In a half-fitting prevention connector (1), a compression spring (20) is employed as a resilient member for preventing half-fitting between a male connector (2) and a female connector (3). The compression spring (20) is attachable to a housing (26) of the female connector (3) and includes a first bent portion (21)(formed into a substantially U-shape by bending a strip-shaped plate, a second bent portion (23) continuing from the first bent portion (21) and formed into a substantially V-shape by bending the strip-shaped plate, a fixing hole (24) located at a rear portion of the compression spring (20) and retained by a fixing projection (32), and a fixing rolled portion (25) located at the rear portion of the compression spring (20) and retained by pressing pieces (33).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a half-fitting prevention connector which reliably prevents half-fitting by way of the resiliency of a resilient member attached to a housing of at least one of a pair of male and female connectors which are fittable to each other, and which reliably effects fitting and locking with the mating connector.
The present application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-162965, which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
A related example of a half-fitting prevention connector now will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9.
As shown in FIGS. 6 to 7, in a half-fitting prevention connector 51, half-fitting between a pair of male and female connectors 52 and 53 which are fittable to each other is prevented by the resiliency of a pair of compression coil springs 57 accommodated in spring accommodating portions 56 on both sides in an exclusive housing 55 provided integrally on a housing 54 of the male connector 52.
In addition, the male connector 52 has a lock arm 58 which has on a lower surface of its tip a retaining pawl 59 for retaining the mating female connector 53 and is supported at its rear end on the housing 54 so as to be flexible as a cantilever. Further, displacement preventing projections 60 are provided on an upper surface of the lock arm 58 on the opposite side to the side where the retaining pawl 59 is provided, and a lock peak 61 is provided on the upper surface of its root portion.
In addition, a slider 62 is slidably held in the exclusive housing 55. The slider 62 has a slider body 66 on which a slider arm 69 which is upwardly flexible by using a rear portion of the slider body 66 as a root is formed. A pair of abutment projections 70 are provided on the lower surface of a front end of the slider arm 69. Further, a pressing portion 72 which can be pressed in the rearward direction by an operator""s finger is provided on the upper surface of a rear end portion of the slider body 66.
Further, provided on an upper surface of a female housing 75 are an inclined projection 77 for retaining the retaining pawl 59 and a retaining groove 79 located immediately behind it, and a pair of stopper projections 78, which abut against the abutment projections 70 of the slider 62, are provided on the upper surface of the female housing 75.
In the half-fitting prevention connector 51 having the above-described construction, the male and female connectors 52 and 53 are made to face each other and are pressed in the fitting directions, as shown in FIG. 7. Then, since the stopper projections 78 on the female housing 75 abut against the abutment projections 70 of the slider 62, and the slider 62 is pushed in toward the rear of the exclusive housing 55 in the upper portion of the housing 54 while compressing the compression springs 57.
As a result, as the retaining pawl 59 rides over the inclined projection 77, the lock arm 58 is flexed upward, while the slider arm 69 is flexed upward by riding over the lock peak 61.
If the fitting forces of the male and female connectors 52 and 53 are canceled at this stage, the slider 62 is pushed back by the urging forces of the compression springs 57, so that the female connector 53 is pushed back by the abutment projections 70 and the stopper projections 78. Hence, the male and female connectors 52 and 53 are prevented from being left in a half-fitted state.
If the fitting operation is further advanced, as shown in FIG. 8, the slider arm 69 is flexed further upward by the lock peak 61 and the abutment projections 70 are disengaged from the stopper projections 78, with the result that the slider 62 is pushed back forwardly by the urging forces of the compression springs 57, and the front end of the pressing portion 72 abuts against the lock peak 61 and stops.
At this time, since the retaining pawl 59 is retained by the inclined projection 77 and the retaining groove 79, the flexion of the lock arm 58 also returns to its original state, and the displacement preventing portion 71 of the slider 62 which returned to its original state comes to be fitted over the displacement preventing projections 60 of the lock arm 58.
Next, to cancel the fitting between the male and female connectors 52 and 53, as shown in FIG. 9, the operator pulls the pressing portion 72 in the rearward direction while compressing the compression springs 57 while holding the housing 75. Consequently, the slider 62 retracts to allow the displacement preventing projections 60 to be canceled from the state of being locked by the displacement preventing portion 71, and since the abutment projections 70 ride over the stopper projections 78, the slider 69 begins to be flexed upward.
If the pressing portion 72 is further pulled, at the same time as the tip portion of the slider arm 69 rides over the lock peak 61, the retaining pawl 59 becomes unlocked from the inclined projection 77 since its rear surface is inclined, so that the fitting between the male and female connectors 52 and 53 can be canceled.
However, with the above-described half-fitting prevention connector 51, there has been a possibility that since the slider 62 is required, the number of component parts increases, and the number of assembling steps increases, leading to higher cost.
In addition, since when the pressing portion 72 is pulled backward during the releasing operation for the connectors, the pressing portion 72 must be pulled while compressing the compression springs, there has been a possibility that the operating efficiency during the releasing operation for the connectors is poor.
Furthermore; since resin members such as the lock arm 58 and the slider arm 69 are flexed greatly during the fitting and releasing operation of the connectors 52 and 53, there has been a possibility in the durability.
The present invention has been devised in view of the above-described possibilities of the related art, and its object is to provide a half-fitting prevention connector which has a small number of component parts, offers satisfactory operating efficiency during the releasing operation for the connectors, and excels in the durability with small flexion of resin members during the fitting and releasing operation.
To achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a half-fitting prevention connector which comprises:
a first connector including a first housing;
a flexible lock arm formed on the first housing, the flexible lock arm having a first retaining portion and an abutment portion which is located at a lower side relative to the first retaining portion;
a second connector fittable to the first connector, the second connector including a second housing having a second retaining portion and a press plate;
a resilient member attachable to the second housing, the resilient member including:
a first bent portion which is formed into a substantially U-shape by bending a strip-shaped plate, and
a second bent portion, which continues from the first bent portion, and is formed into a substantially V-shape by bending the strip-shaped plate; and
a fixing mechanism, with which a rear portion of the resilient member is fixedly secured to the second housing,
wherein when the first connector and the second connector are about to be fitted to each other, the flexible lock arm is flexed by the press plate of the second housing pressing downward the first retaining portion, and the first retaining portion is slid on the press plate so that the abutment portion of the flexible lock arm is abutted against a tip of the first bent portion of the resilient member,
wherein when the first connector and the second connector are incompletely fitted, the first connector and the second connector are released in a direction opposite to a connector fitting direction in accordance with a resilient force of the resilient member, and
wherein when the first connector and the second connector are completely fitted to each other, the first retaining portion of the flexible lock arm is a retained by the second retaining portion of the second housing.
In accordance with the first aspect of the present invention, since a slider is not required, the number of component parts can be reduced, the structure is simplified, and the number of assembling steps can be reduced, thereby making it possible to lower the cost.
Furthermore, since the amount of the flexion of the lock arm during the fitting and releasing operation of the male and female connectors is small, and resin members other than the lock arm are not flexed, it is possible to improve the durability of the connector.
For example, when a compression spring is employed as the resilient member, since the compression spring is so arranged as not to be compressed during the unlocking operation, it is unnecessary to pull back the operating portion against the urging force of the compression spring during the releasing operation, so that it is possible to improve the operating efficiency during the releasing operation.
Furthermore, to achieve the above object, according to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a half-fitting prevention connector which comprises:
a first connector including a first housing;
a flexible lock arm formed on the first housing, the flexible lock arm having a first retaining portion and an abutment portion which is located at a lower side relative to the first retaining portion;
a second connector fittable to the first connector, the second connector including a second housing having a second retaining portion, a press plate, and a second fixing portion; and
a resilient member attachable to the second housing, the resilient member including:
a first bent portion which is formed into a substantially U-shape by bending a strip-shaped plate,
a second bent portion, which continues from the first bent portion, and is formed into a substantially-shape by bending the strip-shaped plate, and
a first fixing portion, which is located at a rear portion of the resilient member, and is retained by the second fixing portion of the second housing,
wherein when the first connector and the second connector are about to be fitted to each other, the flexible lock arm is flexed by the press plate of the second housing pressing downward the first retaining portion, and the first retaining portion is slid on the press plated so that the abutment portion of the flexible lock arm is abutted against a tip of the first bent portion of the resilient member,
wherein when the first connector and the second connector are incompletely fitted, the first connector and the second connector are released in a direction opposite to a connector fitting direction in accordance with a resilient force of the resilient member, and
wherein when the first connector and the second connector are completely fitted to each other, the first retaining portion of the flexible lock arm is retained by the second retaining portion of the second housing.
In accordance with the second aspect of the present invention, since the resilient member is surely fixedly secured to the housing by the fixing portions as described above, the reliability of attachment of the resilient member can be improved. Therefore, it is possible to improve productivity.
Furthermore, to achieve the above object, according to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a half-fitting prevention connector which comprises:
a first connector including a first housing;
a flexible lock arm formed on the first housing, the flexible lock arm having a first retaining portion and an abutment portion which is located at a lower side relative to the first retaining portion;
a second connector fittable to the first connector, the second connector including a second housing having a second retaining. portion, a press plate, a fixing projection formed uprightly on the second housing, and a pressing piece formed uprightly on the second housing; and
a resilient member attachable to the second housing, the resilient member including:
a first bent portion which is formed into a substantially U-shape by bending a strip-shaped plate,
a second bent portion, which continues from the first bent portion, and is formed into a substantially V-shape by bending the strip-shaped plate,
a fixing hole, which is located at a rear portion of the resilient member, and is retained by the fixing projection of the second housing, and
a, fixing rolled portion, which is formed into a substantially roll shape by rolling the strip-shaped plate, and is located at the rear portion of the resilient member, the fixing rolled portion being retained by the pressing piece of the second housing,
wherein when the first connector and the second connector are about to be fitted to each other, the flexible lock arm is flexed by the press plate of the second housing pressing downward the first retaining portion, and the first retaining portion is slid on the press plate so that the abutment portion of the flexible lock arm is abutted against a tip of the first bent portion of the resilient member,
wherein when the first connector and the second connector are incompletely fitted, the first connector and the second connector are released in a direction opposite to a connector fitting direction in accordance with a resilient force of the resilient member, and
wherein when the first connector and the second connector are completely fitted to each other, the first retaining portion of the flexible lock arm is retained by the second retaining portion of the second housing.
In accordance with the third aspect of the present invention, the assembling operation at the time of attaching the resilient member to the housing can be facilitated. Further, since the resilient member is formed of a strip, the fixing hole and the fixing rolled portion can be provided integrally. Therefore, it is possible to improve productivity and attain a reduction in the cost.


An electrolytic copper foil includes a raw foil layer having a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface. In the X-ray diffraction spectrum of the first surface, a ratio of the diffraction peak intensity I(200) of the (200) crystal face of the first surface relative to the diffraction peak intensity I(111) of the (111) crystal face of the first surface is between 0.5 and 2.0. In the X-ray diffraction spectrum of the second surface, a ratio of the diffraction peak intensity I(200) of the (200) crystal face of the second surface relative to the diffraction peak intensity I(111) of the (111) crystal face of the second surface is also between 0.5 and 2.0. A method for producing the electrolytic copper foil, and a lithium ion secondary battery is also provided.

Conventional electrolytic copper foils can be used to manufacture various products such as a negative electrode of a lithium ion secondary battery. In general, in a process of manufacturing an electrolytic copper foil, an electrolytic copper foil having a large-sized crystal structure can be produced by using a high concentration of additive in an electrolytic solution. This kind of electrolytic copper foil generally has high elongation. In an X-ray diffraction spectrum (XRD spectrum) of this kind of electrolytic copper foil, a diffraction peak intensity I(111) of a (111) crystal face is high. Both a diffraction peak intensity I(200) of a (200) crystal face and a diffraction peak intensity I(220) of a (220) crystal face are lower than I(111). Moreover, a ratio of I(200)/I(111) is usually less than 0.5.
Although an electrolytic copper foil having high elongation can be produced by using a high concentration of additive in an electrolytic solution, it may result in problems of high production cost and process conditions that cannot be easily controlled.
Accordingly, the present disclosure provides a solution which can effectively improve on the above problems.


A method and apparatus include determining a value of a parameter associated with operation of an electrosurgical probe having a particular probe design, and determining whether the value of the parameter is within a range of values that has been predetermined for the particular probe design to indicate that the probe is treating tissue in a desired manner. Power is delivered to the probe according to an algorithm based upon a determination that the value of the parameter is outside the range of values The algorithm delivers power in a pulsed profile including portions of low power and portions of high power. In one embodiment, the tissue treatment is ablation, the parameter is impedance, and the method limits tissue necrosis to less than 200 microns. In another embodiment, the tissue treatment is shrinkage, the parameter is temperature, and the method limits power delivery when the probe is not shrinking tissue.

Radiofrequency (RF) energy is delivered to a surgical instrument, such as a probe, to treat diseased tissue, such as by ablating, shrinking, cutting, or coagulating the tissue. For example, RF energy is used to ablate fibrillations and smooth the surface of articular cartilage that suffers from chondromalacia and osteoarthritis. RF energy also is used to shrink collagen tissue in a joint. The use of RF energy can produce collateral damage in the form of undesired cell death or the excess removal of healthy tissue. For example, in the case of articular cartilage, RF energy can cause the death of chondrocytes, the cells responsible for maintaining cartilage viability and growth, which cannot be regenerated after death.


A switch-mode converter controller and method utilizes a comparator for receiving and comparing a sensed current and a peak current that is determined by a product of a multiplying factor, that is greater than or equal to two, and a target current. A finite state machine (FSM) is configured to operate the switch-mode converter in a discontinuous conduction mode (DCM). Responsive to the comparator, the FSM turns on the switch and observes an on-time duration of the switch until the sensed current reaches the peak current; calculates a switching period responsive to the peak current and the observed on-time duration; and varies the switching period responsive to the on-time duration and the multiplying factor such that an average of the sensed current equals the target current. The FSM can also be configured to alternatively operate the switch-mode converter in a continuous conduction mode (CCM).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of signal processing, and, more specifically, to apparatuses and methods for implementing discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) for a switch-mode converter and also to apparatuses and methods for implementing a switch-mode converter power factor corrector (PFC) which operates in both CCM and DCM.
2. Description of the Related Art
Power factor correctors often utilize a switch-mode boost stage to convert alternating current (AC) voltages (such as line/mains voltages) to direct current (DC) voltages or DC-to-DC wherein the input current is proportional to the input voltage. Power factor correctors provide power factor corrected (PFC) and regulated output voltages to many devices that utilize a regulated output voltage.
FIG. 1 represents a typical exemplary power factor corrector 100, which includes a switch-mode boost stage 102. Voltage source 101 supplies an alternating current (AC) input voltage Vin(t) to a full-wave diode bridge rectifier 103. The voltage source 101 (e.g., voltage Vin(t)) is, for example, a public utility, such as a 60 Hz/120 V line (mains) voltage in the United States of America or a 50 Hz/230 V line (mains) voltage in Europe. The input rate associated with input voltage Vin(t) is the frequency of voltage source 101 (e.g., 60 Hz in the U.S. and 50 Hz. in Europe). The rectifier 103 rectifies the input voltage Vin(t) and supplies a rectified, time-varying, line input voltage Vx(t) to the switch-mode boost stage 102. The actual voltage at any time t is referred to as the instantaneous input voltage. unless otherwise stated, the term "line rate" is hereafter referred to and defined as the rectified input frequency associated with the rectified line voltage Vx(t). The line rate is also equal to twice the input frequency associated with input voltage Vin(t). The rectified line input voltage is measured and provided in terms of Root Mean Square (RMS) voltage, e.g., Vrms.
The switch-mode boost stage 102 includes a switch 108 (e.g., Field Effect Transistor (FET)) by which it is controlled and provides power factor correction (PFC) in accordance with how switch 108 is controlled. The switch-mode boost stage 102 is also controlled by switch 108 and regulates the transfer of energy from the rectified line input voltage Vx(t) through inductor 110 to capacitor 106 via a diode 111. The inductor current iL ramps 'up' when the switch 108 conducts, i.e. is "ON". The inductor current iL ramps down when switch 108 is nonconductive, i.e. is "OFF", and supplies current iL to recharge capacitor 106. The time period during which inductor current iL ramps down is commonly referred to as the "inductor flyback time". A sense resistor 109 is utilized effectively in series with inductor 110.
Power factor correction (PFC) controller 114 of power factor corrector 100 controls switch 108 and, thus, controls power factor correction and regulates output power of the switch-mode boost stage 102. The goal of power factor correction technology is to make the switch-mode boost stage 102 appear resistive to the voltage source 101. Thus, the PFC controller 114 attempts to control the inductor current iL so that the average inductor current iL is linearly and directly related to the rectified line input voltage Vx(t). Unitrode Products Datasheet entitled "UCC2817, UCC2818, UCC3817, UCC3818 BiCMOS Power Factor Preregulator" (SLUS3951) dated February 2000—Revised February 2006 by Texas Instruments Incorporated, Copyright 2006-2007 (referred to herein as "Unitrode datasheet") and International Rectifier Datasheet entitled "Datasheet No. PD60230 rev C IR1150(S(PbF) and IR 11501(S)(PbF)" dated Feb. 5, 2007 by International Rectifier, describe examples of PFC controller 114. The PFC 114 supplies a pulse width modulated (PWM) control signal CS0 to control the conductivity of switch 108.
Two modes of switching stage operation exist: Discontinuous Conduction Mode ("DCM") and Continuous Conduction Mode ("CCM"). In DCM, switch 108 of PFC controller 114 (or boost converter) is turned on (e.g., "ON") when the inductor current iL equals zero. In CCM, switch 108 of PFC controller 114 (or boost converter) switches "ON" when the inductor current is non-zero, and the current in the energy transfer inductor 110 never reaches zero during the switching cycle. In CCM, the current swing is less than in DCM, which results in lower I2R power losses and lower ripple current for inductor current iL which results in lower inductor core losses. The lower voltage swing also reduces Electro Magnetic Interference (EMI), and a smaller input filter can then be used. Since switch 108 is turned "OFF" when the inductor current iL is not equal to zero, diode 111 needs to be very fast in terms of reverse recovery in order to minimize losses.
The switching rate for switch 108 is typically operated in the range of 20 kHz to 100 kHz. Slower switching frequencies are avoided in order to avoid the human audio frequency range as well as avoid increasing the size of inductor 110. Faster switching frequencies are typically avoided since they increase the switching losses and are more difficult to use in terms of meeting Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) standards.
Capacitor 106 supplies stored energy to load 112. The capacitor 106 is sufficiently large so as to maintain a substantially constant link output voltage Vc(t) through the cycle of the line rate. The link output voltage Vc(t) remains substantially constant during constant load conditions. However, as load conditions change, the link output voltage Vc(t) changes. The PFC controller 114 responds to the changes in link output voltage Vc(t) and adjusts the control signal CS0 to resume a substantially constant output voltage as quickly as possible. The PFC controller 114 includes a small capacitor 115 to prevent any high frequency switching signals from the line (mains) input voltage Vin(t).
PFC controller 114 receives two feedback signals, the rectified line input voltage Vx(t) and the link output voltage Vc(t), via a wide bandwidth current loop 116 and a slower voltage loop 118. The rectified line input voltage Vx(t) is sensed from node 120 between the diode rectifier 103 and inductor 110. The link output voltage Vc(t) is sensed from node 122 between diode 111 and load 112. The current loop 116 operates at a frequency fc that is sufficient to allow the PFC controller 114 to respond to changes in the rectified line input voltage Vx(t) and cause the inductor current iL to track the rectified line input voltage Vx(t) to provide power factor correction. The inductor current iL controlled by the current loop 116 has a control bandwidth of 5 kHz to 10 kHz. The voltage loop 118 operates at a much slower frequency control bandwidth of about 5 Hz to 20 Hz. By operating at 5 Hz to 20 Hz, the voltage loop 118 functions as a low pass filter to filter a harmonic ripple component of the link output voltage Vc(t).
A number of external components which are outside of PFC controller 114 for respective power factor corrector 100 are still required. For example, a power factor corrector 100 may typically comprise of two Proportional-Integral (PI) controllers, one PI controller associated with the current loop 116 and another PI controller associated with the voltage loop 118. It would be desired and would simplify the circuitry for the power factor corrector 100 if the PI controller associated with the current loop 116 could be eliminated. Furthermore, typical power factor corrector 100 does not primarily comprise of digital circuitry. Thus, it is needed and desired to have a power factor corrector which is primarily made up of digital circuitry. It is needed and desired to also minimize the number of external components outside of a PFC controller for a power factor corrector.
Furthermore, when the target current (e.g., average inductor current) for a switch mode converter (e.g., switch mode boost or buck converter/stage) is less than a minimum certain threshold, the switch mode converter can no longer operate in the continuous conduction mode (CCM) (e.g., inductor current iL falls below zero). Thus, a system and method for operating a switch mode converter in DCM is needed and desired. In particular, it is further needed and desired to provide a switch mode boost or buck converter Which can operate in both CCM and DCM for a Power Factor Corrector in which the design and calculations for implementing such operating modes is straight forward. Thus, it is needed and desired to have a switch-mode power factor corrector which is primarily made up of digital circuitry wherein the switch-mode stage of the PFC can operate in both CCM and DCM. It is needed and desired to also minimize the number of external components outside of a PFC controller for a power factor corrector which utilizes a switch-mode stage that can operate in both CCM and DCM.

Discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) using sensed current for a switch-mode converter


A hand as an end effector. The hand includes a base, a hook element associated with the base and capable of hooking and lifting an object, a holding element associated with the base and cooperating with the hook element to hold the object therebetween, and a drive section causing a relative movement between the hook element and the holding element. For example, the hook element is arranged movably in a direction toward and away from the holding element on the base, and the drive section drives the hook element. Alternatively, the holding element is arranged movably in a direction toward and away from the hook element on the base, and the drive section drives the holding element. A handling robot includes an arm and the above-described hand attached to the arm.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hand provided as an end effector in a robot. The invention also relates to a handling robot equipped with such a hand.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hands having various configurations, each of which is attached, as an end effector, to the end of a robot arm, are known. The conventional hands can be roughly classified, in terms of the mechanical configuration thereof, into three types; such as a mechanical hand including a plurality of (generally, two or three) rigid fingers for gripping an object having a specified shape, a specific hand for holding an object having a specified structure by vacuum or magnetic adsorption, and a multi-finger hand (or a universal hand) for gripping an object having an optional shape by various operations of a plurality of (generally, two to five) finger mechanisms, each having a joint.
Also, a robot (generally referred to as a handling robot) using a hand attached to the end of an arm and carrying out various handling works for workpieces, such as loading/unloading, palletizing/depalletizing or pick-and-place, is known. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 7-332944 (JP-A-7-332944) discloses a handling robot performing a handling work for a cast product placed on a pallet by using a mechanical hand including two parallel openable/closable fingers. JP-A-7-332944 also discloses a crane apparatus by which a coil for steel-manufacturing use, placed in a coil yard, is lifted and transported with a vertically movable hook member.
Among various types of hands described above, the mechanical hand is comparatively simple in configuration and easy to control and, therefore, tends to be widely used for the handling robot. In the conventional mechanical hand, however, the shape of the rigid fingers and the gripping operation mode thereof are configured to be adaptable to the attributes of a specified object to be gripped, such as dimensions, shape and weight, so that it is generally difficult to grip objects having different attributes by a mechanical hand having a common structure.
Also, it is sometimes difficult, for the handling robot equipped with the mechanical hand (as described in, e.g., JP-A-7-332944), to pick out a desired workpiece from a plurality of workpieces having the same attribute, which are randomly placed in various orientations in a pallet or container. Generally, the workpieces randomly placed (e.g., stacked-up) assume a variety of orientations different from an orientation desired by the robot, so that, even when the arm is variously operated, the interference between the hand or arm and the surrounding objects such as other workpieces may occur, which may make it difficult to grip a predetermined grippable portion of the workpiece. In an attempt to grip each workpiece on a portion thereof able to be actually gripped, the hand is required to be changed to the other one having a structure corresponding to the actually grippable part at every time of gripping, which results in an increased cost and cycle time for a handling work.
On the other hand, the crane apparatus, such as that described in JP-A-7-332944, can operate to scoop up an object (or a coil) with a hook member, so that it is not required to set a specified grippable portion on the object to be transported. In some applications, therefore, it is facilitated to pick out a desired object from a plurality of randomly placed objects, in comparison with a picking work by a robot having a mechanical hand. However, the object scooped up by the hook member is not stably held on the hook member, so that it is required to maintain a transporting speed at slow rate, so as to prevent the object from falling off. Further, as compared with the mechanical hand, it is difficult for the hook member to accurately position and place an object at a predetermined location.


Self configuring output stages of precision amplifiers that remain linear when operating into a load that may have a ground reference below the amplifier ground reference, that maintain full amplifier gain while approaching zero output, and that can provide a zero output even when operating into a load that may have a ground reference below the amplifier ground reference, that has a self configuring output stage operable with either a mid-rail or ground reference below amplifier ground, and which maintain a high output impedance when not selected even when the output is above the amplifier supply voltage, or when not powered, thereby allowing amplifier outputs from un-powered amplifiers or amplifiers operating at lower supply voltages to be connected in common for multiplexing to a common load.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to amplifiers.
2. Prior Art
This invention applies to an amplifier class with a high impedance output that sources current to an external load resistor to set the amplifier output voltage. It is applicable to but not limited to precision amplifiers where high gain accuracy and low offset are important. It is also useful in multiplexed output applications in which a single external load resistor is shared by many amplifier outputs where it is convenient for the amplifiers to be powered at various supply voltages or to have some of the multiplexed amplifiers powered down.
There is a first set of applications where it is useful for the amplifier to have a bi-directional output where the zero value is equal to an external reference voltage, Vref, near Vcc/2 (supply voltage divided by 2). In these applications the external load resistor is tied to Vref. The most positive output is near Vcc, and the most negative output is near G (ground). There is a second set of applications that are unidirectional where the zero output is at G, exactly. In these applications the load resistor is tied to G, and the most positive output is near Vcc. These two sets of applications place different requirements on the output structure of the amplifier and, as will be described later, are not generally possible in a single, monolithic amplifier IC.
An incentive for having an external load resistor in precision applications is to remove the error that would otherwise be introduced due to minor ground shifts between the amplifier and the device sensing the amplifier output. In many of these applications there may be a great distance between the two ICs and positive and negative ground shifts can be significant relative to the error budget of the system. In these applications, when G is used as the reference voltage, it is necessary for the output to be able to go below local IC ground.
Another set of problems particular to amplifiers with unidirectional outputs is maintaining constant gain while approaching zero output, and achieving an absolute zero output, which requires being able to completely turn off the current going to the external load resistor.
An additional incentive for having an external load resistor is that multiple amplifiers may share a single load resistor in a multiplexed arrangement where a single amplifier is enabled while all others are disabled. This is useful in an application where the outputs of many amplifiers are read by a single Analog to Digital Converter (ADC). A problem in this case is that all amplifiers in the multiplexed system must always remain powered at the same supply voltage. If a single amplifier were powered down (power supply terminal is below normal system supply voltage or near G) the multiplexed output would be shorted through the body diode of the output driver of the powered down amplifier. While it is common in industrial communication and interface products to protect against this problem, it is not common in precision amplifiers. U.S. Pat. No. 5,414,314 by Thurber, Jr. and assigned to the assignee of the present invention covers a high-side (PMOS) connection and a low-side (NMOS) connection, both of which provide a means for isolating an output from the supply and from ground. U.S. Pat. No. 5,963,067 by Boucher and assigned to the assignee of the present invention provides a means for active rectification and makes use of the connection covered by Thurber, Jr.


A formation surface of electrodes and a formation surface of leads are imaged along an axis which intersects an XY plane at right angles. A projected image of the formation surface of the electrodes and the formation surface of the leads is obtained, the projected image being projected onto a plane which intersects the Z axis at right angles. A difference between an image of one of the electrodes and an image of one of the leads in the projected image is calculated. A deformation value of at least one of a substrate and a semiconductor chip due to expansion or shrinkage is calculated, the deformation value being necessary for eliminating the difference. A change in temperature of at least one of the substrate and the semiconductor chip is calculated the change in temperature being necessary for obtaining the deformation value. The temperature of at least one of the substrate and the semiconductor chip is changed based on the change in temperature.

The present invention relates to a manufacturing method and a manufacturing apparatus for a semiconductor device.
As a semiconductor device in which a semiconductor chip including bump electrodes such as Au bumps is mounted face down on a flexible film substrate, a tape automated bonding (TAB) or a tape carrier package (TCP) has been known.
The flexible film substrate used for TAB or TCP is generally manufactured by forming a plurality of interconnect patterns made of Cu on the surface of an insulating film made of a polyimide resin or the like. Therefore, since the insulating film expands and shrinks due to the temperature or moisture in the atmosphere, an error occurs in the pitch of the interconnect pattern.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-124262 discloses a technology of providing pitch correction to an inner interconnect pattern in advance as a means for solving the difference in pitch caused by heating during bonding.
However, since the coefficient of expansion varies depending on the thickness of the insulating film (inter-lot variation), it is difficult to achieve scaling down merely by providing the above-mentioned pitch correction.

Manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus for semiconductor device


The present invention is directed to a cellular or cordless phone whereby power line networking is either integrated within its base station and/or charger or added as a module that can be installed into the base station and/or charger, providing a method of transferring network data between the cellular or cordless phone and another processing element connected to the power line without any additional cables.

This application is related to, and claims priority to U.S. provisional application No. 60/443,078, filed Jan. 28, 2003, entitled "APPARATUS AND METHODS OF NETWORKING DEVICES, SYSTEMS AND COMPUTERS VIA POWER LINES," the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein, including all of the documents referenced therein. Additionally, this application is related to U.S. application titled, "POWER SUPPLY WITH MODULAR INTEGRATED NETWORKING," which was filed on even date herewith, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,972,688 to inventor Mark Rapaich and is related to U.S. application titled, "MODULATED DATA TRANSFER BETWEEN A SYSTEM AND ITS POWER SUPPLY," which was filed even date herewith, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,989,734 to inventor Keith Thomas.


The power supply to a starter of a motor vehicle engine is cut off when the power supply voltage to the starter reaches a threshold value. On closing of the starter power contacter, a time window is commenced, and during this time window the maximum value assumed by the supply voltage is measured. The threshold value is determined as a function of the maximum value measured during this time window, and may also be a function of the value of the supply voltage prior to initiation of the starting process, and/or a function of operating temperature.

Conventionally, the cutting off or termination of the starting phase of the engine, in which the engine is driven by its starter, is controlled by the user of the vehicle, who cuts off the supply to the starter motor by releasing the ignition key when the engine makes the appropriate characteristic sound. However, the current tendency to make internal combustion engines more and more silent results in the fact that it is becoming difficult for the driver to detect such characteristic sound, and therefore to detect that the engine has started. This leads to undue delay in releasing the ignition key, and, as a result, to the application of unnecessary and excessive forces on the starter.
Numerous devices for cutting off the power supply of a motor vehicle starter when the engine has started and is sufficiently autonomous to achieve its slow running mode by itself, are already known. In particular, it has been proposed to control cut-off of a starter by comparing the battery voltage with a reference voltage, the power supply to the starter being cut when the battery voltage reaches this reference voltage. A device which operates in this way is described in the introduction of French patent specification No. FR 2 626 417.
In this connection, it is known that when a starter begins to drive a heat engine, the voltage across the battery (the battery voltage) undergoes a sharp reduction in level due to the heavy current that flows in the starter motor. The battery voltage regains its initial level when the engine has started.
However, such a device is not fully satisfactory. In particular, the comparison with a predetermined reference value does not enable sufficient precision to be obtained in the controlled cut-off of the starter power supply. In addition, the battery voltage can undergo considerable variation over a period of time, in particular as a function of the state of battery maintenance, or as a function of ambient temperature.


Non-steroidal androgen receptor modulating compounds of the general formula (I), their pharmaceutically acceptable salts, preparation process and pharmaceutically compositions containing the said compounds are disclosed. Such compounds of the general formula (I) or their pharmaceutically acceptable salts can be used for preparing non-steroidal medicines to treat and/or prevent conditions or diseases such as prostatic hyperplasia, prostate cancer, hirsutism, severe hormone-dependent alopecia or acne, etc. as a result of androgen receptor antagonistic activities.

Androgens are a category of important gonadal steroid hormones in the human body. They promote the cell differentiation and t tissue growth by binding to the corresponding specific receptors, thereby participating in many crucial physiological functions, such as the formation of genital organs of male fetus (such as prostate, seminal vesicle, epididymis, etc.), the development and maintenance of secondary sex character and the generation of sperms. In both men and women, there are a certain proportion of androgens, such as androsterone, androstanediol and adrenosterone, etc. The androgens exert important physiological effects by binding to the androgen receptors (AR). The metabolic disorder and functional disorder of androgens or their receptors may induce various diseases or promote the disease courses, including prostatic hyperplasia, prostate cancer, male sterility, hirsutism, severe androgen-dependent alopecia and acne, etc. These diseases severely influence physical and mental health of patients, as well as greatly reduce their life quality.
Benign prostatic hyperplasia is a benign adenomatous hyperplasia of cells in the region around prostate urethra, but is not a cancer. It grows slowly and will not diffuse to other parts of the body. The benign prostatic hyperplasia is one of the most common diseases in urinary surgery, and has become an "invisible killer" threatening the health of men. The clinical statistics has indicated that, the incidence of benign prostatic hyperplasia is about 50% among men with 40-79 years of age, and may reach up to 80% after the age of 80. With a an increasing pressure of modern life style, the number of benign prostatic hyperplasia patients expand gradually and the onset age has a tendency to be younger. The benign prostatic hyperplasia disturbs the daily life of patients, and it is likely to cause many kinds of latent complications, such as acute urine retention, urinary tract infection, gross hematuria, bladder diverticulum, calculus, hydronephrosis and renal failure, etc. Clinical studies in the literature indicates that dihydrotestosterone in the patient body is the foremost inducement of benign prostatic hyperplasia.
Prostate cancer is a severe disease of elderly men, the morbidity and mortality thereof are very high in the West and occupies the first place of male malignant tumors [Landis S H, Murray T, 1998, CA Cancer J. Clin. 48, 6-29]. Although the incidence of prostate cancer in China is lower than in the West, with an increase in the aging population, changes of traditional dietary structure, and improvement of diagnosis of this disease, the incidence has elevated significantly in recent years. Clinical investigations have shown that the ages of patients tend to be younger, especially among people who require long-term sitting in work, such as computer operators and taxi drivers, etc. The etiology studies and clinical therapy practices of prostatic hyperplasia/prostate cancer have attracted extensive attention in the pharmaceutical industry world-wide.
AR protein is a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily, and functions as a ligand-activated transcription factor. As shown in FIG. 1, AR protein has three structural domains: N Terminal Domain (NTD), DNA Binding Domain (DBD) and Ligand Binding Domain (LBD) [He B, Kemppainen J A, 1999, J. Biol. Chem. 274(52), 37219-25]. Androgen forms a complex with LBD of AR, and binds to an Androgen Response Element (ARE) located in the promoter region of the AR target gene to exert the function of activating or inhibiting expression of target genes, thereby regulating the physiological functions of target tissue. Prostate is an important target organ for androgen. In the embryonic period, androgen binds to AR distributing in endoderm of urinary sinus to cause phenotype differentiation of prostate epidermal cells and to induce generation of prostate-specific proteins. In mature glandular organs, androgen promotes the mitosis and proliferation of prostate epithelial cells to maintain the morphology and function of the organ [Waller A S, Sharrard R M, 2000, J. Mol. Endocrinol. 24(3), 339-351]. In addition, the androgen also regulates prostate cell metabolic activities, such as biosynthesis of lipids, and control the generation of some prostate-specific expression proteins (for example, prostate-specific antigen, PSA), and the like.
The mechanism action of androgens and AR includes a set of complicated and precise signal transduction processes, and the specific binding of androgen to AR plays an indispensable role. Many AR related diseases results from the imbalance of the interaction between androgen and AR, due to the abnormal hormone levels or receptor dysfunction. In the individuals suffering from these diseases, medicines achieve the therapeutic effects through enhancing or inhibiting the activity of AR. Therefore, with AR as a target, finding chemicals with the activity to modulate AR's functions has become a focus of global efforts. According to pharmacological properties, AR modulators can be classified as AR agonist and AR antagonist. AR antagonist is an important means for treating prostatic hyperplasia/prostate cancer (especially for advanced stages), and it competitively binds to AR in the cancerous region, blocks the uptake of androgen by cells and inhibits the effect of androgen on target organs, thereby suppressing the growth of tumor cells, decreasing the tumor volume and postponing the disease course [Leewansangtong S, 1998, Endocrine-related Cancer 5, 325-339]. Comparing with other therapies of inhibiting androgen activities, such as orchidectomy, administration of luteinizing hormone releasing hormone analogs or testosterone synthetase (for example 5α-reductase) inhibitors, AR antagonist can block the binding of androgen to AR [Hong-Chiang, C, Hiroshi M, 1999, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96, 11173-11177] and overcome the shortcomings of anti-androgen therapies. In addition, AR antagonist can also be used to treat some common diseases, such as hirsutism, severe androgen-dependent alopecia (baldness) and acne, etc. At present, the widely used androgen antagonists can be divided into two categories: steroidal and non-steroidal. The steroidal drugs include cyproterone acetate (CPA) and the non-steroidal ones include flutamide, nilutamide and bicalutamide (Casodex), etc.
Non-steroidal AR antagonists have high selectivity to AR and do not cause hormone-like or anti-hormone effects on other steroid receptors, so they are accepted widely in the clinic. However, all the commercially available anti-androgens have many problems to be resolved. First, patients may suffer from various side-effects after administration, such as discomfort in the gastrointestinal tract, nausea, vomiting, insomnia, hypodynamia, headache, anxiety, blurred vision and hyposexuality, etc. Second, monotherapy with anti-androgen to treat prostatic hyperplasia/prostate cancer, patients will develop anti-androgen withdrawal syndrome (AWS). It shows a quick rise of the previously inhibited PSA levels and increased tumor volume after administration for a period of time. Treatment has to cease or other anti-androgen drugs must be used [Dicker A P, 2003, Lancet Oncol. 4(1), 30-36; Laufer M, Sinibaldi V J, 1999, Urology 54(4), 745]. The molecular mechanism of AWS is still unclear, but it is generally considered that, due to gene mutation of AR in prostate cells, the drugs which originally have AR antagonistic effects may produce agonist activity on AR. Therefore, there is an unmet medical demand for AR modulators with novel chemical structures.

Non-steroidal androgen receptor modulators, preparation process, pharmaceutical composition and use thereof

Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica Chinese Academy of Sciences


A method and a core router for implementing forward delay for bursts are disclosed. The core router configured with an FDL performs proactive delay processing for the burst to be overlapped after predicting that the burst will be overlapped on the link to be protected, thus reducing the probability of burst conflict on the downstream link to be protected. After finding that burst conflict will occur on the output port of the core router at a future moment, the core router sends a burst delay request to the upstream core router, requesting the upstream core router that has an FDL and the delay capability to delay the burst. Therefore, the FDL configured in the network is brought into full play, and the probability of burst conflict is reduced.

FIG. 1 shows a structure of an Optical Burst Switching (OBS) network, where the OBS network is composed of an edge router and a core router. The edge router is adapted to encapsulate input IP packets into a burst, and schedule the generated burst onto an output wavelength. The core router is adapted to switch the corresponding optical burst from an input port to a proper output port according to the information carried in a Burst Header Packet (BHP). Moreover, the core router is also adapted to handle contention between optical bursts in order to accomplish high switching throughput. The core router receives the BHPs which arrive first before forwarding the optical burst. The information carried in the BHP decides the features of the optical burst from the port, for example, arrival time, duration (burst length), port and wavelength information, priority, and so on. The core router processes the BHPs that come from all ports, and determines the configuration state of the optical switching array dynamically in time, so as to send as many burst packets as possible to the expected output port.
The features of the optical burst switching network decide if optical bursts contention exists. When multiple optical bursts contend for the same wavelength of the same output port at the same time, conflict occurs. Contention between optical bursts leads to network congestion and massive data loss. The practicability of the optical burst switching technology depends on the solution to avoiding or reducing the data loss caused by burst contention in the network.
In a traditional electrical switching network, the solution to conflict depends on the electronic buffer. In an optical domain, however, the precisely-termed random storage mechanism does not exist. Currently, the buffer in the optical domain depends on a Fiber Delay Line (FDL). In the prior art, an FDL may be configured on the core router to reduce burst conflicts. Because the signal quality and physical space are limited, the size of the FDL buffer is limited. Moreover, the FDL introduces power loss. If an optical signal amplifier is used to compensate for the power, noise is increased. If optical signals are regenerated, the cost is too high.
In the case that the FDL is lacking or unavailable in the core router, packet loss occurs if the quantity of simultaneously transmitted optical bursts exceeds the quantity of available wavelength channels. In the prior art, a Burst Overlap Reduction Algorithm (BORA) is used to reduce loss of bursts. The principles of the BORA are: The burst into the OBS network is delayed to some extent through an electrical buffer on the edge router to minimize the overlap of bursts and reduce the probability of conflict on the downstream core router. FIG. 2 shows how to delay a burst through the BORA in the prior art, where (a) shows the burst transmission not based on the BORA and (b) shows the burst transmission based on the BORA. In FIG. 2, each core router has two input paths "X" and "Y" and one output path "Z", and each path has one control channel and two data channels. As shown in (a), if no BORA is applied, four bursts in four data channels of the time (t1, t2) input path are overlapped, with the overlap being 4. As shown in (b), after the BORA is applied, the burst is delayed to some extent, thus reducing the overlap. However, the primary function of the BORA is to apply the scheduling technology to the edge router, without bringing the core router into full play.

Method and core router for delaying burst


The present invention is generally directed to a retractable overhead charging cord dispenser which has multi-positioning capability to provide plug-in electric power to PHEVs parked at various positions in a garage or the like. An illustrative embodiment of the retractable overhead charging cord dispenser includes an arm assembly, a cord guide arm carried by the arm assembly, a cord storage device provided in the arm assembly and a retractable charging cord extendable from the cord storage device and extending through and protruding from the cord guide arm.

Plug-in electric vehicles (PHEVs) may require connection to a 110-volt electrical outlet periodically for recharging purposes. Although it may be carried out indoors or outdoors, recharging of a PHEV is frequently carried out in an owner's garage. The manner in which the charging cord is connected to the vehicle depends typically on four factors: (1) the layout of the garage (whether a 1, 2 or three-car garage); (2) the location of the 110V electrical outlet in the garage; (3) the location of the charging port on the vehicle; and (4) the location of the PHEV relative to other vehicles in the garage.
In typical recharging of the PHEV, a charging cord is first connected to the vehicle and then to the electrical outlet, which may be positioned about 2˜4 feet off the floor. A standard length charging cord (about 25 ft.) may hinder access to the garage or opening of vehicle doors, become a trip hazard or be driven over multiple times and thereby become damaged.
Therefore, a retractable overhead Charging cord dispenser which has multi-positioning capability to provide plug-in electric power to PHEVs parked at various positions in a garage or the like is needed.

Retractable overhead charging cord dispenser for vehicles


A work machine includes systems and methods for stability control and for calibrating the stability control. During operation the load on a work implement is detected and it is determined if the load is at or above a threshold value. A derated fluid output is determined if the load is at or above the threshold value. A control signal is output to the valve based on the derated fluid output. During calibration the pressure in a hydraulic cylinder is detected at one or more locations as a mechanical arm moves between a lower position and an upper position. One or more baseline values are established for the mechanical arm between the lower position and the upper position.

Many industrial work machines, such as construction equipment, use hydraulics to control various moveable implements. The operator is provided with one or more input or control devices operably coupled to one or more hydraulic actuators, which manipulate the relative location of select components or devices of the equipment to perform various operations. For example, loaders may be utilized in lifting and moving various materials. A loader may include a bucket or fork attachment pivotally coupled by a boom to a frame. One or more hydraulic cylinders are coupled to the boom and/or the bucket to move the bucket between positions relative to the frame.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Hydraulic derate stability control and calibration


In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a system for monitoring a performance characteristic of an intensity modulated phase shift keying optical signal includes a splitter, a first detector, and a second detector. The splitter is operable to receive an intensity modulated phase shift keying optical signal from an optical network and route at least a portion of the signal to the first detector. The first detector generates an electrical signal based on the received optical signal without demodulating the optical signal. The second detector measures a performance characteristic of the intensity modulated phase shift keying optical signal based on a signal indicative of the filtered signal.

Telecommunications systems, cable television systems and data communication networks use optical networks to rapidly convey large amounts of information between remote points. In an optical network, information is conveyed in the form of optical signals through optical fibers. Optical fibers are thin strands of glass capable of transmitting the signals over long distances with very low loss.
In an optical network, laser light is modulated to represent digital data. Intensity-modulated Phase-shift Keying (IM-mPSK) modulation is one type of modulation that involves shifting the phase of the output waveform to one of a fixed number of states. Three common versions are intensity-modulated binary, or BPSK, quadrature, or QPSK, and 8Ø-PSK, corresponding to two, four and eight states, respectively. IM-mPSK is described in T. Miyano, M. Fukutoku, K. Hattori, and H. Ono, "Suppression of degradation induced by SPM/XPM+GVD in WDM transmission using bit-synchronous intensity modulated DPSK," in Proceedings of OECC '00, 14D3, 2000; A. H. Gnauck et al., "2.5 Tb/s (64×42.7 Gb/s) transmission over 40×100 km NZDSF using RZ-DPSK format and all-Raman amplified spans," in Proceedings of OFC'02, FC2-1, 2002; O. Vassilieva et al., "Numerical comparison of NRZ, CS-RZ and IM-DPSK formats in 43 Gbit/s WDM transmission," in Proceedings of LEOS 2001, ThC2, pp. 673-674, 2001; and C. Wree et al., in Proceedings of ECOC 2002, paper 9.6.6, 2002.
Optical networks often employ wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) or dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) to increase transmission capacity. In WDM and DWDM networks, a number of optical channels are carried in each fiber at disparate wavelengths. Network capacity is increased as a multiple of the number of wavelengths, or channels, in each fiber.
The maximum distance that a signal can be transmitted in a WDM or other optical network without amplification is limited by absorption, scattering and other loss associated with the optical fiber. To transmit signals over long distances, optical networks typically include a number of discrete amplifiers spaced along each fiber route. The discrete amplifiers boost received signals to compensate for transmission losses in the fiber.
Optical signals may experience degradation due to fiber cuts, signal attenuation, fiber deterioration, excess noise, temporal deviation of fiber dispersion, or other causes. Providing reliable communication in an optical network requires maintaining signal quality, often measured by bit error rate (BER). Thus, the BER of an optical signal, or an approximation thereof, is useful in monitoring the quality of the optical signal.

Method and system for optical performance monitoring


Generally, the present invention is directed to a method and system for a aligning surgical guide instrument over a burr hole in a patient""s body. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a stand-alone instrument guidance unit that is attachable to a patient""s skull. Adjustments of a surgical instrument can be made in x, y, z, and angular directions using the system and method of the present invention. In one aspect of the present invention, an instrument guide unit includes an instrument guide for guiding a surgical instrument into the body of a patient and a base unit operative to be secured to the body in an area in which surgery. is to occur. The base unit is coupled to the instrument guide. An adjustment mechanism, coupled to the base unit and the instrument guide, is operative to adjust the instrument guide in lateral directions with respect the surface of the area. The adjustment mechanism is operative to adjust the instrument guide in x and y directions. The adjustment mechanism includes an x direction control mechanism for adjusting the instrument in an x direction and a y direction control mechanism for adjusting the instrument in a y direction. The y direction control mechanism may be coupled to the x direction control mechanism. The positional movement of the surgical instrument in the z direction may be tracked by sensing the location of a transducer coupled to the surgical instrument.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer assisted image guided medical and surgical navigation systems that generate images during medical and surgical procedures indicating the relative position of various body parts, surgical implants, and instruments. In particular, the present invention relates to a reference frame and instrument guide frame for use in an image guided surgery navigation system.
2. Background of Related Art
In image guided medical and surgical procedures, images, obtained either preoperatively or intraoperatively (i.e., prior to or during a medical or surgical procedure), are used to aid a doctor in guiding a surgical instrument. Computer assisted image guided medical and surgical navigation systems are known and are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,454 to Bucholz; U.S. Pat. No. 5,891,034 to Bucholz; U.S. Pat. No. 5,851,183 to Bucholz; U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,445 to Bucholz; PCT Application No. PCT/US94/04530 (Publication No. WO 94/24933) to Bucholz; PCT Application No. PCT/US95/12984 (Publication No. WO 96/11624) to Bucholz et al.; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/623,956 to Foley et al., the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
In general, these image guided systems use images of a body part or other surgical object, obtained from a scan, such as CT or MRI scan, taken before surgery to generate images on a display screen during surgery. The images of the body are correlated with a synthesized image of a surgical instrument and are used to produce, on a display screen, a real-time representation of the surgical instrument used by a surgeon with respect to the body. Prior to the scan of the body to produce body images, markers such as fiducial scanning markers are placed on the parts of the body to be scanned in order to produce fiducial image points on the scanned part of the body. The locations of the fiducial markers represented on the scanned image are correlated with the fiducial scanning markers on the body to provide a coordinate registration to be used by the computer system in determining the relative location of the various objects that the computer tracks. The surgical instrument is also registered with respect to the fiducial scanning markers, as known to those skilled in the art, by positioning the surgical instrument at each of scanning markers and recording the relative location of the instrument and markers.
During surgery, the relative locations of the body part being examined and the surgical instruments are displayed on a display screen of the computer system by detecting the location of tracking markers on the instruments or body. An array of sensors, such as cameras, are used to track the location of the tracking markers, which in turn are interpreted by the computer system to produce images on the display screen that correspond to the positions of the body part and surgical instruments. Such tracking markers can include, for example, LED arrays mounted on the body part and on an instrument.
Generally, the present invention is directed to a method and system for aligning a surgical guide instrument over a burr hole in a patient""s body. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a stand-alone instrument guidance unit that is attachable to a patient""s body, particularly the skull. The guidance unit itself is equipped with tracking devices to permit a computer assisted image guided surgery system to track the position of the unit. Adjustments of a surgical instrument can be made in x, y, z and angular directions using the system and method of the present invention.
In one aspect of the present invention, an instrument guide unit includes an instrument guide for guiding a surgical instrument into the body of a patient and a base unit operative to be secured to the body in an area in which surgery is to occur. The base unit is coupled to the instrument guide. An adjustment mechanism, coupled to the base unit and the instrument guide, is operative to adjust the instrument guide in lateral directions with respect the surface of the area. The base unit may have tracking markers attached thereto.
The adjustment mechanism is operative to adjust the instrument guide in x and y directions. The adjustment mechanism includes an x direction control mechanism for adjusting the instrument in an x direction and a y direction control mechanism for adjusting the instrument in a y direction. The y direction control mechanism may be coupled to the x direction control mechanism.
The instrument adjustment unit may include a plate having a first attachment member for coupling to the adjustment mechanism. The adjustment member includes a mounting base that is operative to be coupled to the plate by the first attachment member. The plate has a second attachment member extending therefrom for anchoring in the body of the person at the area. An opening is defined through the first and second attachment members such that a surgical instrument may pass and extend through the first and second attachment members. The first attachment member has threaded grooves for screwing into a corresponding attachment member of the mounting base and the second attachment member has threaded grooves for screwing into the body at the area.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a method for guiding a surgical instrument for use in image guided surgery. The method includes determining the location of a stand-alone instrument guidance unit attached to the skull of a patient by sensing signals from tracking markers coupled to the instrument guidance unit and determining the location and orientation of an instrument guide of the guidance unit. This method also includes displaying image representations of the body part of interest relative to a trajectory line defined by the orientation of the instrument guide during a surgical procedure.
The method may also include determining the orientation of the instrument guide as the instrument guide is pivoted. The orientation of the instrument guide is determined by detecting the location of tracking markers on the instrument guide. The x and y coordinate positions of the instrument guide may be adjusted with respect to the body part, such as the skull. The z coordinate position of a surgical instrument inserted in the instrument guide may also be adjusted.

Instrument guidance method and system for image guided surgery


Described herein is a framework for deploying and updating applications (Apps). In accordance with one aspect, a source code of a hybrid application may be provided by a development environment running on a cloud server, in response to a user event. A deployment generator running on the cloud server may be automatically invoked to receive the source code of the hybrid application. The source code of the hybrid application may be further packaged to form a hybrid application package for deployment by the deployment generator. The hybrid application package may be deployed to a deployment service on the cloud server.

Apps are developed for a wide variety of purposes. There are different types of Apps. For example, native Apps are downloaded, installed and run on devices. A native App is written for a specific kind of device or platform. Native Apps take advantage of the various functions available on a device. On the other hand, Web Apps reside on a server. A device accesses a Web App through its browser. By being browser-based, any device with a browser can access Web Apps. In other words, Web Apps are not platform or device type-specific. However, Web Apps cannot cross the boundaries of web browsers, thus restricting access to some system-specific resources.
A hybrid App is another type of App. Hybrid Apps combine elements of both native and Web Apps. Hybrid apps provide benefits of both native and Web Apps. For example, hybrid Apps can be accessed through a browser while having access to various functions and features of a device. However, deployment of hybrid Apps requires significant efforts and time. For example, properly setting up the native development environment and preparing the required web contents is very complex and prone to errors. Updating of a hybrid App also requires significant effort. For example, when a hybrid App is updated, the corresponding native development environment is also required to be upgraded and updated accordingly.
From the foregoing discussion, it is desirable to provide an approach to automatically deploy and update hybrid Apps without complicated environment setting.

Automatic deployment and update of hybrid applications


Disclosed are methods and systems for associating payment card credentials with a companion application. In an embodiment, a consumer's mobile device processor receives an instruction to launch a companion application, displays a companion application user interface, and receives selection of an option to obtain payment card credentials from at least one wallet application. The process also includes displaying a list of payment card accounts associated with the selected wallet application for association with the companion application, receiving a selection of at least one payment card account, transmitting payment account credentials of the selected payment account to a wallet server computer, receiving a companion token representing a digitization of the selected payment card account from the wallet server computer, and associating the companion token with the companion application.

Payment card accounts are in widespread use. Payment cards and/or associated payment account numbers or payment tokens are frequently presented by consumers and businesses to pay for in-store purchase transactions, online shopping transactions, bill payments and other purposes.
A typical consumer may be issued a payment card account as a result of an application process. Applications for payment card accounts may be taken, for example, online (via a website hosted by the account issuer) or at a branch office (bank branch) maintained by the account issuer.
Consumers frequently associate their payment card information with different merchants (e.g., such as storing payment card information at retailers such as Amazon.com or the like) or with device based mobile wallets, or with cloud based wallets. With increasing frequency, consumers are also associating their payment card information with different devices such as "Internet of things" or "IoT" devices. For example, a consumer may associate a payment account with a device such as their automobile, or a health monitoring device. It would be desirable to provide methods and systems that allow users to manage the distribution and use of their payment card information across different devices, merchants, or the like.

Digital wallet for the provisioning and management of tokens


A wetsuit (101) is provided which comprises (a) a first central region (125, 127) comprising a first material and having a first thickness; and (b) a second lateral region comprising a second material and having a second thickness. The buoyancy per unit area of the first region is greater than the buoyancy per unit area of the second region.

Various wetsuits have been developed in the art, and are utilized for various purposes. Among these are performance wetsuits, which are popular among triathletes and open water swimmers. Performance wetsuits provide drag reduction in the form of faster-than-skin surface coatings, warmth and additional buoyancy to the wearer, and are designed to enhance the speed and ease with which the wearer moves through the water while swimming.
At present, a variety of performance wetsuits are currently available in the marketplace. These include those sold by Blueseventy, De Soto, Xterra, TYR and NeoSport. Most existing wetsuits are made primarily out of flexible neoprene.