A system for measuring lengths or angles comprises a scale member provided with absolutely coded scale elements and incremental scale elements, a movable scanning unit generating position-dependent signals in response to the reading of the scale elements, and an evaluating unit for determining the absolute position of the scanning unit relative to the scale member in response to the position-dependent signals. The coded scale elements consist of different code words arranged according to a serial code and are read by a multiline detector which, in any position of the scanning unit relative to the scale member, reads at least an entire code word. The evaluating unit is adapted to detect the position of the beginning of the detected code word relative to the detector and to read each code word so as to determine the instantaneous absolute position in coarse steps and is also adapted to detect the position-dependent signals generated in response to the scanning of the incremental scale elements and to coordinate them with the signals from said detector for a determination of the instantaneous absolute position in fine steps.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a system for measuring lengths or angles comprising a scale member provided with absolutely coded scale elements and incremental scale elements, a scanning unit, which is movable in a measuring direction relative to the scale member and includes reading means for generating position-dependent signals in response to the reading of the scale elements, and an evaluating unit for determining the absolute position of the scanning unit relative to the scale member in response to the position-dependent signals generated by the reading means.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In known absolute measuring systems of that kind, code features arranged in numerous parallel tracks are employed for the absolute measurement and may be encoded, e.g., in accordance with the so-called gray code. Separate reading means are required for each track and the signals generated in response to the tracks read in parallel directly indicate the instantaneous position of the scanning unit relative to the scale member. If such absolute measuring systems are required to measure with an accuracy not higher than 0.01 mm over a length of only 500 mm, 16 tracks and associated scanning means will be required so that the expenditure for the scanning means and for the scale member, which has a large width, will be high and a canting of scanning means relative to the scale member may result in an inaccurate reading. It is also known to provide that track on the scale member which has the highest resolution with an incremental scale and to scan that scale by methods known for incremental measuring systems, e.g., in that said fine track is projected onto a spaced apart scanning unit so that a higher resolution is achieved, which is still much lower than in the known incremental measuring systems.
DE-C 26 19 494 discloses for an absolute measurement of lengths or angles a system in which the code words for indicating an instantaneous position are encoded by a serial rather than a parallel code and are consecutively arranged on the scale member. Each code word is provided with an initial mark, which is the same for all code words. Reading is effected by a multiline detector, which in each position relative to the scale can detect at least one code word so that a certain absolute measured value is defined by the currently detected code word and by the position of the initial mark relative to the detector. That measuring system has only theoretical utility because a satisfactory indication can be obtained substantially only when the scanning unit is at a standstill relative to the scale member. Besides, the resolution which can actually be achieved is much lower than in incremental measuring systems and the entire structure is extremely expensive because the projection of a segment of the scale member onto the scanning unit involves a magnification.
Another basic disadvantage of all known systems for absolute measurement resides in that they can be used only with specially adapted evaluating units and for this reason cannot be adapted to existing measuring and evaluating systems, such as control systems, which have inputs only for countable and reference signals generated by incremental measuring systems.
Incremental measuring systems distinguish by having scale members which can easily be made and have a narrow scale having a high resolution and by having relatively simple scanning units. Such incremental measuring systems can be used in known manner for absolute measurements if separate tracks contain reference marks in positions which are related to the incremental scale by an absolute value; said reference marks can be identified by various methods so that the absolute position of any point of the scale member can be determined by an incremental measurement of the distance from that point to the last identified reference mark. In separate tracks, code words may be provided, which are associated with and identify respective reference marks and said code words can be read by separate reading means although this will increase the overall expenditure. The code words can be read by the same scanning methods as the respective scale or by different scanning methods, e.g., like tape recordings. It is also known to provide so-called distance codes for the reference marks if each reference mark is spaced different distances from the two adjacent reference marks and can be identified by the measurement of said distances. An example of a distance code is disclosed in DE-C 24 16 212. The use of identifiable reference marks has the disadvantage that for a determination of the instantaneous position of the scanning unit relative to the scale member, e.g., at the beginning of the measuring work or after an interruption of the operation, it is necessary to move the scanning unit to at least one reference mark and in most cases to at least two reference marks and then to move the scanning unit back to the previously reached position to be detected. That procedure involves more operating and adjusting work and when the measuring systems are used, e.g., in combination with control systems of machine tools and robots, it will be necessary to ensure that any tools provided in the processing machine and engaging the workpiece and/or any robot parts for performing movements which are to be monitored by the measuring system must not damage themselves and/or the workpiece concerned during that adjustment which is required for the determination of the absolute position.

System for measuring lengths or angles with a high-velocity movable scanning unit


A process for producing a crude oil having lowered unsaponifiable matter content and/or ester-type sterol content and comprising a highly unsaturated fatty acid as a constituent fatty acid, characterized in that a microorganism capable of producing a fat or oil comprising an unsaturated fatty acid as a constituent fatty acid is cultured in a medium containing a nitrogen source concentration of 2 to 15% within a culture tank equipped with an agitation impeller satisfying the requirement that the ratio of the diameter of agitation impeller (=d) to the inner diameter of the culture tank (=D) is d/D=0.30 to 0.6.

Regarding biosynthesis of human highly unsaturated fatty acids (hereinafter referred to as "PUFA"), there are two typical series, ω3 and ω6 series. ω (omega) refers to the number of carbon atoms from the terminal methyl group of the fatty acid to the carbon atom at which the first double bond is located. For example, in the case of the ω6 series, linoleic acid (18:2 ω6) is repeatedly subjected to unsaturation and carbon chain length extension and consequently converted to γ-linolenic acid (18:3 ω6), dihomo-γ-linolenic acid (20:3 ω6), arachidonic acid (20:4 ω6), and 4,7,10,13,16-docosapentaenoic acid (22:5 ω6).
Likewise, in the case of the ω3 series, α-linolenic acid (18:3 ω3) is repeatedly subjected to unsaturation and carbon chain length extension and consequently is converted to eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5 ω3), 7,10,13,16,19-docosapentaenoic acid (22:5 ω3) and 4,7,10,13,16,19-docosahexaenoic acid (22:6 ω3). Eicosapentaenoic acid (hereinafter referred to as "EPA" and docosahexaenoic acid (hereinafter referred to as "DHA") as PUFAs of the ω3 series are known to have many physiological functions, particularly prophylactic effects for lifestyle diseases, such as arterial sclerosis and thrombosis, and carcinostatic action and learning ability enhancing action, and various attempts have been made to apply these PUFAs to pharmaceutical preparations and specific food products for health care. In recent years, however, attention has also been drawn to physiological functions of PUFAs other than the ω3 series ω6 and ω9 series).
About 10% of fatty acids constituting important organs such as blood and liver is accounted for by arachidonic acid. For example, fatty acids in phospholipids of human blood have a composition comprising 11% of arachidonic acid, 1% of eicosapentaenoic acid, and 3% of docosahexaenoic acid. The arachidonic acid is involved, as a major constituent component of a cell membrane, in the regulation of flow in the membrane to exhibit various functions in metabolism in the body and, further, plays an important role as a direct precursor of prostaglandins.
In particular, the arachidonic acid has recently drawn attention as a nutrient for infants and as a constituent fatty acid of endogenous cannabinoid (2-arachidonoyl monoglycerol, anandamide) having a nerve activating action. In general, upon ingestion of a food rich in linoleic acid, linoleic acid is converted to arachidonic acid. In patients suffering from lifestyle diseases and a reserve group of lifestyle diseases, infants, and aged persons, however, the function of enzyme involved in the biosynthesis is lowered. Therefore, the amount of arachidonic acid is likely to be deficient. For this reason, it is desirable to ingest the arachidonic acid directly as a fat or oil (constituent fatty acid of triglyceride).
For EPA and DHA as PUFAs of the ω3 series, there is fish oil as an abundant supply source. On the other hand, γ-linolenic acid, dihomo-γ-linoleinic acid, arachidonic acid, and 4,7,10,13,16-docosapentaenoic acid (22:5 ω6) as PUFAs of ω6 series are hardly obtained from conventional fat or oil supply sources, and, at the present time, fat or oil (triglycerides) comprising, as a constituent fatty acid, PUFAs produced by fermentation of microorganisms are generally used. For example, a method has been proposed wherein a fat or oil (triglyceride) comprising arachidonic acid as a constituent fatty acid is produced by culturing various microorganisms capable of producing fat or oil (triglycerides) comprising arachidonic acid as a constituent fatty acid.
Among others, the production of fat or oil containing a high arachidonic acid content (triglycerides) by using particularly microorganisms belonging to the genus Mortierella is known (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) Nos. 63 (1988)-44891 and 63 (1988)-12290). Based on many test results, these fat or oil are said to be safe. As, however, this fat or oil is derived from microorganisms, there is no satisfactory experiences in ingestion. Therefore, at the present time, the fat or oil in question have not yet satisfactorily infiltrated into the society. On the other hand, fat or oil (triglycerides) comprising, as a constituent fatty acid, arachidonic acid produced by fermentation have begun to be used in applications where arachidonic acid should be used, for example, in the field of infant nutrition and, specifically, in infant formula.
The fat or oil produced from naturally occurring products such as animals and plants are subjected to refining processes, such as degumming, deoxidation, deodorization, decoloration, molecular distillation, and wintering and are then put on the market as edible fat or oil. For example, fat or oil obtained by squeezing from oil plants contain a large amount of impurities and thus as such cannot be used as edible fat or oil. Except for sesame oils and olive oils which have often been eaten, these fat or oil are generally refined before use as edible oils.
For example, in the degumming process, phospholipids, carbohydrates, resins, protein compounds, trace metals, and coloring matter contained in unrefined oils are removed. In the deoxidation (alkali refining) process, fatty acids, coloring matter, phospholipids, trace metals, sulfur compounds, oil insolubles, and oxidation products are removed. In the decoloration process, coloring matter, gummy matter, trace metals, soap components, oxidation products, and phospholipids are removed. In the deodorization process, fatty acids, monoglycerides, diglycerides, aldehydes, alcohols, ketones, hydrocarbons, coloring matter, sulfur compounds, peroxides, oxidative degradation products and other odor components are removed.
Fat or oil contain organic compounds, which are soluble in oils and are less likely to be degraded with an alkali, called "unsaponifiable matter." For example, compounds such as higher alcohols, sterols, hydrocarbons, tocopherols and carotenoids are known as constituent components of unsaponifiable matter. In the fat or oil refining processes, unsaponifiable matter contents can be reduced but cannot be fully removed. Sterols are known to exist as main components of unsaponifiable matter in fat or oil produced by microorganisms.
Sterols present in fat or oil are divided into free types and ester types. In the refining processes, the free type can be removed, but on the other hand, the ester type can hardly be removed. For example, after degumming, deoxidation, decoloration, and deodorization processes, the contents of the sterol content (mg/g) of soybean oil are 3.4, 3.0, 2.0, and 1.6, respectively, for the free type, and is 0.6, 0.6, 0.6, and 0.6, respectively, for the ester type ("Shokuyo Yushi no Kagaku (Science of edible fat or oil)," pp. 20-21, SAIWAISHOBO).
As irremovable sterols and the like are contained as a part of unsaponifiable matter, in general, the unsaponifiable matter content is extensively used as an index of the quality of refined fat or oil or as a control index of the refining process. For example, according to Japanese Agricultural Standards, the content of unsaponifiable matter, e.g., in edible safflower oils, edible soybean oils, and edible palm oils should be not more than 1.0% (the 523rd notification (Mar. 31, 1969) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries). For infants, cholesterol is necessary, and an infant formula having an increased cholesterol content is on the market. Plant-derived sterols are contained in vegetable edible fat or oil. The presence of the vegetable-derived sterols disadvantageously inhibits cholesterol absorption in infants (Shokuhin to Kaihatsu (Food Processing And Ingredients), Vol. 33, No. 2, pp. 42-45 (1998)). Therefore, when applications where edible fat or oil are incorporated in infant formula are taken into consideration, edible fat or oil having low sterol content, that is, having a low unsaponifiable matter content, are strongly desired.
The major part of fat or oil produced by culturing microorganisms belonging to the genus Mortierella are accounted for by triglycerides (not less than about 70% by weight) and phospholipids, and unsaponifiable matter is contained as other component. The unsaponifiable matter comprises sterols, such as desmosterol, and sterol esters as main components. Edible fat or oil are in the form of triglycerides. Refined fat or oil, from which phospholipids have been removed, can be provided by subjecting original fat or oil produced by culturing microorganisms (fat or oil which have been provided by extraction of cells and are called "crude oil") to refining processes for edible fat or oil (degumming, deoxidation, deodorization, and decoloration). However, it is difficult to fully remove unsaponifiable matter by the refining processes.
For the reasons that full removal of the unsaponifiable matter is difficult and edible fat or oil having low unsaponifiable matter content are widely desired, studies have been made on how to remove unsaponifiable matter. As a result, refining by column chromatography has been developed (Japanese unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 10 (1998)-191886). In this technique, however, no detailed studies have been made on components constituting the unsaponifiable matter. A change in components of unsaponifiable matter after refining from the components before the refining, that is, information on which components have been removed by refining, remains unknown.
Fat or oil produced by culturing microorganisms belonging to the genus Mortierella are accumulated within mycelia. Therefore, culture should be carried out to give higher cell concentration from the viewpoint of improving the cost effectiveness of the production of highly unsaturated fatty acid-containing fat or oil. In order to provide a high cell concentration, the concentration of nitrogen source of the medium converted to cell components should be increased. According to previous reports (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications (Kokai) No. 10 (1998)-191886 and No. 10 (1998)-70992), although the unsaponifiable matter or total sterol content is reported, the concentration of the nitrogen source in the medium used in culture of microorganisms is about 1.5% at the highest.
Further, highly unsaturated fatty acid-containing fat or oil having a sterol content of not more than 1% have been reported (Published Japanese Translation of PCT Publication No. 2000-510513). In this case, however, the concentration of a nitrogen source in a medium used in this production is low, and, in the production of a arachidonic acid-containing fat or oil produced using Mortierella alpina, culture is carried out in a low nitrogen source concentration of 1% (=yeast extract 0.5%+NaNO3 0.5%) (Published Japanese Translation of PCT Publication No. 2000-508888). Thus, for the reason that edible fat or oil having low unsaponifiable matter content and sterol content are extensively desired, studies have been made on a reduction in unsaponifiable matter and/or sterols. However, there is no description on unsaponifiable matter and sterols contained in microbial fat or oil produced by high-concentration culture of microorganisms.
As described above, sterols as a main component of unsaponifiable matter are divided into free-type sterols and ester-type sterols. The free-type sterols can be removed by the refining processes, whereas the ester-type sterols can be hardly removed by the refining processes. Therefore, it is considered that, in order to provide refined fat or oil having low unsaponifiable matter content, specifically low sterol contents, the development of a raw material for refining having a low content of ester-type sterols, which cannot be removed by the refining processes without difficulties, that is, a crude oil having low ester type-sterol content, is important.

Process for producing microbial fat or oil having lowered unsaponifiable matter content and said fat or oil


A user manipulated apparatus for producing straight construction lines on sheet material includes a linearly extensive frame with integrally formed handle and an expendable marking strip affixed to a bottom edge of the frame. A user positions the frame so that its ends are in registry with the endpoints of a desired construction line, with the marking strip contacting the surface of the sheet material. The user then linearly displaces the frame a short distance along its length so that the marking strip rubs along the surface of the sheet material and produces a visible construction line. The portion of the frame that supports the marking substance may be compliant to ensure that the marking substance fully engages the surface of the sheet material even when the sheet material has surface irregularities or is not perfectly planar.

Workers installing sheet material such as drywall, plywood, insulation, and moisture barrier wraps use tools or improvised devices for marking or scribing straight construction lines on the material to aid in its cutting or fastening to a support structure such as a stud, rafter or joist. The construction lines must be drawn accurately to minimize waste and ensure that the material will be properly fastened, and a good deal of time is often spent in repeatedly measuring and marking. Accordingly, what is needed is an improved and cost-effective line marking apparatus for quickly and accurately producing straight construction lines.


A transistor which includes an electron transit layer and an electron supply layer which are stacked in a thickness direction of a substrate; an electron transit layer formed over the substrate in parallel to the electron transit layer and the electron supply layer; an anode electrode which forms a Schottky junction with the electron transit layer; and a cathode electrode which forms an ohmic junction with the electron transit layer are provided. The anode electrode is connected to a source of the transistor, and the cathode electrode is connected to a drain of the transistor.

Conventionally, studies have been conducted on a high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) having an AlGaN layer and a GaN layer formed by crystal growth over a substrate, in which the GaN layer functions as an electron transit layer. The band gap of GaN is 3.4 eV, which is wider than the band gap of Si (1.1 eV) and the band gap of GaAs (1.4 eV). Accordingly, the GaN-based HEMT has high breakdown voltage, and is promising as a high breakdown voltage power device for automobiles or the like.
A body diode exists inevitably in an Si-based field effect transistor. The body diode is connected to a transistor to be in inversely parallel to the transistor, and functions as a free wheel diode in a full-bridge circuit method used for a high-power power supply. However, in the GaN-based HEMT, such a body diode does not exist inevitably. Accordingly, there has been proposed a structure in which a pn junction diode, which has a p-type layer and an n-type layer stacked in a thickness direction of the substrate, is connected to the GaN-based HEMT.
However, in the structure which has been proposed, a delay easily occurs in operation of the diode. Then, accompanying the delay, inverse electric current flows in the HEMT before the diode operates as the free wheel diode, and the power consumption increases. Further, when overvoltage is applied between the source and the drain of the HEMT due to the delay, the diode does not operate as a protective circuit.
Patent Literature 1: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2009-164158
Patent Literature 2: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2009-4398


A connector includes a housing fitted into or detached from a mating housing, and a fitting detection member assembled to a member housing section of the housing and detecting a fitting completion. The fitting detection member includes a locked portion locked to or detached from a lock section of a flexible lock arm, and a flexible arm section provided with a slip-off prevention locking section locked to or detached from a locking protrusion of the member housing section, and when fitting of both the housings is released, the flexible arm section is bent and deformed in a direction in which a locking margin between the locking protrusion of the member housing section and the slip-off prevention locking section of the flexible arm section increases.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019-3878 discloses a connector including a connector housing, and a fitting detection member which comes in contact with a contacted section of the connector housing before being fitted into a mating connector, and after being fitted into the mating connector, detects fitting by releasing the contact with the contacted section using the mating connector and further entering therein.


A license plate frame assembly for the secure installation of a license plate upon a vehicle includes a backing plate and an outer frame. The backing plate is mounted to the vehicle. The outer frame is dimensioned to receive the license plate and the backing plate therein. A locking mechanism secures the outer frame to the backing plate.

The present invention relates to license plate frames. More particularly, the present invention pertains to a license plate frame including features such as a handle; security features for preventing a theft or unauthorized removal of a license plate from a vehicle; and features which eliminate fasteners or mounting tabs that often impede access to registration stickers or decals.
Conventionally, a license plate is attached to the rear of a vehicle, using fasteners, for example two to four fasteners, provided through spaced openings found in the license plate. The fasteners used are typically flat head screws which engage either a large structure supported by the vehicle or some accommodation on the vehicle body such as a plastic insert or threaded clip. A license plate frame can also be supported by the same fasteners which attach the license plate to the vehicle. The use of license plate frames is well known in the prior art. Whether or not a license plate frame is used, in most cases, the heads of the screws are generally exposed which invite and facilitate the theft of the license plate and/or the removal of registration stickers or decals.
Accordingly, there is a need for a license plate frame providing additional security for license plates (and/or registration stickers or decals) secured to the motor vehicle. The license plate frame must provide a full and complete view of the license plate and any associated registration sticker, tag or decal applied thereto, while at the same time securing the plate to the vehicle. The license plate frame must make it difficult to remove the license plate, thus requiring additional time for the removal of the plate without proper tools, and thus discouraging a person attempting to take the license plate. Finally, the license plate frame must be easily removable by a relatively unskilled person by means of a proper specialized tool which may be provided with the frame.


Calcium, magnesium, lidocaine and benzathine salts of 2-oxindole-1-carboxamides are useful for the treatment of joint disease by intra-articular administration.

Kadin, U.S. Pat. No. 4,556,672 disclosed 2-oxindole-1-carboxamides of the formula ##STR1## and pharmaceutical salts thereof which include tenidap and its salts.
Allen and O'Neill, U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,099 disclosed an anhydrous crystalline form of the sodium salt of tenidap which is nonhygroscopic and stable in dosage forms.
Tenidap and other 2-oxindole-1-carboxamides are acute phase protein modulating anti-inflammatory drugs which are useful for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Similar to the steroids, these compounds have been shown to cause rapid reduction in acute phase proteins in arthritic patients. Intra-articular administration of these compounds relieves joint pain and swelling while minimizing systemic drug exposure. Prolonged-acting formulations employing sparingly soluble salts are required for intra-articular administration.

Stable, long acting salts of carboxamides for the treatment of joint disease


The present invention aims to take in an external clock signal generated by a device under test into a semiconductor tester and eliminate jitters involved in the clock signal, thereby stabilizes the clock signal, and to use the clock signal as an operation clock of the tester. Hence, a divider A11 which takes the clock signal 21 generated by the device under test as an input, a phase detector circuit 12, a loop filter 13, a VCO 14 and a divider B16 are provided. In addition, the invention includes a test rate generator 15 and an inter-leave circuit 18. The operation clock which is an output of the VCO 14 is input to the test rate generator 15 to output a test rate signal 23, and distributes the test rate signal to the inside circuits as well as feeds back to the phase detector 12 through the divider B16.

An example of the conventional technology is represented in FIG. 3. In a semiconductor tester, an operation clock signal is generated inside the test system. Test patterns are generated in synchronism with the clock signal and applied to a semiconductor device under test. The resultant output signals from the device under test are compared with expected pattern. In such an arrangement, a problem of producing jitters does not occur since all the operation in the system is synchronized with the internal clock signal. On the other hand, there is a semiconductor device which generates a clock signal by itself. In such a case, a method may be used for utilizing the clock signal from the device itself to operate the semiconductor tester. In this method, the internal clock of the semiconductor tester has to be synchronized with the clock signal from the device under test. However, the problem of jitters will occur between the two clocks as shown in FIG. 4 since the two clocks are completely out of synchronization.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to solve this problem and to provide a semiconductor tester circuit which will not generate jitters when using an external clock signal.

Semiconductor tester synchronized with external clock


A fluid reservoir for a medical infusion system includes an expandable elastomeric bladder defining a chamber for receiving and containing a volume of therapeutic substance and exerting pressure thereon to dispense the therapeutic substance from the bladder. The bladder has preferably a single port formed through the thickness thereof. A bi-directional valve is in fluid communication with the chamber of the elastomeric bladder and is used for filling the bladder chamber with the therapeutic substance and for connecting to a catheter assembly for dispensing the therapeutic substance to a patient undergoing treatment. The single port of the elastomeric bladder is connected to a medical grade flexible tubing, which is also connected to the bi-directional valve.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to medical infusion systems for delivering therapeutic fluids to a patient, and more particularly relates to a fluid reservoir used as part of an infusion system or device for delivering such therapeutic agents into the body of a medical patient.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many therapeutic fluids, for example, medicines, local anesthetics and the like, must be delivered to a patient for extended periods of time either subcutaneously or intravenously. The rate of the delivery of the therapeutic fluid must be well regulated to ensure a safe and efficacious treatment. Conventionally, this requires the attention of a medical professional who can monitor the fluid delivery on a regular basis.
Infusion pumps and catheters are frequently used in conjunction in an infusion system to deliver such therapeutic fluids to a patient for many purposes, for example, to alleviate postoperative pain, and chemotherapy. However, conventional systems do not address a number of significant functional or user interface issues.
Existing infusion devices require a series of preparation steps typically performed by a nurse or surgeon that may be easily confused by the user. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,008, which issued to Stephen R. Hessel, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,080,652, which issued to Gregory E. Sancoff et al., the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference, disclose infusion devices which require the user to connect a syringe to an input port and not to the output port after securing a clamp. If the syringe is attached to the incorrect end and pressure is applied, the device will malfunction, for example, an incorporated filter may be damaged (e.g., the filter media may pop). Furthermore, if the clamp is not activated properly, the device will not function properly, as fluid may be expelled from the device prematurely.
Many existing infusion devices require that the user perform difficult steps. For example, the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,080,652 to Sancoffet al. discloses an infusion device that requires the user to balance the device atop the filling syringe in a precarious position while the user applies a significant amount of hand force to the filling syringe, thereby creating a situation where the user may lose control of the device and the filling syringe. This may result in the device falling on the floor or in breaking the device. As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,790, which issued to Hajine Tsujakawa et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a liquid infusion device having a stop-cock to regulate the flow into and out of a pressurized fluid reservoir, wherein the user must skillfully manipulate the stop-cock while retaining significant pressure on the filling syringe, thus requiring significant skill or strength on the part of the user to perform the steps required for using the infusion device.
Many other conventional infusion devices, such as most medical fluidic "needle-free" devices, utilize standard luer fittings for performing fluidic connections. Many infusion devices, for example, the On-Q™ PainBuster™ postoperative pain relief system manufactured by I-Flow Corporation of Lake Forest, Calif., and the Infusor™ infusion system manufactured by Baxter Healthcare Corporation of Round Lake, Ill., incorporate at least two luer fittings. The ubiquitous use of luer fittings has led to the accidental connection of unrelated medical devices, which may cause a patient further health problems or even death.
Many conventional infusion devices regulate flow commencement and termination using a simple plastic clamp, such as on the aforementioned I-Flow's On-Q™ PainBuster™ postoperative pain relief system, or a stop-cock, as disclosed in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,790 to Tsujakawa et al. Often, a patient inadvertently ceases the delivery of a therapeutic fluid from the infusion device by accidentally closing the clamp, for example, by sitting on it. As a result, some surgeons and nurses have begun the practice of removing the clamp from the infusion device. But, many clamps are not designed to be removed, and this action could potentially damage the infusion device, for example, by cutting the device's tubing.
Other known infusion devices often must hold large volumes of fluid, sometimes up to one-half liter. Yet, it is the desire of patients who use the infusion devices that the infusion devices be unobtrusive, having a low profile and are "pocket-size". While some conventional infusion devices address this need, for example, the automatic injection device and reservoir disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,957,895, which issued to Burton H. Sage et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, the inventors of the present device are unaware of any low profile devices that utilize an elastomeric bladder for the dual purpose of a) storing therapeutic fluids and b) providing system pressure.
Several currently marketed infusion devices incorporate elastomeric bladders that are generally affixed to a rigid structure using securing devices such as plastic or rubber rings, for example, the Accufuser™ disposable infuser manufactured by McKinley Medical, LLC of Wheat Ridge, Colo. or the aforementioned I-Flow's On-Q™ PainBuster™ postoperative pain relief system, or heat shrink tubing, for example; the aforementioned Baxter Infusor™ infusion system. In order to maintain structural integrity and to prevent the inflated bladder from displacing the securing device or to prevent the securing device from damaging the bladder, the bladders are provided with a very thick wall to allow for a deeper seat for the securing device. This thick wall requires that the user supply a higher pressure to inflate the bladder than would be necessary if an improved securing mechanism were utilized that did not require the use of a thick tube. Many users of existing devices have complained that these existing devices are difficult to inflate because of the strength required to impart inflation on the elastomeric bladder.

Pressurized fluid reservoir for an infusion system


Disclosed is a method for the adsorptive separation by utilizing an improved simulated moving bed. This invention provides an improved formula for the calculation of primary flush flowrate by correspondingly associating the primary flush flowrate with each connection line by introducting a volume factor and carring out sequential control so as to reduce the amount of the flush stream and increase product purity and yield.

It is well known that adsorptive separation is one of the separation methods widely adopted in the chemical industry, especially in petrochemical industry. For quite some time, this method has been adopted to separate a component which is difficult to be separated by other means from a mixture of feed containing various components.
In the prior art , there are abundant patent literatures describing methods for separating one kind of hydrocarbon from the other isomers. For instance, methods for separating para-isomers of monocyclic aromatics substituted by dialkyl group from other isomers, especially for separating paraxylene from other xylene isomers by employing a specific zeolite molecular sieve adsorbent to preferably adsorb para-isomers have been published in literatures of U.S. Pat. No. 3,626,5020, U.S. Pat. No. 3,663,638, U.S. Pat. No. 3,665,046, U.S. Pat. No. 3,700,744, U.S. Pat. No. 3,686,342, U.S. Pat. No. 3,734,47, U.S. Pat. No. 3,394,109, U.S. Pat. No. 3,997,620, CN1022622, CN1022826, CN10493294, CN1051549A, CN1064071 and CN1047489A in which benzene, toluene, chlorobenzene, fluoro-aromatics, halogen toluene, para-dialkylbenzene,diethyltoluene, and tetraline are respectively recommended as the desorbent depending on the composition of mixture of the feed.
A process of adsorptive separation may be effected both on a fixed bed or a moving bed , preferably on a simulated countercurrent moving bed system. For example, a simulated countercurrent moving bed system has been adopted for adsorptive separation in U.S. Pat. No. 2,985,589, U.S. Pat. No. 3,268,604 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,268,605 while a rotary valve for the system of simulated countercurrent moving bed has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,040,777 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,422,848. Some drawbacks in the prior art , the objects of this invention and the scheme of settlement will be further explained hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawing.
The drawing is a principle depiction of a continuous adsorptive separation system of a simulated countercurrent moving bed.
Referring to the drawing, a adsorptive separation system comprises four zones, consecutively as adsorption zone, purification zone, desorption zone and buffer zone. In the drawing, F represents a feed stream containing a selectively adsorbed component A and a relatively less adsorbed component B, D represents a desorbent stream, E represents an extract, i.e. a stream of desorbent containing the selectively adsorbed component A, R represents a raffinate, i.e. the remaining stream containing the relatively less adsorbed component B after desorption, H.sub.(in) and H.sub.(out) respectively represent an inflowing and an outflowing stream enriched in said desorbent for the primary flush stream for the lines connecting the adsorptive beds, X represents the secondary flush stream for the lines connecting the adsorptive beds, and M represents the simulated adsorbent moving direction shifted by the rotary valve. Zone I is between F and R wherein the charged feed contacts countercurrently with the adsorbent, and the selectively adsorbed component A shifts from the feed stream into the pores of said adsorbent, displacing the desorbent D from the pores at the same time. Thus, zone I is defined as adsorption zone. Zone II is between F and E. For the reason that the adsorbent adsorbs selectively adsorbed component A and a little amount of relatively less adsorbed component B as well, in zone II said adsorbent contacts with the stream containing only A and D coming from upstream of zone II, relatively less adsorbed component B is displaced gradually from the pores by selectively adsorbed component A and the desorbent D by means of appropriate adjustment of flow velocity of the stream in the zone. As the adsorbent has a stronger adsorption selectivity to component A than to component B, component A will not be completely displaced at the same time and thus will get purified in the zone. Zone II is consequently defined as purification zone. Zone III is between E and D wherein pure D contacts with the adsorbate purified in zone II and displace A from said adsorbent pores, thus this zone is defined as desorption zone. Zone IV is between D and R wherein the flowrate of D is defined so that D is made to flow upwards in the zone under flow control so as to prevent component B from getting into the stream in zone III to contaminate the extract. Thus, this zone is defined as buffer zone .
In operation, switching equipment, e. g. rotary valve, etc. is employed to recycle the inflowing and outflowing streams and shift the four zones in turn to realize simulation of adsorbent moving. During rotary valve switching, it is necessary to flush the residue out of the adsorptive bed connection lines to ensure purity and recovery of the purified component. Locations of H.sub.(in) , H.sub.(out) and X are shown in the drawing and thus zones II and III are further divided into three more zones of II', II" and III'.
With regard to flowrate of H.sub.(in) and H.sub.(out), on one hand if the flowrate is set too small, the residue in the lines cannot be flushed away, which will subsequently affect the product purity and recovcry; on the other hand, if the flowrate is too big, when the flush stream enriched in desorbent is drained through adsorptive beds after flushing the connection lines, adsorptive space of the adsorbent will be occupied by the desorbent in the flush stream , whereby weakening the adsorptive power of said adsorbent to the selectively adsorbed component, which will also result in the decreased purity and recovery of the selectively adsorbed component .
In the prior processes, the set flowrate W.sub.H(in) and W.sub.H(out) of primary flush stream to each adsorptive bed connection line is calculated based on the following formula (I): EQU W.sub.H(in) =W.sub.H(out) =2V.sub.L /T (I)
wherein:
V.sub.L - - - volume of the longest connection line,m.sup.3
T - - - time interval of rotary valve switching, h
Based on volumetric equilibrium of the adsorber, the following formulas can be adopted for calculating flowrate in each zone; EQU W.sub.I =W.sub.H +W.sub.S +W.sub.F EQU W.sub.II' =W.sub.H +W.sub.S EQU W.sub.II" =W.sub.S -W.sub.X EQU W.sub.III =W.sub.S +W.sub.E -W.sub.X EQU W.sub.III' =W.sub.S +W.sub.E +W.sub.H -W.sub.X EQU W.sub.IV =W.sub.D +W.sub.H -W.sub.D -W.sub.X
wherein:
W.sub.H - - - flowrate of the primary flush stream
W.sub.X - - - flowrate of the secondary flush stream
W.sub.F - - - flowrate of the feed stream
W.sub.E - - - flowrate of the extract stream
W.sub.D - - - flowrate of the desorbent stream
W.sub.S - - - flowrate of the stream specified in zone II
In an actual system, however, because of the different position of each bed spaced in the adsorber and different distance to the rotary valve, the volume of each line connecting bed with rotary valve varies a lot. For this reason, the calculation of the flowrate of primary flush stream for each line based on formula (I) in prior proeess will result in higher flush stream which will hence decrease the purity and recovery of the product.

Simulated moving bed absorption separation process


An apparatus for providing data clustering and mode selection includes a training element and a transformation element. The training element is configured to receive a first training data set, a second training data set and auxiliary data extracted from the same material as the first training data set. The training element is also configured to train a classifier to group the first training data set into M clusters based on the auxiliary data and the first training data set and train M processing schemes corresponding to the M clusters for transforming the first training data set into the second training data set. The transformation element is in communication with the training element and is configured to cluster the second training data set into M clusters based on features associated with the second training data set.

The modern communications era has brought about a tremendous expansion of wireline and wireless networks. Computer networks, television networks, and telephony networks are experiencing an unprecedented technological expansion, fueled by consumer demand. Wireless and mobile networking technologies have addressed related consumer demands, while providing more flexibility and immediacy of information transfer.
Current and future networking technologies continue to facilitate ease of information transfer and convenience to users. One area in which there is a demand to increase ease of information transfer relates to the delivery of services to a user of a mobile terminal. The services may be in the form of a particular media or communication application desired by the user, such as a music player, a game player, an electronic book, short messages, email, etc. The services may also be in the form of interactive applications in which the user may respond to a network device in order to perform a task or achieve a goal. The services may be provided from a network server or other network device, or even from the mobile terminal such as, for example, a mobile telephone, a mobile television, a mobile gaming system, etc.
In many applications, it is necessary for the user to receive audio information such as oral feedback or instructions from the network. An example of such an application may be paying a bill, ordering a program, receiving driving instructions, etc. Furthermore, in some services, such as audio books, for example, the application is based almost entirely on receiving audio information. It is becoming more common for such audio information to be provided by computer generated voices. Accordingly, the user's experience in using such applications will largely depend on the quality and naturalness of the computer generated voice. As a result, much research and development has gone into speech processing techniques in an effort to improve the quality and naturalness of computer generated voices.
Examples of speech processing include speech coding and voice conversion related applications. In order to improve the accuracy of speech processing, or indeed many other types of data processing, a process called clustering may be employed. For example, a conventional approach to clustering in the context of speech processing has been to create clusters based on voicing, thereby creating two clusters or modes: voiced and unvoiced. However, this classification is heuristic, and it does not provide an optimal solution from the viewpoint of accuracy. In fact, the performance can be far from optimal. In addition, such prior art methods typically require storage or transmission of additional information regarding mode selection. Accordingly, an increased bit rate or bit usage results, which can be undesirable since it may lead to increases in memory requirements.
Particularly in mobile environments, increases in memory consumption directly affect the cost of devices employing such methods. However, even in non-mobile environments, the possible increase in bit rate and especially the non-optimal performance are not desirable. Thus, a need exists for providing a mechanism for increasing the accuracy of data processing which can be efficiently employed.

Method, apparatus, mobile terminal and computer program product for providing data clustering and mode selection


Salts that contain AA-PBZ monomer ions and BB-PBZ monomer ions can be precipitated from an aqueous solution by contacting soluble salts of the monomers in an aqueous solution. The monomer salt can be polymerized by ordinary techniques to form polybenzazole polymers without the need for devolatilization and with very accurate stoichiometric control.

The present invention relates to monomers that are useful to make polybenzazole polymers, processes to make those monomers and methods to use those monomers.
Polybenzazole polymers are synthesized by the reaction of AA-PBZ monomers with BB-PBZ monomers. The AA-PBZ monomer (which is sometimes also referred to as a dicarboxylic acid monomer) contains two electron-deficient carbon groups linked by a divalent organic moiety. It is frequently illustrated by Formula 1: EQU Q-DM-Q (1)
wherein each Q is an electron-deficient carbon group and DM is a divalent organic moiety.
The BB-PBZ monomer (which is sometimes also referred to as a diamino-dihydroxy monomer or a diamino-dithio monomer) contains an aromatic group having two o-amino-basic moieties bonded to it. Each o-amino-basic moiety contains a first primary amine group bonded to the aromatic group and a hydroxyl, thiol or primary or secondary amine group bonded to the aromatic group in the ortho position with respect to the first primary amine group. The BB-PBZ monomer is ordinarily represented by Formula 2: ##STR1## wherein Ar.sup.1 is the aromatic group, each Z is --O--, --S--, or --NR--, and R is a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group or an aromatic group. The representation of bonds to an aromatic group without indicating position, as in Formula 2, indicates that the amine groups and --ZH groups may be in either cis- or trans- position with respect to each other. Each amine group must be ortho to one of the --ZH groups.
The BB-PBZ monomer is highly susceptible to oxidation when it is in a free-base state. It is ordinarily stored and handled as a hydrogen chloride salt, which is more stable. The hydrogen chloride is removed in a devolatilization step after the BB-PBZ monomer is dissolved in a polymerization solvent but prior to polymerization. The devolatilization step is time-consuming, but necessary because the hydrogen chloride interferes with polymerization of the monomer. It would be desirable to find new monomers that eliminate the need for the devolatilization step.
The monomers are usually polymerized in a dehydrating and non-oxidizing acid mixture. Proper stoichiometry is very important in the polymerization, since the reaction is a condensation polymerization. A small excess of BB-PBZ monomer can prevent the reaction from producing high-molecular weight polybenzazole polymer. It would be desirable to find new monomers that are simple to load in stoichiometric quantities.

Salts of polybenzazole monomers and their use


Disclosed is a therapeutic method for inhibiting development or growth of tumors that are resistant to the blockade of delta-like ligand 4 (Dll4), or vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), or to other therapeutic agents, by administering the combination of Dll4 antagonist and VEGF antagonist. The combined administration of these two agents, concurrently or sequentially, exhibits synergistic effects on blood vessel development and growth, thereby more effectively inhibiting the tumor growth than an administration of either agent alone. The Dll4 antagonist can be an anti-Dll4 antibody or antibody fragment capable of inhibiting the binding of Dll4 to a Notch receptor, or a fusion protein comprising the extracellular domain of Dll4 or a soluble Notch receptor, or a fragment thereof, fused to a multimerizing component. The VEGF antagonist can be a VEGF trap, anti-VEGF antibody or antibody fragment capable of inhibiting the binding of VEGF to a VEGF receptor.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to delta-like ligand 4 (Dll4), in particular, Dll4 antagonists, and therapeutic methods using the same for inhibiting Dll4-mediated blood vessel development or growth and for inhibiting tumor growth. Dll4 antagonists are especially useful for treating tumor growth in tumors that are unresponsive to other anti-tumor agents. In addition, the combination of a Dll4 antagonist and another inhibitor of angiogenesis, such as a VEGF antagonist, is particularly effective in treating cancer and tumors that are resistant to either agent alone, or other anti-tumor agents.
2. Description of Related Art
The Notch-signaling pathway is a system for cell-to-cell communication used by a wide range of eukaryotes for many biological processes, such as differentiation, proliferation, and homeostasis. Delta like 4 (Dll4) or delta-like ligand 4 (Dll4) (hereinafter "Dll4") is a member of the Delta family of Notch ligands which exhibits highly selective expression by vascular endothelium (Shutter et al. (2000) Genes Develop. 14:1313-1318). Dll4 is a ligand for Notch receptors, including Notch1 (the nucleic acid and amino acid sequences for human Notch1 are shown in SEQ ID NOS:5-6, respectively) and Notch 4 (the nucleic acid and amino acid sequences for human Notch4 are shown in SEQ ID NOS:7-8, respectively). The nucleic acid and amino acid sequences for human and mouse Dll4 are shown in SEQ ID NOS:1-2 and SEQ ID NOS:3-4, respectively. Gene targeted Dll4 mice have been generated (Duarte et al. (2004) Genes & Dev. 18: doi: 10.1101/gad. 1239004; Krebs et al. (2004) Genes & Dev. 18: doi: 10.1101/gad. 1239204: Gale et al. (2004) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 101:15949-15954).

Therapeutic methods for inhibiting tumor growth with combination of Dll4 antagonists and VEGF antagonists


In one embodiment, tasks executing on a data processing system can be associated with a Quality of Service (QoS) classification that is used to determine the priority values for multiple subsystems of the data processing system. The QoS classifications are propagated when tasks interact and the QoS classes are interpreted a multiple levels of the system to determine the priority values to set for the tasks. In one embodiment, one or more sensors coupled with the data processing system monitor a set of system conditions that are used in part to determine the priority values to set for a QoS class.

Applications executing on a data processing system can perform operations by requesting the system to perform specific tasks. It is possible for a single operation to result in several task requests. To handle the multiple requests, the tasks can be placed in one or more queues and various processes and utilities of the data processing system handle the queued operations. The performance of the several task requests may create resource contentions between the several tasks or between system related tasks performed by the operating system. Accordingly, data processing systems known in the art may implement some form of task prioritization.
While processor task prioritization is known in the art, prioritization can also be extended to other subsystems of the data processing system. However, the interaction between the priority levels of each prioritized subsystem may be complex, and the proper task priority to set for each subsystem may be counterintuitive. For example, if a task requests an I/O priority that conflicts with the task's processor priority the overall system performance may suffer. Accordingly, application developers may be reluctant to set the various subsystem priority settings for application tasks. Additionally, application developers may not immediately aware of new system priority classifications as the classifications become available.


A replaceable composite tread ring for a track roller assembly of a track-type vehicle includes a non-metallic outer tread portion and a metallic inner base portion. The metallic base portion is C-shaped and encloses portions of the non-metallic tread. Conventional track roller assemblies have non-replaceable metal tread portions which produce considerable wear on the mating link rails. The subject composite tread ring prolongs the useful life of the link rails by reducing the wear of the rails, since the rails contact the non-metallic portion of the tread ring.

Self-laying track-type vehicles utilize an endless track chain assembly joined together by interconnected link assemblies. The link assemblies include overlapping link members which form a pair of continuous rails. A plurality of roller assemblies bear the vehicle's weight, and guide the track chain by engaging the link rails as the chain assembly rotates about a drive sprocket wheel and one or more idler wheels. The roller assemblies rotate from frictional engagement with the link rails. Considerable noise and vibration is generated from the metal to metal contact of the roller treads with the link rails. The noise and vibrations are sometimes magnified by other components of the vehicle. Additionally, the continuous contact between the rails and the roller treads produces wear of the two components with resulting replacement or repair. Such replacement or repair increases the operating cost and downtime of the vehicle.
One type of track roller having a replaceable rim and an elastic ring below the rim is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,580,093, issued on May 25, 1971, to K. Tomizawa. The replaceable rim is a metal ring and the elastic ring is made of rubber or synthetic resin. An end plate having an outer flange is secured to the roller hub and holds the rim and elastic ring in place. This arrangement requires the outer flanged plates to hold the rim and elastic ring in place.
Another type of track roller having a resilient mounted tread is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,910,128, issued on Oct. 7, 1975, to R. L. Boggs et al. The tread portion of this roller includes an inner resilient collar and an outer metallic ring. The tread portions are held between a pair of flanges and the flanges are secured in place by threaded retaining means. This particular arrangement would appear to function satisfactorily for its intended purpose. However, this assembly contains a considerable number of parts and requires time and effort to assemble the parts together.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.


The invention is a processor based analysis system with appropriate interface that includes multiple fish surrogates that each have a plurality of piezoelectric and triaxial accelerometer sensors for emulating sensory organs of a particular fish. The multiple fish surrogate array is immersed in flowing water intakes of a hydraulic structures such as intakes, intake bypasses, and diversion structures, and natural geological formation such as riffles, shoal areas, and pools. The invention is an interface system for data acquisition analysis and perspective display of acoustic and fluid dynamic data in or near these hydraulic structures and/or natural formations. To accomplish this, multiple sensors in each of the fish-shaped surrogate physical enclosures that form the array are deployed at the same time to describe a fish's aquatic environment at the hydraulic structure location. The gathered data can then be correlated with fish behavior for the purpose of developing methods of diverting fish from such areas of danger of a water intake or to attract them to a water bypass entrance system.

Many valuable fish species are in serious decline, requiring human intervention to prevent further decline and extinction. Such intervention includes the use of apparatus and methods for diverting or repelling fish away from zones of danger caused by man made structures, such as the intakes of hydroelectric power turbines, or the intakes of pumping stations used on lakes for off-peak hours that pump water from the low side of the hydroelectric power dam to the upstream reservoir, or the intakes catching fish. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,177,891 entitled "Game Fish Attracting Device" by Holt teaches of a game fish luring device that is capable of generating multiple acoustic signatures for attracting a particular fish. Moreover, this teaching discloses well known means of obtaining underwater acoustic signatures using standard underwater acoustic apparatus. However, this teaching does not suggest or teach of either a means or method for recording accurate hydroacoustic or hydraulic flow data that a fish's sensory organs experience at a water inlet.
Previous fish behavioral studies have been based on assumptions that sound field emanations influence a fish's movement and could be represented by mathematical models based on an acoustic field of simple sources such as dipoles and monopoles. Generally, these studies have dealt with only a compressional wave component of a sound field that does not include an actual particle motion component. Such studies do not adequately describe the sound field that influences a fish's behavior, especially in areas of high turbulence. Fish have a very important sensory organ referred to as the lateral line which contains hair cells that transduce mechanical hair motion caused by these types of pressure differences and particle motion experienced at a water inlet into neuroelectrical impulses. The function of this important sensory organ is not taken into account by methods known in the technical arts of environmental studies. Moreover, the sensors are incorporated into the body of a fish being studied wherein the fish closely resembles an actual fish that minimizes extraneous flow induced noise that would otherwise would be encountered if a regular hydrophone were used. Thus, the instant invention's sensory fish surrogate is a means for collecting and analyzing through a processor interface relevant acoustical/hydraulic data that can assist in the design of a water inlet that will deter fish from such a water inlet. Alternatively, the invention can be used to collect and analyze acoustical/hydraulic data to attract fish to the entrances of fish bypass systems.

Multiple sensor fish surrogate interface system for acoustic and hydraulic data collection and analysis

The United States of America as represented by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as represented by Secretary of the Army


The invention relates to a recirculation device for a gas of a process device, said recirculation device comprising a recirculation pump, wherein the recirculation pump is a side channel pump.

Gas recirculation is required in various technical areas. Gas is typically removed from a larger volume in which a process takes place, is prepared in a suitable manner, and is then supplied to the process again. To overcome the pressure losses that arise in the gas guides and a possibly present preparation, a pump is used that can provide the necessary excess pressure and volume flow. In this respect, the properties of the gases or gas mixtures, the general pressure level, the gas volume, and the gas temperature are some, but not all of the parameters that have to be taken into account.
Diaphragm compressors or rotary vane compressors, sometimes also dual-shaft compressors such as Roots compressors, screw compressors or claw compressors (the terms "compressor" and "pump" are used synonymously herein), are typically present in such known recirculation devices.
Diaphragm compressors and rotary vane compressors are subject to friction and wear and therefore require regular maintenance. Diaphragm compressors have a pulsating conveying due to discrete suction space volumes; poor scalability due to a limited rotational speed variability and to discrete volumes; wear at bearings, diaphragms, crankshafts, connecting rods and valves; and vibrations due to the oscillating movement of diaphragms and connecting rods. Depending on their design, rotary vane compressors have oil or abrasion in the suction space, wherein both can be disadvantageous for the processes. The restricted scalability as a result of the rotational speed due to discrete volumes and friction in the system can likewise be disadvantageous.
Roots compressors, screw compressors or claw compressors are less subject to wear than contactless pumps; however, the manufacturing costs of these dual-shaft systems having synchronous gears are considerably higher. Roots compressors generally have a relatively large construction size and high costs due to the dual-shaft design with the necessary synchronization of the shafts. The compression ratio is relatively low with a relatively large suction space. Roots compressors are thereby only scalable to a limited degree via the rotational speed variation. The efficiency is furthermore relatively low due to considerable gap losses. In addition, the shaft leadthroughs would have to be sealed in a complex and/or expensive manner.
Thus, a large number of pumps for gas recirculation are known in the prior art that each have specific advantages, but also, as demonstrated, numerous disadvantages.

Gas recirculation device and system having such a device


Provided are a method and apparatus for upgrading firmware of a transfer device on a mobile carrier and a non-transitory storage medium. The method includes that: according to present version information of a firmware package of a transfer device and a firmware package version file including update version information, whether the firmware package in the transfer device is able to be upgraded is determined; in a case that it is, determined that the transfer device is able to be upgraded, whether the update version information matches with the present version information is determined; and in a case that the update version information does not match with the present version information, the firmware package in the transfer device is upgraded.

The Nbox device serves as an important transfer device for sensor data on mobile carriers, and also provides a network port for vehicle-mounted devices. The Nbox device is integrated with high-performance chips, and provided with logic control units like Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) and computing units like Central Processing Units (CPUs). As the Nbox device in the existing mobile device cannot be upgraded remotely and it is necessary to manually remove a rectification hood of the mobile carrier, open a cover of the Nbox2.5 device and manually refresh and write a program, both time and labor are consumed, the firmware version may be refreshed falsely and the correctness of the version cannot be ensured.
The above information disclosed in this background section is only for enhancement of understanding on the background of the disclosure. Accordingly, the background includes some information, but the information does not form the conventional art that is already known to a person skilled in the art in the country.

Method and apparatus for upgrading firmware of transfer device on mobile carrier, and non-transitory storage medium

Beijing xiaoma zhixing technology co. LTD


A thermal scanning system and method. The thermal scanning system comprises a handheld thermal scanning device with wheels and three infrared sensors that are spaced to scan skin temperature on opposite sides of patient spinal columns of different sizes. Two out of the three sensors are selected for a particular patient, and the wheels are adjustable to accommodate the two selected sensors. The handheld device further calculates the distance traveled by the wheels by measuring the rotation of the wheels. The device has a trigger that allows a user to annotate the location of various anatomical landmarks, such as particular regions of a patient's spinal column. The device is adapted to take discrete temperature readings or rolling temperature readings. The thermal scanning system provides graphical displays and data analysis of the temperature readings from the sensors.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to medical diagnostic equipment, and in particular to a thermal scanning system and method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Chiropractors and other health care professionals have previously used hand-held devices to measure skin temperature at a variety of locations along a patient's spinal column. The purpose of taking such measurements is to monitor skin temperatures surrounding the spine. Alterations in skin temperature readings may be indicative of abnormal autonomic nervous system activity, which in turn may indicate a spinal subluxation, or misalignment of adjacent vertebrae. Chiropractic care is directed toward locating and correcting subluxations by spinal adjustment. By creating a record of thermal readings paraspinally, i.e., along both left and right sides of a patient's spine, during the course of care, a chiropractor can quantitatively assess where subluxations exist, and how chiropractic care helps to alleviate them.
Prior thermal scanners have enabled users to take temperature readings in a variety of ways. Large, expensive, and complex thermography devices have been used to measure temperature at numerous locations across a patient's entire back, enabling the user to create a "thermograph" of the patient's entire spinal region. These systems have not been easily portable, nor practical for use in a chiropractor's office.
One prior art system suitable for chiropractors used a single infrared thermal sensor mounted in a hand held unit, sometimes called a "paddle." The drawback of that approach was that in order to take paraspinal readings, the user was required to take two passes along the spine, which is time consuming and inaccurate since the paraspinal readings are taken at different times.
A dual sensor thermal scanner was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,552,284 to Evins. However, that system required different paddles to be used in order to accommodate patients of different sizes, such as adults and small children.
Another prior art approach is reflected in U.S. Pat. No. 4,849,885 to Stillwagon, et al., which discloses using, for example, twelve spaced infrared sensors mounted on a single hand-held unit which is rolled along the patient's spine. By allowing the sensors to take continuous readings as the paddle is rolled, a continuous line graph of bilateral temperatures along the spine could be generated quickly. However, that system was complex since it required that the data generated by each of the multiple sensors be processed into a data matrix. Further, this system required the user to move the paddle at a uniform rate along the user's spine in order to properly correlate the temperature reading with the location along the patient's spine from which the reading was taken.
Smaller, simpler devices using only two infrared sensors mounted on a hand-held paddle have also been used in the chiropractic field. One such system has been marketed by Titronics Research & Development Company of Oxford, Iowa as the "TyTron C-3000." This system also used the continuous "rolling" technique. One drawback, however, was that since the infrared sensors were spaced apart a fixed distance, in order to take readings from different sized patients, the scanner had to be used in a different mode requiring multiple passes along the spine. In particular, a first pass was needed to take readings from one thermal sensor on one side of the spine, and a second pass was required to take readings from the other side of the spine.
A prior infrared sensor device was also marketed by EMG Consultants, Inc. of Maywood, N.J. as the "Insight 7000 Thermal Scanner." This system utilized two separate hand-held paddles, each incorporating a single infrared sensor. Thus, left and right side paraspinal readings could be taken simultaneously from patients of different sizes. One drawback of that system, however, was that the user was required to use both hands to hold the paddles. Also, that system did not permit continuous, or "rolling" scans, but rather was limited to a series of static or discrete readings at selected locations. However, it did permit scanning at discrete locations off the paraspinal axis by holding the two paddles at different angles. This enabled readings at the anterior fossia of the ears, referred to as the "atlas," or the vertebra marked C1, which was not possible with prior "rolling" scanners.
While the foregoing summary identifies some of the drawbacks of the prior art, it is not an exhaustive listing of all the features of the prior art, nor of all the differences between the present invention and the prior art.
Thus, a need exists for a simple, easy to use, hand-held thermal scanning device which is adaptable for use with patients of various sizes. Moreover, a need exists for a system which accurately correlates temperature readings with the location along the patient's spine from which the reading is taken.

Adjustable thermal scanning system and method


A radio receives audio information on a first traffic channel in a radio frequency (RF) site. The radio receives, on the first traffic channel, an announcement of alternative traffic channels on which the audio information is also transmitted in adjacent RF sites. The radio determines signal strength indicators for the alternative traffic channels in the adjacent RF sites while continuing to receive the audio information on the first traffic channel. The radio determines that a signal strength associated with the first traffic channel is below a first threshold. Based on the determination and as a function of the scanning, the radio roams to a second traffic channel, selected from the alternative traffic channels, in an adjacent RF site where a signal strength associated with the second traffic channel is above a second threshold. The radio receives the audio information via the second traffic channel.

Two-way radio communications standards, for example, those outlined in the Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) standards, establish protocols and other system requirements for communications. The DMR standard, for example, supports simultaneous and independent calls on a single radio channel. In particular, according to the standard, a 12.5 Kilohertz (kHz) bandwidth radio channel is divided into two alternating timeslots. Each timeslot acts as a separate communications path such that the radios may communicate on an assigned timeslot according to, for example, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) access scheme. The DMR standard also provides a control channel which coordinates radios activities in a repeater mode (i.e., a mode where information is sent from a transmitting radio through a repeater to one or more receiving radios). Therefore, when the radios are operating in the repeater mode, two different non-interfering calls can be simultaneously supported on the two TDMA timeslots of a radio frequency (RF) channel.
In a trunked radio system, to avoid interference between radios transmitting on the same RF channel, each radio receives channel information from the control channel which coordinates RF channel activities. In addition, the radios may also implement a roaming feature. The roaming feature allows the radio to look for activities on multiple channels configured in the radio's unique roaming list, according to a predetermined sequence. While roaming, the radio monitors the frequencies and timeslots of the channels configured in the radio's unique roaming list. As a radio receives audio during a call, the radio may roam from one RF site to another if the call signal is degraded and/or falls below a predefined threshold, causing an audio hole wherein the receiving radio may not receive the full audio signal. In such a case using, for example, the DMR protocol, after waiting for a predefined time period, for example, 720 milliseconds (ms), if the call signal does not improve on the current traffic channel being used by the receiving radio (also referred to as a first traffic channel), the receiving radio samples the control channels of adjacent RF sites in order to find an alternative traffic channel (referred to as a second traffic channel), on an adjacent RF site, with sufficient signal strength that is also being used for the call. The receiving radio selects the control channel of adjacent RF sites which has the best and sufficient signal strength.
The radio then moves to the selected control channel and confirms the movement to the selected control channel by examining the site identifier and system identifier being broadcasted on the selected control channel. The receiving radio may take approximately 100 ms to switch to the control channel in the adjacent RF site and 60 ms to decode information. The receiving radio then optionally registers with the adjacent RF site. Thereafter, the receiving radio waits for an announcement from the selected control channel with the second traffic channel information. The announcement from the control channel may be delayed depending on the number of channels being served by the control channel and whether or not other announcements have higher priority. For example, if the announcement from the control channel takes 60 ms and the control channel is serving 10 channels, the receiving radio may have to wait up to 540 ms before it can receive the announcement with the second traffic channel information, assuming that no higher priority announcements need to be sent by the control channel. Thereafter, the receiving radio may move to the announced traffic channel (i.e., the second traffic channel) and synchronize with the second traffic channel in order to continue receiving the audio. The receiving radio may take approximately 100 ms to switch to the second traffic channel and another 390 ms to synchronize with the traffic channel. The total time required for all steps in the roaming process makes handover of the receiving radio between adjacent RF sites inefficient and may create noticeable audio holes during calls.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method and apparatus for enabling more efficient handover of a receiving radio between RF sites.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

Apparatus and method for enabling efficient handover of a receiving radio between radio frequency sites


The present disclosure provides a downlink control information transmission method, including generating more than one downlink control information (DCI) according to scheduling information of a user equipment (UE); determining a detection order of the more than one DCI and positions of the more than one DCI in a searching space; adding a position indication field to a respective DCI according to the detection order of the more than one DCI and the positions of the more than one DCI in the searching space; wherein, the position indication field is used to indicate a position of a next DCI of the respective DCI in the detection order; in which, a position indication field in a last DCI in the detection order is used to indicate a position of a first DCI in the detection order; and transmitting the more than one DCI in the searching space according to the positions of the more than one DCI in the searching space. The present disclosure also provides a UE-side method, a corresponding base station and a UE.

With the development of mobile communication technology, the era of the 5th generation mobile communication technology (5G) has come into being. From the past to the present 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) networks, mobile networks primarily serve mobile terminals, such as cell phones. In the era of 5G, however, mobile networks need to serve devices of various types and requirements, such as the mobile broadband, massive Internet of Things (IoT), mission-critical IoT, and the like. These types of services have different requirements in terms of mobility, billing, security, policy control, latency, reliability, and the like, which essentially requires people to build a dedicated network for each type of service. To meet the requirement, the network slice (NS) technology is proposed. Through the network slice technology, a plurality of logical networks may be divided from an independent physical network, and different logical networks may have different characteristics of mobility, reliability, time delay, and the like, so as to meet the requirements of different services. However, in order to implement user scheduling and control separately on different network slices, a DCI needs to be sent separately for each network slice. Further, if a user equipment (UE) registers a plurality of services on different network slices, the UE needs to detect a plurality of DCIs of the network slices respectively, so as to obtain scheduling information of its plurality of services. Therefore, compared with an LTE system, the method for a UE to blindly detect DCIs carried on physical downlink control channels (PDCCHs) corresponding to the different network slices becomes particularly complicated.

Method and apparatus for downlink control information transmission


In some embodiments, apparatus and systems, as well as methods, may include providing an analog temperature output responsive to a combination signal comprising a combination of an analog compensation output and a reference signal, and converting the analog temperature output to a digital temperature output responsive to an analog reference signal output, perhaps according to a polynomial function. Providing a digital compensation output corresponding to the digital temperature output, and converting the digital compensation output to the analog compensation output responsive to the analog reference signal output may also be included.

Some circuits are designed to provide a source of voltage or current to serve as a reference for other circuits, including analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and digital-to-analog converters (DACs). Thus, the accuracy of the reference often determines the accuracy of the circuitry so supplied. As greater numbers of measurement systems are deployed in hostile environments with a variety of temperatures, the demand for apparatus and methods that provide precision reference signals in such environments will increase. For these and other reasons there is a need for apparatus and methods that provide a substantially stable reference signal over a wide temperature range.

Temperature compensation apparatus, systems, and methods