An operating system may be configured using a control flow graph that defines relationships between each executable module. The operating system may be configured by analyzing an application and identifying the operating system modules called from the application, then building a control flow graph for the configuration. The operating system may be deployed to a server or other computer containing only those components identified in the control flow graph. Such a lightweight deployment may be used on a large scale for datacenter servers as well as for small scale deployments on sensors and other devices with little processing power.

Control flow graphs are used in computer science to represent all of the paths a program may traverse during execution of the program. In a control flow graph, each mode may represent a block of code, and the edges of the graph represent possible jumps in the control flow. Control flow graphs are often used in static analyses of code, as well as various compiler optimizations.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Control flow graph application configuration


Drug-loaded microbead compositions include microbeads of a biodegradable material and vesicular agents located within or associated with the biodegradable material of the microbeads. The vesicular agents include a lipid bilayer and comprise liposomes or ethosomes. The drug-loaded microbeads include a first therapeutic agent associated with the vesicular agents, and a second therapeutic agent different from the first therapeutic agent. The vesicular agents include a lipid bilayer surrounding a vesicular core. The second therapeutic agent is contained within the microbeads or associated with the microbeads through ionic or non-covalent interaction and may or may not be associated with the vesicular agents. Drug-loaded biodegradable microbead compositions include microbeads of biodegradable material and a therapeutic agent.

Embolization therapy is a minimally invasive surgery performed by interventional radiologists. Typical treatments may include entering the vasculature via a minor incision, such as in the arm or leg, and gaining access to the treatment site by use of guidewires and catheters, optionally aided by imaging techniques such as fluoroscopy. The embolic agent at the treatment site embolizes the vessel, blocking off the flow of blood to tumors downstream from the treatment site and resulting in necrosis and/or shrinkage of the tumors.
The embolic agent of choice for embolization therapy depends on the desired clinical outcome, as well as the inherent properties of the embolic agent. Embolic agents used clinically suffer common drawbacks. First, the embolic agents are provided without preloaded drug, meaning that the physician must order a pharmacy to load the drug into the embolic agent well in advance of surgery, typically at least 24 hours before the surgery. Second, the embolic agents have a suboptimal pharmacokinetic release profile that stops releasing drug into the target treatment site after only a few days after implantation, typically within about 3 days after implantation.
Among the diseases for which embolization therapy may be effective is hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Hepatocellular carcinoma accounts for 80% to 90% of all primary liver cancers. The mortality of hepatocellular carcinoma is high, and treatment options are limited. Patients with cirrhosis exhibit a high probability of developing hepatocellular carcinoma.
Sorafenib (co-developed and co-marketed by Bayer and Onyx Pharmaceuticals as Nexavar) is an orally administered kinase inhibitor drug approved for the treatment of primary kidney cancer (advanced renal cell carcinoma), radioactive iodine resistant advanced thyroid carcinoma, and advanced primary liver cancer such as hepatocellular carcinoma. With the exception of sorafenib tosylate (the toluene salt of sorafenib), no targeted agent is currently approved for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.
Cytotoxic agent doxorubicin exhibits a broad spectrum of antitumor activity. When administrated via the hepatic artery, doxorubicin exhibits antitumor effects and partial response in hepatocellular carcinoma patients. An exploratory analysis of a randomized phase II study in hepatocellular carcinoma comparing doxorubicin alone to doxorubicin plus sorafenib showed a significant improvement in overall survival favoring the combination.
Ongoing needs exist for embolic agents and embolization therapy methods that enable greater efficiency in preparation of the embolic agents and that also provide sustained, longer-term delivery of therapeutic agent to the embolization site.
Ongoing needs exist for embolic agents and embolization therapy methods that enable greater efficiency in preparation of the embolic agents and that also provide sustained, longer-term delivery of therapeutic agent to the embolization site. Furthermore, ongoing needs exist for embolic agents that are capable of delivering multiple therapeutic agents, including but not limited to the combination of sorafenib and doxorubicin, in a controlled manner as an alternative to oral administration.

Drug-loaded biodegradable microbead compositions including drug-containing vesicular agents


Disclosed is a manifold providing fluid connections between a plurality of carriage-mounted ink reservoirs and multiple carriage-mounted printheads, the manifold having ink conduits allowing the spacing, ordering, or number of printheads to differ from the spacing, ordering, or number of ink reservoirs. The manifold also serves to mechanically isolate the printheads from the ink reservoirs, such that replacement of one or more reservoir does not adversely affect the alignment of the printheads. The manifold allows simple optimization of a printing system to a particular application by replacing the manifold with one of a different configuration.

The present invention relates generally to fluid supply methods and apparatus for ink jet printers, and more specifically to a manifold providing fluid connections between a plurality of carriage-mounted ink containers and multiple printheads.
Ink jet printers are well known in the art. The most common type of inkjet printer uses thermal excitation of the ink to eject droplets through tiny nozzles, or orifices, onto a print media. Other ink jet mechanisms, such as the use of piezoelectric transducers or wave propagation as ink droplet generators, are also well understood. With all ink jet technologies, the ink jet pen is typically mounted on a carriage which is scanned across the print media; dot matrix manipulation of the droplets provides alphanumeric character and graphics printing capabilities. To provide a color printing capability, pens for each primary color (cyan, magenta, and yellow) are commonly used, typically in addition to black.
The ink jet pen itself may have a self-contained reservoir for storing ink and providing appropriate amounts of ink to the printhead during a printing cycle. These self-contained pens are commonly referred to in the art as print cartridges. If a reusable, semi-permanent pen rather than a print cartridge is employed, ink is either supplied from a remote, off-axis (or off-board), ink reservoir, or the ink reservoir is mounted on the carriage with the pen.
In the past, printers have been designed with semi-permanent or permanent printheads mounted to a carriage. These printheads would each include a printhead fluid inlet, such as a conduit terminating with a filter. The filters would prevent particles from entering the printheads and would act as check valves, preventing the printheads from depriming. Ink containers containing foam would have fluid outlets for connecting to the filters. Typically, each fluid outlet would include an orifice for receiving a printhead fluid inlet. Thus, the ink containers would mount directly to the carriage and to the printhead fluid inlets.
Ink jet printers are used for a wide variety of printing applications, ranging from simple black-text printing to the production of photographic-quality color prints. For most ink jet printer users, color inks (cyan, magenta, yellow) are used up at a significantly different rate than black inks, with the relative use rate of black and color inks dependent upon the type of user. For example, an office user may use primarily black ink for printing black and white documents. A photographer, on the other hand, may tend to use the color inks at a higher rate. Different configurations of ink reservoirs are therefore desirable for different printing applications.
Although the same basic scanning mechanism and carriage may serve well for many different applications, different printhead configurations are often desirable in different printing situations. The printhead configuration may be optimized for speed, color print quality, cost, or other factors. The office worker may be primarily interested in print speed, while the photographer may be primarily interested in image quality. Other users, such as home computer users, may be primarily interested in the low initial cost of a printer.
Other considerations may dictate a configuration of ink reservoirs which is not conducive to direct fluid connections between the ink reservoirs to the pens. A large reservoir may be used for black ink, and second single reservoir may contain all three primary colors. The ink fluid connections for the color inks will necessarily be relatively close together on the color ink reservoir. The linear spacing of the reservoirs along the scan axis will therefore differ from an optimal spacing of the printheads.
With direct fluid connection between the ink reservoirs and pens, the connection force of the containers can affect alignment between separately mounted printheads, affecting print quality. Over time, as ink reservoirs are used and replaced, the print quality of the printer can degrade.
There is therefore a need for methods and apparatus which allow ink jet printers to be easily configured for different printing applications, and which prevent the removal and installation of ink reservoirs from adversely affecting the alignment of the printheads.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a manifold affording fluid connections between a plurality of carriage-mounted ink reservoirs and multiple printheads, the manifold having ink conduits allowing the spacing, ordering, or number of printheads to differ from the spacing, ordering, or number of ink reservoirs. The manifold also serves to mechanically isolate the printheads from the ink reservoirs, such that replacement of one or more reservoir does not adversely affect the alignment of the printheads.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a printing system adapted to accept different manifold configurations, whereby the printing system may be optimized to a particular use by changing the manifold.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide manifolds configured to supply ink to more than one printhead from a single ink reservoir, allowing for higher printer performance by, for example, allowing the same linear ordering of printhead ink colors in both carriage scan directions.
The present invention also provides a method of configuration a printer system to a particular application by changing the manifold, and methods of manufacturing manifolds and affixing them to printer carriages.

Manifold for providing fluid connections between carriage-mounted ink containers and printheads


The invention provides an intumescent sheet material comprising 20 to 80 dry weight percent of at least one unexpanded intumescent material, 10 to 40 dry weight percent of at least one processed vermiculite selected from ground expanded vermiculite and delaminated vermiculite, greater than 0 to 5 dry weight percent of inorganic fibers having diameters greater than 5 microns, and greater than 0 to 10 dry weight percent of organic fibers; wherein said sheet material comprises substantially no ceramic fibers of less than 5 microns.

Pollution control devices are employed on motor vehicles to control atmospheric pollution. Two types of devices are currently in widespread use--catalytic converters and diesel particulate filters or traps. Catalytic converters contain a catalyst, which is typically coated onto a monolithic structure mounted in the converter. The monolithic structures are typically ceramic, although metal monoliths have been used. The catalyst oxidizes carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons, and reduces the oxides of nitrogen in automobile exhaust gases to control atmospheric pollution. Diesel particulate filters or traps are wall flow filters which have honeycombed monolithic structures typically made from porous crystalline ceramic materials.
In the state of the art construction of these devices, each type of the these devices has a metal housing which holds within it a monolithic structure or element that can be metal or ceramic, and is most commonly ceramic. The ceramic monolith generally has very thin walls to provide a large amount of surface area so it is fragile and susceptible to breakage. It also has a coefficient of thermal expansion generally an order of magnitude less than the metal (usually stainless steel) housing in which it is contained. In order to avoid damage to the ceramic monolith from road shock and vibration, to compensate for the thermal expansion difference, and to prevent exhaust gases from passing between the monolith and the metal housing, ceramic mat or paste materials are typically disposed between the ceramic monolith and the metal housing. The process of placing or inserting the mounting material is also referred to as canning and includes such processes as injecting a paste into a gap between the monolith and the metal housing, or wrapping a sheet or mat material around the monolith and inserting the wrapped monolith into the housing.
Typically, the mounting materials include inorganic binders, inorganic fibers that may also serve as a binder, intumescent materials, and, optionally, organic binders, fillers, and other adjuvants. The materials are used as pastes, sheets, and mats. Ceramic mat materials, ceramic pastes, and intumescent sheet materials useful for mounting the monolith in the housing are described in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,916,057 (Hatch et al.), 4,305,992 (Langer et al.), 4,385,135 (Langer et al.), 5,254,410 (Langer et al.), and 5,242,871 (Hashimoto et al.).
The use of synthetic mica and asbestos fibers as inorganic binders for inorganic fibrous mounting sheets is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,001,571 (Hatch).
Paste compositions using micaceous materials are described in G.B. 1,522,646 (Wood).
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,385,873 (MacNeil) and 5,207,989 (MacNeil) describe inorganic fibrous sheets bound by high aspect ratio vermiculite in paste for mounting monoliths in catalytic converters.
U.S. Patent No. 5,126,013 (Wiker et al.) describes the use of flocculating agents with chemically delaminated mica and/or vermiculite and fibers to make fire resistant papers which are generally thin in comparison to mats and sheets. The dual sequential flocculating system described helps to achieve rapid dewatering in making wet-laid materials and provide better sheet formation without clumping of the fibers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,656 (Connor) describes the use of vermiculite lamellae having an internal sizing agent to make water resistant mineral products. Various means of producing the vermiculite lamellae are described.
One of the shortcomings of the state of the art pastes and mats used for mounting occurs because the exposed edges of the mounting materials are subject to erosion from the pulsating hot exhaust gases. Under severe conditions, over a period of time, the mounting materials can erode and portions of the materials can be blown out. In time, a sufficient amount of the mounting materials can be blown out and the mounting materials can fail to provide the needed protection to the monolith.
Solutions to the problem include the use of a stainless steel wire screen (see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,008,086 (Merry)) and braided or rope-like ceramic (i.e., glass, crystalline ceramic, or glass-ceramic) fiber braiding or metal wire material (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,156,533 (Close et al.)), and edge protectants formed from compositions having glass particles (see, e.g., EP 639701 A1 (Howorth et al.), EP 639702 A1 (Howorth et al.), and EP 639700 A1 (Stroom et al.)) to protect the edge of the intumescent mat from erosion by exhaust gases. These solutions employ the use of state of the art mounting materials as the primary support for the monolith.
The materials currently available as mounting mats and sheets typically contain inorganic binder material, refractory ceramic fibers in the range of about less than 5 micrometers in diameter, and other adjuvants. The inorganic binder materials and the refractory ceramic fibers provide the strength and resiliency needed for handling prior to canning as well as to keep the mounting material intact during the repeated heating and cooling cycles experienced in a catalytic converter. The fibers also bind the particulate materials to facilitate drainage of the compositions in making mounting mats in the state of the art wet-laid or papermaking process. The use of refractory ceramic fibers is undesirable and there remains an ongoing need for mounting materials, particularly for mats, having high performance without the use of small diameter, i.e., less than 5 micrometers, refractory ceramic fibers. Additionally, it is desirable for compositions used for mat mounting materials to have good drainage in the process of making the mats as well as resiliency for handling of the mats before mounting and in use in a catalytic converter.

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


A cooling system for a turbine blade outer air seal that is positioned in close proximity to a tip of a rotatable turbine airfoil to seal the gap between the tip of the turbine blade and the blade ring carrier. The turbine blade outer air seal may be formed from a housing including a cooling fluid collection chamber and one or more vortex cooling channels in fluid communication with the cooling fluid collection chamber via one or more vortex channel feed holes. In one embodiment, a plurality of vortex cooling channels may extend from proximate to an upstream edge of an outer sealing plate of the outer air seal to a downstream edge of the outer sealing plate. During use, cooling fluids pass through the vortex channel feed holes and into the vortex cooling channels, in which vortices may be created.

Typically, gas turbine engines include a compressor for compressing air, a combustor for mixing the compressed air with fuel and igniting the mixture, and a turbine blade assembly for producing power. Combustors often operate at high temperatures that may exceed 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. Typical turbine combustor configurations expose turbine blade assemblies to these high temperatures. As a result, turbine blades must be made of materials capable of withstanding such high temperatures. Turbine blades and other components often contain cooling systems for prolonging the life of the blades and reducing the likelihood of failure as a result of excessive temperatures.
Turbine blades typically extend radially from a rotor assembly and terminate at a tip within close proximity of the outer air seals attached to a shroud. The outer air seals may be exposed to the hot combustion gases and, similar to the turbine blades, the outer air seals often rely on internal cooling systems to reduce stress and increase the life cycle. Conventional cooling systems in the outer air seals often require large cooling fluid supply flows. Thus, a need exists for a more efficient cooling system for a turbine blade outer air seal.

Vortex cooled turbine blade outer air seal for a turbine engine


A computer system module includes a central processing unit (CPU), a floating-point accelerator (FPA), a read/write buffer (RWB), cache memory, a clock generator, buffers, and reset logic. The signal composition of the module includes: Configuration Buffer Enable (CfgEn); Page Write (PgWrt); Block Match (BlkMtch); Byte Write Mask (WrMsk); and Test Enable (TestEn). The layout of the various components on a printed circuit board (PCB) minimizes transmission line effects, such as transmission line delay (t.sub.D) and signal reflections, by keeping trace lengths as short as possible, and no line terminations are required. A heat sink (heat spreader) is provided for critical semiconductor devices, such as the CPU and the FPA. The heat sink includes a broad flat section and a button protruding from a surface thereof. An unpackaged device is mounted to the button, with a thermally and electrically conductive adhesive, and is inserted through a hole in the PCB. The broad flat section of the heat sink is mounted to one side of the PCB, and connections to the die are made with bond wires to a conductive layer on the other side of the PCB. The heat sink is advantageously employed for biasing the semiconductor device.

Computer systems include many elements such as processors, memory and input/output (I/O) devices. It is known to provide some of these elements as "modules" that plug in to a motherboard and interface with the other elements over various buses (e.g., Control, Data, Address). Examples of such modules are processor boards, video boards, memory devices, memory expansion boards, keyboards, etc.
The functionality and interface connections of a particular module varies, from architecture to architecture, and in some cases, a "newer" module with increased functionality is not "downwardly" compatible with an earlier version of the module. Hence, difficult choices must be made in the specification of a module, in light of design constraints.
A further consideration in the design of a module is the thermal characteristics thereof. As semiconductor devices become smaller and faster, the problem of heat dissipation tends to become exacerbated. Hence, packaging considerations are also paramount.


A steering wheel lock having an ultrasonic-wave alarm system includes a lock main body to be mounted on a steering wheel so that the rotation of the steering wheel is constrained and an anti-theft alarm circuit located within an outer shell of the lock main body, which is activated upon the engagement of the lock main body and the steering wheel. The anti-theft alarm circuit further includes at least a set of detecting unit and a central processing unit (CPU) for detecting a moving body in the automobile. The detecting unit consists of an ultrasonic wave emitter for sending ultrasonic waves toward the inner space of the automobile and an ultrasonic wave receiver for receiving and treating the reflected waves. The treated signals are sent to the CPU for recognition. If the signals are anomalous, the anti-theft alarm circuit will start a predetermined alarming process to scare away suspicious people and to notify the automobile owner.

In order to prevent car theft, automatic owners often use steering wheel locks and shift locks in their cars. Although those locks have stiff structures that cannot be destroyed easily, they are susceptible to sophisticated stealing techniques, and it is a matter of time to unlock them. Therefore, anti-theft means using conventional locks is not effective.
Further, automobile anti-theft devices of electronic types are nowadays often used to prevent theft by detecting a stealing intention in advance. This type of electronic alarm systems are usually powered by car battery and activated by anomalous vibrations of the car body. To operate the system, the detecting sensors connected to the control circuit can detect anomalous motions, such as shocks and car door intrusions, and then the an alarm is activated to produce loud sounds, scaring a thief away. However, since the electronic devices are powered by the car batteries, they are complicated to install and easy to be disconnected (therefore, losing the alarm function). It is a further disadvantage that an electronic alarm and a steering wheel lock are independent devices, and therefore double-protecting a car is expensive. It is another disadvantage that conventional automobile alarms can be easily activated by surround shock waves and would annoy the surrounding residents, which may cause an expectation of "false alarm" and reduce the preventive effect of the alarms.

Steering wheel lock having an ultrasonic-wave alarm system


A surgical instrument for applying a ligating device to a surgical work site. The instrument is provided with a power subassembly which provides the power by which the ligating device is placed into proper position for being applied to the work site. In one embodiment, the instrument is a hemostatic clip applier and the power subassembly feeds the clips into position between the jaws of the applier which are then closed by squeezing the applier handles.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to surgical instruments and, more particularly, to instruments for applying surgical closure devices such as ligating clips and staples. Still more particularly, the invention relates to automatic surgical clip appliers and the means by which individual ligating clips are advanced to the clip-closing jaws at the distal end of the instrument.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Surgical ligating or hemostatic clips are used to ligate blood vessels, ducts or other tissue during surgery. The terms "ligating" and "hemostatic" are used interchangeably herein and, since these devices generally bind an object they will occasionally be termed "binding devices". The clips are generally U-shaped, have two parallel legs joined by an integral hinge portion and are applied with a clip applying forceps-type instrument used to crimp the clip legs together about the tissue to be ligated. When first introduced many years ago, each clip had to be applied individually by placing it in the jaws of a so-called "manual" clip applying, forceps-type instrument, and squeezing the jaws together. The clips for use with manual appliers are stored in a separate clip cartridge or dispenser from which the clips are retrieved one at a time. While manual appliers are still used, subsequent instruments were "automatic" clip appliers (some of them disposable) and incorporated a clip dispenser as part of the clip applying instrument. These improvements in clip appliers made these devices automatic in the sense of being able to automatically feed clips sequentially into the jaws. The automatic instruments generally include a pair of jaws for receiving, holding and crimping a single clip at a time and a feeding means for feeding a clip from the dispenser to the jaws. The jaws and feeder are activated in proper sequence by an activating means which usually includes a pistol-grip or pair of handles coupled mechanically to the feeder and jaws. The sequencing cycle may be done in a variety of ways but, generally, after the jaws are closed to crimp one clip the jaws are opened and supplied with a new clip ready to be applied when the jaws are closed again. Since different surgical procedures require the use of varying numbers of ligating clips, the automatic appliers are pre-loaded with different numbers of clips and in varying sizes. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,549 (Peters et al.), assigned to the assignee of this invention. While beneficial in many respects, the automatic appliers detract from the "feel" of manual appliers.
The simplicity of manual surgical clip appliers enables them to provide the surgeon with immediate tactile feedback because the "feel" of the clip being applied to the vessel is immediately transmitted from the distal, jaw end of the clip applier to the proximal, handle end. There is a direct connection between the two ends and any motion (i.e. squeezing) of the handle which is immediately transmitted to a corresponding motion of the jaws.
Automatic appliers, however, have always used a portion of the jaw closing mechanism to actually feed or move the clip from its storage cartridge or dispenser to the jaws. Sometimes, this is done by having the handles compress a spring during one portion of the cycle, the energy of the spring then being used in another portion of the cycle to feed a clip. In other instances, the handles move a feeder member in one portion of the cycle to push a clip into the jaws. The extra handle motion required to feed a clip rather than crimp it makes automatic appliers feel different to the user.
With the recent interest in endoscopic surgical procedures, surgical clip appliers have been adapted for endoscopic use by, among other things, somewhat disassociating clip-feeding from clip-crimping. This enhances security by enabling a surgeon during an endoscopic procedure to insert a clip applier into a cannula and place a clip between the jaws only when desired. Thus, in some prior art automatic clip appliers, the means by which a clip is fed to the jaws is independently triggered by actuation of a trigger mechanism while separate actuation of a jaw closing mechanism (for example, by squeezing a handle) actually closes the clip. However, even in these devices the movement of the jaw closing mechanism is linked to the clip feeding mechanism so that the user still does not get a true "feel" when the jaws are closed.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,084,057 (Green et al.) discloses an apparatus and method for applying surgical clips in laparoscopic or endoscopic procedures. The device has a pistol grip actuating mechanism for closing the jaws and feeding the clip to the jaws. While the clip advancing mechanism is prepared for feeding a clip to the jaws, the actual feeding of the clip is interrupted by a trigger interposed between the feeding mechanism and the actuating mechanism so that clips will only be fed when the trigger is activated--not automatically as in other automatic clip appliers.
Another instrument which separates clip-feeding from clip-crimping is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,112,343 (Thornton), assigned to the assignee hereof. This applier has pair of handles which are squeezed to compress a spring which is then released by a trigger to feed the clip. The releasing mechanism includes a trigger to move a resilient pawl out of engagement with a locking surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,373 (Montgomery et al.) discloses another example in the form of a surgical ligating instrument having a first activating means (e.g. a trigger) for activating a clip injector to push a clip into the jaws and a second activating means (e.g. a handle) for closing the jaws to crimp the clip. While first and second activating means are primarily independent they are interconnected mechanically such that actuation of the handle to crimp the clip does move other components in order to enable the clip injecting mechanism to be reset. The very nature of this interaction between the first and second activating mechanisms is sufficient to compromise the "feel" of the handle actuating mechanism.
It is an object of this invention to produce an automatic surgical clip applier which approximates the "feel" of a manual clip applier.
It is yet another object of this invention to produce an automatic surgical clip applier having one actuating mechanism for feeding the clip into the jaws of the applier and a second actuating mechanism for closing the jaws, the first and second actuating mechanisms being substantially mechanically independent of each other. It is another object of this invention to produce an automatic surgical clip applier wherein the means by which a clip is fed into the jaws of the applier works with a substantially constant feeding force with respect to each clip stored in the applier.
An additional object of this invention is to produce a surgical clip applier having a stored energy mechanism that is preloaded with and stores enough energy to feed all the clips in the entire cartridge.
It is yet another object of this invention to produce a surgical instrument having a self-contained energy source which can be used to physically move a desired component of the instrument.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a clip applier having a self-contained power source for feeding clips to the applier jaws which source is located along with the clips at the distal tip of the instrument. This arrangement facilitates simplification of the proximal handle end of the instrument and is adaptable to an instrument having a reusable handle end and a disposable or interchangeable distal tip containing the clips, jaws and power source.

Drive mechanism for surgical instruments


A solid-state thermal neutron detector comprises: a layered structure that includes; an electrically insulating substrate; a first electrode affixed to the substrate; a neutron-reactive layer affixed to and in ohmic contact with the first electrode; and a second electrode affixed to and in ohmic contact with the neutron-reactive layer; a voltage source electrically coupled to the first and second electrodes; and an electrical current detector electrically coupled in series between the layered structure and the voltage source.

Commonly used thermal neutron detectors such as gas proportional counters and scintillation counters tend to be bulky and are not readily configured for covering large areas. Gas proportional counters require high voltages, on the order of kilovolts, which can be electronically noisy and susceptible to arcing due to environmental conditions. Solid-state neutron detectors based on silicon or germanium photodiodes and phototransistors exist, but they tend to have small detection apertures, and typically require a neutron converter foil, such as Gd, in front of the semiconductor device. One class of solid-state neutron-detectors detects electron-hole pairs that cross a semiconductor junction. The electron hole pairs are produced by reaction particles formed as a result of neutron reaction within films containing neutron-sensitive material incorporated within the detector. One such solid-state neutron detector includes a silicon semiconductor having a layer doped with boron. Neutrons react with the boron-containing layer, thereby creating energetic reaction particles that, in turn, create electron-hole pairs that diffuse into and across the junction to produce a current pulse.
Boron-rich solid-state neutron detectors have been described by B. W. Robertson, et al., in Applied Physics Letters, Volume 80, No. 19, pp. 3644-3646 (May 2002). However, a significant problem with these solid-state neutron detectors is the difficulty of forming ohmic contacts to the boron compound layer, which is a semiconducting material. Examples of a boron compound include boron carbide (B5C). For the above-referenced detector, intervening semiconducting layers are used between the boron carbide layer and the electrodes. However, forming multiple layers is expensive because each layer requires individual processing to create a structure that has good electrical conductance and adhesion between the multiple layers and the boron carbide layer. Also, the interface between the two semiconducting layers creates a diode structure, and thus a rectifying contact to the boron-containing layer. Such a diode structure is operated with a reverse bias voltage applied, which can lead to an unacceptably high background, or dark, current. Therefore, a need exists for a solid-state neutron detector for which low-resistance (or ohmic) contacts or electrodes may be formed directly onto the semiconducting boron-containing layer, and that operates with a low background current.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


A measuring device having a plurality of potentiometric electrode pairs situated on a substrate is described. One of the electrodes of each electrode pair represents a reference electrode and the other electrode represents a pH-sensitive working electrode. The electrode pairs form an interdigital structure, and the substrate is covered by a mask in such a way that the individual electrode pairs are separated from one another at least in the area of the interdigital structures of the electrode pairs.

Measuring devices known from industry such as electrochemical sensors or the like are used, for example, for determining a pH value of a liquid medium or even for determining a carbon dioxide component of a medium. Measuring devices designed for such purposes include potentiometric electrode pairs which may be constructed in different ways.
German Patent Application No. 44 24 213, German Published Patent Application No. 195 15 065, and German Published Patent Application No. 298 00 998 describe potentiometric sensors whose operation is based on the long-known principle that an electric voltage, which changes with the change in a chemical species concentration, is measurable between at least two electrodes. The electric voltage to be measured is induced by an electric potential difference resulting from a difference in the chemical equilibrium potential of the individual electrodes with their environment. This voltage is determined using the sensors known from the above-mentioned related art, which are designed using a pH-sensitive glass electrode as the working electrode and a reference electrode.
In chemical and pharmaceutical research, when investigating processes and also certain materials, high throughput development is performed, in which a plurality of syntheses may be performed in a known manner in parallel reactors under different process conditions in a cost-effective manner within a short period of time, and may be evaluated automatically. The use of a larger number of parallel reactors is, however, at the same time associated with a high degree of measurement complexity and with a number of the above-mentioned electrode pairs which is at least equal to the number of parallel reactors, in order to be able to monitor all parallel reactors simultaneously. At least one electrode pair is associated with each of the parallel reactors for reaction checking and reaction tracking.
Due to the large number of measuring points in the high throughput development, the equipment costs for process checking and process tracking are disadvantageously high, and the large space required by the electrode pairs in the area of the parallel reactors results in the parallel reactors having large dimensions. In order to reduce the equipment costs, there is always the possibility of limiting the number of glass electrodes and measuring the individual parallel reactors sequentially, for example.
This procedure, however, does not provide continuous tracking of the processes in the parallel reactors, which reduces the time advantage of the high throughput development. In addition, the glass electrodes must be cleaned when changing from one parallel reactor to the next one, which makes handling of such a system disadvantageously difficult.

Measuring device having a plurality of potentiometric electrode pairs situated on a substrate


The preset invention relates to a cost effective, high yielding, reproducible method for the manufacture of alendronic acid or its salt, such as sodium alendronate, from inexpensive and readily available pyrrolidone using phosphonating agents such as PCl3 in the presence of acids such as sulphonic acids, sulphuric acid or phosphoric acid, and pharmaceutical dosage forms of alendronic acid or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cost effective method for the manufacture of 4-amino-hydroxybutylidene-1,1-bisphosphonic acid (Formula I) and its pharmaceutically acceptable salts, particularly sodium alendronate (Formula II). This invention makes use of a cheaper raw material like pyrrolidone, eliminates the use of phosphorous acid from the phosphonating mixture, and is further characterized by its robustness, simplicity, time cycle reduction, cost effectiveness and environmental friendliness.
2. Background of the Invention
4-amino-hydroxybutylidene-1,1-bisphosphonic acid, also known as Alendronic acid (Formula I), and its sodium salt (Formula II), known as sodium alendronate, is an inhibitor of bone resorption and therefore useful for the treatment of diseases such as Paget's disease, malign hypercalcemia and osteoporosis.

The preparation of alendronic acid using phosphonation mixture such as H3PO3/PCl3, H3PO3/PCl5 and H3PO3/POCl3 are known in the literature. One such method is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,407,761 for the preparation of alendronic acid with the above phosphonation mixtures starting from 4-aminobutyric acid (GABA); the reaction product obtained was hydrolyzed under acidic conditions to yield said product.
Another report, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,705,651, is also found to use the same starting material (GABA) and phosphonation mixture (H3PO3/PCl3) but optimizing the ratio of the GABA to H3PO3PCl3. However, the problem with the above methods is that, during reaction, local solidification of the mass occurs, which prevents mixing of the components, resulting in incomplete conversion, varying yields and therefore inconsistent outputs being observed. During hydrolysis, hot-spots were created which caused substantial risk in the operation on large scale. The reaction was also attempted in high boiling diluents such as chlorobenzene, but the yields were very poor.
Another improved version, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,922,007, describes the bisphosphonation of GABA using H3PO3/PCl3 in the presence of methane sulphonic acid to make the phoshonation reaction mass homogeneous, thus avoiding local solidification of the reaction mass. However, the hydrolysis of the reaction mass takes longer, perhaps several hours under highly acidic conditions, which became the subject of an improved process disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,019,651. That patent provides an improved hydrolysis step, named as pH controlled hydrolysis, to overcome the problems in the hydrolysis step, for example, formation of a strongly acidic and highly corrosive reaction solution requiring special means, like glass lined vessels, etc., to handle it. However, the reported yield in this improvement is low, which is in the range of 50- to 63-percent based on the starting 4-aminobutyric acid (GABA).
Other reports, as disclosed in WO98/34940 and WO02/090367, disclose the use of diluents like polyethylene glycol, triglycerides of animal or plant oils, respectively, in the phosphonation reaction to solve the problems discussed above. But again, the separation of pure alendronic acid or sodium alendronate from such diluents remains difficult without having multiple purification steps.
Yet another report, U.S. Pat. No. 5,039,819, describes phosphonation of GABA comprising the steps of protecting the amino group with phthalic anhydride, activation of the acid with thionyl chloride, reacting resulting product with an alkylphosphite and finally hydrolyzing the biphosphonic ester obtained, and finally removing the protecting group (phthalimido). However, this method introduces many process steps/operations like protection, deprotection, etc., which are time consuming and generate a lot of effluent and are not desirable for industrial scale operations.
It is evident that most of the methods use similar phosphonation reactions as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,407,761, making use of phosphonation mixtures such as H3PO3/PCl3, H3PO3/PCl5 and H3PO3/POCl3 and 4-amino-butyric acid material.
An improved method was reported in Chinese Patent No. 1548442A, starting with a much cheaper starting material (compared to 4-aminobutyric acid), pyrrolidone, using 85% methane sulphonic acid and PCl3 as phosphonation reagent. This method appeared to be better, mainly on cost grounds, as the reported yields are better (81-percent). However, actual reproduction of the disclosed process resulted in varying yields and, on carefully optimized conditions, it only yielded 48-percent sodium alendronate.
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to overcome or ameliorate the problems in the prior art such as solidification, hot-spots, uncontrollable exotherms, non-homogeneous reaction conditions, incomplete reaction, etc., and to provide a high yielding and consistent process which can be scaled to industry.

Process for manufacture of 4-amino-hydroxybutylidene-1, 1-bisphosphonic acid and its salts


Malus domestica Borkh ‘Gala Schnico Red’ variety is distinguished by a unique combination of characteristics including an intensive red overcolor covering 100% of the fruit skin and a 30% higher number of lenticels per unit area on the fruit skin.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct Gala variety of apple trees named 'Gala Schnico Red'. The new variety was discovered as a mutation on a Gala plant cultivar 'Schnitzer Schniga' in a cultivated field at 30904 Nals (BZ) Aniage Knoll, Italy.
'Gala Schnico Red' has been asexually propagated by grafting and all the trees of 'Gala Schnico Red' have been observed to remain true to type over successive asexually propagated generations and maintain their unique characteristics.


An inkjet recording head includes: a nozzle plate having nozzles arranged in a row; a plurality of pressure generating chambers communicating to the nozzles, the plurality of pressure generating chambers including a first pressure generating chamber and a second pressure generating chamber; a diaphragm formed on one face of the pressure generating chamber; a common ink chamber for supplying the ink to the plurality of pressure generating chambers; and a piezoelectric element for displacing the diaphragm. The first pressure generating chamber is disposed on one side of the nozzles and a second pressure generating chamber is disposed on the other side. The first and second pressure generating chambers are opposed to each other across the nozzles so that the central lines of the first and second pressure generating chambers are almost coincident.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inkjet recording head that can be packaged at high density and an inkjet recording apparatus using the inkjet recording head.
2. Background Art
Along with the spread of personal computers and the development of graphic processing programs, there is a demand for outputting not only the characters but also the hard copy with high quality of image. Also, there is a great demand for on-demand printing in the placard or large poster printing field, whereby the on-demand inkjet recording apparatus has been broadly used.
A printing head for use in the on-demand inkjet recording apparatus is largely classified into three kinds of structures. A first structure is a so-called thermal inkjet printing head in which a heater for vaporizing the ink instantaneously is provided at the top end of nozzle to produce flying ink droplets owing to an expansion pressure at the time of vaporization.
A second structure involves using a shear mode deformation of piezoelectric element in which a piezoelectric element is provided in a container forming an ink reservoir to produce flying ink droplets owing to a pressure caused when the piezoelectric element is deformed upon an applied signal.
A third structure involves using an electrostatic adsorption, instead of a piezoelectric vibrator, in which a piezoelectric element is disposed opposed to a pressure generating chamber making an ink reservoir to produce flying ink droplets owing to a dynamic pressure caused in the pressure generating chamber by expansion and contraction of the piezoelectric element.
In JP-A-6-8422, one example of the on-demand inkjet recording head of the third type was disclosed. This third structure involves flying ink droplets by using a deformation of piezoelectric element in which piezoelectric elements are packaged opposed to an ink chamber composed of a plurality of chamber plates laminated, a chamber plate having a plurality of nozzle openings arranged in a row. In the case of this recording head, there is a problem that if the nozzle packaging density, or a so-called nozzle-to-nozzle pitch interval, is decreased, the pitch of the ink chamber or the piezoelectric element is naturally smaller.
To solve this problem, JP-A-2000-289233 has proposed a method in which a plurality of rows of nozzles are arranged within one head, and the nozzle positions in each row are shifted, thereby increasing the printing density in which data is printable per one scan.
However, with this method, since a plurality of rows of nozzles are formed in one plate, the piezoelectric vibrators must be packaged opposed to each row of nozzles.
As another conventional example with the increased packaging density of nozzles, a structure as shown in FIG. 12 is well known. This recording head comprises a nozzle plate 11 having a plurality of nozzle openings 16, and a chamber plate 12 with the pressure generating chambers 18 arranged in alternately staggered form, corresponding to the plurality of nozzle openings 16 arranged on the nozzle plate 11, in which the piezoelectric elements 23 divided like a comb are securely disposed opposed to the pressure generating chambers 18 sealed with a diaphragm 13.
In this constitution, since the pressure generating chambers 18 are disposed in staggered form, the corresponding piezoelectric elements 23 are also disposed in staggered form. That is, since two groups of piezoelectric elements must be precisely inserted and secured at very proximate positions, there is a problem that the operability of assembling is bad.
In packaging the nozzles of the inkjet recording head at high density to increase the number of nozzles, it is necessary to enhance the workability and the operability of assembling. If the number of parts or aligning positions is increased, the precision is lowered, making it difficult to fabricate the high quality inkjet recording head stably.
The structure in which a plurality of row of nozzles are arranged on one plate to attain a higher packaging density has a problem that a group of vibrators are required for each row of nozzles, and there are a number of aligning positions, resulting in the bad workability and the higher cost. Also, since the printing occurs only in the direction along which the plurality of rows of nozzles are arranged, the line recording apparatus of head fixed type has only a packaging structure in which the heads are arranged in staggered form. Also, it is difficult to avoid a problem that the area of head portion is so large that a head preservation portion or the entire apparatus is increased in size.
The conventional example as shown in FIG. 12 has a problem that the workability is bad, because it is required to shift and fix two groups of piezoelectric elements in a very narrow area at high precision.

Inkjet recording head and inkjet recording apparatus using the same


An apparatus for elevating a fluid includes: a pumping member rotatable about a vertical axis, the pumping member having at least one ramped path, the ramped path having a lowermost portion insertable below the surface of a fluid to be elevated, and an uppermost portion that is more distant from the vertical axis than the lowermost portion thereof; a catch chamber surrounding a circular trajectory of the uppermost portion as it rotates about the vertical axis and positioned to receive fluid expelled from the uppermost portion; and a motor coupled to the pumping member for imparting rotational motion to the pumping member about the vertical axis, the motor having sufficient power to generate a centrifugal force that will drive the fluid from the lowermost portion of the ramped path to the uppermost portion and into the catch chamber.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to pumps and, more particularly, to centrifugal pumps capable of continuous elevation of massive flows of fluids to higher elevations.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the realm of industrial equipment, pumps are indispensable. They are used to raise water from wells, move gases and fluids through pipelines, compress gases, create partial vacuums, pressurize fluids, and for countless other uses.
There are two basic kinds of pumps: mechanical and non-mechanical. Mechanical pumps, which are the most common type, rely on moving parts to generate the pumping action. Non-mechanical, on the other hand, move fluids by means of either electromagnetic force or the force of another fluid such as compressed air.
Most mechanical pumps are driven by a rotational power source, such as an electric motor, an internal combustion engine, a steam engine, a turbine engine, or a windmill.
Pumps are typically rated by the pressure that they can generate and the volume of fluid which they can deliver per unit of time. Certain types of pumps can deliver up to 2,650,000 liters (700,000 gallons) per minute, while other types of pumps can generate pressures up to 14,000 kg/cm2 (200,000 lbs/in2).
Many different types of mechanical pumps are available. Reciprocating pumps, which provide a discontinuous, or pulsating, supply of fluid, generally employ either a single-acting or double acting piston. The most common types of rotary pumps are gear pumps and sliding vane pumps. The former generally has a pair of meshed gears that are rotated inside an oblong chamber. Fluid is carried in spaces between the teeth of the gears and the walls of the chamber, thereby creating a partial vacuum at the inlet and drawing in addition fluid. Sliding vane pumps employ a rotor that is eccentrically mounted within a circular chamber so that it almost touches the chamber at a line parallel to the axis of rotation. Vanes, installed in slots evenly spaced about the circumference of the rotor, are generally pressed against the circular wall by centripetal force. As the rotor turns, fluid is carried in the cavities formed by the vanes and the wall of the chamber from one side of the chamber to the other. The off-center mounting of the rotor prevents backflow of fluid. Centrifugal pumps, which generally provide high rates of flow at moderate pressures, have an impeller with multiple curved blades mounted within a generally circular chamber having an axial intake and a rim outlet. As the impeller spins, the blades throw the fluid toward the rim, creating a partial vacuum near the impeller axle. Axial flow pumps have a bladed impeller mounted axially within a cylinder. As the impeller spins, the blades on the impeller cause fluid inside the cylinder to flow parallel to the impeller's axis of rotation. Mixed flow pumps combine the operating features of centrifugal and axial-flow pumps.


In a real-time mode, a clock signal of a searcher architecture is disabled between synchronization sequence bursts. In a sample storage or asynchronous mode, portions of stored signals do not belong to any hypothesis to be tested (e.g. portions that occur between synchronization signal bursts) are not loaded into the searcher delay chain.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to wireless communications. Specifically, this invention relates to processing of received signals.
2. Background Information
Pseudorandom noise (PN) sequences are commonly used in direct-sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) communications systems, such as those compliant with the IS-95 over-the-air interface standard and its derivatives such as IS-95-A and ANSI J-STD-008 (referred to hereafter collectively as the IS-95 standard) promulgated by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) (Arlington, Va.) and used primarily within cellular telecommunications systems. An IS-95-compliant system uses code division multiple access (CDMA) signal modulation techniques to support multiple communications channels simultaneously over the same radio-frequency (RF) bandwidth. When combined with comprehensive power control, supporting multiple channels over the same bandwidth increases the total number of calls and other communications that can be conducted in a system for wireless communications by, for example, increasing the degree of frequency reuse in comparison to other wireless telecommunications technologies.
FIG. 1 provides a highly simplified illustration of a system for cellular telephony that is configured in accordance with practice of the IS-95 standard. During operation, a set of subscriber units 10A–D engage in wireless communications by establishing one or more RF interfaces with one or more base stations 12A–D using CDMA modulated RF signals. Each RF interface between a base station 12 and a subscriber unit 10 includes a forward link signal transmitted by the base station 12 and a reverse link signal transmitted by the subscriber unit. Using these RF interfaces, a communication with another user is generally conducted by way of a mobile telephone switching office (MTSO) 14 and the public switched telephone network (PSTN) 16. The links between base stations 12, MTSO 14 and PSTN 16 are usually carried using wireline connections, although the use of additional RF or microwave links is also known.
Each subscriber unit 10 uses a rake receiver to receive communications from one or more base stations 12. A rake receiver typically includes one or more searchers for locating direct and multipath instances of pilot signals from nearby base stations, and two or more fingers for receiving and combining information signals from those base stations. For example, a description of a rake receiver may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,390, entitled "DIVERSITY RECEIVER IN A CDMA CELLULAR TELEPHONE SYSTEM", assigned to the assignee of the present invention, and searchers are described in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/316,177, entitled "MULTIPATH SEARCH PROCESSOR FOR SPREAD SPECTRUM MULTIPLE ACCESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS", filed Sep. 30, 1994 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
In an IS-95-compliant communications system, the pilot signals are implemented as signals that have PN sequences but carry no data and have constant power over time. A pilot signal that accompanies an information signal may be used by the receiver as a phase reference to support coherent demodulation of phase-shift keying (PSK) modulation schemes such as binary and quadrature PSK (BPSK and QPSK, respectively). Pilot signals are also useful as indications of received signal strength for power control and handoff operations.
In an IS-95-compliant system, a base station differentiates its pilot signal from those of nearby base stations by inserting a unique offset (specifically, an integer multiple of 64 chips) in the generation of its PN sequences. A subscriber unit communicates with a base station by assigning at least one finger to that base station. In order to distinguish the assigned pilot signal, a finger must use the same PN sequence and insert the appropriate offset. It is also possible for base stations to differentiate their pilot signals by using unique PN sequences rather than offsets of the same PN sequence. In this case, a finger would adjust its PN generator to produce the appropriate PN sequence for the base station to which it is assigned.
FIG. 2 shows an architecture for a matched filter searcher suitable for pilot signal searching. Antenna 30 receives a signal that includes pilot signal transmissions from one or more base stations. Receiver 31 downconverts, amplifies, and samples the signal, generating sampled in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) components of the received signal and delivering the two components to delay chains 36 and 38, respectively. Each delay chain contains N delay elements (labeled DI1–DIN and DQ1–DQN). The output of each delay element is multiplied by a corresponding value of the PN sequences loaded into I and Q tap value chains 35 and 37. The PN sequences are created with I and Q PN generators, and the PN values are loaded or hard coded into the multiplication elements (labeled PNI1–PIN and PNQ1–PNQN) of the tap value chains. Note that in the simple case, the PN values include only +1 and −1, so that inverters (or negaters) may be used in the multiplication elements in place of actual multipliers.
The results of the N multiplications for the I and Q components are delivered to adders 34 and 32, respectively, where they are summed for each component to produce a complex correlation result for that particular alignment of the PN sequence with the received signal (also called a 'code phase hypothesis' or simply 'hypothesis'). The two real components of the complex correlation result are squared and summed in block 33 to produce an energy result which is compared with a predetermined threshold in threshold compare 39. A high-valued energy result indicates a likelihood that the hypothesis is correct, i.e. that a pilot signal was received which has that particular alignment with the portion of the PN sequences contained in the tap elements. As later received samples are shifted into delay chains 36 and 38, an energy result is calculated for each of the corresponding hypotheses.
One alternative to a pilot signal that has constant power over time is a burst pilot signal whose power is gated over time. Examples of systems that have a burst pilot channel structure include those compliant with the IS-856 standard (published by TIA and also known as 'cdma2000 High Rate Packet Data Air Interface Specification'). In an IS-856-compliant system, for example, the burst pilot signal is time-division multiplexed onto a channel that may also carry control and/or traffic data (i.e. at other times). FIG. 3 illustrates the structure of an IS-856 burst pilot signal, which includes a 96-chip pilot burst in the middle of every half slot (1024 chips). Other examples of discontinuous synchronization mechanisms include the Primary Synchronization Code (PSC) transmitted in the first 256 chips of each slot of the Primary Synchronization Channel in a system compliant with the W-CDMA standard (as described in, e.g., section 5.1 of ITU-R M.1457, 'Detailed specifications of the radio interfaces of International Mobile Telecommunication-2000 (IMT-2000),' published by International Telecommunications Union, Geneva, Switzerland) and other W-CDMA time-division multiplexed synchronization mechanisms such as frame timing and burst pilot sequences.
It is desirable to perform acquisition and tracking of time-multiplexed synchronization sequences such as those mentioned above in an efficient manner. For example, it is desirable to realize efficiencies with respect to considerations such as processing time, processing cycles, storage space, flexibility, and programmability. Unfortunately, existing architectures are not suited to perform such operations on time-multiplexed synchronization sequences in an efficient manner.

Method and apparatus for searching time-division multiplexed synchronization sequences


A color-changeable warning apparatus of a vehicle meter transforms a measured value of the target position into a first digital signal and adopts a setting value as a second digital signal. The first digital signal and the second digital signal are compared by a comparison program, wherein the parameter comparison result is read by a processing unit so as to trigger a light-emitting device of a light-outputting group to change the outputted light color thereby achieving the warning purpose.

The increasingly expanded static functionalities and dynamic statuses of the vehicle are displayed by means of measuring meters, for example, a speed meter, an engine speed meter, a fuel meter, an in-vehicle temperature meter, etc. The measuring meters of the general vehicle for showing measurement data are designed to fit for use habit of the driver, wherein all measuring meters are designed in the form of LCD panels, pointer type display panels, or digital simulated pointer type display panels. Consequentially, these measuring meters do not provide eye-catching warning effect for the driver.
A conventional technique discloses an electronic control loop that triggers a RGB light-emitting device by comparing and mixing lights and changes light-projecting sources with different colors by a microprocessor in accordance with setting values of the meters. The driver is aware of various warring messages through variation of the projected lights so as to prevent himself from danger. Accordingly, these pointer type meters achieve the purpose of controlling color.
The microprocessor disclosed in this conventional technique is for receiving pointer-shifting signals and outputting corresponding control programs stored in the memory to the electronic control loop by means of control, operation, etc. However, the function of receiving pointer-shifting signals means that this conventional technique must provide at least one electrical connection to the pointer. Nevertheless, the modern vehicle meter does not necessarily adopt the pointer as its indication tool. It may adopt the digital symbols. Moreover, the function of receiving pointer-shifting signals means that the microprocessor operates in accordance with the received pointer-shifting signals. In case the pointer has a breakdown or a malfunction, the display tool is totally not able to work. Furthermore, this conventional technique does not provide any warning-setting function for a measuring limit of a target position.

Color-changeable warning apparatus of vehicle meter


An optoelectronic reader for reading machine-readable symbol such as barcode symbols employs a detection subsystem having an RX concentrator. The detection subsystem may include an N-tuple RX concentrator. The RX concentrator may define an optical path for light to illuminate the machine-readable symbol.

1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure generally relates to automatic data collection (ADC) devices, for example, machine-readable symbol readers such as barcode scanners.
2. Description of the Related Art
Readers for reading machine-readable symbols are generally categorized into two groups: 1) moving beam devices commonly referred to as scanners (e.g., laser scanners), and 2) fixed beam devices commonly referred to as imagers (e.g., CCD imagers). Each group has its own relative advantages.
Moving beam devices typically move or scan a light across a target. For example, a scanner may employ a laser diode and a mechanism for moving a laser beam produced by the laser diode across the target. While it may be possible to move the light source itself, scanners typically employ one or more rotating prisms or oscillating mirrors that reflect the laser beam, sweeping the laser beam back and forth across a target, and thereby sequentially illuminating portions of the target along a scan line. Scanners also typically include an optoelectronic sensor or light detector, for example one or more photodiodes. The optoelectronic sensor detects the laser light returned (e.g., reflected) from the target, and produces a corresponding analog signal. The scanner may employ a standard lens or retro-collector to focus the returned light on the optoelectronic sensor. Typically, the scanner, or an associated device, converts an analog signal produced by the optoelectronic sensor into to a digital signal, before decoding the digital signal according to standard decoding schemes.
While fixed beam devices may rely on ambient light, most imagers employ a flood illumination subsystem. The flood illumination subsystem typically includes a number of high intensity light emitting diodes (LEDs) arranged to simultaneously flood the entire target with light. Imagers strive for uniform illumination over the entire target. Imagers also include an optoelectronic sensor, e.g., one- or two-dimensional arrays of charge coupled devices (CODs), and may include a lens assembly to focus returned light onto the optoelectronic sensor. A CCD array may be electronically sampled or scanned, to produce a digital signal suitable for decoding.
Typically, scanners include non-imaging optics that do not rely upon the quality of the image, but instead focus on the transfer efficiency (i.e., the ratio of the energy directed to the detector over the energy entering the collector). For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,357,101 describes a barcode scanner using a non-imaging compound parabolic collector. While a compound parabolic collector is efficient at rejecting unwanted light, there is no simple way to change the field of view. Furthermore, an ideal compound parabolic collectors, or line flow concentrators, is very long. Thus, compound parabolic collectors are often truncated or used with a first imaging stage at the expense of transfer efficiency and cost. The use of compound parabolic collectors in Micro-Electronic-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) devices is severely limited by their relatively large size.
There is a need for a small light collector that can be used with very small illumination subsystems, such as MEMS based illumination subsystems. There is also need for a light collector with the ability to reject unwanted light. Hence there is a need in automatic data collection arts for an optoelectronic reader that can overcome at least some of the aforementioned drawbacks.

Machine-readable symbol reader and method employing an ultracompact light concentrator with adaptive field of view


A communication system for safe wireless control of an maneuverable object. A control unit includes an operator for operating the object and a receiver for receiving wireless information. A portable operating unit has a transmitter for transmitting wireless information. The information is divided in time slots, each including a data package. The receiver includes a detector for detecting in a time part of a time slot the presence of the data package and a calculator for calculating upon a reception failure the number of time parts having no presence of the data package following a time slot with presence of the data package. The control unit exercises a control command when a data package with a correct information has been received within a number of time parts just exceeding a full time slot.

In order to accomplish a safe control of a moveable object such as an industrial robot it is essential to have absolute confidence in the control of the object. As an object in this context should be understood any stationary or mobile moveable object. The operator must be fully confident that the commanded order is effected. Any other person or machine must not be able to interfere with the control of the object on purpose or by accident.
In a system where an operating unit is connected to a control unit via a cable this is easy. Such a cable is preferably shielded and no other communication system can interfere with the two connected units. The cable is however heavy and stiff thus making the operation of the operating unit cumbersome. Another problem with a cable connection is that the cable often is getting entangled in loops thus making it difficult to stretch it out. When a plurality of robots are placed together in a cell the cables often are entangled themselves thus making it difficult to find out which operating unit belongs to which robot. Finally there is the risk of the cable being damaged especially when a vehicle is running over it. If the cable is damaged it is involving much work to have it repaired or exchanged. It is therefore a long lasting desire in the industry of industrial robots to carry out robot control without a cable.
The obvious solution is a wireless control system. The need described above then will be very obviously solved. Controlling an object with a wireless system where the air could contain a plurality of simultaneous command messages involves, however, other problems. The receiving part of a specific control system must find out and recognize a control message addressed to that specific control unit and effectuate that command. It is in such an environment obvious that sometimes different signals will interfere with each other. It is also obvious as the operating unit is moved around that sometimes the aerial will be located in a "radio shadow" thus no signal from the unit will be received by the control unit. In such cases there must be a control system which accounts for time slots where no signal is received and for a correct action accordingly.
From "Gebrauchsmuster" DE 297 10 026 U1 a wireless control of an industrial robot is previously known. A mobile operating unit has a wheel knob that sends pulses via a Digital European Cordless Telephone (DECT) module to a numeric control device. The safety aspects of this wireless control is not mentioned in the document. There is thus nothing mentioned on how to proceed when a signal is not received by the receiving part.
Another wireless control system is previously known from JP 11073201. The problem solved in this document is the communication of an emergency stop control carried out by wireless means in a manner equivalent to a cable communication. Under normal conditions the controller periodically transmits data to the operating unit. Upon receiving this data the operating unit responds by transmitting a response signal back to the controller. Thus the control unit asks the operating unit if this is in function. The reason for making the communication intermittent is that data, if transmitted and received at every time, increases the electric power consumption of the battery-operated teaching unit. The length of a time period however is not mentioned. The controller judges from said response signal that the operating unit is in normal condition. If the emergency switch has been activated the response signal carries that information and the controller executes the emergency stop.
Under abnormal situations, that means when the operating unit is not in a correct function mood, the operating unit transmits no response signal. Based on the absence of a response from the operating unit the controller outputs the conclusion that there is an "emergency stop condition".
From JP 9117888 another control system is known the object of which is to provide a remote control with an emergency stop function. The system is said to ensure safety while cutting costs by making possible to carry out the remote control of a robot etc by transmitters for wireless remote controllers or by serial wired communication means. According to the system an operator is actuating a control permit switch by means of a key operation. A base signal is then continuously transmitted from the transmitter of the operating unit. When driving control switches are activated a driving control signal is transmitted in addition to the base signal.
A control part of the system is provided in the object to be controlled. When a continuous base signal is received and driving control signals are received in addition to this the driving means is then controlled. When, however, the base signal is interrupted the driving is stopped irrespective of the existence of other signals. Thus an emergency stop function is achieved by reliably stopping the driving means when the actuation of said control permit switch is released.
The signal is sent in time slots, which has a typical length of 108 ms, and contain a leader code (A), a control permit code (C) also known as base signal and a switch code (B). In the absence of the base signal the power source of the driving control means is cut of and the motor is stopped irrespective of the other signals. Thus when the need for an emergency stop arises the motor is reliably stopped when the operator stops operating the key of the servo control permit switch. Also when the signal between the transmitter and the robot is cut off or when the transmission is poor the power source is cut of from the driving control means thus effecting an emergency stop function.
Both of these Japanese documents describe the execution of an emergency stop in the absence of a base signal sent from an operating device. However, an emergency stop is not wanted when a signal from the operating unit is just lacking for a short moment. There will always be moments when such a base signal is not received for one or more time slots. This, however, does not call for an emergency stop execution.
When an emergency stop is executed the whole robot cell or even several cells will be cut of from electric power. To reset an emergency stop a plurality of checks has to be made and the cell will be out of work for a considerable time. This is therefore a not wanted situation.


An interface apparatus (20) for tracking by a tracking system (40) of an object(s) in space for position and orientation and for interacting with the tracking system (40). The interface apparatus (30) comprises passive detectable devices (12,14,16,22) trackable for position by the tracking system (40). A mounting device (10,24) receives the passive detectable devices (12,14,16,22) in a known geometry, and is secured to the object(s) such that a position and orientation of the object(s) is calculable by the tracking system (40) as a function of a tracking of the known geometry of the passive detectable devices (12,14,16,22). One of the passive detectable devices (22) is displaceable with respect to the object(s). A displacement of the passive detectable device (22) with respect to the object(s) is detectable to initiate an interaction with the tracking system (40) while maintaining the tracking of the object(s).

There are many advantages to being able to operate a computer-aided surgery (CAS) system in an operating room. For a system that allows real-time display of the relative positions of three-dimensional models of anatomical structures and of a surgical tool by tracking of the latter, this means being able to select a component or section of an image displayed on a monitor and perform operations on it such as zooming in and out, rotating it, etc. It also means enabling a surgeon to digitize points, whereby the latter may, for instance, define a profile of an operated bodily part.
The interaction between the surgeon and the CAS system presents some difficulties. For one thing, the surgeon operates in a sterile zone, whereas components of the CAS system are in a non-sterile zone. To perform some computer-related operations, such as controlling the monitor displays, the surgeon is required to interact with the CAS system. For instance, the act of selecting an object on a screen is typically done with a computer mouse, the mouse directing a visible cursor to the desired point on the image. However, due to the need for all objects in the sterile zone of the operating room to be sterile, a mouse cannot be used in the sterile zone to perform such actions.
In order to get around the fact that a mouse is not sterile, it is possible to have a person other than the surgeon interacting with the CAS system. In this case, the surgeon, or other person manipulating a surgical tool, needs to verbalize very specific instructions to the person interacting with the CAS system in order to obtain the desired results. This technique is both tedious and inefficient.
Since the field of interactive CAS systems is relatively new, there is no prior art that covers the concept of providing an interface within the sterile zone by which the surgeon may interact with the CAS system by way of a tracking system.

Interface apparatus for passive tracking systems and method of use thereof


A novel odorant of formula (I) wherein each of R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7, R8, R9 and R10 are independently selected from H, CH3, and C2H5; X is selected from —CH2OH, —CH2OCOCH3 and —CHO and —CHO, n is selected from 0 and 1. The dotted line represents double bond or single bond.

It is generally known that odorants are presently utilized in the perfumery industry. Typically, these odorants are synthetic molecules based on naturally occurring fragrances. A particularly desirous and well known fragrance is "lily of the valley." In nature, several different aromas contribute to the overall fragrance profile. As such, it is difficult to achieve a single molecule that is an acceptable synthetic replacement. Unfortunately, synthesizing several molecules greatly increases the cost and complexity. While some progress has been made with regard to creating a single molecule that is an acceptable synthetic replacement for lily of the valley, these conventional odorants suffer from objectionable fragrance notes and/or short shelf-life.
It is an advantage of one or more of the embodiments of the invention that the compound exhibits a floral aroma that is similar or identical to the natural lily of the valley aroma. In addition, perfumery compositions having the novel compound described herein may exhibit a floral aroma that is similar or identical to the natural lily of the valley aroma. It is another advantage of one or more of the embodiments of the invention that the compound exhibits increased chemical stability as compared to conventional lily of the valley agents. As a result of this increased stability, the shelf life of perfumery compositions thereof are increased. In addition, this increased stability results in a corresponding increase in persistence of the aroma given off by the perfumery compositions and therefore facilitates perfumery compositions having a decreased concentration of the odorant that provides a longer lasting aroma as compared to conventional perfumery compositions.
We have now found a novel class of compounds that have a similarity to lily of the valley that is capable of overcoming the disadvantages described herein above.


A printhead assembly includes a printbar beam member and a plurality of printheads disposed thereon. The printbar beam member includes a printbar longitudinal axis. Each one of the printheads includes a printhead longitudinal axis and a row of nozzles arranged parallel to the printhead longitudinal axis. The plurality of printheads are arranged on the printbar beam member in a manner in which each respective printhead longitudinal axis is traverse to the printbar longitudinal axis.

A printhead assembly may include a printbar beam member and a plurality of printheads. The printheads may be spaced apart from each other along the printbar beam member. The printbar beam member may extend across a print zone and a width of media. The printheads may apply fluid onto media to form images thereon.

Printhead arrangement on a printbar beam member

Hewlett-Packard Industrial Printing LTD.