An analog voltage subtracting circuit for calculating a difference between an analog input voltage and a voltage drop caused by a load includes an analog voltage generator 7 for generating an analog voltage, a load 3 having one end connected to an output of the analog voltage generator 7 and the other end connected to an output terminal 2, and a D/A converter 6 applying a positive output current Iout for generating a desired voltage drop at said the other end 4 of the load 3 and for applying a complementary output current Iout complementary to the positive output current Iout to said one end of the load 3. By this structure, a constant current of Iout+Iout flows at said one end 4 of the load 3, and therefore linear output can be provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a subtracting circuit providing a difference between an analog input voltage and a voltage dropped by a load, and to an A/D converter including the subtracting circuit.
2. Description of the Background Art
An analog voltage subtracting circuit provides a difference between an analog input voltage and a voltage dropped by a load, and it is used in an A/D converter, for example. FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a conventional subtracting circuit. The subtracting circuit A shown in FIG. 10 includes an analog voltage receiving terminal 1, an output terminal 2 outputting the result of subtraction, a load 3' and an D/A converter 6. An analog voltage generator 7' is connected to the analog voltage receiving terminal 1. The analog voltage generator 7' applies a DC voltage V1 to the analog voltage receiving terminal 1. The load 3' has one end 5 connected to the analog voltage receiving terminal 1 and the other end 4 connected to the output terminal 2. Passive element such as a resistor, a capacitor or an inductance, or active element such as a diode or a transistor may be used as the load 3'. If a passive element is used, linear output voltage is provided, and if an active element is used, non-linear output voltage is provided. The D/A converter 6 has a positive output terminal 6a connected to the other end 4 of the load 3' and a complementary output terminal 6b coupled to the supply potential Vcc. The D/A converter 6 generates a positive output current Iout in response to a bit signal designating the magnitude of the externally applied positive output current, and applies this to the other end 4 of the load 3' through the positive output terminal 6a.
The operation of the subtracting circuit shown in FIG. 10 will be described. The output voltage V2 can be ideally represented by applying Ohm's law, EQU V2=V1-Iout.multidot.Z (1)
Where V1 represents the voltage at the analog voltage receiving terminal 1, V2 represents the voltage at the output terminal 2 and Z represents impedance of the load 3'. Namely, the dropped voltage Iout.multidot.Z is subtracted from the input voltage V1.
However, the equation (1) can be applied only to an ideal case. Actually, the resistance of the output stage of the analog voltage generator 7' is limited, and because of this influence, the voltage V2 at the output terminal 2 becomes non-linear, which will be described in detail later.
An A/D converter capable of high speed operation and having high resolution is in strong demand especially in the field of image processing. An A/D converter having conversion frequency higher than 50 MHz and the resolution of 10 bits is necessary for transmitting high definition television signals. If such an A/D converter is formed by a flash A/D converter, the input capacitance, chip area and power consumption are increased. In order to solve this problem, recently a serial-parallel type A/D converters have been developed, in which an analog input voltage is divided into higher and lower bits to be subjected to A/D conversion. The above described subtracting circuit is used in this serial-parallel type A/D converter.
FIG. 11 is a block diagram of the serial-parallel type A/D converter, and FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing the output stage of the sample hold circuit 7 and the subtracting circuit A of FIG. 11.
Referring to FIG. 11, the A/D converter includes a sample hold circuit 7, an A/D converter 10 for the higher bits, a subtracting circuit A, an amplifier 11 and an A/D converter 12 for the lower bits. The sample hold circuit 7 samples and holds the analog input voltage Vin and outputs an analog voltage V1. The A/D converter 10 for the higher bits roughly A/D converts the analog voltage V1 output from the sample hold circuit 7 to provide higher bits.
The subtracting circuit A includes a resistor 3 as a load, and a D/A converter 6. The resistor 3 has one end 5 connected to an output of the sample hold circuit 7 and the other end connected to the A/D converter 12 for the lower bits. The D/A converter 6 generates a positive output current Iout for generating a desired drop of voltage in the resistor 3 in response to the higher bits calculated by the A/D converter 10 for the higher bits, and applies the same to the other end 4 of the resistor 3. In other words, the subtracting circuit A calculates the difference between the analog voltage V1 output from the sample hold circuit 7 and the voltage value corresponding to the higher bits calculated by the A/D converter 10 for the higher bits.
Referring to FIG. 12, the output stage of the sample hold circuit 7 includes a transistor 7d and a current source 7e. The transistor 7d has its collector connected to a supply terminal Vcc, its base connected to receive the sampled and held signal, and its emitter connected to the current source 7e and to the analog voltage receiving terminal 1.
The current source 7e applies a DC current I7 to the emitter of the transistor 7d. The D/A converter 6 includes switching circuits S1-S8, which switch in response to the higher bit signals from the A/D converter 10 for the higher bits (FIG. 11), and current source 61-68 connected to the corresponding switching circuits. Each of the switching circuits S1-S8 includes two input terminals and one output terminal. One input terminal is connected to the positive output terminal 6a, and the other input terminal is connected to the complementary output terminal 6b. The output terminals of the switching circuits S1-S8 are connected to the corresponding current sources 61-68. The current sources 61-68 generate the current of the same magnitude.
Therefore, the sum of the positive output current Iout and the complementary output current Iout is constant, and the positive output current Iout and the complementary output current Iout are complementary to each other. The sum will be referred to as a full scale current Ifs in the following.
FIG. 13 shows the ideal input/output characteristic and the actual input/output characteristic of the A/D converter shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. The dotted line represents the ideal input/output characteristic, while the solid line represents the actual input/output characteristic.
The operation of the A/D converter will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 to 13.
The analog input voltage Vin is sampled and held by the sample hold circuit 7, and an analog voltage V1 is generated. The analog voltage V1 is applied to the higher A/D converter 10 and to the resistor 3. The output voltage V1 applied to the higher A/D converter 10 is subjected to rough A/D conversion. The A/D converted value (higher bit signal) is applied to each of the switching circuits S1-S8 of the D/A converter 6. The switching circuits S1-S8 switch in response to the higher bit signals. FIG. 12 shows an example in which the higher bit signal is "101" and five switching circuits S1-S5 are on. In response to the switching operation of the switching circuits S1-S8, a positive output current Iout corresponding to the bit signal is generated, and the positive output current Iout thus generated flows to the resistor 3. Consequently, a voltage V2 which is ideally represented by EQU V2=V1-Iout.multidot.R (2)
is output, where R represents the resistance value of the resistor 3.
In this manner, the dropped voltage caused by the resistor 3 can be subtracted from the analog voltage V1. The input/output characteristic represented by the equation (2) is shown by the dotted line in FIG. 13.
However, the transistor 7d of the output stage constitutes an emitter follower circuit, and there is a limited output resistance between the base and the emitter, which output resistance is non-linear. Not only the emitter follower circuit but circuitry using non-linear element such as a transistor has non-linear output.
The non-linear input/output characteristic of the above mentioned emitter follower circuit will be described in greater detail. The following approximation is widely known where Vb represents the base voltage of transistor 7d, Ic represents the collector current, Ie represents the emitter current and .alpha. represents the rate of amplification of base-ground current: EQU Ic=Is.multidot.exp {(Vb-V1)/Vt}=.alpha. (3)
Is represents saturation current, Vt represents a thermal voltage, and these values and .alpha. are multipliers not dependent on other variables. From the equation (3), V1 can be represented as EQU V1=Vb-Vt.multidot.Log (.alpha..multidot.Ie/Is) (4)
The emitter current Ie is the sum of the current I7 of the current source 7e and the positive output current from D/A converter 6, and therefore, EQU V1=Vb-Vt.multidot.log {.alpha..multidot.(I7+Iout)/Is} (5)
Thus the analog voltage V1 changes non-linearly dependent on the positive output current Iout, and as a result, the output voltage V2 represented by the equation (2) also becomes non-linear. This is shown by the solid line in FIG. 13. When the value of the analog voltage V1 with Iout=0 is represented by V10, this value is calculated as EQU VT10=Vb-Vt.multidot.log (.alpha..multidot.I7/Is) (6)
Since the conventional subtracting circuit and the A/D converter are structured as described above, the analog voltage V1 and the output voltage V2 change non-linearly dependent on the change in the output of the D/A converter. Consequently, precise result of subtraction can not be obtained, causing errors in the result of A/D conversion.

Analog voltage subtracting circuit and an A/D converter having the subtracting circuit


A method, system and apparatus for improving at least one of a) optical interactance measurements, b) optical transmittance measurements and c) optical reflectance measurements. The apparatus has a probe having a body portion and an tip portion. The body portion has a central tubular element having an opening therethrough. The tip portion has a central aperture and a number that is a plurality of ring openings therein. At least some of the plurality of rings are angled with respect to a longitudinal axis of the probe. A plurality of fiber optic bundles corresponds in number at least to the number of ring openings, and at least one fiber optic bundle is arranged at one end of the longitudinal axis for receiving specimen information and at another end of the longitudinal axis connected to a detector for receiving a signal.

When optical energy is transmitted through a diffuse medium, scattering causes redirection of the rays so that the geometric pathlength between the energy entrance point and the energy exit point no longer defines the distance energy travels within the specimen. In addition, substantial energy may be scattered back towards the entrance or otherwise away from the exit region where detection occurs, thereby reducing the detected signal. This signal is therefore variable depending on the scattering characteristics of the particular region of the specimen traversed by the optical radiation.
A further cause of interference is nonhomogeneous or layered distribution of specimen characteristics, e.g., the layers of skin and fat which cover muscle tissue, the skin which covers the flesh of a fruit or vegetable, or the coating of windows through which measurements are to be made. Often, it is desirable to eliminate the effects of the surface layers to provide information on the underlying portions of the specimen. The present invention is directed to solving these problems which cause inaccuracies in spectroscopic determination of qualitative or quantitative characteristics of the specimen.
An additional problem is the making of diffuse reflectance and transmittance measurements on small specimens. Present reflectance instruments are generally designed to illuminate the specimen and detect reflected energy over several square centimeters of area. It is sometimes necessary to work with small amounts of specimen, for example a single seed, which must be recovered intact for future use. The present invention also addresses both diffuse transmission and diffuse reflection measurements of small specimens.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for optical interactance and transmittance measurements


Herein is disclosed a comprehensive mixer performance estimation method that can be applied to the mixers of the rotor-stator type having various configurations and circulation systems. Specifically, the performance estimation method for the mixers of the rotor-stator type includes the steps of: obtaining the homogenization index: H.I. for each of the mixers, measuring the size of each of the mixers, the power requirements and flow rates during the running time of each of the mixers, estimating the magnitude (smallness or greatness) of the configuration dependent term value of each of the mixer as a whole which is specific to each of the mixers, and estimating the performance of each of the mixers accordingly.

1. Technical Field
Generally, the present invention relates to mixers, and more specifically to a mixer of the so-called rotator-stator type that includes a stator having a plurality of openings or holes and a rotor that is disposed on the inner side of the stator and spaced by a particular gap away from the stator.
2. Background
As shown in FIG. 1, it is general that the mixer of the so-called rotor-stator type generally comprises a mixer unit 4 that includes a stator 2 having a plurality of openings (holes) 1 and a rotor 3 disposed on the inner side of the stator 2 and spaced by a particular gap δ from the stator 2. Such mixer of the rotor-stator type is provided for subjecting a fluid being processed to the emulsification, dispersion, particle size breakup, mixing or any other similar process, by taking advantage of the fact that a high shear stress may be produced in the neighborhood of a gap between the stator 3 rotating at high-speeds and the fixed stator 2. This mixer is used for mixing or preparing the fluid being processed, and has a wide variety of applications in which foods, pharmaceutical medicines, chemical products and others can be manufactured.
The mixer of the rotor-stator type may be classed according to the type of the circulation mode for the fluid being processed, that is, one being the externally circulated mixer in which the fluid liquid being processed may be circulated in the direction indicated by the arrow 5a in FIG. 2, and the other being the internally circulated mixer in which a liquid being processed may be circulated in the direction indicated by the arrow 5b in FIG. 2.
For the mixers of the rotor-stator type, many different configurations and circulation modes or systems have been proposed. For example, there is the Japanese patent application No. 2005-506174 in which the mixer of the rotor-stator type and the particle size breakup method are proposed, in which the mixer includes a stator having a plurality of openings (holes) and a rotor disposed on the inner side of the stator and spaced by a specific gap away from the stator. It is disclosed that the mixer may be used widely in the fields in the pharmaceutical medicines, nutrition supplement foods, other foods, chemical products, cosmetics and the like can be manufactured. It is also disclosed that the method disclosed enables the scale up function to be performed in the efficient, simple and easy manner.
In addition, for those past years, several indices (theories) have been reported as the performance estimation method for the mixers having the different configurations.
Not only for the mixer of the rotor-stator type as described above but also for all other type mixers, it is reported that, when the liquid-liquid dispersion operation in particular occurs, for example, the drop diameter size can be discussed in terms of the magnitude (smallness or greatness) of the values that can be obtained by calculating the average energy dissipation rate (Publications 1 and 2). In those publications 1 and 2, however, the method for calculating the average energy dissipation rates is not disclosed specifically.
The publications 3 to 6 report several study cases that may be applied to each individual mixer and in which the results obtained by the respective experiments have been organized into the tabular forms. In those study cases (Publications 3 to 6), however, it is considered that the mixer's particle size breakup function is only affected by the gap between the rotor and stator and by the openings (holes) on the stator. Only the information that is different for each different type mixer is reported.
Several study cases are reported (Publications 7 and 8), in which the particle size breakup mechanism for the mixer of the rotor-stator type was considered and discussed. In those publications 7 and 8, it is suggested that the energy dissipation rates of the turbulent flow will contribute to the particle size breakup effect, and the particle size breakup effect may be affected by the frequency (shear frequency) of the turbulent flow with which the particle size breakup effect is placed under the shear stress of the fluid being processed.
For the scale-up method for the mixer of the rotor-stator type, there are several reports (Publication 8) in which the final drop diameter (maximum stable drop diameter) can be obtained during the long-time mixer running period. This, however, is not practical in the actual production sites and is of no utility. Specifically, there are no reports regarding the study cases in which the processing (agitation and mixing) time of the mixer is the object for consideration, and those study cases are not useful enough to estimate the drop diameters that can be obtained during the particular mixer running period. Although it is reported that the drop diameters may be estimated by considering the mixer processing time, yet only the phenomenon (factual action) that is based on the actual measured values (experimental values) is reported. There are no study cases in which such phenomenon is analyzed theoretically.
The following publication, which is the document related to the patent application, is cited herein for reference:                Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-506174
The following publications, which are not related to the patent application, are cited herein for reference:    (1) David, J. T.; "Drop Sizes of Emulsions Related to Turbulent Energy Dissipation Rates", Chem. Eng. Sci., 40, 839-842 (1985) and David J. T.; "A Physical Interpretation of Drop Sizes in Homogenizers;    (2) Agitated Tanks, Including the Dispersion of Viscous Oils", Chem. Eng. Sci., 42, 1671-1676 (1987);    (3) Calabrese, R. V., M. K. Francis, V. P. Mishra and S. Phongikaroon; "Measurement and Analysis of Drop Size in Batch Rotor-Stator Mixer", Proc. 10th European Conference on Mixing, pp. 149-156, Delft, the Netherlands (2000);    (4) Calabrese, R. V., M. K. Francis, V. P. Mishra, G. A. Padron and S. Phongikaroon; "Fluid Dynamic and Emulsification in High Shear Mixers", Proc. 3rd World Congress on Emulsion, pp. 1-10, Lyon, France (2002);    (5) Maa, Y. F., and C. Hsu, and C. Hsu; "Liquid-Liquid Emulsification by Rotor/Stator Homogenization", J. Controlled. Release, 38, 219-228 (1996);    (6) Barailler, F., M. Heniche and P. A. Tanguy; "CFD Analysis of a Rotor-Stator Mixer with Viscous Fluids", Chem. Eng. Sci., 61, 2888-2894 (2006);    (7) Utomo, A. T., M. Baker and A. W. Pacek; "Flow Pattern, Periodicity and Energy Dissipation in a Batch Rotor-Stator Mixer", Chem. Eng. Res. Des., 86, 1397-1409 (2008);    (8) Porcelli, J.; "The Science of Rotor-Stator Mixers", Food Process, 63, 60-66 (2002);    (9) Urban, K.: "Rotor-Stator and Disc System for Emulsification Processes", Chem. Eng. Technol., 29, 24-31 (2006)

Mixer of a rotor-stator type, performance estimation method thereof, and scale up method thereof


Usability of device is improved for an imaging device that images a target object mounted on a table. In order to hold a camera head 120 and an illumination unit 130 with respect to a table 110 on which a target object is mounted, an imaging device 100 coaxially and rotatably supports a camera head holding arm 140 and an illumination unit holding arm 150 at an elevated portion 118, which is located at an inner-left corner of the table 110, such that degrees of inclinations of the arms may be variable with respect to the table 110. The arms are rotatably and axially supported at the elevated portion 118 such that the camera holding arm 140 can rotate with an accompanying rotation of the illumination unit holding arm 150 and the illumination unit holding arm 150 can rotate independently with no accompanying rotation of the camera holding arm 140.

Description of the Related Art
The present invention relates to an imaging device that images a target object mounted on a table.
In order to compensate for insufficiency of light quantity at the time of imaging the target object mounted on the table by using a camera head, the imaging device of this type employs an illumination unit to illuminate the target object on the table. The imaging device also employs arms to respectively hold the camera head and the illumination unit with respect to the table or employs a holding arm for the camera head to also hold the illumination unit. The use of the holding arm(s) is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-open Gazette No. 2004-274503.
However, it was pointed out that the imaging device disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document presents the following problems not only in the course of imaging the target object but also in the course of preparing for the imaging or of being stored, or when a user tries to connect the device with an external device or to treat the illumination unit, etc.
In such device, the camera head i.e. a precision instrument is held with respect to the table by means of the arm. Therefore, the camera head is preferably held in an attitude as stable as possible when the device is not in use. For example, the holding arm of the camera head may be inclined toward the table side to bring the camera head closer to the table side and reduce an overall height of the device. In some cases, the holding arm of the illumination unit may also be inclined toward the table side to bring the illumination unit laid over the table top surface. At the time of using the device (or at the time of imaging), a user of the device may return the arms to their respective given positions such that the camera head may be located above the table or the illumination unit may illuminate the target object from the above.
The holding arm for the camera head and the holding arm for the illumination unit are generally rotated in such case, and it was conventionally necessary to rotate these arms independently from each other. In case where a locking mechanism is provided between the holding arm for the camera head and the holding arm for the illumination unit, as disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document, it was necessary to enable the locking mechanism before rotating either one of the arms.
In the meantime, it is also necessary to reposition the illumination unit independently according to shape or condition of the target object or depending on absence or presence of glare of illumination in the camera head. However, in order to reposition the illumination unit independently by rotating the holding arm, it is necessary to release the locking mechanism beforehand. Therefore, a user of the device must consider whether the locking mechanism is enabled or released every time rotating the arm, which is disadvantageously complicated.
In case where the rotation of the holding arm offers a high degree of freedom to the excursion of the illumination unit, the glare of illumination in the camera head can be corrected or reduced through the repositioning of the illumination unit. Downsizing of the device, however, may introduce some restrictions on location for installing the illumination unit, length of the holding arm of the illumination unit, or the like, and may cause the repositioning of the illumination unit to be insufficient to reduce or correct the glare of illumination in the camera head. Improvement in usability of the device is thus required.
With the foregoing in view, the present invention is purposed to improve usability of an imaging device that images a target object mounted on a table.


Disclosed a method for dry etching a semiconductor wafer by a plasma generated between a power-supplied first electrode and a grounded second electrode. After the bottom surface of the edge of the wafer is in contact with the first electrode, and the top surface of the edge and the side surface of the wafer are etched by ionized plasma species generated by the plasma discharge of reactive ion etching. Then, after the upper surface of the edge of the wafer is in contact with the second electrode, and the bottom surface of the edge and the side surface of the wafer are etched by radicalized plasma species generated by the plasma discharge of plasma etching.

As well known to those skilled in the art, along with progressive miniaturization of semiconductor devices, fine wiring patterns of the semiconductor device are processed by various etching techniques. Generally, the etching techniques are divided two types, i.e., a wet etching and a dry etching. The wet etching has been applied to LSI (Large Scale Integration) devices, in which the widths of the lines of the devices are approximately several μms to several tens of μms. However, since there is a limit to the isotropic wet etching, VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) devices and ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration) devices have been formed by the dry etching, which is capable of an anisotropic etching.
The dry etching techniques are divided into three kinds, i.e., a Chemical Reaction etching, a Physical etching, and an Ion Assisted Etching. In the chemical reaction etching, radicals in a plasma state are generated and react with an "etch object", which is an object to be etched, thereby performing an etching action. In the physical etching, ions are accelerated and the accelerated ions are physically bombarded with an etch object, thereby performing an etching action. Finally, in the ion assisted etching, an etching action generated by the radicals is assisted by the energy given by the ion bombardment.
Thin films deposited on the VLSI device are an oxide (SiO2) layer, a poly-silicon (Si) layer, a tungsten silicide (WSix) layer, a nitride (Si3N4) layer, an aluminum (Al) layer, a tungsten (W) layer, etc. For the purpose of satisfying both an anisotropic characteristic other than an isotropic characteristic of the etching, and etching selectivity according to the miniaturization and the high integration of the device, these thin films are etching by using plasma, thereby forming wirings and holes on the device.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional dry etching method using plasma. An electric field or an electromagnetic field is induced between two electrodes such as an anode 100 and a cathode 200. Thereby, plasma P is generated above the upper surface of a wafer 300. Then, materials deposited on the upper surface of the wafer 300 are etched using a photoresist pattern as an etching mask. Herein, in order to optimize the etching condition such as etching rate, etching uniformity, and etching selectivity, the distance between two electrodes 100, 200 is regulated by vertically moving one of two electrodes 100, 200.
However, only the materials deposited only on the upper surface 300a of the edge of the wafer is removed by this conventional dry etching method. Therefore, the problem is that the materials deposited on the side surface 300b and the lower surface 300c of the edge of the wafer 300 are not removed.

Method for dry etching a semiconductor wafer


A self-oscillating driver circuit comprises a driver stage, a feedforward path which is coupled to an input of the driver stage, and a feedback path which couples an output of the driver stage to an input of the feedforward path. The feedforward path comprises a feedforward filter which is designed as an active filter. In order to prevent an oscillatory state of the driver circuit at an unwanted frequency, it is proposed that an internal state variable of the feedforward filter be monitored and that the feedforward filter be reset if the value of the monitored internal state variable is outside a predefined range.

In the case of line drivers, it is known to use so-called clocked or class D line drivers, which have, in particular, the advantage of a high efficiency, such that the power consumption of a communications facility using the driver circuit can be reduced. The basic principle of a clocked line driver circuit is based on first converting an analog input signal of the driver circuit into a pulse-width modulated signal which can then be amplified in a particularly efficient manner. Lowpass filtering is then used to obtain the amplified output signal of the driver circuit from the amplified pulse-width modulated signal. One requirement for performing the pulse-width modulation is an appropriate clock signal, on which the pulse-width modulation is based. The clock signal can be supplied by means of, for example, an external oscillator.
A further possibility for generating the clock signal consists in providing the driver circuit with a feedback loop, which connects an output of the driver circuit to an input of a feedforward path of the driver circuit such that there is formed, via the feedback path and the feedforward path, a closed loop which renders possible an oscillating behaviour of the driver circuit itself. Furthermore, a feedforward filter in the feedforward path and a feedback filter in the feedback path typically ensure a sufficient linearity of the signal transmission.
In the case of more exacting linearity requirements, such as those that exist, for example, for DSL communications applications with higher data transmission rates, it is however advantageous to use higher-order active filters as feedforward filters. In this case, the driver circuit may exhibit an oscillatory behaviour at different frequencies, of which the only one frequency concerned is the frequency desired for the operation of the driver circuit. Furthermore, the available parameter range for the desired oscillatory behaviour of the driver circuit is reduced by production variations or changes in the external environment.
In view of the above, it would be advantageous to provide a self-oscillating driver circuit that may be controlled in such a way that oscillatory behaviour of the driver circuit at unwanted frequencies is prevented in an effective manner.


A kit for a front and/or rear light bar, for providing auxiliary illumination for a vehicle in the forward and/or rearward direction. The light bar typically includes several high intensity flood lights and two infrared illuminator modules, i.e. infrared lights. A switch box is provided for placing in the cabin of the vehicle for turning on and off the lights. A light bar, typically a front light bar, can be provided with strobe lights in place of some of the flood lights. A shield is provided as part of a front light bar to protect the lights when not in use, and to keep the lights from striking the front of the vehicle.

1. Technical Field
The present invention pertains to the field of lighting equipment, and in particular for lighting equipment mounted to a vehicle.
2. Problem Solved by the Invention
Lights provided as standard with some military vehicles, and in particular the HMMWV (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle), are of relatively low intensity and typically provide illumination in only the visible spectrum. In addition, they are intended to be used in a non-flashing mode when the vehicle is in operation.
In many circumstances, it is advantageous for a vehicle, and especially a military vehicle such as the HMMWV, and especially in combat operations, to provide illumination of greater intensity than comes standard. It is also advantageous to provide illumination in the infrared. Finally, for some applications, flashing lights of various colors are useful.
What is therefore needed is a way to upfit such vehicles with such non-standard lighting.


A constricting device for body parts, has a housing, a clamping rocker supported in the housing rotatable between a clamping position in which one end of the clamping rocker clamps a band extending through the housing against a housing wall and an opposite releasing position in which it releases the band, so that the clamping rocker in a constriccting position of the band which is under tension is turned to the clamping position while a manual pressure applied to the clamping rocker turns the latter to the releasing position. A releasable arresting closure is provided between another end of the clamping rocker and an end of the band at the side of the housing, and a mechanical transmission member which during application of an actuating pressure to the clamping rocker first turns the clamping rocker to the releasing position and then after a release of the band opens the arresting closure.

The present invention relates to a constricting device for body parts, in particular to a vein constrictor.
More particularly, it relates to a constricting device for body parts which has a housing, a clamping rocker turnably supported in the housing and having one end for clampingly pressing a band extending through the housing against a housing wall in a clamping position and for releasing the band in an opposite releasing position, and a releasable arresting closure between another end of the clamping rocker and a cap for fixing an end of the band to the housing.
The band which is usually elastic forms a loop around the body part to be constricted. When the band is tightened by pulling of its free end, the force which occurs at the end connected to the housing, turns the clamping rocker to its clamping position in which it arrests the band in its constricting condition. When the constriction must be ended without removing the loop from the body part, since shortly after this a new constriction can be needed, it is sufficient to apply a finger pressure on the clamping rocker, directly or by means of an intermediate member, to turn the same to its releasing position in which the band can be moved back through the housing and the restricting tension can be removed. When the work with the restricting device is completely finished, the arresting closure is released and the loop around the body part can be removed without pulling the band with its free end through the closure housing.
Such a vein constrictor is disclosed, for example in the German document DE-U-92 00 574.8 and has been recommended in practice. The both functions of the band tensioning or releasing on the one hand and the band opening on the other hand provide for a good adaptation of the device to different applications with fast handling of the restricting device. On the other hand, the separation of both functions requires separate hand gripping for the actuation of the device.

Holtsch Metallwarenherstellung Inh. Maria Holtsch


A water control valve designed to control the flow of water from a source to a treatment tank having a plurality of treatment media, thereby providing a supply of treated water, and also provides other cycle controls. For instance, the water control valve directs water to backwash the media of sediment for discharge to a drain, permits regeneration of the media by directing a regeneration agent through the media, directs water through the media in a fast rinse cycle, and directs water to a regeneration agent reservoir for the purpose of refilling the reservoir. The water control valve has six valves and five motors for controlling the valve positions. The valves are fluidly connected to six chambers providing a pathway for water flow between the valves, to a regeneration injection assembly, through a central passageway or a perimeter passageway, to the treatment tank.

Water treatment systems are designed to condition incoming water in some fashion. A variety of water conditioning processes are available. For instance, water conditioning can be a distillation process, a demineralization process, a reverse osmosis process, or a filtration process, to name only a few. The demineralization process is of particular interest.
The demineralization process removes dissolved compounds, for example, calcium and magnesium compounds, from water. Since these compounds can become insoluble in water, particularly at elevated temperatures, they can precipitate and create scaling problems by adhering to piping and other surfaces. Therefore, water containing these less soluble compounds is called "hard" water. The scale can cause problems by restricting flow through pipes and may appear as a residue in bathroom showers, dishwashers, and in other areas of the home. The demineralization process removes the ions that cause the scale. This process is more commonly referred to as water softening.
Water softeners, like those found in many households, demineralize the water provided to the house by a public utility, private well, or other source. Water softeners include a treatment tank containing a plurality of resin media. The media is generally made of a synthetic polystyrene ion-exchange material. During the treatment process, the incoming hard water is passed through the media. The ion-exchange process removes the calcium and magnesium ions, the "hard" ions, and exchanges them for "soft" ions. For example, sodium is a soft ion because sodium compounds are more soluble in water. Therefore, sodium compounds do not have a propensity to precipitate onto the surfaces nearly to the degree as that of the calcium compounds. The soft water then passes out of the treatment system to a point of use.
A water softening system generally consists of a treatment tank, a brine tank or a regeneration agent reservoir, and a water control valve. The valve controls the flow of water between the source, the point of use, the regeneration agent reservoir, and the treatment tank. The water control valve directs water to the components of the water softening system according to a prearranged set of cycles, or water flow directions. Generally, the cycles consist of a service cycle, a backwashing cycle, a regeneration refill cycle, a regeneration cycle, and a fast rinsing cycle.
The service cycle water directs untreated water to the treatment tank where the water is softened or treated. The treated water flows out of the treatment system to its point of use, as needed. The service cycle takes sodium ions from the media and adds them to the untreated water to soften it. At the same time, the hard water ions are taken from the water and adsorbed onto the media. So, during the service cycle, the media is depleted of sodium ions and is loaded with the hard ions. Eventually, the media becomes ineffective at softening. Therefore, the media must be periodically backwashed and regenerated.
The media should be backwashed prior to regeneration. Water flow through the media is reversed during the backwashing cycle. The reverse water flow flushes sediment and other contaminants, such as oxidized iron, from the media and into a drain as waste water. In addition, backwashing prevents the media from becoming packed or channeled and assures consistent operation of the media during the service cycle.
During the subsequent regeneration cycle, a regeneration agent, typically a sodium chloride solution, is added to untreated water. A solution of sodium chloride and water is passed through the media. The flow direction of the regeneration agent through the media is important for efficient regeneration of the media. There are two configurations for controlling the direction of flow. In one configuration, the flow direction is down, commonly called down-flow or co-current flow. In the other configuration, the flow direction is up. This is referred to as up-flow or countercurrent flow. In both configurations, the media releases a majority of the calcium and magnesium ions into the solution and adsorbs the sodium ions from the solution. The water containing the calcium and magnesium ions, together with any residual sodium ions is waste water. The waste water is directed to the drain.
Following the backwashing cycle the media may be disrupted. If the media does not settle back into position properly the treatment process may be negatively impacted. The fast rinsing cycle generally has two purposes. The first is to forcibly repack the media. The second is to flush any residual regeneration agent from the media.
The control of the water flow to and from each of the system components during each of the cycles is a critical function. Past water control valves precede through a predetermined sequence of the cycles. That is, they proceed through each cycle in a chronological order without exception or variation. In fact, past water control valve designs prohibit variable sequence or cycle independency.
There remains an unfulfilled need to provide a water control valve which can cycle through a preset sequence of operations and change from one cycle to any other cycle without regard to a predetermined sequence to improve the flexibility and efficient response of the water softening system to changing demand. Additionally, there remains an unfilled need to provide a valve that may be configured quickly and easily in the field to operate in an up regeneration or down regeneration configuration.


A nonvolatile random access memory is disclosed having a substrate (50) carrying separate magnetically polarizable domains (19) each surrounded by a full write loop member (18) and arranged to penetrate the Hall channel (36) of a dual drain FET (16) with its residual magnetic field. The domains are organized in word rows and bit columns, are each written to by a single full write current through the surrounding loop member and each read by a comparator connected to the FET drains (42, 42'). The memory can be fabricated in a variety of forms (e.g. a planar card).

The prior art is replete with various configurations of nonvolatile random access magnetic memory structures. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,791,604 describes one such structure comprising a substrate including a plurality of ferromagnetic domains disposed at a corresponding plurality of distinguishable locations, or cells, generally arranged in a matrix of word rows and bit columns.
The structure of U.S. Pat. No. 4,791,604 includes fixed drive means for selectively generating magnetic fields at selected locations to write bits into the domains thereat (i.e. establish the ferromagnetic state of the domain) comprising either a logical 1 or 0. The fixed drive means generally comprises a plurality of word drive lines, i.e. one for each word row, and a plurality of bit drive lines, i.e. one for each bit in a word. In order to write a bit into a particular domain, half magnitude select currents are driven through both the word drive and bit drive lines associated with that domain. The domain will switch states only if the magnetic fields produced by the respective drive currents are additive, i.e. act in the same direction.
The structure of U.S. Pat. No. 4,791,604 also includes fixed sensing means for sensing the respective magnetic states of said domains. In various embodiments described in said U.S. Pat. No. 4,791,604, the fixed sensing means comprise either a conductive line, a Hall effect device or a semiconductor thyristor disposed in proximity to the domain.
Other exemplary U.S. Patents relating to nonvolatile random access memories, and drives and sense means therefor, include 3,370,185; 3,651,311; 3,701,126; 3,714,559; 3,825,777; 3,852,725; 3,829,883; 4,027,300; 4,048,648; 4,129,880; 4,163,986; 4,250,518; 4,276,555; 4,288,708; 4,516,144; 4,677,380; 4,689,648; and 4,698,522.


A wireless communication system corresponding to a wireless terminal device in which at least one of a first frequency bandwidth for use in an up link and a second frequency bandwidth for use in a down link is variable, including a capability information reception unit capable of receiving and extracting terminal capability information transmitted from the wireless terminal device and related to capability of the wireless terminal device; a category designation unit capable of designating a terminal category to which the wireless terminal device belongs, based on the terminal capability information received and extracted by the capability information reception unit; and a link setting unit capable of setting a link to the wireless terminal device and transmitting a control signal depending on the link setting to the wireless terminal device, based on the terminal category designated by the category designation unit.

Recently, a higher communication speed is demanded in the wireless communications. In a mobile communication service such as a mobile telephone etc., a high-speed broad band communication system has been studied at the demand or a higher speed communication. A W-CDMA (wideband-code division multiple access) system has been studied and standardized in a 3GPP (3rd generation partnership project) as one of the communication systems.
Described below is an example of the W-CDMA system. The W-CDMA system is configured by a terminal device (UE: user equipment) such as a mobile telephone, a vehicle-mounted telephone, etc., a plurality of wireless base station (node B) for communicating with the terminal device (hereinafter referred to as a "terminal"), and a radio network controller (RNC: radio network controller) for controlling the plurality of wireless base station (hereinafter referred to as "base station") (FIG. 5).
In the above-mentioned W-CDMA system, communications can be realized in a higher speed by broad bands using FDD (frequency division duplex) or TDD (time division duplex), and an independent frequency resource is respectively assigned to the up/down link in the FDD mode. The frequency band available for the uplink (up link frequency band), and the frequency band available for the downlink (down link frequency band) are regulated by laws (the Radio Law etc.). For example, in the service of the 2 GHz band provided in Japan, the bandwidths are fixed to 5.0 MHz, and the frequency difference between the up and down bands is 190 MHz constantly. Therefore, in the W-CDMA method using the W-CDMA system, when one of the up and down link frequency bands is selected, the other can be determined from the frequency difference. That is, a terminal is to be informed of the determined down link frequency (band) only.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of the frequency information transmitted and received between the base station and the terminal regulated in the non-patent document 3 as one of the specifications of the W-CDMA system. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a notification of the down link frequency information (represented as "UARFCN downlink (Nd)" in FIG. 1. UARFCN is short for UTRA absolute radio frequency channel number) to the mobile communication device is necessary (MP), and the up link frequency information (represented as "UARFCN uplink (Nu)" in FIG. 1) is optional (OP). When the frequency difference is not constant (fixed), a notification of the up link frequency information is required (MP). The down link frequency is determined by the radio network controller, and reported to the terminal through the base station.
Since the information about the up link frequency is Nu, the information about the down link frequency is Nd, and the setting range is 0 through 16383, 14 bits are required for the representation. Therefore, a 14-bit control signal is transmitted to the terminal.
The frequency information Nu, and Nd is regulated in the non-patent document 1, and generated by the following equations.Nu=5×(FUL−FUL_offset)  (1)Nd=5×(FDL−FDL_offset)  (2)
where FUL and FDL are determined frequencies, and FUL_offset and FDL_offset are offset frequencies regulated in FIG. 2. Therefore, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of the frequency for each frequency band, and is a table described in the non-patent document 1 with additional columns of the central frequency of the up and down link bands and the difference between the up and down link frequencies.
The "i" through "ix" in FIG. 2 indicate the respective frequency band numbers. Thus, FIG. 2 illustrates the bands assigned to the uplink (UL: link transmitted from the terminal (UE) to the base station (node B)) and the downlink (DL: link transmitted from the base station to the terminal)) for each frequency band, and the frequency difference between the bands.
The frequency information Nu and Nd are calculated as follows by using the equations above when the up link frequency is 1922.4 MHz and the down link frequency is 2112.4 MHz.Nu=5×(FUL−FUL_offset)=5×(1922.4−0)=9612  (3)Nd=5×(FDL−FDL_offset)=5×(2112.4−0)=10562  (4)
In the W-CDMA system, the capability (terminal capability) of a terminal is categorized. A terminal capability refers to essential information for communications such as the number of wireless channels available for a broadcast. By classifying the capability into categories using the information, the capability can be more easily managed. For example, FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of categorizing the capability in the conventional HSDPA (high-speed downlink packet access) system described in the non-patent document 3, and FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of categorizing the capability in the HSUPA (high-speed uplink packet access) system described in the non-patent document 3. The HSDPA and the HSUPA systems are operated at a higher speed than the W-CDMA system. FIG. 3 illustrates for each category the determined maximum number of HS-DSCH (high-speed downlink shared channels) that can be simultaneously received, minimum transmission time interval (minimum inter-TTI interval) that can be intermittently received, maximum number of bits of the HS-DSCH transmission blocks, and total number of bits of soft channels. FIG. 4 illustrates for each category the determined maximum number of E-DCH (enhanced-dedicated channels) that can be simultaneously transmitted, minimum SF (spreading factor), transmitting time interval (TTI) (TTI is 10, and 2 ms) of the supported E-DCH, maximum number of bits of E-DCH transmission blocks transmitted at the TTI of 10 ms, and maximum number of bits of E-DCH transmission blocks transmitted at the TTI of 2 ms.
As described above, a category is inevitable information for appropriately perform communications between a base station and a terminal. Accordingly, category information (for example, a category number) or terminal capability information is notified from a terminal to a base station. The notification is reflected by the scheduling for selecting a communication partner and determining a transmitting method.
Recently proposed is a communication system having practically available frequency bandwidth (hereinafter referred to as an "up bandwidth") and down link frequency bandwidth (hereinafter referred to as a "down bandwidth") not only separate from each other but also variable depending on the terminal capability. For example, it is an E3G (evolved 3G also referred to as S3G (super 3G)) system studied for specifications in the 3GPP system.
The frequency difference between the up and down links in the E3G system depends on the assignment of each bandwidth and the central frequency of each band. Therefore, unlike the conventional W-CDMA system, it cannot automatically select the up link frequency by selecting the down link frequency. That is, the settings of the up and down frequencies are to be separately performed, thereby requiring a larger volume of necessary control information, complicating the controlling operation, and forcing the base station to notify the terminal of the control information about the up and down frequencies.
Since the frequency setting can be changed even during communications by a propagation environment, scheduling, etc., it is necessary to set a frequency at a high speed. To set a frequency at a high speed, it is important to realize at least one of the process of reducing the number of pieces of control information to be transmitted and received, or the process of simplifying the control. Since 14 bits are required for the notification of each of the frequency information Nu and Nd obtained by the equations (1) and (2) above, it is conventionally considered that the frequency information Nu and Nd are to be transmitted to the terminal by a smaller number of bits.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2005-341432
Patent Document 2: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2000-69544
Patent Document 3: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2000-175254
Non-patent Document 1: 3GPP TS 25.101 V7.4.0 (2006-06)
Non-patent Document 2: 3GPP TS 25.306 V6.8.0 (2006-06)
Non-patent Document 3: 3GPP TS 25.331 V6.10.0 (2006-06)

Wireless communication system and wireless terminal device


A method for molding a hollow vehicle part, the hollow vehicle part and an automobile. The method includes: a. preparing an inflatable core mold matching a target vehicle part on a geometrical shape in an inflated state, coating curable thermoplastic resin on the surface of the inflatable core mold in the inflated state, and performing shaping; b. braiding fibers on the surface of the shaped core mold to form at least one braided layer; c. conveying the preform into a curing agent passage, and sequentially passing through a heating section and a coating section; and d. conveying the preform mixed with curing agent into a curing passage for curing and molding, then deflating and taking out the inflatable core mold. The method has a high processing automation degree and can meet large-scale production. The produced hollow vehicle part has good mechanical properties, low cost and remarkable lightweight effect.

With the increasing energy crisis and environmental crisis, vehicle lightweight has become an inevitable choice for the development of the automobile industry. A fiber reinforced composite material has the advantages of high specific strength and specific modulus, high temperature resistance, good fatigue resistance, high designability and the like, and thus has been widely used in the field of aerospace. However, due to the backward molding process and the immature structural design technology, the fiber reinforced composite material has not yet been widely used in the automobile industry. The existing fiber reinforced composite material molding methods mainly include hand lay-up molding, winding molding, pultrusion, compression molding, bag pressing molding, injection molding, and resin transfer molding (RTM) and the like. Fiber reinforced composite material products of hollow structures are generally produced by the RTM method.
In the Chinese patent CN105538737A, a hollow sandwich fabric is cut into a required shape and then is compounded with resin, then a hollow sandwich fabric prepreg is obtained by the steps of curing, winding, cutting and the like, and then the hollow sandwich fabric prepreg is placed in a mould to be heated and cured to obtain a finished product. The method can only be implemented in sections, namely each part needs to be placed in the mould to be singly cured, and the traditional molding process is employed, so that continuous production cannot be achieved.

Method for molding hollow vehicle part, hollow vehicle part and automobile


The invention relates to polycarbonate-based or copolycarbonate-based security documents and/or documents of value which contain at least one hologram integrated in the card body, and to a method for producing such security documents and/or documents of value.

Within the market for document of security and/or value, more particularly documents of identification (ID documents), the demand exists for continual improvement in the safety features used, and also for the development of new safety features in order to keep one step ahead of potential forgers at all times. The security features ought to be such that a forgery is technically difficult and in purely visual terms is extremely easy to identified.
The use of holograms in documents of security and/or value has for many years been a popular means of increasing the forgeproofness of these documents. The holograms here are typically adhered to the documents by means of hot embossing. To a large extent, the holograms used are embossed holograms which are provided on their reverse face with a heat-activatable adhesive. During the hot embossing operation, the adhesive is activated by the heat of the embossing die, and the hologram joins to the document and can then be parted from its backing film.
Embossed holograms themselves are molded into a thermoplastic in an embossing step from a precision mold (nickel shim). Surface holograms of this kind typically have an embossed thickness of less than one micrometer. The nature of these holograms, limits their light efficiency to around 30%. For this reason, these holograms are usually subsequently metallized or actually embossed into metallized films in order to increase their visibility. Furthermore, these holograms display a "rainbow-like" polychromatic color pattern. In order to increase the forgeproofness of the documents and the life of the holograms, holograms are also laminated into documents made of plastic. In that case the holograms are embossed onto the inner films, and then covered with transparent films in order to ensure their visibility. However, the forgeproofness of embossed holograms is not particularly high. Moreover, metallized embossed holograms with better visibility generally form significant weak points in documents made from plastic.
More recently, furthermore, a new class of holograms have been used in security cards, being distinguished by their high optical efficiency (diffraction efficiency >90%) and by their uniform and unambiguously definable coloredness. These holograms are called volume holograms, since their diffractive structure has been written into the entire layer thickness (usually 10-20 μm). Volume holograms display a light-diffraction behavior with a pronounced angular dependency. Accordingly, they are transparent at certain angles (off-Bragg) and clearly visible at others (on-Bragg). Such holograms are produced using special photopolymer formulations. WO-A 2011/054797 and WO 2011/067057, for example, describe such special photopolymer formulations for producing holographic media. As described in WO-A 2011/054797 and WO 2011/067057, photopolymer formulations of these kinds with a high difference in refractive index can be applied to a transparent substrate film.
In order to integrate holograms into documents of security and/or value, especially into bodies of ID cards, one possible operation that may be conceived is that of adhesive bonding with either a liquid adhesive formulation or dispersion or an adhesive film.
The possibility of integrating volume holograms into ID cards to produce a wavelength shift in the volume hologram is known from DE 10 20040 12787 A1. This method is utilized for subsequent individualization, but does not permit the hologram to be reproduced in its original colors, and is therefore unsuitable for the incorporation of "true color" holograms.
Since the method described also results in an imprecise reproduction of the hologram, holograms nowadays are generally bonded adhesively to the prefabricated card body, as described in specifications DE 10 2006 048464 A1 and WO 2008/043356 A1. However, since a hologram of this kind is on the outside and is not integrated completely into the fused card body, it is still amenable to attack by a forger. The adhesive bond becomes the potential weak point in the card assembly. Moreover, holograms that are merely adhered are easy to remove from the card body without destruction, and can be perished to endorse forged documents.
In the production of documents of security and/or value, more particularly identification documents in the form of cards (ID cards), the requirement exists for a further increase in forgeproofness by means of security features, such as holograms, for instance. Such use of holograms as security features, however, makes sense only if the holograms can be integrated into the card body and not merely—as described above—adhered to the card body.
Plastics-based documents of security and/or value, more particularly documents of identification, such as ID cards, for example, are nowadays preferably produced in the form of multilayer assemblies, without the use of layers of adhesive, by means of lamination at high temperatures and high pressure, in order to prevent subsequent separation of the layer construction for the purpose of switching of identification features. Incorporated into these multilayer assemblies before or during the laminating operation are the corresponding security features which, consequently, must be of a kind such that they withstand the parameters of the laminating operation without suffering destruction. Moreover, the security features must not introduce any weak points into the multilayer assembly that, again, would enable subsequent opening of the assembly without destruction.
In the case of integration into the card body as well, therefore, it is necessary to ensure that the hologram does not introduce a weak point into the multilayer assembly and that the card body cannot be separated and the hologram removed—without destruction of the hologram—and used to endorse a forged document.
Described in WO-A 2012/019588, for example, is the necessity of bonding a security element, such as a hologram, into the middle of a card assembly using reactive adhesives. This, however, requires an additional operating step, and precisely matched positioning during the subsequent laminating operation, and does not get around the adhesive bond as a potential weak point in the card assembly.

Polycarbonate-based security documents and/or documents of value with a hologram in the card body


Specific embodiments of the present invention determine a range of a physiologic property, for each of a plurality of periods of time, and monitor changes in the patient's heart disease based on changes in the range. Other embodiments determine a minimum of a physiologic property, for each of a plurality of periods of time, and monitor changes in the patient's heart disease based on changes in the minimum. Still other embodiments determine a maximum of the physiologic property, for each of a plurality of periods of time, and monitor changes in the patient's heart disease based on changes in the maximum.

Various types of implantable sensors, such as venous oxygen saturation sensors, are becoming more readily available. Such sensors are capable of providing measures of a physiologic property, such as venous oxygen saturation, to an implanted cardiac system, so that such measures can be used as metrics of hemodynamic status, and more specifically, to monitor a patient's heart disease status. A potential problem with such implantable sensors is that they produce a large amount of data, all of which can not be efficiently stored and/or analyzed due to memory and processing constrains of implantable systems. Additionally, where there is an attempt to determine actual values of a physiologic property, such as actual values of venous oxygen saturation, the sensor and/or the sensor measurements must be calibrated from time to time. Otherwise, small inaccuracies and changes in activity and stress levels of the patients can affect the actual values of the physiologic properties that are determined. This can lead to inaccurate monitoring of a patient's heart disease, and the like. It would be beneficial if new and useful methods for using implantable sensors to monitor a patient's heart disease were provided. Preferably, such methods would not require that the implantable sensor (once implanted) be repeatedly calibrated. Additionally, it would be preferable if such methods can provide for a reduction in the amount of data the implantable system stores.

Monitoring heart disease using implantable sensors


A tool kit for interchanging tools within an at least partially closed area is provided. The tool kit includes at least one tool, each tool being preferably provided within a tubular housing, and adapted to pivot out from the tool kit so that they can be attached to a receiving tool. The tool is designed to be returned to the tool kit after use, and if desired, switched with a different tool. In one embodiment, a surgical system permitting surgical tools to be interchanged within a patient's body is provided. A method of interchanging surgical tools within a patient's body is also provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to surgical instruments. More particularly, the invention relates to a tool kit for use in minimally invasive surgical procedures.
2. Description of the Related Art
Current laparoscopic surgical tools are limited in accessibility of certain regions of the human body. Existing tools can perform invasive surgery without making a substantial incision, but these tools are incapable of bending within the body to reach, for example, the backside of the human heart.
Additionally, existing tools rely on use of cables to manipulate the surgical tip of the tool. These tools have the disadvantage of requiring extensive sterilization of the internal components. The cleaning of internal metal cables can be a lengthy and expensive process. This process must be repeated prior to each procedure. Alternatively, disposable components may be used with a substantial increase in recurring costs.
Furthermore, current laparoscopic surgical systems are limited because the tools used to perform various functions within the body have to be changed outside the body. The entire system must be removed from the body, the tool changed outside of the body, and then the system be reinserted into the body. Alternatively, additional incisions are made in the patient's body through which additional surgical tools are inserted. This makes the surgical procedure more complex, and patient recovery time is increased.
Accordingly, there is a need for a laparoscopic surgical system that permits a surgical tool to be changed within the body.
There is also a need for a tool kit that permits a tool to be changed within a closed area.


A twinning controller or control circuit for use in an HVAC system is coupled between a system thermostat and at least two HVAC units coupled to a common duct. The HVAC units are heating, cooling or heating and cooling appliances such as heating furnaces, air conditioners, fans, other forced air systems, or other devices for heating and/or cooling an environment. The twinning controller is capable of operating in a single-stage mode (single mode) or a double-stage mode (dual mode). When operating in the double-stage mode, the twinning controller alternately operates the first HVAC unit and the second HVAC unit in order to extend the operating life of the HVAC units. The twinning controller includes a microcomputer which receives inputs from the system thermostat and provides outputs to the first and second HVAC units in order to efficiently control the temperature in an environment such as a living space. The twinning control includes LED indicators which provide fault codes and blower sense inputs for receiving signals indicative of the status of blowers in the HVAC units.

In an HVAC system, controllers or control circuits are coupled between a system thermostat and a heating or cooling device. The controller receives signals from the system thermostat and controls the heating or cooling device in response to the signals from the system thermostats. The controller turns the devices ON and OFF in response to the signals from the system thermostat in order to provide a comfortable temperature regulated environment.
A heating or cooling device or appliance is an HVAC unit. An HVAC unit is any device for providing heating, cooling and/or air circulation. Examples of HVAC units are furnaces for providing hot air, air conditioners for providing cool air, fans for providing air circulation, or other environmental control appliances such as boilers. Preferably, the HVAC unit is a forced air system which is capable of both heating and cooling the environment.
In a forced air system, an air handler (blower, plenums and associated ductwork) moves air from the interior of the HVAC unit to the temperature regulated environment. The air handler may be used with heating and/or cooling units where energy is provided by electricity, gas, oil, as well as other fuels. The blower of the air handler generally includes a fan which is turned by an electric motor. In a forced air system such as a heating furnace, the blower forces hot air produced by a gas flame or electric coil to the environment. In a forced air system such as an air conditioner, the blower forces cool air produced by cooling coils and a compressor to the environment.
The blower in the air handler often is automatically turned ON when the HVAC unit is turned ON. Most HVAC units include start-up controls which do not turn ON the motor in the blower immediately after the HVAC unit is turned ON. These start-up controls delay the operation of the blower for a predetermined time or until a specific temperature is reached within the HVAC unit. The blower may also be turned ON by providing an external blower signal to the HVAC unit. Turning the blower ON with an external blower signal is referred to as forcing the blower ON. Proper blower operation is critical to effective HVAC unit operation because operating a HVAC unit with a malfunctioning blower may cause damage to the HVAC unit and waste energy.
Medium-sized buildings and rooms such as store fronts, light commercial buildings, or other facilities are generally heated and cooled by a number of small HVAC units operating in parallel because HVAC units of today have smaller heating and cooling capacities. Although smaller HVAC units tend to be more efficient, operating these HVAC units in parallel creates special problems. For example, HVAC units of today are generally controlled by individual thermostats. Operating multiple HVAC units with individual thermostats does not allow cooperation and integration of the individual thermostats and HVAC units.
Therefore, there is a need for a twinning control which can control the operation of two or more HVAC units. Controlling two or more HVAC units with a single twinning control allows more effective heating and cooling, superior fault detection, and more dependable HVAC unit operation, as well as backup operation. Further, a twinning control which allows single mode operation or dual mode operation provides superior flexibility in the HVAC system.


Embodiments of the present invention provide composite bodies having a discontinuous graphite preform and at least one silicon-bearing metal alloy infiltrant. Embodiments of the present invention also provide methods for producing such composite bodies. The metal alloy is preferably comprised of aluminum, copper, or magnesium, or combinations thereof. Certain preferred embodiments provide at least one aluminum alloy having from about 5% silicon to about 30% silicon, more preferably from about 11% to about 13% silicon, as an alloying element. Certain presently preferred embodiments provide an aluminum-silicon eutectic composition having about 12.5% silicon. Embodiments of the invention provide composite materials be “tuned” to more closely match thermal expansion characteristics of a number of semiconductor or integrated circuit materials such as, but not limited to, silicon, alumina, aluminum nitride, gallium nitride, and gallium arsenide while also providing high thermal conductivity. Embodiments of the present invention are especially suited for use as a heat sink, a heat spreader, or both.

Ever increasing complexity, power consumption, computing prowess, and functionality of modern microelectronic devices have dramatically increased the demands on the integrated circuits and semiconductor structures incorporated within these devices. Indeed, modern microelectronic devices having advanced semiconductor elements, such as cellular phones and portable music players, generally must dissipate a great amount of heat during operation in order to remain within acceptable operating parameters. As device size decreases, it becomes increasingly important to adequately dissipate heat from the device elements. These microelectronic devices typically incorporate at least one thermal interface device, such as a heat sink, in order to absorb and dissipate heat, thereby reducing the thermal load on the device elements.
Common device elements often include ceramic components made of silicon carbide, aluminum oxide, aluminum nitride, gallium nitride, gallium arsenide, or beryllium oxide. These elements often include a heat sink in order to dissipate heat generated during operation. As semiconductor and integrated circuit complexity increases, while physical size decreases, heat generated by these at least now state-of-the-art microelectronic device elements will also increase.
Conventional heat sinks are commonly fabricated from metals such as aluminum, copper, molybdenum, or tungsten. Metals such as copper or aluminum, while often having high thermal conductivity, also have undesirably high coefficients of thermal expansion. Such high coefficients of thermal expansion often mismatch with the underlying, or associated, device element's coefficient of thermal expansion which can lead to increased mechanical stress while under static or cyclic thermal loading. The differential expansion of the heat sink relative to the underlying, or associated, element can cause cracking, or other failure. Some metals such as tungsten and molybdenum, while having relatively low coefficients of thermal expansion, unfortunately exhibit lower thermal conductivity and higher density than desired and may not be suitable for certain thermal management applications. Moreover, these traditional heat sink materials are simply proving to be insufficient when challenged with ever increasing electronic device power densities.
Metal matrix composites, generally providing a ceramic-based macrostructure having void volume fraction filled by a molten metal, have been developed as an alternative to metal heat sinks. Still further, these composites may also typically include inorganic fibers as an inorganic filler material to be additionally incorporated within the void volume fraction. These metal matrix composites, nonetheless, also suffer drawbacks. Filler incorporation, for example, may lead to non-uniform distribution due to simple displacement and/or wetting difficulties. It is often, accordingly, difficult to properly manage incorporation and distribution of the filler phase to obtain target properties for the composite. Conventional metal matrix composites also offer limited ability to match the coefficients of thermal expansion with underlying device elements and can also be difficult to fabricate to appropriate size. These conventional metal matrix composites further lack sufficient thermal conductivity to address the growing need for higher levels of thermal dissipation.
Ever-increasing power densities in microelectronic devices have resulted in the need for composite materials to provide improved thermal dissipation for microelectronic device elements. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for lightweight materials having higher thermal conductivities than that offered by traditional materials for higher thermal dissipation while also providing suitable coefficients of thermal expansion that minimize thermal mismatch with associated device elements. There is a further need for methods of producing such composite materials having macrostructure architectures that provide for improved infiltrant incorporation while providing for improved balance between thermal conductivity and thermal expansion properties.

Thermally conductive graphite reinforced alloys


A control system for a countercurrent pulp washing process in which the pulp is formed as a pulp mat on at least one moving filter surface and the mat is supplied with rinse water to replace water in the pulp mat thereby reducing the soda loss in the mat before it is removed from the filter surface. The process is characterized by at least one predictable process variable including dissolved solids retained in the pulp mat. The system comprises a trainable neural network having a plurality of input neurons having input values applied thereto and output neurons for providing output values and means for training the neural network to provide predicted values for the predictable process variables.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in the control of a pulp washing system to remove the maximum amount of dissolved organic and soluble inorganic material present in a pulp slurry undergoing treatment by a pulp washing system while at the same time minimizing the amount of fresh or other reused process water. More specifically, the invention relates to the use of techniques to develop, implement and use a neural network to dynamically monitor and adjust a pulp washing system to obtain an optimum balance between total solids removed from the pulp slurry entering a pulp washing system and the residual unremoved solids present in the pulp slurry as it leaves the washing system, often referred to as soda loss or carry-over.
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical single pulp washer. A pulp slurry stream 22 enters an inlet repulper 10 where it is admixed with a reused process water flow 9, interchangeably referred to as filtrate, to form an admixture of pulp and contaminated water solution. One or more repulper beaters are located in the repulper box to thoroughly mix the admixture which then flows over a weir 13 into the washer vat 2. The washer drum 1 is covered by a filter media 12, generally a mesh cloth of plastic or metal called the face, rotating in the direction shown by arrow 3 where part of the drum is submerged in a pulp slurry contained in a vat 2. A lower pressure inside the drum 1, due to a barometric leg or vacuum source hence the name vacuum drum, extracts the contaminated water solution from the pulp slurry with the pulp forming a mat 4, interchangeably called a sheet or cake, on the face of the filter media 12 in the sheet forming zone 14. As the sheet 4 emerges from the slurry, it enters a drying zone 15 where additional water solution is removed from the mat. As the drum rotates, the mat passes into the displacement zone 16. A stream of fresh water 6 (shower flow), or reused process water, is sprayed onto the mat by shower 5 and displaces the more contaminated vat liquor from the mat. The mat then passes another drying zone 17 and finally a discharge zone 18 where the mat is removed from the face by a removal device 19 and discharged to pass to another washer or another part of the process that is not shown and is not related to this invention.
In some cases, a washer will operate singly as described (for example a bleach pulp washer or a pulp decker/thickener), however, in many cases a plurality of washers are combined to form a complete washing system as shown in FIG. 2. Referring to this figure, three washers are operating together to form the washing system where the pulp slurry passes from washer to washer and reused filtrate is passed from washer to washer in the opposite direction, called countercurrent washing. A pulp slurry stream 22 is introduced into the repulper and is admixed with dilution stream 23. The balance of the system is made up of washers 1, 1' and 1'' rotating in directions indicated by arrows 3, 3' and 3'' inside vats 2, 2' and 2'' discharging mats 7, 7' and 7''. Water streams 6, 9' and 21' are introduced via showers 5, 5' and 5'' with the final pulp mat being discharged from the system as pulp slurry stream 24. Typically, the only fresh water is in stream 6. The filtrate removed from the mats on washers 8, 8' and 8'' pass into filtrate storage tanks 20, 20' and 20''. The filtrate from storage tanks 20 and 20' become dilution streams 9 and 21 into repulpers 10 and 10', respectively. Side streams 9' and 21' split off the main dilution streams and pass to showers 5 and 5'. The filtrate from storage tank 20'' becomes dilution stream 23 to repulper 10'' with a side stream 23' that passes out of the system to a chemical recovery process that is not shown and is not considered as a part of this invention.
In the single and multiple pulp washing systems described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, there are actually two process cycles that must be considered and controlled. Referring to FIG. 2, one process cycle is the actual pulp mass moving through the pulp washing system with a time cycle of typically less than ten minutes from the time the pulp mass enters the first washer, as pulp slurry 22, until it leaves the last washer, as pulp slurry 24. The second process cycle is the reused wash liquor cycle made up of fresh water and other reused process water, streams 6, 9' and 21', interchangeably called filtrates, which have a time cycle in the range of two to four hours from the time fresh water stream 6 is added on the last shower until the filtrate leaves the first storage tank 20'' as dilution stream 23 and wash liquor stream 23' going to the chemical recovery system that is not shown.
Attempts to control wash water flow 6 by measuring the solids content of the wash liquor stream 23', going to the recovery system, by a measurement means 25, either manually done or by continuous sensor means, is difficult at best due to the tremendous lag times (typically 2-4 hours) between the time a change is made and the results are measured. The actual controls that take place must relate to the control of the shower water applied during the short time of the pulp flow cycle represented by the passing of the pulp slurry from entering pulp slurry stream 22 to exiting pulp slurry stream 24.
Ideally, the pulp slurry stream 24 carries the minimum amount of soluble organic and inorganic materials because these must be reacted with chemicals in a later process stage and replaced when the liquor stream 23' is processed by a spent chemical recovery system. The fewer the soluble materials in the washed pulp stream, the less the expense for chemicals used and chemical make-up in the recovery cycle. The wash liquor stream 23' cannot simply be sewered due to its potentially adverse effect upon the environment. By evaporation, the solubles are separated and water is reused. Therefore, the less water in the wash liquor stream the better. The soluble and insoluble materials in the wash liquor stream are combustible and can be used as a source of energy. In an actual pulp washing system, there is always competition between the amount of spent chemicals recovered and the capacity of the recovery process to evaporate the filtrate produced by the washers. Minimizing the chemicals lost with the pulp leaving the system is obviously prudent; however, reducing this to the absolute minimum would require infinite dilution which is impractical. Compromises must be made, often on an hourly or daily basis, such that the capacity of the recovery process is not exceeded while the chemical losses are minimized.
Prior methods of control of pulp washing systems depended on an operator observing the operation and adjusting the control parameters based upon his own knowledge and past experience. Historically, human operators have only been marginally effective at controlling the black liquor solids content of the liquor side stream (see FIG. 2, stream 23') leaving the system going to the recovery system (not shown). This is due to the lag times (usually 2-4 hours) between changes to the shower flow 6 on the last stage shower 5 and the resulting effect in terms of the measured solids content of the wash liquor stream 23' leaving the first stage filtrate tank 20''. A real problem exists due to the fact that normal short-term fluctuations in the liquor solids are confused with expected long-term shifts in liquor solids that are results of past adjustments that have been made. This confusion results in unnecessary adjustments or the omission of a necessary adjustment.
Later, as a better understanding of the process became known, relational control concepts were developed and used. In relational control, a control factor is calculated from values of certain process variables and the values of controlled process variables are adjusted to bring the control factor to or near to a target value. Two of the most prevalent of these relational concepts are Dilution Factor (DF) control and Displacement Ratio (DR) control.
The development of Dilution Factor is credited to Leintz in an article titled "The Dilution Curve--Its Use in the Correlation of Pulp Washing and Evaporation," published by Waters and Bergstrom in 1955. According to this article, the DF relationship is used to predict spent liquor solids concentration from rotary drum washing systems based upon certain known operating conditions derived from analytical tests performed manually during operating trials. These results could then be used for design considerations or for determining present operating efficiency of a system.
The Displacement Ratio concept was introduced by Perkins, Welsh and Mappus in an article entitled "Brown Stock Washing Efficiency, Displacement Ratio Method of Determination." This method introduced to the industry another method of determining washing efficiency.
Regardless of the relational control concept proposed, it is required that various process conditions be monitored on a continuous basis such that automated control systems can respond in a manner that maintains the optimum slurry washing for the given conditions. Modern instrumentation systems have long been available that will measure, with reasonable accuracy, the flow rates, temperatures of materials, liquid levels within vessels, relative position of actuator devices and concentrations of various fluid process streams. Systems for measuring mass flow rates and concentration of solid streams, such as that leaving the pulp washing device, are also available; however, these devices are of questionable reliability and require verification by manual testing which can be performed on an hourly basis at best. The result is that continuous processes must be controlled using calculated parameters based on empirical relationships that may or may not be related to dynamic control components in the control system.
Both of the DF and DR concepts were addressed in Seymore U.S. Pat. No. 4,207,141 as related to the continuous control of washing systems, however, slightly different definitions of DF and DR were given than normally used. These control concepts were extended as described in Seymore U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,704 which relates to the control of washer speed to control the inlet consistency and improve washer mat formation and increase washing efficiency. In these methods, there is a requirement to continuously and instantaneously determine the consistency of the pulp mat leaving the washer, where consistency is defined as the ratio of solid pulp mass contained in the pulp stream to the total mass rate (pulp and water) contained in the stream expressed as a percentage. Consistencies and weighting factors are assigned and relate to the nonavailability of on-line measuring devices that can accurately and repeatedly measure the solids content of the fibrous mat leaving the face of the rotating washer.
In recent years, there has been a resurgence in the use of statistical control concepts to affect control over operating processes. Initially, the statistical control programs were basically manual operations performed on an hourly basis by operators that allow them to determine that statistically significant changes have occurred. Based upon their past experience, they can decide whether some action, if any, is warranted. Presently, these programs are typically aimed at identifying the need for operator involvement and understanding of the concepts needed to address the problem typically encountered when large lag times exist between the controlled parameter and the variable that is being Controlled.
This invention overcomes the problems of the prior art processes, including manual control, continuous control based upon attempts to continuously measure mat consistency and statistical control, by use of a trained neural network to predict the value of certain process variables that cannot be directly controlled. This invention is closely related to that disclosed in Grayson and Rudd U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,531 entitled "Process Control Using Neural Network" and incorporated herein by reference. Neural networks are developed and trained using a plurality of measurements, both manual and automatic, to consistently provide continuous outputs that are both repeatable and representative of process variables that have previously been assumed or arrived at by correlation.
The neural network controller is trained so that when production rates are changed from one level to another, historical experience is used to adjust the flow rates in a manner that obtains optimum operating conditions at various fractions of the time constant for each particular pulp washing system. Consequently, when operators make changes to the pulp stock input to the pulp washing system, they need no longer merely wait for changes to occur in the liquor stream some hours later to respond manually, but they can allow the system to dynamically adjust for the change as in a feed forward manner eliminating the problems associated with the long lag in response time.
The combination and accomplishment of all of the above is due to the neural network controller looking at a plurality of variables, including, but not limited to, process inputs from the operating control system, historical data, manual inputs from test results, and outputs from statistical analysis on washer operation to predict, for example, values for pulp mat consistency, pulp mat density, soda loss, black liquor solids, dilution factor and displacement ratio that can be used in relational control schemes or other control schemes.
The neural network controller provided in a closed loop control system for pulp washing systems according to this invention adjusts the set points of controlled variables to provide a higher level of process optimization for pulp washing systems than has been achievable in the past.

Control system for controlling a pulp washing system using a neural network controller

Brown and Root Industrial Services, Inc.


Various embodiments are disclosed relating to the identification of virtual private network (VPN) topologies. In an example embodiment, a plurality of edge routers associated with a network may be discovered, each edge router including one or more virtual routing and forwarding entities (VRFs). One or more route targets (RTs) associated with each of the VRFs may be determined, wherein corresponding RTs between two or more VRFs are associated with connectivity between the two or more VRFs via the network. The VRFs may be sorted into one or more groups based upon the corresponding RTs of the VRFs. A representative VRF (rVRF) may be identified for each of the one or more groups of VRFs. The rVRFs may be sorted into one or more VPNs and a topology for each VPN may be determined.

Networks provide communication pathways between devices that are spatially located apart from each other and have become an important part of maintaining communication between network devices. The networks may include one or more sub-networks that provide and/or restrict communication between two or more devices connected to the networks. An example sub-network may include a virtual private network (VPN) that may be used to allow or enable communication via a larger network between two or more devices and/or restrict other devices (outside the VPN) from gaining communication privileges associated with the VPN. Thus a single network may include multiple VPNs.

Virtual private network (VPN) topology identifier


An automatic molding machine has different operational molding stations in which at least two different safety zones are provided for the different molding stations. Such an automated machine includes a mold flask assembly including a drag flask, a cope flask and a pattern plate. An electronic controller controls the molding machine differently when different safety zones are breached.

Foundries use automated matchplate molding machines for forming sand molds. Formed sand molds are subsequently filled with molten metal material, cooled, and then broken apart to release metal castings. There are several prior art systems for this purpose including several prior art systems assigned to the present Assignee, Hunter Automated Machinery Corporation, including U.S. Pat. No. 3,406,738 to Hunter; U.S. Pat. No. 3,506,058 to Hunter; U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,664 to Hunter; U.S. Pat. No. 4,699,199 to Hunter; U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,218 to Hunter; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,622,722 to Hunter. The entire disclosures of these patent references are hereby incorporated by reference as the present invention may be incorporated or used in these types of molding systems. Additional reference can be had to these patent references for additional details of the state of the art and to see potential applicability of the present invention.
In automated matchplate molding machines of this type such as the HMP type molding machine that is manufactured and commercially available from Hunter Automated Machinery Corporation, the present assignee of the instant application, a pair of safety curtains is provided for safety reasons. The safety curtains are a type of sensor that define a safety zone that encompasses the outer sides of the molding machine in close proximity to the working interior of the machine. When this safety zone is breached, the entire molding machine is halted to a stop to shut down all operations and thereby prevent a worker who is breached the safety zone from being struck by the components or caught in the components of the molding machine.
While the foregoing inventions have set forth significant advances and advanced the state-of-art, there is still further room for improvement in automated molding machinery which is the subject of the present invention.

Mold making machine with separated safety work zones