Disclosed herein is a tool, a kit, and associated method for transferring a membranous tissue composed of cells derived from a living body. The tool can include a first sheet-like supporting member disposed on one side of the membranous tissue in a wet state, and a second sheet-like supporting member disposed on the other side of the membranous tissue in a wet state. The first supporting member and the second supporting member can be configured to entirely hold the membranous tissue, such that a frictional force between the first supporting member and the membranous tissue is larger than a frictional force between the second supporting member and the membranous tissue.

The presently disclosed subject matter relates to a tool for transferring a membranous tissue, which is capable of transferring a membranous tissue to a desired position for curing, a kit, and also to a method for transferring a membranous tissue through use of the tool.
Among recent common treatments for cardiac infarction and the like is transplantation of a cell sheet to the affected part. A "cell sheet" is a sheet-shaped cell culture which is obtained by culturing the cells of a patient until the patient's own cells form a tissue. The cell sheet is thin and fragile and highly self-adhesive due to its high water content; therefore, a sophisticated technique is usually used to accomplish transfer from the culture container to the affected part. In practice, this issue is addressed by using a special tool for transferring the sheet-shaped cell culture.
One conventional example of such transferring tools is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2010-75081. The tool is composed of a cell sheet attracting section having a porous body and an evacuating section, so that the tool can transfer a cell sheet which has been picked up by the cell sheet attracting section by suction under reduced pressure.
Another example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2008-173333, is a tool for transferring and applying a treating substance, which is composed of a sheet support to support a sheet-shaped treating substance (a cell sheet), means for deforming the sheet support, and sheet attaching-detaching means for selectively applying a negative pressure (which causes the cell sheet to be attracted to and held on the sheet support) and a positive pressure (which causes the cell sheet to be released).

Tool for transferring membranous tissue, kit and method for transferring membranous tissue


A method and an image sensor circuit (2) for providing a bit stream pulse modulated signal at a controlled bit rate. The image sensor circuit (2) has a two-dimensional array of pixel signal pulse frequency modulators (22) each having a photodiode (32) for converting incident light into a varying signal voltage and a frequency-to-digital converter which generates a pulse frequency modulated signal from the varying signal voltage. The circuit 2 also has a sampling unit (24) which samples the pulse frequency modulated signal to generate the bit stream pulse modulated signal at said controlled bit rate. An arithmetic unit (26) is coupled to an output of the sampling unit (24) for performing stochastic processing on the bit stream pulse modulated signal.

An image sensor converts an optical image focused on the sensor into electrical signals. Typically, the image sensor comprises an array of light sensitive elements, each element producing a signal corresponding to the light intensity incident on that element. The signals may then be used, for example, to provide information about the optical image.
Some image sensors integrate a light sensitive device with signal processing circuits in each pixel of the array. Such image sensors are generally classified into either analog types or digital types. The analog type is generally suitable for light integration, but is far from robust against noise and therefore has less precision. The digital type is robust and more suitable to communication. However, it requires an Analog-to-Digital (A/D) converter and the capability to perform arithmetic operations, such as addition and multiplication, which are area consuming.
One common type of image sensor used in many consumer applications, such as digital cameras and camcorders, is a charge-coupled device (CCD). Some of the appeal of CCDs derives from their ability to produce an image and maintain their resolution when the illumination intensity is low. However, integrated circuits comprising CCD image sensors have a number of drawbacks including a relatively low yield, relatively high power consumption and a high cost of production, which is due to the specialized processing involved.
A much cheaper alternative to CCD image sensors are Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors that have a light sensitive element such as a photodiode, phototransistor or other suitable device, where the conductivity of the light sensitive device corresponds to incident light intensity on the element. A variable analog signal can therefore be generated by the light sensitive element. Light sensitive elements may be formed in a two dimensional core array, which is addressable both by row and by column. Once a row of elements has been addressed, the analog signals from each of the sensitive devices in the row are coupled to the respective columns in the array. An A/D converter may then be used to convert the analog signals on the columns to digital signals so as to provide only digital signals at the output of the image sensor that is typically formed in an integrated circuit.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,344, assigned to K.K. Toshiba, discloses a solid-state image pickup device that endeavors to address the complex and expensive manufacturing processes and insufficient signal-to-noise-ratios (SNRs) encountered with conventional image sensors. The image sensor disclosed employs a plurality of charge/voltage conversion elements in correspondence with a plurality of photosensitive elements. A control pulse generation circuit controls the integration of the signal charges, which ultimately leads to an improved SNR and simplified manufacturing of the image sensor. However, this image sensor still exhibits relatively high power consumption.
The introduction of semiconductor memory at the pixel level allows imaging data to be stored locally and accessed in a manner similar to a standard Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM). However, pixel level A/D conversion has a disadvantage of operation voltage reduction that accompanies deep sub-micron processes. This may directly affect the signal quality and thus deteriorate the SNR. In addition, if the area of a photodiode decreases then the signal capacity in the photodiode decreases causing degradation of the SNR.
Further to the above, A/D converters implemented at the pixel level often use very simple and robust circuits and operate in parallel. However, such an implementation requires a large pixel size, has high output data due to over-sampling, has poor low light performance and has inherent fixed pattern noise due to the analog components required. An example of a CMOS image sensor with pixel level A/D conversion is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,461,425, assigned to Stanford University. In the image sensor disclosed, analog signals generated by phototransistors are converted to a serial bit stream by an A/D converter connected at the output of each phototransistor and formed in the immediate area of each phototransistor within an array core. The provision of a separate digital stream output for each pixel element of the array core endeavors to minimize parasitic effects such as parasitic capacitances, resistances and inductances, to which large area pixel arrays are susceptible. This sensor uses Sigma-Delta modulation and Nyquist samped data rates. Although this sensor is useful, there is a need for a two-dimensional image sensor that possess improved signal processing characteristics and reduces signal deterioration effects due to inherent D/A conversion that is required in these types of image sensors.
In this specification, including the claims, the terms 'comprises', 'comprising' or similar terms are intended to mean a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a method or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include those elements solely, but may well include other elements not listed.


A stent assembly comprises a rotatable sheath and a stent. The assembly is crimped or reduced in diameter prior to loading onto a catheter by one or more crimping apparatuses. One crimping apparatus comprises a blade having a stepped configuration. A mandrel may be used to support the assembly during crimping. The mandrel may have an expandable region. A protective sheath may be used to protect the stent during crimping and to redirect the crimping forces to desired locations about the assembly.

Description of the Related Art
A stent delivery system employing a stent assembly with branches intended for deployment in the adjacent branches of a vessel bifurcation has been proposed to allow placement of a portion of the assembly in both a primary passage, such as an artery, and a secondary passage, such as a side branch artery. Additionally, these stents generally have an opening which allows for unimpeded blood flow into the side branch artery. However, problems are still encountered in orienting the stent relative to the side branch at the bifurcation of the primary and secondary passages. Moreover, such bifurcated assemblies are typically specially manufactured at an increased cost over a more standard stent intended for single vessel deployment.
In delivering a stent to a vessel location, many current devices rely on either passive torque (e.g., pushing the stent forward and allowing the stent that is fixed on the guidewire/balloon to passively rotate itself into place) or creating torque from outside of the patient to properly orient the medical device in the passage. These devices and methods of achieving proper angular orientation have not been shown to be effective in properly placing and positioning the stent. In addition, many catheter systems which are currently utilized to deploy a stent or other implantable device into a body lumen do not provide adequate stent edge protection prior to delivery.
Thus, a need exists to provide a catheter which is capable of allowing a medical device such as a stent to be easily maneuvered and aligned at a vessel bifurcation or other location, while also adequately protecting the edges of the stent during advancement of the catheter through the tortuous confines of a body lumen. Various devices and methods described herein address this need by providing a catheter system with a rotatable sheath apparatus which a stent may be mounted on. The rotatable assembly is rotatable about the catheter shaft thereby eliminating the need to apply torque to the catheter shaft to align the stent at a vessel bifurcation.
There is also a need to provide one or more devices and methods for reducing/crimping a stent onto the rotatable sheath without interfering with the performance of the sheath. Existing crimping devices and methods, such as are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,387,118; U.S. Pat. No. 6,108,886; U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,273; U.S. Pat. No. 6,082,990; U.S. Pat. No. 6,074,381; U.S. Pat. No. 6,063,102; U.S. Pat. No. 5,992,000; etc. are insufficient as the traditional cross-section of the crimping iris or assembly would likely deform and/or damage the unique shape of the rotatable sheath and stent assembly, which is described in greater detail below.
All US patents and applications and all other published documents mentioned anywhere in this application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Without limiting the scope of the invention a brief summary of some of the claimed embodiments of the invention is set forth below. Additional details of the summarized embodiments of the invention and/or additional embodiments of the invention may be found in the Detailed Description of the Invention below.
A brief abstract of the technical disclosure in the specification is provided as well only for the purposes of complying with 37 C.F.R. 1.72. The abstract is not intended to be used for interpreting the scope of the claims.


The driving force control unit for a vehicle comprises a plurality of control modes for controlling a driving force, each of control modes having each driving force characteristic, a vehicle driving condition detecting unit for detecting a vehicle driving condition, a selector for selecting one control mode from the control modes, a temporary selector for changing the current mode to other mode, and a driving force indication value setting unit for setting a driving force indication value according to the vehicle driving condition and the driving force characteristic corresponding to the selected mode by the selector or the temporary selector.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a driving force control unit for a vehicle which selects one driving force characteristic from a plurality of different driving force characteristics by manipulation (outside operation) and determines driving force based on the selected driving force characteristic.
2. Related Art
Conventionally, in an engine with a so-called electronically controlled throttle in which a throttle valve is electronically controlled using a throttle actuator, an accelerator pedal and the throttle valve are not mechanically linked and hence, opening of the throttle valve (throttle opening) can be controlled with nonlinear characteristic with respect to an operation amount of the accelerator pedal (accelerator opening).
For example, publication of unexamined patent application JP A 2005-188384 discloses a technology in which an operation state of an engine is divided into a plurality of operation regions based on an engine rotational speed and accelerator opening and a map is set for each operation region to perform control of the throttle valve conforming to the operation state of the engine.
According to the technology shown in the above reference, an appropriate map is automatically selected for each of the driving ranges, and the throttle opening degree is controlled in accordance with the selected map. In this case, high acceleration performance is requested when a vehicle merges into the main road of a highway or travels uphill road, that is, a driver is requested to push the accelerator pedal down.
However, the driver is requested to push the accelerator pedal to the metal so as to change the driving range to acceleration range, the driver feels a lack of acceleration by a response lag of reach to the acceleration range.

Driving force control unit for a vehicle


An aerial sky tram system includes a plurality of towers, a cable track suspended from the plurality of towers by a support cable, and a sky tram coupled to the cable track. The sky tram includes a plurality of rotors that propel the sky tram along the cable track.

This section provides background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the disclosure. It should be understood that the statements in this section of this document are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
In undeveloped, sparsely populated areas, cars and trucks operating on surface roads provide the lowest cost and most flexible solution for transportation of people and goods. Surface railways offer an alternative to surface roads. As population density increases, available land for expanding surface road and rail networks becomes costly and more difficult to obtain. Increases in population density also lead to an increase in the number of commuters, and thus an increase in the amount of traffic that can lead to gridlock. The increase in traffic can make surface roads/railways inadequate/inefficient.
Two common attributes that are the basis for most past and new solutions to gridlock are to create infrastructure to either go above ground level (e.g., elevated trains, aerial trams, etc.) or below ground level (e.g., subways, road tunnels, etc.). While below-ground systems can be effective, they are significantly more expensive to create than above-ground systems. Below-ground systems can provide an effective solution to urban gridlock as they are essentially invisible and typically immune from the effects of weather. Below-ground systems however require incredible capital investment, carry high maintenance costs, and are limited in application by soil conditions and terrain.
Above-ground systems can be a much more cost-effective way to provide new transportation options for commuters. Unlike on-ground systems that rely on existing railway track and have to share right of way with heavy cargo trains, elevated-rail systems and vehicles are purpose-designed for mass transit. This allows above-ground systems to provide commuter trains that can operate at high speed in dense urban areas without crossing surface roads and adding to gridlock. Modern elevated-rail systems are currently operating at high speeds and autonomously in many cities. However, while the land footprint of elevated-rail systems is relatively small compared to conventional surface rail system, the infrastructure costs associated with elevated rail systems are very high. Costs are especially high if routes require passage over natural or man-made obstacles like rivers, mountains, or buildings. Elevated-rail systems can also generate a fair amount of noise as the train cars roll over the trestles. The size of the support structures required to support the rails of elevated-rail systems can be aesthetically unpleasing, which can affect public acceptance of elevated-rail systems.


An air circulation system for an RAID system, having fan motors driving fans for circulating air inside the RAID and a power supply for the fan motors, includes: a sensing circuit for producing electrical signals proportional to the environmental conditions of the RAID's interior; a controller for producing control signals for controlling the direction of rotation of the fan motors when the signal exceeds a preset reference value; and a switching circuit for changing the polarity of the power supply, and thus the direction of rotation of the fan motors, in response to control signals from the controller.

1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to redundant arrays of inexpensive disks (RAID). More particularly, it relates to an air circulation system that operates according to the environmental conditions of the RAID's interior, and it further relates to a method of controlling the air circulation cycle within the RAID.
2. Related Art
The efficiency of computer systems is dependent on the performance of a central processing unit (CPU) and its input/output (I/O) subsystem. With the development of VLSI technology, the data processing time of the CPU has been significantly reduced, while operating speeds of the I/O subsystem have improved relatively less. Thus, the proportion of data I/O time to the overall system operating time is increasing. Also, when a malfunction occurs in the I/O subsystem, the costs of recovering data stored in the failed system has increased. In recent years, the demand for high performance high-reliability I/O subsystems has increased and, to meet this demand, some remarkable research and development have been devoted to RAID systems. RAID related techniques have become common.
Academic institutions are conducting research on RAID algorithms, and enterprises are striving for RAID systems with higher capacities and improved reliability through various performance tests. Disk arrays have been used for super computers, such as those built by the Cray Computer Company, to improve I/O throughput from hard disks. Computer scientists at Berkeley University, USA created the first RAID theory in 1988. Although RAID theory can be applied to sequential access devices, such as cartridge tapes, most attention is being focused on hard disk devices.
Traditional disk devices are typically single large expensive disks (SLED) having form factors of 12 or 14 inches. The wide use of personal computers has created a market for inexpensive small form factor drives. Consequently, a disk storage device having a redundant array of inexpensive disks has become a practical alternative for storing large amounts of data. The primary objective of RAID systems is to create higher storage capacities and faster I/O throughput using stripping. Stripping involves the concurrent transfer of data to an array of disk drives in "stripes". RAID architectures are divided into the following six levels by application environments and the characteristics of computer systems to which RAID is applied:
RAID level 0:
RAID level 0 distributes the data over all of the drives in the array. It focuses on the disk performance rather than on the disk reliability.
RAID level 1:
Mirroring is one of the traditional techniques used with RAID systems to improve disk performance. With this technique, all data on the disks should be and are simultaneously stored on copy disks, which is not cost-effective. RAID level 1 is limited since the actually usable disk capacity is 50%, and is not advantageous to a system needing large-capacity disks, such as a database system. However, since the same data are stored on the copy disks, RAID level 1 is the best way to keep the data secure.
RAID level 2:
RAID level 2 was developed in order to reduce the costs of keeping data secure, and distributes data over all of the drives in the array by bytes. RAID level 2 has several test disks for error detection and error correction in addition to the data storage disks.
RAID level 3:
RAID level 3 reads and writes data from and into N data plus P parity direct access storage devices synchronously. Parity data are stored in extra parity drives, and disk spindles are synchronized so that data are input to and output from all of the drives in an array simultaneously, which increases the data rate even if data input and output do not occur synchronously. If a drive in the array fails, it is possible to reconstitute the data from the failed drive using the remaining drives and parity drives, although the overall data rate is decreased. RAID level 3 is used in application systems, super computers, image manipulation processors, etc.
RAID level 3 is the most efficient in the transmission of large blocks of data, but is disadvantageous in the transmission of small blocks of data and responding to rapid I/O requests. Additionally, with RAID level 3, a single large expensive drive is required for redundancy along with data storage drives. While RAID level 3 has fewer drives than RAID level 1 does, it needs a complicated, and thus expensive, controller.
RAID level 4:
RAID level 4 stores parity data on the same drive with data stripped across an array of disks, where one block of a stripe is reserved for parity data. It is possible for RAID level 4 to restore data stored on a failed drive. The data-read performance is similar to that of RAID level 1, but the data-write performance is inferior because RAID level 4 stores parity data on the same drive. To alleviate the drawbacks of RAID level 4, RAID level 5 has been developed.
RAID level 5:
In RAID level 5, data are stripped across an array of drives. RAID level 5 distributes the parity blocks over all of the drives in the array for the purpose of precluding a bottleneck during write operations. It is required to read the data written into all the drives in the array so as to recalculate parity during data write operations, which increases its data processing time. In RAID level 5, data input/output processing is possible, and missing data from a failed drive can be recreated. Accordingly, RAID level 5 is suitable for large blocks of data and, if an application program for RAID level 5 focuses on data reading, or if writing performance can be improved, RAID level 5 also may have advantages with small blocks of data.
With the decreased size of data blocks, RAID level 5 may assure a degree of efficiency and data availability. RAID level 5 offers a cost-effective solution, compared to a non-array device.
The above-described disk arrays are equipped with cooling systems, but their hard disk drives are particularly sensitive to ambient temperature and humidity, and may encounter off-tracking of their servo-systems due to disk deformation resulting in read/write errors. In addition, the disk surface may be stained with dirt and dust or corroded by gas, thereby causing fatal disk failures. Each of the RAID systems uses a cooling system, whereby fresh air continuously enters and is circulated inside the RAID system, thus driving out bad air. This cooling system may prevent the RAID systems' interior from being contaminated or overheating. As described above, the cooling system for a RAID system is used to prevent the system from failing due to environmental factors, (ambient temperature, humidity, etc.), such as heat emitted from its hard disk drive and power supply, surface temperatures of the system body, polluted interior air of the system, etc.
The following patents are considered to be representative of the art relative to the invention disclosed and claimed herein: U.S. Pat. No. 5,438,226 to Kuchta, entitled Apparatus For Redundant Cooling Of Electronic Devices, U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,099 to Larebell et al., entitled Modular Enclosure Apparatus, U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,250 to Carbonneau et al., entitled SCSI-Coupled Coupled Module For Monitoring And Controlling SCSI Coupled RAID Bank And Bank Environment, U.S. Pat. No. 4,500,944 to Roberts et al., entitled Enclosure For Electronic Components, U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,161 to Logan et al., entitled Dew Point Sensitive Computer Cooling System, U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,303 to Branc et al., entitled Disc Drive Isolation System, U.S. Pat. No. 4,774,631 to Okuyama et al., entitled Cooling Structure Of Electronic Equipment Rack, U.S. Pat. No. 5,102,040 to Harvey, entitled Method And Apparatus For Fan Control To Achieve Enhanced Cooling, U.S. Pat. No. 5,570,838 to Davis Jr. et al., entitled Method And Control System For Controlling An Automotive HVAC System For Increased Occupant Comfort, U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,403 to Mills, entitled Plenum Bypass Serial Fan Cooling Subsystem For Computer Systems, U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,375 to Ju, entitled Antenna Mast-Top Mountable Thermo-Electrically Cooled Amplifier Enclosure System, U.S. Pat. No. 3,682,381 to Eckman et al., entitled Air Conditioning Apparatus, U.S. Pat. No. 3,599,063 to Nanai, entitled Speed Control System For D.C. Motor, U.S. Pat. No. 3,585,811 to Friedel, entitled Air Conditioned Storage System, U.S. Pat. No. 3,976,925 to Rudich Jr., entitled Integral Motor Controller, U.S. Pat. No. 3,991,624 to Davies, entitled Wind Velocity Servo System, U.S. Pat. No. 4,818,924 to Burney, entitled Electric Actuator For Automotive Air Conditioning Systems, U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,444 to Heinle et al, entitled Process And Processor For The Control Of Parameters Of The Interior Air In A Motor Vehicle Having An Air Conditioning System, U.S. Pat. No. 4,910,445 to Borrmann, entitled Actuating Device For Movable Parts For Closing Of Apertures In Vehicles And Vehicle Roof Utilizing Same, U.S. Pat. No. 5,021,726 to Reinhardt et al., entitled Process For Driving An Alternating-Current Motor And An Alternating Current Motor Which Can Be Driven In Accordance With This Process, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,765,244 to Brzezinski, entitled Digital Readout Instrument Employing Transducer And Double D.C. Power Supply.
Of the patent listed above, only the following relate to RAID systems: Kuchta '226; Larabell et al. '099; Carbonneau et al. '250. Each of these patents relates, at least generally, to the control of the environment in the RAID system (for example, control of temperature). However, none of the patents discloses an arrangement or method for controlling both temperature and humidity in the RAID system, and none of the patents discloses an arrangement or method which controls temperature and humidity conditions with the precision necessary in order to ensure proper and sustained operation of the RAID system.
The following patents disclose arrangements or methods for controlling the environment surrounding electronic components in general: Roberts et al. '944; Logan et al. '161; Branc et al. '303; Okuyama et al. '631; Harvey '040; Davis Jr. et al. '838; Mills '403; and Ju et al. '375. However, none of these patents relates to the control of an environment surrounding an RAID system, with its unique requirements for precision-controlled environmental conditions, and none of the latter patents discloses or suggests the method and arrangement disclosed and claimed herein.
Finally, the remaining patents listed above do not relate to the control of environmental conditions within an enclosure housing electronic components, and do not disclose or suggest the method and arrangement disclosed and claimed herein.

Air circulation system for redundant arrays of inexpensive disks and method of controlling air circulation


A computer-implemented method of providing virtual reality (VR) or Augmented Reality (AR) training includes adapting the VR/AR training based on feedback on the user's biometric data, which may include electroencephalogram (EEG) data and other biometric data. Associations are determined between the biometric data and psychological/neurological factors related to learning, such as a cognitive load, attention, anxiety, and motivation. In one implementation, predictive analytics are used to adapt the VR/AR training to maintain the user with an optimal learning zone during the training.

The training of employees is a concern in many industries. Virtual reality training is being explored by a variety of companies. Virtual reality offers the potential advances of providing a way to train employees using an immersive environment. However, virtual reality training is still not as effective for enterprise training applications as desired.

Neuroadaptive intelligent virtual reality learning system and method


A new composite damping material is presented which exhibits an enhanced ability to dampen mechanical oscillations. The enhanced damping properties of this material are achieved through the entrapment of highly viscous damping fluids within the pores of a porous material (such as: an expanded polymer, felt, foam, fabric, metal, etc.). The entrapment of the fluid within the porous scaffold prevents flow, providing a stable composite which may be shaped into useful articles. Such a construct allows utilization of the high performance damping properties of fluids which, in pure form, are too fluid-like for most practical applications (which typically require a solid, stable, material). This composite, possessing damping performance approaching that of certain fluids, combined with stability in a solid form, can be used in many applications where materials are needed to damp the vibration of mechanical systems. Such applications include, but are not limited to, damping of vibrations which produce noise or degrade performance in airplanes, automobiles, space structures, machine tools, sporting goods, disk drive components and assemblies, electrical/electronic components such as transformers, electrical cables, etc. In addition, these composites may be used to alter or tune the mechanical response of a variety of systems to produce desired impulse or vibrational response.

Vibration damping is a common need in many mechanical systems where undesired resonances may be excited by normal perturbations. The suspension system in an automobile, for example, will exhibit large unwanted oscillations in response to road irregularities unless properly damped. A typical suspension system consists of large springs, coupled between the chassis and axles, which provide compliance as bumps are encountered. This allows the mass of the chassis to accelerate slowly in response to impulses. Shock absorbers, which produce forces opposing the velocity of compression or elongation of the springs, are employed to provide appropriate damping and inhibit oscillations.
The resonant frequency and size of automobile suspension systems allow the construction of shock absorbers which are often relatively complex mechanical contrivances (containing fluids, dynamic seals, etc.). Many systems, however, are better suited to the application of materials which inherently provide damping for oscillatory motions. Particularly where low amplitude and/or high frequency oscillations occur, it is desirable to directly couple materials with good damping properties to vibrating components.
Materials used for vibration damping should exhibit large viscous losses in response to deformation. These losses are typically quantified in terms of either dynamic Young's moduli or dynamic shear moduli. In either case, the dynamic storage modulus, by definition, is proportional to the amplitude of the stress which results in response to a sinusoidal strain (where the strain may be either shear or elongational depending on whether shear or Young's modulus is desired respectively). Similarly, the loss modulus is, by definition, proportional to the amplitude of the stress which results in response to the application of a sinusoidal strain rate. The ratio of dynamic shear loss modulus to dynamic shear storage modulus, or dynamic Young's loss modulus to dynamic Young's storage modulus, at a particular oscillation frequency, is commonly referred to as tan .delta.. The magnitude of the loss modulus in a material quantifies its viscous-like resistance to deformation while tan .delta. quantifies the relative magnitude of this resistance to elastic response (McCrum et al., Anelastic and Dielectric in Polymeric Materials, John Wiley and Sons 1967).
Although damping performance may be characterized both in terms of tensile/compressive moduli and shear moduli, these two sets of moduli have a well defined relationship to one another. In particular, dynamic shear moduli are related to dynamic Young's moduli through a relationship which depends upon the Poisson ratio, which may also be frequency dependent. Because the relationship between Young's and shear moduli at a particular frequency is constrained to fall within relatively narrow limits, the two sets of moduli nearly always track each other in a monotonic fashion. It is therefore practical to quantify damping performance in terms of either dynamic shear or Young's moduli. For the sake of clarity, dynamic Young's moduli will be used for all discussion, analysis, and characterization to follow herein. In addition, the tan .delta. used subsequently herein will be defined as the ratio of the dynamic Young's loss modulus to the dynamic Young's storage modulus, at a given frequency, and all references to dynamic loss and storage moduli will refer to Young's Moduli.
The specific properties a damping material must possess are dictated by the constraints of typical applications. Damping materials, due to their unique mechanical properties, are not commonly used as structural materials but are incorporated into a system in combination with stiffer structural elements. For this reason, it is desirable to use the minimum possible amount of damping material in a given system such that the cost, volume, or mass of the damping component is minimized. This is particularly true in space, aircraft, or automotive applications (where weight is an important constraint) and in situations where the addition of damping components adds undesired mass affecting system response/performance (damping of vibrations in disk drive read/write heads, for example, requires low mass components which will not adversely affect the momentum of the head). For this reason, a purpose of this invention is to provide materials with the highest possible loss moduli, relative to the storage moduli of other materials comprising the system.
Constraints also exist on the ratio of dynamic loss moduli to dynamic storage moduli, tan .delta.. Extremely stiff materials, even with large dynamic loss moduli, will be dominated by elastic effects and behave like springs. Large dynamic loss modulus, therefore, is not sufficient to ensure good damping characteristics at a particular frequency. It is also necessary that the ratio of dynamic loss to dynamic storage modulus be as large as possible, thus insuring sufficient loss relative to purely elastic behavior.
A number of approaches have been taken to achieve material properties sufficient for damping purposes. Specialized formulations of crosslinking polymers have been developed which exhibit damping in specific applications. Epoxy formulations have been developed for damping vibrations in magnetic recording heads, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,270,888, and for damping in cutterhead assemblies used for the manufacture of high-density information discs, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,488,282. Acrylic co-polymers for damping are commercially available and, in sheeting form, and have been sandwich bonded to steel plates using flexible magnetic materials as disclosed in U.S. Pat. 3,817,356. Silicone chemistries have been developed for vane damping, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,434,214. In addition, networks of polyurethane-epoxy formulations have been applied to acoustic damping, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,331,062. Formulations of crosslinked polymers have been achieved with dynamic loss modulus approaching 10.sup.9 dyne/cm.sup.2 Hz at 20.degree. C., in the frequency band from 0.1 Hz to 10.sup.5, and tan .delta. sufficient to provide reasonable performance in typical damping applications. In addition, these formulations have been engineered to provide enough resistance to cold flow to allow application in the examples outlined above.
However, improved damping characteristics are commonly achieved at the expense of other desired properties. Specifically, manipulation of molecular weight, degree of crosslinking, etc., to improve internal losses, typically leads to undesirable creep resistance, since internal loss in these systems is highly correlated with cold flow. Increase of damping properties beyond a given point in known chemistries, therefore, often leads to materials unable to maintain shape, even under the influence of gravity. Since such characteristics are highly undesirable in practical application, this places serious fundamental constraints on the achievement of improved damping characteristics in practical forms. For this reason, in all of the prior art listed above, fundamental limitations exist on damping performance achievable in articles with good mechanical stability.
To significantly advance the art, therefore, some mechanism for producing high damping performance, combined with mechanical stability, is needed. It is a purpose of the present invention to provide an unexpected means of creating materials with extremely high damping performance, and exceptional resistance to cold flow. As the detailed description below will describe, such stabilization and damping is achieved by the composite of the instant invention.
One example of prior art in the general area of damping composites is the foam construction disclosed by Teroson GmbH in U.S. Pat. No. 4,374,172, wherein materials are incorporated within foams, in varying concentrations spatially, for the purpose of tailoring damping performance across a given system. However, Teroson makes no mention of stabilization of materials which exhibit cold flow. In fact, their trivial binding of a damping material into a foam would not guarantee mechanical stabilization or necessarily provide a high damping performance composite. Serious thought must be given to materials selection because performance will be limited if, for example the foams are too compliant or fail to be sufficiently loaded. No such teaching is provided by the Teroson patent.
Other art relates to the incorporation of fibers into damping materials, or the lamination of such materials between high strength layers of material. High tensile strength fibers have been incorporated into specially formulated damping resins to yield materials for high strength flexible beams with reasonable damping characteristics, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,304,694. In addition, damping materials have been laminated between high strength polymer films, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,916, and sandwiched between very high strength fiber reinforced materials, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,928, to attempt to achieve higher strength damping composites.
Although fiber composites and laminate/sandwich construction can improve the tensile strength of mechanically stable damping materials, they are still markedly deficient in their ability to significantly improve the cold flow of the composite. In situations where the base material exhibits creep, relative motion of unconnected fibers within the composite is possible. Similarly, lamination of unstable materials between layers of stronger components allows relative motion of these layers and consequent instability. Such constructs, therefore, are themselves unstable if the base material flows over time. This instability places limitations on these composites nearly identical to those of the damping materials upon which they are based. For this reason, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,304,694, 5,368,916, and 5,487,928 do not teach true stabilization of high loss, mechanically unstable, damping materials. It would be desirable if mechanisms could be found to provide connectivity between the high strength components of these constructs, combined with a mechanism for locking an unstable damping material within the structure. Such a technology would be remarkably novel and potentially yield materials with damping performance never achieved in a mechanically stable form.
Considerable effort has also been devoted to the application of existing damping materials in geometries which optimize overall damping performance (Sun et al., Vibration Damping of Structural Elements, Prentice Hall, 1995). As is well known, the effective performance of a given damping material can be significantly enhanced through the application of constraining layers which induce shear deformations in the damping material as vibration occurs. However, damping limitations are still imposed by the fundamental dynamic losses of the damping material employed. Given a fixed constrained layer geometry, for example, performance improvement is only achievable through the use of damping materials with greater losses.
Since application of constrained layer or other geometrical enhancement, will have limitations set by existing damping characteristics, materials are needed with improved dynamic loss moduli and sufficient tan .delta. across the various frequency bands important for specific applications. In addition, materials sufficiently versatile to allow tailoring of response to the vibrational resonances present in specific applications are needed. Finally, the desired damping properties must be achieved without unacceptable degradation in other important physical properties.
In the art cited above, the viscoelastic damping materials employed were specifically tailored to possess good resistance to cold flow. For this reason, the achievement of damping performance, i.e., the lessening of the amplitude of waves or oscillations, has been, heretofore, limited by the trade off with mechanical stability with respect to cold flow. Clearly, a vehicle for extending these technologies to allow the use of damping materials which possess much higher loss properties but which, inherently, exhibit unwanted cold flow, would provide unique utility and value.


A rocker arm (1) for the valve control of an internal combustion engine, in which the rocker arm is manufactured from stamped, deep drawn and subsequently heat treated, deep drawing sheet metal and characterized by the fact that the rocker arm (1) has opposite side pieces, in between a rolling element (10) is acommodated in a rotation position.

Such rocker arms are known from the state of the art; they are generally used as transmission elements in three types of engine controls, for push-rod engines with the cam shaft on the bottom, for an overhead cam shaft with the rocker arm as the direct transmission element between the cam shaft and the valve, and with tappet control, where the rocker arm and the tappet form the transmission mechanism. In this connection, mechanical valve adjustment for sheet-metal rocker arms is performed at the ball socket bearing, or at the rocker arm end, by means of adjustment screws or eccentric elements. In this connection, the change in the lever ratio has a disadvantageous effect. Furthermore, the thumb rest on the valve-side end of the rocker arm, which is used in the state of the art, has disadvantageous friction values, resulting in high wear friction and wear of the valve guide, because of the lateral force of the valve shaft. In addition, in the case of the known, deep-drawn rocker arms, they must be additionally secured to prevent them from twisting, in order to stabilize the rocker arms around its longitudinal axis. Such a rocker arm is described in DE 4024446 A1. Here, the rocker arm is mounted on a roller bearing, to keep it from twisting.
The present invention is therefore based on the problem (task) of improving the known, deep-drawn rocker arm known from the state of the art, and significantly reducing the valve guide wear and, at the same time, simplifying production and making it more cost-effective.
This task is accomplished, according to the invention, by means of a rocker arm made from a punched, deep drawn and subsequently heat treated, deep drawn sheet metal, and a roller element is mounted in slits inside parts which are open in the direction of a valve shaft.
In accordance with the invention, the rocker arm is structured in such a way that it has opposite side parts, between which a roller element is held so as to rotate.
Because of the low rolling friction on the valve shaft, its lateral force on the valve guide is also reduced, and therefore the valve guide wear is significantly reduced. Furthermore, the rocker arm according to the invention can be produced very cost-effectively, since only deep-drawing and punching processes, but no cutting work, are required. Heat treatment of the deep-drawn part subsequently takes place by means of nitriding, carbonizing, or case-hardening. In the present case, valve adjustment takes place at the ball socket bearing, by means of a ball nut and a counter-bolt or counter-worm screw. Instead of the ball nut, a semi-cylindrical or cylindrical guide stone with a counter-nut can also be used. Furthermore, the invention provides that the roller element is mounted in slits in the side parts, which are open in the direction of the valve shaft. As a result, simple assembly is ensured, and additional locking of the roller element in the bearing is unnecessary, since the roller element is held in place in the bearing by the counter-pressure of the valve tappet.
Furthermore, it is advantageous that the roller element is loosely held in the slits. This ensures that it rotates easily, on the one hand, and that it is easy to assemble, on the other hand.
A highly advantageous embodiment of the invention provides that side guide parts are provided in the two end regions of the roller element, and that these extend beyond the valve shaft laterally. This prevents twisting of the rocker arm on the valve shaft, in surprisingly simple manner, i.e. the valve shaft is stabilized around its longitudinal axis. In this connection, the side guide parts can be connected in one piece with the roller element, i.e. project beyond its diameter, or can be separate components. It is important here that the rocker movement of the rocker arm and the rolling movement of the roller element are not hampered.
Furthermore, an advantageous embodiment of the present invention provides that the side guide parts are arranged between the side parts and the roller element. This fixes the rocker arm and the valve shaft in place, relative to one another, via the side guide parts.
Another advantageous embodiment provides that the side parts are guide disks. This makes it possible to use mass-produced parts, which are inexpensively available.
Finally, it is a highly advantageous embodiment of the present invention if the roller element has offset bearing ends. This reduces the number of components and makes assembly and storage costs more advantageous.
The present invention will be explained in greater detail below, on the basis of an exemplary embodiment, in connection with the attached figures. These show:

Rocker arm for an internal combustion engine


In one aspect, there is provided a cell culturing substrate including:    a cell culture surface having a film attached thereto, wherein the film includes one or more plasma polymerized monomers; and a coating on the film-coated surface, the coating deposited from a coating solution comprising one or more extracellular matrix proteins and an aqueous solvent, where the total extracellular matrix protein concentration in the coating solution is about 1 ng/mL to about 1 mg/mL.

Human embryonic stem (hES) cells typically require a substrate and culture medium to maintain indefinite self-renewal and pluripotency characteristics. The most common substrates for culturing hES cells are monolayers of inactivated fibroblast feeder cells grown on tissue culture (TC) polystyrene surface or TC culturing vessels coated with an extracellular matrix (ECM), for example BD Matrigel™-coated TC culturing vessels. Both of these substrates are poorly defined and introduce a high degree of experimental variability. Since hES cells are thought to have a significant potential implication in furthering knowledge of developmental biology, drug discovery and may play an important role in future clinical applications, it is important to identify conditions for culturing these cells on defined surfaces.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Defined cell culturing surfaces and methods of use


A high quality porous aluminum body, which has excellent joint strength between the porous aluminum body and the aluminum bulk body, and a method of producing the porous aluminum complex, are provided.

The above-described porous aluminum complex is used as electrodes and current collectors in various batteries; parts of heat exchangers; sound deadening parts; filters; shock-absorbing parts; and the like, for example.
For example, a heat-transfer member in which a metallic sintered material (porous aluminum body) of a three-dimensional network structure and a metal part of the same material (aluminum bulk body) are integrally sintered is proposed in Patent Literature 1 (PTL 1).
In addition, a laminated type evaporator made of aluminum is disclosed in Patent Literature 2 (PTL 2). In the laminated type evaporator disclosed in PTL 2, a porous layer (porous aluminum body) is formed on the heat transfer surface of the refrigerant flow passage (aluminum bulk body) to improve efficiency of heat transfer.
In PTL 1, the metallic sintered material (porous aluminum sintered body) of the three-dimensional network structure is formed by a method, in which adhesive is applied on the skeleton of the three-dimensional network structure made of the material destroyed by fire by heating; and metal powder-like material is deposited thereon, or the like. In addition, the metal part (aluminum bulk body) and the metal sintered body (porous aluminum body) are bonded: by applying a metal powder between the metal part (aluminum bulk body) and the metal sintered material (porous aluminum body) after mixing with adhesive; and by integrally sintering thereof.
In PTL 2, the porous layer (porous aluminum body) is formed by brazing the metal powder on the heat-transfer surface of the refrigerant flow passage (aluminum bulk body)

Porous aluminum complex and method of producing porous aluminum complex

Abstract: The porous aluminum complex (10) includes: a porous aluminum body (30) made of aluminum or aluminum alloy; and an aluminum bulk body (20) made of aluminum or aluminum alloy, the porous aluminum body (30) and the aluminum bulk body (20) being joined to each other. The junction (15) between the porous aluminum body (30) and the aluminum bulk body (20) includes a Ti—Al compound. It is preferable that pillar-shaped protrusions (32) projecting toward the outside are formed on outer surfaces of one of or both of the porous aluminum body (30) and the aluminum bulk body (20), and the pillar-shaped protrusions (32) include the junction (15).


The present invention relates to a method for preparing a flour tortilla comprising providing a flour tortilla dough in a portion sufficient to prepare the tortilla; applying a fatty substance to at least part of the surface of the dough portion; thereafter forming the dough into a tortilla shape; and thereafter baking the dough.

The invention relates to a method for preparing a flour tortilla (including whole wheat, multi grain), to a tortilla obtainable by such a method and to the use of a fatty substance to improve a property of a tortilla prepared using a fatty substance.
Flour tortillas are a unique baked product, made from cereal flour, usually maize or wheat.
Wheat flour tortillas are gluten structured, just like bread. Almost all tortillas are chemically leavened, baked quickly and cooled to ambient temperatures in less than 15 minutes.
Flour tortillas have soft, silky, smooth texture, are opaque and fluffy and have excellent pliability; are resistant to cracking and have small, evenly distributed blisters. Blisters create desirable characteristics in the final product, showing up as lightly browned spots on the surface.
Flour tortillas are becoming increasing popular, for instance as a substitute for bread, rolls and buns.
Flour tortillas can be made by making a dough from flour, fat and salt and water. Most large commercial tortilla manufacturers use the hot-press method of mixing, forming and baking to produce flour tortillas, e.g. as described in Bello, A. B.; Serna-Saldivar, S. O.; Waniska, R. D. and Rooney, L. W. Methods to prepare and evaluate wheat tortillas, Cereal Foods World (1991)
In this method, a smooth dough comprising flour, water, fat, salt, and usually one or more ingredients selected from baking powder, yeast, preservatives, gums, reducing agents and emulsifiers is mixed to an extensible, elastic, non-sticky and relatively firm dough.
By optimally mixing and adding proper water levels a silky, smooth-textured dough, with many layers in the final product is formed.
Dough temperature also affects consistency, with lower dough temperatures increasing water absorption. This leads to a softer final product. The temperature may for instance be in the range of 27-38° C. The optimum temperature for flour-tortilla dough is usually 27° to 33.5° C.
After mixing, the tortilla dough is scaled to a desired weight, usually from about 30 to about 150 gram, e.g. about 40 to about 50 gram or about 45 to about 48 gram, depending on the desired diameter for the tortilla, is rounded into a ball and is then allowed to rest (relax, proof, usually for about 5-15 minutes. Proofing the dough helps the pressing process. Insufficient relaxation can result in a translucent finished product with less layering.
After resting, the dough pieces are placed under a hydraulic press that is heated. The pressing process forms a thin skin on the surface of the tortilla, limiting the escape of steam and carbon dioxide during baking. This causes the tortilla initially to form small blisters or gas pockets which deflate upon cooling.
Baking is usually done in a conveyer oven that flips the tortilla over during its journey through the oven. In particular, a specialized direct gas fired slatted belt may be used. Baking time (oven dwell time) may for instance be approximately 30 seconds in a 190° to 235° C. oven. In a specific embodiment, the oven temperature is 190-200° C. The tortillas are then cooled and packaged.
The over-all quality of tortillas, is determined by various properties. In particular tortillas having a reduced fat content may be considered inferior to regular-fat tortillas (typically containing about 8-12 wt. % fat, for instance 8-9 wt. % fat), but also for regular-fat tortillas it is desirable to improve one or more properties.
Relevant properties in particular include:
Folding: a low tendency to break on the seams upon folding the tortilla is desired.
Breaking: it is desired that the tortilla shows good resistance against tearing. E.g. low-fat tortillas tend to be torn apart at a lower tearing force than regular tortillas.
Rolling: a good tortilla should be easily rollable, e.g. around a known diameter dowel, rod or stick, without showing substantial cracking and/or breaking. This is especially a challenge upon aging of the tortillas. Thus, it would be desirable to provide a tortilla that has good rolling properties. In particular it is desired to provide a tortilla with good rolling properties for a prolonged period of time.
Springiness: Upon taking a low fat full tortilla in one hand and crumpling or wadding it firmly, it is desirable that the tortilla 'springs back' freely and unfolds completely without breaking.
Colour: a product with a substantially uniform (off-)white colour, wherein blisters are present is appreciated by many consumers. The blisters show up as lightly browned spots on the surface. In particular, low-fat tortillas have a less off-white, more pale and less uniform colour.
Layering/lamination: a layered structure of the tortilla is desired. In particular, low-fat tortillas tend to be less layered compared to regular tortillas.
Dryness: a tortilla should preferably have a not too dry mouthfeel Consumers recognize reduced fat and low fat tortillas as having a drier mouthfeel than traditional full fat tortillas.
Size: The size (diameter) of conventional reduced fat tortillas is significantly smaller than the size of regular-fat tortillas, of the same weight. Low-fat tortillas of a specific weight may for instance have a diameter that is less than 90% of the diameter of a regular-fat tortilla of the same weight and apart from the fat having the same composition
Uniformity size/shape: Reduced fat tortillas tend to be less uniform in shape and size.
Stacking stickiness: It is desired that—when stacked and packaged—tortillas show no or a low tendency to stick to one another. In particular, upon aging the tendency to stick may increase. In particular, tortillas known in the art, made with vegetable oil instead of solid shortening tend to stick more to each other upon prolonged shelf life. Also tortillas, known in the art, made with enzymes, such as bacterial or fungal amylases, tend to stick more to each other, regardless of shelf life.
Stack height: As a consequence of smaller diameters, the height of a stack of, e.g., 10 tortillas is generally higher for reduced fat tortillas than for regular fat tortillas; i.e. low fat tortillas are thicker than regular tortillas. This is unwanted due to negative effects on rollability, foldability and eating characteristics.
Opacity: Opacity is measured subjectively using a continuous scale. 100% is completely opaque (white) and 0% is completely translucent (not white). Ideally, translucency is eliminated since opacity is a desired quality attribute.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a novel method for preparing a flour tortilla, respectively a novel flour tortilla, wherein one or more of the above properties are improved compared to a tortilla having the same composition, prepared with a known hot-press method, such as described above.
It is in particular an objective of the invention to provide a novel method for preparing a flour tortilla, respectively a novel flour tortilla with a reduced-fat content, in particular with a fat content of less than 5 wt. %. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the fat content is less than 4 wt. %, less than 3 wt. %, less than 2 wt. %, less than 1 wt. % or less, close to 0 wt. %, having one or more improved properties, compared to a known flour tortilla having the same fat content.
One or more other objectives which may be met in accordance with the invention will be apparent from the description, below.


An electrical signal output from an image sensing device is converted into digital image data and stored in a non-compressed form or a lossless-compressed form, in a storage medium. A user sets parameters associated with a white balance via a setting screen. The setting of the parameter is performed either in a first adjustment mode in which a color temperature is displayed as a parameter of the white balance is displayed together with the image data on the setting screen such that the user can adjust the color temperature or in a second adjustment mode in which a parameter of the white balance other than the color temperature is adjusted in a direction different from the direction in which the color temperature is adjusted. The image data is read from the storage medium and subjected to a white balance correction according to the parameters set via the setting screen.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to image processing systems and methods and more specifically to image processing systems and methods capable of providing color correction.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional color correction such as white balance correction for use in image capture devices is well known. White balance correction improves image quality by considering lighting type or sources for the environment in which a subject image is taken. The white balance of the image is adjusted along a color temperature (color range) for the light source such that a white image area in both the image and the subject are alike.
In a digital camera, the user can set white balance parameters to values different from preset values to obtain an accurate white balance for a specific image taken by the digital camera.
In the conventional technique, the white balance is evaluated and adjusted based on an image. This means that the white balance cannot be evaluated unless the image includes an area having a color close to white. Another problem with the conventional technique is that when the white balance adjustment is made such that an area that must be white is selected from the image and the white balance correction is made for the selected area, the result is often overcorrection for the image as a whole, and a natural color tone is lost.
If ratios among RGB components are varied arbitrarily, luminance can also be changed. White balance adjustment can be obtained for an image observed through the viewfinder before the image is captured. White balance adjustment can also be obtained for a rec-review image (a captured image displayed immediately after the image is taken). If, however, the image data has been stored (e.g., on a storage medium such as a memory card), the user is unable to provide white balance adjustment for the image data.

Image processing system capable of providing color correction


An eyeglass temple includes a main frame adapted for connection with a lens unit, and an auxiliary cushion frame disposed behind the main frame. The auxiliary cushion frame includes an ear engaging portion, a main connecting portion extending forwardly from the ear engaging portion to connect with the main connecting portion, an abutment portion extending forwardly from the ear engaging portion and adapted to be disposed between the main connecting portion and the wearer's head, and at least one resilient connecting portion connected between the main connecting portion and the abutment portion and adapted for biasing the abutment portion away from the main connecting portion toward the wearer's head.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an eyeglass temple, and more particularly to an eyeglass temple having an auxiliary cushion frame.
2. Description of the Related Art
A pair of conventional eyeglasses typically includes a lens unit and two temples connected respectively to left and right sides of the lens unit and flanking the wearer's head. In case that the head clamping force of the temples is too small, the eyeglasses cannot be worn stably on the wearer's head. Conversely, in case that the head clamping force of the temples is too large, discomfort will be caused to the wearer's head.

Eyeglass temple having an auxiliary cushion frame


A heat sink (2) for electronic components (1) comprises: a base portion (3) fitted with device (4) for coupling with a fixed support plane (5) of an apparatus; a plane surface (6), positioned in proximity to the base portion (3), in contact with a corresponding surface (7) of the electronic component (1), and an additional heat dissipation portion (8) comprising a prolongation (9) of the base portion (3) from which extend a plurality of fins (10); an elastically yielding element (11) acts between the heat sink (2) and the electronic component (1) to obtain a stable positioning of the surface (7) of the component itself to the related plane surface (6) of the heat sink (2); a pair of fins (10a, 10b), contiguous to each other, presents a respective inner wall (12, 13), sush walls being opposite one to the other and so shaped as to define a compartment (14) for stably housing a portion (15) of the elastically yielding element (11).

The present invention relates to a heat sink, in particular for use with electronic components.
At present, electronic components and the related circuits have reached high levels of operating reliability and precision, so much so that they are used in the most disparate technological fields both as major components (see the common Personal Computers), and to integrate and support apparatuses ranging from control systems for welding machines, to command and control systems for automated machines, to regulating systems for the proper operation of engines, etc.
Usually such electronic circuits essentially comprise a mother board whereon are pre-printed connecting circuits for pluralities of electronic components, which are arranged or in turn connected to the mother board, with the whole set enclosed in a chassis.
In combination with one or more of such components--which we usually define as processors--a related heat sink is used which allows to dissipate the heat generated by the steady state operation of the components themselves which, as is well known, require controlled operating temperatures. Such heat sinks generally comprise a first portion destined to be in contact with the related electronic component and a second portion shaped to present a plurality of fins able to favour better heat dissipation.
To couple the electronic component and the heat sink in such a way as to allow for an optimal contact of the related surfaces, various solutions are currently in existence, studied also according to the internal structure (mother board and component) and to the external structure (chassis) of the apparatuses.
Currently, the most widely employed provide for the use of an elastic element acting on the electronic component to press it against the first portion of the heat sink: the patent EP-622.983 shows one of these solutions, where the elastic element holding the electronic component comprises a metal platelet fastened, at one of its ends, to a wall of the chassis by means of a screw, whilst the development of the platelet is such that one of its portions is in contact with the electronic component which in turn is stably interposed between the platelet itself and the appropriate surface of the first portion of the heat sink.
Another known solution is to apply the elastic holding element (in practice a spring) directly onto the aforesaid first portion of the heat sink: in this case a recess or a seat is obtained on the upper part of the first portion, wherein is stably fastened one end of the elastic element; the latter is shaped in such a way as to present its active portion in contact with the component opposite to the lower part of the first portion of the heat sink.
The first of the solutions described above presents the drawback stemming from the mounting complexity due to the need to fasten the elastic platelet with a screw which cannot always be positioned close to the component and to the heat sink, making it necessary to apply platelets which are long, bulky, and not always reliable in holding the component, in addition to requiring fastening operations which are not always easy to perform in structures of extremely reduced size.
The second solution described presents a reduced size of the dissipator--holding spring--component set with respect to the previous solution, but its clasping system is not very reliable and mounting the spring on the dissipator is awkward; moreover, the first portion of the heat sink has to be enlarged in order to obtain the seat for fastening the spring, thus decreasing the useful surface area for heat dissipation.

Heat sink, in particular for electronic components


In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a programmable logic device includes configuration memory to store configuration data to configure the programmable logic device, and a non-volatile memory to store configuration data for transfer to the configuration memory to configure the programmable logic device. The non-volatile memory also stores a first code value based on the configuration data stored in the non-volatile memory. A code block calculates a second code value based on the configuration data transferred to the configuration memory. A comparator compares the first code value to the second code value to verify that the configuration data was not corrupted during the transfer from the non-volatile memory to the configuration memory.

Programmable logic devices, such as a complex programmable logic device (CPLD) or a field programmable gate array (FPGA), may utilize a combination of non-volatile and volatile memory to deliver a single-chip solution supporting rapid start-up (often referred to as "instant-on" capability) and infinite re-configurability. The non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory cells) within the non-volatile PLD stores the device configuration, with the PLD configured upon power-up by transferring the configuration data from the non-volatile memory to the volatile memory (e.g., configuration SRAM cells).
During the configuration data transfer from non-volatile to volatile memory, however, it is possible for the configuration data to be corrupted. If the configuration data is corrupted, the PLD may not function properly and device contention or damage may occur to the PLD or to external devices controlled by the PLD.
A conventional approach uses software to read out from the PLD the configuration data from the volatile memory to compare to the intended bit pattern to confirm that the programming was successful. This approach is time consuming and costly, for example, in terms of the software and on-board microprocessor that may be required to perform the verification. As a result, there is a need for improved programming verification techniques for non-volatile PLDs.

Programmable logic device programming verification systems and methods


A complex fluid machine has an expansion-compressor device, a pump, and a motor generator, wherein the expansion-compressor device, the pump, and the motor generator are operatively connected and arranged in series, and a power transmitting device for disconnecting the pump from the motor generator, when the expansion-compressor device is driven by the motor generator so as to be operated as a compressor device.

A complex fluid machine, in which a compressor device, an expansion device, a driving motor and a pump are integrally formed, is known in the art, for example as shown in Japanese Patent Publication No. H8-86289 (a rotating machine of a rolling type piston is shown). In the above complex fluid machine, the respective components are arranged in series and coaxially connected with one another (the compressor device is connected to the expansion device by a magnet coupling device, or directly). The compressor device is used for compressing refrigerant in a refrigerating cycle, whereas the expansion device is operated by working fluid in Rankine cycle.
According to the above fluid machine, the expansion device is driven by the driving motor for a certain period during its initial (starting) stage until an operation of the expansion device becomes stable. Then, the expansion device is driven by the expansion of the working fluid (which is heated by a burner to be converted into high pressure and high temperature working fluid) in the Rankine cycle, so that it is rotated by its own driving force. The driving force is directly or indirectly (through the magnet coupling) transmitted to the compressor device to operate the same, so that the working fluid is compressed. The pump is also operated by the driving force generated at the expansion device for circulating the working fluid in the Rankine cycle.
As above, a heat generating device (such as the burner) is specifically necessary in the above mentioned prior art apparatus. The present inventors have been developing a refrigerating apparatus to be used for an automotive vehicle, in which waste heat from an internal combustion engine is collected and utilized for operating the Rankine cycle, in order that energy consumption can be reduced in view of grovel warming.
In the case that the above mentioned prior art apparatus is used for the automotive vehicle, in which the waste heat from the engine is used as a heating source (instead of the burner), the driving force can not be obtained by the expansion device when an amount of the waste heat from the engine is small. During such a period, the compressor device can be operated by the driving motor. In such a case, however, the pump is also operated by the driving motor together with the compressor device, reducing efficiency of the operation for the compressor by the driving motor.
On the other hand, in the case that the operation of the compressor device is not necessary (a cooling operation by the refrigerating cycle is not required), the operation of the expansion device is stopped even when the waste heat from the engine can be sufficiently obtained. As a result, the waste heat can not be efficiently utilized for collecting the energy by the expansion device.
According to another prior art fluid machine, for example shown in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-232492, the fluid machine likewise has a function of a compressor device and a function of an expansion device. According to this prior art fluid machine, the compressor device is also operated as the expansion device, wherein the flow direction of the working fluid in case of operating as the compressor device is opposite to that of the working fluid in case of operating as the expansion device. A first fluid (discharge) port and a first (discharge) valve device are provided in the fluid machine, so that compressed working fluid is pumped out through the first fluid (discharge) port. Further, a second fluid (inlet) port and a second (inlet) valve device are provided in the fluid machine, so that high pressure and high temperature working fluid is supplied into the expansion device. The second fluid (inlet) port is closed by the second valve device (an electrically operated ON-OFF valve device) when the fluid machine is operated as the compressor device.
According to the above fluid device, however, a volume of the second fluid port inevitably becomes a dead volume for a compression operation of the fluid machine (the dead volume: a volume of the working fluid which is not pumped out and remains in a working chamber during the compression operation). It is a problem, in particular, when an inner diameter of the second fluid port is to be designed to be larger for the purpose of allowing a large amount of the working fluid to flow into the working chamber of the expansion device, or when the amount of the working fluid pumped out from the compressor device for each rotation is designed to be smaller.
According toga further prior art refrigerating apparatus, for example shown in Japanese Patent Publication No. S56-43018, the refrigerating apparatus is used for the automotive vehicle, wherein a compressor device is connected with an expansion device so that the compressor device is driven by a driving force generated by the expansion device operated by use of waste heat from an engine. In such a refrigerating apparatus, however, a cooling operation can not be performed in the case that the waste heat can not be collected during a warming up operation of the engine. In particular, even in the case that a large cooling capacity is required for quickly cooling down an inside of the vehicle after the vehicle has been parked under the brazing sun in summer, the cooling operation is not possible so long as the sufficient waste heat can not be collected from the engine.
Therefore, the present inventors have proposed, in their Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-227006, a refrigerating apparatus for an automotive vehicle, in which a compressor device is separated from an expansion device, the compressor device is driven by an engine or a driving motor, and the energy from the expansion device is used for generating an electric power and/or for driving a pump for circulating working fluid in Rankine cycle. According to the above proposed refrigerating apparatus, the cooling operation becomes possible even when there is no waste heat, whereas the energy can be efficiently collected by the Rankine cycle when there is a sufficient amount of the waste heat.
According to the above proposed refrigerating apparatus, however, the cooling operation can not be performed when the engine operation is temporarily stopped, in the case that the refrigerating apparatus is applied to such a vehicle having an idle-stop operation in view of environmental protection.
According to a still further prior art, for example, as shown in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-108220, an electric power is generated at a generator which is driven by an expansion device to be operated in Rankine cycle for collecting waste heat.
The electric power generator is usually operated by a sensor-less control method, according to which a rotational phase of the generator is predicted without using a phase sensor, so that a generator of a low cost is realized.
It is not possible, in such a sensor-less control method, to completely prevent an operation of the generator from becoming out of a control as a result the operation steps out of its normal operational condition. Accordingly, the operation of the generator is generally stopped in the case that the operation of the generator (which is driven by the expansion device) steps out of its normal operational condition. Then, since a load to the expansion device is removed, the rotation of the expansion device may be accelerated and may exceed a tolerance rotational level. If it would happen, noise might be generated at the expansion device, and as the case may be, the expansion device might be damaged. Furthermore, a higher voltage may be generated at the generator, causing a problem in that related electrical parts or devices may be damaged.
Even in the case that an operation of the generator is controlled by signals from position sensors, the operation of the generator may become out of control, if a controller (inverter) for the generator becomes out of order, and the rotation of the expansion device may be accelerated and damaged.

Refrigerating apparatus and fluid machine therefor


A pair (1) of socks or stockings (2,3) may be joined together in a detachable fashion using a set heat-resistant, transparent fastening elements (4,5), in order to avoid sorting of the socks or stockings, e.g., after washing. Each of said fastening elements is firmly attached to a stocking or sock, preferably at its leg portion (6), in an area of the sock or stocking having a mesh density of at least 2000 MD, preferably at least 4000 MD.

The invention relates to a pair of socks or stockings which, when not worn, can be joined in a detachable fashion using preferably transparent, preferably heat-resistant fastening elements, in order to avoid sorting of matching socks.
After washing several pairs of socks, it is often difficult to assign matching socks to each other again, and in doing so, it is not uncommon that socks having a similar color in artificial light are assigned wrongly. Then, when looking at this pair of socks in natural light, it is noticed that the socks do not match, which often gives rise to embarrassment.
Therefore, quite a number of attempts have been made in the past to facilitate sorting of stockings or socks in pairs. Thus, for example, stockings or socks have been provided with an embroidered label.
Furthermore, a sock labelling device is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,357,660, wherein identical labels are attached on both socks of each single pair, using an insertion joint. As a result of such identical labeling, the assignment of stockings or socks in pairs, e.g. following washing, is facilitated.
Also, attempts have been made to completely avoid sorting of stockings or socks in pairs by joining the stockings or socks together after taking them off, using a fastening means (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,413). This method is disadvantageous in that the fastening element, when located at the outward side of the leg portion of the stocking or sock, is clearly visible when wearing the stockings or socks. This effect is even enhanced as a result of cleaning of the socks or stockings, because the socks or stockings and the fastening means will undergo different discoloration after multiple washings. On the other hand, if the fastening element is attached at the inward side of the leg portion of the stocking or sock, or in an area of the stocking or sock which is covered by the shoe, the result for the wearer will normally be a disagreeable pinching or chafing, because the invention of U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,413 only provides permanent attachment of the fastening device. Another drawback of the fastening device illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,413 is that the fastening elements normally require reinforcing elements located at the inward side of the sock, so that the fastening element would not be torn out of the sock.
If matching socks or stockings are simply joined with a clothes pin before washing, it often happens that this joint will come loose during washing, e.g., during spin-drying.

Pair of separably joined socks or stockings


A vehicular display includes a three-dimensional representation of a moving host vehicle fixed at a stationary point on the screen, and dynamic representations of objects located within a predetermined distance of the host vehicle in locations proportional and scaled to their respective distances and locations from the host. The display plots the trajectories of these objects and classifies them according to probability of collision, warning the user if collision is imminent. The display also includes a variety of navigational aids, including heading lines, compass indications, and various non-alphanumeric indicators. Both the hardware and software used in the system are of the type which may be provided on small civilian craft, in addition to replacing the more complex and less intuitive displays presently provided in such contexts as commercial aircraft, marine vehicles, and air traffic control systems. The display also may be adapted for use in outer space.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a vehicular display system, and more particularly to a display system in which objects external to a host vehicle are dynamically displayed in a representation of three dimensional spherical space on a two dimensional screen in locations proportional, and scaled, to their respective distances and locations from the host vehicle. The display system of the invention is especially suitable for use in an aircraft collision avoidance system, but also has numerous other potential uses in the fields of navigation, education, and entertainment, and in vehicular contexts ranging from automobiles to submarines to space craft.
2. Description of Related Art
At present, no commercially available or Federal Aviation Administration approved aircraft collision avoidance system (CAS) exists for the hundreds of thousands of small private aircraft in use in the United States, and millions of like aircraft throughout the rest of the world. Existing CAS's used in much larger airframes are limited in their efficacy because they are too expensive, too large, and too heavy for small civilian aircraft, and because they present the display data in a two dimensional format which requires extensive training and experience to master.
A main problem with existing vehicular collision and navigational display systems is that they incorporate too much alphanumeric data for the average user to interpret in the time available. The average user tends to become confused when too much alphanumeric data is presented to him or her for interpretation in too short a time.
A prime example of this problem is in the display conventionally used by air traffic controllers, a flat and two-dimensional display which presents multiple flight-paths for various aircraft to the controller in such a way that the controller is left with the responsibility of digesting information on each flight path, and converting the information mentally into a three dimensional picture that controllers have to hold in their heads and update in real-time while at the same time holding verbal conversations with overstressed pilots.
In order to avoid this problem, not only in the air traffic context, but also in the context of vehicular collision and navigational display systems in general, and also in numerous other fields in which the problem of presenting multi-dimensional information on a two-dimensional screen is present, it would be desirable to provide a display in which alphanumeric data is not required and yet the same information will be immediately conveyed to the user without the need for sophisticated interpretation. Such a display would enable the user to utilize the data in a more effective, efficient, and natural way, alleviating stress and enhancing user responses to emergency situations. It would also permit use by users of all nationalities, including those which use character based writing systems.


The invention relates to binders for antifouling coating compositions, which can be prepared by copolymerizing polymerizable monomers, wherein, as polymerizable monomers, mixtures of. A) at least one of the compounds of the general formula I ##STR1## and B) at least one ethylenically unsaturated compound having the general formula II ##STR2## with or without C) at least one ethylenically unsaturated compound are polymerized.

Surfaces under continual exposure to sea water, for example ships, buoys, drilling platforms, underwater pipelines, fishing nets, etc., are under appropriate conditions colonized within a short time by marine organisms such as algae, seaweed, bivalves, tape worms, sponges, etc. This infestation is extremely disruptive in a large number of cases and is restrictive and a hindrance to the service properties of numerous facilities. For example, colonization of underwater ship areas leads to a restriction on the maneuverablilty of the ships and, because of the increased frictional resistance in the water, to a marked increase in fuel consumption.
For these reasons, infestation-preventing coating materials, known as antifouling paints, are employed widely for protecting underwater areas against colonization. These coating materials consist in most cases of a biocidal or nonbiocidal polymer and film-forming binder, co-biocides and pigments.
Frequently employed antifouling paints of recent years possess not only infestation-preventing but also self-polishing polymer film properties. In these systems the self-polishing effect is achieved by controlled hydrolysis of functional groups, leaving the surface of the coating hydrophilic and therefore erodible; coatings of this kind are described, for example, in EP-A-O 289 481. Antifouling paints which have found particularly broad use are those whose copolymers include triorganotin esters, especially tri-n-butyltin esters, of unsaturated carboxylic acids, for example (meth)acrylic acid. Examples of these are given in GB-A-1 457 590. Owing to the slow hydrolysis of the triorganotin ester group, these systems possess self-polishing properties coupled, through the biocidal action of the organotin compound, with outstanding antifouling properties. This particularly favorable combination of properties has led to widespread use of tin-based antifouling paints.
In years gone by there has been discussion about the use of tributyltin-and triphenyltin-containing coating compositions, since the rates of release of the organotin compounds into the sea water that have been customary to date do not appear to be necessary in all regions. Thus in some countries the release rate of tin-containing antifouling paints has been restricted to 4 .mu.g cm.sup.-2 d.sup.-1 TBT (tributyltin) and they can only be used on ships with a length of more than 25 m. There is therefore a need for effective, slowly hydrolyzable antifouling paint systems which are of reduced tin content and yet have adequate self-polishing properties.
The literature describes various examples of tin-containing antifouling paints which in addition to an organotin-containing monomer also include various other functionalized monomers. Thus EP 0 342 493 cites copolymers of tributyltin methacrylate, acrylamide and acrylic acid. Other systems are described in EP 0 200 433 (copolymers of tributyltin methacrylate, methyl methacrylate, styrene, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate and acrylonitrile), AU 466 764 (copolymers of tributyltin acrylate and vinyl acetate) and DD 279 258 (copolymers of tributyltin acrylate, methyl methacrylate and polyethylene glycol monoacrylate). However, all of these systems have either found no widespread commercial use or do not have the particularly favorable combination of infestation-preventing and self-polishing properties.
Furthermore, various examples of antifouling paints are mentioned which have groups which are hydrolyzable in sea water. For example, WO 84/02915 cites a large number of possible groups which should, with groups containing carboxylic acids, form readily hydrolyzable compounds. EP 0 204 444. EP 0 331 147 and GB 2 152 947 also describe ester-containing polymer systems for the antifouling sector. All of these systems, however, either have found no widespread commercial use or require a relatively complex multistage synthesis process for their preparation.

Process for preparing polymeric binders and their use for antifouling paint systems


A shaker apparatus including a base member that has a front side and a top portion. A bottle holder is provided and has a flat member. The flat member has an interior side with a pair of end plates projecting outwardly. A rocker arm extends from an exterior side of the flat member and is symmetrically spaced from the pair of end plates. A generally cylindrical housing member is included and has a first end mounted to the top side of the base member, a second end edge and an inner support plate. The housing member having a battery compartment. Lastly, a vibrator is seated on the inner support plate of the housing member. The vibrator has an upper side with a pair of support brackets. The support brackets are coupled with the rocker arm of the bottle holder to support the bottle holder above the base member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shaker apparatus and more particularly pertains to providing an apparatus for agitating a bottle of liquid paper and further usable for shaking a bottle of nail polish.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of a bottle shaker is known in the prior art. More specifically, bottle shakers heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of agitating the liquid within the bottle 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.
By way of example, the prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 5,273,357 to Currie discloses a nail polish shaker apparatus. U.S. Pat. No. 5,399,013 to Sawyer discloses a mixing device. U.S. Pat. Des. 340,249 to Steele discloses an automatic capsule mixing device. U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,938 to Anderson discloses a container shaking device. U.S. Pat. No. 4,316,672 to Kerscher discloses a shaking machine, especially for an indian ink writing device. Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,173,418 to Vork discloses an apparatus for mixing liquids.
In this respect, the shaker apparatus according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of providing an apparatus for agitating a bottle of liquid paper and further usable for shaking a bottle of nail polish.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved shaker apparatus which can be used for providing an apparatus for agitating a bottle of liquid paper and further usable for shaking a bottle of nail polish. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.


In a packaging and presentation device for a piece of jewelry or a timepiece, which comprises a support intended to receive said piece, according to a first configuration, the support is formed of a first module having a supporting surface of a first supporting length or, according to a second configuration, it results from the assembly of the first module with at least a second, complementary and removable module, the support according to this second configuration having a supporting surface of a second supporting length which is greater than the first one. Thus, the device, which is easy to manufacture and economical, allows an advantageous packaging and presentation of several types of pieces of jewelry or watches. The support and its multiple configurations in function of the number and the dimensions of the used modules allows the use of a single device for pieces of jewelry or watches of different sizes. The removable module of the support facilitates its adaptation to the size of the packaged and/or presented piece.

The present invention refers to a packaging and presentation device for at least one piece of jewelry or a timepiece, said device comprising a support which is intended to receive said piece. The invention also refers to a presentation or storing support for at least one piece of jewelry or a timepiece, said support being capable of being used in such a device.
The packaging and presentation devices for jewelry or watches (also called presentation-cases) which are widely sold today are composed of rigid structures from synthetic materials or from cardboard which are generally in the form of a box comprising a receptacle portion in which the watch or the piece of jewelry is intended to be positioned directly or by means of a support while a cover is intended to be lowered onto said portion in order to close the box. To this end, this type of box generally comprises a mechanical closure system. In the case of a bracelet or of a wrist watch, the bracelet is closed in order to be maintained on the support. In order to allow an advantageous presentation of pieces of different sizes, different supports are provided which are specifically suited to hold particular pieces, such as wristwatches for men, for ladies or for children, each having its own standard bracelet length.
The object of the invention is to provide a packaging and presentation device for at least one piece of jewelry or a timepiece with a support for said piece which allows an advantageous packaging and presentation of several types of pieces of jewelry or watches and whose manufacture is simple and economical.

Packaging and presentation device for at least one piece of jewelry or a timepiece and presentation or storing support for at least one piece of jewelry or a timepiece, said support being capable of being used in the device