An absorbent article can have a topsheet layer, a liquid impermeable layer, and an absorbent core positioned between the topsheet layer and the liquid impermeable layer. The absorbent article can further include an exudate management layer in fluid communication with the topsheet layer. In various embodiments, the exudate management layer can be positioned on a body facing surface of the topsheet layer. In various embodiments, the exudate management layer can be positioned between the topsheet layer and the absorbent core. The exudate management layer has a first component which defines an opening for direct passage of body exudates into the absorbent core. The exudate management layer has a second component which at least partially overlaps the first component of the exudate management layer and further extends in the longitudinal direction of the absorbent article in a direction towards the posterior region of the absorbent article.

A primary function of a personal care absorbent article is to absorb and retain body exudates such as urine and fecal material with additional desired attributes including low leakage of the exudates from the absorbent article and a dry feel to the wearer of the absorbent article. Currently, a wide variety of products for absorbent of body exudates are available in the form of diapers, training pants, and incontinence devices. These products generally have an absorbent core positioned between a body-facing liquid permeable topsheet layer and a garment-facing liquid impermeable layer. The edges of the topsheet layer and the liquid impermeable layer are often bonded together at their periphery to form a seal to contain the absorbent core and body exudates received into the product through the topsheet layer. In use, such products may have a front waist and rear waist region which can encircle the lower torso of the wearer to remain in place on the body of the wearer.
Absorbent articles commonly fail, however, to prevent leakage of body exudates. Some body exudates, such as solid and semi-solid fecal material, have difficulty penetrating the topsheet layer of the absorbent article as easily as urine and tend to spread across the surface of the topsheet layer under the influence of gravity, motion, and pressure by the wearer of the absorbent article. The migration of such body exudates is often towards the perimeter of the absorbent article, increasing the likelihood of leakage and smears against the skin of the wearer which can make clean-up of the skin difficult.
An additional problem is that such conventional absorbent article products may not always have an adequate fit to the body of the wearer which can lead to increased levels of leakage of body exudates from the product and discomfort during wear of the product. Many conventional absorbent article products are flat or have flat regions prior to use while the wearer's body is contoured. Even though the flat absorbent article product can bend during use, it can still fail to fully conform to the body of the wearer which can result in gaps between the product and the skin of the wearer resulting in leakage of body exudates, particularly those body exudates, such as solid and semi-solid femal material, which have a more difficult time penetrating the topsheet layer of the product. The movement of the wearer can also cause undesirable deformation of the product and fold lines within the product which can create pathways along which the body exudates can travel and leak from the product.
There remains a need for an absorbent article that can adequately reduce the incidence of leakage of body exudates from the absorbent article. There remains a need for an absorbent article which can provide improved handling of body exudates. There remains a need for an absorbent article that can minimize the amount of body exudates in contact with the wearer's skin.

Absorbent article with an exudate management layer


Smoky gas in conduit or closed space is disinfected by a box body, a blower which is arranged within said box body, an input openings and two output opening which can be switched alternately, a feedback pipe connected to the input opening, a vaporization device and a water collection tank connected to above two output opening, respectively, wherein the vaporization device is extended outside the box body with a circulation pipe and the water collection tank extended outside the box body with a gas outlet pipe; during its operation, feedback pipe and circulation pipe are connected to distal end of conduit or closed space, the disinfecting gas generated by vaporization device is sent to conduit or closed space with the help of blower; after finishing disinfecting work, the gas in feedback pipe is filtered by water collection tank and the purified gas is discharged to atmosphere.

The present utility relates generally to an automatic disinfecting means for smoky gas in conduit or closed space, more particularly, to a disinfecting means which will disinfect smoky gas in conduit or closed space automatically and the gas released therefrom will not interfere environment and ecology, thus protecting the environment in an improved way.
Conduit and closed space have been found wide application in the field of industry, agriculture, breeding and medical. For examples, conduit may be appeared in the form as chimney, transportation pipe, and closed space in the form as green house, laboratory, reservoir and box for storing wasted. However, they have a common drawback in that inner wall surface and comer thereof are often isolated with outer circumstance and hard to clean such that it is easy to form a hotbed of infect. Therefore, the conduit and closed space need regular clean and disinfecting, especially in the case of medical application where the infect exists extensively and the patient is hard to resist infect.
The present method for disinfecting in a conduit or closed space is to enter thereinto either manually by workmen or by insertion of stick-like tool. However, this kind of disinfecting method is dangerous to workmen as the conduit or closed space is full of infect or cannot eliminate the infect completely as carrying out in a conduit or a narrow closed space.
Moreover, the disinfecting agent or cleaning agent is chemical agent harmful to environment, and manual operation is liable to release those harmful substance to the environment.

Automatic disinfecting means for smoky gas in conduit or closed space


An apparatus for supporting a wing assembly at a wing assembly support height. Base sections are provided, each having a different predetermined height with respect to one another. A movable platform carries a plurality of base sections, and a plurality of wing assembly support sections rest on base sections and include wing assembly connectors, which are movable in a first plane and a second plane generally perpendicular relative to the first plane. A differential height is defined between the wing assembly support height and the combined heights of the platform and the height of wing assembly connector, relative to the bottom of the wing assembly support section. At least one of the base sections is of a predetermined height approximating the differential height and is carried on the platform. The wing assembly support section is carried on such base section.

In the manufacture of elongated components, and in particular aircraft wings, support stands (also referred to as stanchions) of differing heights may be required. This may be the case with aircraft wings in particular, wherein the thickness of an aircraft wing may change considerably, moving from the root of the wing (where the wing attaches to an aircraft fuselage) to the tip of such wing. To adequately support the wing, multiple stanchions are typically used along the length of both sides of the wing. These stanchions may be required to each be of a custom height in order to support a particular location of a specific model of wing, depending on a number of factors, including, without limitation, the weight to be supported, the design tolerances, the type and amount of work and/or inspection to be done, etc. Further, support stands or stanchions may be required which, in addition to support, can provide proper alignment of an elongated component during assembly or transport. In some cases, it may be required that a support stand function as a jig in addition to support functions. Additionally, operability within a range of alignment configurations may be required. Given the variety of wing models which may require manufacture, maintenance, inspection, testing, evaluation, etc., the construction of stanchions that are custom-made for each of the various wing models and/or configurations can be expensive, labor intensive, and can adversely bear on productions schedules.
Further, transport of elongated components, such as aircraft wings, may require adjustment of the height of support stands in order to compensate for changing terrain conditions beneath the stanchions. For example, movement of an elongated component across a workshop or assembly operation floor can result in load shifting during movement across uneven or unleveled floor surfaces. Load shifting of this type may, in some cases, adversely affect structural integrity of elongated components. Distribution and/or re-distribution of changing loads along the elongated structure during transit may be required, in some cases involving measurement and height/load adjustment during transit. Moreover, in some cases, transport of elongated components may require positioning and/or repositioning of the support stands along one or more axes of rotation or along one or more planes in order to compensate for deviations from predetermined positions which are desired for certain assembly operations and which, in some cases, may not be associated with load shifting.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches to the support of wings and other elongated structures may become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with the teachings and examples set forth in the present disclosure.


An apparatus is provided for making ophthalmic lenses by vacuum lamination wherein a front lens wafer is laminated to a back lens wafer with a layer of adhesive disposed within the interface between the two wafers forming a composite lens. An upper flexible, transparent sheet is located on the top side of the composite lens, a lower flexible, opaque or transparent sheet is located on the bottom side of the composite lens, and a seam is formed between the upper and lower flexible sheets which defines an evacuation chamber between the sheets for receiving the composite lens. A vacuum pump is connected in fluid communication with the evacuation chamber for evacuating air from the chamber and in turn drawing the upper and lower flexible sheets into engagement with the top and bottom sides of the composite lens, respectively, to press the lens wafers together and spread the adhesive throughout the wafer interface. A UV lamp is mounted above the composite lens for transmitting UV radiation through the upper flexible sheet and into the adhesive layer to cure the adhesive and form the composite lens.

Prescription eyeglass lenses have conventionally been produced by providing a pair of lens blanks, of glass or plastic, having two major lens surfaces. One of these surfaces is cut with a grinding tool to generate a lens surface having a shape closely approximating that of the prescribed lens. The ground lens surface is then fined by rubbing this surface with a lap having an abrasive surface to create a surface form that meets the prescription, and the fined surface is then polished to optical clarity. If desired, the lens may then be coated for tinting, anti-reflection, scratch resistance, etc.
One of the drawbacks of this conventional approach is that it is relatively time consuming and requires a significant amount of expertise and expense. Although computer-controlled machinery has been developed and is now widely used to quickly generate, fine and polish lens blanks to meet any prescription, this equipment is relatively expensive, preventing its use by most optometrists and/or merchants. Accordingly, rather than stock eyeglass lenses for all potential customers' prescriptions, these individuals and/or companies have been required to order lenses for many prescriptions from a distant laboratory or manufacturer, requiring their customers to wait one or more days to receive their eyeglasses.
In an attempt to avoid these and other drawbacks associated with conventional eyeglass lens production, several manufacturers have been working to develop wafer lamination systems wherein a front lens wafer and a back lens wafer are laminated together to form a composite lens. Each wafer is provided in finished and polished form so as to provide selected optical properties. In order to produce a particular prescription lens, selected front and back wafers are combined and aligned relative to each other so that the combined optical properties of the wafers form the prescribed lens. The primary advantage of this type of systemin is that a relatively small inventory of wafers may be stocked and used to make composite lenses satisfying hundreds of thousands of multi-focal and single-vision prescriptions. In addition, the wafers may be pre-tinted, or pre-coated with, for example, an anti-reflection or scratch-resistant coating, thus avoiding the need to send the lenses to a distant laboratory or like facility to apply such a coating as is now frequently required.
In a typical wafer lamination system, a composite lens is formed by placing the selected front lens wafer into a lens holder with its concave or back side facing up. A predetermined quantity of adhesive is then applied to the back side of the front wafer, and the convex or front side of a selected back lens wafer is then superimposed over the front wafer and aligned relative to the front wafer in accordance with the requirements of a particular prescription. The two lens wafers are then squeezed together to spread the adhesive throughout the interface between the wafers.
In conventional wafer lamination systems, mechanical clamping or pressing devices have been employed to press the lens wafers together. In other such systems, pneumatic pressure has been applied by superimposing an inflatable bladder over the lens assembly and inflating the bladder so that it engages and presses the lenses together against a compliant support surface. These types of prior art devices require relatively precise shape, construction, and positioning to provide uniform application of pressure and avoid distortion of the wafer pair.
Most current wafer lamination systems use an adhesive which is cured by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light for bonding the lens wafers, and this is typically done during the step of pressing the wafers together. Accordingly, the mechanical pressing devices typically require an optically-transparent window, and the inflatable bladders have likewise been made of transparent materials to permit the transmission of UV light into the lens assembly when pressing the lenses together. One of the drawbacks of these current wafer lamination systems is that the inflatable bladder structures and transparent window assemblies may absorb a substantial portion of the UV light, thereby increasing the time required to cure the adhesive. In addition, the adhesive typically has oxygen-inhibited activators and thus any adhesive that spreads onto the edge surface areas of the wafer lamination remains in a wet or waxy state after curing. The wet adhesive may in turn be transferred by contact to the surfaces of the pressing devices, or to other components of the lamination system, requiring time-consuming clean up between lamination procedures. In addition, many current wafer lamination systems require extensive operator handling of the wafers, which likewise leads to contamination and/or damage to the wafers, particularly when operators are required to handle wafers having uncured adhesive on their edge surface areas.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to overcome many of the drawbacks and disadvantages of such prior art wafer lamination systems.

Apparatus for making ophthalmic lenses by vacuum lamination


Various embodiments relate to a multimedia system comprising a plurality of multimedia sources and a playback unit being configured to perform a requested playback. The multimedia system comprising a control unit configured to automatically extract at least portions of the playback as tracks. The tracks being characteristic audio and/or video parts of the playback. The multimedia system further comprises a communication interface being configured to connect to the Internet and to automatically send first data comprising the tracks to a remote server and further being configured to automatically receive second data in response to the sent first data from the remote server. The second data comprises identification information of the playback. The identification information being determined based on the tracks and uniquely identifying the playback.

Multimedia systems, such as in-car entertainment systems or audio-video-receivers (AVRs), are known which comprise a plurality of multimedia sources for a playback. In particular, the multimedia sources comprised in the multimedia system can be of different nature in view of the playback.
Namely, on the one hand, conventional multimedia sources are known which provide a predefined and possibly prerecorded stream of multimedia data to a user. The user does not have the possibility to individually select multimedia data for the playback. The user may only choose the playback of the multimedia source. Such multimedia sources can be analog radio, digital radio, analog and digital television, internet live-streams, Internet radio, etc.
On the other hand, multimedia sources are known which allow for individually requesting the playback of certain multimedia data. The user may specifically select the certain multimedia data for the playback. For example, such multimedia sources comprise local storage units, remote storage units being connected via a remote storage interface connecting (e.g., to the Internet, or a compact disk or Blu-ray disk with individual songs/chapters etc.).
As noted above, one way to classify different types of the multimedia sources is to distinguish between the providing of individual multimedia data or the providing of predefined streams of the multimedia data. Another way of distinguishing and classifying different multimedia sources is to differentiate between analog and digital multimedia sources. For example, a commonly employed and widely popular multimedia sources is the frequency modulated (FM) radio in the wave band of roughly 88.0 to 108.0 MHz. FM radios typically provide a stream of analog multimedia data with no or only little additional information on the identity of the multimedia data of the current playback. Radio data service (RDS) tags commonly refer to the radio station rather than the identity of the multimedia data. Lately, digital multimedia sources have gained increasing popularity. In particular, the provisioning of audio and/or video files in a digital format on hard disc drives or on remote storages, e.g., in the Internet, has changed the multimedia consumption habits of consumers.
Current multimedia systems such as audio-video-receivers (AVR) or in-vehicle entertainment systems allow the playback of a plurality of such multimedia sources and can handle the wide variety as outlined above. While the different multimedia sources have their own characteristic standards and operation properties, recently a desire has arisen to classify and keep track of the multimedia consumption of a user independently of the type of multimedia source.
Accordingly, a need exists to provide techniques of the playback employing a plurality of multimedia sources and allowing for a unique identification of the playback independently of the type of the given multimedia source of the playback.

Multimedia system and method of performing a playback by means of a multimedia system


According to one embodiment, a head-separated device has an imaging unit, a control unit configured to control the imaging unit and a connection unit configured to connect the imaging unit with the control unit, wherein the imaging unit comprises sensor configured to capture an image, and a transmitter configured to transmit a video signal, a sync signal (HD, VD) and a clock signal to restore or to reproduce the image captured by the sensor, and the control unit comprises a determining module configured to determine whether a waveform of the video signal has a level that the video processor is processable, and a setting module configured to set the transmitter to perform enhancement correction to the video signal, if the determining module determines that the waveform of the video signal does not have the level that the video processor is processable.

1. Field
One embodiment of the invention relates to a head separated camera apparatus comprising a camera head and a camera control unit which controls the same, which are separated from each other.
2. Description of the Related Art
As well known, a head separated camera apparatus comprises a camera head and a camera control unit (CCU) as separate bodies. The camera head incorporates a solid-state imaging element, such as a CCD (charge coupled device) sensor or a CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) sensor. The CCU supplies a driving control signal to the solid-state imaging element of the camera head, and processes a signal output from the solid-state imaging element to a video signal. The camera head and the CCU are connected to each other via a cable comprising a bundle of signal lines.
Generally, the head separated camera has been developed to, for example, inspect a small area where a human cannot enter. Therefore, the camera head is required to be as compact as possible with the fewest possible components. Further, the cable connecting the camera head and the CCU is required to be long.
The longer the cable in the head separated camera apparatus, the more the waveform disturbance and the attenuation of a signal including a video signal transmitted from the camera head to the CCU.
Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2000-349727 discloses a bidirectional transmitting apparatus comprising a camera head side transmitting device and a CCU side transmitting device, which are connected via a triax cable. In this apparatus, the CCD side transmitting device detects amplitude of a transmission signal transmitted from the camera head side transmitting device, calculates the attenuation of a signal in the triax cable, and determines the length of the triax cable based on the attenuation. Each of the camera head side transmitting device and the CCU side transmitting device include a gain variable amplifier. The gain variable amplifiers set optimum gains according to the cable length.


A combination NAND and flip-flop circuit includes a pre-NAND scan circuit operable to receive a plurality of input signals and produce first and second output signals for receipt by a NAND gate. The plurality of signals comprises signals indicative of a first data signal, a second data signal, a scan-in signal, and a scan-enable signal. These circuits include a NAND gate having first and second inputs operable to receive the first and second output signals of the pre-NAND scan circuit. They also include a first transmission gate and a first inverter. The transmission gate receives the output of the NAND gate and the inverter receives the output of the transmission gate. The pre-NAND scan circuit is operable to produce the first and second output signals based on the plurality of input signals such that the first and second output signals are defined as described below. When the scan-enable signal is equal to a logical one then the first output signal and the second output signal are either both equal to the scan-in signal or the first output signal is equal to a logical one and the second output signal is equal to the scan-in signal. When the scan-enable signal is equal to a logical zero, then the first output signal is equal to the first data signal and the second output signal is equal to the second data signal.

This invention relates generally to logic circuits and more particularly to an integrated NAND and flip-flop circuit.
Digital signal processors (DSPs) are becoming increasingly important in today""s society, being used with many common place devices. DSPs are utilized in cell phones, personal digital assistance, appliances, and many other devices. Digital signal processors perform different functions, depending upon the type of device in which it is used. However, all digital signal processors utilize logic circuits.
Logic circuits receive an input and produce an output based on a set of specified criteria. Logic circuits are generally formed from a plurality of logic gates. Example logic gates includes AND, NAND, OR, and XOR. Logic circuits are designed to allow data to flow as rapidly as possible, but sometimes it is desirable to hold a state of an input to, or output from, a logic circuit. One way of holding the state of a particular inputs, or variable, is though the use of a flip-flop. Flip-flops are logic circuits that hold the state of a variable for a desired time period.
Requirements for faster DSPs create the desire to build DSPs that can operate at a higher clock frequency. The clock speed of DSPs is limited by the number of gates in a critical path. In other words, data can progress through only so many gates within a single clock cycle. If the number of gates is decreased, then the clock speed can be increased because less time is required to progress through the gates. Therefore, it is desirable to decrease the number of gates in logic circuits whenever possible. Removing even just one gate is considered important in today""s DSPs.
Flip-flops generally utilize a series of inverters connected to transmission gates, usually starting with an inverter and ending with an inverter. A flip-flop often creates a critical path in a logic circuit. Therefore it is desirable to reduce the number of gates in flip-flops to as few as possible.
Accordingly, a need has arisen for an integrated NAND in flip-flop circuits. The present invention provides an apparatus that addresses shortcomings of prior systems and methods.
According to one embodiment of the invention, a combination NAND and flip-flop circuit includes a pre-NAND scan circuit operable to receive a plurality of input signals and produce first and second output signals for receipt by a NAND gate. The plurality of signals comprises signals indicative of a first data signal, a second data signal, a scan-in signal, and a scan-enable signal. These circuits include a NAND gate having first and second inputs operable to receive the first and second output signals of the pre-NAND scan circuit. They also include a first transmission gate and a first inverter. The transmission gate receives the output of the NAND gate and the inverter receives the output of the transmission gate. The pre-NAND scan circuit is operable to produce the first and second output signals based on the plurality of input signals such that the first and second output signals are defined as described below. When the scan-enable signal is equal to a logical one then the first output signal and the second output signal are either both equal to the scan-in signal or the first output signal is equal to a logical one and the second output signal is equal to the scan-in signal. When the scan-enable signal is equal to a logical zero, then the first output signal is equal to the first data signal and the second output signal is equal to the second data signal.
Some embodiments of the invention provides numerous technical advantages. For example, some embodiments of the invention allow reduction of the number of gates along a critical timing path in a flip-flop, resulting in a faster flip-flop and therefore faster DSPs. Such reduction in the number of gates can occur without any significant additional processing steps.
Other technical advantages are readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the following figures, descriptions, and claims.


An improved method, system and arrangement for treatment of urinary incontinence is disclosed, in which a portion of innervated smooth muscle (2) is transplanted and disposed around the urethra to provide a urethral sphincter (2). Electrical stimulation, by an implanted stimulator (1), maintains continuous tone in the sphincter. A remote controller (7) permits the sphincter (2) to be allowed to relax, and hence permit urine to flow out of the bladder.

The present invention is concerned with forms of incontinence caused wholly or partly by inadequate sphincter function. This may include forms of stress incontinence, urge incontinence and total incontinence. The invention has been developed initially for use in treating male incontinence and will be described principally with respect to that application. However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention is also applicable for use in treating female incontinence.
Incontinence is a major health problem, particularly with the ageing population, for which there is no well-accepted medical treatment. For females, surgically constructed slings are increasingly being used for stress incontinence and with increasing success. However, here is no low risk and reliably effective treatment for moderate to severe male stress incontinence particularly after treatment of prostate cancer. As the incidence of prostate cancer is increasing, this is a growing health issue.
The internal sphincter of the urethra consists of smooth muscle cells interposed with elastic tissue and is located in the proximal urethra. Its constant tone is crucial to maintaining mechanical resistance in the proximal urethra sufficient to hold back the passive pressure exerted by urine in the bladder. Weakness in this area is a common cause of urinary incontinence, for example after treatment for prostate cancer.
Prosthetic sphincter valves have been proposed in numerous forms, including mechanical, hydraulic and electrical devices which replace or supplement the defective damaged internal sphincter of the urethra (e.g. PT 101841, SE 931516, GB 2266844, FR 2638964, WO97/01309 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,245). Electrical stimulation of the muscles of the sphincter has also been proposed (DE 29614895). Other approaches have proposed the use of external or implanted electrodes to stimulate existing sphincter function.
A variety of approaches have been proposed in relation to the electrical stimulation of the muscles of the sphincter, most of which are directed towards stimulating an existing sphincter and/or muscles disposed about, for example, a bladder (DE 29614895).
Another group of prior art proposals for the treatment of incontinence are directed towards the stimulation of sacral nerves and the like. Such proposals again seek to use the existing muscle structures. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,771,779, U.S. Pat. No. 4,703,775, U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,639, U.S. Pat. No. 3,870,051, U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,575, U.S. Pat. No. 4,389,719 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,428).
Other stimulation means have been proposed, for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,562,717, wherein stimulating electrodes are disposed on the skin of a person to externally stimulate existing muscles to control incontinence. This method is disadvantageous in that it requires electrodes to be disposed in a predetermined location of the person and be electrically connected to a power source therefore not allowing complete freedom.
It has also been proposed to implant part of a small skeletal muscle from the thigh around the patient's urethra, and then to electrically stimulate the muscle to "retrain" it to function as a replacement sphincter (New Scientist, 29 Jun. 1996). However, this approach, even if successful, would require relatively high levels of electrical stimulation to allow sufficient contracture of the replacement sphincter.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved prosthetic device for use in treating incontinence.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for treating incontinence


Prior to completing a telephone call, a database is accessed within a telecommunications network to determine whether the call should be completed. The billing number to which the call is to be charged is compared to a customer record assigned to the billing number and stored in the database. The customer record is checked against a treatment category code which combines geographic call restrictions and thresholding. A call may be identified as potentially fraudulent and blocked if the customer record associated with the billing number indicates that the account is in arrears. In addition, at predetermined intervals during the progress of the call and at the end of each allowed call to be charged to that billing number, the time and/or cost of each call is estimated and added to the total stored in a user-defined threshold counter in the database. When the total stored in the counter exceeds a predetermined threshold limit, a potentially fraudulent call is identified. In this manner, call authorization is performed on a per call basis to prevent fraudulent telephone calls.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly to an automated system for detecting and preventing fraudulent telephone calls in a telecommunications network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fraudulent telephone activity for domestic and international calls presents a significant and increasing problem to carriers of telecommunications networks, such as the assignee of the present invention, AT&T Corporation. Such fraudulent activity may include calling card fraud and/or subscriber fraud.
Calling card fraud involves the misappropriation of a valid calling card number and then using the misappropriated number to place toll calls which are billed to an unsuspecting subscriber.
Subscriber fraud involves fraudulent usage by an otherwise legitimate subscriber. Typically, this type of fraudulent activity occurs when a subscriber signs up for telecommunications services and proceeds to use the services with no intent to ever pay for the services provided. Such a fraudulent/delinquent subscriber would continue to use the services without paying until the network access was blocked by the service provider. Subscriber fraud may also occur through the subscriber's illegal call forwarding, illegal third party number billing schemes, illegal collect schemes, etc.
Conventional telecommunications systems today, such as what is known as the public switched telephone network (PSTN), comprise several interdependent networks: the local or exchange area network, which is typically operated by a local telephone company or local exchange company (LEC); and the toll network, which is operated by a long distance or interexchange carrier (IXC) such as AT&T Corporation.
In the conventional PSTN, a given telephone within a LEC network is capable of accessing the IXC network through known gateway switching equipment, such as AT&T's 4ESS.TM. and 5ESS.TM. toll switches and operator services position system (OSPS.TM.) switch. Upon access to the IXC network, a toll call may be completed outside the LEC network. However, because the LEC's typically perform credit and collection processes on the IXC's behalf under contracts between the IXC and the LEC's, it has become increasingly difficult for the IXC to detect and prevent fraudulent telephone calls within the IXC network.
Prior attempts to detect and prevent such fraudulent telephone calls have been made, but with generally unsatisfactory results. For instance, because the LEC's are responsible for billing most customers utilizing the IXC's toll services, the LEC would provide customers who were delinquent in paying their bills with a predetermined grace period prior to suspending the delinquent customer's access to the IXC network for domestic and international long distance service. As a result, the IXC would continue to incur high revenue losses as a result of the delinquent customer's continued use of long distance services during this grace period until access to such service was suspended by the LEC.
To combat this type of subscriber fraud, the IXC has previously attempted to block switch-accessed toll calls (international or domestic) at the originating/access 4ESS.TM. switch (e.g., 1+/011+calls) by creating one or more Network Call Denial (NCD) databases containing billing numbers for customers known to be delinquent in payment to the IXC. Such billing numbers include the number from which the call is placed (ANI), the number to whom the call is directed for collect calls, the third party number when the call is billed to that third party, and calling card numbers issued by the IXC.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, when specified call types (i.e., 1+calls) are introduced into the IXC network, the 4ESS.TM. switch 10! launches a query to a NCD database 12! (in parallel with the call processing) through a common channel signalling network (CCS7 network), such as AT&T's 2STP.TM. network. The NCD database 12! is then searched to determine if the billing number matches that of a delinquent customer stored in the database 12!. When a match is found, a response is transmitted back to the 4ESS.TM. switch 10! to identify and terminate the call. Thus, the IXC was able to block calls within its network for customers who are delinquent in payment when the billing number matches that of a previously known delinquent customer stored in the NCD database 10!.
However, the above-described NCD database 10! proved ineffective in detecting and preventing fraudulent credit card calls for credit cards issued by the LEC (LEC cards). In an attempt to prevent such fraudulent credit card calls, the IXC must access the line information database (LIDB) of the LEC in order to validate the credit card before the call is completed in the IXC network, as illustrated in FIG. 2.
In operation, when a LEC credit card call is placed by a customer, the call is processed in the IXC network 1! by an OSPS.TM. switch 20! which receives the LEC card number as the billing vehicle. The OSPS.TM. switch 20! thereafter launches an appropriate query Query 1! through the CCS7 network 24! (such as AT&T's 2STP.TM. network) to a line service application/network control point (LSA/NCP) 22! within the IXC network 1!. Upon receipt of the query Query 1!, the LSA/NCP 22! checks a "hot list" (a.k.a. deactivation list) stored in the LSA/NCP 22! for that particular LEC card number and associated personal identification number (PIN). If the LEC card number and associated PIN match a card number and PIN contained in the "hot list", the LSA/NCP 22! sends a deny response through the CCS7 network 24! back to the OSPS.TM. switch 20!, which in turn prevents completion of the call.
If the LEC card number and associated PIN do not match any numbers and PIN's stored in the LSA/NCP "hot list", then the LSA/NCP 22! was required to send a subsequent query Query 2! through the CCS7 network 24! to the LIDB 26! in the LEC network 2! for "true" validation by the LEC. The LIDB 26! in the LEC network 2! contains a list of valid credit card numbers and PIN's issued by that particular LEC, as well as a list of LEC credit card numbers that should be denied due to unauthorized/fraudulent usage and/or delinquent payment.
Should the LEC card number and associated PIN transmitted in the second query Query 2! fail to match one of the valid numbers stored in the LIDB 26! of the LEC network 2! (invalid LEC card number and/or PIN), then the LIDB 26! returns a first response Response 1! to the LSA/NCP 22! to deny the call and the LSA/NCP passes the "deny" response Response 2! to the OSPS.TM. switch 20! to prevent completion of the call.
In contrast, however, should the LEC card number and associated PIN transmitted in the second query Query 2! match one of the valid numbers stored in the LIDB 26!, then the LIDB 26! returns a response Response 1! to the LSA/NCP 22! to allow the call and the LSA/NCP 22! passes the "allow" response (Response 2) to the OSPS.TM. switch 20! to allow the call. The LSA/NCP 22! also stores the LEC card number and PIN in a fraud tracking list, and increments the card usage by one each time a call is made that is to be charged to that particular LEC card number. If the usage count for a particular LEC card number and PIN exceeds a predetermined threshold in a given time period (velocity), then the LSA/NCP 22! will identity that particular LEC card number and PIN combination as potentially fraudulent.
While the above-described LSA/NCP application has met with moderate success in preventing fraudulent calls billed to LEC cards by validating the cards and monitoring the frequency of calls in a given period of time (velocity), such application has several drawbacks. First, to validate the LEC card, the IXC must communicate outside the IXC network with the LIDB 26!. In addition, unscrupulous callers seeking to perpetrate fraudulent calls are becoming more and more sophisticated. As such, these fraudulent callers have learned to recognize the velocity threshold levels set by the IXC and continue to go undetected by maintaining their fraudulent calls below the velocity threshold levels. In this manner, these fraudulent callers adjust their fraudulent calling patterns to go undetected by placing smaller numbers of fraudulent calls (below the velocity threshold) and instead hold each fraudulent call for longer (and more expensive) durations.
To prevent fraudulent calls charged to credit cards issued by the IXC (IXC cards), the IXC has also previously utilized a customer account services/network control point (CAS/NCP) 30! in the IXC network 2! which contains information concerning the IXC cardholder. Referring to FIG. 3, when an IXC credit card call is received from the LEC network 2! by an OSPS.TM. switch 20!, the OSPS.TM. switch 20! sends a query Query 1! to the CAS/NCP 30! through the CCS7 network 24! to validate the call. Like the LIDB 26! described above and illustrated in FIG. 2, the CAS/NCP 30! checks the IXC card number and PIN to ascertain its validity by comparing the IXC card number and PIN to those stored in a database within the CAS/NCP 30!. If the card number and PIN match and the account is in good standing, the CAS/NCP 30! sends a response Response 1! back to the OSPS.TM. switch 20! to allow the call.
In addition, like the LIDB 26!, the CAS/NCP 30! may increment the card usage by one each time a call is made that is to be charged to that particular IXC card number and store the usage count in its database. If the usage count for a particular IXC card number exceeds a predetermined threshold in a given time period (velocity)--which threshold is also stored in the database of the CAS/NCP 30!--then the CAS/NCP 30! will identify that particular IXC card number as potentially fraudulent.
Alternatively, if the card number and/or PIN do not match those stored in the CAS/NCP database, the account is overdue, or the velocity threshold is exceeded, then the CAS/NCP 30! may take appropriate action, such as terminating the call attempt or allowing the call but notifying the appropriate work center of the IXC for customer follow-up.
Additionally, credit limits could be placed on particular IXC card numbers stored in the database of the CAS/NCP 30!. When the initial query Query 1! is transmitted to the CAS/NCP 30! by the OSPS.TM. switch 20!, the CAS/NCP 30! can also verify that the credit amount for the particular IXC card is not exceeded. If the credit amount is not exceeded, the CAS/NCP 30! may instruct the OSPS.TM. switch 20! in its response Response 1! to allow the call. Periodically, an adjunct in communication to the OSPS.TM. switch 20! may determine the actual cost of the IXC card call to that point in time and may transmit that information to the CAS/NCP 30! through the CCS7 network 24! whereupon the CAS/NCP 30! will deduct that amount from the IXC card's credit and store the new amount in the database. When the credit amount is exhausted, the CAS/NCP 30! may instruct the OSPS.TM. switch 20! via the CCS7 network 24! to terminate the call in progress or to take some further action, such as having an operator access the call to request another form of payment.
While the CAS/NCP 30! has been successfully used by the IXC, its use is limited to IXC card calls. Accordingly, the CAS/NCP 30! is not capable of detecting potentially fraudulent calls utilizing billing methods other than an IXC issued credit card.

Call handling method for credit and fraud management


According to an embodiment of the invention, a processor comprises a register file and a register stack engine. The register file has a predetermined size and a set of registers in the register file is allocated when a function in a code sequence is called. The register stack engine saves the contents of a set of registers in a reserve storage area responsive to a function call if the function call would overflow the predetermined size of the register file. The register stack engine restores data from the reserve storage area to the register file if a recursive function call occurs.

The present invention relates generally to the field of microprocessors; more particularly, to cache memories and cache memory hierarchies for use in improving the performance of processor-based computer systems.
The push for higher performance levels in modern microprocessors has led to the development of new optimization techniques in architectural extensions. These features include speculation, predication, larger register files, a register stack, and an advanced branch architecture. Proposed architectural extensions provide for 64-bit capabilities. One way that new architectural features can enable high performance in future processor implementations is in the handling of high performance procedural calls and returns, which require all parameters between the calling and called procedures to be passed through registers. In traditional architectures, procedure calls retard performance since registers must be spilled and filled repeatedly. By way of example, as nested and recursive calls are encountered in a program, additional registers may need to be allocated to the parameter stack, which will eventually overflow the physical register file size. This condition has created a need for new procedures and apparatus to communicate register usage to the processor. It is desirable in new architectural extensions to avoid the unnecessary spilling and filling of registers at procedure call and return interfaces.
The present invention provides a processor for executing a code sequence that includes multiple function calls comprising a register file having a predetermined size and a means for allocating sets of registers on a per-function call basis. Additionally, a reserve storage area is included and a means for saving a particular set of registers in the reserve storage area responsive to a function call that would overflow the predetermined size of the register file.

Processor with register stack engine that dynamically spills/fills physical registers to backing store


A half-dead reckoning satellite navigation receiver comprises a receiver for tracking and acquisition of two, three, four or more satellites and for computing navigation solutions from the available satellites. A navigation computer is included that provides for navigation when only three satellites are visible by constraining the altitude. The navigation computer further provides for a half-dead-reckoning mode of operation when only two satellites are visible and the altitude is constrained by providing a one dimensional satellite navigation solution. The receiver position is projected by dead reckoning with the projection corrected in one axis only that is perpendicular to the available horizontal line of position.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to global positioning system devices and navigation receivers and more specifically to methods and apparatus for providing continuing position solutions in adverse signal conditions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Triangulation, range navigation, hyperbolic navigation, etc., have long been used to provide position solutions for navigation. The comparatively old OMEGA navigation system used for aircraft navigation typically required that the aircraft be in receipt of signals from at least three fixed ground stations, and was like the global positioning system (GPS) in that time was an unknown. A "half dead reckoning" method was developed that allowed partial, less precise navigation to continue when only two OMEGA ground stations were being received.
In the global positioning system (GPS), more than just the three-dimensional position must be determined. The time must also be known very precisely. Therefore, each GPS navigation receiver ordinarily requires that the signals from at least four orbiting satellites be received to compute the four dimensional solution that includes time. Since the orbiting satellites are ever changing in their three dimensional positions relative to the receiver, it is preferable that the constellation geometry not include any two satellites that have too acute an angle between them, e.g., for the best position dilution of precision (P-DOP).
Recent GPS technology developments have been made that deal with ground vehicle navigation and the urban canyon problem and the complete loss of signals from moving through tunnels and buildings. The urban canyon restricts the visible satellites to those with the highest elevation, e.g., near zenith. Some of the solutions proposed have included dead reckoning system integration with the GPS navigator. For example, turning rate sensors and speedometers mounted on cars and trucks have been used to propagate the position solutions conventionally provided by the GPS navigator during GPS signal blackout or periods of partial loss.
Where the altitude is known or can be assumed, the signals from a minimum of three orbiting GPS satellites can be used to provide navigation. For example, the altitude of a ship on the ocean can be assumed to have an altitude of sea level. This is similar to having available a fourth satellite at the center of the earth. The earth surface position and time of day can be used to look up the tide in a database to make the altitude assumption even more precise. Similarly, the altitude of an airplane can be obtained from an altimeter, e.g., corrected for local barometric pressure.
It can happen, for a variety of reasons, that only two GPS satellites are visible to the navigator. But it is not always the case that those two will have similar elevations and azimuths that prevent a favorable geometry for a solution that describes a line.

Half-dead-reckoning capable GPS navigation receiver


A flexible, twin-blade razor unit employing a corrugated spacer for providing improved cutting effectiveness. The corrugations increase the rigidity of the blades, which, in turn, decreases the amplitude of any vibration introduced into the blades.

The present invention relates to a flexible, twin-blade razor unit and, more particularly, to a flexible, twin-blade razor unit employing a corrugated spacer for providing improved cutting effectiveness.
Today, the use of flexible wet-shaving razor units, such as disposable razors and cartridges, has become quite common. These flexible razor units, such as the ones disclosed in commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,043 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/563,926 filed on Aug. 7, 1990, represent a significant advance in the shaving field. In particular, the flexible razor unit flexes in response to forces encountered during shaving, thereby enabling the razor unit to conform to the natural contour of the surface being shaved. In turn, this brings a greater portion of the blade(s) into effective, cutting contact with the surface being shaved.
With the advent of flexible, twin-blade razor units, additional design challenges have been brought to light. For example, it has become necessary to focus on the rigidity of the blades. More specifically, unlike the prior art units in which the blades could be rigidly fixed to the housing of the unit, the blades in a flexible razor must be allowed some degree of freedom. As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, without such freedom the blades would prevent, or at the least limit, the razor unit from flexing.
However, designing the razor unit so that the blades may move relative to one another hinders the ability of the designer to provide a razor unit in which the blades are rigidly fixed to the housing. This rigidity is important to the blades of a wet shaving razor unit in that blade rigidity decreases the amplitude of any vibration introduced into the blade during shaving. Ideally, the amplitude of this vibration should be maintained as low as possible to ensure that the razor unit is providing the user with a comfortable and close shave.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a flexible, wet-shaving razor unit in which the blades are afforded a degree of freedom to allow flexing, yet, at the same time, are provided with increased rigidity that, in turn, provides improved cutting effectiveness.

Flexible razor unit employing corrugated spacer


A non-hydrogenated canola oil having superior oxidative stability and fry stability useful for food applications is disclosed, as well as seeds, plant lines and progeny thereof from which the oil is derived.

Canola oil has the lowest level of saturated fatty acids of all vegetable oils. As consumers become more aware of the health impact of lipid nutrition, consumption of canola oil in the U.S. has increased. However, generic canola oil has limited use in deep frying operations, an important segment of the food processing industry, due to its instability. Canola oil extracted from natural and commercial varieties of rapeseed contains a relatively high (8%-10%) .alpha.-linolenic acid content (C.sub.18:3) (ALA). The oil is unstable and easily oxidized during cooking, which in turn creates off-flavors of the oil and compromises the sensory characteristics of foods cooked in such oils. It also develops unacceptable off odors and rancid flavors during storage.
Hydrogenation can be used to improve performance attributes by lowering the amount of linoleic and .alpha.-linolenic acids in the oil. In this process the oil increases in saturated and trans fatty acids, both undesirable when considering health implications. Blending of oil can also be used to reduce the .alpha.-linolenic acid content and improve the performance attributes. Blending canola oil with other vegetable oils such as cottonseed will increase the saturated fatty acids content of the oil but decreases the healthy attributes of canola oil.
.alpha.-Linolenic acid has been reported to oxidize faster than other fatty acids. Linoleic and .alpha.-linolenic acids have been suggested as precursors to undesirable odor and flavor development in foods. To improve the functionality of canola oil, the University of Manitoba developed the canola variety "Stellar" which has reduced .alpha.-linolenic acid (Scarth et al., Can. J. Plant Sci., 68:509-511 (1988)). The low .alpha.-linolenic acid oil was reduced in odor when heated in air, but still remained unacceptable to the sensory panel in flavor evaluations (Eskin et al., J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 66:1081-1084 (1989)). The oxidative stability of Stellar oil increased by 17.5% over the commercial variety Westar as measured by Active Oxygen Method (AOM) hours. (Can. J. Plant Sci. (1988) Vol. 68, pp. 509-511).
European Patent Application, EP 0 323 753 A1 describes a canola oil having an enhanced oleic acid content with increased heat stability in combination with other traits. The application further describes a frying oil with reduced .alpha.-linolenic acid which imparts increased oxidative stability. No flavor and performance testing with the described oil was reported.
Data which shows that oxidative stability is not solely related to fatty acid composition (described below) indicates that increased stability cannot be inferred from fatty acid composition. The amount of .alpha.-linolenic acid in the oil is only one factor which controls oxidative stability and flavor stability. Thus a canola oil which has improved stability in its flavor and performance attributes for use in food operations is needed. The present invention provides such an oil.

Non-hydrogenated canola oil for food applications


The present invention relates to a method and control system to control the speed of centrifugal compressors operating within a vacuum pressure swing adsorption process to avoid an operation at which surge can occur and directly driven by an electric motor that is in turn controlled by a variable frequency drive, while subsequently operating the vacuum pressure swing process between set limits of highest adsorption and lowest desorption pressure. In accordance with present invention an optimal speed for operation of the compressor is determined at which the compressor will operate along a peak efficiency operating line of a compressor map thereof. This speed is adjusted by a feed back speed multiplier when the flow or other parameter referable to flow through the compressor is below a minimum and a feed forward multiplier during evacuation and evacuation with purge steps that multiplies the feed back multiplier to increase speed of the compressor and thereby avoid surge. The speed is then adjusted by a global speed factor which serves to adjust the average speed of the motors over all steps of the repeating cycle such that the process operates within high and low pressure limits.

In a vacuum pressure swing adsorption process one or more adsorbents are used to adsorb one or more components of a feed stream and thereby produce a purified product stream. A typical process has a series of continuously executed steps in accordance with a repeating cycle. In the repeating cycle, an adsorbent bed containing the adsorbent is alternately used to produce the purified product and then is regenerated. During regeneration, the adsorbed components are desorbed from the adsorbent and then, the adsorbent bed is brought back to a condition in which it can produce product.
In a typical vacuum pressure swing adsorption process designed to make product oxygen from feed air, an adsorbent bed is subject to a ten step process conducted in a repeating cycle. In order to obtain the highest oxygen recovery, a two-bed process is usually conducted. In a first step, the first bed is simultaneously evacuated from the bottom and pressurized from the top with equalization gas delivered from the second bed. Thereafter, high purity product is added to the top of the bed from the oxygen surge tank while feed air is supplied by a feed compressor, typically a blower of the Roots type. In a third step, the bed continues to be pressurized from the bottom via the blower. The bed is now ready to make product and feed air is fed into the bottom of the vessel and product is removed from the top during step 4. In step 5, the product gas is delivered to the oxygen surge tank and some product is refluxed over to the second bed as purge. After production is complete, the blower is unloaded during step 6 and the lower purity gas remaining in the top of the pressurized bed is transferred to the second bed as equalization gas. In a subsequent evacuation steps 7, 8, and 9, waste nitrogen is removed from the bottom of the vessel through the vacuum compressor while there is no flow exiting or entering the top of the vessel. In the last step, the vacuum compressor continues to remove nitrogen from the bottom of the vessel while purge gas is added to the top of the vessel from the second bed. The pressure remains relatively constant during this step due to the fact that the oxygen purge flow is controlled equal to the evacuation flow.
As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,785,405, centrifugal compressors directly driven by direct drive high-speed permanent magnet motors have been advantageously utilized in vacuum pressure swing adsorption processes. The use of such motors allow for variable-speed operation such that the compressor and high-speed permanent magnet motor combination(s) can accelerate from low-speed to high-speed and decelerate from high-speed to low-speed rapidly, as required by the process. It has been found that this offers a major improvement over the use of centrifugal compressors driven by conventional induction motor/gearbox systems which due to the high inertia of the induction motor cannot accelerate and decelerate quickly. By continuously varying the compressor speeds to match the pressure ratio requirement for the compressor, which is varying because of the pressurizing and evacuating adsorbent beds, the centrifugal compressor used in such a cycle can be operated near, and preferably at, its peak efficiency from 100% design speed or higher to a substantially lower speed, often as low as 30% of design speed.
Compressors are designed to operate within an operating envelope that can be plotted in what is referred to as a compressor map of pressure ratio between outlet pressure and inlet pressure versus flow rate through the compressor. On such a plot, a peak or best efficiency operating line is plotted in which for a given flow rate and pressure ratio, the energy consumption of the compressor is at a minimum. This compressor map can be programmed within a controller used in controlling the speed of the motor and therefore, the compressor. Depending upon the specific step in the vacuum pressure swing adsorption process, which would require a specific pressure ratio across the centrifugal compressor, the controller sends a signal referable to the optimal speed as determined from the compressor map to a variable speed drive that controls the speed of the high-speed permanent magnet motor.
There are, however, situations that can cause the compressor to move off the peak efficiency operating line and into a surge condition. For instance, there can be a lag in the control system, transitional steps in the process being conducted by the vacuum pressure swing adsorption apparatus, changes in ambient conditions and transitioning off the minimum speed line. In all of such situations, the mass flow being compressed can fall for a given speed and pressure ratio to drive the compressor into surge. A surge event is therefore produced by a flow rate through the compressor falling below a minimum flow required at a given speed of the impeller of the compressor that is necessary to maintain stable operation. In a surge event, the head pressure developed by the compressor decreases, causing a reverse pressure gradient at the compressor discharge and a resulting backflow of gas. Once the pressure in the discharge line of the compressor drops below the pressure developed by the impeller, the flow reverses once again. This alternating flow pattern has been found to be an unstable condition that can result in serious damage to the compressor impeller, drive mechanism and components. This condition must be avoided.
In repeating cycles employed in vacuum pressure swing adsorption apparatus, the operational conditions of the compression at which surge can occur will be most critical at high speeds. Additionally, during the evacuation and purge steps and particularly during the transition between the purge and evacuation steps, surge is likely to occur. As will be discussed, the present invention provides a speed control that is particularly designed to avoid surge during low speed operation and during the evacuation and purge steps and the transition between such steps.
In the case of operation of a vacuum pressure swing apparatus comprised of two or more beds, it is critical that the time-dependent pressure trace with each step in the repeating cycle is identical for each vessel in the apparatus. For each vessel in the apparatus, the starting pressure and end pressure for each step must be identical. This condition, which is typically called "balance" among those skilled in the art, is necessary to ensure that the production of the apparatus remains stable and that maximum and minimum pressures in the cycle are not exceeded, as such exceedance can damage the associated compression turbomachinery. In addition, the duration of each step must be the same. This condition, which is typically called "symmetry" among those skilled in the art, is necessary to ensure that the pressure cycles of each vessel stay at the same degree out-of-phase with each other. If this condition is not satisfied, the process can enter a state where it is not taking feed or producing product as designed, which disrupts the continuous production from the apparatus.
For vacuum pressure swing adsorption processes typically used for oxygen production from air, control of the time-dependent pressure trace in the cycle is partially controlled by both the top header valves of the process, which is typical for most pressure-swing adsorption processes. Additionally, for the operation of a vacuum pressure swing apparatus for the production of oxygen from air with variable-speed compressors, the pressure trace in the cycle steps is very strongly affected by the operation of the associated variable-speed compression equipment. This is a consequence of the characteristic operating envelope for the turbomachinery, in which flowrate through the machine depends not only on pressure ratio across the machine, but machine rotational speed.
Therefore, it is imperative, in the operation of variable-speed compressors driven by direct-drive permanent magnet motors, that the compressor speed be adjusted in small increments from one cycle to the next so that certain pressure limits in the process are not exceeded, and so that the compressors do not gradually increase or decrease the cyclic-average pressure in each vessel from one operational cycle to the next. The consequence of deviation from the stable operation condition of a continuous, identical pressure variation cycle in each vessel can be damage to the compressors, including from surge events. Furthermore, ensuring a stable and identical pressure variation cycle in each vessel ensures that production from the vacuum pressure swing apparatus is maximized.

Anti-surge speed control for two or more compressors


Cardiac electrical data are received from a patient, manipulated to determine various useful aspects of the ECG signal, and displayed and stored in a useful form using a computer. The computer monitor displays various useful information, and in particular graphically displays various permutations of reduced amplitude zones and kurtosis that increase the rapidity and accuracy of cardiac diagnoses. New criteria for reduced amplitude zones are defined that enhance the sensitivity and specificity for detecting cardiac abnormalities.

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in North America, with more than 1.6 million myocardial infarctions (MIs) occurring annually in the United States alone. Although substantial advancement in the care of patients with ischemic heart disease has recently contributed to a 20-25% improvement in survival rate, primary preventive interventions with a similar impact on survival could, in theory, avert more than five times as many cardiovascular deaths each year. Clinicians providing preventive care for apparently healthy individuals therefore have an important opportunity to reduce the adverse impact of cardiovascular disease in the community to the extent that they can identify patients at high risk for future vascular events.
One key problem, however, is that individuals with coronary artery disease (CAD), acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and/or other cardiac conditions such as cardiomyopathy are often difficult to identify. Moreover, up to one third of life-threatening cardiovascular events occur in the absence of traditional CAD risk factors. These considerations have led researchers to seek out improved noninvasive diagnostic techniques that can better screen for and predict cardiovascular events.
Diagnosis of abnormal cardiac conditions has relied in the past on visible alterations in the P, QRS, and T-waves, i.e. portions of the electrocardiograph periodic signal. The electrocardiograph signal includes a low frequency (LF) portion and an impressed or imbedded high frequency (HF) portion, and it has been found that although the HF portion of the signal is not particularly visible, it contains information that provides greater sensitivity in determining certain abnormalities, notably myocardial ischemia and infarction and cardiomyopathy of any etiology.
The conventional surface electrocardiogram (ECG) has long been used as a diagnostic tool for detecting problems with the heart. A representative limb-lead tracing from a conventional surface ECG in a healthy subject is shown in FIG. 1. Although the conventional ECG is useful, a significant percentage of individuals presenting to a hospital emergency room with an actual heart attack will nonetheless have a normal 12-lead conventional ECG. In addition, the conventional ECG accurately reflects only the predominant LF electrical activity of the heart, as illustrated in FIG. 1. It tells the clinician little or nothing about the less predominant (lower amplitude) HF components of the heart's electrical signal embedded within the various lower-frequency waves of the conventional ECG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the graphic representation of signals that constitute the conventional tracing is limited to visible frequencies of about 100 Hz and lower. On the other hand, higher component frequencies are known to exist within the ECG signal, but are not visible to interpreting clinicians possessing only conventional ECG equipment. To accurately detect the HFs (especially those in the important 150-250 Hz range), digital sampling rates that exceed those of most conventional ECG manufacturers are first required. Traditionally, a clinician looks for changes in the ST segments of conventional LF ECG tracings as a potential evidence for myocardial ischemia. However, during actual ischemia, diminution of the HF components within the QRS complex has been shown to occur well prior to any changes in the conventional ST segments. Thus, the visualization of HF changes within the entire QRS complex represents potentially a much more sensitive way to non-invasively detect myocardial ischemia in contrast to current conventional ECG techniques.
From off-line studies, it is known that a diminution of the amplitude of the HF components within the central portion of the QRS complex of the ECG can be a highly sensitive indicator for the presence of myocardial ischemia, myocardial infarction, or cardiomyopathy, more sensitive, for example, than changes in the ST segment of the conventional ECG. However, until now, there has been no device capable of displaying, in real time, changes in these HF QRS components in the monitored patient. While academic software programs have been designed that analyze the central HF QRS components, all such programs involve laborious off-line calculations and post-processing, and therefore have little if any clinical utility, being strictly research tools.
Thus, there remains a need for a system and method that analyzes HF components over the entire QRS interval in real time for usefulness in the clinical environment. Such a system should perform, in real time, all of the complex digital sampling, averaging, and filtering that is required to generate HF QRS ECG signals. The system should also thereafter update these HF QRS ECG signals, as well as other derived parameters, in real time on a beat-to-beat basis, supplementing the diagnostic information being obtained from the conventional (i.e. low frequency) ECG complexes at the same time.
The HF signals in the central portion of the QRS ECG complex that have generated the most research interest in terms of off-line detection of ischemia and infarction are those signals in the range of 150 to 250 Hz. The raw, analog ECG signal is typically sampled at ≧500 samples per second (to digitize the signal) in order to adequately satisfy the Nyquist rate of sampling at at least twice the highest frequency of interest and in order to retain the information in the signal without loss. In the past, the sampled data have been stored, and then later processed to provide potentially useful information to the researcher.
On the other hand, Simpson, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,422,459, teaches a system which analyzes only the late portion of the QRS interval and early portion of the ST segment, and in an off-line fashion (i.e. from previously stored data) to indicate cardiac abnormalities, in particular the propensity for cardiac arrhythmia. The late portion of a post-MI patient's QRS waveform can contain a broader range (40-250 Hz) HF signal tail potentially indicative of a tendency toward ventricular tachycardia. The system in Simpson digitally processes and filters a patient's QRS signals in a reverse time manner to isolate the HF tail and avoid the filter ringing which would otherwise hide the signal. Thus, in order to do so, Simpson presupposes that the data are stored so that they can be processed in reverse time order.
Albert et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,117,833, partially focuses on analyzing signals within the mid-portion of the QRS interval for the indication of cardiac abnormality. The system of Albert et al. uses a known technique of building up data points to derive an average of heartbeat characteristics in order to enhance signal to noise ratio. Data are collected and filtered and then stored for subsequent analysis. Thus, the system does not teach a cardiac monitor which provides the data analysis immediately from the data derived from a patient, i.e. in "real-time".
Albert et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,504, similarly teaches the acquisition of QRS data and subsequent analysis. Routine calculations are performed from the data previously calculated and stored. Further, this system teaches producing a set of digital spectrum values representative of an approximate power density spectrum at each of a large number of generally equally spaced sampling time intervals of the ECG waveform.
Seegobin, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,655,540 and 5,954,664, provides a method for identifying CAD. The method relies on a database of various frequency ECG data taken from known healthy and diseased subjects. Comparison of the data has led to a "Score" component, indicating deviation of a patient's data from the norm. This reference is rather calculation intensive, relies strictly on signal amplitudes rather than signal morphologies, and does not suggest monitoring the condition of a patient, but rather is utilized as an off-line diagnostic tool.
Hutson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,348,020, teaches a technique of near real-time analysis and display. The technique includes inputting ECG data from multiple, sequential time intervals and formatting those data into a two-dimensional matrix. The matrix is then decomposed to obtain corresponding singular values and vectors for data compression. The compressed form of the matrix is analyzed and filtered to identify and enhance ECG signal components of interest. As with other systems, this reference focuses on late potentials, a fraction of the QRS interval, as the tool to identify cardiac disease.
Finally, High-Frequency Electrocardiogram Analysis of the Entire QRS in the Diagnosis and Assessment of Coronary Artery Disease by Abboud (Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, Vol. XXXV, No. 5 (March/April), 1993: pp 311-328) teaches the concept of "reduced amplitude zone" (RAZ) as a diagnostic tool. However, this reference also uses post-processing, and provides no teaching of a real-time analysis system. In the disclosure to follow, the reduced amplitude zone as defined in this work may be referred to as RAZA. Further, Abboud et al. used only three of the standard 12 ECG lead positions (specifically leads V3, V4 and V5) and defined a positive test for CAD as one in which a RAZA was present in at least two of these three selected precordial leads. Using a group of cardiac-catheterized patients who had presented with chest pain but with a normal conventional 12-lead ECG, the sensitivity and specificity of this 3 precordial-lead HF QRS ECG test for identifying significant CAD (i.e., >50% stenosis in a major coronary artery) were 75% and 80%, respectively.
Thus, there remains a need for an electrocardiograph that analyzes, in real time, the HF components of the entire QRS complex in order to provide an effective monitor for patients with possible cardiac abnormalities. Further, there remains a need for an electrocardiograph that receives the analysis of the HF components of the QRS in more than three leads (preferably in 12 or more) and automatically and sensitively provides a clear and substantially unambiguous indication of cardiac abnormalities. The present invention is directed to such an electrocardiograph.

System for the diagnosis and monitoring of coronary artery disease, acute coronary syndromes, cardiomyopathy and other cardiac conditions

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


The computer workstation permits a user to work while reclining or in a supine position. The workstation has a monitor and a monitor platform for securely holding the monitor. The platform is independently adjustable and lockable in a selected horizontal and vertical position. The monitor moves with the platform so that the monitor is positioned in viewing position for the user when the user is in any position. The workstation also has a wireless transceiver for streaming signals between the monitor and a remote computer. The remote computer is wirelessly attached to the workstation. A keyboard/trackball platform is independently adjustable and lockable in selected positions. The keyboard/trackball platform has a wireless keyboard detachably mounted thereon. The keyboard assists the user to communicate with the remote computer. Additionally, there is a trackball for assisting the user to communicate with the remote computer. The trackball is detachably mounted on the keyboard/trackball platform.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to computer furniture and accessories, and particularly to a computer workstation that permits a user to work on a computer while reclining or in a supine position.
2. Description of the Related Art
With an increasing number of adults experiencing back pain that is exacerbated from working at traditional desk type computer stations, there is an increasing need for a workstation that would reduce or eliminate stress on neck and spine of the user.
Some of these back pain suffers have chronic pain caused by fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain syndrome that manifests in widespread muscle pain, especially in the back and legs. Chronic pain pervades the workforce. It is the number one cause of worker absenteeism and or inability to work at full capacity. Lower back pain ranks often first as a cause of disability and inability to work, as an interference with the quality of life, and as a reason for medical consultation. Research indicates that, for example, chronic pain limits an individual's ability and motivation to work. Financially, chronic pain represents health care costs of approximately twenty billion dollars per year, and industry costs in disability payments, lost productivity, and training of replacement personnel of about eighty billion annually. Because of the demands of lower back pain suffers, there has been attempts to manufacture and market computer workstations for use in an inclining position or fully supine position.
Elaborate computer workstations include a variety of storage shelves and spaces above and below a monitor, which are dimensioned to accept certain standard items of auxiliary equipment, including the computer or laptop too. While such workstations are often well designed and work well for a healthy, seated person, they are totally unsuited for people suffering from a variety of ailments, and in particular, the user with back pain, neck, and shoulder pain, and users required to spend some time lying prone. While lying prone or on one's back, a person cannot operate a personal computer supported on a conventional workstation, since the computer, monitor and the keyboard are at totally inappropriate angles. Additionally, the weight of these components makes using them in the prone or supine position nearly impossible. Thus, a computer workstation for use by the user in an inclined position or supine position solving the aforementioned problems is desired.


The present invention is an improved safety harness for animals riding in a motor vehicle, wherein the harness prevents or greatly reduces the chance of the animal's lower quarters from being forced under the animal's head and shoulders, reduces the amount of rotational movement, reduces the side to side movement, reduces the chance for the dog to be forced off the car seat and reduces the amount of head excursion during a vehicle crash or a sudden stop.

Considerable advances have been made in protecting human occupants in motor vehicles in the event of a crash. However, the safety of pets and animal companions has not been the focus of those in disciplines that focus on vehicle safety. Further, many of the devices that have been developed and/or have entered the marketplace either do not increase the safety of the animal or can lead to even greater injury to the animal or death.


A fuel assembly for a boiling water reactor comprises a bottom tie plate, a top tie plate, and a first and a second group of vertical fuel rods, each including a column of fuel pellets surrounded by a cladding tube. The second group of fuel rods has a shorter active length than the first group of fuel rods. Both the first and the second group of fuel rods extend between the bottom tie plate and the top tie plate. The second group of fuel rods comprises a fission gas plenum surrounded by a plenum tube arranged above the cladding tube. The main part of the plenum tube has a cross-section area which is smaller than the cross-section area of the cladding tube.

A core in a nuclear reactor comprises a plurality of vertically arranged fuel assemblies. A fuel assembly comprises one or more fuel bundles. A fuel bundle comprises a plurality of vertical fuel rods arranged between a bottom tie plate and a top tie plate. The fuel rods contain a column of circularly cylindrical pellets of a nuclear fuel arranged in a cladding tube. At the bottom of the fuel rods, a bottom plug is arranged for insertion into holes provided therefor in the bottom tie plate, and at the top of the fuel rods, a top plug is arranged for insertion into holes provided therefor in the top tie plate. A small number of so-called supporting fuel rods retain the fuel bundle and are fixed to the bottom tie plate and the top tie plate. The fuel bundles or the fuel bundle are/is surrounded by a fuel channel which is normally designed with a square cross section.
During the burnup of the nuclear fuel, fission gases, which are contained within the fuel rod, are released. To prevent the pressure on the cladding from becoming too large, an expansion space is needed for the fission gases, a so-called fission gas plenum. The fission gas plenum should correspond to 5-10% of the volume of the fuel. For a fuel rod whose diameter is substantially constant and whose active length is 4 m, this means that the fission gas plenum should be 0.2-0.4 m. In full-length fuel rods, the fission gas plenum is arranged in the upper part thereof, above the reactor core, and hence exerts a minimum influence on the efficiency of the reactor. The active length of a fuel rod is the length of that part of the fuel rod which contains fuel pellets and does not comprise a fission gas plenum.
The core is immersed into water which serves both as coolant and as neutron moderator. During operation, part of the water changes into steam. At the lower part of the fuel assembly, there is only water, but the higher up in the fuel assembly, the higher the percentage of steam. When the percentage of steam rises, the neutron moderation deteriorates since steam is inferior to water as moderator. The reactivity of the reactor depends on the ratio between fuel and moderator. To improve the reactivity, the water/steam ratio in the upper part of the fuel assembly must be increased.
One way of obtaining a higher water/fuel ratio in the upper part of the fuel assembly is to replace the majority of the fuel rods with fuel rods which are tapering in an axial direction. The General Electric patent application EP-0 514 121 A1 discloses a fuel rod which comprises a lower column of fuel pellets with a relatively larger diameter, and an upper column of fuel pellets with a relatively smaller diameter and a cladding tube, which comprises a lower coarser part which surrounds the lower column of fuel pellets, an upper narrower part which surrounds the upper column of fuel pellets, and a transition portion between the lower and upper parts. The fuel rod described in the above EP publication has two fission gas plenums, one in the upper part of the fuel rod and one in the lower part of the fuel rod.
To obtain an optimum fuel-to-moderator ratio with tapering fuel rods, all or at least the majority of the fuel rods should consist of tapering fuel rods. The disadvantage of tapering fuel rods is that it is expensive to manufacture fuel pellets with two different diameters and tapering cladding tubes compared with ordinary fuel rods of uniform thickness where all the fuel pellets have the same diameter and the cladding tube is straight. Since the majority of the fuel rods consist of tapering fuel rods, the total cost of the fuel assembly is high.
Another method of reducing the fuel quantity in the upper part of a fuel assembly is to replace some of the fuel rods with part-length fuel rods. Part-length fuel rods have a shorter axial extent than traditional full-length fuel rods. Patent document EP-0 336 203 B1 discloses a fuel assembly in which the majority of the fuel rods are full-length fuel rods, that is, they extend from the bottom tie plate to the top tie plate, and a minority of the fuel rods are part-length rods, that is, they extend from the bottom tie plate towards the top tie plate but terminate somewhat below the top tie plate. In order to retain the part-length rods, they are fixed to the bottom tie plate. The fixing can be made by providing the bottom plug with threads and screwing it to the bottom tie plate.
Inspection and service of the fuel assemblies are performed at regular intervals, among other things to detect and correct fuel damage as early as possible to prevent extensive leakage of fuel and fission products. The inspection and the service take place in a special pool to which the fuel assemblies have been moved. The fuel assemblies are only accessible from above so the fuel rods have to be lifted from above. The non-supporting full-length fuel rods can be easily lifted up since they are not fixed to the bottom tie plate. The fuel rods which are fixed to the bottom tie plate must be loosened therefrom, which may entail complications, especially when the fuel assembly becomes older and the bond may start jamming. A further problem which arises when the part-length fuel rods are to be lifted up is that it is difficult to reach them and to engage from above. Therefore, specially constructed tools are required to lift out the part-length fuel rods.
The above-mentioned EP application (EP-0 336 203 B1) discloses a part-length fuel rod which has been provided with an extension in the form of a screwed vane (swirl vane) which throws water droplets to the sides so that they hit adjacent fuel rods. In this way, an improved dryout margin is obtained. To attain an increase of the dryout margin, it is sufficient for the swirl vane to extend along the active length of the other fuel rods.
To obtain an optimum water/fuel ratio in the fuel assembly, the fuel column in a part-length fuel rod should have a certain optimum height. The optimum height of the fuel column may be obtained by calculations. A problem with part-length fuel rods is where to place fission gas plenums to give a minimum influence on the efficiency of the reactor. The above-mentioned EP application (EP-0 336 203 B1) discusses this problem in column 18, lines 52-58, and column 19, lines 5-22. One way is to arrange fission gas plenums in the upper part of the part-length fuel rods, that is, above the optimum height of the fuel column. However, placing fission gas plenums in the upper part of the part-length fuel rod entails several considerable drawbacks. One drawback is that part of the volume which could have been filled with a moderator cannot be utilized, and this in a region where moderators are already an in short supply. This solution also provides a number of relatively large fuel- and moderator-free volumes centrally in the core, which is not good, either from the neutron point of view, or from the efficiency point of view. As a better solution to the problem it is proposed that the whole, or at least a part of, the fission gas plenum should be placed at the bottom of the fuel rod. A disadvantage with this solution is that the total fuel quantity in the fuel rod decreases by 5-10%, which leads to an undesired reduction in efficiency.

Fuel assembly for a boiling water reactor


The invention relates to an ophthalmic lens for constituting an ophthalmic display, associated with an optical imager for shaping light beams and directing them towards the eye of the wearer so as to enable information content to be viewed, said optical imager being secured to said lens. According to the invention, the lens is associated with marking including referencing for the position of said imager relative to said lens as a function of the correction parameters of said lens.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,886,822 discloses an ophthalmic lens presenting a projection insert. Such a projection insert is constituted by an optical imager for shaping light beams coming from an electronic and optical system that generates light beams from an electronic signal, the system being of the miniature screen, laser diode, or light-emitting diode (LED) type. The optical imager directs light beams towards the eye of the wearer so as to enable information content to be used.
Such a type of lens with an optical imager inserted in the lens, e.g. by molding as described in patent document FR 2 828 743, poses the following technical problems.
For a non-correcting lens, it is necessary to make a lens of thickness that is relatively great, corresponding to the thickness of the optical imager.
For a correcting lens, i.e. a lens that also serves to correct the sight of the wearer, it is necessary to make a lens of thickness that is even greater, corresponding to the thickness of the optical imager plus the extra thickness introduced by the curving of the faces to provide the ophthalmic correction.
Such a lens is heavy and unattractive in appearance.
Also known, from patent document WO 01/06298 is an ophthalmic display comprising a lens and an optical imager for shaping light beams and directing them towards the eye of the wearer so as to enable information content to be used, the optical imager being secured to said lens.
However, such a display is not adapted to the requirements of an ophthalmic lens.

Ophthalmic lens and a display including such a lens and an optical imager


A process for converting the isomers of HCFC-123 to HCFC-123 using TaF.sub.5 and/or Nb.sub.5 in the absence of HF.

Closed-cell polyurethane foams are widely used for insulation purposes in building construction and in the manufacture of energy efficient electrical appliances. To prepare these foams, expansion or blowing agents are required. Historically, trichlorofluoromethane (CFC-11) has been the choice blowing agent for these foams as well as for the polyurethane/polyisocyanurate foams. CFC-11, along with 1,1,2-trichloro-1,2,2-trifluoroethane (CFC-113), has been the blowing agent of choice in the preparation of phenolic foams.
However, in Sept. 1987, when the United Nations, through its Environmental Program Unit, issued a proposal calling for the reduction in world-wide production of fully halogenated chlorofluorocarbons such as CFC-11 and CFC-113 (ratified on Jan. 1, 1989), there began a search for an acceptable substitute for CFC-11. That is, there was an urgent need for an effective blowing composition that would contribute little or, preferably, nothing to the stratospheric ozone depletion process nor to the global warming process known as the "greenhouse effect".
HCFC-123, which is a hydrogen-containing and, therefore, a "not fully" halogenated chlorofluorocarbon, has now become the choice substitute for CFC-11 in blowing compositions. However, the blowing agent market demands that the HCFC-123 contain less than 1% of any isomeric impurities such as HCFC-123a and HCFC-123b. It had been found that these impurities, particularly HCFC-123a, have objectionable reactivity toward the other components in the blowing formulations.
Removing the objectionable isomeric dichlorotrifluoroethanes is extremely difficult. The isomers are too close boiling for economic separation by conventional methods.