The exemplary embodiments disclosed herein relate to activating methods for initiation polymerization of methylene malonates and other polymerizable compositions. The polymerization may be activated by anionic or free radical mechanisms. Because the polymerization may occur very quickly upon contact between the activating agent and the polymerizable composition, methods are provide herein for separating or otherwise rendering the activating agent ineffective to initiate polymerization, until such a reaction is desired. The separation may be physical (separate packaging, separate application steps, encapsulation) or it may be based on latent-activation methods (activation precursors, UV activation). Products formed from the methods disclosed herein may include inks, adhesives, coatings, sealants, reactive moldings, fibers, films, sheets, medical polymers, composites, laminates and the like. Exemplary polymerizable compositions and products formed therefrom are environmentally sustainable, environmentally benign and/or biologically benign.

1. Field of the Invention
Exemplary embodiments disclosed herein relate to improved methods for activating the cure of certain chain growth and cross-linkable polymerizable compositions of monomers, oligomers, and/or polymers through introduction of an activating agent, and to the use and/or application of such as commercial products and compositions, including, for example, monomer-based products (e.g., inks, adhesives, coatings, sealants or reactive molding) and polymer-based products (e.g., fibers, films, sheets, medical polymers, composite polymers and surfactants).
2. Background
Methylene malonates are compounds having the general formula (I):

wherein R and R′ may be the same or different and may represent nearly any substituent or side-chain. Such compounds have been known since 1886 where the formation of diethyl methylene malonate was first demonstrated by W. H. Perkin, Jr. (Perkin, Ber. 19, to 1053 (1886)).
However, earlier methods for producing methylene malonates suffer significant deficiencies that preclude their use in obtaining commercially viable monomers. Such deficiencies include unwanted polymerization of the monomers during synthesis, formation of undesirable side products, degradation of the product, insufficient and/or low yields, and ineffective and/or poorly functioning monomer product. These problems have impinged on their practical use in the production of commercial and industrial products.
Certain co-inventors of the instant application have recently filed patent applications on improved methods of synthesis of methylene malonates, namely, PCT/US11/056903 Synthesis of Methylene Malonates Substantially Free of Impurities, and PCT/US11/056926 Synthesis of Methylene Malonates Using Rapid Recovery in the Presence of a Heat Transfer Agent. The synthesis procedures provided therein result in improved yields of heretofore elusive high quality methylene malonates and other polymerizable compositions.
With the advent of improved synthesis processes for disubstituted vinyl monomers such as methylene malonates, there exists a need in the art for suitable methods of activating polymerization in order to provide the desired outcomes, including new classes of commercially viable products.
The polymerizable compositions are amenable to chain-building and/or cross-linking polymerization by anionic or free radical initiation and have the potential to form the basis of a highly valuable and large-scale platform for the chemical synthesis and formulation of new chemical products, including inks, adhesives, coatings, sealants, moldings, fibers, films, sheets, medical polymers, composites, surfactants and the like.
For example, in the area of addition polymerization, primarily with acrylates and methacrylates, the historic systems for activation have involved relatively high levels of catalyst, typically 2% by weight or more for most catalysts, accelerator and/or activator components. As such, significant mixing events, often coupled with substrate priming, were required to facilitate an appropriate polymerization (i.e., speed, degree of polymerization, etc.). Such requirements could be found, for example, in systems used in bonding inactive surfaces. Therefore, there is a need in the art for more facile polymerization initiation and management tools. Such improvements are not readily apparent given the state of the prior art.
As known in the art, materials such as cyanoacrylates may not require such high levels of catalysts, accelerators or activators. However, because such systems exhibit poor properties, there has not been an impetus in the art to develop improved methods of activation, particularly on inactive substrates, beyond the inclusion of additives such as calixerenes, crown ethers and the like to facilitate the strengthening or creation of anionic initiators on inactive substrate surfaces. Indeed, primers are often used to improve performance. It has been found that substantially perfect stoichiometric mixing is required with these systems to initiate polymerization, especially for spanning large distances from the initiation event (e.g., primed surface), large gap filling of 10 mils or more, potting applications, or molded parts. Again, improvement in performance is desired in the art with regard to ranges of physical and chemical properties.
Given the state of the art, new solutions not immediately apparent are required to to provide the desired outcomes, especially for consistently reactive formulations with long term shelf life at ambient temperatures. Further, there is a need in the art to provide a polymerization system including an addition polymerizable composition and a suitable initiation component or components provided at low levels and without the need for perfect or stoichiometric mixing.
Further, there is a need in the art for polymerizable systems that provide consistent reactivity, that are storable under ambient conditions, and that are substantially free of impurities that affect reactivity and shelf life.
As already noted, a consistently reactive, ambiently storable set of reactive formulations is important to these aforementioned products, their use and incorporation into resultant articles. Accordingly, those products must be substantially free of any impurities that may interfere with consistent, high speed reactivity and long term, ambient storage and shelf life.
Accordingly, there is now provided polymerizable systems able to provide on-demand, high speed, 100% or near 100% solids, low catalyst requiring, entirely or substantially energy free curing, ambient curing, optionally crosslinking polymerizable systems that may be by design environmentally, biologically and/or metabolically compatible to meet clear and heretofore unmet needs.

Methods for activating polymerizable compositions, polymerizable systems, and products formed thereby


A novelty soap bar is disclosed. The bar comprises an attractor module within a soap body made of substantially translucent or transparent soap, surrounding the attractor module. The attractor module comprises a water impermeable shell; an electronic, actuatable circuit within the shell adapted to cause emission of at least one of a visible and an audible signal, perceptible through the soap body; and a battery within the shell for providing energy to the circuit to cause emission of the visible signal. The module further comprises a light sensitive switch, mounted within said soap body to sense light exterior to said soap body, and interconnected with the circuit and the battery, to inhibit flow of current from the battery in the absence of light; and a motion sensitive switch interconnected with the circuit, to activate the circuit in response to sensing motion of the soap bar. The attractor module may be arranged to produce an animated sequence visible through the soap bar. The animated sequence may be formed using LEDs, LCDs, reflective sheets, or an electromechanical carousel.

Generally, children loathe using soap. Numerous schemes designed to entice children to use soap, have been conceived. For example, soaps with child desirable scents such as bubble gum, are available. Character merchandising has resulted in soap bars taking the shape of, or being sold in cases depicting, known cartoon characters to attract children.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,183,429 discloses a children's toy and bath soap assembly incorporating a toy encapsulated within a bar of soap. The body of the soap is transparent or translucent so that the toy is visible when the soap is being used. Moreover, the soap body and the toy have similar or complementary shapes. Children are thus reminded of the incentive to use the soap and liberate the toy, each time the soap is used. As well, preferably, the soap packaging is transparent so the soap and toy may be viewed upon purchase. The toy, however, is generally static, and may be a figurine, and thus is likely not appreciated for long once liberated.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,505 discloses a novelty soap bar incorporating a water-impermeable housing containing an electronic circuit which sends forth a visible signal, tone, melody or message, and is activated by a switch. The switch may be opened or closed in the presence or absence, of a magnetic field. This magnetic field may be created by a specially adapted soap dish. Alternatively, or additionally, the circuit may be activated by a vibration or temperature sensitive switch. Thus, a child is enticed to remove the soap from the dish in order to activate the circuit which acts as an attractor. In order to prevent the electronic circuit from being activated prior to sale of the soap, the soap may be sold in association with a specially adapted soap dish or the packaging may include magnets which may be discarded upon opening. This may be wasteful and expensive. Moreover, the disclosed circuit simply flashes several LEDs or plays a tune. This form of attractor may have limited appeal to children.
The present invention attempts to overcome some of the disadvantages of the prior art.


Devices, systems, and methods for marking and/or reinforcing fenestrations in grafts are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, a radiopaque marker for a graft is provided. The marker can be secured to the graft in the area near a fenestration such that the marker is visible via radiographic imaging. The radiopaque marker can be in the form of a radiopaque thread, a radiopaque bead, a radiopaque additive, or a radiopaque adhesive. In some embodiments, the radiopaque marker is in the form of a circular disc shaped and sized to surround a fenestration, the circular disc being formed of a radiopaque material. The radiopaque marker can be configured to or can be attached to a reinforcement member configured to reinforce a fenestration such that one or more edges of the fenestration are protected and/or to aid in engagement with and sealing to a mating stent.

Embodiments described herein relate generally to devices, systems and methods for marking and/or reinforcing fenestrations in grafts, such as, for example, aortic stent grafts.
Aneurysms generally involve the abnormal swelling or dilation of a blood vessel such as an artery. The wall of the abnormally dilated blood vessel is typically weakened and susceptible to rupture. For example, an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a common type of aneurysm that poses a serious health threat. A common way to treat AAA and other types of aneurysm is to place an endovascular stent graft such that the stent graft spans across and extends beyond the proximal and distal ends of the diseased portion of the vasculature. The stent graft is designed to reline the diseased vasculature, providing an alternate blood conduit that isolates the aneurysm from the high pressure flow of blood, thereby reducing or eliminating the risk of rupture.
Minimally invasive endovascular repair using stent grafts is often preferred to avoid the risks associated with traditional open surgical repair. However, these stent grafts can only be used when the graft can be placed in a stable position without covering major branch vessels. In the cases of juxtarenal aneurysm where the dilation extends up to but does not involve the renal arteries, the proximal portion of the stent graft needs to be secured to the aortic wall above the renal arteries, thereby blocking the openings to the renal arteries. Thus, patients with juxtarenal aneurysms, which represent a significant proportion of abdominal aortic aneurysm cases, are typically excluded from endovascular treatment.
To allow for endovascular repair of a wider range of cases, openings are sometimes created during manufacturing or cut by surgeons in the stent graft body to accommodate specific branch vessel origins, a process known as "fenestration." Thus, for example, in treating juxtarenal aneurysms, the fenestrations or openings of the stent grafts are to be aligned with the renal arteries. Traditionally, the fenestration process involves measurements based on medical images (such as CT scans) of the vessel origins. Longitudinal distances may be measured, and relative angular locations may be estimated from a reference point.
However, these manual measurements may take a substantial amount of time and effort, particularly when multiple branch vessels must be accommodated. For example, in abdominal aortic aneurysms, fenestrations may be required for both left and right renal arteries, the superior mesenteric artery (SMA), and the celiac artery. In addition, approximations of the placement of the branch openings could lead to errors in the placement of the openings compared to the true branch vessel origins. In some cases, openings may be erroneously placed over stent struts. In operating room conditions, surgeons often need to cut fenestrations in the stent body quickly. Additionally, there are challenges associated with cutting graft material both when cut by surgeons in operating room conditions and when fenestrations are created during manufacturing of a graft. Typical graft material is flexible and shifts in response to being pressed on with a cutting tool. Therefore, there is a need for a simple yet accurate and cost-effective way to create fenestrations in stent grafts. Moreover, there is a need for reinforcement of portions of grafts surrounding the fenestrations and for marking the fenestrations such that the fenestrations can be easily located during delivery and/or while the graft is in use.

Systems, devices, and methods for marking and/or reinforcing fenestrations in prosthetic implants


Disclosed is a shaped absorbent core suitable for absorbing and retaining aqueous body fluids. The absorbent cores comprise a front panel and a back panel. The front and back panels are made from fluid absorbent material, and each has an inner end, an outer end, and two sides. The inner and outer ends of each front and back panel have a length, with the inner end of each being shorter than the outer length of each. The front and back panels may comprise multiple layers of absorbent material. The absorbent cores also comprise a center section made from fluid absorbent material having first and second ends. The first end of the center section is in fluid communication with the front panel by overlapping the front panel intermediate the front inner and outer ends, and the second end is in fluid communication with the back panel by overlapping the back panel intermediate the back inner and outer ends. A method of preparing a shaped absorbent core comprises the steps of providing at least one continuous rectilinear web of first absorbent material having a longitudinal axis and a pair of lateral edges defining a first width. A continuous rectilinear web of second absorbent material having a longitudinal axis and a pair of lateral edges defining a second width wider than the first width of the first absorbent material is formed with opposing generally arcuate notched areas in the lateral edges at spaced intervals along the web of second absorbent material. The web of second absorbent material is severed transversely along a line intersecting the opposed generally arcuate notched areas at spaced intervals to form sections having opposed notched ends The sections are then positioned such that the notched ends are spaced apart and overlap the continuous rectilinear web of first absorbent material, forming layers of absorbent material. Then the layers of absorbent material are severed transversely at a point intermediate the notched ends.

Absorbent articles such as disposable diapers, incontinence pads, training pants, and catamenial napkins generally include an absorbent core for receiving and holding body exudates. The absorbent core typically includes a fibrous web, which can be a nonwoven, airlaid web of natural or synthetic fibers, or combinations thereof. Fibrous webs used in such absorbent articles also often include certain absorbent gelling materials usually referred to as "hydrogels," "superabsorbent" or "hydrocolloid" materials to store large quantities of the discharged body fluids. These materials absorb through capillary or osmotic forces, or a combination of both.
Alternative absorbent materials capable of providing capillary fluid transport are open-celled polymeric foams. If made appropriately open-celled polymeric foams provide features of capillary fluid acquisition, transport, and storage required for use in high performance absorbent cores for absorbent articles such as diapers. Absorbent articles containing such foams may also possess desirable wet integrity, provide suitable fit throughout the entire period the article is worn, and may avoid changes in shape during use. In addition, absorbent articles containing such absorbent foam structures could be easier to manufacture on a commercial scale. For example, absorbent foam diaper cores could simply be stamped out of continuous foam sheets and could be designed to have considerably greater integrity and uniformity than air-laid fibrous absorbent cores containing particulate absorbent gelling materials.
Besides absorbency and manufacturing ease, another desirable property of open-celled polymeric foams is the ability to make shaped or contoured absorbent cores having various shape configurations, fluid absorbency properties, and wear characteristics. For example, shaped or contoured absorbent cores made from open-celled foam materials having particularly desirable fluid transport characteristics are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,147,345 ('345 patent) issued to Young et al. on issued Sep. 15, 1992 and hereby incorporated herein by reference. The Young et al. '345 absorbent core comprises a fluid acquisition/distribution component that can be fibrous or foam based, as well as a fluid storage/redistribution component that comprises a hydrophilic, flexible, open-celled polymeric foam.
Forming shaped or contoured absorbent cores from foam materials, including those disclosed in Young et al. '345, is advantageous because the material is easily formed into webs that can be processed as rollstock. For example, the hourglass-shaped foam layer shown in FIGS. 2 and 9 of Young et al. '345 is typically made from web material that may be processed off of rollstock by notching, cutting, severing and otherwise shaping to form the hourglass-shaped piece. However, because each hourglass-shaped layer is cut from a single piece of material, it has substantially uniform material properties, and the absorptive characteristics of the layer are also substantially uniform. Therefore, fluid is absorbed from one layer to the next, from an acquisition layer to a storage layer, for example, if the absorbing layer capillary absorption pressure exceeds the desorption pressure of the donating layer. However, the use of an hourglass-shaped layer limits the overall efficiency of the absorbent core by placing material in areas where it may not be needed. For example, the acquisition layer may include material in the waist area where it is not typically needed, and the storage layer would include material in the crotch area where may not be desired. Also, in forming the hour-glass shapes, a significant amount of unusable foam scrap may be created.
Other absorbent materials, such as non-woven materials suitable for processing from rollstock, are also typically substantially uniform in nature. Therefore, although most materials easily processable from roll stock may be formed into shaped absorbent cores, the resulting absorbent cores have uniform material characteristics such as thickness and chemistry, resulting in uniform absorbent characteristics.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to be able to independently vary the material characteristics of an absorbent core in predetermined regions of an absorbent article, thereby varying the absorptive characteristics of the predetermined regions, but still be able to efficiently make the core from webs suitable for processing from rollstock in a manner that minimizes material use and scrap generation.
It would also be desirable to make an absorbent article with areas of the absorbent article subject to rapid fluid acquisition, such as the crotch area, tailored to provide rapid acquisition and distribution to other regions of the absorbent article tailored for fluid storage and/or redistribution.
It would be further advantageous to be able to independently vary all the material characteristics of various parts of an absorbent core, such as thickness, shape, and chemistry, thereby minimizing scrap while also providing for tailored absorbent characteristics, resulting in optimum fluid management and greater comfort to the wearer.

Shaped absorbent cores comprising multiple pieces of absorbent material and method for making same


A materials spreader for a plant for the continuous deposition of conveyable material, the substructure of which is supported on three support points and has a discharge jib. The support points of its substructure are designed as pontoons resting on the ground. A transport vehicle is provided underneath the substructure for moving the spreader. This transport vehicle is not permanently connected to the substructure.

The known material spreaders of the aforesaid type rest on three support points consisting of crawler undercarriages. By means of these crawler undercarriages a spreader can be moved around. Crawler undercarriages are very expensive components. They are also very heavy and, as a result the known spreaders have a considerable weight. In the known spreaders the discharge jib is swingably mounted. The discharge level is relatively high.


The optical information recording and reproducing method and apparatus include a method for controlling a high frequency pulse current for driving a semiconductor laser device by which noise due to returning laser light is hardly produced, and an apparatus for increasing access speed owing to decrease in the weight of an optical pick-up movable part. Loser noise is suppressed satisfactorily by detecting the position of the optical pick-up movable part in a split optical system by means of a scale, and generating a pulse current for modulating the laser having a frequency optimum for reducing the laser noise to drive the semiconductor laser device.

The present invention relates to an optical information recording and reproducing method and apparatus by which recording or reproducing of information is effected by irradiating a moving recording medium with focused laser to light, and in particular to such an apparatus having a fixed part and a movable part and being provided with split optics effecting recording and reproducing of information while moving the movable part.
As apparatuses for recording information by irradiating a recording medium with light, it has been known that (1) in an optical disk apparatus, information to be recorded is recorded in the form of uneven pits, (2) in an optomagnetic disk apparatus, information to be recorded is recorded while making it correspond to a medium, (3) in a phase change-type optical disk apparatus, reflectivity of light is varied at parts on a recording medium irradiated with light, etc. In many optical information recording and reproducing apparatuses, light for recording and reproducing information is provided by semiconductor laser devices in conjunction with optical or optomagnetic recording media.
A light beam emitted by a semiconductor laser device is collimated and focused on a small spot formed on a track of the recording medium. An optical head comprises the semiconductor laser device, the optics for collimating the light beam, the optics for irradiating the light beam to the small spot on the recording medium, etc., and is commonly housed in a casing. Accordingly position control for the small spot has often been performed by moving the optical head (refer to an article entitled "Ten billion bits on a disk", IEEE Spectrum AUGUST 1979, Pages 26-33, by K. Bulthuis et al.). However, in order to realize a high precision optical information recording and reproducing apparatus by moving the whole optical head with high speed, it is required to modify and downsize the optical head.
As to a type for moving the optical head with high speed, a split-type optical head has been proposed. In the split-type optical head, part of the optical head leading the light beam into the recording medium is split into a fixed part and a movable part. By this construction, the small, lightweight movable part is only moved to project the small spot on the recording medium, allowing correction of focusing deviation, correction of track position, and also information retrieval with high speed.
A split-type optical head has been described in detail in an article entitled "CMF Actuator and High Speed Access System", National Technical Report Vol. 35 No. 2, Apr. 1989; Pages 165-171, by Mitsuroh Moriya et al., and in an article entitled "High Speed Accessing using Split Optical Head" (SPIE Vol. 1078 Optical Data Storage Topical Meeting (1989); Pages 239-243) by K. Koumura et al.
However, such an optical head has a problem in that feedback noise of the semiconductor laser device is caused, in addition to a problem of down-sizing and reduction in weight. That is, a reflected part of the light irradiated from the semiconductor laser device to the recording medium again returns to the semiconductor laser device, which causes laser noise.
FIG. 4 shows an example of a conventional optical information recording and reproducing apparatus having a semiconductor laser device and a split-type optical head. A semiconductor laser device 1 emits a diverging linearly polarized light beam. The diverging light beam is transformed into a parallel light beam by collimating optics consisting of e.g. a collimating lens 5. The parallel light beam is passed through a polarized beam splitter 4. Then it passes through a quarter-wavelength plate 8 to be converted into a circularly polarized beam, and is bent upwardly by a mirror 12 and focused on a recording surface 14 of the recording medium 2 by an objective lens 6. The light beam irradiated on the recording surface 14 is reflected to pass back through through the objective lens 6 and to be reflected by the mirror 12 back through the quarter-wavelength plate 8. The reflected light beam thus becomes linearly polarized light whose polarization direction is perpendicular to the polarization direction of the original light beam emitted by the semiconductor laser device 1, enters the polarized beam splitter 4 and is reflected thereby to be focused by a detection lens 7 on a detector 3, where it is converted into an electric signal.
Since optical properties such as stability of lateral mode, small astigmatism, etc. are required for the laser used for the optical information recording and reproducing apparatus, a device having single modes both for lateral mode and transversal mode is used therefor. For this reason, strong coherency as well as laser noise are excited by returning light. For example, in an apparatus detecting presence or absence of light reflected by the recording medium for carrying out reproduction of information, since a quarter-wavelength plate is inserted in the optical path, it is possible to deflect most of the reflected light to the detecting system side and not to the light source side. However, a small part of the reflected light from the recording medium is fed back to the semiconductor laser device because of birefringence of a substrate of the recording medium and the characteristic fluctuations of optical parts, etc.
On the other hand, in an optomagnetic disk device, since variation in the direction of magnetization of the information recording medium is detected as rotation of the polarization plane, the quarter-wavelength plate cannot be inserted in the optical path, and thus several tens of % of the reflected light from the recording medium is fed back to the semiconductor laser device. In consideration of the reflectivity of the recording medium and the efficiency of the optical system, several % of the light emitted by the semiconductor laser device is fed back thereto as returning light. When the returning light amount exceeds several %, laser noise causes hindrance of recording and reproduction.
As to a countermeasure against the laser noise, the laser spectrum is converted into multi-mode by superposing a high frequency current on a current for driving the semiconductor laser to thereby reduce the coherency of the laser light, reducing laser noise caused by the returning light. Such a method is described in JP-B-59-9086, U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,218, JP-A-59210541. Among them, in JP-A-59-210541, assuming that the light velocity is c, the optical length between the semiconductor laser device 1 and the recording medium 2 is L, and the modulation frequency at which the laser noise becomes minimum is f, the following equation results from the above relationship, 2L/C=1/2f. According to the equation, an optical length up to the recording surface of the recording medium has been determined from the frequency of the high frequency current and the light emitting point of the semiconductor laser device.

Laser device driven by a periodic waveform optimized for reducing laser noise


Method, instructions and system for establishing and enforcing change password policy in a single sign-on environment. In response to receiving a change instruction identifying a first single sign-on password, the first single sign-on password is changed to create a second single sign-on password. Then a target password is retrieved. The target password is modified in a user selected manner to match the second single sign-on password to create a modified target password. The modified target password is stored. In response to a request from a user requesting access to an application, the modified target password is retrieved and the modified target password is provided to the requested application.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to the field of computer software and, more particularly, to methods of incorporating a password change policy into a single sign-on environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
As computers have infiltrated society over the past several decades and become more important in all aspects of modern life, more and more confidential information has been stored on a variety of enterprise resources such as NT shared directories, Netware domains, S/390 resources, and protected web server pages. However, computers and networks such as the Internet allow multitudes of users access to these resources. Many times multiple resources may be accessed via the same network, but not all users on the network need or should have access to every resource. Therefore, security devices have been implemented to prevent unauthorized access to specified resources.
One method of preventing unauthorized access is to require the user to provide user identification information to verify that the user is entitled access to specific resources. Thus, many resource manager applications require a user to provide identification information, such as a user ID and password, in order to access protected resources. These applications may have this information fixed within the application (i.e., "hard coded"), the application may be configured with the information, or, in some cases, the application may prompt the user for this information at run time.
However, resource manager applications are not the only computer resources requiring a user to provide identifying information. Other resources such as servers and networks may also require users to provide identifying information. Because different resources have different security requirements and because some resources assign identities rather than allowing a user to choose an identity, many users may have multiple identities depending on the particular resource that they are accessing.
Single-Sign-on (SSO) technology manages this set of multiple identities on behalf of a user so that the user only needs to maintain a single user identity. The user then allows the SSO environment to manage the other identities automatically whenever the user attempts to access a particular protected resource. Some SSO technology stores all of the user's passwords in a centralized database. However, since passwords are confidential, the SSO server uses a "master key" to encrypt the user's passwords before it stores them and it uses the "master key" to decrypt the user's passwords after it retrieves them from the database and before it sends them to the 350 client.
However, when a user wants to change a SSO password, there is no presently available system to allow the user to change all of the user's target passwords with a single operation. In addition, administrators would like to specify a security policy in which the administrator may control when a target password may be changed, as well as what the content of the changed target password should be in relation to the original SSO password. Therefore, a flexible scheme for changing SSO target passwords and a method that supports this scheme in the existing SSO architecture is desirable.

Incorporating password change policy into a single sign-on environment

International Business Machines Corporation


Aspects related to the secure transfer and use of secret material are described. In one embodiment, public vendor and provider keys are provided to a customer and encrypted secret material is received in return. The encrypted secret material may include a customer secret material encrypted by the public vendor and provider keys. The encrypted secret material is imported into a trusted execution environment and decrypted with private provider and vendor keys. In this manner, a provider of cryptographic processes is not exposed to the secret material of the customer, as the customer secret material is decrypted and stored within the trusted execution environment but is not accessed by the provider in an unencrypted form. In turn, the provider may receive various instructions to perform cryptographic operations on behalf of the customer, and those instructions may be performed by the trusted execution environment.

Generally, a trusted execution environment or hardware security module is a device for processing and securely maintaining digital keys, securely generating keys, securely performing cryptographic processes, and/or accelerating cryptographic processes. A hardware security module, when configured to adhere to certain access permission requirements, requires strong authentication before permitting access to the secure services and operations provided by the module. Hardware security modules devices may be embodied in various forms including computer plug-in cards and network devices coupled to servers via secure networks and, in certain aspects, provide both digital and physical protection for digital key materials from unauthorized use and access.

Secure transfer and use of secret material in a shared environment


A sensing textile includes at least one assembly of optical fiber filaments, wherein the sensing textile has a main direction and a cross direction, and wherein the at least one assembly of optical fiber filaments is oriented at any angle measured relative to the cross direction.

Civil infrastructure includes roadways, tunnels, pipelines, highways, bridges, railroad, and the like. Repairing civil infrastructure is costly and can be inefficient process if the only indicator is failure of a structure. However, current monitoring technology may not provide the measurement capabilities desired such as ease of use, low cost, detecting functionality, and monitoring functionality. Accordingly, a need continues to exist in the art for a sensing textile to meet current, new and sometimes demanding applications.


A method of correcting a mask pattern is provided. First, an original writer drawing data of a circuit layout pattern is inputted. Then, according to the original writer drawing data, a correcting writer rule is selected by searching from a look-up table. According to the correcting writer rule, the original writer drawing data is corrected to obtain a corrected writer drawing data of the circuit layout pattern.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photolithographic apparatus and operating method thereof, and more particularly, to a method of correcting mask pattern and correcting apparatus thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, the trend in the development of semiconductor is miniaturization of circuit devices. Among the processes used in semiconductor production, photolithographic process plays a very important role. Critical dimensions (CD) concerning semiconductor device structures, such as patterning various thin films, are dependent on the photolithographic process, which also determine the development of photolithographic technology. Thus, the accuracy of a photomask pattern is very crucial. If the pattern on the photomask is inaccurate, an inaccurate pattern will be transferred. Hence, the tolerance of the critical dimension on the chip can be affected and the resolution of the exposure can be reduced.
In a general photomask fabrication, the circuit layout pattern (the original mask layout pattern 100 in FIG. 1 ) of an integrated circuit is stored in magnetic tapes through a computer-aided design (CAD) system. Then, the designed circuit layout pattern is exposed to a glass plate or quartz plate coated photosensitive material. Next, the exposed photosensitive material is chemically developed and etched to form a mask with the circuit layout pattern. The conventional method of correcting the pattern on the corner region of the mask includes: using the software program within the mask writer to compute the size of the exposure compensating value when the mask writer is used to carry out the exposure. However, the exposure compensated mask pattern will still produce some corner rounding effect after the steps of chemical development and etching. In general, there are two major types of photo-exposure processes: one uses a laser beam while another uses an electron beam. In the laser beam exposure process, a laser beam is used to write out the pattern. One disadvantage of the laser beam method is the susceptibility of the pattern on the mask to the corner rounding effect as shown in the distorted pattern 102 in FIG. 1. The accuracy of the pattern and the process window are seriously affected especially when the dimension of the circuit design pattern is small.
In the electronic beam (e-beam) process, an electron beam is used to write out the pattern. The corner rounding effect on the pattern of the mask is less serious and the method has less effect on the process window of the photolithographic process. However, using an electronic beam to write out the pattern has a throughput significantly lower than using a laser beam. Furthermore, the cost of producing a mask using the electronic beam method is more than 5 times the cost of producing the same mask using the laser beam method.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,792,592, a method for forming an accurate pattern on a photomask is disclosed. The method performs a selection of the appropriate writer properties and then uses the selected writer properties to choose the mask writer for the job. However, the method in the disclosure limits the formation of the pattern on the mask through the selected mask writer. Hence, the method can hardly solve the aforementioned problem.


The present invention provides a method and module for preprocessing ultrasound imaging. The method comprises a calculation step for constructing a multivalue vector field and a smoothing step for smoothing the whole volume data. The method further comprises a judgement step and minification and magnification steps. The module includes a calculation unit, a smoothing unit, a judgement unit, a minification unit and a magnification unit. According to the method for preprocessing ultrasound imaging, speckle noise can be eliminated effectively by calculating a mean value of a plurality of nodes distributed over the surface, so as to implement the smoothing. Therefore, this method is capable of smoothing data without compromising details.

A conventional medical imaging equipment can only offer a two-dimensional image of the inside human organs. A doctor can empirically estimate the size and shape of nidus from a plurality of 2D images so as to "conceive" a three-dimensional geometrical relationship between the nidus and its surrounding tissues, which brings difficulty to therapy. A 3D visual technology can reconstruct a 3D image from a series of 2D images and display it on a terminal. Thereby, not only a profile of the imaged object is obtainable directly and vividly, but also a lot of important 3D information is saved. Since the ultrasound imaging has significant advantages over CT, MRI in non-invasion, non-ionizing radiation and operating flexibility etc., the 3D ultrasound imaging has the prospect of being widely in clinic. There exists a need to expand the research on the 3D visual technology in the ultrasound field.
So far, there are two ways to acquire 3D ultrasound volume data: one is to acquire a series of 2D ultrasound images for a tissue with known spatial positions by using an existing 2D ultrasound diagnostic equipment in combination with a locating mechanism so as to finally obtain the 3D volume data in an offline manner; the other is to utilize a 2D matrix array probe to emit ultrasound beams in a pyramid volume so as to acquire real-time 3D volume data.
There have been some mature methods for visualizing 3D volume data. However, speckle noise specific to the ultrasound image has become an important factor influencing the imaging effect, thus limiting its application. The 3D ultrasound volume data consists of a series of ultrasound images. In forming the ultrasound image, reflection echoes from the reflection points whose space is smaller than a wavelength interfere with each other so as to produce the speckle noise, which will blur the image features and disturb observation and analysis. If such a volume data not being processed is used in 3D imaging directly, the resulting visual effect will be unacceptable. The purpose of preprocessing is to filter or smooth the ultrasound volume data to suppress the noise, so that the visualization after preprocessing leads to imaging of good quality, therefore putting 3D ultrasound imaging to the best use.
A filter to reduce speckle artifact in ultrasound imaging is provided in a patent document US005409007A. In this document, a method for preprocessing is described as comprising the following steps: forming for each pixel in an ultrasound image (prior to a scanning conversion, that is, before a digital scan converter) a five-point diamond-shaped template centering at the pixel; calculating a medium gray-scale value of these five pixels; and replacing the original gray-scale value of the central pixel with the medium value, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
The shortcoming of the above-mentioned technology is that it can not be used in 3D application directly. Even though it is extended to 3D application and the size of the template is adjusted, either the noise is significant or the imaging result becomes blurry, unable to smooth the imaging data without compromising important details. Therefore, the prior techniques are not adapted for practical application.

Method and apparatus for preprocessing ultrasound imaging

Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics Co., Ltd.


An educational device employing charades and answer-based question formulation in a game situation to teach subject matter of a particular religious nature is disclosed. The educational device is typically comprised of a playing board having a plurality of contiguous spaces extending in a path parallel to the perimeter and converging on the center thereof. Certain of the contiguous spaces contain indicia which correspond to subject matter area categories and associated subject matter area text entries on the cards of a card deck. Certain of the contiguous spaces correspond to a card deck containing question-answer and player interaction/movement cards. The remaining contiguous spaces specifically direct player movement. The playing board also contains a plurality of non-contiguous spaces located on various portions thereof. A plurality of markers are used by the players and chance means initially directs player movement about the board. Players are awarded or required to relinquish scoring markers based on the completion of particular game tasks and the information contained on selected game cards. The object of the game is to reach the central area of the game board and collect as many scoring markers as possible while traveling through the contiguous and non-contiguous spaces.

Various educational devices have been employed throughout the years to teach particular subject matter. These educational devices consist primarily of charts, tables, flash cards and the like. Such prior art devices mainly provide instruction on a single subject matter area. Although these educational devices provide an adequate treatment of the subject matter, they provide little in the form of amusement.
Educational devices employing game situations having religious themes are known in the art. These educational devices utilize a playing board, game pieces and cards, wherein individual players complete with each other by question and answer testing, having as their object the educating of the player in religious subject matter. Typical of such educational games are those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,121,823 (Educational Device Employing a Game Situation) and 4,934,709 (Memory Game Apparatus and Method of Play).
Another known popular game involving competing playing teams is the game of "Trivial Pursuit" disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,956. The "Trivial Pursuit" game utilizes a game board, game pieces, and game cards containing multiple inquiries, each requiring a a specific single answer, and the correct answer to the inquiries. The playing board surface includes a circular playing path containing symbols which serve as indicia to the multiple inquiries on the game cards. The playing path symbols represent different specialized fields of knowledge. A playing team member moves it's game piece to a particular position on the playing path based on the roll of a die. The field of knowledge the playing team is to be tested on is determined by the symbol on which the game piece is located after the move is completed. The playing member of the playing team draws a game card and shows the game card to the opposing team for answer verification. The playing member then reads the question aloud to the other members of the playing team. The playing team has a designated period of time to provide the correct answer to the question. If the playing team provides the correct answer, it is awarded a scoring marker. The object of the game is to be the first team to reach the center of the playing board after collecting the required number of scoring markers.
Those educational devices employing question and answer as the sole means of player interaction lack the necessary animation to sustain interest and provide stimulation to reinforce the repeat use of such devices.
Games involving teams competing with each other in which members of each playing team are required to present certain game details to the playing team are well known in the art. One such example of a game of this type is known as "Charades". Accordingly in the game of "Charades", before the actual play begins, familiar sayings, quotes and the like are placed on individual slips of paper which are then folded and collected into a central area. Each playing team, in turn, designates a team presenter. When a particular playing team's turn arrives, the designated presenting player draws one of the folded slips from the central area. The presenting player, according to the rules which restrict audible communication with the other team players, must silently convey to the other members of the playing team the saying, quote or the like contained on the slip.
Another game known in the art which involves competing playing teams is the game "Star Struck" disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,667. It includes a playing board containing a star shaped playing path, game pieces and cards. The game "Star Struck" requires the performing player of the playing team to provide an audition which is typical of an audition required from a performing artist in a number of known performing arts fields. Incorporated with the audition requirement is the concept of observation by the remaining members of the playing team to determine specific information from the performance in order to develop multi-part answers to specific team questions. Movement is determined initially by the roll of a die and subsequently by game cards and correct answers to multi-part team questions. The game "Star Struck" is based upon a performing player's use of verbal and acting skills, personal experience, and knowledge to perform an impromptu audition. It also relies on the playing team's general and specific knowledge of the performing arts fields, as well as the playing team member's ability to interpret the performing player's audition performance. The object of game is to be the first team to make a complete circuit around the board clockwise returning to the start position.
These prior art educational devices promote competition amongst the individual players or teams using the devices. No attempt is made by the prior art to promote mutual cooperation amongst the individual players to maximize the learning experience such that the focus is on how the game is played instead of winning or losing.
Finally, the majority of the prior art educational devices provide instruction on a single subject matter area and can not readily be changed to expand the teaching to other subject matter areas thereby limiting the utility of such devices.

Educational device employing game situation


A rotary head type recording apparatus having a rotary head which is arranged to record signals on a tape-shaped recording medium by tracing the medium; a transport device for longitudinally moving the tape-shaped recording medium; a recording circuit which is arranged to cause a recording signal to be recorded on the recording medium by supplying the recording signal to the rotary head; a recording control circuit which controls the start and stop of signal recording by the recording circuit; and a transport control circuit which controls the start and stop of the recording medium moving action of the transport device. The operation timing of the recording control circuit is arranged to be substantially identical to that of the transport control circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a rotary head type recording apparatus and more particularly to an apparatus of the kind recording signals on a tape-shaped recording medium with a rotary head while the tape-shaped recording medium is transported.
2. Description of the Related Art
The apparatuses of the above-stated kind include the video tape recorder (hereinafter referred to as a VTR). Generally, the VTR is arranged to have a so-called joined shooting function by which a joint at every cut can be made inconspicuous on a reproduced picture when a picture taken, for example, by a video camera is to be recorded by the VTR. FIG. 1(a) of the accompanying drawings schematically shows how the tape is moved by the conventional joined shooting method. In accordance with the typical conventional method, the tape is first shifted from a recording state (indicated by a double line) to a recording pause state. In this instance, the tape is rewound to a given degree from its pause position and is then kept in a standby state while a pinch roller is left in a state of being pushed against a capstan. When a recording button is pushed after that, the VTR is put into a reproducing mode for a period of time corresponding to a degree to which the tape has been rewound. Tracking control is then performed before the VTR is brought back to the recording state.
With the joined shooting action performed in the above-stated manner, the tape is moved to a recording start position under tracking control performed for the recorded tracks. Therefore, any disorder in a tracking pattern at the joint part can be minimized by the above-stated method.
However, the conventional joined shooting method necessitates inclusion of rewinding and reproducing periods of time. Therefore, there occurs unrecordable time of at least four second or thereabout. During this period of time, the VTR is incapable of recording even while the video camera is picking up an image for recording during this period.
Further, when the VTR shifts from its reproducing mode to its recording mode in accordance with the conventional method, a new recorded track might happen to overlap an existing recorded track in the attempt of leaving no unrecorded part there. Then, a part of the existing recorded track would be erased and missed from a reproduced picture.
In addition to these problems, the conventional method has presented the following problems: The length of time intervals of a so-called interval recording mode in which recording is to be repeated for every given period of time cannot be shortened beyond a certain limited degree due to the above-stated problems. The consumption of electric energy would be increased by the frequent pauses and restarts of recording.
In performing the joined shooting action, the recording is in some cases not performed over a long period of time and in other cases frequently pauses and restarts as mentioned above. The conventional method encounters various problems particularly in the latter cases.


In an integrated circuit where one desires the most compact arrangement of fuses and active circuitry, an insulating layer is deposited over active circuitry which includes the associated interconnect layers. A protective layer made with a reflective material may be used as a conductive layer above the lower layers of the integrated circuit containing active circuitry which includes interconnect layers of any desired number. This protective layer is patterned below the areas that will later contain fuses (or antifuses or both). Above this protective layer another insulating layer is deposited. A fuse layer which may be metal or another conductive film is then deposited. This conductive layer is patterned to provide the desired fuses (and/or antifuses) as required, with some or all of the fuses aligned with the protective layer deposited underneath. The protective layer is patterned such that the area of the protective layer underneath the fuses will absorb and/or deflect much of the radiant energy that does not directly impinge upon the fuses.

Fuses and antifuses have been used in the manufacture and repair of integrated circuits for some time. The word fuse will be used throughout this specification to mean fuse, antifuse, or both. The uses of fuses have been in: (1) the repair of circuits through the selective addition and deletion (or substitution) of circuitry to repair bad portions of circuitry; (2) the marking of units for identification; (3) the customization of circuits by altering their structure, paths, or electrical characteristics. It has been common for a fuse to have an open area above the fuse to allow for the application of a radiant energy beam to the fuse from above the integrated circuit. It has also been common for the area around the fuse to be free of active circuitry (transistors, resistors, signal lines, junctions, etc.) for a distance larger than the minimum feature dimensions of the process used. The reason for this practice is that the spot size of the radiant energy beam has been larger than the feature size of the fuse, and the nearby circuitry could not be subjected to the heat of that radiant energy pulse, for fear that it would be damaged. Additionally, the area below the fuse has been kept clear of active circuitry (transistors, resistors, signal lines, junctions, etc.) for fear that the radiant energy used to configure the fuse would damage this active circuitry. Thus, the use of radiant energy configurable fuses for custom integrated circuits will increase the overall chip area of the integrated circuit since active circuitry could not be placed underneath or near these fuses.

Laser fuse and antifuse structures formed over the active circuitry of an integrated circuit


An air bag is unfolded on a planar surface and is inflated with air. The air bag is loosely sandwiched between the upper and lower blades that are arranged in a radial configuration. Movable blocks progress toward the center to fold the upper and lower panels of the air bag against the central part of the air bag. The resulting central folded part of the air bag has a wave-like configuration, and the upper and lower panels are separated from each other. The ear-like portions of the air bag are wound around the central folded part of the air bag that is folded in a wave-like configuration. Then, the central part of the air bag is pressed downward to complete the folding process. Gas can be supplied smoothly from the inlet port to the periphery when the air bag is reinflated. The method for folding the air bag is simple, and the air bag can be inflated quickly.

A conventional air bag device is provided on a steering wheel of an automobile. This air bag device comprises an air bag having a flat bag-like configuration, a cover body for covering the air bag, and an inflator for injecting gas. The air bag is folded into a small size and is housed in the inside of the cover body by a predetermined method. The air bag device injects gas from the inflator when the sensor detects an impact of a collision in order to inflate the air bag. The cover body must be broken with the inflation pressure of the air bag, allowing the air bag to be inflated and deployed toward the driver to minimize the force of impact on the driver.
The conventional air bag is folded from the unfolded, plate-like configuration along straight lines at predetermined positions into a rectangular configuration which can be housed in the cover body. However, considerable manpower is required since it is difficult to mechanize the folding device. Therefore, it is also difficult to improve productivity.
Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-502637 discloses a device for folding an air bag that may be automated. This folding device comprises folding plates that are arranged in concentric circles or in a spiral configuration and are located opposite to the upper and lower parts of the air bag. The air bag device is inflated while it is sandwiched by the folding plates. Each of the folding plates, which are arranged in concentric circles, are moved or deformed to decrease the diameter of the concentric circles in order to fold the air bag. However, the folding device is complicated and is costly to use.
Furthermore, an air bag that is circular as seen from a planar perspective is subject to petal folding in which the air bag is gathered toward its center from its outer circumference and takes on a pleat-like configuration. Other structures are disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. HEI 10-129381 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. HEI 10-217894.
The present invention provides a method for folding an air bag that provides desired folding characteristics and can decrease manufacturing costs, an air bag device, and an air bag.

Method and device for folding up air bag, and air bag


A printer for printing on a first medium in the form of a continuous band or on a second medium in the form of a sheet, in a print zone of the printer, is provided. The printer comprising a movable cover giving access to the print zone for loading said second media, a hold down system for holding said second media in position before and during printing, a first sensor to detect opening of the cover linked to said hold down system, storage means for storing said first medium, a feeder for moving said first medium from the storage means to the print zone, wherein when the cover is opened by a user of the printer the sensor activates the hold down system to accept said second medium without any further action by said user. The printer may have a second sensor for activating the feeder to withdraw the first medium from a ready to print position to a standby position while simultaneously moving the second medium through the print zone.

This invention relates, in general, to print media feed apparatus for hard copy printing devices capable of operating with printing media in continuous band or sheet form and, more particularly, to large format ink jet printers, plotters and the like with the ability to, interchangeably, handle a continuous media in roll form and/or cut sheets.
An ink jet printer mechanism is a non-impact printing device which forms characters and other images ejecting ink droplets, in a controllable manner, from a print head. The ink jet mechanisms can be used in different devices, such as printers, plotters, facsimile machines, copiers and the like. For the sake of convenience reference shall hereinafter be made solely to large format ink jet printers or plotters, to illustrate the concepts of the present invention.
The printhead of a machine of the kind mentioned ejects ink through multiple nozzles as minuscule droplets, which xe2x80x9cflyxe2x80x9d over a short space and strike a printing media. Different nozzles are used for different colours. Ink jet printers usually print within a range of 180 to 2400 or more dots per inch. The ink thus deposited on the media is immediately dried after being deposited to form the desired printed images.
There are several types of ink jet printheads, for example, thermal print heads and piezoelectric ones. By way of example, in a thermal ink jet printhead, the ink droplets are ejected from individual nozzles by localized heating. Each of the nozzles has a small heating element. An electric current is made to pass through the element to heat it. This causes a tiny volume of ink to be heated by the heating element and vaporized instantaneously. On vaporization the ink is ejected through the nozzle. An exciter circuit is connected to individual heating elements to supply energy impulses and, in this way, to deposit in a controlled way droplets proceeding from associated individual nozzles onto the media. These exciter circuits respond to character generators or other imaging circuits to activate selected nozzles of the printhead to form the desired images on the media.
The ink nozzles customarily form part of an ink cartridge, disposable or otherwise, and the printhead of a printer of the kind to which the invention refers can have cartridges mounted for different ink colours, for example, cyan, magenta, yellow and black. These are arranged in the carriage in such a way that their nozzle sections are to be found very close to the surface of the support platen of the media, but separated therefrom, for the purpose of allowing the passage of said media between them. The carriage moves the printhead back and forth through the printing zone in one direction, called the scan direction, the location of the carriage in the printing zone being constantly controlled thanks to codifying means which control an actuating motor, for example a stepping motor.
In machines of this type there is generally used, as media, a band of paper of large width, for example D and E size, arranged in rolls of up to 90 m. in length. A 90 m. roll of E size paper can weigh almost 8 kg., so precautions should be taken at the time of handling it.
Such handling is even more difficult if we consider that the face of the media band on which the printing is performed is the external face and that a large part of the media used in a machine of the kind to which the invention refers have a coated surface which is sensitive to contact with the operator""s hands, such that the operator should as much as possible avoid touching said printing surface during operation while, at the same time, keeping it clean and away from objects that could harm or scratch the media surface.
Moreover, for certain printing tasks the operator may have to utilize media in the form of large cut sheets, for example in A, B, C, D and E formats, as well as in formats utilized in Architecture. Such pre-cut sheets can easily spoil during handling, especially the larger sized ones. Care should be taken when removing the media from the packet and during its insertion and adjustment in the printer and, furthermore, care should be taken to touch the media only at the edges, to avoid harming or soiling the area on which the printing has to take place.
Once the printing task concludes, the machine automatically cuts the media (this does not occur in the case of printing on individual sheets) and the media, in one or the other case, is allowed to drop on to the output tray, with the possibility of the ink still not having dried completely with the resulting risks this entails, i.e., that the printed work may be spoilt during initial handling of the media.
In the prior art printing machines of different types are already known (impact or ink jet, for example) which are capable of printing both on continuous media and on cut sheets. A known machine of this type makes use of a xe2x80x9cparkingxe2x80x9d facility of the continuous paper while operating with cut sheets fed manually.
For example, from U.S. Pat. No. 5544966 a printer is known which, provided with at least one tractor for continuous paper, allows the use of cut sheets to print while the continuous paper is xe2x80x9cparkedxe2x80x9d outside the printing area. This machine achieves this interchangeable feeding by the provision of, at least, two different pathways for paper input (continuous and cut sheets), a third pathway being foreseeable for the input of continuous paper, likewise with the intervention of a tractor (the one cited or another additional one) for paper.
In the first place the printer to which said document of the prior art refers, is of small format and provided with tractors for the input of paper, which can be fed into it in continuous band, folded zig-zag, with the usual perforations in the margins or in the form of loose sheets, of small format.
In the second place, in said printer of the prior art is necessary to change the turning direction of the main roller to take the continuous medium towards a parking position, beyond the printing area and out of contact with said main roller prior to being able to feed cut sheets.
Large-format printers are also known, to allow parking of a print medium supplied starting from a roll and feeding in, in its place, a cut sheet to perform a printing operation on it. These prior art printers have two superimposed openings for input of the printing medium: one for the supply starting from a roll and another for the supply as cut sheet. However, the said two superimposed openings give way to a single advance path of the printer medium.
In machines of this type, when a user wishes to perform a printing task on a cut sheet in a printer loaded with continuous medium, the printer has to be requested, in the first place and by pressing a control panel button, to withdraw the continuous medium from the printing area, making it recede separating it from the main feeder roller and parking it, by a deviator which completely withdraws it from the main advance roller. In the second place, the user has to manually insert the medium in cut sheet form into the suitable opening, operation of which is bothersome, since the manipulation of said cut sheet is difficult, owing to its extreme width and, in particular, because of the close arrangement of said two input openings (which are, moreover, hidden from the operator""s view), the most likely result being that the cut sheet will be fed into the wrong opening, already occupied by the parked continuous medium. Finally, by means of another push-button in the control panel, the user has to make the machine load the paper in sheet form until the printing area.
Moreover, the input path of the means in sheet form is practically mutual with that of feed in of the medium in cut sheet form and it is not possible to supply said cut sheet simultaneously with removal of the medium fed in starting from a roll.
According to the present invention there is provided, a printer for printing on a first medium in the form of a continuous band or on a second medium in the form of a sheet, in a print zone of the printer, the printer comprising a movable cover giving access to the print zone for loading said second media, a hold down system for holding said second media in position before and during printing, a first sensor to detect opening of the cover linked to said hold down system, storage means for storing said first medium, a feeder for moving said first medium from the storage means to the print zone, wherein when the cover is opened by a user of the printer the sensor activates the hold down system to accept said second medium without any further action by said user.
Accordingly, one aim of embodiments of the present invention is to provide a system for automatically changing the manner of feeding the printing medium into a printer of the kind specified in the preamble of this specification, between a manner of feeding in the medium in continuous band form and a manner of feeding in the medium in cut sheet form with little intervention by the operator.
Embodiments of the invention provide two different input paths for the medium: one for continuous medium and the other for medium in cut sheet form.
An operator can load continuous media into the machine starting from a roll of the same and perform a printing task; afterwards he can load a cut sheet without touching the media roll, perform another printing thereon and, after withdrawing said cut sheet, he can once again operate with continuous media from the roll without at any time touching the media.
To achieve this, in the advance path of the medium, there is provided an auxiliary driver axis provided with, at least, one roller and arranged transversally respecting the direction of advance of the medium, between a first input roller intended to guide the medium and the main roller feeding in the same, whose auxiliary driven axis can adopt a first position, in which it is to be found separated from the path of the medium fed in starting from a roll, and a second position in which it is applied with said medium, which is grasped between said at least one roller of the auxiliary driven axis and by at least one roller assembled in a supporting axis arranged to turn freely (whose geometrical axis is parallel to the geometrical axis of said auxiliary tractoraxis) such that said continuous medium can be made to advance and/or retrocede along said advance path.
In its turn, said auxiliary axis, when in said second position of application with the continuous means, can adopt a first condition, in which it turns freely, allowing advance of the medium removed from said input roll until the medium achieves a xe2x80x9cREADYxe2x80x9d position (prepared for printing) in the printing area of the machine and while a printing operation is performed on it, and a second condition, in which it is actuated in a first turning direction to make said continuous medium recede, removing it from the printing area and from the main pulling roller and taking it to a xe2x80x9cSTAND BYxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cparkingxe2x80x9d position, during which the printer can be carrying out a printing operation on a cut sheet, or in which it is actuated in the opposite direction to said first turning direction, to once again feed in said continuous medium that was parked, until taking it to the ready to print position, in said printing area.


An intramedullary compression screw device and method including a cannulated compression screw and a cannulated proximal module for enabling the joining and alignment of two or more phalanges at the proper compression to facilitate healing in a patient. The cannulated compression screw includes a smooth body portion, an external threaded portion, and a low profile head. The cannulated proximal module includes external self-cutting threads and internal threads complementary with the external threads of the cannulated compression screw. Means are provided for driving the proximal module into a proximal phalanx and for securing the compression screw into the proximal module. A proximal module sizing template provides a means for determining the proper diameter of proximal module for insertion in the proximal phalanx. A depth gauge is provides a means for determining the proper length of cannulated compression screw for attachment to the proximal module.

Hammer toe, a deformity of the proximal interphalangeal joint of the second, third, or fourth toe causing it to be permanently bent, in severe or longstanding cases, may require surgery.
Several devices are commonly used for the surgical correction of hammer toe. One such method consists of a single-piece correction device that is threaded on one end. One problem with the single-piece device is that it does not provide a means of adjusting the compression between the phalanges being joined, which can lead to improper healing of the phalanges. A second problem with the single-piece device is that it cannot be adjusted to correlate to the length of the patient's phalanges. Thus the distal end of the device is usually left extending from the distal end of the patient's distal phalanx. As a result, the patient's skin around the extending portion of the device cannot be closed by surgery, thereby creating a pathway for infection while the patient is convalescing and awaiting the surgically joined phalanges to heal.
Accordingly, what is needed is an apparatus and method for enabling a surgeon to correct a hammer toe deformity while creating proper compression between the proximal phalanx and the middle phalanx of the foot. The apparatus and method include a proper diameter to fit within the phalanges of the specific toe being operated on. The hammer toe apparatus and method further requires a means of properly gauging the length of the correction apparatus to enable it to be flush with the end of the distal phalanx.


A fishing aid device that is a miniature size and doesn't need a battery. The fishing aid device includes a housing; a fishing aid member disposed in the housing; and an actuating assembly disposed in the housing for energizing the fishing aid member.

The use of fishing supports is known in the prior art. More specifically, fishing supports heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
The prior art includes a blinking LED protectively encapsulated within the bobber body and laterally offset from the central axis. A light pipe extends from the offset LED to the top of the bobber and terminates in a lens on the vertical central axis. The LED is energized by an improved capacitive energy storage circuit within the bobber, and the circuit significantly increases operating time between recharging of the circuit. No batteries are carried by the bobber. Another prior art includes a housing having a casing extended into a receptacle, a circuit board is disposed in the housing, a processor device and one or more light members are attached onto the circuit board, one or more batteries are electrically coupled to the circuit board. Also, another prior art includes a fishing rod accessory including a cylindrical coupling that has axially opposed end portions, a bore formed in fluid communication with the end portions, and a stop member positioned therein and extending along an interior surface of the coupling. While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new fishing aid device.


A shelf system adapted to be attached and removed from end cap supporting walls in limited vertical headspace situations by providing a separate thin walled connector strip which is releasably attached to the rear wall of the shelf and on which the end cap wall connection means are positioned as opposed to the shelf rear wall itself.

This invention is directed to store end cap shelving and more particularly to a system for quickly and easily rearranging the shelf position and relative spacing between adjacent shelves on such end caps. Historically, the end cap display shelves in retail stores such as drugstores, big box retailers, discount outlets and the like have open trays or shelves on which merchandise is supported and displayed for sale. The shelves are vertically spaced from each other and project perpendicularly from the end cap walls that are, in turn, provided with openings to receive supporting or hanging projections extending to from the rear of the shelves. Since end caps are normally utilized for sale, promotional and/or seasonal merchandise or goods and oftentimes that merchandise takes a variety of forms and sizes, it is desirable that the vertical position of the individual shelves or trays be easily and effortlessly moved up and down to accommodate the variously sized merchandise placed thereon.
For instance, the trays could support or contain small individual packages such as candy, cosmetics, office supplies and the like or could contain moderately large stuffed animals, electronics, kitchen electrics dependent on the store manager's marketing strategy and the season of the year. Naturally, the tray or shelf displaying the stuffed animals or other large items requires a larger to vertical spacing between itself and the tray immediately above than would a similarly placed tray having smaller items displayed thereon. Thus when the particular special or seasonal sale is over and alternate merchandise of differing sizes requiring dissimilar spacing requirements vis-à-vis the other trays above and below, the originally positioned trays must be removed from the end cap support wall and this could necessitate the removal of several trays positioned thereabove due to the space required to upwardly tilt the front end of the tray to disengage the connecting means from the receiving openings provided in the end cap support wall. This can result in a time consuming rearrangement of several upper shelves as well as the possibility of unnecessarily removing the goods on such adjacent shelves when those goods are to remain on display.
Accordingly, the present invention presents a shelf construction and system for enabling a single shelf to be removed from the shelf support and rearranged thereon in an altered vertical position within a much smaller vertical space than with prior art systems and thus eliminating the need to temporarily remove the shelf or shelves above that single shelf. This is preferably accomplished by modifying the rear portion of the presently utilized shelves in a simple and cost effective manner.
These and other objects of the present invention are accomplished by providing a releasable thin wall connector strip to the rear upstanding shelf wall and providing the attachment means for engaging the receiving openings in the end cap support wall. The strip, in essence, replaces the connecting function of the rear wall of the shelf. Since the strip is of very limited longitudinal extent, the strip itself can be upwardly tilted within a limited headspace to enable the connecting means provided thereon to slip out of the end cap wall openings and is then be reinserted into similar openings spaced above or below the original position. The shelf itself can then be reattached to the strip within a headspace only slightly greater than the vertical height of the shelf itself. This enables shelf rearrangement in limited spacing situations that would be impossible with currently used systems and generally avoids displacing the adjacent shelves above the selected shelf when those other shelves do not otherwise require repositioning.
These and other objects of the present invention are accomplished by an end cap shelf system for mounting display shelves upon an end cap wall having openings adapted to receive shelf supporting means comprising a shelf having a flat bottom wall, a rear wall and front and side walls defining an open top display space adapted to receive merchandise for sale, said rear wall being laterally disposed and having a generally flat outer surface, a separate thin walled connector strip having generally planar opposed inner and outer faces to and connection means cooperatively provided on the outer face of said shelf rear wall and the inner face of said connector strip for releasably engaging said connector strip to said shelf rear wall when said connection means are vertically and laterally disposed with each other, and releasable locking means for holding said connector strip and said rear shelf wall in assembled engaged position, said strip outer face including said shelf supporting means.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention shall become apparent as the description thereof proceeds when considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.


An electrotherapy unit includes a central processor, a digital force modutator connected to and controlled by the central processor, a voltage-increasing transformer, and two conductive pads connected to a secondary coil of the voltage-increasing transformer. The digital force modutator includes two pairs of transistors each having an input side connected to the central processor. The central processor controls conduction/non-conduction of the transistors. A loop for each transistor is connected to the power supply and the primary coil of the voltage-increasing transformer. A diode and a capacitor are connected in parallel between a collector and an emitter of each transistor. The diodes avoid damage to the transistors resulting from an electromotive generated by the primary coil of the voltage-increasing transformer. The capacitors reduce noise signals generated during switching operation of the transistors and the diodes. The capacitors provide bypass for high-frequency noise signals.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrotherapy unit. In particular, the present invention relates to a full-range electrotherapy unit with a digital force modutator.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electrotherapy units comprise low frequency (lower than 1 kHz) types, medium frequency (1 kHz–5 kHz) types, and high frequency (above 5 kHz) types. The electrotherapy units include conductive pads to be in contact with the skin of a person receiving electric therapy by means of outputting low-frequency, medium-frequency, or high-frequency voltage to provide the human body with an electric stimulating effect.
FIG. 8 of the drawings illustrates a conventional electrotherapy unit comprising an analog power supply 10′, an AM signal generator 20′, an FM signal generator 30′, an analog signal mixer 40′, an analog power amplifier 50′, a voltage-increasing transformer 60′, and two conductive pads 70′. The analog power supply 10′ supplies power to the analog power amplifier 50′. Input signals from the AM signal generator 20′ or the FM signal generator 30′ are inputted to the analog signal mixer 40′ to create a medium-frequency vibrating voltage which is amplified by the analog power amplifier 50′ and then increased by the voltage-increasing transformer 60′. An amplified AM or FM medium-frequency voltage is generated and outputted through the conductive pads 70′ to provide the human body with an electric stimulating effect.
The analog power amplifier 50′ is substantially an amplifying circuit consisting of an operational amplifier and two power transistors for amplifying the inputted voltage. The collector of each power transistor is connected to a primary coil of the voltage-increasing transformer 60′. However, the rectilinear analog power amplifier 50′ has a relatively large power loss due to the temperature of the transistors, setting of the transistors, VCE voltage, current leakage, etc. Further, the electric circuit is apt to consume larger power and fails to provide a stable frequency under high frequency, as high-frequency parasitical oscillation is apt to be generated by a parasitical capacitor in the transistor. As a result, the electrotherapy unit could not be used in high frequency.
Further, since the collector of each transistor is connected to the primary coil of the voltage-increasing transformer that has an inductance, the reverse electromotive generated by the primary coil during reversion of the voltage would directly flow into the transistor, resulting in damage to the transistors.

Full-range electrotherapy unit with digital force modutator


A rotor 1 of an AC generator for vehicle according to the invention in which a conductor 6 is wound around a spool 5 in multi-rows and multi-layers is characterized in that gaps between the conductors at least at the deep portion 22 out of the gaps between the conductors from the innermost layer to the outmost layer are filled evenly with resin 7 forming resin layers. A manufacturing method of a rotor 1 of and AC generator for vehicle according to the invention includes the steps of applying a fluid resin material 7 to a conductor 6 immediately before the conductor 6 is wound on a spool 5, and heating the entire structure to cause the resin 7 to be heat-cured after the conductor 6 to which the fluid resin material 7 has been applied is wound around the spool 5 in multi-rows and multi-layers.

In rotors of AC generators for vehicles, it is a recent trend that a larger output from a generator is required due to increase of electric load in the vehicle. Thus, a rotor is constructed such that a conductor is wound in multi-rows and multi-layers to enhance the efficiency of space. Further, in the rotor, after the conductor has been wound a predetermined number of times, resin is applied or put in drops at points where the conductor is exposed from a spool, that is, from the outer circumferential side of the outermost layer to protect the conductor from heat or foreign matter. Furthermore, to deal with the effect of a centrifugal force provided by the rotation, a protective tape is wound on the outermost circumference over the entire circumference to assure the resistance to a centrifugal force. (For example, see the Japanese Patent No. 3383143)
On the other hand, in the conventional multi-layer wound coils, a large number of through holes are provided in the tubular part, and this tubular part is immersed in varnish, or is brought in drops of varnish and impregnated, whereby the varnish is made to penetrate into deep portions of coil to cause the coil to be stabilized. (For example, see the Japanese Utility Model Publication laid-open No. 20020/1986)
However, according to such a conventional manufacturing method of a rotor, a problem exists in that even if resin is applied, for example, from the outer circumferential surface that is exposed from the spool, in the case of multi-layers, the resin will not reach into the innermost layers due to subsequent heating, and the resin is heat-cured in the state in which air is interposed between the coils, thus the coil being subjected to heat and friction. Furthermore, according to the method in which resin is made to penetrate between conductors by immersing the conductors in varnish, or by dripping and impregnating varnish into between the conductors, it is necessary for a plurality of dipping holes to be formed in the spool. Therefore, the strength required for a spool for use in rotors cannot be assured, thus there remains the possibility of deformation and breakdown. Moreover, the fact that the alignment state of conductor of multi-rows and multi-layers is changed due to such deformation of the spool, thereby the conductor being damaged, may results in failure of a power generator itself. In addition, in the case of a coil densely wound in significant numbers of layers, e.g., dozens of layers, it is considerably difficult that an impregnating varnish is uniformly run into between the coils even when the varnish is impregnated through impregnation holes. This is because, most windings, which are aligned in multi-layers and in high density, are in the state in which they are staggered to be adjacent and in close contact with each other, i.e., they are in the state of so called "traverse winding", thus making it hard to form channels of a viscous resin penetrating into the deep layer portion (winding area deeply surrounded by the winding in the state of having been wound). In case of being wound in considerable numbers of rows, holes corresponding to the number of rows have to be formed in the tubular part of the spool. Thus, a further problem of affecting insulation properties arises in the case where an iron core is located on the inner circumferential side.
The present invention was made to solve the above-described problems, and has an object of obtaining a rotor of an electric rotating machine making it possible to suppress the loss of shape, damage and the like of a multi-layer conductor, and to ensure higher reliability even in the case that a rotor, in which multi-rows and multi-layers of winding is formed, is mounted on a vehicle and driven to rotate continuously.
A further object of the invention is to improve a cooling capability of winding, thereby enabling improved output per number of turns of windings.

Rotor of electric rotating machine and manufacturing method thereof


It is an object of the invention to discover a substance that effectively increases the production of adrenomedullin, as well as to provide an adrenomedullin production-enhancing agent utilizing this substance. The adrenomedullin production-enhancing agent is characterized by inclusion of a ginsenoside, a sanshool, and/or a shogaol as active ingredients.

Adrenomedullin was discovered in 1993 as a peptide involved in regulation of the circulatory system with strong vasodilatory effects (Patent Document 1). Adrenomedullin is produced by a variety of organs such as those of the circulatory system and the digestive system, and has important physiological effects such as vasodilatation, neovascularization, antibacterial effects, anti-enteritic effects, protection of the gastric mucosa, and suppression of thrombus formation. Administration of adrenomedullin has correspondingly been confirmed to be effective in the treatment of various diseases, and has been reported to be effective against conditions including myocardial disorders, non-bacterial inflammatory diseases, pulmonary hypertension, bone disorders, myometrial contraction, urinary disorders, and the like (Patent Documents 2 to 7).
However, since adrenomedullin is a peptide, formulation of it is associated with high costs of production, and in the case of direct administration of adrenomedullin, a dosage form such as an injectable preparation or an intravenous drip preparation must be used. Rigorous production technology and management excluding incorporation of foreign matter, such as endotoxin, is thus required. Furthermore, since adrenomedullin has a half-life in blood of only tens of minutes, administration of significant amounts is required for exertion of its effects. However, intravenous administration of a large amount of adrenomedullin may induce hypotension. Moreover, when exposure of specific organs to adrenomedullin is expected, various problems may exist, such as the need for targeting technologies. There has thus been a need for a highly safe medicament which can be produced at low cost and that is when orally administered capable of enhancing activity of the adrenomedullin production system, which is constitutively activated in vivo. However, no such medicament has been available.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 2774769
Patent Document 2: WO 00/078338
Patent Document 3: WO 00/078339
Patent Document 4: JP-T-2002-540216
Patent Document 5: JP-A-2003-300899
Patent Document 6: JP-A-2006-290777
Patent Document 7: JP-A-2006-290814

National University Corporation ASAHIKAWA MEDICAL COLLEGE


An air-operated combination diaphragm spring brake has a tamper-resistant connection between a head (46) and a spring side of a flange case (18) which together form a spring chamber (16) housing a power spring (66). The head (46) has an annular rim (70), and the flange case has an annular flange (78) with a diaphragm (48) sandwiched therebetween. A plurality of tabs (102) on one flange rotate into L-shaped channels (94) to lock the head to the flange case with a bayonet style engagement. An alternative embodiment employs threads (112, 114) on the head and adapter flanges to seal the spring chamber. A further embodiment seals the head to a cast flange case using a threaded hoop 116 fitted over the flange case to engage the threads on the head flange.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improvement in air-operated combination diaphragm spring brake actuators of the type used with air brake systems on vehicles such as trucks. In one of its aspects, the invention relates to a spring brake actuator having a tamper-resistant spring chamber.
2. State of the Prior Art
Spring-applying brake actuators are in common use with air brake systems used on trucks, buses, and towed vehicles. Such actuators are typically provided with a service chamber for normally applying and releasing the brakes in response to delivery and exhaust of compressed air, and a spring chamber disposed in tandem with the service chamber for providing parking or emergency brake functions. A spring brake actuator uses spring force to operate a service brake actuator and apply brakes when pressurized air in the spring chamber is reduced below some predetermined level. Air pressure may be reduced in the spring chamber to apply the brakes under the control of the operator or automatically as a result of failure of the air system. The service chamber and spring chamber are separated by an adapter or flange casing which forms a wall between the two chambers.
In a typical spring brake, a barrel-shaped power spring is used to store energy and to exert the large force required for braking in the event of air pressure failure. Air pressure acting on a diaphragm or a piston is employed to compress the spring and maintain it in its brake release position. When the air is exhausted, the spring acts on the diaphragm, typically an elastomeric diaphragm or a piston, and through an actuating rod exerts the spring force on the service push rod to apply the brakes in the event of a failure of the system air pressure.
The spring brake actuator operates within the spring chamber, which is typically formed by clamping an elastomeric diaphragm between a head (sometimes also known as a spring housing or spring chamber) and the adapter. The power spring is typically compressed within the spring chamber between the head and the diaphragm. The spring has a high spring constant and typically weighs 3 pounds or more, being compressed to a linear length of less than 3 inches from an original uncompressed length in an extended condition of from 9 to 12 inches. With a high spring constant, the spring has a substantial amount of potential energy, exerting a force on the head of from 2,000 to 3,000 pounds.
In previous diaphragm style brake actuators, the brake actuator head is secured to the adapter by means of a band generally U-shaped in cross section, to clamp mating flanges on the head and adapter with the diaphragm clamped therebetween. Typically the band is formed of sections bolted together for convenient disassembly. Because the power spring is under great pressure, means must be provided to restrain or "cage" the power spring before the spring chamber can be safely disassembled. Failure to properly cage the power spring prior to disassembly and the resulting sudden release of potential energy in the spring can cause the head and adapter to fly apart.
To deter disassembly of the spring chamber, it is known to form the clamp band from a continuous ring, deformed over the flanges to form what is commonly termed a sealed brake. Safety is an advantage of a sealed brake. Because it must be deformed to be removed, a sealed brake clamp band or deformed flange deters disassembly of the spring chamber.
The same feature which makes sealed brakes safer also deters future repair, because disassembly is difficult without damaging the brake. If the diaphragm should fail for example, the entire brake actuator may need to be replaced. In any event, reconditioning of a sealed brake is a very difficult procedure.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,992,630 to Leighton et al., issued Jul. 18, 1961, and 4,887,513 to Ewald et al., issued Dec. 19, 1989, disclose bayonet closures for piston spring brake actuators. In a piston spring brake actuator, a piston is disposed for reciprocating movement within a cylinder, with a cap mounted to one end of the cylinder. A power spring operates between one side of the piston and the cap and is compressed by air pressure acting against the opposite side of the piston. When air pressure is lost, the spring urges the piston toward an actuating position, wherein a push rod actuates the brake. A bayonet connection between the cap and the cylinder provides a secure, yet releasable connection. However, bayonet closures such as those disclosed by Leighton and Ewald do not solve the problem of clamping a diaphragm between two housing members, without the diaphragm interfering with the connecting means.