A transmitter includes a sensor adapted to sense a process variable and responsively provide a sensor analog output. An analog to digital converter provides a digitized output in response to the sensor analog output within a converter dynamic range. Signal range bracketing circuitry provides a bracketed range of the sensor analog output to the analog to digital converter for conversion. Outputs from the signal range bracketing circuitry and the analog to digital converter together provide a digital representation of the sensor analog output signal.

The present invention relates to transmitters of the type used in the process control industry which include a sensor for sensing a process variable. More specifically, the present invention relates to an improved sigma-delta analog to digital converter for converting an analog signal from such a sensor into a digital value.
Transmitters in the process control industry typically communicate with a controller using the same two wires over which they receive power. A transmitter receives commands from a controller and sends output signals representative of a sensed physical parameter (i.e., a process variable) back to the controller.
The transmitter includes a sensor for sensing the process variable. The sensor provides an analog output signal which is representative of the process variable. Such process variables include pressure, temperature, flow, pH, turbidity, gas concentration, etc. Many process variables have a very large dynamic range, for example, in some signals the amplitude can range by a factor of 10,000.
An analog to digital converter in the transmitter converts the analog sensor signal to a digital representation of the sensed physical parameter for subsequent analysis in the transmitter or for transmission to a remote location. Typically, a microprocessor in the transmitter compensates the digitized signal and an output circuit and the transmitter sends an output representative of the compensated physical parameter to the remote location. Although the digitized signal may be updated only a few times per second depending on the nature of the process to be controlled, the converter is frequently required to have, for example, 16 bits of resolution and be substantially insensitive to noise. Sigma-delta converters are used as analog to digital converters in transmitters. One embodiment of such a converter is a charge balance converter in which a capacitor is charged to a positive or negative potential and the resulting packets of charge are accumulated in an integrator. The charge is transferred onto a capacitor in the circuit by semiconductor based switches. The accumulated charge, which is representative of the sensed parameter, is compared to a reference level and the resulting output is used as a feedback signal to control the switch action, and therefore, the accumulation of positive and negative charge packets in the integrator. A digital representation of the sensed parameters is determined by counting the number of switch actuations.
One limitation of prior art analog to digital converters is that in order for them to be functional over a wide dynamic range, resolution must be sacrificed. This is particularly problematic, for example, with process variable sensors in which the sensor signal output has a large DC value which varies slowly with time, and a small AC signal which varies more rapidly. Thus, if it is necessary to measure the small AC signal to a specific accuracy, 0.1% for example, then the resolution of the analog to digital converter required to achieve this accuracy is not just the 10 bits of resolutions required to result to 0.1%. The resolution must be much higher due to the DC offset term which must also be accommodated in the A/D dynamic range.

Transmitter with improved analog to digital converter


An onboard star tracking system is used to provide continuous attitude and orbital position data independent of the image generating instruments. Such data is instantaneously and continually supplied to the onboard computer which translates such information into mirror position coordinates which is added to the mirror position set based on estimated data from the ground control. An error signal is generated which is used to further adjust the position of the mirror.

The invention of this application involves an imaging system which is based on an orbiting satellite, the quality of the image depends on the systems ability to point to the target and the stability of the satellite platform during the image generation process. The image consists of a swath across the target and must be assembled as a mosaic by the image processing software. The optical system onboard the satellite consists of a camera and associated mirrors through which the image is received. The imaging instrument is adjusted by altering the position of the mirrors and by controlling the attitude of the space craft. The mirrors are gimbal mounted to provide a two axis adjustment relative to the target which may be defined by longitude and latitude if the target is on earth. The pointing function requires position and attitude data which are, in prior art systems, provided through the use of precision star and earth sensors. A great deal of effort has been invested to maintain the positional stability of the satellite platform resulting in increased complexity in the associated attitude control system.
In general, space craft attitude is adjusted by activating actuators, such as, momentum wheels, magnetic torguers, or thrusters in response to an attitude correction signal. The attitude error is sensed by reference to sensors monitoring the position of the sun, stars and earth relative to the satellite. The attitude is adjusted to its mission orientation in which the imaging system is pointed at its predetermined target and is maintained in this orientation during orbital flight. During flight the satellite is subject to motions induced by external forces, on board mechanisms or other sources and the attitude control system must continuously monitor and adjust attitude.
In addition the line of sight of the imaging instrument must be maintained in registration with the target image. This is accomplished by movement of the mirror on its gimbal mounting. This adjustment is generally a finer adjustment and is less jarring to the space craft than actuator activation. The adjustment is accomplished by actuating servo motors in appropriate increments. A system of controlling the mirror position relative to the target is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,688,091 and 4,688,092. The system described is an earth based system which periodically transmits attitude and orbit position data to the satellite from which the onboard control computer calculates positional errors and translates such errors into mirror position corrective adjustments. The position data is based on star and landmark data obtained from the imaging instrument and transmitted to earth. This data is updated periodically, every 24 hours, and used in attitude and orbit models to estimate attitude and orbital position from which the error calculations are made by the onboard computer.
Although the system of the above referenced patents provide an accurate control of image registration, it has been found that further errors occur because of non-repeatable perturbations which cannot be predicted by the models. The models are based on repetitive attitude disturbances, such as solar stresses, which occur as the position of the sun changes, the models do not respond to random disturbances such as cloud motion, thermal snapping and others. One solution is to update the model more frequently for example 5 or 6 times daily, but the frequency is limited by the availability of data from the image system. Since the mirrors must be slewed to obtain star data during intervals when the imaging process is dormant, there are inherent delays in obtaining the data.
The errors that accumulate have been calculated to be in the range of 50 arc seconds in a day which translates to approximately 10 kilometers on the surface of the earth. It is desirable to limit such errors to below 5 arc seconds in a day. It is the purpose of this invention to provide a supplemental error correction system which fine tunes the mirror position to compensate for errors caused by non-repeatable disturbances.

Satellite imaging control system for non-repeatable error


The invention is directed to an electrical connector comprising a housing having a plurality of contacts mounted therein to provide electrical connection from a daughter board to a circuit board. The contacts provide a linear array of first connection points to the circuit board. The circuit board converts the linear array of first connection points to an area array of second connection points and the area array of second connection points are connected to a mother board by way of a ball grid array. The housing provides an electrical connection between the daughter board and the mother board.

There are many electrical connectors which provide connection from one circuit board, such as a daughter board, to another circuit, such as a mother board. Typically, the electrical connector is mounted permanently to the mother board so that the daughter board can be removably connected to the mother board. The electrical connector typically has a separable connection to the daughter board wherein contacts engage contact pads on the daughter board when it is inserted into the electrical connector. One arrangement is to have the electrical connector mounted along the mother board with latching arms extending therefrom so that the daughter board can be mounted to the mother board in the parallel fashion. Often the daughter board has contact pads along both surfaces of the daughter board. Therefore, the electrical connector must make electrical connections on both sides of the daughter board.
What is needed is an electrical connector which can provide a high density of electrical connections between the mother board and the daughter board.


A reaction assembly separating plant material from water includes a first annular filter element defining an axis. The first annular filter element is defined by an outer annular coil of flat wire and an optional second filter element is defined by an inner annular coil of flat wire, being generally helical in the axial direction. A cylindrically or frustoconical filter membrane is concentrically disposed between the first and second annular filter element. The filter membrane is porous having aperture size of less than a nano-particulate size of the plant material, but greater than a nano-particulate size of the water molecule. The second annular filter includes adjustable porosity for selectively preventing particles from reaching the filter membrane and selectively cleaning the membrane by reversed flow of water through the membrane. The assembly generates radial and distal flows and differential pressure forces, for use in high throughput industrial, agricultural and municipal facilities.

Co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 16/598,682 and 16/548,457 disclose a unique filtration system used for drying sludges and desalination, respectively while producing clean water, the contents each of which are incorporated herein by reference. However, it is believe that further modifications of these devises may be beneficial in the extraction of natural constituents from plants such as, for example terpenes, or more generally, secondary metabolites. Terpenes represent a diverse class of isoprenoid based structures, one of which includes cannabinoids referred to herein. These are derived mainly from tissues of terrestrial plants. However, other plants provide other useful terpenes or terpenoids including, for example, essential oils, perfumery, flavoring and some vitamin extracts. Efficient extraction of these natural products has proven elusive due, in part, to the requirement of batch extraction and the inability to provide continuous processes.
These natural products are valued for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical properties, with market sizes in the $10-20 billion range. Usually, these accessory products individually are in the 1% or less of the plant; their extraction is expensive and with few exceptions due batch processes. In addition, cannabinoids and related terpenes appear to provide a significant source of emerging pharmaceutical and medical uses. In addition, the rapid growth in interest of cannabinoids has spawned a renewed interest in natural, plant based products. Reducing the cost by automation and in continuous processing, as the invention of the present application demonstrates, has proven elusive.
Therefore, there exists a need for an improved method of extracting natural plant based products that will enhance the research and development into natural medicaments and the like.

Continuous extraction of natural products from plants apparatus and methods


This invention is related to a recliner chair having a footrest mechanism and a recliner mechanism. The recliner chair includes a footrest, a seat, back, and a pair of spaced apart armrests. The recliner mechanism, in one aspect, broadly includes a base plate, a seat mount plate, a recline link, a seat lift link, a control linkage, and a back linkage. The carrier link couples the base plate to the back linkage while the full recline link couples the carrier link to the base plate. The control linkage is coupled to the base plate, the back linkage, and the footrest extension linkage and cooperates therewith to move the footrest mechanism between the open and closed positions. Further, the control linkage cooperates with the back linkage to move the backrest between the upright position and the fully reclined position.

This invention relates to a linkage mechanism for a recliner chair, and more particularly to a linkage mechanism for a recliner chair that achieves improved motion from the open, reclining, TV position to the fully reclined position.
Linkage mechanism for recliner chairs are common in the furniture industry. Typically, recliner chairs have extendable footrests that allow the user to recline in several positions. For instance, a conventional recliner chair moves between a closed, stowed position; an open, reclining TV position; and a fully reclined position. However, improved motion and movement are desired when the chair is moved from the open, reclining, TV position to the fully reclined position. Specifically, improved movement of the rear portion of the seat with respect to the front portion of the seat is needed when the chair is moved from the open, reclining, TV position to the fully reclined position. More specifically, when the chair is moved from the open, reclining, TV position to the fully reclined position, it is preferred that the rear of the seat move upwardly at a faster rate than the front portion of the seat to provide a more horizontal orientation of fully reclined position for the user.
Thus, while recliner chairs are known, there remains a need for an improved recliner chair that provides improved movement between seating, reclining, and fully reclined positions.


A welding method in which the outer-most surfaces of ferritic stainless steel contains chromium oxide surfaces with no iron oxides. The welding method includes flowing a gas having an oxidizing activity over the welded part while applying an arc to the welded part, which is insufficient to melt the welded part. The resulting welded stainless steel is suitable for use as clean room gas supply lines.

1. Field of the Invention.
The present invention relates to welded members, piping, a piping system, and to a welding method and a clean room.
2. Description of the Related Art.
Gas supply pipes are employed in which, after a passivated film, the surface of which comprises solely chromium oxide (does not contain iron oxides) is formed on the inner surface of pipes comprising an austenitic stainless steel such as SUS 316 or the like, the pipes are welded together.
However, when such gas supply pipes are employed, the life span of the pipes is extremely short. Accordingly, it is necessary to replace the pipes at extremely short intervals, and this involves a great deal of work and expense. Furthermore, as a result of such replacement, there is a tendency for the degree of cleanliness within the clean room to decline.
Upon investigating the causes of the short lifespan of such pipes, the present inventors have discovered that passivated films containing iron oxides are formed at the welded parts, and corrosion is generated at these parts.
Problem to be Solved by the Invention
The present invention has an object thereof to provide welded members and pipes having superior corrosion resistance.
The present invention has an object thereof to provide a piping system which has a very long life span and which requires almost no replacement.
The present invention has an object thereof to provide a maintenance-free clean room having a high degree of cleanliness.
The present invention has an object thereof to provide a welding method which is capable of producing welded parts having superior corrosion resistance.

Welded members piping system and welding method and clean room


An implement for applying a product to a surface. Some examples of such an implement include a handle, a rod having a top end and a bottom end, the top end of the rod being coupled to the handle, and an applicator having a proximal end attached to the bottom end of the rod. In some examples, the applicator includes (i) a first portion made of metal, ceramic and/or glass and (ii) a second portion made of another material and having a plurality of structures for applying the product to the surface. The first portion is coupled to the second portion. The first portion may include a plurality of channels and the second portion may include a plurality of protrusions.

Devices exist for dispensing cosmetic, medicinal, or other products. Such devices typically include an applicator for applying the products to portions of an individual's face, head, or body. For example, the applicator may be designed to apply mascara to eyelashes for various effects. In that case, the applicator may have short, densely arrayed bristles and may be employed for applying the mascara to the eyelashes to achieve a desired effect (e.g., to thicken the eyelashes). Another applicator may have longer, less densely arrayed bristles for applying mascara to the eyelashes to achieve an alternative desired effect (e.g., to lengthen the eyelashes). Still another applicator may have curly, densely arrayed bristles for applying the mascara to the eyelashes to achieve another alternative desired effect (e.g., to curl the eyelashes).
Existing applicators have limited functionalities for achieving effects only, without providing any type of treatment, therapy, or sensation. Moreover, existing applicators are typically designed to achieve a particular effect.


A utility vehicle includes a frame and a plurality of ground-engaging members supporting the frame. Each of the plurality of ground-engaging members is configured to rotate about an axle. The utility vehicle further includes a powertrain assembly supported by the frame and a braking system configured to operate in a normal run mode and an anti-lock braking mode. The braking system includes an anti-lock braking control module operably coupled to the plurality of ground-engaging members and configured to automatically engage the anti-lock braking mode in response to a predetermined condition.

Anti-lock braking systems ("ABS") may be used on vehicles to facilitate braking power in response to a user input. For example, the user may depress a brake pedal, thereby enabling the ABS to facilitate braking of the vehicle. The ABS may be configured to facilitate braking of the front wheels, the rear wheels, or both the front and rear wheels.
In some embodiments, it may be possible to disengage the ABS. However, if a user disengages or turns off the ABS, then the user may have to remember to manually re-engage or turn on the ABS when needed. In such instances, the user must be sufficiently cognizant of the terrain, driving, and other conditions to recognize that the ABS should be turned on before it is needed. As such, there is a need for a system which may automatically engage or turn on the ABS in response to a predetermined driving condition.

Anti-lock braking system for utility vehicle


A yoke for universal joint includes a cylindrical base, and a pair of arms extending from an end of the base in parallel to a center axis of the base. Each of the arms is formed with a support hole for supporting a corresponding trunnion of a cross shaft via a bearing. The support hole of each arm has a center axis extending in a direction orthogonal to the center axis of the base. A relief portion including a concave curved surface is formed at the end of the base. The concave curved surface of the relief portion has a center of curvature located at place offset from a center of a joint 1 toward a distal end of the arm.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a yoke for universal joint and a universal joint.
2. Description of Related Art
In an automotive steering system, for example, an intermediate shaft for connecting a steering shaft and a steering gear such as a rack and pinion mechanism has a function to contract following the retraction of the steering gear when a vehicle collides against a front object (at primary collision). This prevents an impact of the primary collision from being transferred to a steering member such as a steering wheel.
When the intermediate shaft is contracted at the primary collision, a universal joint connecting the intermediate shaft with the steering gear and the steering shaft assumes a greater bend angle (e.g., a bend angle on the order of 60°) than a bend angle thereof while the vehicle is moving.
Since the steering member may be turned at any steering angle at the primary collision, the universal joint is required to secure the above bend angle with respect to the overall range of rotational angle of the steering member.
On the other hand, a yoke for universal joint has been proposed which is formed by punching out a sheet metal and press forming the resultant sheet metal (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-163866).
In an electronic power steering device having an electric motor for power assist disposed at a steering column, on the other hand, the intermediate shaft is designed to bear a greater load and hence, higher rigidity is required for the yoke for universal joint.
In a case where the press molded yoke is used as the yoke for universal joint, the yoke may suffer poor rigidity if the yoke is decreased in thickness in order to provide for the increase of the bend angle.
It is an object of the invention to provide a yoke for universal joint and a universal joint which feature a high rigidity and can secure a greater bend angle.

Yoke for universal joint and universal joint


A fare collection method and apparatus are provided. The apparatus comprises a camera; an NFC device; a processor, configured to: trigger a ride fare collection transaction upon a target object being detected within a set distance; determine whether a first payment information has been obtained by the camera; if yes, perform payment processing according to the first payment information; and if no, collect a near-field communication (NFC) signal through an NFC device to obtain second payment information, and perform payment processing according to the second payment information.

Nowadays, mobile terminals, such as cell phones, tablet computers, and the like, are generally integrated with multiple functions. A user may process different transactions in different transaction scenarios through these functions integrated in a terminal.
In exemplary applications, a user typically needs to use some fixed transaction processing manners for transaction processing in some transaction scenarios. For example, when the user rides the subway, the user typically needs to use a terminal that supports the Near Field Communication (NFC) function or a subway card having an NFC chip to pay the subway fare, while the user is unable to pay the fare using other payment methods.
On the basis of the current technologies, a more effective payment method is needed.

Fare collection device for means of public transport


A fluidized bed apparatus and process for using the same for drying or cooling powder. The apparatus includes a structure defining first and second fluidizing chambers separated by an air dispersing floor plate having a plurality of openings formed therethrough. The first fluidizing chamber receives fluidizing air introduced into the structure and passes the fluidizing air through the plurality of openings in the air dispersing floor plate to disperse the fluidized air. The second fluidizing chamber containing the powder receives the fluidized air dispersed by the air dispersing floor plate. The apparatus further includes a heat transfer unit including a plurality of rectangular heat transfer metal plates disposed vertically above the air dispersing floor plate. The heat transfer metal plates are arranged in parallel relationship to and horizontally spaced from each other to define vertically-extending external passages therebetween, which allow the fluidizing air to pass therethrough and suspend the powder. The heater transfer metal plates define at least one internal passage therein associated with an inlet pipe and an outlet pipe at each end for respectively receiving and discharging a heat transfer medium. At least a portion of the internal passage extends in a horizontal direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fluidized bed equipment and a process for drying or cooling of powder by use of the equipment, which relates especially to an equipment and a process which enables with a remarkably high heat efficiency fluidized bed drying or cooling of an extremely fine powder or an extremely low density powder heretofore hardly processed under steady operating conditions with an economically feasible areal velocity due to their tendency of being entrained by the fluidizing air flow.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For conventional fluidized bed drying (cooling) equipments employing solely air as the heat transfer medium, the heat transferred per unit area of the air dispersing floor plate (grid) is determined by the difference in inlet and outlet air temperatures as well as the volume of air (areal velocity.times.time).
In the operation of fluidized bed equipments, the areal velocity is usually settled at a value around the maximum (the value above which no fluidized bed of powder is formed due to flying out of powder) for enhancing the cost-performance based on a larger coefficient of heat capacity to bring about a decreased floor plate area and an decreased cost of the fluidized bed equipment. However, the features and design principles bring about the following problems on conventional fluidized bed drying (cooling) equipments.
a) The larger the air dispersing floor plate areal velocity, the more the contact of powder with air becomes insufficient, which tends to cause larger differences between temperature of powder being-heated (cooled) in-the fluidized bed-and temperature of the gas passing through the bed. Though this results a large coefficient of heat capacity for the equipment, it brings about a reduced heat efficiency due to a decrease in effective air temperature differences (differences between inlet and outlet air temperatures). A thick fluidized bed is contemplated to overcome a large temperature difference between the powder and air, however, a large amount of powder must be retained in the bed and tends to cause uneven fluidization due fluctuation in bed thickness.
b) When an equipment is operated with an allowable hottest air for the highest cost-performance, degradation and scorching of retained powder tend to occur.
c) The heat efficiency is low, and a low heat efficiency of as low as less than 20% is observed especially for a low temperature fluidized bed drying of a thermally unstable powder.
d) A long period of time is necessary after the start up until reaching to stationary operating conditions.
e) A large size equipment is required for processing a large mount of material, due to a low heat efficiency.
f) The cost-performance is determined based on the coefficient of heat capacity being around 2000-6000 Kcal/m.sup.3 h.degree.C. for practical equipments, and below 1000 Kcal/m.sup.3 h.degree.C. is considered to be impractical commercially. From this reason, for conventional fluidized bed drying (cooling) equipments, fine powder having a air dispersing floor plate maximum areal velocity of less than 20 cm/s are recognized as out of the subject. In the above, the coefficient of heat capacity means the product of a coefficient of heat transfer and an effective heat transfer area per unit volume of equipment; the coefficient of heat transfer means the quantity of heat transferred per unit heat transfer area per unit length of time per unit temperature difference; and the heat efficiency means the ratio of quantity of heat used effectively to the total quantity of heat supplied.
An agitating-rotating-fluidization equipment having a horizontal semi-cylindrical bottom wall with numerous perforations and rotary heating discs being set in the semi-cylindrical bottom for heating and agitation is proposed, in which powder is fluidized by hot air blowing through the perforations and agitated by the rotary heating discs. Since the powder remains in thin layer on the semi-cylindrical perforated bottom wall when rotation of the discs is stopped, the blow-by of air therefrom is inevitable, and so it is required to make the discs rotate forcefully to stabilize the fluidization. Further, regarding the performance, only around a half of the surface area of heating discs effectively contributes to the heat transfer.
In another type of equipment having a group of vertical pipes in the fluidized bed, it is forced to reduce the ratio of the projected area of pipes to the area of air dispersing floor plate to be around 10% because of prevention of the hindered fluidization. Owing to the structure, the group of pipes requires a header at the bottom, which tends to be an obstacle to the fluidization. For this type of equipment, for example, in order to have a total surface area of pipes of two times of the air dispersing floor plate area, the fluidizing bed of powder must have a thickness of at least 500 mm. Structurally, the equipment is being employed only for granular particulate materials allowable to adopt a high air dispersing floor plate (grid) areal velocity, and thus the heat transfer through contact with the group of pipes is regarded as supplementary to the heat transferred by air. Though the superiority of this equipment may be recognizable, it is not evaluated by usual users as superior than ordinary fluidized bed drying (cooling) equipments employing air only as the heat transfer medium because of difficulties in the operability, washability and maintenance.
A fine powder or an ultra fine powder having a small true specific gravity is entrained well by air flow and a quite low areal velocity of air is required for obtaining a stably fluidized bed of the powder, which made such powder regarded as unsuitable for being dried or cooled with conventional fluidized bed drying or cooling equipments due to a low capacity and an inferior cost-performance coming from a large scale of the equipment.

Fluidized bed apparatus for drying or cooling of powder and a process for drying or cooling powder with the same


An integrated circuit includes an operational amplifier configured to receive a current sense voltage (VCS) at a first input and an offset voltage at a second input. A comparator is coupled to the operational amplifier and adapted to receive at a first input an output voltage signal (VOUT) of the operational amplifier. A voltage limiting circuit is configured to receive a regulation voltage. A fold back correction circuit is coupled to the voltage limiting circuit and to a second input of the comparator. A pulse width modulator circuit is coupled to the comparator and is adapted to receive the output of comparator.

Some electronic devices operate only a few hours during the day, and are consequently in standby power mode during the rest of the day. Standby power is the power used while an electronic device is in its lowest power mode. Lowering the standby power consumption results in saving of considerable amount of energy. Switch Mode Power Supply (SMPS) allows for efficient power conversion in electronic equipment. SMPS, even with the output unloaded, consume a large amount of power because during every oscillator cycle the power switch is turned on and off. The switch losses associated with turning the switch on and off have an impact on the system standby power.

Method and apparatus for regulating power in a flyback converter


A flow rate measuring apparatus can reduce flow rate detection errors resulting from a temperature difference between an inside and an outside of piping. A base has a base main body which is formed at its base end with a connector protruding to the outside of the piping, and a flange which is formed on the base main body and is fitted into an insertion hole in the piping. A plate made of PBT resin is arranged on the base, and a flow rate detection element is formed on the plate so as to be exposed therefrom. A circuit board is arranged at a side of the plate opposite to the connector. A housing has a fluid passage groove that cooperates with the plate to form a measuring passage in which the flow rate detection element is disposed, and an enclosure portion enclosing the circuit board. A cover closes the enclosure portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flow rate measuring apparatus that is installed, for example, by insertion into an insertion hole formed in an intake pipe for measuring the flow rate of air that passes through a piping passage in the intake pipe.
2. Description of the Related Art
In FIGS. 1 and 2 of a first patent document (Japanese patent application laid-open No. H11-14423), there is shown a flow rate measuring apparatus that has a housing portion 3 containing therein a circuit board 6 on a metal base 5, and an auxiliary passage member 4 formed separately from each other. This housing 3 made of resin includes a frame portion 31, a connector portion 32 that has a connector terminal 33 embedded therein, a stationary portion 34 that fixedly secures a plurality of support terminals 35 supporting a heat generation resistor 1 and a thermally sensitive resistor 2, and a fixed flange 36.
The metal base 5 covers an opening face at one side of a cavity in the housing 3 together with an opening face of an auxiliary air passage at which one side of the auxiliary passage member 4 is opened, and at the same time, it is fixedly attached to the frame portion 31 and the auxiliary passage member 4.
The heat generation resistor 1 and the thermally sensitive resistor 2 arranged in the auxiliary passage member 4 is spaced from the metal base 5, and is electrically connected to the circuit board 6 through the support terminals 35.
In addition, another flow rate measuring apparatus is shown in FIG. 3 of a second patent document (Japanese patent application laid-open No. 2001-124606). A module housing 4 is arranged on a metal base 5, and a heat generation resistor 7, a temperature sensitive resistor 8 and an intake air temperature sensor 9 are fixedly secured by spot welding to and electrically connected to a support terminal 2 that is integrally molded with the module housing 4.
In this flow rate measuring apparatus, the heat generation resistor 7, the temperature sensitive resistor 8 and the intake air temperature sensor 9 are disposed in the auxiliary air passage 12 that is formed by the metal base 5 and bypass molding 10.
The flow rate measuring apparatus described in the above-mentioned first patent document is influenced by the heat of a flow meter body 86 itself other than a thermal influence due to the own heat of electronic circuit parts.
The influence of the heat of the flow meter body 86 is that when the temperature of air flowing through the hollow interior of the flow meter body 86 becomes low while the temperature of the flow meter body 86 is high, the heat of the flow meter body 86 is transmitted to the heat generation resistor 1 and the thermally sensitive resistor 2, whereby a detection error becomes large due to the influence of the heat thus transmitted.
In case of an intake pipe of an automotive internal combustion engine, the intake air in the interior of the intake pipe is in a cold state when the temperature of the outside air is low, but the intake pipe itself might become a warm state by receiving a thermal influence of the internal combustion engine.
In case where such a kind of flow rate measuring apparatus is applied to a fuel injection system of such an automotive internal combustion engine, there arises the following problem. That is, the heat of the intake pipe is transmitted to the heat generation resistor 1 and the thermally sensitive resistor 2 through the metal base 5 and the support terminal 35, thus resulting in a cause of a flow rate detection error.
Moreover, similarly, in the flow rate measuring apparatus described in the above-mentioned second patent document, too, there has been the following problem. That is, the heat of the intake pipe or the heat due to own heat generation of the circuit board 6 in the module housing 4 installed in the intake pipe is transmitted to the heat generation resistor 7 and the temperature sensitive resistor 8 through the metal base 5 and the support terminal 2, thus resulting in a cause of a flow rate detection error.
Further, the flow rate measuring apparatus described in the above-mentioned first patent document is fixedly secured to the flow meter body 86, which forms the main air passage 81, by means of the fixed flange 36 of the housing 3 through the metal base 5, but the flow rate measuring apparatus at this time is of a cantilever structure in which the fixed flange 36 is fixedly supported at its base end portion with its tip end portion being free.
Thus, there has also been the following problem. That is, when the flow meter body 86 is caused to vibrate, a concentrated stress is generated in the vicinity of the fixed flange 36 among fixedly secured portions between the metal base 5 and the housing 3, so in the fixed portions at this location, the metal base 5 might be peeled off from the housing 3, or an electrically conductive lead 7 electrically connecting the circuit board 6 and the support terminals 35 to each other might be broken or disconnected.

Flow rate measuring apparatus having a resin plate for supporting a flow rate detecting element and a circuit board


A plasma surgery apparatus includes an HF generator for generating an HF activation signal, a gas source for providing a plasma gas, and a plasma applicator having a channel which opens out at a distal end of the applicator and through which the plasma gas can flow. The apparatus also includes an HF electrode that is electrically connected to the HF generator. When the HF electrode is supplied with the HF activation signal, a plasma is provided originating from the distal end of the applicator. The apparatus also includes a control unit and a flow regulator for regulating a flow rate the plasma gas in the channel. The control unit receives or requests an operating variable of the HF generator and, according to a saved functional relationship, controls the flow regulator so that the flow rate of the plasma gas is correlated with a detected value of the operating variable.

The disclosed embodiments relate to a plasma surgery apparatus comprising a high frequency (HF) generator for generating an HF activation signal, a gas source for providing a plasma gas, and a plasma applicator having a channel which opens out at a distal end of the applicator and through which the plasma gas flows or can flow, and having an HF electrode that is preferably arranged in the channel and is electrically connected to the HF generator. The HF electrode is configured to be supplied with the HF activation signal to provide, originating from the distal end of the applicator, a plasma of the plasma gas that flows from the channel. The disclosed embodiments further relate to a method for operating such a plasma surgery system. Finally, the disclosed embodiments relate to a non-transitory computer readable medium.
Plasma surgery apparatuses such as argon plasma coagulation apparatuses are used in endoscopic medicine to stanch extensive bleeding. Another area of application for plasma surgery apparatuses is the extensive removal of tissue.
Plasma surgery apparatuses are based on the thermal effect of a high-frequency current which is applied to the tissue by an electrically ionizing plasma, in many cases an argon plasma. A plasma gas source and a high-frequency source are provided to generate the plasma. An HF electrode in an applicator is supplied with a high-frequency AC voltage so that the plasma forms between the tissue and a distal end of the applicator when the HF voltage is sufficiently high and the distance to the tissue is sufficiently small. The plasma formation is kept stable as plasma gas exits a distal end of the applicator.
The ionized plasma is electrically conductive so that an electrical current is applied into the tissue proceeding from the applicator. The current conducted through the plasma that contacts the tissue surface has a thermal effect that accordingly causes blood stanching, or respectively coagulation.
The penetration depth is limited so that deeper tissue layers are not affected. This spares the tissue and reduces the risk of perforation. Moreover, since the plasma does not propagate in a straight line but rather in a direction corresponding to the electrical field lines between the tissue and the applicator, areas that are difficult to access can be treated. Since coagulated tissue possesses a conductivity that is less than non-coagulated tissue, the electrical energy preferentially enters those areas where it is needed to stanch blood.

Plasma surgery apparatus and method for operating such an apparatus


Provided are a multi-wavelength optical transceiver module and a multiplexer/demultiplexer using a thin film filter. The multi-wavelength optical transceiver module includes: a PLC platform, on which a predetermined optical waveguide unit is formed and an optical transmitter is mounted; an optical fiber coupled to one side of the PLC platform to transmit a predetermined light; a plurality of thin film filters coupled to another side of the PLC platform to separate input optical wavelengths; and an optical receiver coupled to one side of the thin film filters to receive light that is input from the optical fiber and transmits the thin film filters, thereby enabling mass production of the optical transceiver module with low cost.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multi-wavelength optical transceiver module, and multiplexer/demultiplexer using a thin film filter, and more specifically, to a multi-wavelength optical transceiver module, and multiplexer/demultiplexer using a thin film filter capable of producing an optical module at low cost in large quantities by hybrid-integrating a thin film filter, an optical transmitter, an optical receiver, and an optical fiber into a PLC platform.
2. Discussion of Related Art
In general, with an expansion of an optical communication system largely used in a backbone network into a subscriber network, various types of optical modules required in arranging the subscriber network are in high demand.
Particularly, for an optical transceiver module arranged in the subscriber side, such as a bi-directional optical transceiver module or an optical triplexer transceiver module and an optical quadraplexer transmitter and receiver module, low cost and mass production are key factors to determine the competitiveness.
Therefore, an optical integrated module technology has been developed that optical devices such as a thin film filter, a laser diode (LD), and a photodiode (PD) are hybrid-integrated on a PLC platform at the same time to manufacture the optical module in high performance at low cost.
In a conventional hybrid optical integrated module technology, one method of manufacturing an optical triplexer transceiver module is to form grooves of about 30 μm at two places in a silica planar lightwave circuit (hereinafter, referred to as 'PLC') and insert a thin film filter to thus implement a wavelength multiplexing device that separates wavelengths of 13910/1490/1550 nm, and mount active devices such as laser diodes (LD) and photodiodes (PD) onto a silica platform through precise flip-chip bonding.
However, the prior art described above has a problem in that a loss of reflected light significantly varies according to how much the thin film filter is inserted. In other words, the grooves into which the thin film filter is inserted are difficult to be uniformly formed at the exact place in a longitudinal direction with a narrow width, and when the thin film filter is inserted into the grooves and fixed with an index-matching epoxy, a tilt occurs so that light is not exactly incident on a reflection (caused by thin film filter) optical waveguide relative to an input optical waveguide.
Therefore, it is difficult to reduce an optical loss reflected at the thin film filter to about 1 dB, which is a factor that degrades the yield upon mass production, so that it is disadvantageous in terms of the low cost.
In addition, upon mounting the active devices such as the laser diode (LD) or the photodiode (PD) in the prior art, an expensive flip chip bonding apparatus should be used to ensure alignment accuracy to be within several μm, and forming a V-groove directly in the PLC to pigtail a predetermined optical fiber is an extremely difficult process, which is not appropriate for mass production.
In addition, since a waveguide photodiode (PD) is used in the prior art, there is a difficulty in demand and supply of the photodiode (PD) having good characteristics upon commercialization. Further, since the waveguide photodiode (PD) does not have good characteristics with respect to responsivity and inter-modulation distortion (IMD) relative to the commercialized pin-PD, there is a problem in arranging a receive unit, which is burdensome while packaging.
Therefore, in order to achieve the mass production and commercialization, there is a need for a method of easily fixing the thin film filter to the PLC, easily implementing performance of an optical transceiver module with a good-characteristic and commercialized pin-PD, and aligning and pig-tailing an optical fiber in a manner not to degrade the overall manufacturing yield.

Multi-wavelength optical transceiver module, and multiplexer/demultiplexer using thin film filter

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


A portable terminal includes: a first housing; a second housing rotatably connected to the first housing to open or close the housings. A hinge device interconnects the first and second housings. The hinge device provides first and second hinge axes extending perpendicular to each other, wherein the hinge device limits the rotation of the second housing about the second hinge axis when the second housing has been rotated about the hinge axis to the open position, and the hinge device limits the rotation of the second housing about the first hinge axis when the second housing has been rotated to the open position. The portable terminal with the inventive dual axis hinge device is configured in such a way that one housing can be positioned at the top side or lateral side of the other housing, whereby it is convenient to use the portable terminal and it is possible to secure structural stability and reliability.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable terminal including a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a hand-held phone (HHP), a camera phone, a game phone, an Internet phone, and the like. In particular, the invention relates to a portable terminal with a dual axis hinge device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typically, the term "portable terminal" means an electronic appliance which enables a user, who carries the portable terminal, to have cordless communication with a counterpart. To increase portability, such portable terminals are being miniaturized, slimmed, narrowed and lightened, and are also tending toward multi-media which can seek various functions. Therefore, it is expected that portable terminals will continue to be miniaturized and made light-weight. The devices will be used multifunctionally and multipurposely, and will be modified to be adaptive for various multimedia and Internet circumstances. In addition, such portable terminals are electronic appliances, which are popularly used by male and female, old and young all over the world and considered as necessities which should be always carried.
Popularized conventional portable terminals are classified into various types depending on external appearance. For example, portable terminals are classified into bar type, flip type and folder type. In addition, portable terminals may be classified into neck wearable type or wrist wearable type depending on the wearing position or method of use. Furthermore, portable terminals may be classified into rotation type or sliding type depending on the opening and closing method. The above mentioned various classification of portable terminals can be readily understood by one having a common knowledge in the art.
In addition, the construction of portable terminals is being improved to be capable of implementing high speed data communication, beyond voice communication. That is, as the desires of consumers increase, high speed data transmission services will be provided which use cordless communication technologies.
At present, conventional portable terminals tend to employ a camera lens to photograph and send a photographed image signal. Popularized portable terminals have an external or internal camera lens module, whereby it becomes possible to perform image communication with a counterpart or to photograph an object.
However, because the external appearance of the conventional portable terminals have been developed on the basis of a shape which is suitable for performing a communication function such as voice communication, message sending or the like, they have a disadvantage in using a multimedia service or the like. For example, because a typical display device for a conventional portable terminal is sized to be larger in the longitudinal direction thereof, it is inconvenient to view a moving image file.

Portable terminal with dual axis hinge device


Wafer-level chip-scale packaging technology is used for improving performance or reducing size of integrated circuits by using metallization of pad-to-bump-out beams as part of the integrated circuit structure. Chip-scale packaging under bump metal is routed to increase the thickness of top metal of the integrated circuit, increasing current carrying capability and reducing resistance. An exemplary embodiment for a power MOSFET array integrated structure is described. Another exemplary embodiment illustrated the use of chip-scale processes for interconnecting discrete integrated circuits.

1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates generally to integrated circuits and, more particularly to integration of chip-scale packaging input-output bump-connection metallurgy into integrated circuit structures.
2. Description of Related Art
Semiconductor integrated circuits ("IC") in the state of the art have been able to pack millions of circuit elements into a relatively small die, or "chip", e.g., having lateral area footprint, e.g., a ¼″ by ¼″. Most ICs are designed with input-output ("I/O") pads located along the periphery of the chip; some requiring hundreds of such pads.
These pads are then wire-bonded to connect the IC to the macro-world of a printed wire board ("PWB"), also known as printed circuit board ("PCB"), and surrounding discrete elements and other IC electronics on the board. This conventional perimeter-lead surface mount technology ("SMT") for complex circuitry with appropriate interconnects often requires a chip carrier several times greater in size than the chip itself.
For mobile appliances—e.g., cellular telecommunications products, portable digital assistants ("PDA"), notebook computers, and the like—or applications where physical space for computers and instrumentations is extremely valuable—e.g., aircraft, space shuttles, and the like—individual component size and weight are factors which are critical to successful design. Thus, there is a conflict between a higher density of IC elements on the chip with attendant higher input/output ("I/O") needs and a simultaneous demands for continuing miniaturization with increased functionality.
Wafer-level packaging ("WLP"), wherein a single IC die and its mounting package are manufactured and tested on a multi-die wafer produced by the IC manufacturer prior to singulation into individual chips, offers many advantages to the chip manufacturer. One WLP solution known in the art is generally referred to in the art as chip-scale packages ("CSP"). Chip-scale packaging technology, where the peripheral pads are connected to I/O solder balls by a redistribution metal layer, provides die-sized packaging, allowing more condensed PCB patterns, also referred to in the art as "land patterns" where elements have a specific area "footprint."
Exemplary, conventional, chip-scale technology is demonstrated by FIGS. 1A and 1B, taken from Semiconductor International magazine, October 2000, pp. 119–128, "Wafer-Level Packaging Has Arrived," by Dr. Philip Garrou, illustrating the process 100, FIG. 1A, and resultant structure 102, FIG. 1B, for chip-scale packaging I/O redistribution. As shown in FIG. 1A, "IC" 101 peripheral I/O pads 103 have an electrical redistribution to I/O bumps 107 via known manner processes. Step 100A illustrates the formation of a lower "POLYMER LAYER" 113, FIG. 1B, (e.g., benzocyclobutene, "BCB") of the chip-scale WLP structure. Step 100B "METALLIZATION" illustrates an I/O electrical re-distribution for the chip 101 by formation of traces 109 from pads 103 leading to a centralized region of the chip. Steps 100C and 100D, "SOLDER MASK," "UBM," respectively, illustrate the upper polymer layer 113′, FIG. 1B, formation. The process continues, step 100E, "BUMPS," with an I/O bump formation step wherein the bumps 107 (e.g., solder balls) are located inwardly from the chip 101 periphery.
Conductive material (such as a metal, e.g., copper) beams 109 (FIG. 1B) are lithographically defined superjacent the chip passivation layer 111, e.g., a plasma nitride or the like, generally referred to in the art as the "topside layer," and within a protective-covering-stress-absorbing material (e.g., resin, polyimide, or the like) 113, 113′, providing a conventional IC 101. A cross-section of a chip-scale I/O bump-out packaging structure is shown in FIG. 1B. A variety of implementations are described by Garrou. In current wafer-level packaging, these additional layers of the chip-scale package are generally so formed on the wafer after the die fabrication is completed, yielding a plurality of packaged die on the wafer, which has many advantages for the manufacturer. A thereafter singulated die with chip-scale package 115 with eight bumps 107 is illustrated in FIG. 1C, showing that the total footprint is essentially the same as the die area. The present invention relates to further discoveries in this regard.
While chip-scale packaging has many advantages, it may also be recognized by those skilled in the art that in the current state-of-the-art, some die may be too small to accommodate a requisite number of bumps for the input-output requirements of an underlying chip. Moreover, in wafer-scale fabrication or for applications which may take advantage of providing a chip-set device including more than one individual die with appropriate interconnections, it would be advantageous to take further advantage of the process steps as shown in FIG. 1A in constructing appropriate layouts.
Many publications describe the details of common techniques used in the fabrication of integrated circuits that can be generally employed in the fabrication of complex, three-dimensional, IC structures; see e.g., Silicon Processes, Vol. 1–3, copyright 1995, Lattice Press, Lattice Semiconductor Corporation (assignee herein), Hillsboro, Oreg. Moreover, the individual steps of such a process can be performed using commercially available IC fabrication machines. The use of such machines and common fabrication step techniques will be referred to hereinafter as simply: "in a known manner." As specifically helpful to an understanding of the present invention, approximate technical data are disclosed herein based upon current technology; future developments in this art may call for appropriate adjustments as would be apparent to one skilled in the art.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Integrating chip scale packaging metallization into integrated circuit die structures


A quick set clamp device 10 includes a clamp frame 12, a slide shaft 14 having a longitudinal dimension that cooperates with the clamp frame 12 to removably secure the clamp frame device 10 to an object, a biasing member 16 adjacently disposed to the slide shaft 14, the biasing member 16 having a first end 18 that engages an outer first end portion 20 of the clamp frame 12, a binding member 22 having a first portion that slidably engages the slide shaft 14, a retaining member 26 retractably secured to the outer first end portion 20 of the clamp frame 12, the retaining member 26 engaging a second portion 28 of the binding member 22, a first engagement member 30 secured to a first end 32 of the slide shaft 14, and a second engagement member 34 secured to an inner second end portion 36 of the clamp frame 12.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a quick set clamp device, and more particularly, to a substantially "C" configured quick set clamp device operable by one hand of a user while the user's other hand holds an object or workpiece.
2. Background of the Prior Art
A myriad of clamp sizes and configurations are obtainable for securing together different objects or portions of a workpiece. The more common clamps include C-configured clamps—"C clamps" that are secured to an object via a rotating handle, and slide clamps that include a clamp mechanism and a base or table having a sliding object engagement member that slides toward a stationary object engagement member to ultimately secure an object therebetween.
The C clamps provide sufficient space between opposite engagement members to allow an object to be unobstructedly disposed between the engagement members, thereby providing engagement member access to depressed portions or cavities of the object. One problem with prior art C clamps is the time required to rotate the handle to position the engagement members of the clamp within depressions or cavities of object, then retract the engagement members sufficiently to avoid protuberances corresponding to the depressions or cavities. Another problem with prior art C clamps is that the user has to use two hands to operate the C clamp; one hand to rotate the handle while the other hand holds a frame portion of the C clamp.
Slide clamps provide quick operation when binding the clamp to an object. The user need only pull the trigger, then move the sliding engagement member toward the stationary engagement member. As with the C clamp, the slide clamp requires two hands to operate; one to hold the trigger and handle while the other hand moves the sliding engagement member toward the stationary engagement member. Another problem with prior art slide clamps is that the table or base limits space between the engagement members thereby obstructing placement of the object such that depressions and cavities in the object are not accessible by the engagement members.
A need exists for a clamp device that operates quickly between retracted and object engaging positions; that is capable of being operated by one hand of a user while the user's other hand holds the object; and that is configured to provide sufficient space between opposite engagement members such that an object may be disposed between the opposite engagement members without engaging any portion of the clamp device, thereby providing engagement member access to depressions and cavities in the object. Further, the clamp device should be reliable in operation, relatively inexpensive, light weight and easy to operate.


Improved data acquisition systems and methods that enable large numbers of data samples to be accumulated rapidly with low noise are described. In one aspect, a data acquisition system includes an accumulator that has two or more parallel accumulation paths and is configured to accumulate corresponding data samples across a transient sequence through different accumulation paths.

Data acquisition systems and methods may be used in a variety of applications. For example, data acquisition techniques may be used in nuclear magnetic resonance imaging systems and Fourier transform spectrometer systems. Such techniques also may be used in mass spectrometer systems, which may be configured to determine the concentrations of various molecules in a sample. A mass spectrometer operates by ionizing electrically neutral molecules in the sample and directing the ionized molecules toward an ion detector. In response to applied electric and magnetic fields, the ionized molecules become spatially separated along the flight path to the ion detector in accordance with their mass-to-charge ratios.
Mass spectrometers may employ a variety of techniques to distinguish ions based on their mass-to-charge ratios. For example, magnetic sector mass spectrometers separate ions of equal energy based on their momentum changes in a magnetic field. Quadrupole mass spectrometers separate ions based on their paths in a high frequency electromagnetic field. Ion cyclotrons and ion trap mass spectrometers distinguish ions based on the frequencies of their resonant motions or stabilities of their paths in alternating voltage fields. Time-of-flight (or "TOF") mass spectrometers discriminate ions based on the velocities of ions of equal energy as they travel over a fixed distance to a detector.
In a time-of-flight mass spectrometer, neutral molecules of a sample are ionized, and a packet (or bundle) of ions is synchronously extracted with a short voltage pulse. The ions within the ion source extraction are accelerated to a constant energy and then are directed along a field-free region of the spectrometer. As the ions drift down the field-free region, they separate from one another based on their respective velocities. In response to each ion packet received, the detector produces a data signal (or transient) from which the quantities and mass-to-charge ratios of ions contained in the ion packet may be determined. In particular, the times of flight between extraction and detection may be used to determine the mass-to-charge ratios of the detected ions, and the magnitudes of the peaks in each transient may be used to determine the number of ions of each mass-to-charge in the transient.
A data acquisition system (e.g., an integrating transient recorder) may be used to capture information about each ion source extraction. In one such system, successive transients are sampled and the samples are summed to produce a summation, which may be transformed directly into an ion intensity versus mass-to-charge ratio plot, which is commonly referred to as a spectrum. Typically, ion packets travel through a time-of-flight spectrometer in a short time (e.g., 100 microseconds) and ten thousand or more spectra may be summed to achieve a spectrum with a desired signal-to-noise ratio and a desired dynamic range. Consequently, desirable time-of-flight mass spectrometer systems include data acquisition systems that operate at a high processing frequency and have a high dynamic range.
In one data acquisition method, which has been used in high-speed digital-to-analog converters, data is accumulated in two or more parallel processing channels (or paths) to achieve a high processing frequency (e.g., greater than 100 MHz). In accordance with this method, successive samples of a waveform (or transient) are directed sequentially to each of a set of two or more processing channels. The operating frequency of the components of each processing channel may be reduced from the sampling frequency by a factor of N, where N is the number of processing channels. The processing results may be stored or combined into a sequential data stream at the original sampling rate.

Multipath data acquisition system and method


Methods and apparatuses for nonlinear scaling of video images. To match the aspect ratios of a video image and the target display area, at least one embodiment of the present invention scales the video image according to one or more nonlinear functions along the horizontal direction and/or the vertical direction. In one embodiment, the nonlinear functions are such that the original aspect ratio of the video image is preserved near the center region (or strip) of the image and the image is gradually stretched (or compressed) as it is mapped to the edges. In one example, the scaling is implemented by the texture mapping functionality of OpenGL using graphics hardware. In one embodiment of the present invention, the nonlinear mapping is constructed according to a polynomial mapping; and, the coefficients of the polynomial are adjustable by a user to trade off distortion between the image center and the image edges, giving the user control over the location and the amount of distortion.

A frame of a video image is typically represented by a rectangular array of pixels. The numbers of rows and columns of the rectangular array of pixels define the aspect ratio of the video image. A stream of video data typically contains a number of frames of video images, to be displayed at a given display area one frame after another. When the target display area is capable displaying a different number of rows or a different number of columns of pixels than those of the given video image, a portion of the target display area may be used to display the entire video image, or only a portion of the video image may be displayed on the target display area, without scaling.
To fit the entire video image onto the target display area, the video image is typically scaled linearly in the vertical direction and/or the horizontal direction. Since different scaling factors may be required to fit the entire video image onto the target display area, the aspect ratio of the original video image may be distorted after the scaling operation. Thus, a circle in the original video image may be displayed as an ellipse in the target display area.

Method and apparatus for nonlinear anamorphic scaling of video images


The invention is directed to a folding image-device stabilizer comprising a three-axis gimbal assembly adapted to be mounted as close to the image device payload to minimize the overall deployed size. The gimbal assembly includes mechanisms to adjustably position an image device so that the stabilizer is in balance fore and aft around the ‘tilt’ axis repeatedly when the stabilizer is folded and unfolded.

Smart-phone High-Definition videos have auto-focus and iris, and other 'smart' features that deliver extremely satisfying results—unless one attempts to walk. Though some models now include digital image stabilizers that reduce vibration caused by hand-holding, as soon as the operator moves around, image quality plummets due to unavoidable, larger-magnitude angular and spatial aberrations, and the results are shaky and disturbing.
For many years the human/camera interface has been smoothed by an invention marketed as the Steadicam® camera stabilizer, which can stabilize big, heavy production cameras as well as camcorders.
Efforts to create a camera stabilizer for small video devices, such as smartphones, have resulted in devices that add considerable weight and mass, and none yet permits a causal operator to achieve smooth camera moves that even come close to producing images of the quality we perceive through our own eyes.
What is needed is a camera stabilizer that can be used with relatively small video devices and preferably is light and compact and easy to use. easily balanced with a variety of phones and cases; that, when folded, is preferably as light and pocket-friendly as the user's phone; that unfolds in a set, repeatable balance; and that can be immediately employed for walk-around stable shots that require little or no particular skill, or by practiced operators to aggressively 'pan and tilt' shots that are dynamic, as well as artistic and smooth.
For purposes of description, the terms "pan," "tilt," and "roll" will be used to describe the angular motions of image devices, which are the terms used in the motion picture and TV industries to define camera moves. Moves about a substantially vertical axis perpendicular to the lens axis are 'pan' moves. Those about the lens axis are 'roll' moves. Moves about an axis that is substantially mutually perpendicular to the pan and roll axes are tilt moves.


A method for forming an electrode comprises: combining a platinum precursor with a gold precursor to form an electrode ink; forming the electrode ink into an electrode precursor; firing the electrode precursor to form the electrode; treating the electrode in an environment having an oxygen partial pressure of less than or equal to 500 ppm oxygen for a period of time sufficient produce an electrode with an exposed surface gold concentration of greater than or equal to about 6 times a bulk gold concentration in the electrode.

The present disclosure relates to methods of treating electrodes, particularly electrodes for gas sensors.
Many sensors, such as those used for measuring nitrogen oxides (NOx) in exhaust gases, employ electrochemical methods. With the electrochemical sensing method, there are two basic principles involved in gas sensing: the polarographic principle and the Nernst principle. Typically, an exhaust gas sensor utilizing an electrochemical method comprises an electrochemical pump cell and an electrochemical motive force cell ("emf") in operable communication.
The pump cell operates according to the polarographic principle. With the polarographic principle, the sensors utilize electrolysis whereby ions are sensed through a diffusion limiting current for electrolyte systems. Generally, a sensor employing the polarographic principle is composed of a pair of current pumping electrodes where both electrodes are in contact with an oxide conductive solid electrolyte and one electrode is in contact with a gas diffusion limiting means. The gas diffusion limiting means in conjunction with the pump electrodes create a limiting current which is linearly proportional to the measured gas concentration in the sample.
The emf cell operates with the Nernst principle, which describes the conversion of chemical into electromotive force. A gas sensor based upon this principle typically consists of an ionically conductive solid electrolyte material, a porous electrode with a porous protective overcoat exposed to exhaust gases ("sensing electrode"), and a porous electrode exposed to the partial pressure of a known gas ("reference gas electrode"). Sensors used in automotive applications often employ a yttria stabilized zirconia based electrochemical galvanic cell with porous platinum electrodes, operating in potentiometric mode, to detect the relative amount of a particular gas, such as NOx for example, that is present in an automobile engine's exhaust. Also, such a sensor may have a ceramic heater to help maintain the sensor's ionic conductivity. When opposite surfaces of the galvanic cell are exposed to different oxygen partial pressures, an electromotive force is developed between the electrodes on the opposite surfaces of the zirconia electrolyte, according to the Nernst equation:
  E  =            (                        -          RT                          4                    F                    )                  ln                    (                              P                          O              2                        ref                                P                          O              2                                      )
where:
E=electromotive force
R=universal gas constant
F=Faraday constant
T=absolute temperature of the gas
pO2ref=oxygen partial pressure of the reference gas
pO2=oxygen partial pressure of the exhaust gas
By combining the cell using a polarographic method ("pump cell") and the cell using emf ("emf cell") into one sensor, the sensor can be manufactured economically. A known type of exhaust sensor that can contain both a pump cell and an emf cell is a planar sensor employing a planar sensing element. The planar sensor is formed of various layers of ceramic and electrolyte materials laminated and sintered together with electrical circuit and sensor traces placed between the layers in a known manner.
In operation, the pump cell reduces oxygen gas to oxygen ions while allowing the gas to be measured (e.g. NOx) to pass to the emf cell. One problem with previous pump electrode designs is that the metals at the electrode surfaces (e.g., platinum) can interact with the gas to be measured (e.g. NOx), possibly giving misleading readings. There thus remains a need for additional methods for modifying the surface of an electrode and for gas sensors comprising such surface-modified electrodes.

Methods of treating electrodes and gas sensors comprising the electrodes


A method (100) comprises steps of: receiving a first digital model (102) of a first three-dimensional scene comprising at least one object; receiving a second digital model (112) of a second three-dimensional scene comprising at least one object; and performing a change analysis (102) on the first and second digital models to provide a difference indication representing a difference between the first and second models. In one embodiment a mean square error operation (110) is performed on the first and second digital models to provide a value indicating the difference between the digital models. In another embodiment, a conflation operation is performed on the difference model provided by the change analysis (120) and an object level change database (124) is produced.

Digital representations of three dimensional (3D) scenes (or sites such as cities) are well known. Such representations are typically generated using data collected by instruments such as LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging), IFSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar), photogrammetric techniques, or surveys. The collected data represents the topology of the scene. These instruments and systems produce digital terrain elevation data suitable for use in providing terrain visualization systems. However, there is a need for determining changes in these sites or scenes as they change over time (or by use of different data collection systems). That need is driven by applications such as immediate identification of new construction, rapid 3D assessment of damage done by natural forces such as hurricanes or tsunamis, by bombardment in a battle environment, and digital nautical charts.
For the scope of this document, we define a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) as a digital dataset comprised of elevations. Each elevation possesses—or has the ability to derive due to its storage format—a horizontal coordinate reference system component (such as WGS84 latitude & longitude) and a height (such as bare earth relative to WGS84 Mean Sea Level). Various implementations of DTMs constrain the horizontal spacing to be uniform (such as in a "gridded DTM" like DTED®) while others record the data in a series of triangular faces, such as in a triangulated irregular network (TIN). Still other implementations support storage of multiple heights for a single horizontal location. By convention, a DTM with uniform horizontal spacing (e.g. a "gridded DTM") is called a Digital Elevation Model or DEM).
Additionally, for the scope of this document, we define a "3D Site Model" (or "3D Model" for short), as a polygonal representation of a scene. This polygonal representation supports the storage of objects (such as an individual building) by recording a series of elevations in a well-defined 3D geometry format such as might be used by a computer-aided design (CAD) system. In addition to offering a more complex depiction of a scene, a 3D Model offers advantages versus a DTM in that the 3D Model may additionally associate metadata with a given object (such as the owner of a building, the telephone number of the main switchboard, latest tax assessment, etc.). The downside to 3D Models is that they are typically much more labor-intensive to produce than is a DTM for the same scene.

System and method for three dimensional change detection and measurement of a scene using change analysis


A 3,5-dioxa-12-azawurtzitane compound represented by the formula (I) shown in the specification. The dioxaazawurtzitane compound may be prepared by reacting an amino acid, an oligo- or polypeptide or a polyamino acid with a trialdehyde represented by formula (II) shown in the specification.

This invention relates to a 3,5-dioxa-12-azawurtzitane compound and a process of preparing same. The new class of dioxa-azawurtzitane compounds of the present invention have a structure similar to an amino acid or a polypeptide and will be utilizable for various applications, for example, as a molecular recognition agent for use in neurotransmission studies, an intermediate for a protein-resembling compound, a surfactant, a protective group and a host-guest complex for use as a sensor.
A dioxa-azawurtzitane of the following formula is reported by Hiroshi IZUMI and Shigeru FUTAMURA in J. Chem. Soc., Perkin Trans. 1, 1925 (1998): in which Me stands for a methyl group and R stands for a 4-methoxybenzyl group, a 2-(pyridin-2-yl)ethyl group or a 2-(imidazol-4-yl)ethyl group. The known wurtzitane compounds do not have a structure similar to an amino acid or a polypeptide.

3,5-dioxa-12-azawurtzitane compound and process of preparing same

National Institute of Science and Technology


An electric arc coating is comprised of a chamber with a chamber wall for receiving the substrates to be coated. The chamber can be evacuated and be optionally filled with a reaction gas or an inert gas. The device has at least one cathode connected to a first direct current source positioned within the chamber so as to be electrically insulated. The cathode is consumed by the electric arc. A second direct current source having a higher voltage than the first direct current source is connected with its negative pole to the substrates to be coated and is electrically insulated from the chamber. A first and a second anode are provided whereby the second anode is electrically insulated from the first anode and connected to a third current source. The positive poles of the first and the second current sources are connected to at least the first anode.

The present invention relates to an electric arc coating device having:
a chamber with a chamber wall for receiving the substrates to be coated, the chamber being evacuatable and optionally controllably fillable with a reaction gas or an inert gas;
cathodes connected within the chamber so as to be electrically insulated from the chamber and consumable by the electric arc and connected to a first direct current source;
a second direct current source having a higher voltage than the first direct current source, with the negative pole of the second direct current source connected to the substrates to be coated which are electrically insulated relative to the chamber, whereby the positive poles of the first and second direct current sources are connected to at least one first anode.
Electric arc coating devices of the aforementioned kind are essentially known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,793,179. Further developments have been reported in the publication VDI-Zeitschrift 129 (1987) No. 1, p. 89-94.
In order to ensure good adhesion of the coatings, usually consisting of zirconium nitride, applied with the electric arc coating method, before the proper coating process and after chemical cleaning processes performed outside of the coating device an especially intensive cleaning of the objects to be coated, so called substrates, is carried out in which the substrates are subjected to a bombardment with ions which result from the plasma produced by the electric arc discharge. This ionic bombardment serves also to heat the substrate to a suitable temperature for the coating process. It is however disadvantageous that especially during manufacturing of substrates with uneven mass distribution and geometry overheating or etching of individual portions of the substrate will occur. Furthermore, it cannot be entirely prevented that on the surface of the substrate, despite high negative voltages of up to 1,000 volts applied thereto, intermediate layers of essentially undefined compositions are formed. Furthermore, it is desired to prevent the inclusion of microscopic particles of the material consumed by the electric arc discharge which have not been converted to the plasma stage (so-called droplets) into the coating layer because the coating's appearance and roughness is disadvantageously influenced by these droplets.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an electric arc coating device of the aforementioned kind in which the ionic cleaning and heating of the substrate does not occur directly through the ions of the plasma stream, but through a glow discharge which causes an increased degree of ionization of the gases used in this stage of the process.

Electric arc coating device having an additional ionization anode


A method and apparatus for self gate pumped NMOS high speed switch have been disclosed.

In order to isolate two electrical nodes or connect them together, switches are used. Electronic solid state switches are replacing the mechanical switches for many functions. A popular type of solid state switch is a PMOS-NMOS combination which requires little circuitry to drive the gate voltage and performs reasonably well within certain limits. See FIG. 3. Problems arise when one tries to use PMOS-NMOS switches at high frequencies (e.g. above 100 MHz). Due to the significant parasitic junction and gate oxide capacitance, it has been a challenge to build a low ON resistance switch operating at such frequencies. One approach to the problem has been to remove lower performing PMOS transistors and pump the gate voltage of an NMOS transistor to compensate for the absence of PMOS. See FIG. 4. Pumping the gate voltage however, requires complicated circuits which may include oscillators, charge pumps, etc. that will add unwanted power consumption and noise to the product. This may present a problem.

Method and apparatus for self gate pumped NMOS high speed switch


Disclosed is a method of preparing mesoporous silica particles. The method includes (a) preparing an aqueous silicic acid, (b) spraying the aqueous silicic acid in a droplet state by activating the aqueous silicic acid, and (c) pyrolyzing the sprayed droplet through a reactor, which is previously heated, by allowing the sprayed droplet to pass through the reactor together with a carrier gas. The aqueous silicic acid includes 0.4 M to 0.8 M of silicic acid.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of preparing porous silica particles. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of preparing mesoporous silica particles using a spray pyrolysis scheme.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pores are classified into micropores having the particle size of 2 nm or less, mesopores having the particle size of 2 nm to 50 nm, and macropores having the particle size of 50 nm or more according to the particle sizes thereof.
Meanwhile, the mesoporous silica has been applied to various fields such as a catalyst, absorption, a molecular sieve, a gas sensor, ion exchange, and the delivery of chemicals.
Various schemes have been generally known in order to prepare a mesoporous silica material in a film type, or a spherical type, as well as the bulk type. Among them, a liquid-phase synthesis scheme generally includes a scheme of simply employing a surfactant and a synthetic scheme of employing amphiphilic block copolymers. A gas-phase synthesis scheme mainly includes a synthesis scheme of employing organic particles for a template. According to the gas-phase synthesis scheme, consecutive processes are possible, and the preparation process can be easily expanded for the purpose of mass production when comparing with the liquid-phase synthesis scheme.
Meanwhile, in order to variously apply mesoporous silica particles, the porous characteristics such as the size of particles, a pore size, a pore volume, and the specific surface area must be essentially controlled. In general, to control the above porous characteristics, the size of the polystyrene organic particles used for a template has been adjusted, and the content of polymer such as styrene or polyethylene glycol (PEG) has been adjusted.
Although tetrachloride silicon (SiCl4) and alkoxysilane such as and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) have been used as the source material of silica, they represent disadvantages of strong corrosivity, high harmfulness to an environment, and a high price.
As the related art of the present invention, a manufacturing method of silica powders using an ultrasonic spray pyrolysis method has been disclosed in Korean Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-2010-0128628 (published on Dec. 8, 2010).

Method of preparing mesoporous silica particles using spray pyrolysis

KOREA INSTITUTE OF GEOSCIENCE AND MINERAL RESOURCES


A mouthpiece set of a snorkel including a base, a connector, and a mouthpiece, wherein the base connecting to the snorkel and the connector having an upper end connecting to the mouthpiece and a lower end including a sphere inserted into a concentric hollow cylinders of the base, thereby enabling the mouthpiece rotating freely through the free rotation sphere of the connector.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mouthpiece set of a snorkel including a base, a connector, and a mouthpiece, wherein the base connecting to the snorkel and the connector having an upper end connecting to the mouthpiece and a lower end including a sphere inserted into a concentric hollow cylinders of the base, thereby enabling the mouthpiece rotating freely through the free rotation sphere of the connector inside the hollow cylinder.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
A conventional mouthpiece set of a snorkel is of a fixed connection with a base without being able to rotate, which is inconvenient to a diver when moving head.


Composition containing iridoids such as morroniside and loganin, the use thereof in preparing medicaments for preventing and treating neurologic demyelinating diseases, and the method thereof in treating diseases related to neurologic demyelinating lesions are disclosed by the present application.

Myelin sheath is a layer of lipid cell membrane that covers sheath nerve fiber axon outside and consists of myelin sheath cells, which main physiological function is to act "insulation" and protection functions on nerve axon, and facilitates rapid transmission of nervous impulse. Demyelinating disease is a group of disorders featured with myelinoclasis of nerve fiber as main pathological change, which can either implicate central nervous system, or peripheral nervous system. This disease has main pathological features of: (1) nerve fiber myelinoclasis, presented in multiple small disseminated foci, or a relatively large focus formed by one or more foci in fusion; (2) demyelination lesions are distributed in alba, spinal cord or peripheral nerves, infiltrating in coatsleeve like form along inflammatory cells around veinlet.
This kind of diseases include multiple sclerosis, optical neuromyelitis, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, diffuse sclerosis, concentric circle sclerosis, leukodystrophy, central pontine myelinolysis, acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy; and demyelinating diseases caused by other factors, including but not limited to leukoencephalopathy caused by ischemia-anoxia diseases, subacute combined degeneration caused by nutrition deficiency diseases, subacute sclerosing panencephalitis or progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy caused by viral infection, diabetic neuropathy (this disease is mainly presented demyelination lesion), nervous lesions of systemic lupus erythematosus (this disease is mainly presented in demyelination lesion). The research of an effective drug for alleviating myelination and promoting myelin sheath plerosis may provide an important means for preventing demyelination diseases in central and peripheral nervous systems caused by various factors.
Iridoids are a group of specific monoterpene compounds, which mother nuclei are all in ring form, having ethylenic linkage and ether linkage, and which basic skeletons are of the following structure formula.

In the molecules of iridoids, C1—OH is very active, easy to bind to a saccharide, and most of natural iridoids are glycosides, especially D-glucosides. They include but are not limited to:
(1) Common iridoid glycosides: 1) C-8 iridoid glycosides; 2) C-9 iridoid glycosides (the 9th C links to C-4); 3) C-9 iridoid glycosides (the 9th C links to C-8); 4) C-10 iridoid glycosides. The examples are morroniside, loganin, 6′-acetylasperuloside, geniposide, catalpol, allamdin, allamandin, asperuloside, aucubin, catalpin, deoxyloganin, genipin, plumericin, verbenalin, kingiside.
(2) Diffractive ring iridoid glycosides: such as gentiopicrin, amarogentin, secologanin, swertiamarin.
(3) Valeriana type iridoids, such as 7,10,2′-3 acetylpatrinoside, and 10-acetylpatrinoside.
(4) Plumeria type iridoids: such as poncirin A.
(5) Iridoids with oxo bridge between 3- and 10-positions, such as iridoid glycosides with oxo bridge between 3- and 10-positions, crescent glycoside B.
(6) Iridoids related to nepetalactone type, such as ipuranol.
(7) Transformative iridoids, such as crescent glycosides A and B, poncirin B with ternary oxaspiro structure at 8-position.
(8) Formed with several iridoids directly via ester bond or via linkage of terpenes, phenols. Examples are acevaltratum, deacetylasperuloside acid methyl ester.
The inventors of the present invention conduct wide and deep researches on iridoid compounds such as morroniside and loganin, and find the iridoid compounds have function of alleviating myelinoclasis and inflammatory cell infiltration in nervous system, and promoting myelination and plerosis, and thus the present invention is carried out.

Composition containing iridoids and uses thereof

XUANWU HOSPITAL OF CAPITAL MEDICAL UNIVERSITY


An apparatus and method for an audio channel switching headset are described. The method includes detection of a plurality of audio sources within communication range of a wireless headset device. Once the plurality of audio sources are detected, an audio link may be established with a pre-determined number of the selected audio sources. Finally, a user of the headset device is provided, via a plurality of headset audio channels, access to each audio source within an established audio link. Accordingly, a user of such a headset device may listen to audio sources simultaneously or may toggle between various audio sources using a mechanical switch or voice-activated toggling of audio sources. Furthermore, a user may request additional audio channels, which are enabled by a host device, which multiplexes multiple audio sources with a single device audio link.

The Bluetooth™ Radio System is designed according to a "Specification of the Bluetooth™ System," version 1.1, published Feb. 22, 2001 ("Bluetooth™ System Specification") as a wireless cable replacement solution based on radio frequency (RF) technology, with emphasis on robustness and low cost. Implementations of Bluetooth™ are based on high performance, yet low cost, integrated radio transceivers. The nominal range required of these integrated radio transceivers is set to approximately 10 meters by the Bluetooth™ Radio System. In addition, the frequency assignment that is utilized by Bluetooth™ within the United States is within the same radio frequency range as 802.11 wireless LAN (local area network), high-end portable home telephones, medical devices, as well as microwave ovens.
Bluetooth™ is targeted at mobile and business users who need to establish a link or small network between their computers, cellular phones or other peripherals. In fact, a Bluetooth™ radio in a phone, PDA (personal digital assistant), headset, notebook computer or other device enables the various devices to communicate with each other. As a result, Bluetooth™ is gaining popularity as a wireless cable replacement technology. Moreover, Bluetooth™ provides a new market segment and devices to solve an age old problem of excessive number of wires for portable personal computers (PCs) and other mobile devices.
Accordingly, Bluetooth™ technology may be applied to various devices, such as computer peripherals, including keyboards, mice, headsets, microphones, as well as host systems such as personal computers, laptops and networks, in order to communicate with other Bluetooth™ enabled devices. As such, a Bluetooth™ enabled device may come in contact with various Bluetooth™ enabled devices. When such is the case, the Bluetooth™ device may desire to establish an audio link with each detected device.
Currently, the Bluetooth™ specification enables such one-to-one communication connections between Bluetooth™ devices. Unfortunately, the capability of utilizing a Bluetooth™ device to simultaneously receive voice/data streams from multiple device audio sources is limited to a small number of devices. Currently, a limited capability is supported as described by the Bluetooth™ Radio Specification. Therefore, there remains a need to overcome one or more of the limitations in the above-described existing art.

Apparatus and method for an audio channel switching wireless device


Disclosed are mammalian cell surface display vectors for isolating and/or characterizing immunoglobulins and various uses thereof.

Hybridoma technology has been widely used to isolate antibodies for a variety of applications (Kohler and Milstein, 1975, Nature, 256, 495-7). Monoclonal antibodies have not only been indispensable as reagents but have also been developed as drugs to treat various human disease conditions including cancer, autoimmune, inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases, and viral infections (Reichert and Pavlou, 2004, Nat Rev Drug Discov, 3, 383-384). While the use of hybridoma technology to generate monoclonal antibodies is common practice in today's research and development laboratories, identification of the monoclonal antibodies that possess the desired binding and functional characteristics is a labor-intense, time-consuming process. This is largely due to the fact that hybridoma cells secrete, and are therefore disassociated from, the desired antibodies, thus making it an extensive and costly process to isolate the single hybridoma clones that secrete the antibody of interest.
The need for a rapid high-throughput screen of antibodies that specifically bind a specified target led to the development of cell surface display technologies in which the antibody-producing host cell remains physically associated with the displayed antibody of interest. This allows rapid isolation and sequence identification of the gene encoding the displayed antibodies having the desired binding characteristics. Such methods for identifying monoclonal antibodies include antibody display technologies using bacteria, yeast and ribosomes (Amstutz et al., 2001, Curr Opin Biotechnol, 12, 400-405; Wittrup, 2001, Curr Opin Biotechnol, 12, 395-399).
Surface display technologies are also valuable for screening libraries of antibody fragments generated using variable domains isolated from diverse species immunized with the target antigen of interest. While the mouse is the most common source of monoclonal antibodies against human proteins, it is not always possible to raise high affinity antibodies against certain antigens or epitopes that are highly conserved between human and mouse, as such antigens have little or no immunogenicity in mice due to tolerance (Rajewsky, 1996, Nature, 381, 751-8). In such cases, immunization of non-rodent species, e.g. rabbit or chicken, is an alternative way to raise specific antibodies that bind a target of interest. DNA sequences encoding immunoglobulin variable domains are then generated from antibody-producing cells isolated from these immunized animals and cloned into a display library expression system.
In commonly used display library systems, antibodies are typically displayed as single chain Fv (scFv) or Fab fragments because the use of smaller sized fragments makes them amenable to phage display. Thus, characterization of the biological activities and further development of the isolated antibody fragments often requires conversion to whole immunoglobulins and expression in mammalian cells for proper folding and post-translational processing. This conversion process may produce antibodies with binding characteristics unlike those selected for in the initial screen.
We have developed a versatile mammalian expression vector that allows expression of membrane-bound and soluble forms of a selected immunoglobulin. The expression vectors described herein allow efficient conversion of full-length cell surface-bound immunoglobulins, which are used for the initial screening of specific binders, to the full-length secreted form of the selected binder immunoglobulin, which can be functionally characterized.

Tethered vectors for cell surface immunoglobulin display