A thin-film deposition apparatus, related systems and methods are provided. The thin-film deposition apparatus 200 comprises a reaction chamber 201 for accommodating substrates 10 arranged with their side faces adjacent to each other and a fluid distribution device 100 with an expansion region 101 into which precursor fluid(s) enter via a number of inlets 103, and a transition region 102 for mixing said fluids. From the transition region, fluidic flow is directed into the reaction chamber 201 to propagate between the substrates 10 in a strictly laminar manner. By the invention, uniformity of precursor distribution on the substrates can be markedly improved.

Thin-film deposition methods, wherein thin film coatings are deposited on substrates from a vapor phase are extensively described in the art. Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) technology generally regarded as a subclass of Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) has proved its efficiency in manufacturing high-quality conformal coatings on three-dimensional substrate structures.
ALD is based on alternating self-saturative surface reactions, wherein different reactants (precursors) provided as chemical compounds or elements in a nonreactive (inert) gaseous carrier are sequentially pulsed into a reaction space accommodating a substrate. Deposition of a reactant is followed by purging the substrate by inert gas. Conventional ALD cycle proceeds in two half-reactions (pulse first precursor—purge; pulse second precursor—purge), whereby a layer of material is formed in a self-limiting (self-saturating) manner, typically being 0.05-0.2 nm thick.
During each pulse, a specific precursor chemical is injected into inert (carrier) fluid continuously flowing via a reaction space. Pulses are separated by purge periods, whereupon the reaction space is purged by said carrier gas to remove the precursor chemical from the preceding pulse. In a deposition run, the cycle or cycles is/are repeated as many times as required for obtaining a film with a predetermined thickness. Typical substrate exposure time for each precursor ranges within 0.01-1 seconds (per pulse). Common precursors include metal oxides, elemental metals, metal nitrides and metal sulfides.
One common drawback that may have an adverse influence on quality of films produced by chemical deposition methods, in particular, by ALD, is a non-conformal flow profile when introducing reactive (precursor) substances into the reaction space. Prominent shape features of the reaction chamber and a variety of protruding structures in the reaction space may disturb the flow and cause vorticity and/or turbulence. In such devices, the flow profile tends to switch from laminar to turbulent or vice versa, as even minor changes in the fluid flow (in terms of time, velocity, chemical composition, etc.) are likely to affect the flow profile in an unpredictable manner.
Deposition times are mainly limited by long purging periods. In order to optimize deposition speed (in terms of time per deposition cycle, such as 0.5-20 seconds per deposition cycle, for example), fluidic flow through the deposition reactors should be as even as possible. In ALD, turbulence is likely to slow evacuation of pulsed chemicals that results in incomplete purge, whereupon the first precursor remains in the reaction space upon delivery of the second precursor thereto. The undesirable situation arises, when the second precursor reacts with the first precursor in a gas phase, which leads to particle formation. At worst scenario, such situation ruins the samples to be coated. In any case, presence of two precursors in the ALD reaction instead of one is likely to result in particle formation, coating non-uniformity and poor quality of the film, with such properties of the film impaired as electrical breakthrough voltage and increase particles.
In this regard, an update in the field of thin-film deposition technology is still desired, in view of addressing challenges associated with avoiding turbulence while providing efficient mixing of precursors in the thin-film deposition reactors.

Fluid distributing device for a thin-film deposition apparatus, related apparatus and methods


The device for cleaning at least one medical hearing unit includes an earpiece, and a space for receiving the earpiece, the space having at least one seat receiving the earpiece and an orifice with a cavity underneath. There is a circulator for a liquid within the space to contact the earpiece. The cavity includes an outlet for flow or aspiration of liquid, an opening opposite, and, below each orifice, a directing device to guide the liquid towards and under each orifice, as far as the outlet, in such a way that liquid flows across the earpiece.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to the medical field of hearing, in particular to medical hearing devices for persons suffering from hearing losses and hard-of-hearing.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98.
In a known way, such devices are generally in the form of a hearing aid that is positioned, hidden and nearly invisible, behind the ear or in the auditory meatus. This aid includes power-supply means in the form of a cell or battery, as well as means for processing the sounds perceived and for transmitting to emitting means, which it is connected to. These emitting means are in the form of a shaped earpiece, which can be made to measure, so as to be inserted into the auditory meatus. Said earpiece permits to emit the processed sounds transmitted from said aid, often while amplifying them.
Because of the insertion of the earpiece in the auditory meatus such hearing aids considerably improve the hearing of the persons wearing a device. However, they have a major drawback related to the direct contact of said earpiece with the ear wax, but also with all the dust, dirt and material particles it conveys along and out of the hearing canal. This results into a reduction of the efficiency of the earpiece and into a degradation of the hearing of the person wearing a device.
More constraining, some aids are deteriorated and returned to the manufacturer in order to be repaired or replaced, thus generating additional costs and times.
That's why the earpiece must be cleaned periodically, in order to eliminate said impurities. But the electronic components integrated in the earpiece prohibit the use of liquid for this cleaning.
A known solution is described in WO 2005/12576 relating to a device for diagnosing and cleaning a hearing aid, in particular its earpiece. Such a device permits an individual to perform at home a diagnosis of his device and to clean it periodically, without using any liquid whatsoever likely to deteriorate the electronic components forming said earpiece. Such a cleaning occurs through drying the ear wax and aspiration of the so dried particles.
To this end, heating means are arranged inside a recess for receiving said earpiece, so as to diffuse sufficient heat inside this space to dry the ear wax. These heating means are in the form of resistors or of ultraviolet radiation sources. A ventilator is added, in order to ensure a flow of the so heated air, namely in the earpiece. Therefore, the moisture content present in the ear wax is reduced until it permits the aspiration of the dried residues by a vacuum pump and their evacuation to a storage tank.
Such a cleaning device has a major drawback related to the drying of the ear wax. Indeed, though most of the dried particles are aspired by the vacuum pump, part of the residues remains, often stuck in the indentations of the earpiece.
A similar device is described in WO 98/4885, using a putting into circulation of hot air by blowing and aspiration.
Another solution has been devised through WO 2007/005748, which describes a device for cleaning hearing aids through centrifugation. In fact, said aids are placed in a compartment driven in rotation until it reaches such a speed as to subject said aids to a force in the range between 200 and 400 G. At this speed, the ear-wax particles are ejected and aspired. Ultrasound waves can also facilitate the loosing of the ear-wax particles during the centrifugation. It is thus possible to heat the enclosure between 41 and 60 degrees Celsius, so as to dry the ear wax and once again to facilitate its loosing.
According to a specific embodiment, the aid is immersed into a cleaning liquid, also put into rotation, then dried by an additional centrifugation step. However, the electronic components contained in the aid are very sensitive to moisture, so that the immersion into a liquid can cause a deterioration.
Another solution is known from US 2008/128007, which describes a device for cleaning and recharging a hearing aid. In particular, this cleaning occurs by means of a fluid, put into circulation from a chamber, until it is brought into contact with said earpiece.
In this respect, the earpiece is positioned in a recess having a complementary shape and the inner wall of which ensures a <<grip>> so as to maintain it in position, In addition, the earpiece, positioned in said recess, is arranged so that a portion of said earpiece extends downwardly through the wall of the recess. Once it has been positioned, the cleaning fluid fills the cavity located under the recess, so as to immerge only said protruding portion.
Though such a solution permits to target the cleaning at the level of the end of the ear mold of the earpiece, no evacuation or aspiration of the fluid is provided in the lower cavity during the cleaning, leaving the ear mold immersed, which results from a cleaning that is little satisfactory, longer because of the mere immersion and likely to damage the electronic components.
The aim of the invention is to cope with the drawbacks of the state of the art by providing a device for cleaning a medical hearing device, in particular its earpiece, formed of an ear mold shaped so as to be inserted into a person's auditory meatus, through liquefaction of the ear wax, then its aspiration.


A working bench with quick clamping type cramp device including a bench face disposed with a semicircular angle scale having a cursor and formed with multiple through holes, and a cramp device selectively fixed in the through holes of the bench face according to the size of the work piece. The cramp device includes a main base, an engaging seat opposite thereto and a quick movable clamping block positioned therebetween. A thread rod is connected with the main base and the clamping block. A ratchet crank is disposed on the thread rod. The end of the thread rod is engaged with a one-way ratchet restricting block, whereby the main base and the engaging seat are first locked in the through holes of the bench face according to the shape of the work piece and then the clamping block is quickly moved to lean against the work piece and then the ratchet crank is swung to tightly clamp the work piece.

The present invention relates to a working bench with a quick clamping type cramp device including a bench face disposed with a scale and a semicircular angle scale having a cursor and a cramp device selectively fixed in the through holes of the bench face according to the size of the work piece.
A domestically used working bench has a narrow bench face and is composed of a fixed half and a movable half. A crank is disposed under the movable half, which is rotatable to drive the bench face for clamping a work piece. Such a working bench has limited area and cannot quickly and tightly clamp the work piece. Therefore, it is impractical to process a work piece on such a working bench.

Working bench with quick clamping type clamp device


A process is disclosed for producing a high temperature stable fiber composite ceramic by chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) with a silicon carbide precursor in a suitable carrier gas on carbon fiber preforms or silicon carbide fiber preforms. This process is characterized by the use of a process pressure of ≧0.6 bar absolute and a process temperature of ≧1100° C. Also disclosed are structural component parts, particularly for aircraft and spacecraft engineering, which are commonly exposed to high thermal and mechanical loading and which have been produced by the above process.

a) Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a process for producing a high temperature stable fiber composite ceramic by gas phase infiltration (CVI=Chemical Vapor Infiltration) with a silicon carbide precursor in a carrier gas suitable for this purpose, preferably on carbon fiber preforms or silicon carbide fiber preforms.
b) Description of the Related Art
Carbon fiber reinforced carbide ceramics or silicon fiber reinforced silicon carbide ceramics have not only proven to be resistant to high temperatures, but are also distinguished by low specific gravity and are therefore suitable as a material for producing thermally and mechanically loaded structural component parts, for example, for recoverable or reentry spacecraft. An example of such structural component parts is a control flap such as that provided for the X-38 experimental space glider or so-called crew return vehicles of the ISS international space station. Other areas of application are the leading edge of blades, nose cones, control rudders and heat protection paneling for spacecraft and hypersonic aircraft.
The chemical vapor infiltration method, or CVI method, for short, has been known for more than twenty years (E. Fitzer and D. Hegen, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl., 18 (1979), 295-304). It had already been determined at that time that the total deposition rate in the pores could be controlled only by the speed of the chemical reaction rather than by the transport speed in order to achieve good impregnation (see 299, op. cit., left column, first paragraph). It was concluded from this that the deposition must be carried out at low temperatures and with low concentrations. By "low temperatures" is meant temperatures below 1000° C.
Further studies in this field determined that the process temperature to be maintained needed to be adjusted to up to 900<T<1100° C. and the total pressure to 0.1<p<0.6 atm (R. Naslain et al., "The Carbon-Fiber Carbon and Silicon Carbide Binary Matrix Composites. A New Class of Materials for High Temperatures Applications", Proc. ICCM 3, 3rd Intern. Conf. on Composite Materials, Paris, 1981, 1084-1097). However, it follows from the description of the experimental findings that the conditions actually applied must, in part, be appreciably below the upper limits mentioned above, namely, 900<T<1000° C. and 0.05<p<0.5 atm (R. Naslain et al., "Synthesis and Properties of New Composite Materials for High Temperature Applications Based on Carbon Fibers and C-SiC or C-TiC Hybrid Matrices, Revue de Chimie Minerale", Volume 18, 1981, 544-564).
The choice of low process parameter values was based on the fact that the life span of the molecular species leading to silicon carbide (SiC) formation is increased and deposition into the depth of the pores is made possible in this way. However, such process parameters cause a very low deposition rate and, therefore, a long process period of several hundred hours for generating a matrix. Nevertheless, their necessity was emphasized again also in R. Naslain, "Fibrous Ceramic-Ceramic Composite Materials for Transport Applications", Proc. MRS Materials Research Society Meeting, Strasbourg, 1985, 99-115.
The methods according to the prior art are based on process conditions allowing the greatest possible free path length of the gaseous molecular species which takes part in the reaction leading to the deposition of silicon carbide (SiC). This is meant to ensure the penetration of the silicon carbide-forming species into the deeper zones of a fiber preform and accordingly a uniform entry of the SiC matrix over the wall thickness. However, the life of the molecular species essentially coming under consideration is very short in the temperature range to be used for the formation of SiC. This has to do with metastable fragments of starting materials such as SiCl2, SiCl3 or CH3 from which the SiC matrix is formed in a surface reaction on a substrate and in the cavities of a fiber preform. The yield with respect to the adjusted material quantity is also correspondingly small.
This short life means an opposite effect for the steps mentioned above for promoting deep infiltration. The rate of formation of the SiC matrix is determined on the one hand by the transport of the reactive gas species which is limited by low temperature and low partial pressure of the starting material and by the impaired removal of hydrogen chloride (HCl) which is absorbed as a byproduct at the substrate surface and has an inhibiting effect on the SiC-forming surface reaction (F. Langlais, C. Prebende, Proc. 11th Intern. Conf. on Chemical Vapour Deposition, Seattle 1990, eds. K. E. Spear and G. W. Cullen, Electrochem. Soc., 686-959).

Process for producing a high temperature stable fiber reinforced ceramic


A dual beam receptacle terminal is shown having a generally box shaped receptacle contact where first and second contact portions are reversely bent from an upper wall to overlap within an interior of the receptacle contact. The first and second contact portions also extend in a cantilevered fashion from the upper wall. A spherical dimple is provided on the upper of the two reversely bent contact portions in the location of the overlapped portion. Contact stop portions are provided on the side walls of the receptacle contact portion which engage the contact stop portions on the receptacle sidewalls. A coverwall is provided overlapping the upper wall which forms a clean seam with the sidewall from which the upper wall extends.

The invention relates to an electrical contact for use with a mating pin or blade contact to join electrical wires or other electrical conductors together.
It is well known in the art of electrical connectors to provide a receptacle contact or terminal for the receipt of a pin or blade contact where the receptacle contact has contact beams which extend from a receptacle body and are profiled to electrically engage a pin or blade contact upon insertion thereof. This contact between the receptacle contacts and its corresponding pin or blade contact interconnects the two pin and receptacle contacts and results in an electrical connection between the two and their associated mating conductors.
Multiple different requirements are involved in such an electrical device, particularly when used in a multi-position connector, for example when used in an automotive connector.
First, it is a requirement to provide a normal force between the receptacle contact and its associated pin or blade contact in order to provide the electrical connection between the two. In an effort to increase this normal force between the contact and the associated pin or blade contact, it is known to provide such devices as backup springs and other devices to enhance the normal force between the contact and its associated pin or blade contact. However in the instance of a multi-position connector, this enhanced normal force resultantly corresponds with an increased mating force as well which can negatively affect the overall objective. Suffice it to say that it is a delicate balance between the normal force of the mated connection, versus the mating force between the associated pin and receptacle contacts.
Other requirements that are necessary for multi-position connectors, is that the contact must be capable of sealing. In some cases, a discreet wire seal is crimped to individual contacts around individual wires, and the contact and its associated seal are inserted into an aperture in a connector housing. In other cases a rear seal is provided having a multitude of apertures through which individual contacts are inserted where the contacts are larger than the hole through which they extend, as the holes are nominally provided to sealingly engage the discreet wire to which they are connected.
One electrical receptacle is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,791,945 (incorporated herein by reference) where dual beam contacts are provided in a reversely bent sense such that their free ends overlap, with one beam forming a primary contact and the other beam providing a backup or secondary contact. In other words when a pin is inserted into the receptacle, the pin engages the primary contact and the insertion of the pin causes the deflection of the primary contact to a position where it engages the secondary and backup contact at which point the two travel together under an increased normal force.
While this concept is sound for some contact scenarios, as the contacts are reduced, some modifications are required. First, the contact has an anti-overstress feature which is stamped and struck from the top wall of the receptacle which extends downwardly to form an engagement lug with the secondary contact backup portion. Thus the primary and secondary contacts cannot be deflected beyond the position where the secondary contact engages its corresponding lug. As mentioned above, while this concept is sound for some contact sizes, as the contact is reduced in its overall dimensions, having the overstress feature extend from the top wall can cause an issue with dimensional stack up, as the receptacle "box" and the various metal thicknesses add to the dimensional disparity.
Also, the first and second contact arms, when used in a smaller dimension contact, can cause a "spiking" effect when the first and second contacts first engage each other. Said differently, due to the geometries of the primary and secondary contacts, when the primary contact makes engagement with the secondary contact, it engages along a line contact at the front edge of the secondary contact, the two then travel together until the two contacts are substantially parallel and overlapping, and then move to a position where the two are along a line contact engaging the rear edge of the primary contact. The point where the two contacts are in a flat position can cause a spiking of mating force due to the increased force required to overcome this flattened position.


A patient interface system for delivering a flow of breathable gas to a patient includes a patient interface structure configured to sealingly engage the patient's nares; a pair of strips configured to be connected to opposite sides of the patient interface structure; and adhesive configured to secure the patient interface structure in sealing engagement with the patient's nares. The adhesive may be provided on the strips, and the strips are configured to be adhered to sides of the patient's nose by the adhesive.

The use of positive airway pressure (PAP) for the treatment of sleep disordered breathing (SDB), such as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,310. Treatment using PAP, which may be continuous PAP (CPAP), involves the use of a patient interface which is attached to the patient's face for the provision of the flow of breathable gas. PAP treatment involving the use of a patient interface that is sealingly attached to the wearer's face may be referred to as closed PAP.
Mild or moderate cases of SDB may not be suitable for treatment using closed PAP methods. For example, patients who experience mild sleep apnea, or who may snore, may not gain a significant benefit from the use of closed PAP treatment. In addition, such patients may tend to resist treatment as closed PAP treatment methods generally are obtrusive.
For patients that require a higher prescribed pressure for treatment of OSA, a patient interface, e.g. a mask, that forms a seal with the patient's airways may be required. However, the patient may find adapting to current interfaces difficult. For example, the patient may have difficulty sleeping in a familiar, comfortable position once the mask, including the headgear and air delivery hose, are fitted to the patient to provide the required seal. Although the mask is capable of providing a seal and the prescribed pressure, the patient may be reluctant to use the mask due to the problem of sleeping comfortably while wearing the mask. This may result in the patient abandoning the treatment.


Embodiments of the present invention help to provide a perpendicular magnetic recording head capable of writing a signal in a track having a small width. According to one embodiment, a perpendicular magnetic recording head includes an auxiliary pole, a main pole, a yoke, a coil, a first soft magnetic film and a second soft magnetic film. The yoke is in contact with the main pole. The coil is wound around a magnetic circuit composed of the auxiliary and main poles and the yoke. The first soft magnetic film is provided on both sides of the main pole with a non-magnetic film provided between the first soft magnetic film and the main pole. The second soft magnetic film is provided on the trailing side of the main pole with the non-magnetic film provided between the second soft magnetic film and the main pole. The first and second soft magnetic films are two types of plated magnetic films. One type of the plated magnetic films have respective thicknesses of 0.5 nm to 20 nm and respective body centered cubic lattice crystal structures. The other types of the plated magnetic films have respective thicknesses of 0.5 nm to 20 nm and respective face centered cubic lattice crystal structures. The two types of the plated magnetic films are alternately laminated with four or more layers. This can achieve the magnetic disk drive capable of reducing a possibility to erroneously delete a signal after the signal being written and preventing degradation of characteristics of a high frequency signal.

In recent years, there has been a demand to increase the storage capacity and to reduce the size of magnetic disk drives used as an external recording devices for information processing devices such as computers. To meet the demand, the recording density of the magnetic disk drive has been increased. Accompanying with the increase in the recording density, there is an urgent demand to develop a perpendicular magnetic recording technique to increase the recording density in place of conventional longitudinal magnetic recording techniques.
In the case where a signal is written in a perpendicular magnetic recording medium using a perpendicular magnetic recording head, an electrical signal is converted into a magnetic signal by means of a coil and a magnetic flux is excited in main and auxiliary poles. The magnetic flux propagates from the auxiliary pole to the main pole. The magnetic flux then passes through a perpendicular recording layer and a soft magnetic layer formed under the perpendicular recording layer. The magnetic flux then returns to the auxiliary pole. This forms a closed circuit. In this case, the auxiliary pole is used to return, to the main pole in a magnetically efficient manner, the magnetic flux which passes through the main pole, the perpendicular recording layer and the soft magnetic layer. The signal is written as magnetization in the perpendicular recording medium using such a flow of the magnetic flux.
In perpendicular recording, it is necessary that the width of each magnetization transition region be reduced more to ensure that signals are efficiently written in regions, which are adjacent to each other and have respective magnetization directions opposite to each other. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-310968 ("Patent Document 1") discloses a perpendicular magnetic recording head having a soft magnetic film mounted on the side of a main pole in a direction of a track width of a recording medium. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2005-18851 ("Patent Document 2") discloses a perpendicular magnetic recording head capable of applying a magnetic field having a steep gradient to a recording medium due to a soft magnetic film provided on the trailing side of a main pole. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2007-35082 ("Patent Document 3") discloses a structure in which magnetic shield films surrounding a main pole are provided. One of the magnetic shield films is provided on the main pole side to prevent a magnetic field from leaking to an adjacent track of a recording medium, and the other one is provided on the upper side (trailing side) of the main pole to cause the magnetic field to have a steep gradient.
Each of the magnetic shield films described in Patent Document 3 includes a Fe—Ni based material such as permalloy to absorb a magnetic field leaking from the main pole. A yoke is provided in contact with an edge portion of the main pole, which is located on the opposite side of the recording medium. The yoke also includes a Fe—Ni based material, such as permalloy, to cause a magnetic field to be introduced into the main pole.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 1999-161920 ("Patent Document 4") does not disclose a perpendicular magnetic recording head, but discloses that a lower magnetic core, which also serves as an upper shield, is composed of a multi-layer film including NiFeCo films and permalloy film formed between the NiFeCo films in order to stabilize the magnetic domain structure of the lower magnetic core.
Based on the abovementioned conventional techniques, a soft magnetic film is provided around a main pole to absorb a magnetic field leaking from the main pole side to an adjacent track and to allow the magnetic field on the upper side (trailing side) of the main pole to have a steep gradient. This structure allows a signal to be written in a track having a small width.
However, when the soft magnetic films described in the conventional techniques have large crystal grains, the magnetic domain tends to have magnetization aligned in the direction of the thickness thereof. The effect to absorb a magnetic field leaking from the main pole is therefore reduced. Especially, when the soft magnetic film surrounds the main pole, the effect is significantly reduced. This makes it impossible to write a signal in a track having a small.
In order to generate a recording magnetic field having a high intensity in the main pole, it is effective that a material used for the yoke has a high saturation flux density. In addition, it is desirable that the film has high magnetic permeability to allow a high frequency signal to be written. The permalloy film has high magnetic permeability of 3000 and a low saturation flux density of 1.0 T. A film containing Ni with a weight percent of 45 and Fe with a weight percent of 55 has a high saturation flux density of 1.6 T to 1.7 T and low magnetic permeability of 1500. The film containing Ni with a weight percent of 45 and Fe with a weight percent of 55 has magnetic permeability higher than that of the permalloy film and the saturation flux density lower than that of permalloy film. To write a signal in a track having a small width, it is necessary that the material have a high saturation flux density and high magnetic permeability.
As a data transmission rate and a recording density of a magnetic disk drive are increased, a frequency of a signal to be written is increased. A perpendicular recording technique may be adopted to write such a high frequency signal. However, such a technique may have a problem in that a signal is erroneously deleted after being written.

Perpendicular magnetic recording head and method for manufacturing the same

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V.


A security window applied to a single window is applied to a previously installed single window so as to block an open space of the window and prevent entry by strangers and a person inside from having a falling accident. The security window can be separated from within a room as necessary, and thus movement of an object or emergency escape is facilitated. Meanwhile, the security window cannot be separated from outside the room, and thus intrusion by persons with malicious intent can be prevented from the onset.

The invention relates to a technology related to security windows that are applied to single windows and prevent unauthorized entry and falls from windows.
Security windows are installed to windows in houses, offices, etc. to prevent unauthorized entry and falls out of the windows.
In general, conventional security widows are fixed to the external window. Once they are fixedly installed to the window, they don't allow objects to pass through, which is a disadvantage. In particular, conventional security windows are disadvantageous in that, since they are fixed to the window, they cause difficulties in the rapid escape of people during a fire and this may lead to the loss of lives.
Since conventional security windows are fixed to the external window with bolts, they may be separated from the window by persons with malicious intent removing the bolts, which means that they cannot prevent unauthorized entry from the beginning.
A conventional technology related to security windows was published in Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2005-0118032.

Security window applied to single window


An ultralow background multiphoton detectors device for radioisotopes has a background of about one count per day. Two opposed gamma and X-ray photon detectors each preferably include a scintillation crystal and a photomultiplier tube. Sandwiched between the detectors are a separator and a sample holder for a sample labelled with a radioisotope such as I.sup.125. The detectors convert emissions from the radioisotope into electric output pulses which are then subjected to signal processing for pulse shape analysis, discrimination of coincident from non-coincident events, and quantification of the radioisotope. Detector materials and components are selected to minimize background, and are shielded from external radiation. The device may further be constructed to resolve and provide images of two dimensional sample arrays.

1. Field
This invention relates to multiphoton radioisotope detectors with ultralow background. These detectors can quantify coincident gamma and X-ray emissions from electron capture (EC) isotopes, combining coincident counting and other background rejection measures to achieve extraordinary sensitivity.
2. Background Information
One basis of classifying detectors is according to the nature of the read-out process. In one class of detectors (photographic emulsions, phosphor imagers) the signal is integrated over a long time period (typically much longer than minutes) and only subsequently quantitated. In a second class of detectors, events are registered and analyzed on a particle-by-particle basis. This class of detectors includes gas detectors, liquid noble gas detectors, scintillators, and semiconducting detectors.
Another basis for detector classification relates to operating conditions; for biomedical applications, detectors operating at low temperature (e.g., liquid noble gas detectors, germanium detectors) and detectors requiring high pressure (pressurized gas detectors) are not as popular as detectors which operate at room temperature and ambient pressure.
A third classification approach relates to background and detector sensitivity. Detectors may be classified as (a) ultralow background detectors (ULBD) with radioactive background of less than 0.1 count per hour (<0.1 cph); (b) very low background detectors with radioactive background of less than 1 cph (<1 cph); and (c) low background detectors with radioactive background less than 1 count per minute (<1 cpm). F. T. Avignone et al., Phys. Rev. C34 (1986) 666; R. L. Brodzinski et al., NIM A254 (1987) 472; R. L. Brodzinski et al., J. of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 124 (1988) 513.
There are few operational ULBDs, which are typically located in large underground laboratories, and use large (multikilogram) high purity Germanium (Ge) detectors. Such detectors reduce radioactive background to about one count per day at hard X-ray energies (20-50 keV), thus allowing the detection of a solitary radioactive atom. These facilities, however, are very expensive; they are remote, and their underground location is incompatible with analytical use.
Conventional very low radioactive background detectors are very heavy, typically using over a ton of lead shielding. Conventional low background systems are used for research, and biomedical and environmental diagnostic applications. They typically use a semiconducting Ge detector with a scintillator anti-coincidence shield. However, Ge detectors have to be operated in liquid nitrogen, which severely limits their usefulness particularly when portability is desired, and they are expensive, particularly for detectors of higher energy gammas, which require 2 kg Ge detectors.
Other conventional radiation detectors have background larger than one count per minute. Gas detectors typically have an energy resolution of 10% for hard-X-rays, at 30 keV. X-ray gas detectors with heavy passive shields typically have 20-30 cpm background. They have low stopping power and require large size gas purification systems, and so have been replaced by scintillation counters in many applications. Conventional large gas detectors such as multiwire proportional chamber (MWPC) type detectors provide high spatial resolution, but require expensive multichannel electronics and have high background. Conventional drift gas chambers with fewer wires are preferred in ultralow background applications, but have poor spatial resolution in both directions for low energy deposition, e.g., when X-rays are stopped.
Scintillators are the most popular detectors for quantitation of hard X-rays and gamma-rays. There are three classes of scintillators, namely: liquid scintillators, plastic scintillators, and inorganic crystal scintillators, e.g., NaI(Tl), CsI(Tl), CaF.sub.2 (Eu). Good energy resolution is a goal in low background detectors achieved by selected scintillator/photosensor combinations. Among the scintillators NaI(Tl) and CsI(Tl) produce the best light yield, while among photosensors, photomultiplier tubes (PMT's) permit counting of single photoelectrons. The NaI(Tl)/PMT combination has been very popular in biomedical instrumentation.
Conventional particle/radiation detectors based on scintillator/PMT combinations can detect radioisotopes with characteristic gamma photons from about 30 keV (I.sup.125) to about 1 MeV. These detectors usually optimize detection efficiency rather then minimize radioactive background. Multichannel analyzers (MCAs) are used to perform pulse height analysis. In detectors dedicated to high count-rate studies, the MCA is often replaced by hardware implemented upper/lower level thresholds and counters to diminish detector dead time.
In scintillation counting, liquid or solid scintillators are used to convert the beta or gamma decay energy into a pulse of visible photons, and the total photon number, which is proportional to the original particle energy, is analyzed. Disadvantages of such systems include: weight and bulk due to necessary shielding; mediocre energy resolution which limits the number of co-resident labels that can distinguished; and background levels on the order of twenty counts per minute (20 cpm). Also, some scintillators, e.g., NaI(Tl), are highly hydroscopic and thus require an appropriate housing.
Typically, a well scintillation detector (a single crystal with a hole for a sample) is used to detect and quantify low energy isotopes. To maximize the detection efficiency (DE) for higher energies, it usually has a rather large volume with typical energy resolutions of dE/E(FWHM) of 30% and 9% at 30 keV and 511 keV, respectively. Even with thick (3-4 inches of lead) shielding, the background count rate at low energies is on the order of 20-40 of counts per minute. The background is produced by cosmic rays entering the large detector volume, ambient radiation and internal contamination, for example. The cosmic rays produce low-energy background counts in two major ways: through direct excitation of atoms in the detector which then emit characteristic X-rays, and by saturating the electronics which produces spurious pulses. High-energy gamma photons from the environment (mostly K.sup.40, Tl.sup.208, Bi.sup.2O4, a radon daughter in the air, and man-made contaminants) penetrate the shielding and produce secondary low-energy gamma/X-rays. Scintillators typically have radioactive contamination from K.sup.40 actinides. Even with their high detection efficiency of 70-90%, the high background results in a minimum required input radioactivity of tens of nanoCuries (nCi) per sample.
In a typical single sample detector which uses a "well" geometry, a relatively small sample, say 1 ml or less, is placed into a cylindrical "well" NaI(Tl) scintillator. Typically, the crystal is large, >100 cm.sup.3, and a single PMT is used to collect the light. This geometry is used when high DE (>80%) is required, and has an additional advantage that the DE is largely independent of the sample shape and the precision with which it is placed in the detector. A significant disadvantage of the well geometry is that only a fraction of the total scintillation light is collected, which degrades the energy resolution. Thus, large well detectors are excellent for quantitation of high energy photons (E>100 keV), but their performance deteriorates for low energies (E<50 keV).
Another frequently used geometry is a flat scintillator coupled to a single PMT. Unfortunately, this geometry leads to serious problems with calibration and requires very high precision in sample placement. Also, absorption artifacts are typically difficult to account for in this geometry, and detection efficiency is reduced due to geometric considerations.
Iodine isotope labels are extensively employed in immunoassays utilized in clinical medicine and in basic research in biochemistry, nuclear medicine, and molecular and cellular biology. Iodine is readily adducted at double covalent bonds of organic molecules, including nucleic acids, carbohydrates and proteins. Conventional detectors with backgrounds in the 10-40 counts per minute (cpm) range require use of isotopes with relatively large activity. Competitive radioassays such as radioimmunoassay (RIA) have many advantages (very high sensitivity, large number of well-understood/calibrated kits, and generally years of accumulated know-how) and are widely used in biomedical applications. However, RIA is increasingly being replaced by radioisotope-free techniques such as fluoroimmunoassay and enzymatic immunoassay, due to significant hazardous material handling and disposal problems.
Detectors for counting single gamma photons are designed for broad applicability to permit measurements of large families of gamma emitters with energies ranging from a few tens of keV to a few MeV. In these devices, multi-channel analyzer (MCA) electronic systems distinguishing energy pulse heights generally serve to discriminate the energies of emissions for the plurality of source isotopes. Counting efficiency is maximized to provide the highest sample throughput. The potential of lower efficiency techniques has been generally overlooked.
Hardware implemented coincidence counting is used in a detector for positron-gamma (pg) emitters disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,026. Within 10 nanoseconds after the coincident emission of a positron and a gamma, the positron annihilates the electron producing two back-to-back gamma photons with energies of 511 keV. Multiple scintillation detectors are used to register the three coincident high energy (E.gtoreq.250 keV) gammas, and events lacking this triple gamma signature are rejected. These instruments have serious limitations, in particular the type of isotopes that may be used and the large mass and high cost of the scintillator crystals.
Some gamma photon emitting isotopes (coincident gamma and x-ray emitters, or "CGX" emitters) acquire their excited nuclear state through an electron capture (EC) from the S shell (lowest energy state). An unstable S shell vacancy and an unstable excited nuclear state result. In some cases, there is a prompt gamma photon emission from the nucleus (within less than a microsecond). Such prompt emissions may be referred to as proceeding through the "CGX" channel. The S shell vacancy may be filled by the dropping of an outer shell electron with concomitant emission of an X-ray photon or through a cascade of low energy transitions (typically below 10 keV) which progressively restructures the electron shells. However, these special characteristics of CGX emitters have not previously been employed in radioisotope detectors.
Simultaneous counting of individual and coincident gamma and x-rays is taught in Oesterlin et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,005,292, Horrocks et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,016,418, and Coffey, U.S. Pat. No. 3,974,088. However, these are all limited to high radioactivity applications.
Fymat et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,604) describes a tomographic probe for the detection of isotopes incorporated into selected human organs, using an array of unshielded detectors. An isotope source emitting two photons of different energy is used to remove uncertainty in the tissue attenuation coefficient due to Compton scattering and photoelectric scattering. By comparing the attenuation at two different energies, one can calculate the difference in path length traversed by the two photons. However, coincidence is not used to reject background in low activity sources, as the detected activity ranges from 2,000 to 10,000 cps, and the isotope activity is greater than a microCurie.

Ultralow background multiple photon detector


A distributed system of data centers is configured to ensure that all data operations involving specific accounts are performed within a given time frame at only one data center. Once a data center has begun accessing data that is associated with an account, all requests to access or manipulate data for that account are redirected to that data center for a period of time. Thus, the data center becomes not only the “owner” of all data associated with the account for that period of time, but also the servicer of all requests associated with the account. The data center then asynchronously replicates changes to the data associated with the account to the other data centers. Since none of the other data centers are permitted to change the data associated with the account, conflicts in the replicated data are minimized.

The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.
Data service providers often utilize distributed systems to provide data services, such as online shopping websites, social networking platforms, information services, and so forth. Commonly, these distributed systems comprise two or more geographically-separated data centers, each providing a same set of services through common application(s) and data. Distribution of the provision of data services amongst two or more geographically-separated data centers offers many advantages, including without limitation increased capacity, higher response times, and redundancy.
Each data center in such a distributed system is communicatively coupled to a common wide area network, such as the Internet. Different clients, such as personal and mobile computing devices operated by end users, are connected to different data centers. Clients are routed to different data centers as a result of any of a variety of addressing and load-balancing mechanisms. The data center to which a client connects may depend on factors such as geography, network topography, time of day, and/or and server capacity. As a result of common access mechanisms for the services provided by each of the data centers, such as the use of common uniform resource locators to reference common applications at each of the data centers, the existence of multiple data centers is typically transparent to most end users. Since each data center offers a same set of services, end users are thus generally unaware of which data center they are connected to, or even the fact that there are multiple data centers that provide the services.
There is typically a high latency between some or all of the data centers operated by a data service provider. On account of the high latency and/or other factors, it is often not practical to keep the data at each data center perfectly synchronized. For example, conventional locking mechanisms would require the exchange of several messages between some or all of the data centers before any database operation could be performed. Each message could spend on the order of hundreds or thousands of milliseconds in transit between data centers. Meanwhile, in some embodiments, a single web page generated by a data center could require hundreds of database operations. Thus, keeping the data at each of the data centers synchronized through conventional locking mechanisms can greatly slow the provision of the web page.
Instead, data at data centers is often kept loosely synchronized through the use of bi-directional replication tools. Each data center performs operations on its copy of the data without regards to the status of the data at other data centers. At some time subsequent to a particular data center performing an operation on its own copy of the data, the operation is "replicated" at each of the other data centers, thus ensuring that the data at each of the data centers is consistent with that of the particular data center.
It is of course possible that, between the time that a first data center performs a first operation and the time that the first operation is replicated at a second data center, the second data center will have performed a second operation on the data that conflicts with the first operation. While such conflicts can be "resolved" through the use of conflict detection and resolution mechanisms, the use of conflict resolution mechanisms can result in issues such as corrupted orders or lost data, and is therefore undesirable. However, until recently, in most embodiments, either the occurrences of such conflicts had typically been rare enough that the use of conflict resolution mechanisms presented a "good enough" solution, or an active/passive system is implemented in which replication is performed unidirectionally from a single active data center to one or more passive data centers.
Recently, occurrences of conflicts in replicated data are increasing, particularly as a result of an increasing amount of shared data and collaboration by users or entities operating at geographically diverse locations or at a same geographic location, but on different networks. An example of this problem involves multiple users of an online shopping site presenting the same account credentials within the same time frame but at different locations. For example, family members may share an account for a variety of purposes. Because the family members are at different locations, the family members may be directed to different data centers. If one family member changes a shopping cart or profile data while interacting with a first data center, and another family makes changes to the same shopping cart or profile data adds while interacting with a second data center, the account data may become corrupted. This and similar problems can occur even if the same user access the account data with two different devices that are in close proximity to each other, but connected to different networks. For example, a user's smart phone may be directed to a first data center because it is connected to a cell phone network, while the user's tablet is directed to a second data center because it is connected to a WiFi network These and other problems complicate the operation of distributed systems of data centers.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Preventing database replication conflicts in a distributed environment


Provided herein are polyurethane foams which may be prepared by spray techniques. The foams of the invention are prepared using conventional isocyanates and a novel Mannich condensate polyol having a hydroxy number in the range of 250-340 and a viscosity of 3500 cps or less, and wherein the Mannich condensate polyol is derived from nonylphenol, formaldehyde, an alkanolamine, and propylene oxide as the sole alkoxylating agent. Polyurethane foams prepared according to the invention possess superior physical properties over sprayed polyurethane foams prepared using Mannich condensate polyols which are made using mixtures of propylene oxide and ethylene oxide.

The present invention relates to foamed products produced by admixture of an isocyanate with a polyol which is a Mannich condensate. More particularly, the invention relates to Mannich condensates useful for producing foams, wherein the Mannich condensates possess physical properties which render them useful in conventional spray equipment, and which properties yield foam products which are physically useful in applications where analogous foams made with prior art Mannich condensate polyols fail.
When it is desired to prepare polyurethane foams which are blown using water only as a blowing agent, or mixtures of water and auxiliary blowing agents, it is found that the Mannich polyols available in the prior art are either too viscous to be used in spray equipment or do not provide foams with good physical properties.
WO 00/156690 discloses Mannich polyols with viscosities of 300-3500 cps. The technology therein uses a mixture of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide as alkoxylating agent. U.S. Pat. No. 6,281,393 is similar to WO 00/156690. Japan Kokai 173826 (1992) Mannich polyols with a hydroxyl number in the range of between 350-500. The technology therein uses a mole ratio of phenolic to formaldehyde of 1:2.1-3 and 20-50% (wt.) ethylene oxide. U.S. Pat. No. 4,383,102 provides low viscosity Mannich polyols using a mixture of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide (as alkoxylating agent). The entire contents of each of these patents and publications are herein incorporated by reference thereto.
The present invention relates to a foamed product which is formed from the admixture of: a first component comprising an organic isocyanate and a second component comprising a Mannich polyol. The Mannich polyol has a hydroxy number in the range of 250-340 and a viscosity of 3500 cps or less. The Mannich polyol is derived from nonylphenol, formaldehyde, an alkanolamine, and propylene oxide as the sole alkoxylating agent. The invention also relates to the Mannich polyols which are disclosed.
The Mannich condensate polyol product useful according to the invention comprises a mixture of:
, said mixture being derived from:
a) nonylphenol,
b) formaldehyde,
c) an alkanolamine selected from the group consisting of: diethanolamine, or mixtures of diethanolamine with monoethanolamine; and
d) propylene oxide as the sole alkoxylating agent, wherein said mixture has a hydroxy number in the range of 250-340 and a viscosity of 3500 cps or less. Preferably, the ratio of MONO/DI in the above mixture is any ratio in the range of between 10/90 to 70/30.
The present invention provides Mannich polyols prepared from nonylphenol, formaldehyde, ethanolamines, and propylene oxide as the sole alkoxylating agent. The Mannich polyols of the invention have a hydroxy number in the range of 250-340 and a viscosity of 3500 cps or less. The invention also relates to polyurethane spray foams prepared from these polyols and an organic isocyanate such as MDI, TDI, aliphatic isocyanates, or polymeric forms of any of these.
The polyols of this invention are useful in preparing rigid spray urethane foams. The polyols of this invention allow for good water blown or partially water blown spray foams to be prepared. They also have improved hydrocarbon solubility and HCFC solubility thus allowing for wide formulating parameters. Prior art polyols suffer from high viscosity, and produce foams having poor properties.
The lower viscosity of the polyols of this invention enable preparation of components having suitable viscosities for forming end use products using spray techniques, i.e., spray foams. If the viscosity is too high, the pumps used in association with the spraying can cavitate or poor mixing of the A-component (isocyanate) and B-component occurs, thus forming inferior or unusable products. The polyols of this invention also give improved solubility of auxiliary blowing agents like 134a and isopentane. Finally the foams produced from these polyols have superior physical properties, i.e. dimensional stabilities and inter laminar adhesion. Both of these are unexpected, especially the inter laminar adhesion.
This invention is concerned with Mannich condensate polyols having a relatively low hydroxyl number and relatively low viscosity which are made using propylene oxide as the sole alkoxylating agent, and not a mix of propylene oxide and ethylene oxide as taught in the prior art. The invention is also concerned with the use of such Mannich condensate polyols in all-water blown or partially water blown rigid polyurethane foams. The Mannich condensate polyols of the invention are prepared from nonylphenol, formaldehyde, an alkanolamine (which may be neat diethanolamine, or a mixture of diethanolamine with monoethanolamine), and propylene oxide. The procedure for preparing a Mannich condensate polyol according to the invention is set forth in the examples. The preferred hydroxyl number range for a Mannich condensate polyol prepared according to the invention is 250-340, with the most preferred being in the range of 290-330. The viscosity of a Mannich condensate polyol according to the invention is less than 3500 cps with the preferred range being any value in the range of 1500 to 3000 cps.
The rigid urethane foams are ones that are either xe2x80x9call water blownxe2x80x9d, or use water as the primary blowing agent, which in the former case means that all of, and in the latter case means that at least 50% of the gas used in generating the foam cells is derived from carbon dioxide that is generated from the reaction of isocyanate with water that is present in the formulation.
The polyols made using propylene oxide as the sole alkoxylating agent according to the invention provide all water blown foams that were dimensionally stable, while prior art polyols that used both ethylene oxide and propylene oxide do not possess good dimensional stability. Further, the all water blown foams resulting from the use of the polyols of this invention gave extremely good inter laminar adhesion (adhesion between separate foam layers).


A system and method are provided for protecting data. In operation, a request to read data from memory is received. Additionally, it is determined whether the data is stored in a predetermined portion of the memory. If it is determined that the data is stored in the predetermined portion of the memory, the data and a protect signal are returned for use in protecting the data. In certain embodiments of the invention, data stored in the predetermined portion of the memory may be further processed and written hack to the predetermined portion of the memory. In other embodiments of the invention, such processing may involve unprotected data stored outside the predetermined portion of the memory.

Computer systems are frequently used to view or display media and other data that must be protected from copying and other unauthorized access. Traditionally, computer systems have secured protected data through encryption. However, to view or display the data, it must be decrypted and may need additional processing. Decrypted data is vulnerable to copying and other unauthorized access by system devices or software. Certain prior art systems restrict access to a designated portion of memory to secure clients (e.g. the display). However, advanced algorithms for decoding, compositing, or other processing of protected data require access by multiple devices, some of which may be programmable or have the ability to copy the data. It is desirable that user applications, operating system providers, and third-party software providers be able to configure the video and compositing pipelines in a variety of ways. However, it is impractical to use secure software to implement the variety of algorithms and complex interactions with operating system software that may be desired. Because content providers do not have control over what this software does, and such software is subject to attacked or corruption, it cannot be given unrestricted access to the protected data. Accordingly, what is needed is a hardware barrier that prevents protected content from escaping the system, while leaving software the flexibility to manipulate and display the protected content.

System and method for protecting data by returning a protect signal with the data


A bit synchronization method and system for a GPS, which receives a satellite signal sent by a satellite to accordingly produce a synchronous signal. Each data bit of the satellite signal consists of N CA-codes. A data buffer receives and stores the data bits of the satellite signal. A matched filter filters the N CA-codes of each data bit in order to compute correlations of the N CA-codes of each data bit, and accordingly output a correlation set corresponding to the data bit, wherein the correlation set has N correlations. A selector selects one with the greatest value from the N correlations and uses the CA-code corresponding to the one with the greatest value as the synchronization signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the technical field of image processing and, more particularly, to a bit synchronization method and system for a GPS.
2. Description of Related Art
In a global position system (GPS), a data bit to be transmitted is processed by spread spectrum with twenty coarse/acquisition (CA) codes. A receiver receives a satellite signal, and performs a radio-frequency decimation on the satellite signal to obtain an intermediate-frequency (IF) signal. Then, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) is used to sample the IF signal, and signal processing is employed to obtain the bits of the corresponding source signal for positioning. Even in a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) environment, it is required to complete CA synchronization and bit synchronization, so as to be able to complete data demodulation. The purpose of bit synchronization is to provide a receiver with a clock synchronization signal having the best demodulation capability. The accuracy of the synchronization signal is one of the most important parameters to influence the sensitivity of the receiver.
FIG. 1 shows a typical flow of performing bit synchronization using a bar chart. As shown in FIG. 1, the respective transition numbers of twenty CA-codes are counted in an observation time period to accordingly find a start time of correct bit by setting a threshold. As shown in FIG. 2, in a high SNR environment, the CA-code 2 (CA2) has a counted number higher than the high threshold TH_H, and accordingly it is determined that the bit synchronization occurs at CA2. However, as shown in FIG. 3, in a low SNR environment, the probability of CA transition is close to 50%. Thus, the aforementioned statistical bar chart algorithm is likely to cause a detection error, which further causes a failure of signal demodulation. In addition, the prior art requires the accumulation of the statistical samples, so the observation time may significantly increase to result in prolonging the tracking time, slowing down the response of the entire system, and being unable to position fats.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an improved bit synchronization method and system to mitigate and/or obviate the aforementioned problems.

Bit synchronization method and system for a GPS


A network traffic managing node of a local area network, such as a router or gateway, can monitor network traffic of the local area network. A network event associated with the local area network is detected using the network traffic managing node. The network event is reported from the network traffic managing node to one or more servers of a cloud-based computing network. A network policy update for the network traffic managing node is received from the cloud-based computing network. The network policy update is based, at least in part, on a type of network event reported to the cloud-based computing network. The network policy update is implemented at the network traffic managing node to process and/or resolve the network event.

Embodiments of the inventive subject matter generally relate to the field of communication networks and, more particularly, to a cloud computing enhanced gateway for communication networks.
Local area networks (LANs), such as home or office networks, typically include a router (or gateway) that connects the LAN to a wide area network (WAN) and routes packets between the two networks. Various network devices in a LAN can access and download information from the Internet via a router, and the router can manage the various packet streams from the different network devices accessing the Internet. The router of the LAN can also provide various network administrator options for configuring and customizing the operations of the router. However, network administrators typically have to manually configure the router based on the limited information known to the network administrator regarding the network traffic and network conditions.

Cloud computing enhanced gateway for communication networks


A fuel nozzle for the combustor of gas turbine engines includes evacuated radial and axial bellows concentrically mounted to the fuel passages to prevent coking of the fuel passages and maintain the structural integrity of the integral parts and particularly the weld joints and the method of construction is disclosed.

As is well known in the gas turbine engine field of technology the fuel nozzles for the engine's combustor have the propensity of coking and the severity of the problem increases as the fuel and/or compressor discharge air temperature increases. Of course, for efficient combustion and engine performance, it is desirable to operate the engine at the highest possible turbine inlet temperature in order to achieve optimum engine performance. Hence to be compatible with this prerequisite, it is abundantly important to eliminate or minimize coking to assure that the fuel passageways of the fuel nozzles remains relatively clean and free from coke build-up. Military aircraft and particularly those classified as fighter aircraft are continuously increasing their speed requirements, necessitating the increased temperature requirements imposed on the engine's components.
Obviously, this has created significant burdens and challenges on those faced with the problems of combating these high temperature requirements while at the same time providing high performing and reliable engines powering these aircraft.
It is well known that one of the methods for preventing coking is by keeping the wetted wall temperature of the fuel passageways below a maximum temperature of, say 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Since the temperature of the compressor discharge air to which the fuel nozzle is subjected may get as high as 1600 degrees Fahrenheit, a known method of maintaining the wetted wall temperature at a tolerable level is by insulating the fuel nozzle. One way that has proven to be satisfactory is by insulating the fuel nozzle by incorporating an evacuated jacket that separates the high temperature surfaces of the fuel nozzle from the lower temperature surfaces that are in contact with the fuel.
This approach at these temperature levels has been evaluated and although the evacuated jacket maintains the wetted wall temperature to acceptable levels, the thermal gradients in the fuel nozzle was shown to be exceedingly high which created exceedingly high axial stresses that could only be alleviate by use of axial bellows. The prior art exemplifies different fuel nozzle designs that incorporate axial bellows. However, not all the designs utilize the bellows to prevent undue axial levels of stress. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,295,452 granted to M. Lembke et al on Oct. 20, 1981 utilizes an axial bellows that serves to dampen the noise created by the fuel injection valve operation. U.S. Pat. No. 3,234,731 granted to D. J. Dermody et al on Feb. 15, 1966 utilizes a pair of axial bellows to achieve a desired sealing characteristic for its dual fuel nozzle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,409,791 granted to G. E. A. Jourdain et al on Oct. 18, 1983 likewise utilizes an axial bellows for sealing. Axial bellows are known in the art for use as density and/or viscosity compensators. Use of bellows to compensate for expansion and contraction to reduce stress on the structural components are exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 4,258,544 granted to D. E. Gebhart et al on Mar. 31, 1981 and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,384,846 granted to R. Walderhofer on May 24, 1983.
However, none of these patents suggest the use of the combination of axial and radial bellows or the use of radial bellows by itself to solve the thermal stresses occasioned in a high temperature environment to which the fuel nozzle disclosed in the present patent application is subjected. This invention contemplates the use of radial bellows to solve the thermal stress problems.
In investigation of the present invention it was found through structural and thermal analysis that the thermal gradient in the fuel nozzle tip exceeded 1200 degrees fahrenheit in a quarter of inch of radius. Such would be the case for any design that successfully insulated the fuel passages. However, the large thermal gradient in the tip resulted in unacceptable stress levels in the nozzle, particularly at the weld joints. This presented a serious problem since it included a weld joint that was critical to the design of the fuel nozzle.

Fuel nozzle with combined radial and axial bellows


A novel zero delay regenerative circuit is presented. The circuit, when connected to a data bus, suppresses noise, reduces time delay and provides sharper edge rates. A first input of a NOR gate is connected to an input node. A second input of the NOR gate is connected to the precharge clock of the bus. The output of the NOR gate is connected to the gate terminate of a field-effect transistor (FET). With the drain terminal connected to ground, the source terminal of the FET is connected to an output node. The input and output nodes are shorted together.

All computers use a data bus for facilitating communication between the central processing unit, memory and peripherals. In general, the data bus comprises a set of data lines, address lines and control lines. The data lines (and some address and control lines) are bidirectional. These lines can be driven by either three-state devices or open-collector gates with resistor pullups. Resistor pullups may also be necessary with three-state drivers if the bus is physically long.
One problem that is encountered with long buses is that the last device attached to the bus can fall below local ground. When this occurs, the device will drive a logical zero back to the driver when a logical one is expected, indicative of device failure. One way to address this problem is to add an electrical buffer before the last device which would prevent the signal from going below local ground. Unfortunately, the additional buffer adds significant time delay, thus reducing the operating frequency of the overall system. This buffer highlights another problem that crops up on physically long buses; that is, for each device hooked up to the bus, a time delay is introduced. For a long bus, there are many devices that are attached to the bus and, thus, a significant time delay factor associated with that bus.

Zero delay regenerative circuit for noise suppression on a computer data bus


An electrical connector is to be arranged on a circuit board. The electrical connector includes a housing made of an insulating material and a holding section disposed in the housing. The holding section has an open area opening upward. The electrical connector further includes a terminal arranged in the holding section. The terminal includes a connecting section exposed outside the housing for connecting to the circuit board. The electrical connector further includes a sheet member situated over the holding section for covering at least a part of the open area.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, especially an electrical connector to be arranged on a circuit board.
2. Description of Related Art
Japanese Patent Publication No. 2001-035612 has disclosed a connector of this type. In Japanese Patent Publication No. 2001-035612, the connector is disposed on a circuit board, and has a flat shape extending in parallel to the circuit board as a whole. The connector has a terminal receiving groove opening in a lateral direction (i.e. font-and rear direction) between an upper wall and a lower wall of a housing for receiving the terminal. A contact section of the terminal is positioned at a front opening of the housing, and contacts with a flat cable or the like to be inserted into the front opening from a front side. The contact is maintained with a slider inserted to the front opening. A connecting section of the terminal protrudes backward outside of the housing, and is connected to a corresponding circuit unit on the circuit board with solder. Furthermore, the connector has a cover member made of a sheet metal contacting through a surface thereof with an upper surface of the upper wall of the housing.
In the connector described above, a low profile design, i.e. small dimension in a height direction, is desired. The connector disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2001-035612 is not satisfactory with respect to the low profile design, and still needs improvement. In the connector disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2001-035612, a height of the connector depends on the housing. Accordingly, the height of the housing has to be reduced in order to achieve a low profile connector. When thicknesses of the upper wall and the lower wall of the housing are reduced, the housing may be cracked at the time of molding a synthetic resin, thereby making it difficult to reduce the thicknesses as much as desired. Since the connector disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2001-035612 has a cover member made of a sheet metal on the upper surface of the upper wall of the housing, the height of the connector has to be increased for the thickness of the sheet metal.
In view of the problems described above, an object of the invention is to provide a connector, which enables to make a satisfactorily low profile connector without impairing the performances of the connector.
Further objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.


An image processing system and method of operation includes: a source image having source pixels; a homogeneity image module for forming a homogeneity image having homogeneity pixels each with a homogeneity value indicating the local homogeneity of source pixels of the source image; a watershed image module, coupled to the homogeneity image module, for forming a watershed image having watershed segments with a segment weight, the watershed image formed by segmenting the homogeneity image, and for merging one of the watershed segments with another of the watershed segments both having the segment weight less than or equal to a segment threshold; a contour map module, coupled to the watershed image module, for forming a segmentation contour map having boundaries of the watershed segments formed by merging the watershed segments; and a composite image module for forming a composite image with the segmentation contour map for display on a device.

The deployment of high quality imaging to medical devices, smart phones, tablet computers, and other information devices with screens has grown tremendously in recent years. The wide variety of information devices supporting image processing and image understanding requires the ability to process multiple types of images with varying degrees of available information.
Medical imaging devices can provide diagnostic images based on different types of sensor information. Some medical imaging systems can display raw or dynamic imaging and video information in real time. Such systems can process image information of varying quality, resolution, and orientation, but still require a high degree of medical expertise to be interpreted properly to help reach an accurate diagnosis of a medical condition.
Other imaging systems can use ultrasound, x-ray, visible light, infrared, sound navigation and ranging (sonar), magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, or a combination thereof to generate static and dynamic images. Some systems require a priori information about the classes of images being analyzed. Other systems may require manual identification of initial control points to perform segmentation.
Thus, a need still remains for an image processing system that can create good quality images that are easier to interpret. Such images must be provided across a wide range of devices having different sizes, resolutions, memory capacity, compute power, and image quality. In view of the increasing demand for providing diagnostic medical imaging on the growing spectrum of intelligent imaging devices, it is increasingly critical that answers be found to these problems. In view of the ever-increasing commercial competitive pressures, along with growing consumer expectations and the diminishing opportunities for meaningful product differentiation in the marketplace, it is critical that answers be found for these problems. Additionally, the need to save costs, improve efficiencies and performance, and meet competitive pressures, adds an even greater urgency to the critical necessity for finding answers to these problems.
Solutions to these problems have long been sought but prior developments have not taught or suggested any solutions and, thus, solutions to these problems have long eluded those skilled in the art.

Image processing system with automatic segmentation and method of operation thereof


An echo-signal monitoring device having a plurality of transceiver units for transmitting signals and receiving the echoes reflected by an external object and an analyzer unit for estimating the distance from the monitoring device to the external object on the basis of the received echoes is characterized in that the device has an operating mode for calculating the relative position of the transceiver units from one another on the basis of the reflected echoes.

Devices and methods for monitoring the environment with the help of echo signals are used in particular in motor vehicles, where obstacles in the environment of the vehicle are detected with the help of transceiver units, in particular for ultrasound, radar, and infrared signals. A plurality of such transceiver units may be fixedly mounted on the vehicle body, and if necessary a warning signal is generated to warn the driver of the vehicle of a potentially hazardous approach to an obstacle in complex traffic situations such as parking.
Such a monitoring device and a method for operating same are referred to in DE 40 23 538 A1, for example.
The accuracy with which such devices function depends to a great extent on the accuracy with which the relative positions of the plurality of transceiver units of such a monitoring device are known in relation to one another and can be taken into account in calculating the distance from an obstacle on the basis of the received echo signals.
In particular, a rough classification of the obstacle (wall, point, inside corner, . . . ) according to the mathematical equations referred to in DE 40 23 538 A1 requires accurate knowledge of the relative positions. In addition, in the case of an obstacle at a great distance, i.e., an obstacle whose distance from the vehicle is much greater than the distances between the transceiver units, the direct echoes detected by the individual transceiver units have propagation times that differ only slightly, and these propagation times constitute a usable approximate value for the actual distance, but in the case of a near point obstacle such as a post whose distance from the vehicle is less than the distance between the transceiver units, neither a direct echo nor a cross-echo is a usable approximation for the actual distance. For example, if the vehicle is approaching a post so that it could strike the post at a point between two transceiver units, then with progressive approach to the post, the propagation time of the cross-echo reflected back from it does not approach zero but instead approaches the propagation time corresponding to the distance between the two transceiver units. The accuracy with which this latter distance is known is therefore crucial for the lower limit up to which the monitoring device is still capable of estimating a distance from an obstacle with a usable accuracy.
This problem has resulted in echo-signal monitoring devices for motor vehicles being installed so far practically only in new vehicles by vehicle manufacturers. In retrofitting a vehicle with such devices, it may be very difficult to ensure the accuracy required for reliable measurements in positioning the transceiver units. This may be the case in particular when the retrofitting is performed by the vehicle owner himself.

Monitoring device and method using echo signals


A method of regeneration of a SCR catalyst for use in high temperature thermal processes such as in a power plant facility burning fossil fuels, bio-based fuels, or a combination thereof, wherein the catalyst is poisoned by phosphorous components in the flue gas and the catalyst is treated using a base, preferably an alkali metal hydroxide.

High temperature thermal processes, for example, the generation of steam for the production of electricity in power plants utilizing fossil fuels, often create environmentally harmful by-products. These compounds, specifically nitrous oxides (NOx), have to be removed from the flue gases of the high temperature thermal processes before being discharged to the environment, for example before exiting a power plant and contacting the environment. The standard for removing NOx from flue gases is the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) process, where a reducing reagent, typically ammonia, is injected, mixed into the flue gas, and sent through a catalytic reaction chamber where the catalyst facilitates the reduction of NOx with the reducing agent to form elemental nitrogen and water. The catalyst, often referred to as a DeNOx catalyst, aids these reactions and is typically constructed of titanium dioxide containing the oxides of transition metals such as, for example, vanadium, molybdenum, and tungsten to act as catalytically active components. The catalyst is arranged on plates, in a honeycomb fashion or as a corrugated structure and placed parallel to the direction of flue gas flow. However, during operation, the catalyst undergoes a loss of activity and efficiency as a result of plugging with ash and deactivation of the active components from certain compounds contained in flue gas which are poisonous to the catalyst.
There is also a trend in the industry to find alternative fuel sources to fossil fuels. One such example is the use of bio-based fuels such as bio-residues and biomass which refer to living and recently dead biological material that can be used as fuel or for industrial production. Production of biomass as an alternative fuel source is a growing industry. Such materials may include plant matter or animal matter and biodegradable wastes that can be burnt as fuel and typically exclude organic material which has been transformed by geological processes into substances such as coal or petroleum.
However, the use of bio-based fuels such as biomass and bone meal used alone or in combination with fossil fuel present new challenges for catalyst regeneration. In addition to many of the flue gas constituents poisonous to the catalyst that typically affect the activity of a catalyst used in thermal process flue gas cleaning such as a power plant burning traditional fossil fuels, there are other compounds poisonous to the catalyst that present greater challenges for SCR catalyst regeneration. For example, the regeneration of phosphorous poisoned catalysts due to the deactivation of the catalysts presents a challenge.
According to an article entitled, "Deactivation Mechanisms of SCR Catalysts During the Co-Combustion of Bio-Residues" of J. Beck, S. Unterberger, K. Hein, the substitution of fossil fuels by bio-residues such as sewage sludge, waste wood or meat and bone meal is discussed as being of increasing interest for reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. According to the article, during the co-combustion of these fuel mixes in existing coal-fired power plants, an increased deactivation of SCR-DeNOx catalysts is observed. The same effect can be observed when certain fossil fuels are burned or when other flue gases exposing a similar composition are treated by the SCR process. Analyses of deactivated catalyst samples indicate that the high concentration of phosphorus and sodium compounds as constituents of bio-residues has a significant influence on the deactivation rate of the catalyst. The article states that to determine the effect of these compounds, lab-scale experiments were carried out using doped synthetic flue gas, and in bench scale tests the behavior of phosphorus was investigated during the combustion of coal and phosphorus rich secondary fuel. Analyses of sub-bituminous Powder River Basin (PRB) coal also indicate the presence of organically bound alkali and phosphorus species. Recent operational experiences showed that in case of meat and bone meal (MBM) co-combustion in German utility boilers a share of 4 wt-% MBM leads already to a severe deactivation of the installed SCR-catalyst. Phosphorus and alkali compounds in the fuel were considered as primary deactivating elements.
In Table A, a typical elemental breakdown and the concentration percentages of many alternative bio-based fuels used in power plants are shown. For example, Table A sets forth sources that include wood, corn, sewage sludge, and meat and bone meal (MBM). As shown in Table A, phosphorous represents a high concentration in such fuels and accounts for a large percentage of what needs to be removed from the catalyst by regeneration of the SCR catalyst.
TABLE ABoneSewageMealWood*CornSludgeMBMAsh(Concen-(Concen-(Concen-(Concen-ElementAnalysistration %)tration %)tration %)tration %)SiliconSiO220-70 0.5-5 5.6-25.7—(Si)AluminumAl2O35-100.1-11.1-8.5—(Al)CalciumCaO2-300.1-1 1.4-42.9—(Ca)SodiumNa2O1-100.1-20.1-0.84-7(Na)PotassiumK2O2-15  10-300.3-1.61.5-4  (K)PhosphorousP2O51-5   10-601.2-4.425-40(P)*Includes pallet grindings, wood chips, mill residue, and clean wood waste
Thus, there is a need for a method for the regeneration of SCR catalyst that is particularly deactivated from phosphorous components in the flue gases from thermal processes such as power plants, especially in case of co-firing biomass instead of only coal.

Methods of regeneration of SCR catalyst poisoned by phosphorous components in flue gas


The invention relates to an apparatus for rehabilitation treatment of patients with lower limb paralysis or physical strength weakening, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for lower limb rehabilitation treatment and exercise. The apparatus and method allows a user to exercise both lower limbs separately, and which can detect changes in the angle of lower limb joints and the magnitude of weight loaded on lower limbs to determine the exercise condition, exercise intensity and motor ability of the respective lower limbs to provide corresponding feedback to the user, thereby enabling effective rehabilitation treatment.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for rehabilitation treatment of patients with lower limb paralysis or physical strength weakening, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for lower limb rehabilitation treatment and exercise, which allows a user to exercise both lower limbs separately, and which can detect changes in the angle of lower limb joints and the magnitude of weight loaded on lower limbs to determine the exercise condition, exercise intensity and motor ability of the respective lower limbs to provide corresponding feedback to the user, thereby enabling effective rehabilitation treatment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Paralysis or partial paralysis (hereinafter will be referred to as "partial paralysis") originating from apoplexy, traumatic brain damage, cerebral palsy and so on is a motor paralysis that paralyzes muscles or motors so that the paralyzed or affected muscles cannot exert power to a proper extent at necessary moments. In order to treat the patient with partial paralysis, it is possible to use several methods such as physical strengthening, muscle controlling, extending, balancing and so on. As a rehabilitation exercise of the patient with upper-limb partial paralysis, a treatment for forcing the patient to use the paralyzed upper limb is being recognized as the most successful among several rehabilitation exercises.
In 1994, it was reported by Nugent et al, when patients with apoplexy capable of standing erect perform weight loading, improvement in walking was more apparent as the weight loading is repeated more.
Accordingly, the inventor proposed a sliding board exercise apparatus for rehabilitation treatment that induces forced use of lower limbs as disclosed in Korean Patent Application No. 10-2004-0016844. With this apparatus, a patient can lie on a board with the back or stomach touching the board in a stable posture with feet seated on a footing, and then take an exercise of flexing and extending knees without any feeling of uneasiness. Furthermore, the patient can take a patient-specified rehabilitation exercise by adjusting the slant of the board.
The sliding board exercise apparatus for rehabilitation treatment of the inventor has a footing integrated with a fixed frame in which both lower limbs of the patient are supported on the footing. So, there has been a problem in that when the patient with partial paralysis performs loading the weight on the lower limbs for rehabilitation treatment, he/she unconsciously loads the weight on the normal or unaffected lower limb thereby reducing the effect of exercise.
Furthermore, in order to exercise normal walking by continuously changing the angle of the joints of both lower limbs while shifting the weight, motors or muscles in use for weight-shift should be exercised simultaneously with those in use for changing the joint angle. However, Korean Patent Application No. 10-2004-0016844 does not provide any means for detecting the joint angle, and thus the user cannot recognize whether or not the joint of the paralyzed lower limb is used. This as a drawback disables effective rehabilitation exercise for normal walking.
A normal walking is performed by repeatedly flexing the knee of a lower limb at about 15° to support the weight. In the rehabilitation treatment for exercising the normal walking, it should be detected whether or not weight shifting and joint angle change are systematically combined together. However, since this cannot be confirmed in the prior art, the rehabilitation treatment is restricted to the repetition of simple actions of flexing/extending knees.
Accordingly, there is a need for an apparatus for lower limb rehabilitation treatment capable of allowing a user to take an exercise in a lying posture so that the user can feel comfortable without having any feeling of uneasiness to potentially fall down and to adjust the height of a sliding backing plate so that the user can easily raise exercise intensity. There is another need for an apparatus for lower limb rehabilitation treatment that can be easily mounted, used to measure weight load and joint movement, and constituted of inexpensive equipments. Furthermore, there is need for a method for lower limb rehabilitation exercise that can notify a patient in real-time of his/her condition measured by the apparatus so that the patient can perform the rehabilitation treatment without being bored.

Apparatus and method for lower-limb rehabilitation

Kyungpook National University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation


An exemplary method of segmenting an object from a structure of interest is provided. A user-selected point in an image is received. A watershed transformation is performed on the user-selected point to determine a primary object. A neighboring watershed region is added to the primary object based on region competition and a smoothness constraint to form an updated object.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of processor-based imaging, and, more particularly, to region competition via local watershed operators.
2. Description of the Related Art
The segmentation of structures in images is an inherently difficult and important problem. An exemplary but popular application of deformable models is in medical image analysis where the goal is often the extraction of a structure of interest from an image. In the early days of deformable models, the deformation of such models was often guided by differential structures such as edges as well as the internal forces such as elasticity and rigidity. In recent years, it has been proposed that active contours evolving with regional properties of images are less sensitive to the image noise and initial placement of contours. However, region-based deformable models often have difficulties in localizing object boundaries since incorporation of edge term into the evolution is quite difficult. In fact, the quality of results often is not satisfactory enough in many applications; for instance, quantification of medical structures requires very accurate detection of object boundaries.
Like deformable models, watershed transforms have also been very popular in medical image segmentation because they produce closed contours and give good performance at junctions and at places where the object boundaries are diffused. However, typical watershed segmentation produces a large number of regions for even simple images, which is known as the over-segmentation problem. This requires an additional technique, such as nonlinear smoothing filtering, region-growing techniques, and marker methods, to extract the boundaries of an object of interest.
Deformable models have also been used in the extraction of structures of interest on watershed maps. Such extraction requires that the watershed map of an image be computed a priori. However, most watershed methods are designed to operate on the whole image. Recent technological advances in imaging acquisition devices increase the spatial resolution of image data significantly. For example, new multi-detector CT machines can produce images with sizes greater than 1500×512×512. Thus, segmentation method for these data sets need to operate locally in order to be computationally efficient, i.e., rather limited amount of time and memory availability. While cropping data via user-defined region of interest may be solution for well localized pathologies, in many applications, e.g., vascular segmentation or bone removal in computed tomography angiography ("CTA"), the user-selected regions can still be very large. Alternatively, images are sometimes thresholded to reduce the area where the segmentation and visualization method need to operate possibly at the expense of removing anatomically important structures from the data.

Region competition via local watershed operators


Techniques, apparatuses, and systems can include mechanisms for network selection.

This document relates to wireless communications in wireless communication systems, including interworking mechanisms in wireless communications based on two or more radio access technologies.
Wireless communication systems can include a network of one or more base stations to communicate with one or more wireless devices such as a mobile device, cell phone, wireless air card, mobile station (MS), user equipment (UE), access terminal (AT), or subscriber station (SS). Each base station can emit radio signals that carry signaling and data such as voice data and other data content to wireless devices. A base station can be referred to as an access point (AP) or access network (AN) or can be included as part of an access network. A wireless communication system can include one or more radio access network controllers to control one or more base stations.
A wireless device can be configured as a multi-mode device that operates with two or more different wireless technologies for communications. Examples of various wireless technologies include Long-Term Evolution (LTE), Code division Multiple Access (CDMA) such as CDMA2000 1x, and High Rate Packet Data (HRPD). In some implementations, a wireless communication system can include multiple networks using different wireless technologies such as Evolved HRPD (eHRPD) wireless technology and Evolved Universal Terrestrial Rradio Access Network or Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) wireless technology. Wireless communication systems using different wireless technologies can be implemented to include interworking mechanisms which enable communication services to a wireless device via the different wireless technology communication systems and allow wireless devices to move across different communication systems while maintaining wireless communication services to the wireless devices.

Network selection at a wireless communication device in wireless communications based on two or more radio access technologies