-reappearance, herein termed a temporary occlusion, can occur, for example, as the target passes behind an obstacle, such as a pillar or tree, as the target exits through a door from one surveillance scene to another, as the target enters then exits a non-surveyed area, such as a rest-room or closet, and so on. The difficulty arises from the fact that the target's reappearance differs in time and/or space from when and/or where it disappeared. The lighting conditions may differ on each side of an obstacle, the object may change appearance while behind the obstacle, the camera angle may differ on each side of a door, a different object may appear at the other side of the obstacle, or in the other scene, while the target is still occluded, and so on. The difficulty is further compounded because some objects may disappear and not re-appear in a scene, for example when a target leaves the surveyed area, or areas, entirely.
Conventional systems generally predict the appearance and location of a target in each successive image frame, and typically extend the concept to predict the appearance and location of an occluded target in future frames, based on the prior trajectory of the target before its disappearance. U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,530, "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRACKING A MOVING OBJECT", issued 18 Jan. 1994 to Trew et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 6,263,088, "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TRACKING MOVEMENT OF OBJECTS IN A SCENE", issued 17 Jul. 2001 to Crabtree et al., are examples of such techniques, and are incorporated by reference herein.
In "BAYESIAN MULTI-CAMERA SURVEILLANCE", Proceedings of Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, 1999 II:253-259, V. Kettnaker and R. Zabih describe an object-tracking system wherein a "chain of appearances" is created for a tracked object as the object traverses the fields of view of multiple cameras. In addition to using the visual data, the system uses a stochastic model that mathematically expressed how likely it was that an object last seen in one camera would be observed next in a different camera at a particular time. To facilitate the tracking of multiple objects, the image information from all of the cameras is stored in a common database, and various possible object paths are postulated. Using a Bayesian model, the optimal solution is the set of object paths with the highest posterior probability, given the observed data. The maximum a posteriori solution is approximated using linear programming techniques.

Linking tracked objects that undergo temporary occlusion


A method and an apparatus for manufacturing a plastic molded part. A plasticized plastic composition is fed to the open mold cavity defined between a lower and an upper mold half. At least one web and perhaps two webs of decorative material to be applied to the molded part extend across the mold cavity. The closing of the mold halves presses the plastic composition against the web or webs. There is at least one two-part clamping frame for resiliently holding the web of decorative material by clamping it outside the mold cavity, so that the web can slip with respect to the composition as the mold halves move together. One clamping frame half is developed with an immersion edge which defines a side edge of the mold cavity and with a cutting plane spaced from the immersion edge a distance sufficient that the frame half also serves as an ejector for the molded part from the mold cavity as the mold halves open apart. Plastic composition is either directly delivered to the mold cavity or it is first delivered to a preforming chamber which is placed in the mold cavity and then the chamber is opened to deliver the preshaped part to the mold cavity. The preforming chamber has a non-adherent interior surface and/or is air permeable and a gas is supplied for the purpose of minimizing or eliminating adherence of the plastic composition to the internal surface of the preforming chamber.

The present invention refers to a method and an apparatus for the production of a plastic molded part in which a plastic composition is fed in a plasticized state to an open mold cavity and particularly relates to applying a covering layer to the part while it is in the mold. The mold comprises lower and upper mold halves. A supply of the plastic composition is compressed into a desired shape by the closing of the mold.
For instance, some automobile parts are covered with textiles or films for aesthetic improvement. The covering is effected in this case by applying a backing to the part or else by back injection of the textiles or films on injection molding machines. In both cases, the expense of the process is relatively great, while the quality of the surface of the parts obtained is not always satisfactory.

Method for the manufacture of a plastic molded part


A package carrier which includes a band of strong material that is placed across the top of a package and affixed at opposite ends to the outer surface of the package. A handle is formed intermediate the ends of the band by folding the band and sealing interfacing portion of the band adjacent the fold.

This invention relates to a package carrier that can be easily affixed to the outer surface of a package and, more particularly, to a package carrier of that type which includes a sturdy handle to enable the package to be conveniently carried by the customer.
Merchandise purchased in a store is ordinarily placed in merchandising bags large enough to encompass the merchandise. Some merchandise is prepackaged or prewrapped, but it is generally placed in merchandising bags having handles to make it easier for the customer to carry the merchandise. The bags are also useful to security personnel as an indication that the contents within the bag were purchased by the customer.
The use of merchandising bags is not only expensive, but ordinarily a large inventory of bags of different sizes must be available to accommodate packages of different size. Also, placing large or heavy packages into the merchandising bags is sometimes difficult.

Package carrier and method of making same


An insulation panel has a modular thermal insulation vacuum panel and a frame structure secured to the outer periphery. An outer edge portion of the panel and frame assembly is provided with a profile and is adapted to mate with an edge of an adjacent thermal insulation panel and frame assembly. Profile members may be inserted between insulation panels to form a wall assembly. Insulation panels have a central portion of reduced thickness so as to allow for application of conduits. The modular thermal insulation vacuum panel has insulating media enclosed within spaced panel segments.

Thermal insulation vacuum panels are known in the art. One such panel is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,768,046. That panel comprises a metal shell or envelope formed from a pan-shaped metal sheet and a generally flat metal sheet. The sheets are welded to one another at their abutting outer edges. The edges define a flange which extends about the outer periphery of the panel. The space between the two sheets is filled with glass fiber insulation and the enclosed spaced is evacuated to a very low pressure.
The patentee teaches incorporating a plurality of his panels into a refrigerator cabinet. He notes in column 1, lines 45-49 of the '046 patent that heat transfer can occur from one wall or sheet of the panel to the other at the abutting edges of the sheets. In an attempt to minimize the effect of such edge leakage, the patentee encases the edges of each panel between opposing wall sections and provides glass fiber insulation between the wall sections adjacent to the panel edges. As to the door specifically, the patentee teaches forming the wall sections such that a portion of increased thickness is provided along the perimeter of the door. This substantial increase in the thickness of the walls of the cabinet reduces the useable space within the cabinet and, hence, is undesirable. Furthermore, in other contexts where vacuum panels might be used, encasing a vacuum panel between spaced apart walls and providing batts of glass fiber material adjacent the panel edges will not always be practical or desirable.
Vacuum insulation panels having uniform edge dimensions can be difficult to manufacture. Dimensional error may occur during one or more of the following manufacturing operations: cutting or otherwise forming the first and second sections of the metal envelope, positioning the two sections adjacent to one another and welding their abutting edges together, and evacuating the envelope. Because most vacuum panels do not have uniform outer dimensions, it is difficult to construct a wall, ceiling or other structure by positioning vacuum panels adjacent to one another.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a thermal insulation vacuum panel which has improved thermal performance, particularly at its outer edges, can be manufactured so as to have uniform edge dimensions to allow use of such panels in a modular fashion to construct walls, ceilings and other structures, can be easily manufactured in a number of panel sizes, and permits it to be easily and safely handled and transported. Further, there is a need for new structural designs which employ modular insulation panels.

Modular insulation panels and insulated structures


A light grid system for rope machinery is provided. The light grid system includes one or more light grid assemblies, including one or more sensor frames configured to be coupled to one or more post assemblies and configured to mount adjacent to one or more rope drums. The light grid assemblies also include one or more sensors coupled to the sensor frames, at least a first sensor configured to emit one or more light beams, at least a second sensor configured to receive the light beams. The light beams are positionable a predetermined distance away from the ropes, and the light grid assemblies are configured to transmit a signal to a control module when the light beams are obstructed.

This section is intended to provide a background or context to the invention recited in the claims. The description herein may include concepts that could be pursued, but are not necessarily ones that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, what is described in this section is not prior art to the description and claims in this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Dragline excavators typically have a bucket assembly that is controlled by wire ropes. Hoist ropes attach to the top of the bucket assembly and move the bucket vertically, while drag ropes attach to the back of the bucket assembly and move the bucket horizontally. Both drag ropes and hoist ropes are wrapped around a drum assembly, which pulls and releases the ropes as necessary to maneuver the bucket. As the ropes are pulled and released, one or more ropes may become slack (i.e. lose tension). The slack rope creates an unbalanced load for the drum assembly, often causing damage to the internal bearings of the drum assembly as the drums rotate. The slack rope may also cause the bucket to swing with limited control, damaging the bucket or other excavator components, or dumping the contents of the bucket. This slack rope condition may cause similar problems in rope shovels or other machinery utilizing wire ropes.
Typically, a single beam photometric transmitter/receiver module has been utilized to identify a slack rope condition within the drum assembly. The conventional module is positioned parallel to the drum rotation and configured to detect a slack rope condition prior to any major damage to surrounding components. However, conventional detection modules often do not detect the slack rope condition early enough to prevent damage. The conventional modules are often designed to rest in a position close to the top of the deck, rather than near the drum, which allows the modules to detect only the most severe slack rope conditions. Also, the conventional modules typically have only a single beam, and may not detect slack ropes that are out of the direct line of the single beam.
Conventional slack rope detection modules are also susceptible to false positives (i.e. the module indicates that a slack rope condition is present when the condition has not occurred). False positives result in inefficiencies necessitated by machine downtime to address the slack rope alert (e.g. operator alert, machine shutdown, etc.) produced by the detection module. Conventional detection modules are typically not adjustable, so that the module cannot be easily corrected in response to the false positives. Therefore, the detection module may continue to give false positives until the machine is removed from the field for service, resulting in additional machine downtime.
An example of another conventional slack rope detection module is found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/231,114, filed Sep. 13, 2011, for "Cable Monitoring in Coiled Tubing." This application discloses a cable slack monitoring feature configured to detect an accumulation of cable slack in a portion of coiled tubing. The detection module may include one or more monitoring features configured to collect data related to cable slack and tension. A control system may then analyze the data, comparing it with empirical data to identify whether a slack condition has occurred. One problem with this type of detection module is that it may not detect the slack rope condition early enough to prevent damage. Also, this conventional detection module is susceptible to false positives and may not be easily corrected in response to the false positives.


A rubber plug (8) has a tubular main portion (8A) and a wire inserting hole (5) penetrates the main portion (8A) along a central axis (C) for receiving a wire (W). The main portion (8A) includes an inner lip portion (13) and an outer lip portion (14) having lips (12) circumferentially formed on the inner and outer circumferential surfaces of the main portion (8A). A tapered entanglement preventing portion (8B) extends from an opening edge (17) of the wire insertion hole (5) to a rear peripheral edge (13A) of the outer lip portion (13). Another wire (W) slides on the tapered surface (16) to avoid entanglement.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a resilient plug and to a watertight connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-280108 discloses a rubber plug that can be mounted over a wire. A terminal fitting then is crimped into engagement with the wire and the rubber plug. The assembly of the terminal fitting, the rubber plug and the wire then is inserted into a cavity of a connector housing. As a result, the rubber plug is squeezed between an inner peripheral surface of the cavity and an outer peripheral surface of the wire to prevent water from entering into the cavity. Assemblies of the terminal fittings, the rubber plugs and the wires are bundled together prior to insertion into the cavities, as shown in FIG. 6. However, a wire W4 that is pulled from the bundle of wires shown in FIG. 6 is likely to get caught by a wire W3 connected with another terminal fitting because the rear end of a rubber plug 108 is upright. This entanglement of the wires W3, W4 creates problems and reduces operational efficiency.
The invention was developed in view of the above problem and an object thereof is to prevent wires from getting entangled with each other upon pulling out a wire in a terminal inserting process.

Resilient plug and a watertight connector


A method and apparatus for displaying the relationship of objects in a factory on a computer system display. A first icon is displayed, the first icon representing a first class of factory objects. A second icon is displayed, the second icon representing a second class of factory objects. A first connector connecting the first icons and second icons is displayed representing the relationship between the first and the second class of factory objects. The first icon is selected, thus displaying a first list of names of all objects comprising the first class of factory objects. Then, a first name from the first list of names is selected, and a second list of names is displayed. The second list of names comprises the names of all objects in the second class of factory objects associated with the object from the first class having the first name.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for factory management. More particularly, this invention relates to an interface used for monitoring of factory objects in an object-oriented factory management system.
2. Background Information
Management of a factory which manufactures a product such as semiconductors or aircraft for example, requires monitoring the status of all aspects in the factory, including raw materials on hand, components, labor resources, and machinery at every step of the manufacturing process. Also, in order to maintain a full range of information regarding partially completed products, a scheme for monitoring manufacturing will also maintain a list of current works in progress. The maintaining of such information allows a manager to determine whether his resources are being used at their full potential, and whether stores of raw materials should be replenished. It also allows a factory supervisor to determine the status of a customer's order and allow for scheduling of critical resources such as labor and machinery.
One prior approach to managing a factory was the WORKSTREAM factory management system manufactured by Consilium, Inc. of Mountain View, Calif. In the WORKSTREAM system, raw materials, machines, labor units, and finished products may be viewed or manipulated. An approach taken by the WORKSTREAM system and other factory management systems is to prompt users for input from a keyboard to determine the status of labor, machines and other things in the factory environment. In addition, this product allowed the tracking of products as they were manufactured to allow scheduling and efficient resource management for running the factory at its fullest potential. This system would query the user during certain operations for information and the user would input that information after being prompted by the system.
One problem with previous systems was that the relationships between factory objects such as components, raw materials, labor, machinery, among others, was not clearly presented to the user of the system. In addition, the factory structure was not clearly defined in the system and thus was not clearly represented to the user. This prior art system also did not present a way in which various information could be linked to manufactured products in the system, such as bills of materials, bills of resources, etc. Lastly, the system did not provide a way of viewing manufacturing steps for a given product in the system, or for testing to assure the quality of a manufactured product.

Apparatus and method for viewing relationships in a factory management system


An irrigation sprinkler nozzle assembly including a pressure regulator having a low friction seal for a riser assembly in which the regulator is installed. The pressure regulator includes a movable portion, a fixed portion located upstream of the movable portion, and connectable to a water inlet, and a biasing member such as a spring which applies a force to the movable portion according to a pressure differential between the water inlet pressure and a reference pressure. The fixed and movable portions move relative to each other according to the force provided by the biasing member to provide a variable flow restriction which maintains the desired pressure. The low friction seal is a diaphragm connected at one end to the movable member and anchorable at another end in the nozzle head.

Several of the major manufacturers of irrigation equipment, have spray heads with a pressure regulating valve incorporated into the sprinkler riser assembly. One such device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,913,352. These devices all have "O" ring regulating piston seals which engage the inner surface of the riser tube to prevent leakage. Especially after they have been exposed to dirt and minerals in the water during use the friction between the seal and the tube can become quite high. To assure proper retraction of the piston, large powerful springs, e.g., exerting a force of 5-6 pounds, are required. To accommodate the large spring requires a large sprinkler head. As a consequence, there are no available pressure regulating nozzle assemblies that can be attached to the top of existing sprinkler assemblies. A need thus exists for a more compact pressure regulating nozzle assembly that can be easily attached to existing installed sprinkler risers to replace their existing non-pressure regulating nozzle assemblies.


The present disclosure provides systems and methods for neurostimulation. The method includes applying electrical stimulation to a patient using a paddle lead that includes a plurality of electrodes, acquiring local impedances associated with at least some of the plurality of electrodes, wherein the local impedances are indicative of electrode-tissue contact and effectiveness of the electrical stimulation, transmitting the local impedances data to a computing device, and processing the local impedances data using the computing device to adjust the amplitude of stimulations and electrode configurations, and monitor electrode-tissue contact status over time.

Application of electrical stimulation to spinal nerve roots, spinal cord, and other nerve bundles for the purpose of chronic pain control has been actively practiced for some time. While a precise understanding of the interaction between applied electrical stimulation and the nervous tissue is not fully appreciated, it has been shown that such application can effectively mask certain types of pain transmitted from regions of the body associated with the stimulated nerve tissue. Specifically, applying electrical stimulation to regions of the spinal cord associated with regions of the body afflicted with chronic pain can induce "paresthesia" (a subjective sensation of numbness or tingling) in the afflicted regions and therefore effectively mask the transmission of chronic pain sensations to the brain.
Each exterior region, or each dermatome, of the human body is associated with a particular spinal nerve root at a particular longitudinal spinal position. The head and neck regions are associated with C2-C8, the back regions extend from C2-S3, the central diaphragm is associated with spinal nerve roots between C3 and C5, the upper extremities correspond to C5 and T1, the thoracic wall extends from T1 to T11, the peripheral diaphragm is between T6 and T1 the abdominal wall is associated with T6-L1, lower extremities are located from L2 to S2, and the perineum from L4 to S4. In conventional neurostimulation, when a patient experiences pain in one of these regions, a neurostimulation lead is implanted adjacent to the spinal cord at the corresponding spinal position. For example, to address chronic pain sensations that commonly focus on the lower back and lower extremities using conventional techniques, a specific energy field is typically applied to a region between vertebrae levels T8 and T12. The specific energy field often stimulates a number of nerve fibers and structures of the spinal cord. By applying energy in this manner, the patient commonly experiences paresthesia over a relatively wide region of the patient's body from the lower back to the lower extremities.
Positioning of applied electrical stimulation relative to a physiological midline is also important. Nerve fibers extend between the brain and a nerve root along the same side of the dorsal column that the peripheral areas the fibers represent. Pain that is concentrated on only one side of the body is "unilateral" in nature. To address unilateral pain, electrical stimulation is applied to neural structures on the side of a dorsal column that directly corresponds to a side of the body subject to pain. Pain that is present on both sides of a patient is "bilateral". Accordingly, bilateral pain is addressed through application of electrical stimulation along both sides of the column and/or along a patient's physiological midline.
Percutaneous leads and laminotomy leads are the two most common types of lead designs that provide conductors to deliver stimulation pulses from an implantable pulse generator (IPG) to distal electrodes adjacent to the pertinent nerve tissue. Example commercially available stimulation leads include the QUATTRODE™ OCTRODE™, AXXESS™, LAMITRODE™, TRIPOLE™, EXCLAIM™, and PENTA™ stimulation leads from St. Jude Medical, Inc. As shown in FIG. 1A, a conventional percutaneous lead 100 includes electrodes 101 that substantially conform to the body of the body portion of the lead. Due to the relatively small profile of percutaneous leads, percutaneous leads are typically positioned above the dura layer through the use of a Touhy-like needle. Specifically, the Touhy-like needle is passed through the skin, between desired vertebrae to open above the dura layer for the insertion of the percutaneous lead.
As shown in FIG. 1B, a conventional laminotomy or paddle lead 150 has a paddle configuration and typically possesses a plurality of electrodes 151 (commonly, two, four, eight, or sixteen) arranged in columns. Due to their dimensions and physical characteristics, conventional laminotomy leads may require a surgical procedure (a partial laminectomy) for implantation. Multi-column laminotomy leads enable more reliable positioning of a plurality of electrodes as compared to percutaneous leads. Also, laminotomy leads offer a more stable platform that tends to migrate less after implantation and that is capable of being sutured in place. Laminotomy leads also create unidirectional electrical stimulation and, hence, can be used in a more electrically efficient manner than at least some known percutaneous leads.
Depending on the stimulation parameters, IPGs may have a relatively short battery-life. Further, replacement of an IPG is an invasive procedure that involves placing a new IPG in the same subcutaneous pocket that contained the original IPG. Moreover, patients who receive these devices may be middle-aged, requiring multiple IPG replacements during their lifetime. Accordingly, it is desirable to improve the longevity of these devices, for example, by reducing the power consumption of these devices.

Methods and systems for controlling stimulation in paddle lead based on local impedances


The corn harvesting unit and the attachment modifications for connection to the threshing unit provide an improved flow of material from the row to the threshed grain in the combine. These modifications of structure and the resultant spatial changes to the variety of the conveying systems used from the row to the grain tank of the combine result in a novel and more efficient harvesting machine. The spatial relationship between the powered and the un-powered conveying systems moving in different directions permits improved flow and flow rates reducing plugging and power consumption. Material is lifted through a lesser angle of the inclined plane from the ground to thresher unit. In operation a smooth uninterrupted flow of material from the row unit to the cross auger through the dead space (energy wise) to the retrieving area of the feeder house is provided for.

This invention relates to corn harvesting machinery, specifically the spatial relationship between the exit area of the corn header and the retrieving area of the combine feeder house. The corn header contains a plurality of row units to strip and separate the ears from the stalk, a cross auger and trough for delivering harvested material to the feeder house. The combine feeder house contains a chain slat undershot conveying system for retrieving material from said corn head and delivering harvested material to the threshing system, of which all are existing art.
The crop dividers in combination with the gathering chain(s) and stripper plates as in the prior art have always retrieved the crop from near ground level into the row units. The stripper plates in combination with the stalk rolls will strip and separate the ears with minimal amounts of mog (material other than grain). Said gathering chain(s) then feed the heterogeneous material (ears and mog) into the cross auger and trough. The cross auger is located between the exit point of the row units and in front of the feeder house opening. The cross auger then delivers this material to the feeder house for conveying to the combine for ultimate threshing and separating.
This results in power being required to move this crop on an inclined plane at three stages of the conveying process. This first stage of the conveying process is in the row unit where there is adequate power and crop engagement for elevating the crop from near ground level into the cross auger and trough. The second stage of conveying is accomplished by the combination of the transverse cross auger and trough. The cross auger has flighting on it, which applies power to the material horizontally in the cross auger trough, thus having changed the motion which was in line with the combine and the row unit to a lateral movement to the exit area of the cross auger trough. This material is then fed into the third stage of the conveying process, the feeder house of the combine. Thus the second stage of movement of the crop is a result of being contained against the floor and vertical side of the cross auger trough. The two lateral sections of the cross auger are oppositely wound and meet in the middle so that the horizontal movement of the crop from the right side and the left side of said cross auger meet and create a mass to be transferred to the feeder house.
At the entrance to the feeder house, the back vertical wall of the cross auger trough, in front of the feeder house, is removed so that the material may be fed from the cross auger floor into the feeder house and most of the movement imparted to the mass of material assembled at the entrance is toward the feeder house.
This movement is imparted by the cross auger rotation but is applied at the point of exit to push the mass up a severe inclined plane. Force is no longer imparted to the inert material (dead space). The material must have adequate energy imparted to propel the crop up this severe inclined floor or plane to the retrieving area of the third conveyor.
Because the flow pattern of the material is through a dead space and simultaneously severely up hill the material tends to slow down and continue to pile up as material pushes against material.
In the past thirty years two things have changed. #1 yields have doubled through improved genetics, fertilization, populations, and row spacings. #2 harvesting machines are larger with increased horse power and ground speeds which require corn headers with more row units. These two factors in combination have significantly increased the flow rate and mass of material being delivered by said corn head and retrieved by said feeder house to a level that can now cause build up, back feeding, tossing of mog onto the deck covers, fluff, tossing of ears onto the ground, and resultant plugging in the cross auger feeder house area.

Strategic spatial realignment for attaching cornheads to combines


The projection display system has a light source unit where a first light source and a second light source respectively emitting a first and second wavelength or wavelength range of light are juxtapositionally arranged; a third light source emitting a third wavelength or wavelength range of light; an optical combiner device for combining the three wavelengths or wavelength ranges of light from the light sources; an optical device for averaging distributions of the wavelengths or wavelength ranges of light; an image display device for receiving the light transmitted through the optical device and forming image light responsive to a video signal; and a projector lens for projecting the image light onto a screen. At least two of the optical axes of the first, second, and third wavelengths or wavelength ranges of light which are incident on the optical device are not coincident with each other.

The present invention relates to a light source unit and projection display system for combining certain wavelengths of light from LED light sources or laser light sources and projecting the combined wavelengths of light onto a screen by the use of an image display device.
In recent years, single-color LED light sources of red, green, and blue colors producing higher output and semiconductor lasers of red, green, and blue colors producing higher output have been fabricated. Consequently, small-sized projectors using these light sources have enjoyed wider acceptance in the market.
Known image display devices used in small-sized projectors include LCOS (liquid crystal on silicon) being reflective liquid crystal displays, DMD (digital micromirror device), and MEMS (Microelectromechanical Systems) mirrors scanned in two dimensions.
In these small-sized projectors, output wavelengths of light from monochrome LEDs of three colors or from semiconductor lasers are combined into one and visualized by an image display device such as LCOS or DMD. In MEMS mirror technology, the output colors of light from monochrome LEDs of three colors or semiconductor lasers are combined in one optical path, and light is scanned for each color in turn to display a visible image.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,238,029 (patent literature 1) discloses a technique for combining beams of light emitted from monochrome LEDs of three colors or from semiconductor lasers by a dichroic mirror consisting of surfaces which are different in wavelength selectivity.
Where colors of light from monochrome light sources of three colors are shone on a single image display device, it is necessary to provide a means for combining light sources of red, green, and blue into one common optical system. Where separate optical elements are used to combine three colors, the number of components is increased and the whole light source unit is increased in size. This is disadvantageous for miniaturization and cost reduction.
According to the technique disclosed in patent literature 1, three colors of light can be combined using one dichroic mirror but combination of beams of light projected onto an MEMS mirror is described. However, use of image display devices using two-dimensional light sources such as LCOS or DMD is not taken into account.

Light source unit and projection display system using same


The invention relates to an apparatus for measuring cross sections in a patient""s right and left nose cavity in the cavity behind the nose separation (epipharyn), and in the throat (oropharynx), and for detecting the opening of the Eustachian tube. The apparatus comprises an electro-acoustic sound emitter, a first transmission tube leading from the emitter to a first connecting piece, connecting means for connecting the first connecting piece to a patient""s one nostril, a proximal microphone located adjacent the emitter and/or a first microphone built into the first connecting piece, and a computer for generating electrical signals for the emitter and for sampling and analyzing electrical signals from the microphone or microphones. According to the invention the apparatus further comprises a preferably releasable second acoustic transmission tube leading from the emitter in an opposite direction of the first acoustic transmission tube, hereby constituting an elongation of this pass the emitter. The invention further relates to a method for measuring the above-mentioned cross sections.

The invention relates to measuring by acoustics, lengths and cross sections in a patient""s right and left nose cavity which are mutually separated by the nose separation (septum nasi), in the cavity behind the nose separation (epipharynx) and in the throat (oropharynx); the invention further relates to detecting the opening of the Eustachian tubes.
Acoustic rhinometry (Reflectometry) is, e.g. known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,326,416 (Fredberg). The method and apparatus is further described by Ole Hilberg, Ole Finn Petersen and A. C. Jackson in 1988. An instrument for acoustic rhinometry is produced by the firm Hood Labs in Boston from the beginning of the 1990""s and by the Scottish firm GM instruments since 1993. The known methods and apparatuses comprise both the use of continuous and discontinuous signals.
An overview of acoustic rhinometry and known examination methods is found in xe2x80x9cAkustisk rhinometrixe2x80x9d by Per Djupesland, Tidsskrift for Den Norske Laegeforening, no. 26 1996, 116, pp. 3111-3114.
In acoustic rhinometry (reflectometry) a sound signal is generated and sent into the nose cavities through an adapted connecting piece. Part of the sound signal is reflected from the cavities in the nose and the throat, and by data analysis of the differences between the ingoing and the reflected sound picture. The cross sections are visualized on a screen or a print-out as a function of the distance from the nose opening.
Acoustic rhinometry is suitable for illustrating physiology of the nose mocous membrane, more specifically the thickness of this, for documenting diverting anatomy or for exposing of allergens and other material which irritates the respiratory passages, and for surveying the function of operative or medical treatment. The method can furthermore be used on children and even newborns.
The hitherto known measuring systems for acoustic rhinometry use a technique where a long rigid tube with a sound transducer such as a spark plug located in one end of the tube functions as a sound emitter, generating a planar acoustic wave propagating against the end of the tube which is terminated in a nose adaptation piece for connecting to the patients nostrils. A microphone located somewhere else in the tube measures the generated wave as well as a reflected signal. These rigid tubes normally have a diameter of 12-16 mm and a length of between 30 cm and 2 m.
The reflections in the lung cavities and the nose cavities following changes in the impedance (changes of cross sections) are sampled by the microphone in the tube and are transmitted to a signal processing unit, which calculates the cross sections of the cavities based on these.
Furthermore an equipment with a continuous acoustic broad band spectrum is manufactured and sold by the applicant (formerly S. R. Electronics ApS (DK)).
By means of the above-mentioned technique it is not possible to measure correctly the cross sections further in the respiratory passages of the patient than the rear end of the nose separation as the opposite nose cavity end at this location, whereby a cross section corresponding to the parallel connected acoustic impedance of the opposite nose cavity will be added to the cross section behind the nose separation.
For determining the length of the nose separation an endoscope, CT- or MR scanning, or a simple hook, which is inserted into the, nostril and is lead to the rear surface of the nose separation with the hook behind the edge, whereafter it is pulled back, has hitherto been used. When the hook abuts the rear surface of the nose separation, the examiner will at the nose opening mark the position on the shaft and the hook is retracted; the distance from the hook top to the marking indicated the length of the nose separation. The latter method is unpleasant for the patient and the first mentioned are expensive and implies some risk.
By using the apparatuses and methods for acoustic rhinometry described in the introduction, the length of the nose separation can be determined as the-distance where the sounds from one side of the nostril are identical as measured through the right and the left nostril, respectively (i.e., where the impedance by measuring in the right and the left nostril, respectively, are identical in the time-domain), but this method is implicit and the result depends of a subjective interpretation of the printed or shown curves. The measuring result is therefore connected with a large uncertainty.
It is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus which, in different configurations, can realize: measuring of cross sections of a patient""s respiratory passages, even beyond the termination of the nose separation, measuring of the total cross section of a patient""s right and left nose cavity in the same measurement, a simple and reliable measurement of the length of the patient""s nose separation, and a simple and reliable detecting of the opening (of) the patient""s Eustachian tube.
By means of the invention an apparatus is achieved which can emit sound signals in two directions along separate transmission tubes. At the sound emitter the two transmission tubes are located in line, which provides symmetrical impedance and reflection conditions.
By the fact that the apparatus hereby can send sound signals along two transmission tubes, a possibility for applying the sound signal (two) both nostrils of the patient is achieved, whereby both nose cavities takes part in the cross section measurement. This gives in one operation more valuable measurement and eliminates the harmful effect of the one nose cavity, which is not measured, acting as an acoustic shunt impedance (see above) on the second nose cavity and the cavity behind the rear edge of the nose separation.
The mentioned symmetrical impedance and transmission conditions ensures that the two part signals which propagates along respective nose cavities are sufficiently concordant for adding to a common signal at the nose separation rear edge without being distorted, which would deteriorate or destroy the measurement of the respiratory passages beyond the nose separation rear edge.
If the second transmission tube is releasable, the apparatus can still be used as the known apparatuses for rhinometry, for measuring through one nostril and for the mentioned measurement of the length of the nose separation and for detecting opening of the Eustachian tube.
With the features mentioned in claim 2 a simple and reliable connection to the patient""s nostril is achieved. If the microphones are located in the termination pieces, a considerable possibility for registration of the course of the cross section in each nostril and each nose cavity separately, still preserving the possibility of registration of the respiratory passages behind the termination of the nose separation.
With the features mentioned in claim 3 and 4 a particularly convenient configuration of the apparatus, when only the first transmission tube is used, having very limited risk of undesired reflections.
With the features mentioned in claim 5 a possibility is achieved for using the apparatus for measurement of the length of the nose separation.
With the features mentioned in claim 6 a possibility is achieved for using the apparatus for detecting opening of the Eustachian tube.
With the features mentioned in claim 7 an advantageous connection of the sound emitter to the transmission tubes is achieved.
It is a second objective of the invention to provide methods for the measurements and detections.
With the features mentioned in claim 8 it is achieved that the first acoustic signal propagates at the same time through both nostrils of the patient as two identical signals which therefore are identical at the rear edge of the nose separation, wherefore they will be added to a common well defined signal which propagates further into the patients respiratory passages and make rhinometry measurement possible in these respiratory passages located beyond the nose separation rear edge.
With the features mentioned in claim 9 a simplification of the apparatus and the computer software, which performs the signal analysis, is achieved.
With the features mentioned in claim 10 a more precise measurement is achieved, as the transmission tubes do not form part of the transmission path where the acoustic signals are changed by reflection a.o., and that the patients two nostrils and nose cavities are measured separately, whereby differences in the two sides can be seen and analyzed.
With the features mentioned in claim 11 a simple and reliable measurement of the length of the patients nose separation is achieved, without any discomfort.
With the features mentioned in claim 12 a very simple and reliable way of detecting whether a patients Eustachian tube is open or closed is achieved. As according to the invention only needs to be connected apparatus to the patient""s ears and nostrils, the detecting can be performed as the patient eats or drinks or swallows.
The apparatus may be constituted by a known apparatus, which has been provided with a supplementary tube and with a correspondingly revised signal processing software. The invention also relates to such supplementary equipment, which may be manufactured and marketed separate from the complete apparatus.
The invention is in the following be explained more detailed by means of embodiments with reference to the drawings on which the same references refer to corresponding parts on all figures.

Apparatus and methods for acoustic rhinometry


An air-cleaner includes a housing attached to an induction system of an internal combustion engine. The air-cleaner includes a filter element located within the housing and separating the internal of the housing into a dust side and clean side, the dust side having an introduction portion for introducing an external air into the housing, the clean side having a feeder portion for feeding a filtered air to an engine. The air-cleaner includes a plate-shaped adsorption element including an adsorbent to adsorb a vaporized fuel returned from an engine side and permitting an air to pass therethrough, the adsorption element arranged to cross the direction of an air flow and fitted to occupy the entire surface of the clean side in the housing. The adsorption element defines a port connecting the filter element and the feeder portion, and includes a valve disc to open or close the port. The valve disc is controlled to open during air inspiration for permitting an air to flow toward the feeder portion. The valve disc includes an adsorbent, and permits an air to pass therethrough.

The invention relates to an air-cleaner including an adsorption element to adsorb a vaporized fuel returned from the engine side to the induction system.
An internal combustion engine has an induction system to produce the following phenomenon. A vaporized fuel leaked from an injector, a vapor flowing back from the purge circuit of a canister, a refluxed blow-by gas and the like during stopping the engine are returned from the engine side to the induction system. Therefore, the technical field of internal combustion engines has conventionally taken various measures to prevent the returned vaporized fuel from being discharged into the atmosphere to pollute the air.
In recent years, there has been proposed an induction system including adsorption means containing an adsorbent and adsorbing a vaporized fuel in the induction system. The invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-155815 is one example of the above technique.
An air-cleaner disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-155815 adsorbs the vaporized fuel inside the air-cleaner. The air-cleaner includes a housing and a filter element. The filter element is arranged to separate the interior of the air-cleaner into a dust side and a clean side. The dust side has an introduction portion for introducing the air. The clean side has a feeder portion for feeding filtered air to an engine. The air-cleaner also includes, on the clean side of the filter element, a plate-shaped adsorption element containing an adsorbent. The adsorption element is arranged parallel to the filter element on the clean side in the housing. The adsorption element is arranged to cover up the entire cross-section of the housing. Furthermore, the air-cleaner includes a variable vane on the clean side to adjust a circulation region of the air circulating in the housing.
According to the invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-155815, the adsorption element certainly covers up the entire cross-section of the housing in the housing of the air-cleaner. The disclosed structure prevents the vaporized fuel returned from the engine side from flowing out into the air side relative to the air-cleaner.
This structure, however, causes air to necessarily pass through the adsorption element during air inspiration, and the adsorption element increases a passage resistance of the air.