A sub-cavity with an integral steam heater is provided in a ceiling portion of a heating chamber. A gas in the heating chamber is sucked into a blower through a gas suction opening and sent into an external circulation path. The gas passing through the external circulation path sucks steam from a steam producing device by using steam suction ejector. The gas that took the steam in enters into the sub-cavity, as the gas return opening, from the external circulation path. The steam contained in the gas is heated by the steam heater in the sub-cavity to become an overheated state, spouted out downward from spouting holes in the bottom face of the sub-cavity, and collides with an object to be heated. The external circulation path is constructed from a pipe with a circular cross-section.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a steam cooker.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there have been proposed various steam cookers for performing cooking by using steam. Examples of the steam cookers can be seen in Patent Publication 1 and Patent Publication 2. For example, Patent Publication 1 discloses a steam cooking apparatus that blows steam into a food tray. Patent Publication 2 discloses a heat cooking apparatus that supplies superheated steam into a cooking chamber or makes steam in the cooking chamber overheated by radiation heating.
Patent Publication 1: JP-U 03-67902 (1991) (p. 6 to 11, FIGS. 1 to 3)
Patent Publication 2: JP-A 08-49854 (1996) (p. 3 to 4, FIGS. 1 to 7)
The steam cooking apparatus disclosed in Patent Publication 1 is an apparatus for professional use in which steam is supplied to a plurality of food trays from a steam supply pipe. The configuration is not preferable from the aesthetic viewpoint since the steam supply pipe is provided uncovered in the cooking chamber, and is not suitable for a cooker for home use. The applicable range of steam jet is limited due to the shape of the steam supply pipe and it is difficult to uniformly jet steam to foods (i.e., object to be heated) in the cooking chamber. Since steam, which has heated food, is exhausted via a steam exhaust port straightaway or condensed to be drained through a drain pipe, in order to continue cooking, a large quantity of steam has to be continuously supplied from the outside, and a boiler of high steam generating capability is required. Necessitating such large amount of energy, this kind of steam cooking apparatus is not suitable for home use.
In the heat cooking apparatus disclosed in Patent Publication 2, steam is not blown toward foods whereas it is generated in the apparatus itself. Since an external boiler is not used, the apparatus can be used in a home. Steam is circulated and used in the cooking chamber, so that energy efficiency is high. However, foods are cooked with steam in a manner such that the object to be heated is cooked by being surrounded by steam which is introduced into the cooking chamber or generated in the cooking chamber. The ability of the cooking apparatus is insufficient in terms of promptly transmitting large quantity of heat to foods to cook them quickly.
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and provides a steam cooker of high heating efficiency. The present invention also reduces the quantity of dissipated heat without being used for cooking.


A wireless local area network includes multiple access points with overlapping coverage, and modes of different power consumption are available to the access points. It is assessed whether the traffic load of the network may be adequately supported using fewer access points in an active mode. If so, the traffic load is redistributed from certain active access points among the remaining access points in the active mode. The certain access points are switched into a mode of lower power consumption than the active mode. Similarly, it is assessed whether the traffic load of the network is adequately supported by the current number of access points in an active mode. If not, certain access points which are in a mode of lower power consumption are switched to the active mode. The traffic load is redistributed among the access points in the active mode including the certain access points.

Wireless local area networks (WLANs) are increasingly available for accessing the Internet and for telephony applications such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) applications. The IEEE standard 802.11 is a widely adhered-to standard specifying architecture and protocols for WLAN operation. In a typical WLAN deployment using the IEEE 802.11 standard, a set of access points (AP) are connected to a common backbone called a distribution system. The distribution system serves to transfer data between the access points, or from an access point to an external network such as the internet via a gateway. Each access point is the master device in a Basic Service Set (BSS) subnet of wireless stations (STA), and serves to relay data between these stations, and between each of these stations and the distribution system.
When the capacity of a single AP does not meet the required network traffic load in a planned coverage area (i.e., hotspot), multiple APs operating on different channels may be installed with overlapping coverage. The use of multiple APs with overlapping coverage also improves the reliability of the network, due to the inherent redundancy of such a scheme in the case of a single failed AP.
If the intended coverage area is outdoors, there arises the problem of how to provide the APs with power, which is traditionally supplied over a wired connection in an indoor environment. As more widespread deployment of WLANs in an outdoor environment occurs, the problem of managing power to the APs becomes more critical. Solar-panel powered wireless APs called solar nodes (SN) are commercially available. These allow the outdoor deployment of WLANs, even in areas where no traditional source of power for the network is available. The size of solar panel and battery required to provide adequate power is a key driver of cost for the SN. Managing power in such a WLAN is crucial in order to conserve battery power in the SNs, and also to minimize the size of solar panel required to power each of the SNs.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements shown in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity.

Power management in a WLAN infrastructure


A method of operating an automatic transfer switch to switch an electrical load from one power source to another power source includes measuring one or more characteristics of a switching circuit in the automatic transfer switch. A value of one or more timing variables is determined based on the measured characteristics of the switching circuit. The switching circuit is operated to close relays in the automatic transfer switch. The timing of closing of the relays is based on the value of the timing variables.

Organizations such as on-line retailers, Internet service providers, search providers, financial institutions, universities, and other computing-intensive organizations often conduct computer operations from large scale computing facilities. Such computing facilities house and accommodate a large amount of server, network, and computer equipment to process, store, and exchange data as needed to carry out an organization's operations. Typically, a computer room of a computing facility includes many server racks. Each server rack, in turn, includes many servers and associated computer equipment.
Because the computer room of a computing facility may contain a large number of servers, a large amount of electrical power may be required to operate the facility. In addition, the electrical power is distributed to a large number of locations spread throughout the computer room (e.g., many racks spaced from one another, and many servers in each rack). Usually, a facility receives a power feed at a relatively high voltage. This power feed is stepped down to a lower voltage (e.g., 208V). A network of cabling, bus bars, power connectors, and power distribution units, is used to deliver the power at the lower voltage to numerous specific components in the facility.
Primary power systems for computer systems in operation typically need to be maintained or reconfigured from time to time. Some data centers, for example, have "single threaded" distribution via the electrical power supply to the floor and/or to the rack, and in which maintenance can only be performed when the components using power in the data center, such as servers, are shut-off. The down-time associated with maintenance and reconfiguration of primary power systems in a data center may result in a significant loss in computing resources. In some critical systems such as hospital equipment and security systems, down-time may result in significant disruption and, in some cases, adversely affect health and safety.
Some systems include dual power servers that provide redundant power for computing equipment. In some systems, an automatic transfer switch ("ATS") provides switching from a primary power system to a secondary (e.g., back-up) power system. In a typical system, the automatic transfer switch automatically switches the computing equipment to the secondary system upon detecting a fault in the primary power. To maintain the computing equipment in continuous operation, the automatic transfer switch may need to make the transfer to secondary power system rapidly (for example, within about 16 milliseconds).
Many power systems supply alternating current to electrical systems (for example, 60 cycles per second in North America and 50 cycles per second in many other parts of the world). During power switching in an automatic transfer switch, mechanical relays in the automatic transfer switch can be damaged by high current inrush. The risk of damage to a mechanical relay from current inrush can be reduced by controlling the switching to occur at the "zero crossing" of the alternating current of the secondary power source.
In any mechanical relay, there is a delay between the time the relay is energized and the time it is closed (typically, on the order of several milliseconds). To account for this delay, some automatic transfer switches are designed to trigger the relay in advance of the expected zero crossing by a predetermined lead time. Nevertheless, due to manufacturing differences and other differences between relays, and differences in characteristics and operating conditions in automatic transfer switches, switching in these automatic transfer switches may deviate substantially from the zero crossing. Such deviations may cause a failure of the automatic transfer switch.
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. The headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of the description or the claims. As used throughout this application, the word "may" is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). Similarly, the words "include," "including," and "includes" mean including, but not limited to.

System and method with timing self-configuration


A method, system, and machine readable media are provided for correcting scatter in an image. The method comprises sequentially emitting radiation from a subset of radiation sources toward a detector array and measuring radiation on areas of the detector array not exposed to the emitted primary radiation at the time of measurement. Scatter is estimated from the measured radiation. Furthermore, the scatter estimates are subtracted from the measured data and images with improved image quality are reconstructed.

The present invention relates generally to the field of non-invasive imaging and more specifically to the field of computed tomography. In particular, the present invention relates to improving image quality by estimating and reducing scatter in an X-ray imaging system.
CT scanners operate by emitting fan-shaped or cone-shaped X-ray beams from an X-ray source towards a detector. The X-ray source emits X-rays at numerous angular positions relative to an object being imaged, such as a patient, which attenuates the X-ray beams as they traverse the object. The attenuated X-ray beams are detected by a set of detector elements, which produce signals representing the attenuation of the incident X-ray beams. The signals are processed to produce data corresponding to the line integrals of the attenuation coefficients of the object along X-ray paths connecting the source and detector elements. These signals are typically called "projection data" or just "projections". By using reconstruction techniques, such as filtered backprojection, useful images may be formulated from the projections. The images may in turn be associated to form a volume rendering of a region of interest. In a medical context, pathologies or other structures of interest may then be located or identified from the reconstructed images or rendered volume.
It is generally desirable to develop CT scanners with high spatial and temporal resolution, good image quality, and good coverage along the z-axis, i.e., the longitudinal or rotational axis of the CT scanner. To meet some or all of these objectives, it may be desirable to increase the coverage provided by the detector, thereby allowing greater scan coverage in one or more dimensions. For example, z-axis coverage of the detector may be lengthened by increasing the number of rows of detector elements in the detector.
However, various physical factors associated with the X-ray imaging process may lead to artifacts in the resulting images or to blurring or generally poor image quality. For example, X-rays photons emitted through the imaging volume may pass through the patient or other object being imaged or be absorbed by the patient or object and thus never reach the detector. The amounts of X-ray photons passing through the patient and the amount attenuated are useful to produce the desired radiographic images as this information is indicative of the composition and structure of the patient or object undergoing imaging. At operating voltages of typical X-ray systems, less than 1 megavolt, three dominate absorption processes contribute to the mass attenuation coefficient of the object: photoelectric absorption, Rayleigh scattering, and Compton scattering. Photoelectric absorption is a mechanism where the energy of the photon is absorbed by the material's electrons and liberated. Rayleigh scattering is an interaction between the photon and material's electrons, where the photon direction is slightly altered, without any loss of energy. Compton scatter is an interaction where the material absorbs part of the energy of the photon; however, the photon continues to traverse the object or patient along an altered direction. Unlike X-ray photons that are photo-electrically absorbed or undergo Rayleigh scattering, an X-ray photon that is attenuated by the Compton scattering mechanism may eventually reach the detector apparatus but typically along a different trajectory. As a result, a scattered X-ray photon may impact the detector at a location or from a direction that conveys no useful composition or structural information about the patient or object undergoing imaging. As a result, the scattered X-ray photons may lead to blur within the resulting radiographic image or otherwise reduce the image quality, such as CT number nonuniformity or a reduction in the contrast-to-noise ratio in a reconstructed image. The likelihood of such scattering may be increased in imaging systems employing multiple X-ray sources or emission points or increased coverage on the patient or object being imaged.
In order to reduce scatter, collimators or anti-scatter grids may be used, which are focally aligned to the X-ray beams from the sources to the detector elements, with a corresponding increase in mechanical complexity and cost of the overall CT system. Further, use of collimators with higher resolution detectors has proven challenging due to the small size of the detector elements or pixels. An alternative method of estimating scatter by attempting to extrapolate scatter signals from detector elements at opposing lateral sides of the detector array has proven difficult and does not provide a reliable estimate for scatter across the full axial volume. A technique for reducing scatter in X-ray imaging while reducing the mechanical complexity and cost of the imaging system is therefore desirable.

Scatter correction for CT method and apparatus


A microwave supply unit 20 of a plasma processing apparatus 11 includes a stub member 51 configured to be extensible from the outer conductor 33 toward the inner conductor 32. The stub member 51 serves as a distance varying device for varying a distance in the radial direction between a part of the outer surface 36 of the inner conductor 32 and a facing member facing the part of the outer surface of the inner conductor 32 in the radial direction, i.e., the cooling plate protrusion 47. The stub member 51 includes a rod-shaped member 52 supported at the outer conductor 33 and configured to be extended in the radial direction; and a screw 53 as a moving distance adjusting member for adjusting a moving distance of the rod-shaped member 52 in the radial direction.

A semiconductor device such as a LSI (Large Scale Integrated circuit) is manufactured by performing various processes such as an etching process, a CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) process, a sputtering process on a semiconductor substrate. A processing method using plasma as an energy source, i.e., a plasma etching process, a plasma CVD process or a plasma sputtering process may be used to perform the etching process, the CVD process or the sputtering process.
Here, a microwave plasma processing apparatus using microwave for generating plasma is described in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2006-179477 (Patent Document 1). In Patent Document 1, a dummy load is connected to a cylindrical waveguide positioned between a circular/rectangular waveguide and a circular polarized wave converter. An axis line of this dummy load is deviated from a microwave reflecting body toward the circular polarized wave converter by about ¼ wavelength (L) of a waveguide wavelength of a standing wave reflected from the microwave reflecting body. With this configuration, microwave reflected from a radial waveguide box is effectively absorbed by the dummy load.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2006-179477
A conventional plasma processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 will be briefly explained. FIG. 15 is an enlarged cross sectional view schematically illustrating a part of a conventional plasma processing apparatus. A vertical direction of FIG. 15 corresponds to a vertical direction of the plasma processing apparatus. In FIG. 15, microwaves are also illustrated as images at certain locations.
Referring to FIG. 15, a plasma processing apparatus 101 includes a processing chamber for performing therein a plasma process on a processing target substrate; a circular plate-shaped dielectric plate 102; a thin circular plate-shaped slot antenna plate 103; a circular plate-shaped wavelength shortening plate 104; a microwave generator 105; and a microwave supply unit 106. The dielectric plate 102 transmits microwave into the processing chamber. The slot antenna plate 103 is provided with a multiple number of slot holes (not illustrated) formed through the slot antenna plate 103 in a thickness direction thereof. Further, the slot antenna plate 103 is provided on the dielectric plate 102 and radiates the microwave into the dielectric plate 102. The wavelength shortening plate 104 is provided on the slot antenna plate 103 and transmits the microwave in a radial direction thereof. The microwave generator 105 is disposed outside the processing chamber and generates the microwave. The microwave supply unit 106 is configured to supply the microwave generated by the microwave generator 105 into the processing chamber.
The microwave supply unit 106 includes a vertically elongated coaxial waveguide 107 connected to the slot antenna plate 103. The coaxial waveguide 107 includes a circular rod-shaped inner conductor 108 and an outer conductor 109 disposed outside the inner conductor 108 with a gap 110 therebetween in the radial direction thereof.
In order to generate uniformized plasma under the dielectric plate 102 in a circumferential direction of the dielectric plate 102, the inner conductor 108 of the coaxial waveguide 107 is connected to the slot antenna plate 103 such that a center of the inner conductor 108 in the radial direction aligns with a center of the slot antenna plate 103 in the radial direction. Further, the outer conductor 109 is disposed such that its center in the radial direction coincides with the center of the inner conductor 108 in the radial direction.
In general, in the plasma processing apparatus 101 having the aforementioned configuration, the inner conductor 108 and the outer conductor 109 of the coaxial waveguide 107 are manufactured as separate bodies. Then, the inner conductor 108 and the outer conductor 109 manufactured as separate bodies are combined such that a center of the inner conductor 108 in the radial direction is coincident with a center of the outer conductor 109 in the radial direction. Thereafter, the coaxial waveguide 107 is mounted in the plasma processing apparatus 101 such that the center of the inner conductor 108 in the radial direction aligns with the center of the slot antenna plate 103 in the radial direction. In FIG. 15, a center line indicating the center of the inner conductor 108 in the radial direction is marked by a dashed dotted line 111, and a center line indicating the center of the outer conductor 109 in the radial direction is marked by a dashed double-dotted line 112.
Here, when manufacturing the coaxial waveguide 107, specifically, when combining the inner conductor 108 and the outer conductor 109, the center of the inner conductor 108 in the radial direction and the center of the outer conductor 109 in the radial direction may be deviated from each other. Such a deviation amount is denoted by a length dimension X in FIG. 15. Actually, the deviation amount is about 0.05 mm. For the convenience of understanding, the length dimension X in FIG. 15 is shown as being larger in an exaggerated form than an actual deviation dimension.
If such a deviation is generated, a length of the gap 110 between the inner conductor 108 and the outer conductor 109 in the radial direction becomes non-uniform in a circumferential direction of the coaxial waveguide 107. As a result, intensity of the microwave propagating within the coaxial waveguide 107 also becomes non-uniform in the circumferential direction of the coaxial waveguide 107. Consequently, the intensity of the microwave propagated to the dielectric plate 102 also becomes non-uniform in the circumferential direction thereof, resulting in a non-uniform distribution of an electromagnetic field formed under the dielectric plate 102 in a circumferential direction. Such a non-uniform distribution of the electromagnetic field may cause a non-uniform distribution of plasma generated within the processing chamber in a circumferential direction, resulting in non-uniformity of the plasma process within the surface of the processing target substrate.
Here, when assembling the coaxial waveguide 107, it is very difficult to reduce the deviation between the centers of the inner conductor 108 and the outer conductor 109 so as not to cause the non-uniformity of plasma distribution, and thus, a high equipment cost may be required. Furthermore, the same problems may also be caused when positioning the wavelength shortening plate and the dielectric plate.

Plasma processing apparatus and substrate processing method


A system and method for reducing an amount of memory that is needed to perform view clipping and model clipping of an input primitive in a geometry accelerator of a computer graphics system. The method includes view clipping the input graphics primitive with each view clipping boundary to determine a view-clipped geometry, storing view-clipped vertex data defining the view clipped geometry in memory, model clipping a view-clipped triangle forming the view-clipped geometry with each user defined model clipping plane to determine a model-clipped geometry, and storing model-clipped vertex data defining the model-clipped geometry in the memory in the memory locations previously occupied by said view-clipped vertex data. The method is repeated until each view-clipped triangle forming the view-clipped geometry has been model-clipped.

1. Field of The Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer graphics and animation systems and, more particularly, to geometry accelerators that perform clipping operations in a computer graphics and animation system.
2. Related Art
Computer graphics systems are commonly used for displaying two- and three-dimensional graphical representations of objects on a two-dimensional video display screen. Current computer graphics systems provide highly detailed representations and are used in a variety of applications.
In a typical computer graphics system an object or model to be represented on the display screen is broken down into a plurality of graphics primitives. Primitives are basic components of a graphics display and may include, for example, points, lines, vectors, and polygons such as triangles and quadrilaterals. Typically, a hardware/software scheme is implemented to render, or draw, the graphics primitives that represent a view of one or more objects being represented on the display screen.
Generally, the primitives of the three-dimensional object to be rendered are defined by a host computer in terms of primitive data. For example, when the primitive is a triangle, the host computer may define the primitives in terms of the coordinates (X, Y, Z, and W) of its vertices, as well as the red, green and blue and alpha (R, G, B and .alpha.) color values of each vertex. Additional primitive data may be used in specific applications. Rendering hardware interpolates the primitive data to compute the display screen pixels that represent each primitive, and the R, G, and B color values for each pixel.
The basic components of a computer graphics system typically include a geometry accelerator, a rasterizer, and a frame buffer. The system may also include other hardware such as texture mapping hardware. The geometry accelerator receives primitive data from the host computer that defines the primitives that make up the model view to be displayed. The geometry accelerator performs transformations on the primitive data and may also perform such functions as lighting, clipping, and plane equation calculations for each primitive. The output of the geometry accelerator, referred to as rendering data, is used by the rasterizer and the texture mapping hardware to generate final screen coordinate and color data for each pixel in each primitive. The pixel data from the rasterizer and the pixel data from the texture mapping hardware, if available, are combined and stored in the frame buffer for display on the video display screen.
One of the more complex operations that may be performed by a geometry accelerator is the clipping of graphics primitives. Clipping determines what portion of a graphics primitive is to be displayed in what is known as a "clip region." The clip region can be a two-dimensional area such as a window, or it can be a three-dimensional view volume. The primitives that are displayed in the clip region can be one-dimensional primitives (e.g., points or lines) or two-dimensional primitives (e.g., polygons).
The clipping of graphics primitives to a three-dimensional view volume is termed "view clipping". The three-dimensional view volume is defined by 6 orthogonal clipping planes, for example, Xmax, Xmin, Ymax, Ymin, Zmax, Zmin. View clipping of primitives is required due to the finite size of the video display, but may also be required by downstream hardware rasterizers to prevent overflow of the rasterizer's internal counters. View clipping can also be used to increase performance of the graphics system, as further processing on primitives that lie outside the view volume need not be performed. In addition to performing view clipping, many graphics systems also perform "model clipping" of graphics primitives. Model clipping allows a user to specify one or more model clipping planes that may be used to further restrict the viewing volume or to remove portions of an object or model from view. The commonly available OpenGL.RTM. graphics interface requires the graphics systems to support at least 6 model clipping planes. Accordingly, many graphics systems support 6 or more model clipping planes. By removing certain portions of the object or model from view, other areas of the model that were previously hidden from view can be visualized. (OpenGL is a registered trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc.).
Various techniques have been developed for clipping points, lines, and polygons. Some of these are: Cohen-Sutherland line clipping, parametric line clipping, Weiler polygon clipping, Liang-Barsky polygon clipping, and Sutherland-Hodgman polygon clipping. Of the various techniques for clipping polygons, the Sutherland-Hodgman polygon clipping technique is perhaps the most widely used and generally applicable technique for clipping an input polygon against an arbitrary number of clipping planes. The Sutherland-Hodgman technique can be used to clip an input polygon against an arbitrary number of clipping planes by using the output from a first clip as the input to the next clip, until all clipping planes have been processed. For example, to clip an input polygon against the six orthogonal planes defining a view volume, the Sutherland-Hodgman technique clips each edge of the input polygon (as defined by the vertices of the input polygon) against a first clipping plane of the view volume to generate a first set of output vertices. Each edge of the output polygon defined by the first set of output vertices is then clipped against a second clipping plane of the view volume to generate a second set of output vertices. The resulting polygon defined by the second set of output vertices is then clipped against a third clipping plane and so on, until all of the clipping planes defining the view volume have been processed. The set of output vertices from the last clip then define a geometrically-shaped primitive (simple referred to as a "geometry" herein) that is bounded by the 6 orthogonal clipping planes of the view volume. The other polygon clipping techniques perform similar operations of successively clipping an input polygon against each plane of an arbitrary number of clipping planes.
Each of these conventional clipping techniques involves computationally intensive graphical manipulations, particularly when clipping polygons against a three dimensional clip region, such as a view volume. Although the clipping of graphics primitives may be performed within the geometry accelerator by means of a hardware-based clipping machine, it is frequently performed by the graphics system in software, or in a combination of both software and hardware. For example, the clipping of simple graphics primitives, such as points and lines, is straight-forward and well known in the art, and may be performed by dedicated hardware within the geometry accelerator. However, the clipping of more complex graphics primitives, such as triangles and other polygons, is more complex, and is conventionally performed by software. One reason for performing clipping of complex graphics primitives in software rather than in hardware within the geometry accelerator is that this is where such clipping has been historically performed. Another reason is that hardware implementations are generally more expensive, in terms of development and test time, cost, and risk, than software implementations. As a result, the benefits involved in placing such functionality in hardware clearly did not outweigh the benefits associated with software implementations, particularly since the clipping of graphics primitives is generally performed rarely by the geometry accelerator.
A further reason for performing clipping of more complex graphics primitives in software rather than hardware is due to the amount of hardware that is needed to perform the clipping operations. In particular, in addition to the hardware needed to perform the actual clipping of more complex graphics primitives, such as triangles or polygons, a substantial amount of memory is also needed to store vertex data. For example, each vertex of a graphic primitive may contain up to sixteen 32 bit words (e.g., spatial coordinate data X, Y, Z, and W, color coordinate data R, G, B, and a, and texture data SR, SG, SB, TS, TT, TR, TQ, D). Each time that a complex primitive, for example a triangle, is intersected by a clipping plane, a new vertex can be created. Thus, if the geometry accelerator supports back-to-back view clipping on 6 view clipping planes and model clipping on up to 6 user defined model clipping planes in a conventional manner, then the memory needs to be able to store at least 15 vertices; the 12 potential new vertices, and the original 3 vertices of the triangle.
However, this amount of memory consumes a large amount of surface area within a geometry accelerator. Providing this amount of memory dedicated to storing vertex data for clipping generally requires sacrificing some other function. Although memory dedicated to storing vertex data for clipping does not need to be located within the geometry accelerator, locating this memory elsewhere decreases the speed and efficiency by which clipping is performed. Moreover, the clipping of complex graphics primitives is only a subset of those functions that a geometry accelerator may perform, and such clipping frequently does not need to be performed at all. Accordingly, for each of the above reasons, the clipping of more complex graphics primitives is conventionally performed in software by the graphics system, rather than in hardware within a geometry accelerator.

Multi-pass clipping in a geometry accelerator


Disclosed are inhibitors of the farnesoid X receptor, for example of formula (I), wherein R1, R2, R4, X, Y, Z, m, and n are as defined herein, which are useful in treating or preventing obesity, type 2 diabetes/insulin resistance and non alcoholic fatty liver disease in a mammal in need thereof. Also disclosed is a composition comprising a pharmaceutically suitable carrier and at least Cone compound of the invention, a method of method of inhibiting a farnesoid X receptor in a mammal, and a method of treating or preventing obesity in a mammal.

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions worldwide and is associated with chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, hepatosteatosis, and cancer. Obesity develops as a result of energy intake that exceeds energy expenditure, leading to a net storage of excess calories in the form of fat in adipose tissue. Obesity is metabolically linked with type 2 diabetes (insulin resistance) and hepatosteatosis, the latter of which can lead to steatohepatitis, hepatocarcinogenesis and liver failure. Thus, a pharmaceutical approach that suppresses appetite, blocks dietary fat absorption, induces fat mobilization, or increases metabolism would be ideal in the treatment of obesity and related metabolic disorders.
Farnesoid X Receptor (FXR) is an orphan nuclear receptor initially identified from a rat liver cDNA library (Forman, et al., Cell 81:687-693, 1995) that is most closely related to the insect ecdysone receptor. FXR is a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily of transcription factors that includes receptors for the steroid, retinoid, and thyroid hormones (Mangelsdorf, et al., Cell 83:841-850, 1995). Northern blotting and in situ hybridization analysis showed that FXR is most abundantly expressed in the liver, intestine, kidney, and adrenal (B. M. Foinian, et al., Cell 81:687-693.1995; Seol, et al., Mol. Endocrinol. 9:72-85, 1995). FXR is a ligand-activated nuclear receptor that binds to DNA as a heterodimer with the retinoic acid receptor α (RXRα) that is activated by the vitamin A derivative 9-cis retinoic acid. The FXR/RXRα heterodimer preferentially binds to response elements composed of two nuclear receptor half sites of the consensus AG(G/T)TCA organized as an inverted repeat and separated by a single nucleotide (IR-1 motif) (Forman, et al., Cell 81:687-693, 1995). An early report showed that rat FXR is activated by micromolar concentrations of farnesoids such as farnesol and juvenile hormone thus accounting for the original name (Forman, et al., Cell 81:687-693, 1995). However, these compounds were weak ligands and also failed to activate the corresponding mouse and human FXR, leaving the nature of the endogenous FXR ligand in doubt. However, several naturally-occurring bile acids were found to bind to and activate FXR at physiological concentrations (Makishima, et al., Science 284:1362-1365, 1999; Parks, et al., Science 284:1365-1368, 1999; Wang et al., Mol. Cell 3:543-553, 1999; PCT WO 00/37077, published Jun. 29, 2000). The bile acids that serve as FXR ligands include chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA), deoxycholic acid (DCA), lithocholic acid (LCA), and the taurine and glycine conjugates of these bile acids.
Bile acids are cholesterol metabolites that are formed in the liver and secreted into the duodenum of the intestine, where they have important roles in the solubilization and absorption of dietary lipids and vitamins. About 95% of bile acids are subsequently reabsorbed in the ileum and returned to the liver via the enterohepatic circulatory system. The conversion of cholesterol to bile acids in the liver is under feedback regulation, and bile acids down-regulate transcription of cytochrome P450 7A1 (CYP7A1), which encodes the enzyme that catalyzes the rate-limiting step in bile acid biosynthesis. FXR is involved in the repression of CYP7A1 expression by bile acids through an indirect mechanism involving the FXR target gene small heterodimer partner (SHP) and liver receptor homolog 1 (Goodwin et al., Mol. Cell 6:517-528, 2000; reviewed in Matsubara et al., Mol. Cell. Endocrinol. 368:17-29, 2013). In the ileum, in an FXR dependent manner, bile acids induce the expression of the intestinal bile acid binding protein (IBABP), a cytoplasmic protein which binds bile acids with high affinity and may be involved in their cellular uptake and trafficking. Two groups have now demonstrated that bile acids mediate their effects on IBABP expression through activation of FXR, which binds to an IR-1 type response element that is conserved in the human, rat, and mouse IBABP gene promoters. Thus, FXR is involved in both the stimulation (IBABP) and the repression (CYP7A1) of target genes involved in bile acid and cholesterol homeostasis. FXR also induces expression of the bile salt export pump (BSEP, ABC11) that transports unconjugated and conjugated bile acids/salts from hepatocyte into the bile (reviewed in Matsubara et al., Mol. Cell. Endocrinol. 368:17-29, 2013).
Tempol (4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6,-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl), an antioxidant and a radiation protector, was reported to prevent obesity in mice (Mitchell et al., Free Radic. Biol Med. 34: 93-102, 2003). A recent mass spectrometry-based investigation revealed that tempol can affect fatty acid metabolism and the altered levels of suspected gut microbe-generated metabolites provided initial clues that tempol may alter the microbiome (Li et al., J. Proteome Res., 12:1369-1376, 2013). Previous studies demonstrated that the alteration of the gut microbiome can affect the level of bile acids in liver, heart, and kidney (Swann et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 108:4523-4530, 2011). High fat diets can induce changes in the expression of genes in the small intestine that are controlled by nuclear receptors including FXR (de Wit et al., BMC Med. Genomics 1:14, 2008). Thus, there may be relationship between altered bile acids in the intestine and FXR signaling that can alter high fat diet-induced obesity. While there are known natural and synthetic FXR agonist, no therapeutic agents have been disclosed which antagonize FXR. Recent studies revealed that the secondary bile acid tauro-β-muricholic acid (TβMCA) can antagonize bile acid signaling in the intestine (Sayin et al., Cell Metab. 225-235, 2013; Li et al., Nat. Commun. 4:2384, 2013). Trisubstituted-pyrazol carboxamide analogs have been synthesized that are FXR antagonist, but their effect on metabolism and physiology were not investigated (Yu et al., Bioorg. Med. Chem. 2919-2938, 2014).
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by massive ectopic triglyceride (TG) accumulation in the liver in the absence of other liver disease or significant alcohol consumption (Weiβ et al., Dtsch. Arzteb.l Int. 2014; 111:447-452, 2014). NAFLD is the most common liver disorder affecting 20-30% of the adult population and more than 80% of obese people in the world. NAFLD can develop into nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), fibrosis, cirrhosis and even hepatocellular carcinoma (Browning et al., J. Clin Invest. 114:147-152, 2004). As a component of metabolic syndrome, NAFLD is tightly associated with obesity, insulin resistance/type 2 diabetes, and coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis (Bhatia et al., Eur. Heart J. 33:1190-1200, 2012). To date, the underlying molecular mechanism of NAFLD development remains largely unknown and the identification of novel targets for NAFLD therapy is of high priority.
The foregoing shows that there is an unmet need for antagonists of the FXR receptor and a method of treating obese patients to induce weight loss, insulin resistance, and NAFLD.

Inhibitors of the farnesoid X receptor and uses in medicine

The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services


A molten glass delivery system for use in producing sheet glass by a fusion process is provided. The delivery system includes a first conduit (9) which surrounds a portion of a second conduit (19) with a free surface (21) of molten glass (31) being formed between the two conduits. The first (9) and second (19) conduits are positioned with respect to one another so that the spatial relationship between the exit end (20) of the second conduit (19) and the free surface (21) results in neither substantial numbers of devitrification defects (27, 29) nor substantial numbers of blister defects (35) in finished sheets of devitrification sensitive glass, e.g., high silica LCD glass.

A. The Fusion Process
The fusion process is one of the basic techniques used in the glass making art to produce sheet glass. See, for example, Varshneya, Arun K., "Flat Glass," Fundamentals of Inorganic Glasses, Academic Press, Inc., Boston, 1994, Chapter 20, Section 4.2., 534–540. Compared to other processes known in the art, e.g., the float and slot draw processes, the fusion process produces glass sheets whose surfaces have superior flatness and smoothness. As a result, the fusion process has become of particular importance in the production of the glass substrates used in the manufacture of liquid crystal displays (LCDs).
The fusion process, specifically, the overflow downdraw fusion process, is the subject of commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,338,696 and 3,682,609, to Stuart M. Dockerty, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. A schematic drawing of the process of these patents is shown In FIG. 1. As illustrated therein, the system includes a supply pipe 9 which provides molten glass to a collection trough 11 formed in a refractory body 13 known as an "isopipe."
Once steady state operation has been achieved, molten glass passes from the supply pipe to the trough and then overflows the top of the trough on both sides, thus forming two sheets of glass that flow downward and then inward along the outer surfaces of the isopipe. The two sheets meet at the bottom or root 15 of the isopipe, where they fuse together into a single sheet. The single sheet is then fed to drawing equipment (represented schematically by arrows 17), which controls the thickness of the sheet by the rate at which the sheet is drawn away from the root. The drawing equipment is located well downstream of the root so that the single sheet has cooled and become rigid before coming into contact with the equipment.
As can be seen in FIG. 1, the outer surfaces of the final glass sheet do not contact any part of the outside surface of the isopipe during any part of the process. Rather, these surfaces only see the ambient atmosphere. The inner surfaces of the two half sheets which form the final sheet do contact the isopipe, but those inner surfaces fuse together at the root of the isopipe and are thus buried in the body of the final sheet. In this way, the superior properties of the outer surfaces of the final sheet are achieved.
In a commercial setting, the location and inclination of isopipe 13 needs to be adjustable with respect to the equipment used to melt and refine the raw ingredients from which the glass sheet is made. Although theoretically such adjustability could be achieved in a system in which the connection between the melter/finer and the fusion system was completed closed (i.e., a system in which entire feed system to the isopipe was filled with molten glass), in practice, adjustability is achieved by connecting the melter/finer to the fusion system by forming a free surface of molten glass.
FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate such a connection, where as above, 9 is the supply pipe to isopipe 13, 19 is the exit from the melter/finer system (referred to herein as a "downcomer" since it preferably has a substantially vertical (downward) orientation), arrow 22 shows the direction of flow of molten glass 31, and 21 is the free surface of the molten glass, the height of which relative to the height of molten glass in the isopipe's trough 11 is determined by (1) the rate of flow of molten glass out of the downcomer and (2) the resistance to fluid flow of the supply pipe/isopipe combination. As can be seen in these figures, because the characteristic cross-sectional dimension of downcomer 19 (e.g., the diameter of the downcomer) is smaller than the characteristic cross-sectional dimension of supply pipe 9 (e.g., the diameter of the entrance 18 to the supply pipe), the downcomer and supply pipe can be readily moved relative to one another. In this way, the desired adjustability between the melter/finer and the fusion system is achieved.
It should be noted that for a downcomer whose exit end 20 is submerged in molten glass, the height of free surface 21 relative to the height of molten glass in trough 11 is relatively insensitive to changes in the depth of submersion of the exit end. To provide a spatial reference for describing the invention, the phrase "nominal free surface" is used herein to indicate the location of free surface 21 when exit end 20 is just submerged in the molten glass. The reference number 21N is used to identify the nominal free surface.
For essentially any practical submersion of the exit end of the downcomer, the nominal free surface and the actual free surface will be at essentially the same location. Accordingly, in FIGS. 2 and 3 both reference number 21 and reference number 21N are used to identify the interface between molten glass 31 and the surrounding atmosphere 33 (typically air).
It should also be noted that because supply pipe 9 (as well as downcomer 19) are made of opaque refractory materials (e.g., platinum or a platinum alloy), neither the actual free surface nor the nominal free surface of the molten glass can be visually observed. However, their locations can be accurately estimated using physical modeling (e.g., oil modeling). In this connection, it should be noted that the free surfaces 21 shown in the figures and, in particular, in FIGS. 8–9 and 11–12, are simplified drawings for purposes of illustration, it being understood that the actual free surfaces will have more complex shapes as a result of the molten glass transitioning from a smaller diameter conduit to a larger diameter conduit at a free surface. Further, knowledge of the exact locations/configurations of the actual free surface and the nominal free surface is not needed to practice the invention since, as explained in detail below, by examining the finished glass for defects, specifically, for devitrification and blister defects, one can determine if the spatial relationship between the downcomer and the molten glass is within the operative range defined by the invention.
B. LCD Glasses
Corning Incorporated, the assignee of this application, has sold glass sheets for use as substrates in the manufacture of liquid crystal displays under the trademarks 1737 and EAGLE 2000. See, U.S. Pat. No. 5,374,595 to Dumbaugh, Jr. et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,319,867 to Chacon et al., respectively, the relevant portions of which are incorporated herein by reference.
EAGLE 2000 glass has a silica content of approximately 63.3 wt. %, while 1737 glass has a silica content of approximately 57.8 wt. %. Because of its higher silica content, EAGLE 2000 has a greater tendency to devitrify than 1737, e.g., to form cristobalite, the high temperature crystalline form of silica.
To address EAGLE 2000's greater tendency to devitrify, its formulation includes a higher percentage of boron oxide (B2O3), specifically, approximately 10.3 wt. % B2O3 for EAGLE 2000 versus approximately 8.4 wt. % for 1737.
Notwithstanding this higher level of B2O3, during trial manufacturing runs, considerable cristobalite devitrification was observed when EAGLE 2000 glass was manufactured using equipment which previously had successfully produced 1737 glass without the generation of high levels of devitrification. The devitrification of EAGLE 2000 glass was first observed in the compression beads at the edges of the glass sheet (i.e., the beads engaged by the drawing equipment) and eventually throughout the glass sheet, including the quality portion of the sheet intended ultimately to form the LCD substrate.
The present invention is concerned with identifying the source of this devitrification and with providing methods and apparatus for eliminating this defect without introducing other defects (specifically, blister defects) into the finished glass sheets.

Defect control in the making of sheet glass by the fusion process


Provided are polyester compositions having thermally stable colorants copolymerized therein, said colorants comprised of at least one electron-rich aromatic moiety attached to a negatively substituted 2,5-dioxypyrrolin-3-yl moiety and containing at least one, and preferably, two polyester reactive groups. Also provided are polyester color concentrates and blends of the colored polyester compositions with other thermoplastic polymers and shaped or formed articles comprised of same.

It is known that one may color polyester compositions using copolymerized anthraquinone colorants at low levels (see, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,276,306; 4,359,570; and 4,403,092). The anthraquinone colorants have the inherent disadvantages, however, of having low extinction coefficients and being expensive to manufacture, although they have excellent thermal stability and fastness to light.
Thermally stable yellow methine colorants derived, for example, from alkyl cyanoacetates and malononitrile active methylene components have also been used to produce polyester compositions containing copolymerized colorants therein and having excellent nonextractability of the colorants and good lightfastness (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,373). These yellow methine colorants have the advantage of having high extinction coefficients and thus provide excellent color yield. This reference also discloses red methine colorants which are derived from 3-cyano-4-phenyl-2(5H)-furanone as the active methylene component (e.g. Example 761). These red compounds, however, are highly fluorescent and have inadequate lightfastness to produce satisfactory colored polyester packaging compositions where substantial exposure to sunlight is involved.
High tinctorial red colorants containing a tricyanovinyl group as part of the chromophoric system are also known and are reported to be useful for dyeing polyester fibers in lightfast red shades (U.S. Pat. No. 2,762,810). An example of this type of compound is as follows: ##STR1##
Although this type of structure generally provides bathochromic colors (red) versus the corresponding yellow dicyanovinyl compounds and have high extinction coefficients, they have poor thermal stability and are completely destroyed under high temperature polyester forming conditions.
It is also noted that bathochromic (red) methine compounds have been prepared from 7-substitutedaminocoumarin-3-aldehydes and active methylene compounds such as malononitrile (U.S. Pat. No. 4,018,796). An example is as follows: ##STR2##
These compounds also have high extinction coefficients, but are highly fluorescent and exhibit poor thermal stability under polyester reaction conditions.
Also, U.S. Pat. No. 4,373,102 describes somewhat structurally related isoindoline compounds containing substituted ethylenic chromophoric groups which are reported to give red to blue shades when dyed on polyester fibers. A typical example is as follows: ##STR3##
The isoindolines, however, generally have inadequate thermal stability when tested as colorants for copolymerization into polyesters.
Furthermore, structurally related to the compounds of this invention are 5-dicyanomethylene-2-oxo-3-pyrroline compounds described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,096,339 which give yellow to blue shades when dyed on polyester fibers. A typical dye is as follows: ##STR4## These compounds have high extinction coefficients, but have shown poor thermal stability at the high temperatures required for polyester manufacture.
Finally, it is known that certain compounds which contain a negatively substituted 2,5-dioxopyrrolin-3-yl moiety are useful as bathochromic red dyes for dyeing synthetic fibers. A typical colorant is as follows: ##STR5##
These compounds can be prepared by reacting an active hydrogen compound (A-H) with 2-chloro-3-negatively substituted maleimides: ##STR6##
There is no teaching, however, in this patent that would lead one to believe that the compounds of this invention would have the required excellent thermal stability to allow them to be copolymerizable under polyester manufacturing conditions to produce colored polyesters.


An automatically compressing and friction-driven speed reduction device including a central shaft that is a cylinder, a planet wheel in a disc shape, and an inner compression ring and an outer compression ring sleeved outside the planet wheel; the maximum circumference part of the planet wheel is a planar excircle, and the surfaces on the two sides are machined into inclined planes having certain obliqueness; a planet shaft is installed in the middle of the planet wheel, and fixed on a housing; the planet shaft and the planet wheel are provided with a rolling needle therebetween. The device can automatically adjust frictional pressure in real time according to the magnitude of load torque, thus greatly reducing friction loss, improving the efficiency of friction-driven speed reduction device, and prolonging the service life of the friction-driven speed reduction device.

The friction pressure of the existing friction-driven speed reduction device is preset and constant, the pressure is constant no matter how the load torque changes, which causes large friction loss in small torque, or may cause exceeding the preset torque, slipping and burning-out in large torque; and with the increase of friction loss, the torque of the system will become smaller and smaller, finally lose efficacy quickly; therefore, the industry hopes to develop a friction-driven speed reduction device that can automatically adjust the frictional pressure according to the magnitude of load torque.

Automatically compressing and friction-driven speed reduction device

ZHENJIANG CHAOJI ELECTRIC TECH. CO., LTD.


A Vivaldi-Monopole antenna is a small form ultra-wideband antenna configured for low frequency operation in modern wireless devices. The Vivaldi-Monopole antenna comprises a tapered-slot element and a monopole element, wherein current modes of each element are combined to yield a functional and small form ultra-wideband antenna configured for low frequency resonances.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to antennas for wireless communications; and more particularly, to a novel antenna structure herein termed a "Vivaldi-Monopole Antenna" that is configured for ultra-wideband operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Those having skill in the art will appreciate the difficulty in forming an antenna that exhibits stable radiation performance across the ultra-wide bandwidth, especially where low frequency communications bands are desired.
For this reason, there is a continued need for ultra-wideband antennas having relatively small form factor for integration with a variety of portable wireless devices.
In the prior art, an antenna structure known as a "Vivaldi Antenna" is described as having a tapered notch configured to achieve ultra-wide band resonances. Vivaldi antennas are generally understood by those in the art; however, further review of such antennas can be accomplished with an internet search. Accordingly, a detailed review of Vivaldi antennas is not provided herein.
In the Vivaldi antenna, current distribution tends to travel at the edges of the tapered element. Because of this, low frequency bands are not achievable with the standard Vivaldi tapered slot unless a very large element is provided. However, because large antennas are not desirable with modern electronics, a large conventional Vivaldi antenna is not a suitable solution for applications where ultra-wideband and low frequency characteristics are desired.
There is a need for ultra-wideband antennas capable of low frequency resonances for use in modern communications devices.


A wiring substrate has a substrate body formed by a single or a plurality of insulating layers and having front and back surfaces located at opposite sides of the substrate body; a plurality of pads formed on at least one of the front surface, the back surface and an inner layer surface that is located between the front and back surfaces, and having a staggered arrangement in plan view; and a plurality of via conductors formed at each of the pads, extending in a thickness direction of the substrate body with the plurality of via conductors being parallel to each other and connecting the pads located on different surfaces. Arrangement, in plan view, of the plurality of via conductors connecting to the pad and arrangement, in plan view, of the plurality of via conductors connecting to an adjacent pad located on the same surface are different from each other.

The present invention relates to a wiring substrate having a substrate body formed by a single or a plurality of insulating layers and a plurality of via conductors formed along a thickness direction of the substrate body and connecting upper and lower layer side pads.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 2012-028730 (hereinafter is referred to as "JP2012-028730") discloses a multi-layer wiring substrate and its manufacturing method. In JP2012-028730, a multi-layer insulating substrate is formed by layering a plurality of insulating layers each having thereon wiring patterns, and a plurality of via electrodes are formed at the multi-layer insulating substrate with the via electrodes stacked along a thickness direction of the multi-layer insulating substrate. The wiring patterns formed on different insulating layers are connected in series through the via electrodes. One via electrode is formed from a via group including a plurality of parallel-arranged via units (via conductors). Arrangement in plan view of the parallel-arranged via units of the via group of each via electrode is different from that of the adjacently-stacked via electrode.
According to JP2012-028730, failures due to a short circuit between the layers of the multi-layer insulating substrate and due to a short circuit between the wiring pattern and the via electrode are prevented, and a multi-layer wiring substrate having high electrical connectivity (good electric characteristics) between extremely-small-sized via electrodes can be obtained.


A solenoid including a substantially cylindrical hollow bobbin made of an insulating material is provided, which is mountable on a housing body and is provided with at least two relay connectors anchored in an end area of the bobbin and projecting axially therefrom, and the solenoid is also coupled to a contact element. The solenoid and the contact element are two separate components which are connectable to each other by a connecting part of the contact element attachable to the housing body, by a suitable securing method, e.g., by soldering or welding.

A solenoid described in German Patent 295 14 315 U1 includes a largely cylindrical hollow bobbin made of an insulating material that is provided with two relay connectors anchored in an end area of the bobbin and projecting axially therefrom, with which it is possible to wind the bobbin mechanically. The bottom of the bobbin forming the bottom of the winding space has variable adjacent winding levels in the axial direction which are offset against one another in the radial direction, with the transitions between the winding levels being designed as a bevel having an inclination of approximately 30 degrees. Except in the transition areas, the bottom of the bobbin is provided with grooves for the winding wire.
The disadvantage of the solenoid described in the above-mentioned German Patent 295 14 315 U1 lies, in particular, in the overall length of the solenoid, which is determined by the length of the relay connector. This makes the solenoid susceptible to damage, for example, when mechanically winding the coil wire. The relay connectors have a tendency to bend.
Another disadvantage is that different flat connectors for the electrical lines may require different manufacturing methods, which complicates the production process and makes it expensive.

Two-part solenoid and method for the manufacture thereof


Can opener includes frame; rotating, toothed wheel cutting blade; and counterpoised drive wheel. A first, perforating relationship can provide the lid of a can with perforations about its outer boundary for draining liquids; and a second, lid boundary-releasing relationship, which is less than the first distance, can provide for the lid of the can being cut to completely sever it from the remainder of the can.

Various can openers are known. Common home can openers of the type for removing lids of cans include a smooth wheel cutting blade, which is driven through the lid through application of pressure against a counterpoised serrated drive wheel that is applied under a lip of the can just outside the lid, and moved along the circumference of a round can or the other similar boundary of another shaped can such as of a round cornered rectangular type by rotation of the serrated wheel. The advent of squeeze handles, although adding bulk to a small hand held can opener such as EKCO's Model-881 Miracle Roll can opener, improved the performance of the manual can opener, with the addition of electric motor power providing for less effort and greater speed.
Many canned goods, however, include a substantial quantity of liquid water or broth. Frequently, it is desired to drain such a liquid before accessing the remaining solid food.
In addressing the lattermentioned desire to drain the liquids from such cans, it is known to simply take the smooth wheel type can opener and make a cut partially around the circumference of the lid, leaving the lid on and draining the contents; or to take a punch type can opener intended for making opposing triangularly shaped holes about the circumference of the lid to drink or pour out its liquid contents as for now obsolete, simple beverage cans, and with that device make a few small holes in the lid, and then draining the contents. Various other art of the latter type is known. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,861,438 to Grisko for a can punch; 2,029,607 to Brenner for a can punch; and 2,716,808 to Hart for an attachment for punching and clearing pouring openings in can tops. Such are cumbersome, and dripping is encountered.
In further addressing the desire to open a can to access its solid contents after inside liquid has been drained away, it is known in addition to the foregoing art to either pry a partially opened lid open, which can be a cause of severe cuts; or to fully open the lid, say, with a smooth wheel type can opener.
Little if any art is known to address both needs in one can opener, save that partial and complete cuts may be made by those who know the "trick" with the same smooth wheel type can opener. Perhaps, too, those who would have employed the "trick" of making a punch hole type partial opening with a beverage type can opener might have found that that "trick" works with a smooth wheel type handled can opener that has on one of its handles a standard beverage punch hole can opener such as on the EKCO Model-884 Three-way Miracle can opener. Such operations are inconvenient.
Other art is also known. See, U.S. Pat. No. 2,784,488 to Olsen et al. for a perforating device. See also, U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,308,272 to Berglund for a punch; 3,491,445 to Gallo for a perforating tool with perforating means mounted on opposed wheels on the ends of pivoted handles; 4,193,191 to Sisco for a turret punch; and 6,282,796 to Lin for hole-punching pliers. Compare, U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,401,821 to Silverman for a perforating iron; 1,645,385 to Kaplan for a perforating wheel; 1,681,667 to Johnston et al. for a marking tool; and 4,502,223 to Brookfield for a hand tool with toothed rotors for dislodging material from a surface. Compare, Fine Cooking, "Smooth-edge can openers are a cut above," February/March 2006, pages 32-33.
It would be desirable to ameliorate or solve problems in the art. It would be desirable to provide the art with alternatives.


A suction nozzle is provided with a linearly movable, stepped cam which adjusts the height of the suction nozzle by acting against a pivoted wheel carriage. The stepped cam is relatively fixedly positioned by an indexing means including a deflectable arm which is manually deformed to release the fixed indexing and then manipulated in a sideward direction to move the position of the stepped linear cam means.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to vacuum cleaners and, more specifically, relates to a height adjusting arrangement for such a vacuum cleaner.
2. Summary of the Prior Art
It is known to provide a cleaner nozzle height elevating cam arrangement which is utilized, in conjunction with an included indexing structure, that maintains the position to which the cam is manipulated, to provide a selected cleaner nozzle height adjustment. However, although these elevating cams are normally manually actuated, heretofore, there has been no cleaner height elevating cam manual manipulating arrangement which tended to automatically release the indexing structure so that another nozzle height adjustment could be more easily obtained.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved nozzle height adjusting manipulating means.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide an improved nozzle height adjustment indexing structure manipulating means.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved indexing means for use with a stepped linear cam nozzle height adjusting arrangement.
It is even a further object of the invention to provide a deformable indexing means for use with a height adjusting cam for a vacuum cleaner nozzle.


The system provides three-dimensional real time imaging, with features that serve to control acoustic effects that cause interference. Systems are disclosed for medical imaging and other applications in fields that utilize radiated wave signals. The system includes visualization methods to enable guidance of surgical instruments as well as general medical diagnostic usage. The present invention uses a beamformed television method which achieves visual format imaging. Beamformed television includes orthogonal arrays to efficiently resolve two dimensions of a scene with measures to control grating lobes. Beamformed television also includes a method that reduces the time to transmit and receive signals by use of a single burst transmission of multiple frequency codes from each transducer which causes multiple, coded transmit beams that are radiated simultaneously. The addition of step chirp operations achieves highly precise range resolution which makes visual format imaging possible at selected ranges. It also enables a variety of visualization capabilities. The step chirp operation involves repeating the burst transmission at sequentially stepped frequencies. Thus, the frequency codes, that enable the transmit beamforming process, are shifted as a group for each frequency step of the stepped chirp. Frequency domain to time domain conversion using an FFT method efficiently yields range resolved signals.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to creating images by transmitting signals and sensing the effect of objects in the field of view on the signals.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The beamformed television method of U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,206 (January 1997) Bullis provided an underwater viewing system to display images sensed by a remotely operating part of the apparatus. This prior system was designed to operate as much like the popular video television camera as possible. This resulted in a system to determine scattering information in two angular dimensions and to form a picture from this information. This process was done at a repetition rate such that motion picture effects were achieved. This beamformed television system is very different from the usual conventional sonar where only one angular dimension is determined.
Beamforming is a signal processing operation applied in respect to arrays of acoustic transducers. Other types of transducers such as antennas can also be used. Receive beamforming is used to selectively receive propagating wave signals according to their angle of arrival. A receive beam can be electronically steered to change the direction from which to receive. Simultaneous receive beamforming means that there are multiple channels that selectively respond so as to receive propagating wave signals according to their respective angles of arrival. The response of these multiple channels is obtained by processing a single set of signals from the receiving transducers in the array. Transmit beamforming is used to control the direction of radiation relative to the transmitting array. It can also be electronically steered. Simultaneous transmit beamforming means that beams are emanated in multiple directions at the same time. To make this effective a coding system must be used to distinguish between the multiple transmit beams. Each such code is associated with a respective transmit beam direction. Use of these transmit beams requires that the codes be recognized and sorted after the reflected signals have been received. Where such simultaneous methods are used, the process of sequentially scanning through all the required directions is eliminated.
A visual like image can be generated if the locations of reflecting points in a field of view can be determined in two angular dimensions. Such reflecting point positions correspond, respectively, to an electronic memory location, or channel. The image data includes the strength of these reflections as a number stored in such a memory location. Such locations of reflecting points can be associated with respective pixels on a display device. Such pixels have positions on a display screen that are measured in the coordinates of the display screen. An effective imaging process is to associate the horizontal coordinate, or dimension, with one of the two angular dimensions and to associate the vertical coordinate, or dimension, with the other of the two angular dimensions. The strengths of the respective reflections are then electronically plotted on the screen. The brightness of such plotted points represents the strength of the reflection from that point. This is the way optical systems such as television systems generally work. It is also the way the human eye works.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,206 (January 1997) Bullis, disclosed systems were built around a concept of orthogonal linear arrays and simultaneous beamforming techniques. Such systems are attractive for determining such positions in angular dimensions. Herein, a large number of transmitting elements were arranged in a line and a large number of receiving elements were arranged in a perpendicular line. The array beamforming operations involved simultaneous transmit beamforming and simultaneous receive beamforming so that previously mentioned rapid coverage of the field of view was accomplished. This coverage was accomplished in the time interval required for a single burst transmission and a single round trip propagation interval.
The two dimensional angular locations of all reflecting points can be determined by a combination of the transmit beamforming system and the receive beamforming system. A number, N, of transmit beams are formed in the system. For each of these transmit beams, a number, M, of receive beams are formed. This results in N.times.M channels. The amplitude of the signal in each such channel represents the strength of reflection from the region where the beams overlap. The result is the image data that drives N.times.M pixels according to the associated reflection strength. The elements in both arrays must be appropriately arranged and the two arrays must be appropriately oriented so as to provide a complete, unambiguous set of such image data. Such system configurations must be designed to be practical and economical in the particular application.
The prior patent U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,206 (January 1997) Bullis addressed underwater imaging and also referred to radar, and medical imaging applications as other possible applications. Reference was made to general application possibilities which arise where other forms of radiating wave signals are available. Systems built around the concept of orthogonal linear arrays were found to be attractive. A large number of transmitting elements were arranged in a line and a large number of receiving elements were arranged in a perpendicular line. The use of both simultaneous transmit beamforming and simultaneous receive beamforming showed great promise because complete coverage of the field of view was accomplished as a result of a single burst transmission, thus achieving a nearly instantaneous scan over two dimensions. A number of important distinguishing features were necessary to make these basic concepts into an effective system.
In addition to underwater imaging use, applications to medical ultrasound imaging are especially interesting. In this field, state of the art linear array systems exist that use a single array for both transmitting and receiving. A single transmit beam is formed in a direction and a single receive beam is formed in that same direction to receive the reflections from the transmit beam. The angle dimension of the resulting picture is simply the angle of the beam. The range dimension of the resulting picture is obtained from the arrival time of a reflected signal. This process is repeated sequentially to accomplish scanning of the object of examination. This complete scan can be done rapidly to enable a full frame to be obtained and displayed in a short time. Repetition of this frame provides motion picture like effects. However, the display is range versus angle so the format is not consistent with normal way things are seen by the human eye. This is a very different type of display than that discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,206 (January 1997) Bullis which would provide an elevation angle versus azimuth angle display to enable a more visual like image presentation.
A direct application of U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,206 (January 1997) Bullis to medical ultrasound imaging has been examined. Such a direct application would allow the viewer to see into the human body but the many intervening layers will all show as overlays of each other. It is important to be able to discriminate. Therefore the range resolution issue becomes significant. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,206 (January 1997) Bullis, methods to selectively view range zones based on depth of field effects in the near field were disclosed. This method of selectivity is not as precise as desired in some circumstances. Range resolution inherent in the properties of waveforms used for coding was also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,206 (January 1997) Bullis. Codes discussed were simple, single frequency pulses but other codes were indicated as an option. Codes such as pseudo random noise (PRN) are well known codes to use for improving range resolution in radar and sonar. Use of such codes will give range resolution inherent to the code properties as a result of code channel formation as disclosed. Such codes provide full resolution of the range dimension and this enables selective range zone viewing. However, use of codes to give fine grain range resolution leads to a difficult trade off between processing time and range resolution. Where the range resolution is small, the appropriate method for beamforming is a time delay method. Time delay methods are very desirable except that they require lengthy signal processing operations. Because of this, the methods in U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,206 (January 1997) Bullis have practical drawbacks.
Not all internal parts of the human body are stationary. Sensing motion is an important capability in medical ultrasound systems. The invention U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,206 (January 1997) Bullis provided for selectively viewing moving scattering centers. The resulting image signals enabled viewing of an image representing all particles having a particular radial velocity. However, this invention fails to make a full field of view image of the radial velocity of the individual scattering centers.
From another field, there are commercial laboratory instruments that use a stepped-chirp signal with FFT (fast Fourier Transform) processing to resolve the time dimension. An example is the Hewlett Packard 8510 Network Analyzer family of instruments. There are also laboratory instruments that use a gated-tone method to resolve the time dimension. Flam and Russel Co. produced such a product as did Scientific Atlanta Co. In the field of radar cross section measurement it is known to use such instruments in combination to measure low level signals. In some cases radar cross section imaging systems have been assembled which produce images having dimensions of range and cross range. Such systems used controlled target rotation and synthetic aperture processing to resolve the cross range dimension. Such systems did not use of transducer array methods to resolve the angular dimensions. They did not produce visual like images.
In still another field there are known sonars that utilize continuous transmission frequency modulation to determine range to targets by frequency of an audible tone.
The invention U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,206 (January 1997) Bullis provided for basic features to yield acceptable image quality. These included disclosure of a special linearity requirement in the transmitting system such that times when the transducer output saturates are infrequent. Allowing occasional saturation adds to the clutter in the image.
The following list of objects and advantages will make apparent the benefits of a very efficient, full three dimensional system having fine grain resolution in all three dimensions.
The patents referenced in this document are incorporated by reference. In case of conflict, the present document takes precedence in all respects.


A detector, such as a photodetector, is provided with a serial output and serial input capability so that a first plurality of pulses can be transmitted from the detector in a first preselected direction. The first plurality of pulses represent a coded pattern. When pulses are received by the receiver portion of the detector, the received second plurality of pulses is compared to the first plurality of pulses to determine whether or not the two pluralities of pulses represent precisely matched coded patterns. The use of coded patterns that comprise a plurality of bits, or pulses, significantly decreases the chance of a mis-identification of a received pulse as being representative of a reflected transmitted pulse.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally related to an energy pulse transmitter which provides a pulse energy level output in a coded pattern and compares a received input with the coded pattern to determine if a match occurs and, more particularly, to a photoelectric sensor that provides an output of a plurality of coded pulses and receives a reflected light pattern prior to comparing the received reflected light pattern with the transmitted coded pattern.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many different types of photoelectric detectors are known to those skilled in the art. Photoelectric detectors can be applied in several different ways. One application is referred to by those skilled in the art as a retroreflective configuration and uses a stationary reflector to reflect a light pattern back toward its source. If an object passes through a predefined detection zone, the light beam is interrupted and the presence of the object is determined by the lack of a return signal. Another type of application is called a diffuse system in which no reflector is used. Instead, the light is reflected from a reflective object to be detected and the reflected light received by the photodetector indicates the presence of the object within the predetermined detection zone. Another type of photodetector system employs a light transmitter and a remote light receiver. This is referred to by those skilled in the art as a thru-scan system. If an object breaks the light beam, it is not received by the receiver. This lack of a received signal indicates that an object is within the detection zone which is between the transmitter and the receiver.
In typical photodetector systems, a pulsed light beam is transmitted at a preselected and constant frequency. After each light pulse is transmitted, a receiver is armed for a preselected period of time, referred to by those skilled in the art as a time window. If a return pulse is received within the window, it is considered to be a valid pulse.
Photodetectors known to those skilled in the art exhibit certain problems in particular applications. Background light from external sources can cause false triggering by a photodetector. In addition, if two photodetectors are placed in close proximity to each other, the transmitted light from one detector can be inadvertently received by the other detector and false triggering will occur as a result of this arrangement.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,591, which issued to Johnson et al on Sep. 29, 1992, discloses an asynchronous signal interrogation circuit for a detection apparatus. The photodetector circuit is provided to interrogate incoming signals and determine whether the frequency of those incoming signal pulses is acceptable. The circuitry of the device permits a series of incoming pulses to be interrogated in order to determine whether the frequency of those pulses is acceptable and can be assumed with confidence to be emanating from an appropriate light source. Upon the receipt of a first input signal pulse, a time window is created by the circuit in order to define a period of time during which a subsequent input signal pulse is to be expected. Other than during the duration of the time window, the circuit will not accept an input signal pulse and will not count that pulse as having been received. Each properly received pulse creates a subsequent time window until a predetermine number of consecutive pulses is received during their time windows. When that predetermined number is received, a signal is provided. In a particularly preferred embodiment of this detector, the signal that the predetermined number of consecutive pulses have been received is used to lower the threshold voltage of a comparator for the purpose of facilitating receipt of subsequent signals once the appropriateness of the incoming stream of pulses is determined.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,331,150, which issued to Marsh on Jul. 19, 1994, discloses a photoelectric sensor with variable light pulse frequency. The photo sensor is provided with a control circuit that is capable of varying the frequency of light pulses which energize a light source of the sensor. When four consecutive light pulses result in an identical status of a light sensitive component, the frequency of light pulses is slowed in order to conserve energy. However, when a change in state is recognized by the circuitry of the detector, the frequency of light pulses is increased in order to more rapidly determine whether or not a change of status has actually occurred. This permits the photoelectric sensor to conserve energy while also being able to rapidly determine whether or not the light path of the photoelectric sensor has changed state from obstructed to unobstructed or, conversely, from unobstructed to obstructed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,496,996, which issued to Barnes et al on Mar. 5, 1996, describes a photoelectric device with the capability to change threshold levels in response to changing light intensities. The photoelectric sensor is provided with the capability of calculating a threshold magnitude based on a maximum light intensity received by a light sensitive device. The maximum value of the light intensity is determined during a preselected period of time when no object is blocking the path of the light beam. A second threshold magnitude is used to assist the detector in determining the leading edge and trailing edge of a transparent object. The values of the first and second threshold magnitudes are updated dynamically as bottles pass through the path of the light beam. This permits the photoelectric sensor to react to changes in light intensity without providing false signals of bottles within the light path or missing bottles that are within the light path.
As described immediately above, several different methods have been applied in attempts to refine the methods used to detect an object within the detection zone of a photodetector. These methods typically are directed in an effort to improve the accuracy and reliability of detection for the photodetector. Some of these concepts are directed to overcoming difficulties that can be caused by the presence of background light from external sources and light interference from other photodetectors. It would therefore be significantly beneficial if a photodetector could be developed that is virtually immune to the interference from background light and other photodetectors.

Photoelectric detector with coded pulse output


A femtocell includes a frequency offset detecting module and a frequency correction module. The frequency offset detecting module calculates frequency offset and detects whether the frequency offset exceeds a default frequency offset. The frequency detecting offset module counts the time of the frequency offset exceeding the default frequency offset, and detects whether the counted number of times exceed a first default number. The frequency detecting module re-calculates frequency offset after an internal when the counted number of times does not exceed the first default number. The frequency correction module uses a last calculated frequency offsets to adjust the frequency of the femtocell, when the counted number of times exceed the first default number. A method of adjusting frequency of the femtocell is also provided.

The frequency accuracy of a femtocell will change over time. A network time protocol (NTP) server can be used to adjust the frequency offset. The femtocell can obtain timing synchronization information from the NTP, and adjust a clock of the femtocell in response to the synchronization information. the accuracy of the synchronization information can be easily affected by network environment, which leads to the femtocell cannot adjust frequency accurately.

Femtocell and method of adjusting frequency


A piston accumulator has an accumulator housing and a separating piston (8) guided for longitudinal motion in the accumulator housing. The separating piston separates a liquid side (4) from a gas side (10) in the accumulator housing. Liquid unintentionally transitions from the liquid side (4) to the gas side (10) despite a piston seal on the separating piston (8). By a return device (28), the transitioned liquid is at least partially returned from the gas side (10) of the accumulator housing to the liquid side (4) of the accumulator housing.

Piston accumulators of this type are state of the art and are frequently used as hydropneumatic pressure accumulators in hydraulic circuits, for instance in hydraulic brake systems, hydraulic steering systems, suspension systems or the like, for instance to smooth pressure fluctuations. In this respect, DE 10 2014 010 006 A1 shows a piston accumulator of the genus mentioned above used as a pulsation damper by way of example.
A basic requirement for use in these areas is a long, trouble-free operating life. However, in practice this goal is encountered by the unintentional transition of hydraulic fluid into the gas side, which cannot be completely prevented. This transition results in the pressure/volume characteristic curve, required for the efficient action of the piston accumulator, deteriorating because of the transitioned fluid. A proper functioning is then limited in time.


A torque detecting apparatus having a permanent magnet fixed to an input shaft, magnetic yokes fixed to an output shaft coaxially connected to the input shaft via a torsion bar and disposed within a magnetic field of the permanent magnet to form a magnetic circuit, and a Hall IC for detecting a magnetic flux induced by the magnetic yokes. The permanent magnet is of a truncated conical shape, and the bevel circumference surface thereof is magnetized by magnetic poles alternately in a reverse polarities along circumference direction, so as to oppose the magnetic yokes. A torque applied to the input shaft or the output shaft can be detected through detection by the Hall IC of the magnetic flux generated between the magnetic yokes. The configuration allows reducing the length in an axial direction of the input shaft.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a torque detecting apparatus suitable for a power steering apparatus of an automobile and the like. More specifically, the present invention relates to a torque detecting apparatus comprising a first shaft and a second shaft coaxially connected to each other via a connecting rod, a permanent magnet fixed to the first shaft, a plurality of soft magnetic materials fixed to the second shaft so as to be disposed within a magnetic field of the permanent magnet thus to form a magnetic circuit, and a sensor for detecting a magnetic flux induced by the magnetic circuit formed by the soft magnetic materials, so that when a torque is applied to the first shaft or the second shaft the torque is detected based on an output of the sensor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many vehicles are today provided with a power steering apparatus that provides an assisting steering force by an electric motor, thus to relieve a load imposed on the driver in the steering operation. The power steering apparatus comprises an input shaft connected to a steering member (steering wheel), an output shaft connected to a wheel to be steered via, for example, a rack and pinion, and a connecting rod for connecting the input shaft and the output shaft. A steering torque applied to the input shaft is detected by a torque detecting apparatus according to an amount of torsion (specifically an angle) generated on the connecting rod, so that the electric motor for steering assistance interlocked with the output shaft is driven based on the detected steering torque value. In such a torque detecting apparatus of a power steering apparatus, a magnetic detection resolver that detects a rotational position with a coil, or an optical encoder that detects a rotational position by sensing light transmission has been conventionally employed.
Apart from the above, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.2003-149062 proposes a torque sensor (torque detecting apparatus) having a configuration according to a vertical cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 1, which is different from the conventional ones. This torque sensor (torque detecting apparatus) comprises an input shaft 1 and an output shaft 2 coaxially connected to each other via a torsion bar (not shown), a ring-shaped 24-pole permanent magnet 15 fixed to the input shaft 1, two magnetic yokes 4c, 4d respectively constituted of a soft magnetic material, fixed to the output shaft 2 so as to be disposed within a magnetic field of the permanent magnet 15 thus to form a magnetic circuit, two flux condensing rings 8c, 8d magnetically connected to the magnetic yokes 4c, 4d respectively to induce the magnetic flux from the magnetic yokes 4c, 4d, flux condensing portions 19c, 19d respectively provided on the flux condensing rings 8c, 8d so as to condense a magnetic flux induced by the flux condensing rings 8c, 8d, respectively, and a magnetic sensor (Hall IC) 6 that detects a magnetic flux condensed on the flux condensing portions 19c, 19d. With such a torque sensor (torque detecting apparatus), a torque applied to the input shaft 1 can be detected based on an output of the magnetic sensor 6.
In the torque detecting apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.2003-149062, the magnetic yokes 4c, 4d have to be disposed so as to receive a certain amount of magnetic flux from the permanent magnet 15. In other words, a certain area has to be ensured to allow the magnetic yokes 4c, 4d and the permanent magnet 15 to oppose each other. This, however, inevitably requires that the permanent magnet 15 has a certain length (height) in an axial direction of the input shaft 1, which inhibits reducing an overall dimension of the torque detecting apparatus in the axial direction of the input shaft 1, thus preventing making the torque detecting apparatus more compact.