There is disclosed a method for coating an interior surface of an elongated pipe member. The method uses a first plug member having a resilient cylindrical body with an outer diameter close to an inner diameter of the pipe member, and a second plug member having a cylindrical body of an outer diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the pipe member and a brush provided at an end portion of the body of the second plug member, the brush having radially outwardly extending fibers having radial outer ends defining a cylindrical surface of which diameter is close to the diameter of the pipe member. The method comprises steps of inserting the first plug member into the pipe member, supplying a coating material into the pipe member and then inserting the second plug member into the pipe member with the brush being directed rearward, applying a propulsion force to the rearward end of the second plug member to thereby propel the second plug member in the pipe member and the first plug member, the coating material being applied to the interior surface of the pipe member while the plug members are proceeded in the pipe members.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tool and a method for coating an interior surface of an elongated pipe member. More particularly, the present invention pertains to a tool and a method for coating an interior surface of an elongated pipe member using a plug member.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has been desired to coat an interior surface of a pipe member for use in a heat exchanger for the purpose of preventing corrosion and improving heat exchange efficiency. However, such coating is not easy in view of the fact that the pipe members to be used in a heat exchanger are generally large in length and curved in an complicated configuration.
It has been known to use a plug member for removing scales and slugs on an interior surface of an elongated pipe member. The Japanese patent publication Sho 58-36634 discloses such technology. According the teachings of the Japanese patent publication, the plug member is made of a resilient cylindrical body with or without metallic pins projecting from the outer surface of the body. The plug member is slidably fitted to the pipe member and progressed in the member under a thrust force provided by a hydraulic pressure applied behind the plug member.
It may be possible to apply the known method of removing scales and slugs in a pipe member to a process for coating the interior surface of an elongated pipe member. For example, the plug member may be connected with a tube for continuously supplying the outside surface of the plug member with a coating material while the plug member is being progressed longitudinally in the pipe member. This method of coating the interior surface of the pipe member may not be satisfactory because it may be difficult to obtain a coating of uniform thickness. The problem will be significant in the case of a curved pipe members.

Plug member for use in coating an interior surface of a pipe


A method is disclosed to reconfigure a storage array. The method supplies a data storage and retrieval system comprising (N) data storage device assemblies, wherein each of those (N) data storage device assemblies comprises (M) data storage devices, wherein (N) is greater than or equal to 2, and wherein (M) is greater than or equal to 2. The method configures those (N) data storage device assemblies to comprise a spare data storage device assembly and a first storage array comprising the remaining (N−1) data storage device assemblies. In the event Applicants' method detects a failed data storage device disposed in the first storage array, then the method forms a second storage array comprising the first storage array, except the failed data storage device, in combination with a data storage device disposed in the spare data storage device assembly.

Data storage and retrieval systems are used to store information provided by one or more host computer systems. Such data storage and retrieval systems receive requests to write information to a plurality of data storage devices, and requests to retrieve information from that plurality of data storage devices. Upon receipt of a read request, the system recalls information from the plurality of data storage devices, and optionally moves that information to a data cache. Thus, the system is continuously moving information to and from a plurality of data storage devices, and optionally to and from a data cache.
It is known in the art to configure the plurality of data storage devices to form a storage array. It is further known to write information to such a storage array using a number of RAID protocols.
In order to reduce the physical size and/or cost of the data storage and retrieval system, what is needed is a data storage and retrieval system wherein the plurality of data storage devices comprises two or more data storage device assemblies, wherein each of those assemblies comprises two or more data storage devices. What is further needed is a method to reconfigure a data storage array comprising a plurality of data storage device assemblies upon the failure of a data storage device disposed in one of those data storage device assemblies.

Apparatus and method to reconfigure a storage array

International Business Machines Corporation


A method and system for clock synchronization in an electronic device based on time based control is disclosed. The method includes comparing a current value of a cumulative phase difference between a signal generated by a device clock and a reference signal, with a reset threshold. The method further includes generating a control value, when the current value is greater than the reset threshold. Generating the control value includes computing a startup correction value based on a time lapsed after reset of the device clock, a dynamic correction value based on an accuracy factor, a clock constant, and a comparison of a current phase difference between with a high error threshold, and computing the control value based on the startup correction value, the dynamic correction value, and the current value of the cumulative phase difference. The method includes adjusting a frequency of the device clock based on the control value.

Most communication equipment and devices use a high accuracy device clock to achieve accurate synchronization with each other to enable effective undisrupted near real-time communication. This kind of synchronization is achieved with the help of a master reference clock and control mechanisms implemented within the device clock. In general, a Phase Locked Loop (PLL) based control mechanism is in place on a master device to control the device clock based reference signal, in order to keep the expected clock out frequency. Additionally, such a PLL technique requires the communication network elements to be synchronized to avoid communication disruptions, which may occur due to frame drops, defective frame size, and interference issues on radio frequency links. Further, the synchronization requirements may vary depending on the type of network communication, standards adoption and, synchronization mechanisms, such as, frequency, phase, and time synchronization. Also, the accuracy variation limit for each of these synchronizations also varies across the networks and mode of communications, depending on the applications.
However, the device clock experiences a time/frequency deviation over a time due to aging and temperature impacts. This results in slow deviations in frequency of the device clock within a communication equipment and devices. These deviations are non-linear and are hard to predict immediately. Also, most of the existing conventional synchronization correction control mechanisms have various limitations. For example, there may be possible variations in the reference master signals, i.e., different master references may have different intensity of variations. Hence, variations in the reference master signals need to be filtered out to maximum by considering the master reference accuracy to determine an accurate error. In another example, the speed of correction needs to be controlled in a judicious manner based on the current observed error and the synchronization situation. During startup of an equipment or device, the error in frequency out of the device clock may be high and may need to be corrected faster in order to achieve quick convergence with the master reference. The magnitude and speed of correction may also depend on the type of device clock used in the device. Hence a device clock with high Clock Accuracy Factor (CAF) or with a lesser drift value usually needs to be corrected less often than a device clock that has less CAF.
In a convention mechanism, All Digital Phase-Locked Loop (ADPLL) based clock correction is provided. The efficiency of a DPLL/ADPLL is primarily determined by the precision (required amount of correction) of the correction applied to the device clock and the lead time (number of cycles) it takes for the device clock to converge to the expected frequency. However, variation in master reference signal may impact the efficiency of correction. Also, determination of a control value based on previous control values alone may impact the efficiency as well due to over/under corrections. This conventional mechanism does not take a type associated with the master reference signal into consideration and unwanted effect/error due to variations of master reference signal may not be properly nullified (filtered) without filtering the variations. For example, the master reference signal accuracy from different Global Positioning System (GPS) modules may be different, similarly the master reference signal accuracy of GPS is different from that of Synchronous Ethernet (SyncE). Hence a constant filter mechanism may be inefficient here. Also, the conventional mechanism discloses determination of the control value by subtracting previous control values. This may sometimes result in under/over-correction, if the prior control values happens to be relative higher or smaller in magnitude than the current control value.
In another conventional mechanism, efficiency issues are addressed by computing the correction value. However, this conventional mechanism fails to disclose the mechanism used to decide whether the correction is needed at any given moment to the device clock or not. The correction thus tries to overshoot the desired device clock frequency over time. This happens due to the fact that the decision for correction is always affirmative and the amount of correction depends on the averaged previous corrections. This may lead to instability in the system due to unwanted and/or inappropriate corrections.
In yet another conventional mechanism, correction of the device clock for temperature variations is provided. The method involves adding a derived value (from a current Digital Analog Converter (DAC) code and fixed/mid DAC value) to an accumulated error, When the derived value is greater than a pre-determined threshold, the final control value is incremented or decremented step by step. However, this conventional mechanism does not consider some aspects for a more efficient synchronization mechanism. The aspects include faster convergence to the master reference clock during startup and high error scenarios, applicability towards wider device clock types based on the CAF, and the reference signal accuracy for efficiently eliminating the variations in the reference signal.
Another conventional mechanism is based on Kalman filtering method, where deviations in the reference skew are filtered out. However, this conventional mechanism does not consider applicability of this method to different device clock accuracy types and the implementation of this filter is limited and complex due to multi-dimension matrix arithmetic involved.

Method and system for clock synchronization based on time based control


Identification of pulmonary diseases involves accurate auscultation as well as elaborate and expensive pulmonary function tests. Also, there is a dependency on a reference signal from a flowmeter or need for labelled respiratory phases. The present disclosure provides extraction of frequency and time-frequency domain lung sound features such as spectral and spectrogram features respectively that enable classification of healthy and abnormal lung sounds without the dependencies of prior art. Furthermore extraction of wavelet and cepstral features improves accuracy of classification. The lung sound signals are pre-processed prior to feature extraction to eliminate heart sounds and reduce computational requirements while ensuring that information providing adequate discrimination between healthy and abnormal lung sounds is not lost.

There has been a massive increase in the occurrence of pulmonary diseases worldwide, due to increasing pollution, effect of burning biomass, human habits like smoking and the like. Obstructive Airway Diseases (OAD) like Asthma or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), characterized by narrowing of the airways has emerged as reasons for major concern. Identification of abnormal lung sounds is a first step in diagnoses of such diseases. Auscultation to screen the presence of abnormality is an entirely manual process and lung sounds being inherently aperiodic signals, an abnormality may not surface throughout a recording for a subject, making diagnosis difficult. Further, skewed doctor-to-patient ratio in developing countries often leads to failure in timely diagnosis. Traditional known methods for identification of abnormal lung sounds use a reference flowmeter signal along with lung sounds to label the respiratory phases or manually separate them out. Some conventional methods involve deep learning to identify features for lung sound analysis. However, such features are often not physically interpretable and hence not relevant to the medical fraternity for screening pulmonary abnormalities.

Systems and methods for detecting pulmonary abnormalities using lung sounds


A sample and hold inductor current sense configuration senses inductor current flowing through an output inductor of a voltage regulator and generates an average of the sensed inductor current. The average of the sensed inductor current may be generated from samples of peaks and valleys of the sensed inductor current. For example, the peak of the sensed inductor current may be stored in a first capacitor and the valley of the sensed inductor current may be stored in a second capacitor. The first and second capacitors may be coupled together to generate the average of the sensed inductor current. The average of the sensed inductor current may be provided to a droop control circuit to control droop of an output voltage of the voltage regulator. An input offset voltage of a current sense amplifier sensing the inductor current may be calibrated between samplings of the sensed inductor current.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electrical circuits, and more particularly but not exclusively to voltage regulators.
2. Description of the Background Art
A voltage regulator generates a regulated output voltage VOUT from an input voltage VIN. Ideally, the voltage regulator maintains the output voltage VOUT within regulation despite varying load current. However, this is not always the case in real world conditions. The output voltage VOUT of a practical voltage regulator may droop, i.e., decrease linearly, with changing load current. Droop control circuits have been developed to control output voltage droop. However, a droop control circuit must be able to accurately detect load current in order to control droop voltage.
The present disclosure pertains to detecting the average of sensed inductor current, which may be used for droop control and other voltage regulator applications.

Sample and hold technique for generating an average of sensed inductor current in voltage regulators


A shift register comprising a plurality of shift register stages {SN}, N=1, 2, . . . , M, M being a nonzero positive integer. Each of the plurality of shift register stages, SN, comprises a first input, a second input, a third input for receiving a first clock signal CK, a fourth input for receiving a second clock signal XCK, an output for providing an output signal OUT(N), therefrom. The plurality of stages {SN} is electrically connected to each other in serial such that the first input of the shift register stage SN is electrically connected to the output of the (N−1)-th shift register stage SN−1 for receiving an output signal OUT(N−1) therefrom, the second input of the shift register stage SN is electrically connected to the output of the (N+1)-th shift register stage SN+1 for receiving an output signal OUT(N+1) therefrom, and the output of the shift register stage SN is electrically connected to the first input of the (N+1)-th shift register stage, SN+1 for providing the output signal OUT(N+1) thereto.

A shift register circuit has been of widespread applications in electronic devices such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an electroluminescence display, or an organic light emitting diode display, and so on.
FIG. 9 shows a conventional bidirectional shift register as disclosed by U.S. Pub. No. 2009/0122951 to Tobita. The shift register SRk has three circuits with each having a function as a shift register at one stage, i.e., a gate line drive unit 41, a forward shift unit 42, and a backward shift unite 43. The gate line driver 41 is provided with an inverter having the node N1 as its input end. The inverter is composed of a capacitive element C2 and a transistor Q6 and it is a capacitive load type inverter in which the capacitive element C2 is a load element. It is noted that this inverter differs from a normal inverter in that the clock signal to be inputted to the first clock terminal CK1 is supplied as a power supply. That is, the transistor Q1 is a transistor to supply the clock signal inputted to the first clock terminal CK1 to the output terminal OUT.
Although the forward shift unit 42 itself does not include the inverter in this embodiment, the output of the inverter composed of the capacitive element C2 and the transistor Q6 of the gate line drive unit 41 is shared by the forward shift unit 42. That is, the transistor Q2An is connected to the node N2 serving as the output end of the inverter in the gate line drive unit 41. In addition, the gate of a transistor Q5n connected between the node N1n and the first power supply terminal S1 is connected to the node N2. The gate of the transistor Q2Bn is connected to the second clock terminal CK2.
Meanwhile, transistors Q1r, Q2Ar and Q2Br are connected to the backward output terminal OUTr of the backward shift unit 43. The transistor Q1r is connected between the backward output terminal OUTr and the first backward clock terminal CK1r. That is, the transistor Q1r is a transistor to supply the clock signal inputted to the first backward clock terminal CK1r to the backward output terminal OUTr. Both transistors Q2Ar and Q2Br are connected between the backward output terminal OUTr and the first power supply terminal S1. Thus, transistors Q2Ar and Q2Br function to discharge the backward output terminal OUTr. Here, the gate node of the transistor Q1r is defined as "node N1r".
A capacitive element C1r is provided between the gate and the source of the transistor Q1r, that is, between the node N1r and the backward output terminal OUTr. The capacitive element C1r enhances the boosting effect of the node N1r so as to correspond to the level rise of the backward output terminal OUTr. When the capacity between the gate and the channel of the transistor Q1r is sufficiently high, the capacitive element C1r may be also replaced by it and omitted.
Although the backward shift unit 43 also does not include the inverter, the output of the inverter of the gate line drive unit 41 is shared by the backward shift unit 43. That is, the transistor Q2Ar is connected to the node N2 serving as the output end of the inverter in the gate line drive unit 41. The gate of a transistor Q5r connected between the node N1r and the first power supply terminal S1 is also connected to the node N2. The gate of the transistor Q2Br is connected to the second clock terminal CK2.
FIG. 10 shows a conventional bidirectional unite shift register as disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 7,436,923 to Tobita. In the bidirectional unit shift register, an output stage of the unit shift register SR is constituted by a transistor Q1 connected between the output terminal OUT and the first clock terminal CK1; and transistors Q2 and Q8 both connected between the output terminal OUT and the first power supply terminal S1. In other words, the transistor Q1 is a transistor that supplies a clock signal inputted to the first clock terminal CK1 to the output terminal OUT, and the transistors Q2 and Q8 are transistors that supply a potential at the first Power supply terminal S1 to the output terminal OUT thereby to discharge the output terminal OUT.
The first voltage signal Vn and the second voltage signal Vr are complementary to each other in such a manner that their levels are switched according to the direction of shift of the signals. Specifically, the first voltage signal Vn becomes HIGH level and the second voltage signal Vr becomes LOW level for a forward shift, while the second voltage signal Vr becomes HIGH level and the first voltage signal becomes LOW level for a backward shift.
The node N1 is connected to first and second pull-down circuits 41 and 42 that discharge the node N1. These first and second pull-down circuits 41 and 42 operate in such a manner that they discharge the node N1 during the non-selected period of the unit shift register SR (during the period when the node N1 is not charged), and that they do not discharge the node N1 during the period (selected period) when the unit shift register SR is selected (during the period when the node N1 is charged).
The first pull-down circuit 41 includes transistors Q5A and Q7A and a capacitive element C2A, and similarly, the second pull-down circuit 42 includes transistors Q5B and Q7B and a capacitive element C2B.
In the first pull-down circuit 41, the transistor Q5A is connected between the node N1 and the first power supply terminal S1. Herein, a node connected to the gate of the transistor Q5A is defined as a "node N3." The transistor Q7A is connected between this node N3 and the first power supply terminal S1 so that its gate is connected to the node N1. The capacitive element C2A is connected between the node N3 and the first clock terminal CK1.
The capacitive element C2A and the transistor Q7A form an inverter using the node N1 as the input end and the node N3 as the output end. That is, this inverter is an inverter with capacitive load, using the capacitive element C2A as its load element, and its output is inputted to the gate of the aforementioned transistor Q5A. However, this inverter differs from traditional ones in that its power supply is a clock signal inputted to the first clock terminal CK1. That is, this inverter operates in an alternating manner by being activated by a clock signal inputted to the first clock terminal CK1. Thus, the capacitive element C2A serves not only as the load element of the inverter but also as a coupling capacitance between the output end of the inverter and the first clock terminal CK1.
The second pull-down circuit 42 has a similar configuration to the aforementioned first pull-down circuit 41. The transistor Q5B is connected between the node N1 and the first power supply terminal S1. Herein, a node connected to the gate of the transistor Q5B is defined as a "node N4." The transistor Q7B is connected between the node N4 and the first power supply terminal S1 so that its gate is connected to the node N1. The capacitive element C2B is connected between the node N4 and the second clock terminal CK2.
The capacitive element C2B and the transistor Q7B form an inverter using the node N1 as the input end and the node N4 as the output end. In other words, this inverter is an inverter with capacitive load, using the capacitive element C2B as its load element, and its output is inputted to the gate of the aforementioned transistor Q5B. However, this inverter differs from traditional ones in that its power supply is a clock signal inputted to the second clock terminal CK2. That is, this inverter operates in an alternating manner by being activated by a clock signal inputted to the second clock terminal CK2. Thus, the capacitive element C2B serves not only as the load element of the inverter but also as a coupling capacitance between the output end of the inverter and the second clock terminal CK2.
However, such conventional bidirectional unite shift registers may cause large power consumption due to following reasons. Firstly, both of the two bidirectional unite shift registers include an inverter structure or the like which may result in larger power consumption. Secondly, as the gate of the transistors Q1 is connected to the first clock terminal CK1 for receiving the clock signal inputted and the drain of the transistors Q1 is connected to the output terminal OUT for outputting signals, the output terminal will be vulnerable to clock coupling effect, which may result in larger power consumption and unstable outputting wave form.
Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the art to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.

Shift register with low power consumption


A solid state color image pickup apparatus easily converts an output from a solid state image sensor to a television signal with a simple structure, thereby facilitating the reduction of the size, weight, power consumption and cost of the image pickup apparatus. A color filter, which has a plurality of color filter elements respectively facing light receiving elements of a solid state image sensor, modulates optical information so that an image pickup signal output from the solid state image sensor is composed of a luminance signal component and modulated color signal components, which are obtained by modulating, with two color-difference signals, two carrier waves having phases different from each other by .pi./2, the phases of the two carrier waves are different by .pi. every horizontal scanning period in each field of a television signal, and the luminance signal component has a spectral characteristic substantially the same as that of a luminance signal of a standard television system, the first color-difference signal has a spectral characteristic substantially the same as that of a signal obtained by subtracting the luminance signal of the standard television system from a red signal of the standard television system, and the second color-difference signal has a spectral characteristic substantially the same as that of a signal obtained by subtracting the luminance signal of the standard television system from a blue signal of the standard television system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid state color image pickup apparatus using a solid state image sensor, such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device).
2. Description of the Related Art
A so-called single chip color camera is well known, which obtains a color image signal by means of only one CCD image sensor. Since the single chip color camera, which is compact and light, is easy to handle and economically advantageous, it is utilized in image information input devices in various fields. The single chip color camera comprises optical color filters for light receiving elements on the CCD image sensor to separate color information from one another.
In the single chip color camera, conventional image signal processing means have the following structure. An optical image focused by an image pickup lens is imaged on an image pickup surface of the CCD image sensor through color filters. The CCD image sensor outputs an image signal corresponding to the optical image. The image pickup signal is amplified to a predetermined level by an amplifier. The amplified signal is converted to a digital signal by an A/D (analog/digital) converter.
The digital video signal output from the A/D converter is directly supplied to a color separator, and also 1H delayed by a 1H (horizontal scanning period) delay line and thereafter supplied to the color separator. The color separator performs a matrix process for Mg, G, Cy and Ye signals corresponding to the color elements of the color filters, thereby generating three primary color signals, G, B and R signals.
The three primary color signals are subjected to processes in a television camera, such as a white balance process and a gamma control. The three primary color signals are further subjected to a matrix process, and converted to a luminance signal Y and two color-difference signals (R-Y.sub.L) and (B-Y.sub.L). Y.sub.L is a low-pass component of the luminance signal Y. The two color-difference signals (R-Y.sub.L) and (B-Y.sub.L) are respectively supplied to the corresponding modulators.
A sub-carrier signal of 3.579545 MHz is phase-shifted by a phase shifter and supplied to the (R-Y.sub.L) modulator. Further, a sub-carrier signal of 3.579545 MHz is directly supplied to the (B-Y.sub.L) modulator. Therefore, the phase-shifted sub-carrier signal is modulated with the color-difference signal (R-Y.sub.L) by the (R-Y.sub.L) modulator and the sub-carrier signal is modulated with the color difference signal (B-Y.sub.L) by the (B-Y.sub.L) modulator.
Output signals from the (R-Y.sub.L) and (B-Y.sub.L) modulators are added together by an adder, and thereafter converted to an analog signal by a D/A (digital to analog) converter, so that a modulated color signal C.sub.A is generated. The aforementioned luminance signal Y is also supplied to the D/A converter and converted to an analog luminance signal Y.sub.A.
The modulated color signal C.sub.A and the luminance signal Y.sub.A are added to a color burst signal and a sync signal by another adder. As a result, a television signal of NTSC (National Television System Committee), one of the standard television systems, is generated.
As described above, to convert a video signal output from the CCD image sensor to a television signal of the NTSC system, the conventional video signal processing means perform a series of signal processes, in which the video signal is subjected to a color separating process to obtain three primary color G, B and R signals; the G, B and R signals are subjected to a process/matrix process to obtain a luminance signal Y and two color-difference signals (R-Y.sub.L) and (B-Y.sub.L); and the sub-carrier signal of 3.579545 MHz is subjected to quadrature modulation with the color-difference signals (R-Y.sub.L) and (B-Y.sub.L) to obtain a modulated color signal C.sub.A.
To execute the above series of signal processes, circuit blocks are inevitably required. For this reason, although the color camera uses a CCD image-pickup element, which is compact, light, low-power consuming and inexpensive, there is a problem that the size, weight, power consumption and cost of the camera itself cannot be sufficiently reduced.
Even if most of the signal processing circuit blocks are integrated as an IC to improve the integration density, the above problem cannot be practically solved, since the reduction of the size and weight, power consumption and cost of a camera is limited to a certain degree. The above problem is posed whether the signal processing in the camera is analog or digital, because the circuit blocks are required to perform the above series of signal processes in either case.
As described above, in the conventional video signal processing means in a color camera having a CCD image sensor, to convert a video signal output from the CCD image sensor to a television signal of the standard system, complicated signal processes are required. The conventional art therefore has a problem in that the reduction of the size, weight, power consumption and cost of the camera itself is limited.

Solid state color image pickup apparatus


A method of laser surgery, comprising the steps of selecting lasers whose output radiation has appropriate extinction lengths in the tissue to be ablated, coagulated, and/or shrunk, and directing radiation from those lasers coaxially and substantially simultaneously at the tissue.

The present invention relates to a method for performing laser surgery and, more particularly, to a method for simultaneously ablating, coagulating, and/or shrinking biological tissue.
Directing coherent radiation from a laser at a target is a well known method for precisely cutting that target by ablating or vaporizing a portion of it. When the target is living biological tissue, the dynamic nature of the target poses special problems. For example, fluids such as blood may flow into the area of the cut, obscuring that area and absorbing part of the energy that otherwise would go into ablating the target.
This problem can be mitigated by directing beams of coherent radiation of two or more wavelengths at the tissue, one beam to ablate the tissue and the other to perform some other action, such as coagulating small blood vessels to prevent inflow of blood. For example, Freiberg, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,139,494, which is incorporated by reference for our purposes as if fully set forth herein, advocates using radiation in a range of wavelengths between about 0.1 and about 0.3 microns, and between about 2.0 and about 12.0 microns, for ablative cutting, and radiation in a range of wavelengths between about 0.3 microns and about 2.0 microns for coagulation. These beams of coherent radiation are directed coaxially at the tissue to be cut. Suitable means for combining laser beams coaxially are well known in the art. One such means is disclosed by Nakajima in U.S. Pat. No. 4,408,602. Another is disclosed by Jako in U.S. Pat. No. 4,503,854. Both of these patents are incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
Among the surgical procedures to which laser surgery may be applied are skin resurfacing and hair implantation. In skin resurfacing, the upper layer of skin is ablated by a first laser beam while the underlying collagen is coagulated and shrunk by a second laser beam. In hair implantation, the accuracy of the drilling of holes for the implantation of new hair using a first laser beam is enhanced by the use of a second laser beam to coagulate small blood vessels and prevent inflow of blood. Both of these procedures are very delicate and require precise selection and control of the wavelengths, intensities and durations of the laser beams.
There is thus a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, a more precise method for using lasers to perform delicate surgical procedures such as skin resurfacing and hair implantation.


A combustor assembly is provided comprising a combustor casing; a liner coupled to the combustor casing; a burner assembly coupled to the combustor casing; and at least one resonator assembly. The resonator assembly comprises a resonator outer plate having at least one opening, a resonator side wall coupled to the resonator outer plate, and a resonator inner plate defined by a portion of the liner. The resonator inner plate is coupled to the resonator side wall and has at least one slot formed therein having an aspect ratio of at least 4:1.

Gas turbine engines including a can-annular combustion system comprise a compressor and a turbine. The can-annular combustion system comprises a plurality of combustor assemblies and a like number of transition ducts. In one design, these combustor assemblies comprise a combustor casing, a burner assembly, and a combustor liner. Each transition duct connects a corresponding combustor liner to an inlet of the turbine. Compressed air enters each combustor assembly from the compressor, and is mixed with fuel in the burner assembly. The fuel and air mixtures burns within the combustor liner and transition duct, and the combustion products exit the transition duct into the turbine. The coupling of heat release oscillations with the acoustics of the combustor assembly is known to cause combustor acoustic pressure oscillations. These pressure oscillations can occur over a wide range of frequencies, depending upon the geometry of the combustor assembly and the heat release profile within the combustor assembly. These pressure oscillations in the combustor assembly can cause high cycle fatigue, leading to reduced life of combustion assembly components or restricted engine operation.
One known method for controlling combustion acoustic pressure oscillations is to incorporate Helmholtz resonator assemblies into the liner. These resonator assemblies are commonly used to damp high frequency pressure oscillations in gas turbine combustor assemblies. Because the resonator assemblies for controlling high frequency pressure oscillations are typically compact, they can be easily located on the combustor assembly liners. A known resonator assembly comprises a resonator outer plate having a plurality of generally circular openings closely spaced relative to one another and positioned over substantially the entire surface area of the outer plate, a resonator side wall coupled to the resonator outer plate, and a resonator inner plate defined by a portion of the liner. The resonator inner plate is provided with a plurality of closely spaced openings that are located over substantially the entire surface area of the inner plate. Air is supplied through the openings in the outer plate, into an inner cavity defined by the resonator inner and outer plates and side wall and then through the openings in the resonator inner plate. The plurality of resonator assemblies are spaced apart circumferentially about the liner and are generally positioned in alignment in an axial direction.
A thermal barrier coating is applied to a substantial portion of the inner surface of the liner to protect the liner from the hot combustion products passing therethrough. However, the thermal barrier coating can lengthen a neck of each Helmholtz resonator assembly, thus altering its damping performance. Therefore, prior to applying the thermal barrier coating to the liner inner surface, masking material is typically applied over the area where the openings are located so as to prevent thermal barrier coating material from being applied to the inner surfaces of the resonator inner plates. Since the resonator inner plates include a plurality of closely spaced openings, it is impractical to mask only the areas adjacent to the openings while leaving the areas between the openings unmasked. Therefore masking material is typically applied in a circumferential band to the inner surface of the liner. This masking technique prevents thermal barrier coating material from being applied in the areas adjacent to the resonator assembly openings, but also prevents the thermal barrier coating from being applied to the areas between resonator assemblies. Those unprotected portions of the liner inner surface are exposed to the hot combustion products passing through the liner and, as a result, require cooling air that flows through the resonator assemblies. A minimum amount of cooling air is required to prevent overheating of the liner, which may result in thermal fatigue of the liner and part failure.

Combustor assembly including one or more resonator assemblies and process for forming same


The present invention features improved methods for the enhanced production of pantoate and pantothenate utilizing microorganisms having modified pantothenate biosynthetic enzyme activities and having modified methylenetetrahydrofolate (MTF) biosynthetic enzyme activities. In particular, the invention features methods for enhancing production of desired products by increasing levels of a key intermediate, ketopantoate by enzymes that contribute to its synthesis. Recombinant microorganisms and conditions for culturing same are also are featured. Also featured are compositions produced by such microorganisms.

Pantothenate, also known as pantothenic acid or vitamin B5, is a member of the B complex of vitamins and is a nutritional requirement for mammals, including livestock and humans (e.g., from food sources, as a water soluble vitamin supplement or as a feed additive). In cells, pantothenate is used primarily for the biosynthesis of coenzyme A (CoA) and acyl carrier protein (ACP). These coenzymes function in the metabolism of acyl moieties which form thioesters with the sulfhydryl group of the 4′-phosphopantetheine portion of these molecules. These coenzymes are essential in all cells, participating in over 100 different intermediary reactions in cellular metabolism.
The conventional means of synthesizing pantothenate (in particular, the bioactive D isomer) is via chemical synthesis from bulk chemicals, a process which is hampered by excessive substrate cost as well as the requirement for optical resolution of racemic intermediates. Accordingly, researchers have recently looked to bacterial or microbial systems that produce enzymes useful in pantothenate biosynthesis processes (as bacteria are themselves capable of synthesizing pantothenate). In particular, bioconversion processes have been evaluated as a means of favoring production of the preferred isomer of pantothenic acid. Moreover, methods of direct microbial synthesis have recently been examined as a means of facilitating D-pantothenate production.
There is still, however, significant need for improved pantothenate production processes, in particular, for microbial processes optimized to produce higher yields of desired product.

Microorganisms and processes for enhanced production of pantothenate


A developing device, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus that use ETH development, and are capable of forming good multi-color images with a simple construction, and are capable of preventing the dispersal of powder. The developing device is for developing latent images on a latent image carrying member by applying powder to the latent image carrying member, and comprises: a transport member disposed in opposition to the latent image carrying member and having a plurality of transport electrodes that generate a progressive wave electric field to move the powder; a voltage supply device for applying a multi-phase voltage to the transport electrodes; and a transport member surface potential determination device for determining the surface potential of the transport member. The voltage supply device in the developing device according to the present invention applies a multi-phase voltage to the transport electrodes so that the surface potential on the transport member is between the potential of the image portions and the potential of the non-image portions of the latent image carrying member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a developing device, a process cartridge, and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly relates to a developing device that uses Electrostatic Transport & Hopping (ETH) and that can obtain high developing efficiency with low voltage drive, a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus that includes this developing device.
2. Description of the Background Art
Image forming apparatuses such as copying machines, printers, or facsimile machines use a xerographic process to form a latent image on an latent image carrying member. A powder developer (hereafter referred to as toner) is applied to the latent image to develop the latent image so that a toner image is made visible. This toner image is transferred onto a recording medium, or temporarily transferred onto an intermediate transfer member before being transferred onto the recording medium, to form images.
In this type of image forming apparatus, it is known that conventionally in the developing device that develops latent images formed on the latent image carrying member, toner that is agitated within the developing device is carried on the surface of a developer carrying member, or a developing roller. By rotating the developing roller the toner is transported to a position in opposition to the surface of the latent image carrying member, and the latent image on the latent image carrying member is developed. Then after completion of developing, toner that has not been transferred to the latent image carrying member is recovered within the developing device by the rotation of the developing roller. Then toner is newly agitated, charged, and again transported by being carried on the developing roller.
Also, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H9-197781 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H9-329947, conventional image forming apparatuses are known which develop using the so-called jumping developing method. In this type of image forming apparatus DC and AC superimposed voltages are applied between the latent image carrying member and the developing roller. The toner is then transferred from the developing roller to the latent image carrying member without contact.
Further, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H5-031146, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H5-031147, and elsewhere, other conventional image forming apparatuses have been proposed in which toner is transported to a position in opposition to the latent image carrying member using an electrostatic transport substrate. The toner is vibrated, suspended, and aerosolized, and separates from the transport surface due to the force of attraction between the toner and the latent image carrying member and adheres to the surface of the latent image carrying member. Also, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H8-003673, image forming apparatuses that obtain color images by superimposing toner in many colors onto the latent image, in which the method of making the toner jump from the developing roller is used are known. Also, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H3-021967, image forming apparatuses have been proposed in which superimposed developing is carried with toner that has been suspended by the electric field curtain effect.
However, in image forming apparatuses having a developing device that provides toner to the latent image carrying member using a developing roller as described above, toner penetrates between the developing roller and the side plate of the developing device, causing rubbing and accretion of toner. This can adversely affect images, as the sealant material around the developing device deteriorates with age, and images become dirty due to suspension of toner caused by agitation and charging of developer or toner within the developing device.
Also, when toner is charged by friction charging or corona discharge charging, toner that is a mixture of saturated charged toner and unsaturated charged toner is obtained, that has a large charge distribution. If this kind of toner is forcibly transferred to the developing roller using a magnetic brush or transfer roller, some of the toner with a small charge that is carried on the developing roller separates from the developing roller, due to the developing speed (linear speed about 100 cm/sec.) of the developing roller. As a result toner becomes suspended, and the images formed can become dirty.
Further, in developing devices that use so-called jumping development, toner charged by a high voltage must be provided. Therefore, a high voltage source is required, which can create the problems of increasing the size of the device and increasing the cost. Also, the current problem for image forming apparatuses using powder is how to satisfy the requirements of image quality, cost, and environment.
Also, when forming a color image, for image quality 1200 dpi isolated dots of only 30 μm diameter must be formed. For this purpose also it is desirable that developing be carried with no dirt. Further, reducing cost is important, not just the cost of the developing unit and the toner, but also the total cost including maintenance and final disposal cost. Also, for the environment it is important to prevent toner which is a fine powder from being dispersed within or outside the device.
Technologies relating to the present invention are also disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent No. 3,376,199.

Developing device using electrostatic transport and hopping (ETH)


Computer-implemented methods and systems for efficient alphanumeric encoding for arbitrary payload data are disclosed. The computer-implemented method, performed by a server system, includes accessing URI-oriented payload data. The method further includes converting the URI-oriented payload data into an alphanumeric data type based, at least in part, on an alphanumeric encoding method. The alphanumeric encoding method may be one of BASE36, BASE37, BASE38-QR-URI-UNRESERVED, BASE42, BASE45, Base64, Base66, Base183, and Base191. The method further includes generating a machine-readable code based, at least in part, on the converted URI-oriented payload data.

Currently, inefficient encoding techniques for various barcode-URI creation have been adopted by the industry. These techniques use various character encodings with varying levels of interoperability due to which most systems use inefficient encodings. The industry has many encoding techniques for strings, especially those used in 1D or 2D barcode encoding. For example, an existing serial number may be decimal, hexadecimal, or base 32 and be represented as text or a barcode. Any industry number, serial, or other encoded string can be treated as a number and converted into another radix, alphabet, or both. However, existing industry conversion systems use varying encoding methods. RFC 4648 base32 is one such system that uses a different encoding method, what is termed as a "bucket" method when compared to the standard RFC 4648 base16, which is compatible with an iterative divide by radix approach.
Base conversion, or number system conversion is used to convert a given number in a given base to another number in another given base. For example, the base 2 (binary) string "11111111111111111" is "131,071" in base 10 (decimal), "1FFFF" in base 16 (hexadecimal), or "fxr" in base 58 (e.g., an encoding used by Bitcoin). For each increase in the size of the base, the resulting string size is smaller. The relation that larger bases tend to result in small strings is a key feature in the field of encoding.
If readability, size, aesthetics, error correction, and efficiency are potential concerns, the encoding must be considered. To keep QR codes maximally readable, the most efficient encoding for an application should be used. By efficiently encoding data, QR codes use less physical space and are more readable by machinery and end-users. One might assume that encoding is irrelevant for small strings. However, efficient encoding allows even small strings to employ better error correction without increasing the QR version.
In light of the above discussion, there is a need for technical solutions for efficiently encoding URIs using customized alphanumeric encoding methods.

Methods and systems for encoding URI for arbitrary payload data based on alphanumeric encoding methods


A chute opener for opening a chute of a grain trailer is provided. The chute opener uses a motor coupled to a motor gear to drive a shaft gear. The shaft gear drives a crank shaft coupled to the chute of the grain trailer. The gears can be disengaged to enable manual operation of the chute by a hand crank. A position sensor can be provided which determines a position of the shaft gear even when disengaged from the drive gear to maintain accurate chute positioning information.

Chutes on grain trailers can be opened by the rotation of a crank to allow discharge of the contents of the trailer. The opening of the chute can be performed by manual rotation or can be opened by a powered chute opener. When chute openers are utilized manual operation of the chute can be difficult once the chute opener is installed and not provide convenient transition between automatic and manual operation. In addition manual operation can impact the automatic operation of the chute opener as manual operation can impact the calibration of the chute opener. Accordingly, an improved chute opener remains highly desirable.
It will be noted that throughout the appended drawings, like features are identified by like reference numerals.


A smart card module for a smart card, comprising a chip having electrical contacts at a front side; a first laminate layer, wherein a rear side of the chip is connected to the first laminate layer, the rear side of the chip opposite the front side; a second laminate layer; a first conductive layer, wherein the electrical contacts of the chip are connected to the first conductive layer and the first conductive layer is arranged between the chip and the second laminate layer; and an adhesive material arranged between the chip and the conductive layer and/or the second laminate layer.

The invention is generally concerned with the very large scale integration of electronic elements or of circuits integrated in a housing, or of electronic modules, which are designated as "smart card module" in the present invention.
In many areas of electronics, sensor technology and microsystems engineering, the production requirements exert pressure that drives increasing miniaturization and increasing productivity by combining subsystems in more highly integrated structures. The trend toward ever more highly integrated and more compact designs that can also be used directly in smart cards already leads to the use of components that are arranged directly in modules. Such modules are, for example, the contactless modules of the known design series MCC, MOB or MOA. In these modules, the chip is contact-connected by means of so-called wire bonds and enveloped by a plastic enclosure (mold). Owing to the dictates of construction, this type of integration leads to a large total thickness of the module and thereby makes integration into a smart card more difficult.
Furthermore, contactless smart card modules are known, such as the MFCC1 module, for example. In the MFCC1, the chip is contact-connected by means of NiAu contacts using so-called flip-chip mounting. In flip-chip mounting, the chip is mounted with the active contact-connecting side facing downward directly toward the substrate or circuit carrier. As a result, a covering of the chip is no longer necessary. Consequently, the total thickness of the smart card module is principally determined by the chip thickness. However, such a contactless smart card module is highly susceptible to mechanical loading and has low flexural stiffness on account of the small chip thickness.
A method designated as frame adhesive bonding is likewise known. The desired stabilization or stiffening of the module is intended to be ensured by means of this method. In frame adhesive bonding, a frame is adhesively bonded onto the leadframe before further processing. However, this requires an adhesive that directly influences the total thickness of the module. Typical frame heights are 300 μm, and so module constructions of the required thickness cannot be realized. Furthermore, there is the risk here of delamination between frame and leadframe.


Data storage systems are provided having a segregated control plane architecture, a segregated data plane architecture, or a segregated control plane and segregated data plane architecture. For example, a data storage system includes a plurality of media nodes and a plurality of data nodes coupled to the media nodes. The media nodes control and manage persistent storage elements. Each data node includes at least one hardware processor configured to execute data plane functions and control plane functions, wherein at least one of (i) the data plane functions of a given one of the data nodes are segregated and executed by different hardware processors and (ii) the control plane functions of a given one of the data nodes are segregated and executed by different hardware processors.

Conventional data storage architectures have leveraged technological advances in general purpose microprocessors to run integrated storage control plane and data plane architectures, wherein the storage processing control and data plane functions have been converged onto a general purpose microprocessor. Such conventional architectures are problematic for various reasons. For example, general purpose microprocessor solutions may provide sub-optimal performance in executing certain data plane functions. Moreover, integrated control and data plane architectures require tight coupling between media (e.g., disk and FLASH) and compute elements. This tight coupling fixes compute-to-media ratios, and makes scaling difficult. This limitation manifests itself as reduced system efficiency across widely varying workloads. Furthermore, current storage architectures are difficult to scale out. Indeed, system scale out requires sharing of system information amongst system elements. As the amount of shared information can increase exponentially, the amount of available system resources (memory bandwidth, CPU cycles, I/O bandwidth, etc.) can be readily exceeded. Moreover, future workloads are difficult to predict, especially in hyper scale computing in distributed computing environment in which the demand for certain types of workloads (as well as volume of data) can increase exponentially.

Data storage system having segregated control plane and/or segregated data plane architecture


A layered solid formulation (100a) as one hydrogen supply material (200) according to the present invention includes silicon fine particles having a capability of generating hydrogen and aggregates of the silicon fine particles, and a physiologically acceptable medium (90b) that gets contact with the silicon fine particles or the aggregates thereof. The hydrogen supply material (200) is a hydrogen supply material for bringing the hydrogen into contact with the skin and/or the mucous membrane through the medium (90b).

Active oxygen derived from oxygen generated in the body and oxygen taken in from the lung is present in the body of an animal including a human. Active oxygen is known to oxidize and damage cells that form a living body while it is necessary for life support. For example, active oxygen, particularly a hydroxyl radical which has the strongest oxidizing power in active oxygen is considered to cause various diseases such as cancer, stroke, myocardial infarction, diabetes, other lifestyle diseases, and skin disorders such as skin aging and dermatitis. The hydroxyl radical is also said to adversely affect skin whitening or hair growth (including spots and dullness, or hair loss). Therefore, it is desirable that excess active oxygen, particularly the hydroxyl radical, which has not been used in a reaction useful for a living body, be prevented from being present in the body wherever possible.
Hydroxyl radicals produced in the body are eliminated by reacting with some substances. Hydrogen is known as one example of the substances that eliminate hydroxyl radicals. It is water that is produced by hydrogen reacting with hydroxyl radicals, and hydrogen does not produce substances harmful to a living body. Thus, a device for producing hydrogen water containing hydrogen which eliminates hydroxyl radicals in the body has been proposed (e.g. Patent Document 1).
The concentration of hydrogen in the hydrogen water, however, is as low as 1.6 ppm (saturated hydrogen concentration) at a maximum. Further, hydrogen in the hydrogen water is easily diffused into air to remarkably reduce the concentration of hydrogen with elapse of time. Therefore, a method of ingesting hydrogen water does not make it easy to lake in the body a sufficient amount of hydrogen for reacting with hydroxyl radicals in the body. Thus, for making it easy to take hydrogen in the body, a hydrogen-containing composition containing hydrogen and a surfactant has been proposed (Patent Document 2).
Meanwhile, the present inventors have researched decomposition of water and generation of hydrogen by silicon nanoparticles and the results of the research have been described (Non-Patent Document 1 and Patent Documents 3 and 4).

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Hydrogen supply material and production therefor, and hydrogen supply method


An imaging system is described which can be used to either passively search for sources of ultrasonics or as an active phase imaging system, which can image fires, gas leaks, or air temperature gradients. This system uses an array of ultrasonic receivers coupled to an ultrasound collector or lens to provide an electronic image of the ultrasound intensity in a selected angular region of space. A system is described which includes a video camera to provide a visual reference to a region being examined for ultrasonic signals.

Systems used to store and transport high pressure gases are susceptible to containment leaks. These leaks can be both dangerous and difficult to detect. Detection of small leaks in high pressure pipes and storage devices is compounded when the leak site is in an area which is difficult to access, such as a complicated network of pipes. For example, a high pressure hydrogen leak experienced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) grounded a space shuttle flight. To identify the leak location, ultrasonic leak detection equipment was placed on a pan and tilt stage within the space shuttle aft compartment to allow remotely operated leak searches. This system assisted in leak detection, but did not provide a system for imaging a region where an ultrasonic leak is located.
The size of leaks which need to be detected can be described in SCIMs (standard cubic inches per meter), but are best described as a function of the contained pressure and the leak orifice size. A small orifice combined with a sufficiently high pressure creates a jet-like leak. These jet-type leaks create turbulent pressure variations that can be detected with an ultrasonic transducer. Turbulence in air creates detectable sound in the 40 kHz range, and air coupled ultrasonic transducers can detect this frequency of noise given off by leaks. Hand-held leak locating devices having air coupled ultrasonic transducers can be used to detect leaks. For example, a hand-held leak detector is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/540,616, entitled "Ultrasonic Leak Detection System", filed on Oct. 17, 1995, incorporated herein by reference. While such systems provide a useful means for detecting ultrasonic leaks, they lack the ability to provide an image of a region containing a leak.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for an ultrasonic detection system which produces an ultrasonic image of a region of space so that an ultrasonic leak source can be found from its location in the ultrasonic image.

The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration


An alarm tag releasing device is provided for a theft monitoring device. The theft monitoring device has a gate installed in a desired position and producing a theft monitoring region of a predetermined range by transmitting radio waves at a predetermined wavelength. A buzzer tag is attached to a protected item by a built-in lock mechanism so as not to be detached, and an alarm circuit operated by a built-in battery to sound an alarm when the radio waves at the predetermined wavelength are received when the buzzer tags enters the monitoring region, said alarm tag releasing device comprising: an insertion part having a shape corresponding to the outer diameter of the buzzer tag and into which the buzzer tag can be inserted, such that the lock mechanism provided in the buzzer tag is unlocked when the buzzer tag is inserted into the insertion part.

The present invention relates to a theft monitoring device for preventing shoplifting of merchandise and commodities, and an alarm tag releasing device which is used for the theft monitoring device, detaches an alarm tag attached to a commodity from the merchandise or commodity, and cancels a function of monitoring a monitored device.
A theft monitoring device is provided for monitoring commodities so as not to be illegally removed or stolen from a particular establishment. The theft monitoring device is constructed, for example, in such a manner that a monitoring device body (gate unit) having a transmitter is installed at the doorway of a shop and a monitored device (buzzer tag) is attached to a commodity to be monitored.
The buzzer tag has a receiving antenna for receiving radio waves from the transmitter of the gate unit, a receiver, an alarm device, and related components.
The gate unit monitors around the doorway as a monitoring region by transmitting radio waves from the transmitter at a predetermined frequency (for example, 32 kHz).
When a commodity with the buzzer tag is carried through the gate unit, the buzzer tag receives the radio waves from the gate unit and sounds an alarm from the alarm device.
When the buzzer tag is further provided with a transmitter and a transmitting antenna and the gate unit is provided with a receiver and a receiving antenna, so that if the commodity is carried through the gate unit, both of the buzzer tag and the gate unit sound alarms, thereby enhancing the theft preventing effect.
The buzzer tag is detached from the commodity by using a specific releasing device at a register when payment for the commodity is made.
However, since the buzzer tag can sound an alarm by being driven by a built-in battery, the alarm may not sound if the battery condition is deteriorated; as a result, the crime preventing effect deteriorates.
Although the buzzer tag itself consumes a very small amount of electricity, since the battery is used over long periods of time, it is necessary to change the battery every predetermined period. However, when it is constructed so that the state of the battery voltage can easily be detected by seeing the buzzer tag itself, the crime preventing effect cannot be obtained. Buzzer tags with low battery voltage indications would become targets for theft.
Due to this, the battery voltage of a conventional buzzer tag cannot be easily confirmed even by a person in charge of the theft monitoring device (manager of the register or the like).
Especially, when there are a plurality of such buzzer tags attached to respective commodities, it cannot be discriminated which buzzer tag has a consumed battery in appearance, so that the battery is not often changed even though it may be necessary.
As mentioned above, although the person in charge has to check the battery voltage of the buzzer tag, there is no means by which the time of the battery change can be easily known. Consequently, solving means by which the battery change time can be properly confirmed is strongly desired.
The buzzer tag has to be constructed so as not to be usually easily detached from a commodity, but is also requested to be easily detached from the commodity only by the person in charge. It is desirable that, for example, a work of detaching the buzzer tag from the commodity at the register upon payment for the commodity is performed as easily as possible.
In order to solve the problems, it is an object of the invention to provide an alarm tag releasing device by which the battery voltage of the buzzer tag can be easily confirmed at a proper time, thereby preventing battery exhaustion. The device can easily detach the buzzer tag from the commodity only by the person in charge, and can facilitate the detaching operation and maintenance of the buzzer tag which are necessary for operating a theft monitoring device using the buzzer tag.

Magnetic alarm tag releasing device for a theft monitoring device


A machine and a method of applying a non-Newtonian liquid composition onto a surface in a controlled manner. The composition is held in a chamber at a controlled variable pressure and is dispensed through a slit die nozzle as controlled by a valve. Characteristics of the composition are empirically developed and provided to a logic control circuit to assure that the composition is dispensed on either the entire surface or in one or more precise locations.

Applicator systems are used in a wide variety of manufacturing operations to apply compositions such as glue. For example, glue application systems are used in bottle labeling, can labeling, corrugated box making, manufacturing disposable diapers, and manufacturing other products that involve the application of glue.
Hot melt glue is one type of glue that is particularly well suited for applications where it is desired to apply glue at a high rate of speed. Applicants' assignee, B & H Manufacturing Company, Inc., provides labeling machines with a glue application system in which a glue wheel is provided with hot melt glue that is applied to a knurled roller and scraped off with a doctor blade in a process that is comparable to a gravure printing process.
While this system generally provides a reliable system for applying glue to labels at a high rate of speed, issues remain that relate to precise control of glue quantity, consistency of glue properties and minimizing the volume of glue required to secure a label. In addition, if the system is not properly set-up and maintained, glue splatter may result in application of glue to the vacuum drum that supports labels and the surrounding area. The removal of glue splatter may require periodic cleaning with solvents and may result in machine downtime. Re-circulation of large volumes of hot melt glue from the glue wheel type applicator results in repeatedly reheating a substantial quantity of the glue which may adversely affect glue properties. In addition, exposure of the glue to air on a glue wheel may result in degradation of the adhesive properties of the glue.
One alternative approach is disclosed in US2008/0014344A1 that suggests spraying a container with hot melt glue to adhere a leading end of a label from a cut and stack label magazine or a roll fed labeler to the container. Hot melt glue was proposed to be wiped onto the trailing edge of the label by a slit die nozzle that directly contacts the label to apply glue to the trailing edge that is then attached to the container or the label. A problem with this approach is that glue is extruded from the nozzle and "waits" on the head until the glue is smeared onto the trailing edge of the label material. A lack of control over the quantity of glue laid down on the label, or lay down weight, results in variation in the glue lay down weight as labeling speeds increase. This system fails to provide a method of controlling the lay down weight at variable speeds and is believed to have been limited to systems that apply labels at a rate of no more than about 300 containers per minute. When the slit die nozzle for hot melt glue application directly contacts the label, particularly with thinner labels, the label may be wrinkled or otherwise distorted. Another problem with this proposed approach is that the spring that is used to contact the slot gun with the trailing edge pad does not compensate for increases in centrifugal forces as labeling speeds increase which results in an increase in the contact force that may damage the trailing edge pad. Another problem is that may arise from variation in lay down weight is that the label may become jammed in the machine or otherwise misapplied to the container.
In other approaches, glue is provided to the slit die nozzle at a pressure that is controlled with the objective of maintaining a constant pressure level. However, as a valve is opened and closed to apply the glue an uneven distribution of glue is applied to the label. Another strategy for applying glue is to control the volume of glue applied by changing the speed of the glue pump in an effort to maintain a constant pressure. One problem with this approach is that it may result in an intermittent pattern of pressure spikes and thickness variation in the adhesive deposits. Another problem with this approach is that the quantity of glue applied is subject to variation.
Continuous application of an adhesive to a web of a plastic substrate in the manufacture of adhesive tape or pressure sensitive label material may be performed with a slit die coating nozzle that is controlled by controlling the volumetric flow of adhesive to a web that is continuous and moving at a constant rate of speed. However, volumetric control does not yield consistent and reliable application of glue with a controlled thickness when the speed of application changes. The glue is a compressible non-Newtonian liquid which renders volumetric control unreliable because it does not compensate for internal friction, the Reynolds number for the passages, changing viscosity and changes in shear strength caused by the speed of flow of the glue.
Others have proposed various solutions to improve upon the performance of the glue wheel approach. It should be understood that all alternative prior art approaches are not attempted to be described above. Applicants' development addresses the above issues and other issues relating to applying hot melt glue or otherwise extruding a non-Newtonian fluid onto a substrate through a nozzle. Applicants' development may be adapted to a wide variety of applications that are not limited to container labeling applications or the application of hot melt glue.
Some aspects of the developments are summarized below in greater detail.


An organic light-emitting display device which divides each frame into a plurality of sub-frames and represents gray levels based on the sum of the lengths of one or more sub-frames during which light is emitted, the organic light-emitting display device comprising a display unit including a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix, a scan driver configured to provide a scan signal to the display unit during each sub-frame period and a precharge voltage unit configured to provide a precharge voltage to the pixels, wherein the pixels are divided into a first pixel column block including a pixel receiving the scan signal before the other pixels and a second pixel column block next to the first pixel column block in a direction of the application of the scan signal and the precharge voltage is selectively provided to pixels included in the first pixel column block.

1. Field
The invention relates to an organic-light emitting display device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Organic light-emitting display devices, which are self-light-emitting display devices, have been in the spotlight as next-generation display devices because they provide high luminance, require low driving voltages, and can be made to be ultra-thin. In the meantime, in an analog driving method, which is generally applied to organic light-emitting display devices, a grayscale is represented by controlling the amount of current flown into each organic light-emitting element. The characteristics of a driving transistor for driving an organic light-emitting element in each pixel may vary due to process variations, and thus, the amount of light emitted by an organic light-emitting element may vary from one pixel to another pixel even in response to the same amount of current being flown into each pixel. To address this problem, attempts have been made to apply a digital driving method to organic light-emitting display devices. In the digital driving method, a single frame may be divided into a plurality of sub-frames having different lengths, which can each be represented as 2n, and a grayscale (e.g., gray levels) can be represented based on the sum of the lengths of one or more sub-frames during which light is emitted.
However, as the size, resolution, and display quality of organic light-emitting display devices increase, the number of sub-frames required may also increase considerably. However, as the number of sub-frames of each frame increases, the amount of time that it takes to scan for each sub-frame decreases. As a result, each pixel may not be able to be fully charged with a data voltage, thereby resulting in a deteriorated quality of display. To improve the efficiency of charging each pixel with a data voltage, a precharge driving method has been developed in which a precharge voltage is applied, ahead of a data voltage, to each pixel of an organic light-emitting display device.
However, the amount of improvement of the charging characteristics of pixels by the precharge driving method may vary considerably from one position to another position in an organic light-emitting display device. Also, the supply of the precharge voltage to all pixels may result in a considerable increase in the power consumption of an organic light-emitting display device.


Systems and methods for use in providing hyperbaric oxygen therapy (“HBOT”) sessions to veterinary patients includes providing HBOT chambers specifically adapted for use with veterinary patients. HBOT chambers are adapted with a rail mounted platform upon which one or more animals may be supported and confined within an enclosure during the application of HBOT. Viewing ports are provided at the appropriate level to allow the pets being treated to see out from their position within the chamber. The system is provided with a closed circuit video system including a plurality of chamber mounted cameras configured allow for remote monitoring of the animals within the chamber, and a room mounted camera configured to allow for remote monitoring of the chamber and surrounding environment. Remote central station monitoring allows for widespread deployment of hyperbaric chambers in accordance with a business method wherein revenue is generated on per-use and/or per-patient basis.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to hyperbaric oxygen therapy chambers, and more particularly to a hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber and system specifically adapted for use in the field of veterinary medicine.
2. Description of Related Art
Hyperbaric medicine, also known as hyperbaric oxygen therapy ("HBOT"), is the medical use of oxygen at a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure. HBOT involves the use of a pressure chamber (or hyperbaric chamber), adapted with means for delivering 100% oxygen. Operation is performed to a predetermined schedule by trained personnel who monitor the patient. HBOT was originally used in the treatment of decompression sickness, but has been found to have wide ranging beneficial effects.
The typical type of hyperbaric chamber used in HBOT is a hard shelled pressure vessel having an entry hatch for patients, viewing ports and/or closed circuit television to allow technicians or medical staff outside the chamber to monitor the patient inside the chamber, and a control panel outside the chamber that functions to control the flow of oxygen and pressure within the chamber. Hyperbaric chambers range in size from semi-portable, one-patient units to room sized units that can treat a number of patients simultaneously. The hyperbaric chamber is typically pressurized to 2 atmospheres. HBOT allows patients to breathe pure oxygen inside a controlled and high-pressure environment. This environment has been found to increase the oxygen that is supplied to the body, and results in the creation of conditions which support healthy cell growth and functions.
While most hyperbaric chambers are designed for use with human patients, HBOT chambers have been designed for veterinary medicine use. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,665,463, issued to Grauke, discloses a large animal hyperbaric oxygen chamber that is large enough for a horse. The chamber includes a number of portholes (114) that are arranged so that the subject within the chamber may be viewed. U.S. Pat. No. 6,443,148, issued to Rodocker, discloses a hyperbaric oxygen therapy system having a generally horizontal extension chamber (14) within which a user or multiple users, either human or animal, receive hyperbaric treatment.
While the background art reveals several advancements in the development of HBOT chambers and systems intended for use in veterinary medicine, those advancements are burdened by a number of limitations and disadvantages that have prevented widespread use and commercial success. Accordingly, there exists a need in the art of veterinary medicine for improved systems and methods for providing hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber and system for use in veterinary medicine


For baby strollers, particularly umbrella strollers, a device to prevent tipping comprising a pair of rearward extension bars. Each bar is adapted to extend rearwardly over or nearly over one of the rear wheels of the stroller. Each curves downwards so as to clear the wheel over or near which it extends and then curves to present a distal end section at least approximately parallel to the surface on which the stroller sits. Each bar is provided with a clamp by which it may be attached to the stroller. The clamp is adjustable to optimize tip prevention and loosenable so that the extension may be folded transversely for storage or transport.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to baby strollers, particularly to collapsible strollers popularly known as umbrella strollers. It relates to a modified form of such strollers and also to an attachment adapted to be added as an aftermarket accessory to an existing umbrella stroller.
Adults using strollers often wish or need to hang handbags, shopping bags and the like on the handles of the stroller. The infant seated in the stroller provides a degree of counterweight opposed to the torque of the bag hung on the handles. However, there is a tendency for this counterweight to be overcome and the stroller tip over backwards. It is desirable to avoid such tipping which may be dangerous to the infant and in any event is disruptive to the adult's use.
Relatively complicated and expensive extension members have been contemplated to prevent tipping, as has the addition of weights toward the front of the stroller. The present invention contemplates a simpler, more economical and reliable system for preventing backward tipping.
2. Prior Art
Prior expedients include U.S. Pat. No. 6,474,664 which provides for a relatively complex device intended to prevent tipping of strollers. That expedient involves a member which is both folding and telescoping. The present invention provides tip protection with a simpler and less costly attachment. Wheelchairs have also been provided with means intended to prevent tipping backwards.
It is an object of this invention to provide a tip-resistant umbrella stroller.
It is another object of this invention to provide an attachment that may be installed by the user on an existing stroller to make it tip-resistant.
It is another object of this invention to provide a pair of simple unitary curved rearward extensions adapted to be folded out of the way when the stroller is folded up.


A method for detecting reverse engineering of a configuration bitstream for an integrated circuit is described. A user design is obtained. It is determined if the user design is a degenerate design. If the user design is a degenerate design, it is determined if a trip point for bitstream generation has been tripped. If the trip point for the bitstream generation has not been tripped, deterrence information is updated and the bitstream generation is allowed to take place. If the trip point for the bitstream generation has been tripped, at least one reverse engineering countermeasure is initiated.

Programmable logic devices ("PLDs") are a well-known type of integrated circuit that can be programmed to perform specified logic functions. One type of PLD, the field programmable gate array ("FPGA"), typically includes an array of programmable tiles. These programmable tiles can include, for example, input/output blocks ("IOBs"), configurable logic blocks ("CLBs"), dedicated random access memory blocks ("BRAMs"), multipliers, digital signal processing blocks ("DSPs"), processors, clock managers, delay lock loops ("DLLs"), and so forth. As used herein, "include" and "including" mean including without limitation.
Each programmable tile typically includes both programmable interconnect and programmable logic. The programmable interconnect typically includes a large number of interconnect lines of varying lengths interconnected by programmable interconnect points ("PIPs"). The programmable logic implements the logic of a user design using programmable elements that can include, for example, function generators, registers, arithmetic logic, and so forth.
The programmable interconnect and programmable logic are typically programmed by loading a stream of configuration data into internal configuration memory cells that define how the programmable elements are configured. The configuration data can be read from memory (e.g., from an external PROM) or written into the FPGA by an external device. The collective states of the individual memory cells then determine the function of the FPGA.
Another type of PLD is the Complex Programmable Logic Device, or CPLD. A CPLD includes two or more "function blocks" connected together and to input/output ("I/O") resources by an interconnect switch matrix. Each function block of the CPLD includes a two-level AND/OR structure similar to those used in Programmable Logic Arrays ("PLAs") and Programmable Array Logic ("PAL") devices. In CPLDs, configuration data is typically stored on-chip in non-volatile memory. In some CPLDs, configuration data is stored on-chip in non-volatile memory, then downloaded to volatile memory as part of an initial configuration (programming) sequence.
For all of these programmable logic devices ("PLDs"), the functionality of the device is controlled by data bits provided to the device for that purpose. The data bits can be stored in volatile memory (e.g., static memory cells, as in FPGAs and some CPLDs), in non-volatile memory (e.g., FLASH memory, as in some CPLDs), or in any other type of memory cell.
Other PLDs are programmed by applying a processing layer, such as a metal layer, that programmably interconnects the various elements on the device. These PLDs are known as mask programmable devices. PLDs can also be implemented in other ways, e.g., using fuse or antifuse technology. The terms "PLD" and "programmable logic device" include but are not limited to these exemplary devices, as well as encompassing devices that are only partially programmable. For example, one type of PLD includes a combination of hard-coded transistor logic and a programmable switch fabric that programmably interconnects the hard-coded transistor logic.
As is well known, a circuit design is compiled to run in the PLD. The compilation process converts the design as specified by a designer or programmer into the binary code that controls the PLD. For a microprocessor, the complier translates a programming language, for example the well-known "C" programming language, into microprocessor machine code. For a PLD, the design is compiled in several stages. It is synthesized, mapped, placed, and routed for providing a network list ("netlist"). Such a netlist may be provided to a bit generator, such as Bitgen, available from Xilinx, Inc., of San Jose, Calif. In response to a netlist, Bitgen generates a configuration bitstream which may be used for instantiating such circuit design in field programmable logic gates ("programmable fabric") of a PLD. The configuration bitstream, as previously indicated, may be used to program programmable fabric to implement the circuit design with field programmable logic gates.
A bit generator, such as Bitgen, may include a design rule checker ("DRC"). A DRC in the context of a bit generator is not to determine whether layout rules have been violated, but rather is to determine whether the netlist has errors with respect to programming programmable fabric. For example, if there is a circuit which has an output that is supposed to connect to another circuit but does not, such a DRC may flag this hanging connection error. Another example of a design rule violation may be a network ("net") not having a source or a net with two sources. Furthermore, there are other known types of errors to check for by use of such a DRC. A design with a design rule violation may give unpredictable results or may even damage the PLD. Therefore, in normal use, a bit generator or compiler will not create a bitstream or generate object code for a design with a DRC violation.
Compilers and bit generators may have options for unusual settings. These settings may override the safe operation of the software and generate output that may not function correctly. Optionally, a DRC of a bit generator may be forced to generate a configuration bitstream, even though one or more errors have been detected. Thus, for partial reconfiguration, when a user may be attempting to design just a portion of a circuit, such bit generator may be forced to generate this partial circuit standing alone without being connected to the overall circuit. Another option, rather than forcing bitstream generation, may be simply to turn off the DRC. Thus, designs with one or more errors may have configuration bitstreams generated for them. This may be useful in an experimental setting, where it is anticipated that errors will result from a check by a DRC. Accordingly, it should be appreciated that there are multiple uses for generating configuration bitstreams which have one or more errors as detected by such a DRC.
More recently, attempts have been made to reverse engineer configuration bitstreams. For example, a netlist may be provided to generate a bitstream that differs in a single feature from another netlist. By supplying both netlists to a bit generator and then subsequently comparing the two configuration bitstreams generated, information regarding the relationship of a configuration bitstream to a PLD may be gleaned. This tedious task of comparing configuration bitstreams in order to completely reverse engineer a PLD may take tens of thousands of bitstream generation cycles. However, with computer capabilities, such comparisons heretofore may have been performed within a reasonable time.
Unfortunately, reverse engineering in order to understand the function of each bit in a configuration bitstream may be used for unlawful pirating of a design. It should be understood that if a user is able to reverse engineer a configuration bitstream of programmable fabric, then the identity of associated circuitry of each bit becomes known. Accordingly, this may be used unlawfully or in violation of a license agreement to facilitate reverse engineering of the design of a user of a PLD.
Accordingly, it would be desirable and useful to provide means for deterring such reverse engineering of configuration bitstreams in order to deter piracy.


A submersible power plant and a method for providing a submersible power plant. The submersible power plant includes an anchoring provided at a minimum depth and a vehicle including at least one wing. The vehicle is arranged to be secured to the anchoring by at least one tether rotatably attached to the anchoring by an anchoring coupling and attached to the vehicle by at least one vehicle coupling. The submersible power plant is completely submerged in a body of fluid both during operation and non-operation of the submersible power plant and the tether has an unextended tether length between 2-20 times a wingspan of the wing, specifically between 3-12 times the wingspan of the wing, more specifically between 5-10 times the wingspan of the wing.

Current solutions of submersible power plants require a tether with a length exceeding the water depth of the water column that the submersible power plant is installed in in order to easily install and recover the vehicle of the submersible power plant. This condition introduces the complexity of always keeping the vehicle of the submersible power plant submerged in slack water when the direction of the tide changes or during other low flow conditions. This requires complex control systems and buoyancy restraints for various parts of the submersible power plant.
The tether itself further introduces overall drag on the system thereby reducing performance. The drag is a function of the tether length, i.e., the longer the tether, the higher the drag. This is of even more importance when considering expanding the technology into deeper waters as the drag introduced by the tether will make the submersible power plant very difficult to operate efficiently.
There is thus a need for an improvement within the field of submersible power plants.

Submersible power plant for producing electrical power


An electronic device power management system, comprising a plurality of wireless transmitters and receivers and a power management module configured to selectively adjust the operational status of at least one of the plurality of wireless transmitters and receivers based on a signal indicative of at least one characteristic of a wireless network to which the electronic device is associated.

Wireless local area network (WLAN) cards can be configured having multiple antennas supporting a plurality radio frequency (RF) transmitters and receivers to increase the data transfer rate and/or range in which systems can receive/transmit data. However, an increase in the number of RF transmitters and receivers increases the overall power consumption by the system, thereby decreasing battery life.

Electronic device power management system and method

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


An endoscope image processing device includes an image acquisition section and a boundary region correction section. The image acquisition section acquires image signals that form a front image corresponding to a front field of view and a side image corresponding to a side field of view as a single acquired image. A region within the acquired image that corresponds to the front field of view is referred to as a front region, and a region within the acquired image that corresponds to the side field of view is referred to as a side region. The boundary area correction section performs a process that causes at least one of an image of the front region and an image of the side region to overlap a boundary region that is a region that defines a boundary between the front region and the side region.

The present invention relates to an endoscope image processing device, an endoscope system, an image processing method, and the like.
It has been desired to improve the lesion detection accuracy within a body cavity during endoscopic diagnosis, and an endoscopic scope including a wide-angle optical system having an angle of view of 170° has been developed.
When using such an endoscopic scope, an area situated on the back side of the side field view (e.g., the back of large folds of an internal organ such as a large intestine) may not lie within the field-of-view range, and it may be difficult to acquire an image of a lesion present in such an area.
For example, an endoscopic scope that includes a fish-eye lens having an angle of view equal to or more than 180° may be used to observe an area situated on the back side of the side field view (e.g., the back of folds).
JP-A-2010-117665 discloses an optical system allows enables simultaneous observation of the front field of view and the side field of view. The optical system disclosed in JP-A-2010-117665 is effective for observing the back of the folds of the large intestine or the like since distortion in the peripheral region of the image that corresponds to the side field of view can be reduced.

Endoscope image processing device, endoscope system, and image processing method