A method includes sending, by a trusted application (TA) entity, a certificate of the TA entity and a private key signature of the TA entity to a target security domain (SD). The certificate and the private key signature enable the target SD to perform trust verification via a server, obtaining, by the TA entity, a first key of the target SD when the trust verification of the TA entity succeeds, and establishing, by the TA entity, a trust relationship with the target SD.

An international standard organization global platform (global platform, GP) formulates specifications related to a card application management procedure in a secure element (secure element, SE). Card application management of the SE includes operations such as installation, deletion, update, and user data configuration (also referred to as personalization, personalization) for a card application (card application/applet) in the SE.
Currently, an online (online) management method is mainly used for the card application management of the SE. That is, a secure channel (secure channel) is established between a server and the SE in a terminal, and the server manages the card application in the SE by using the terminal. Delegated management (delegated management. DM) is a mode of performing online management on the SE. In the delegated management mode, the terminal cooperates with the server to create a security domain (security domain, SD) in the SE, and configures the SD, where a key of the SD and permission of the SD are configured. For example, if the configured SD has DM permission, the SD depends on an authorization code (token) verification function provided by the SE. In a broad sense, the SD is a special card application management entity that provides a service for the card application managed by the SD. When the server manages a card application in a target SD, the server sends card content management indication information to the target SD through a secure channel between the server and the SE. The card content management indication information may include a card content management instruction and an authorization code corresponding to the card content management instruction. After receiving the card content management indication information, the target SD invokes the authorization code verification function provided by the SE, verifies the card content management instruction in the card content management indication information by using a key, and matches a verification result with the authorization code corresponding to the card content management instruction. The target SD executes the card content management instruction only after the matching succeeds.
In the prior art, operations related to the card application management, for example, the verification of the card content management instruction, are all performed in the SE (including the SD). However, the SE is a running environment in which computing resources are limited, and an operation procedure such as verification of the card content management instruction involved in the DM mode leads to low efficiency of the SD in executing the card content management indication information. However, if a part of the operation procedure in the SD is directly transferred to an entity in another running environment for execution, security may deteriorate significantly.


A power supply for inductively powering a remote device has an inverter operating at an operating frequency and a primary coil. A phase comparator compares the phase of the voltage or current delivered by the power supply. If the phase relationship detected by the comparator is unacceptable, the inverter is disabled. After a period of time, the inverter is re-enabled, and the phase relationship is again determined.

Inductive powering of an intermittently energized device would be extremely convenient. A primary is provided at some convenient location. When placed in proximity to the primary, a device with a suitable secondary is energized without the need to connect a cord or cable to the device. However, with an inductive power supply, such rapid changing of power consumption is problematic.
Certain devices, such as those used for cooking, are designed to intermittently derive power from a power source. For example, an electric skillet uses significant power to heat its cooking surface to a desired temperature. When it reaches that temperature, the skillet ceases using power. If the cooking surface cools, it again uses significant power to heat the cooking surface.
An inductive power supply establishes a magnetic field from which the remote device draws power. The instantaneous cessation of power consumption by the remote device does not automatically end the magnetic field. Rather, the magnetic field previously established may continue to exist after the remote device is no longer drawing power. The inductive power supply could continue to supply power to the magnetic field, resulting in excessive currents within the power supply. If left unchecked, these large currents in the power supply can ultimately result in the destruction of the electronic components of the power supply, such as transistors and other semiconductor devices, rendering the power supply unusable.
An improved inductive circuit for powering a load is thus highly desirable.


In a liquid-cooled cylinder block and crankcase in an open-deck construction, a displacement body is placed in the coolant space. The shape of the displacement body approaches the shape of the coolant space. The interior wall of the displacement body, together with the exterior surface of the cylinder block containing the cylinders, bound a narrow gap which is connected with the coolant inlet connection. As the result, the coolant is forced to flow along the cylinder block so that an intensive cooling is achieved with a reduced coolant quantity.

This application claims the priority of German application 197 20 380.9-13, filed in Germany on May 15, 1997, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a liquid-cooled cylinder block and crankcase.
Such crankcases, which are known, for example, from German Patent Document DE 195 11 864 C, can be manufactured by diecasting. In this case, the volume of the coolant space is determined by the requirements of the casting mold. This volume can therefore not be optimally designed for the cooling of the cylinders.
It is an object of the invention to provide a cylinder block and crankcase of the above-mentioned type in the case of which the cooling of the cylinders is optimized.
This and other objects have been achieved according to the present invention by providing a liquid-cooled cylinder block and crankcase in an open-deck construction, having exterior walls which form an upper flange surface for the cylinder head and enclose a coolant space which is open toward the flange surface, a coolant inlet connection leading into the coolant space, cylinders of said cylinder block being arranged at a distance from the exterior walls, wherein a displacement body is placed in the coolant space and surrounds the cylinders or the cylinder block containing the cylinders, a gap being defined between an interior wall of the displacement body and an exterior surface of the cylinders or of the cylinder block, said gap being communicated with the coolant inlet connection.
This and other objects have also been achieved according to the present invention by providing an arrangement comprising a cylinder block including an exterior wall and at least one cylinder, said at least one cylinder being spaced from said exterior wall to define a coolant space therebetween; a displacement body being arranged in said cylinder block in said coolant space between said exterior wall and said at least one cylinder.
This and other objects have also been achieved according to the present invention by providing a displacement body for a cylinder block having an exterior wall and at least one cylinder spaced from the exterior wall to define a coolant space therebetween, said displacement body being configured to be arranged in said cylinder block in said coolant space between said exterior wall and said at least one cylinder.
This and other objects have also been achieved according to the present invention by providing a method of reducing a coolant space between an exterior wall of a cylinder block and at least one cylinder, said method comprising arranging a displacement body in said cylinder block in said coolant space between said exterior wall and said at least one cylinder.
By placing the displacement body in the coolant space, a forced flow is obtained along the walls of the cylinders as well as a considerably improved cooling of the particularly critical web areas between adjacent cylinders. Thus, a uniform cooling is achieved which reduces the knocking tendency. Furthermore, the displacement body causes a clear reduction of the coolant quantity which results in a fast warm-up of the internal-combustion engine with positive effects on the pollutant emissions, the friction output, the driving comfort and the response behavior of the heater, and the water pump output can be reduced which has a positive effect on the fuel consumption.
The coolant quantity can be reduced further if the shape of the displacement body approaches the shape of the coolant space so that coolant flows essentially only through the gap between the displacement body and the cylinders or the cylinder block containing the cylinders.
In order to achieve a flow around the cylinders or the cylinder block which is as uniform as possible, a spoiler can be arranged on the displacement body which extends in the direction of the coolant inlet connection and divides the coolant flow into two partial flows which are guided through passage openings on both sides of the spoiler along the cylinders or the cylinder block on one side and on the other side of the cylinder block and crankcase.
As mentioned above, the web areas between the cylinders are particularly endangered. In order to ensure a good cooling of these areas, the interior wall of the displacement body should extend as close as possible to these areas so that the coolant flow will be forced to sweep over these areas and dead water zones are avoided.
The displacement body should preferably have a low heat capacity which can be achieved by a corresponding material, such as a plastic material, and/or in that the displacement body is constructed as a hollow body.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Liquid-cooled cylinder block and crankcase


An antenna device includes a power feed coil antenna connected to a power feed circuit, and a booster coil antenna including wound coil conductors and disposed so as to be electromagnetically coupled to the power feed coil antenna. The power feed coil antenna includes a first coil antenna and a second coil antenna each including a coil conductor, and the coil conductors of the first and second coil antennas are connected in phase with each other. The first coil antenna is disposed such that the winding axis of the coil conductor of the first coil antenna extends perpendicularly or substantially perpendicularly to the winding axis of the booster coil antenna, and such that at least a portion of the first coil antenna overlaps the coil conductor of the booster coil antenna as viewed in plan. The second coil antenna is disposed in the vicinity of the coil conductors such that the winding axis of the coil conductor of the second coil antenna extends in parallel with the winding axis of the booster coil antenna, and such that at least a portion of a coil opening of the second coil antenna does not overlap the coil conductors of the booster coil antenna as viewed in plan.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an antenna device, for example, an antenna device for use in a system for non-contact communication such as NFC (near field communication), and to a communication terminal device including the antenna device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, portable terminals include a built-in antenna device for use in a non-contact communication system for a 13.56 MHz band. In order to achieve a long communication distance, this type of antenna device requires a large coil antenna, which is affixed to the inner side of a terminal case, in which a relatively large space is available. A power feed circuit (an RFIC chip) that processes an RF signal and the coil antenna are directly connected to each other via a connector or a pin.
However, the direct connection method discussed above poses a problem that the contact resistance is fluctuated in accordance with the roughness of the contact surface, oxidation, and the contact pressure, which leads to a problem in reliability such as a contact failure caused by vibration or an impact due to a fall.
Thus, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-306689 and Japanese Patent No. 4325621 propose driving a transmission/reception antenna conducted with an RFIC chip mounted on a substrate through wiring on the substrate and a resonance antenna provided inside a terminal case, for example, with the transmission/reception antenna and the resonance antenna electromagnetically coupled to each other. With such techniques, not only can the problem described above be resolved, but also it is only necessary to couple the transmission/reception antenna to the resonance antenna, and therefore the size of the transmission/reception antenna may be reduced.
However, electromagnetic coupling between a booster coil antenna and a power feed coil antenna is not necessarily good enough because such coupling may involve generation of leakage magnetic flux or the like, which may degrade the communication characteristics.

Antenna device and communication terminal device


A plasmon enhanced near-field optical probe has an optical coupler with an end face and a metal coating forming at least one plasmon enhancement structure. An extension provides probe-to-sample separation feedback. A microscope cantilever has a lever arm with an aperture, a tip to provide tip-to-sample separation feedback, and a plasmon enhancement structure. An air bearing slider apparatus has a base, air bearing slider pads, and a metal film forming a plasmon enhancement structure about an aperture. A plasmon enhanced optical probe end cap has a socket with an entry aperture for an optical fiber and an exit aperture with a plasmon enhanced transmission structure. A positioning subsystem has a piezoelectric member that adjusts a length of the positioning subsystem, and a quadranted piezo device that adjusts a position of the positioning subsystem.

Certain optical devices, such as near-field scanning optical microscopes ("NSOMs") and optical storage devices, may operate by scanning an optical probe ("probe") over a sample. Depending on the mode of operation of the optical device, the probe may illuminate or collect electromagnetic (EM) radiation, or both. In these applications, optical probes include light guides with a coating that prevents EM radiation leakage, except at an aperture that is smaller than a wavelength of EM radiation.
In an NSOM, the probe and/or sample move such that the aperture passes over the area to be imaged; an image is constructed on a line-by-line or point-by-point basis. Accordingly, the spatial resolution achievable by an NSOM is not limited by the wavelength of the EM radiation, as in standard microscopy, but rather by the dimension of the aperture through which the EM radiation passes (i.e., a smaller aperture produces a higher resolution image). However, the transmission of EM radiation through a subwavelength aperture decreases significantly with aperture size; this limits the scanning rate and thus the rate at which the NSOM generates the image.
NSOMs may use several types of probes. One example of an NSOM probe includes an optical fiber wit a fiber core, cladding and a fiber end tapered to a diameter of about 100 nm. The sides of the fiber end are coated with metal; an end face of the fiber core is uncoated. An NSOM inputs EM radiation into the fiber, for example through an opposite (untapered) end of the fiber. In the tapered fiber end, the EM radiation is no longer contained within the fiber core by total internal reflection. Accordingly, much of the input EM radiation leaks out of the tapered sides of the fiber end, and the metal absorbs it. Only a small fraction of the input EM radiation thus transmits through the end face as output EM radiation. A ratio of output EM radiation to input EM radiation (a transmission efficiency) of 10–6 to 10–5 is typical for such a probe. The damage threshold of the metal coating operates to limit the intensity of EM radiation that may be supplied to the probe; typically, only a few nanowatts of power is transmitted to a sample.
Other NSOM probes, for example employing (non-fiber) light guides, are subject to similar tradeoffs between usable intensity and the damage threshold.
Interactions between photons and surface plasmons in patterned metal films can mitigate certain transmission limitations of tapered optical fibers. Lezec et al. (Science 297, 820 (2002)) shows, for example, that transmission through a sub-wavelength aperture in a metal film can be enhanced by several orders of magnitude if a bulls eye grating (or ruled) pattern of several microns diameter is fabricated in the metal surface surrounding the aperture. Placing this structure on the end face of a partially tapered optical fiber, or other NSOM probe, thus provides an NSOM probe with higher throughput.
Because an NSOM operates in the near field, the probe-to-sample distance is carefully controlled. The probe-to-sample distance is generally obtained by dithering the probe parallel to a sample surface and measuring an oscillation amplitude. A shear-force interaction damps the oscillation amplitude when the probe is within about 30 nm of the surface. Acceptable spatial resolution of the probe-to-sample distance by an NSOM is on the order of the width of the probe. For example, an NSOM probe with a 100 nm wide end may be used over surfaces with feature sizes on the order of 100 nm. But much smoother surfaces are required for the successful use of existing probes with bulls-eye plasmon structures, due to their much larger lateral tip dimensions (on the order of 5 microns).

Plasmon enhanced near-field optical probes


The valve of an adjustable length gas spring comprises a valve body which has two outside seals and two inside seals. The seals are applied integrally to the valve body by injection-molding.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an adjustable length gas spring comprising a housing formed by an exterior cylinder and an interior cylinder and with a first end and a second end and a central longitudinal axis, the exterior cylinder having an inside wall and the interior cylinder having an inside wall; an overflow channel formed between the interior cylinder and the exterior cylinder; a piston disposed displaceably in the interior cylinder and dividing the interior cylinder into a first housing chamber and a second housing chamber, a piston rod mounted on the piston and disposed concentrically of the axis and extending through the first housing chamber and out of the housing; a piston rod guide and seal unit disposed at the first end of the housing and externally closing the housing chamber; at least one passageway permanently connecting the first housing chamber with the overflow channel; a valve disposed at the second end of the housing and closing the second housing chamber and provided for optional connection of the second housing chamber with the overflow channel, the valve having a valve body, which is disposed in the exterior cylinder by an outer surface concentric of the axis; which comprises a centering collar concentric of the axis for centering and holding the interior cylinder; which, in the outer surface, comprises an annular groove with a first outside seal that rests on the inside wall of the exterior cylinder; which, in the centering collar, comprises a second annular groove with a second outside seal that rests on the inside wall of the interior cylinder; which comprises a valve channel concentric of the axis; which comprises an annular groove with a first inside seal, the annular groove being open towards the valve channel and spaced from the second housing chamber; which comprises an annular groove with a second inside seal, the annular groove being open towards the valve channel and adjacent to the second housing chamber; which comprises a passageway permanently connected with the overflow channel on the one hand and with the valve channel on the other and opening into the valve channel between the first inside seal and the second inside seal; and which comprises a valve pin which is displaceable in the valve channel in the direction of the axis towards the second housing chamber, and which rests sealingly on the first inside seal and on the second inside seal when the valve is closed, and which bridges the second inside seal and connects the valve channel with the second housing chamber when the valve is opened.
2. Background Art
Gas springs of the generic type as known for instance from U.S. Pat. No. 3,656,593 comprise a valve having a valve body which, on its outside, is provided with two annular grooves for the accommodation of two outside seals, and with two annular grooves that are open towards the valve channel and house two inside seals. Mounting these four annular seals is extraordinarily complicated.
EP 0 383 303 A2 has taught to embody a valve for a gas spring of the generic type in such a way that a material suitable for sealing purposes is injection-molded entirely around a valve body, the function of the four seals mentioned thus being attained. A basic problem resides in that defined guidance of the valve pin and also defined guidance between the valve and the exterior cylinder and the interior cylinder is no longer achievable.


An instrument panel has a substrate and a cover formed by laminating a cushion layer on the back surface of a cover body. A terminal portion of the cushion layer includes a body portion and a peripheral edge portion. The peripheral edge portion is plastically deformed into a compressed state and located around the body portion. The terminal portion of the substrate includes a flat portion and a flange portion. The flange portion surrounds the flat portion in a state of protruding to the top side. The cover is adhered onto the terminal portion of the substrate by adhering the body portion onto the flat portion and adhering the peripheral edge portion onto the flange portion. The peripheral edge portion is adhered onto the flange portion in a state where the peripheral edge portion is folded along the top surface and a side surface of the flange portion.

The present invention relates to a structure of a terminal portion of a product with a cover.
As an interior part such as an instrument panel and a console of an automobile, an interior part formed by adhering a cover 55 onto a substrate 51 (hereinafter, referred to as a "covered product 50"), as shown in FIG. 8, is known. The cover 55 includes a cover body 56 and a cushion layer 57 laminated on the back side of the cover body 56. In FIG. 8, a part of the cushion layer 57 is omitted. In a terminal portion of the covered product 50, the cover 55 is adhered onto a terminal portion 52 in a state of being compressed and folded along the top surface, the side surface, and the back surface of the terminal portion 52 of the substrate 51. That is, the cover 55 is adhered onto the terminal portion 52 in a state of covering the back surface of the terminal portion 52 (for example, see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 64-26413). The covered product 50 is arranged at a location near an adjacent component 60 indicated by a long dashed double-short dashed line in FIG. 8.
However, when the cover 55 having the cushion layer 57, as described above, is adhered to be compressed and folded along the top surface and the side surface of the terminal portion 52 of the substrate 51, the cover 55 is bulged at a corner portion 50a at the top side of the covered product 50 due to the elastic restoring force of the cushion layer 57, and the cover 55 is curved with a large radius of curvature (for example, 5 mm or greater). As a result, the boundary with the adjacent component 60 in the covered product 50 is blurred, and thus, the ornamental quality is impaired.
Therefore, it is considered that the size of the radius of curvature of the corner portion 50a should be reduced. In a covered product 50 shown in FIG. 9, the terminal portion 52 of the substrate 51 includes a flat portion 53 and a flange portion 54. The flange portion 54 surrounds the flat portion 53 in a state of protruding to the top side relative to the flat portion 53. Then, the cushion layer 57 of the cover 55 is adhered onto the flat portion 53 of the terminal portion 52. However, only the cover body 56 of the cover 55 is adhered onto the flange portion 54. In the covered product 50, the cushion layer 57 is not folded along the flange portion 54. Therefore, the radius of curvature of the curved cover body 56 is small at the corner portion 50a on the top side of the covered product 50, and thus, the boundary with the adjacent component 60 of the covered product 50 is clearly visible.
However, in the covered product 50 in FIG. 9, when touched, for example, with a finger, the corner portion 50a would feel hard, and hence, tactile sensation is impaired. The reason for this is that a hard flange portion 54 is located on the back side of the cover body 56. Further, during manual work of adhering the cover 55 to the substrate 51, a gap G1 is generated to some degree between the cushion layer 57 and the flange portion 54. When the cover body 56 having a small thickness is used, a part of the cover body 56, that is, a part in which the gap G1 is present on its back side, is pushed by a finger, the part is expanded, and thus, the part is loosened or indented toward the gap G1, which may degrade the appearance.
The above-described problem may be resolved by using a cover body 56 having a large thickness, which, however, would increase the cost. Further, when the covered product 50 constitutes a part of an airbag device and is pressed by an airbag that is deployed and inflated, it is necessary to break the cover body 56. Thus, it is difficult to respond to this request when the cover body having a large thickness and having no tear line is used.

Structure of terminal portion of product with cover


An electrochemical analysis system for analytical determination of a constituent of a sample includes a disposable analysis element and an evaluation unit. The disposable analysis element includes an isolating carrier with a sample application device for applying a sample thereto for analysis, and at least one sensor with a working electrode and a reference electrode for sensing electrical properties of the sample. The analysis element also includes a connection zone with connecting contacts which are connected to the electrodes via connecting leads. The evaluation unit includes an analysis element connector for electrically connecting to the connecting contacts of the analysis element, and a measuring and evaluation circuit for measuring electrical variation characteristics of the electrical properties sensed by the sensor on the analysis element. This circuit also converts a measured value into an analytical value, and includes a changeover device for changing over connection of an electrical power source with a current measuring device or a voltage measuring device to different connecting contacts of the analysis element.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electrochemical analysis system for the analytical determination of a constituent of a sample, in particular for the analysis of body fluids such as blood or urine. The system consists of disposable analysis elements, which are thrown away after use, and an evaluation unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Analysis by means of disposable analysis elements has acquired great importance above all in the medical field. Compared with the analytical methods using liquid reagents which were exclusively the norm previously, it is distinguished above all by ease of handling. Analyses are thus able to be carried out with great accuracy by relatively untrained laboratory staff, or even by the patient himself. The evaluation units are comparatively inexpensive, and it is therefore possible to carry out the analysis "close to the patient" in the doctor's surgery or at the hospital station.
The analysis elements contain reagents which on contact with the sample lead to a physically detectable change characteristic of the analysis. In the case of the analysis elements most commonly used in practice the reaction of the reagents with the sample leads to a colour change, which is analysed visually or by reflection photometry.
In addition, there have already existed for a long time developments aimed at applying electrochemical analysis methods, in particular analysis by means of enzyme electrodes, to systems with disposable analysis elements. Such analysis elements have on an isolating carrier in a sample application zone at least one sensor with a working electrode and a reference electrode. The electrodes are connected via connecting leads to connecting contacts, which are located in a connection zone of the analysis element. There may be measured from the connecting contacts the variation in an electrical property of the analysis element, said variation being characteristic of the analysis.
An example of such an analysis element is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,225,410. It has a large number of different sensors on a single isolating carrier, in order to enable several different analyses to be conducted simultaneously on a sample (for example a drop of blood).
Use is made in this connection of various measuring principles known from the field of electrochemical analysis. In particular a distinction is drawn between potentiometric and amperometric sensors. In the case of potentiometric sensors a voltage is obtained by electrochemical means, which may be measured with high resistance at the connecting contacts. In the case of amperometric sensors, for which the present invention is particularly advantageous, a current flowing at a defined voltage forms the electrical property measurable at the connecting contacts.
The evaluation units of such systems have an analysis element connection plug for the electrical connection to the connecting contacts of the analysis elements and a measuring and evaluation circuit. The measuring and evaluation circuit serves to measure the signal to be measured and to convert the measured value into an analytical value. Various methods are known for the conversion, a microprocessor usually being used. The results are usually represented on a display located on the evaluation unit. They may also be passed to a separate central processing unit and be displayed and/or recorded there.


Methods, devices and systems enable efficient organizations of group communications on a mobile device. The mobile device may be configured to receive location information from other mobile devices in a communication system, determine the current location and orientation of the mobile device, determine directions and distances from the mobile device to each of the other mobile devices, and generate a first-person perspective and/or top-down perspective display showing relative locations of the other mobile devices. Other multiple mobile devices may be represented in the display as images (e.g., icons, avatars, directional indicators, etc.). The display may provide a user interface to enable a user to quickly organize other mobile devices into groups and initiate group communications with some of the other mobile devices. The mobile device may be configured to group the displayed images into one or more communication units and establish communication links with mobile devices in the communication units.

Cellular and wireless communication technologies have seen explosive growth over the past several years. Wireless service providers now offer a wide array of features and services that provide their users with unprecedented levels of access to information, resources and communications. To keep pace with these service enhancements, mobile electronic devices (e.g., cellular phones, tablets, laptops, etc.) have become more feature rich, and now commonly include global positioning system (GPS) receivers, sensors, and many other components for connecting users to friends, work, leisure activities and entertainment. However, despite these recent advancements, mobile devices remain lacking in their ability to perform group communications (e.g., one-to-many, many-to-many, etc.) efficiently and in a user friendly manner. As mobile devices and technologies continue to grow in popularity and use, improving group communication capabilities of mobile devices is expected to become an important and challenging design criterion for mobile device designers.

Visualization of network members based on location and direction


An electrical connector includes an insulative housing having a front mating face, a base portion, a mating portion protruding forwardly from the base portion and a number of passageways recessed rearward from the front mating face, the housing defining a number of blocks on a rear side thereof, the blocks each having an abutting face on a lower end thereof; a number of first contacts received in the passageways respectively and each including a contacting portion exposed in the passageway to mate with a corresponding mating connector, a level retaining arm fixed in the passageway and defining a front end connecting with the contacting portion and a rear end opposite to the front end, and a vertical mounting portion extending downwardly from a rear end of the retaining arm, the vertical mounting portion including a soldering portion to be soldered onto a printed circuit board and a protrusion tab extending laterally to have a larger width than that of the soldering portion, the protrusion tab abutting against the abutting face to prevent the vertical mounting portion from moving upwardly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical connectors, more particularly to stacked electrical connectors.
2. Description of Related Art
In information technology, D-Sub connectors are widely adopted in computers and the like, in order to reduce the space which various kinds of electrical connectors occupy, connectors could be arranged in a stacked manner, for example, a plurality of audio jack connectors may be configured on a lower level, while a D-sub connector is located above the audio jack connectors, in this way, the D-sub connector and the audio jack connectors commonly defines a connector assembly and make the most of the inner space of the computer to be more compact.
Since the D-sub connector is arranged on a higher level, contacts of the D-sub connector is definitely configured to have a large length. The long contacts each includes a vertical retaining portion of a large length to be mounted onto to a printed circuit board, upon assembling the long contacts to the printed circuit board, the vertical retaining portion tends to move upwardly and deflect, thereby making it difficult to attach the long contact to the printed circuit board. Moreover, the predetermined shape of the long contact is destroyed.

Electrical connector with improved contacts retaining mechanism


A method of preparing hollow metal or metal oxide nano- or microspheres is provided. The method comprises providing a suspension comprising monodispersed polydopamine nano- or microspheres, forming a layer of metal or metal oxide on the monodispersed polydopamine nano- or microspheres, and adding an alkaline solution to the suspension to dissolve the polydopamine thereby forming the hollow metal or metal oxide nano- or microspheres.

Colloidal particles have been studied in wide ranging technical fields such as material science, chemistry, and biology, and are used in many application areas such as food, inks, paints, and coatings.
Among them, monodispersed polymer colloidal particles, such as polystyrene (PS) spheres and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) spheres, have attracted much attention. Exceedingly uniform spheres may be produced by a process called emulsion polymerization. Such polymer colloids are widely used as templates for 2-dimensional (2D) or 3D arrays, and other applications. However, this method is often tedious in that it requires strict process control. Furthermore, surface of the polymer spheres prepared is passive and further processing is required for surface modification of the spheres.
In view of the above, there is a need for improved methods to form colloidal particles that address at least one of the above-mentioned problems.

Method of preparing hollow metal or metal oxide nano- or microspheres


A method and apparatus for transceiving data across an isolation boundary in a communication network between a user device on a user side of the isolation boundary and a line-side associated with a communication network such as a telephone network. Transmit data on the user side and receive data on the line-side are pulse modulated using known techniques such as pulse position and pulsewidth modulation methods. The resultant pulse modulated data streams then digitally traverse the isolation boundary via an isolation device such as an optocoupler. Upon completion of the traversal of the isolation boundary, the traversed pulse modulated data is integrated to form an approximation of the original transmit and receive data, respectively, without added distortion from a traversal of the isolation boundary by analog data.

1. The Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to line isolation of electronic circuitry. More particularly, this invention relates to isolation circuitry for use in interfacing user equipment with telephonic or other networks.
2. Present State of the Art
Traditional custom equipment that interfaces with custom networks or systems may employ a variety of interface standards. However, interface devices such as end user equipment that interfaces with established networks, such as the telephone network, are required to employ an established interfacing standard. One such standard requires end user equipment to provide electrical isolation between user equipment and the telephone network. Such isolation requirements stem from regulatory agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission and other counterpart regulatory agencies in other countries. A fundamental purpose for such regulations is to provide safety and protection to the established telephone network. Such protection prevents end user equipment from accidentally injecting or accepting into the protecting network and the user/consumer telephone network extraneous or hazardous signals.
While specific regulations and requirements may vary from country to country, established circuits which facilitate the isolation requirements of most regulatory agencies have become commonplace. One such circuit component is a Direct Access Arrangement (DAA). As shown in FIG. 1, DAA 112 provides the most proximate interface of user equipment with a telephone network 104. As an exemplary configuration of user equipment, FIG. 1 illustrates a host 100 which may take the form of a personal computer or other interfacing equipment. As many types of end user equipment generate digital data, a modem 102 is required to modulate and demodulate digitized data into an analog format capable of propagation through telephone network 104. An exemplary modem 102 is further comprised of a host interface 106 generally taking the form of an ASIC integrated circuit or other programmable or discrete circuitry for compatible exchange of data with host 100. Most modern digital signal processors (DSP) such as DSP 108 provide, among other things, the functionality required for modulating and demodulating digital data. A CODEC 110 provides a transformation between digital data and analog data for data transmitted from host 100 and translation of analog data to digital data for data dispatched by telephone network 104 to host 100. The functionality and composition of host interface 106, DSP 108, and CODEC 110 are generally known in the art and need not be further discussed.
As data generated by host 100 and destined for telephone network 104 must exit the end user equipment and travel on the telephone network, the illustrative modem 102 must incorporate the isolation requirements as dictated by regulatory agencies. In the present illustration of FIG. 1, DAA 112 provides the isolation requirements for protecting telephone network 104 from extraneous and injurious signals. To prevent such extraneous and injurious signals from passing from host 100 to telephone network or to endanger the uswer 104, an isolation boundary 202 is established wherein the signals generated by user equipment 100 must be coupled across isolation boundary 202 to telephone network 104.
In FIG. 2, a traditional DAA 200 is depicted as implementing the required isolation boundary 202. As described above, isolation boundary 202 forms a partition between a user side connected to a host, such as a personal computer, and a line-side connected to the network, such as a telephone network. Traditional DAA implementations have incorporated on the user side a user side signal interface 204 to provide access to transmit and receive signals coupled to a hybrid circuit 216 which, due to the combining of transmit and receive signals on the line-side, requires that the transmit signal be cancelled or removed from the receive signal.
Isolation boundary 202 is then established across a transformer 208 which provides the required coupling between the user side and the line-side. Because of the inherent nature in transformer coupling, the user side and the line-side may float with respect to a potential across isolation boundary 202. Traditional implementations of the line-side circuitry in DAA 200 include bypass capacitors 210, a hold circuit 212, and a diode bridge 214 for generating tip and ring signals 206 characteristic of a telephone network. Hold circuit 212, among other things, incorporates an off hook switch for providing the DC current path necessary to notify a telephone network of an off-hook condition and a ring detector for notifying a user of an incoming communication. Other isolation boundary implementations include capacitively coupling the analog transmit and receive signals across the isolation barrier by providing a pair or pairs of capacitors that differentially couple analog transmit and receive signals from a user side across the isolation barrier to a line-side.
While modem isolation implementations of the past have generally been transformer based, there have also been other methods such as linear optical solutions that use an active region of an optical isolator for transfer of analog signals across the isolation boundary. While transformer designs were feasible for physically larger designs, transformer designs incorporated into smaller integrated products compromise the linearity and also generate insertion loss and a degraded frequency response as transformers are reduced in physical size. Linear optical approaches are also feasible, but require gain adjustments and tuning for variations in gains associated with optical isolator production runs. Furthermore, linear optical isolators are more expensive than standard optocouplers.
Thus, what is needed is a method and system for providing an isolation boundary between a user side and a line-side for equipments interfacing with a defined network, such as a telephone network, that require an isolation boundary. Furthermore, what is desired is a method and system for providing an isolation boundary utilizing isolation components that lend themselves to economical integrated designs without subjecting themselves to the degraded affects associated with miniaturized magnetic components.


A structure for a housing for an axle assembly and method for manufacturing same is disclosed. The housing includes a tube which is formed by casting. The tube is cast having a brake flange, a spring seat, a shock absorber pad, and an outer end for mounting wheel bearings, all of which are integrally formed therewith. The tube is generally hollow and cylindrical in shape, but is formed having an outer circumferential surface which is generally circular in shape and an inner circumferential surface which is generally oval in shape. Thus, the wall thickness of the tube is not uniform about the circumference thereof. Rather, the wall thicknesses of the upper and lower portions of the tube are somewhat greater than the wall thicknesses of the side portions thereof. The wall thicknesses of the upper and lower portions of the tube are sized to accommodate vertically oriented loads induced therein which are generally larger than horizontally oriented loads which are normally encountered in use. The tube is cast from an iron alloy and is subjected to an austempering heat treatment process.

This invention relates in general to vehicle axle assemblies and in particular to an improved structure for a housing for such an axle assembly and a method for manufacturing same.
Axle assemblies are well known structures which are in common use in most vehicles. Such axle assemblies include a number of rotatable components which transmit rotational power from an engine of the vehicle to the wheels thereof. These rotatable components are usually enclosed in protective non-rotatable housing. The housing typically includes a central carrier (which rotatably supports a differential mechanism therein) having a pair of outwardly extending tubes (which enclose the axle shafts extending from the differential to the wheels of the vehicle). In the past, the tubes have been formed from sections of hollow cylindrical steel tubes which have been welded, bolted, or otherwise secured to the carrier to form the axle housing.
The tubes of these axle housings are frequently provided with one or more additional components for various purposes. For example, it is generally desirable to provide a circumferentially extending flange about the tube near the outer end thereof to function as a mounting surface for the components of the brake for that wheel. Also, a seat is commonly provided on the tube for securing a plurality of leaf springs or similar means for resiliently connecting the frame of the vehicle to the axle housing. Lastly, it is known to provide a pad on the tube to which a bracket is welded for securing a shock absorber or similar means for dampening oscillations of the frame of the vehicle relative to the axle housing. In the past, the brake flange, the spring seat, and the shock absorber pad have all been formed from individual components which were welded, bolted, or otherwise secured to the tubes.
More recently, it has been found desirable to form the axle housing integrally by casting molten metal into an appropriately shaped mold. Thus, it is known to form the carrier and tubes of the axle housing from a single piece of material cast into a predetermined shape. Furthermore, it has also been found desirable to form the additional components of the axle housing (i.e., the brake flange, the spring seat, and the shock absorber pad) integrally with the tubes by casting. Known axle housing castings have been formed from nodular graphite iron material.
However, known axle housing castings have followed traditional thinking regarding the structures of the tubes. Specifically, the tubes of such known castings have been formed having uniform wall thicknesses, similar to the sections of hollow cylindrical steel tubing which were connected to the carriers of prior axle housings. However, it has been found that some portions of the axle housing tubes are subjected to relatively large stresses during operation, while other portions of the axle housing tubes are subjected only to relatively small stresses. In prior axle housings using a uniform wall thickness tube, the thickness of the tube was selected to accommodate the maximum stress applied at any point thereon. As a result, the remainder of the tube was over-designed for its intended use. In other words, the amount of material used to form the remainder of the tube was much larger than the amount required to prevent failure.
Thus, it can be seen that known axle housing castings are inefficient because they are composed of more material than is required to accomplish the intended function. The inclusion of the additional material in the known axle housing castings results in unnecessary material cost and increased weight. Since cost and weight are prime considerations in the design of axle housings and other vehicle components, it would be desirable to provide an improved axle housing casting which meets its intended functional requirements without adding unnecessary cost or weight thereto.


An anvil position detector is provided for use with a surgical stapling instrument. The anvil position detector includes a projection formed on a driving or jaw closure mechanism of the surgical instrument and a recess for a notch formed on the jaw or anvil of the surgical instrument. Engagement of the projection with the notch provides a tactile and/or audible indication to the operator of the surgical instrument that the anvil or jaw is in proper alignment with the remainder of the surgical instrument.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a jaw position detector for use with a surgical instrument. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to an anvil position detector for use in a surgical stapling instrument.
2. Background of Related Art
Various surgical instruments are used in surgical procedures to grasp and manipulate tissue. These instruments may include devices having relatively movable jaw structures such as, for example, graspers, cutters, etc.
Other types of surgical instruments having movable jaw structure include surgical staplers. Surgical staplers typically incorporate a staple containing cartridge and an anvil member movably mounted relative to the staple containing cartridge. Tissue is captured between the anvil member and the staple containing cartridge and the stapler is actuated to place one or more rows of staples through the captured tissue and, in some cases, cut the tissue between the rows of staples. In order to properly staple the tissue, it is often necessary that the anvil be moved to a predetermined position relative to the remainder of the surgical stapler and, in particular, relative to the elongate member upon which the anvil is mounted.
In specific instances, it is desirable to orient the anvil member relative to an elongate member of the surgical instrument such that a longitudinal axis of the anvil member is substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the elongate member. This may be necessary to ensure that staple pockets associated with the anvil member are in a proper position to fully crimp the staples closed about the tissue being stapled. When performing a procedure endoscopically, it is often difficult to tell when the longitudinal axis of the anvil member is in proper alignment with respect to the longitudinal axis of the elongate member.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a surgical instrument having an indicator mechanism capable of ensuring proper alignment of a jaw or anvil of the surgical instrument with the remainder of the surgical instrument. It would be further desirable to provide an indicator mechanism which provides a tactile indication of the proper alignment. It would still further be desirable to provide an indicator mechanism which provides an audible indication of the proper alignment.

Anvil position detector for a surgical stapler


A quick-connection type magnetic transmission apparatus for use in a medical interventional instrument, comprising a drive-side housing and a driven-side housing. The drive-side housing and the driven-side housing are coaxially arranged and are connected in a nested mode; a magnetic coupling structure, a magnetic coupling and coaxial guiding mechanism, and an integral coaxial guiding mechanism are sequentially comprised from inside to outside; the magnetic coupling structure consists of a magnetic transmission drive end (12), a magnetic transmission driven end (11), and a quick-connection separation sleeve (13); the magnetic coupling and coaxial guiding mechanism consists of a magnetic coupling and guiding sleeve (21) and a magnetic coupling and guiding groove (22); the integral coaxial guiding mechanism consists of a coaxial guiding sleeve (31), a coaxial guiding groove (32), and a coaxial locking structure. The quick-connection type magnetic transmission apparatus for use in the medical interventional instrument uses a double guiding-locking fit structure, achieves quick connection, and ensures a minimal transmission gap.

Magnetic transmission apparatus refers to a transmission technology in which a driving end drives a driven end to realize power transmission by using a coupling force generated by a magnetic material installed on the drive end and the driven end in a transmission component. The coupling forces include attractive and repulsive forces between the magnetic materials. For its non-contact power transmission, magnetic transmission is widely used. The magnetic transmission include main advantages that there is no rigid connection between transmission parts, overload protection can be provided, the structure is simple and easy to maintain, and dynamic seal can be converted into static seal, etc. The main applications include vacuum, spaceflight, medicine, food, scientific experiments, special chemical or high-risk fields. Due to the limitations of magnetic material technology, transmission torque stabilization should be a major limitation in various applications. At the same time, as the large-scale industrial environment, high torque, high stability, high life and maintenance are the main direction of improvement of magnetic transmission technology in recent years, there are a lot of structural improvements and inventions, especially for the distribution of magnetic material layout of the drive end and driven end.
For example, the invention patent document "a coaxial permanent magnet transmission apparatus" (CN 108880186A) proposes a new magnet coupling layout structure. Compared with the conventional coaxial magnetic transmission structure, this patent increases the magnetic torque that the magnetic transmission can provide by using the communication tube structure and increasing the magnet coupling pair.
For example, the utility model patent document "a magnetic transmission mechanism" (CN 207907972U) proposes an application of a magnetic transmission structure in the field of fuel gas sealing. By replacing the traditional seal structure with magnetic transmission, the static seal is transformed into the dynamic seal, which can reduce the transmission resistance and improve the structural stability.
In addition, the invention patent document "electromechanical magnetic transmission apparatus" (CN 109921558A) proposes a new layout structure of drive end and driven end. Compared with the traditional magnetic transmission structure, this patent achieves the purpose of improving the overall transmission efficiency of the system by adding a parallel mechanism so that one drive end can simultaneously drive multiple driven ends.
Compared with the traditional magnetic transmission structure, according to the key technical for the magnetic transmission of interventional devices, if in the clinical application, it requires more high rotation speed rather than high torque; and at the same time, the requirements for specification are higher relative to the transmission application. Accordingly, there remains a need for several aspects of improvements in torque transfer structures, such as a manually assisted blood pumping device, for use in an interventional blood pumping catheter device in which the power source is located outside the body.
1) It provides a smaller magnetic transmission structure specification, and can still maintain an effective magnetic transmission torque that can meet clinical applications while using miniature magnets; 2) fast connection structure and higher speed of magnetic transmission can meet the needs of high-speed rotation in the clinical application; and 3) effective magnet sealing ensures biocompatibility requirements for clinical use.

Quick-connection type magnetic transmission apparatus for use in medical interventional instrument


System and method for limiting an output signal of a differential amplifier. A preferred embodiment comprises a limit sense amplifier configured to detect when the output exceeds a permitted limit, a common mode bias current unit configured to increase a signal gain of a common mode amplifier in the differential operational amplifier when the limit sense amplifier detects that the output exceeded the permitted limit, and an output stage bias current unit configured to fix the output at a level substantially equal to the specified limit when the limit sense amplifier detects that the output exceeded the permitted limit. The clamping is achieved by changing the operation of circuitry within the differential amplifier and results in a smoother clamping that helps to maintain stable operation.

Amplifiers apply a certain amount of signal gain to an input signal and produce an output signal that is substantially equal to the input signal multiplied by a signal gain if the input signal at an input of the amplifier is within the input specifications of the amplifiers. The signal gain (or simply gain) produced by the amplifiers can be dependent upon amplifier type, operating frequency of the input signal, design decisions made by creators of the amplifiers, and so forth.
Depending upon application, it may not be desirable to have an amplifier produce an output signal that exceeds an expected magnitude. Signals with magnitudes exceeding an expected value can cause surrounding circuitry to not operate properly or may even cause damage to the surrounding circuitry.
Furthermore, a typical amplifier will have a maximum output signal magnitude which it cannot exceed, regardless of the magnitude of the input signal or the gain of the amplifier. The maximum output signal magnitude can be dependent on the device physics of the components used in the amplifier, the design (configuration) of the amplifier, the capabilities of the power supply used to power the amplifier, and so on.
With reference now to FIG. 1, there is shown a diagram illustrating an output signal 100 of an amplifier as a function of time. The output signal 100 of the amplifier can vary with time, depending upon an input signal to the amplifier as well as the amplifier's signal gain. As long as the magnitude of the input signal stays below a maximum magnitude value, the output signal can substantially be a magnified version of the input signal. However, if the magnitude of the input signal exceeds the maximum magnitude value, then the amplifier may not be able to produce an output signal that is simply a magnified version of the input signal. In such situations, the amplifier may simply not have adequate capability to produce the correct output signal corresponding to the input signal.
The diagram shown in FIG. 1 illustrates a situation wherein the output signal 100 tracks an input signal until a point wherein the magnitude of the input signal exceeds the maximum magnitude value (shown in FIG. 1 as line 105, illustrating a magnified version of the maximum input magnitude value). When the magnitude of the input signal exceeds the maximum input magnitude value, the amplifier is not capable of producing a signal at its output that correctly represents the input signal. The amplifier (or circuitry internal (or external) to the amplifier) can limit (clamp) the output signal. The limiting of the output signal can be achieved by limiting either the input signal or the output signal and can be performed very rapidly or gradually. The diagram shown in FIG. 1 illustrates a first limited portion 110 of the output signal that is limited rapidly and a second limited portion 115 of the output signal that is limited gradually. The gradual limiting of the output signal is typically preferred since it helps to reduce the chance of the amplifier becoming unstable.
With reference now to FIG. 2, there is shown a diagram illustrating a technique to limit an output signal of an amplifier 200 by limiting an input signal of the amplifier 200. The amplifier 200 is a differential mode amplifier. The amplifier 200 has two inputs, a first input "A" and a second input "A_bar." A difference between the first input "A" and the second input "A_bar" represents the input signal. Coupled in between the first input "A" and the second input "A_bar" is a transistor 205, preferably a field-effect transistor (FET), with a source terminal of the transistor 205 being coupled to one of the inputs of the amplifier 200 and a drain terminal of the transistor 205 being coupled to the remaining input of the amplifier 200. A gate terminal of the transistor 205 is coupled to an output of a comparator 210 which can be used to compare an output of the amplifier 200 with a reference voltage "VREF." The reference voltage "VREF" can be representative of a maximum output level (or an output level close to the maximum output level) of the amplifier 200. Since the output of the amplifier 200 is also a differential signal, the comparator 210 can compare the reference voltage "VREF" with one of the two signals representing the output of the amplifier 200.
While the output of the amplifier 200 is less than the reference voltage "VREF" the transistor 205 is open and the two inputs of the amplifier 200 are decoupled. However, if the output of the amplifier 200 is equal to or greater than the reference voltage "VREF" the transistor 205 is closed and the two inputs of the amplifier 200 are coupled together and the difference between the first input "A" and the second input "A_bar" is reduced, bringing the input signal below the maximum magnitude value. The transistor 205 can effectively behave like a variable resistor, therefore, the difference between the first input "A" and the second input "A_bar" can be reduced gradually (depending on a difference between the output of the amplifier 200 and the reference voltage "VREF," for example) and produce a gradually limited output signal.
With reference now to FIG. 3, there is shown a diagram illustrating limiting an output signal, wherein the output signal is a differential signal. The diagram shown in FIG. 3 illustrates an output signal comprised of a first signal 305 (shown with a heavy solid black line) and a second signal 310 (shown with a heavy dotted line). The first signal 305 can be thought of as a complement of the second signal 310. If the output signal is centered around zero, then when the first signal 305 is positive valued, then the second signal is negative valued. A pair of dashed lines (dashed line 315 and 320) indicate magnitudes which the output signal should not exceed, either due to maximum signal value limitations of surrounding circuitry or maximum magnitude values of an amplifier used to generate the output signal. When the first signal 305 exceeds the dashed line 315, it is limited and an exemplary limited signal is shown as curve 325. Since the first signal 305 and the second signal 310 are complementary, when the first signal exceeds the dashed line 315, the second signal 310 falls below the dashed line 320 and must also be limited (shown as curve 330).
A prior art technique involves the use of a signal magnitude detecting circuit (or circuits) coupled to a signal output(s) of the amplifier. The signal magnitude detecting circuit can detect when the magnitude of the output signal of the amplifier exceeds the expected magnitude (or a magnitude close to the maximum output magnitude) and when this occurs, the input signal of the amplifier may be clamped to a value so that given the gain of the amplifier, the output signal of the amplifier does not exceed the expected magnitude. The clamping of the input signal can be accomplished by coupling a voltage potential with a given level to the input of the amplifier, for example. The clamping of the input signal can vary from reducing the input signal by just a small amount or reducing the input signal all the way down to zero.
One disadvantage of the prior art is that a sharp change is introduced to the input signal when it is coupled to the voltage potential. The sharp change in the input signal can introduce instability to the amplifier and can result in oscillation and other undesired behavior.
Another disadvantage of the prior art involves where in the amplifier and attendant circuitry the clamping of the input signal occurs. Depending upon where the input signal is clamped, the output signal being fedback may also become clamped.

System and method for clamping a differential amplifier


A polymer gel electrolyte includes an electrolyte solution composed of a plasticizer with at least two carbonate structures on the molecule and an electrolyte salt, in combination with a matrix polymer. Secondary batteries made with the polymer gel electrolyte can operate at a high capacitance and a high current, have a broad service temperature range and a high level of safety, and are thus particularly well-suited for use in such applications as lithium secondary cells and lithium ion secondary cells. Electrical double-layer capacitors made with the polymer gel electrolyte have a high output voltage, a large output current, a broad service temperature range and excellent safety.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to novel polymer gel electrolytes prepared by solidifying a high-boiling fire-retarding plasticizer, and to secondary cells and electrical double-layer capacitors made using such polymer gel electrolytes.
2. Prior Art
Non-aqueous electrolyte solution-based secondary cells such as lithium secondary cells have attracted much attention in recent years on account of their high voltage and high energy density. The solvent used in such non-aqueous electrolyte solutions is a mixed solvent composed of a cyclic carbonate or lactone having a high dielectric constant and a high viscosity, such as propylene carbonate (PC), ethylene carbonate (EC) or γ-butyrolactone (GBL), in combination with a low-viscosity acyclic carbonate, such as dimethyl carbonate (DMC) or diethyl carbonate (DEC), or a low-viscosity ether such as 1,2-dimethoxyethane (DME), diglyme or dioxolane.
Further improvements in safety, such as fire retardance and non-flammability, will be needed to attain even higher levels of energy density and output density. Yet, such goals have been very difficult to achieve with existing low-flash-point flammable non-aqueous electrolyte solutions.
A number of solutions have already been proposed, including methods involving the addition of a flame-retarding phosphate to the electrolyte solution (JP-A 4-184870 and JP-A 8-88023) and methods involving the addition of an alkylene carbonate or a halogenated alkylene carbonate to the electrolyte solution (JP-A 9-306542), JP-A 9-312171, JP-A 10-251401, JP-A 12-260467). However, in batteries and electrical double-layer capacitors made with such electrolytes, the supporting electrolyte salt has a poor solubility, resulting in a low ionic conductivity. In addition, undesirable effects such as fluid leakage to the exterior and leaching out of the electrode material tend to arise, compromising the long-term reliability of the battery or capacitor.
By contrast, batteries and electrical double-layer capacitors made with solid electrolytes are free of such problems and offer the additional advantage of being easy to form into a thin shape.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,792,504 describes a method for improving ionic conductivity by using a polymer gel electrolyte prepared by impregnating polyethylene oxide with an electrolyte solution composed of a metal salt and an aprotic solvent, but this polymer gel electrolyte does not have a sufficient ionic conductivity or film strength. To overcome this problem, JP-A 6-187822 discloses an ion-conductive solid polymer electrolyte made with a complex composed of an electrolyte and a polymer that is prepared from a mixture of oxyalkylene group-bearing (meth)acrylate monomers having urethane linkages.
However, a system prepared by gelating a non-aqueous electrolyte which is flammable and has a relatively low flash point is subject to the same service temperature range limitations due to solvent vaporization and gelation as solutions of the non-aqueous electrolyte. In addition, there are problems with polymer gel electrolyte production and with the safety of batteries and electrical double-layer capacitors in which such electrolytes are used.

Polymer gel electrolyte, secondary cell, and electrical double-layer capacitor


An image detection system includes a multimode fiber amplifier. The multimode fiber amplifier includes a core configured to receive an input image that includes a plurality of input beams spanning a range of incidence angles and to propagate at least some of the input beams as different ones of a plurality of transverse modes along the core. The multimode fiber amplifier provides an amplified image at an output facet thereof corresponding to the input image. A focal plane detector includes an array of detectors arranged to receive different portions of the amplified image.

Optical fiber amplifiers and preamplifiers are employed in a variety of technologies, including telecommunications fields. A fiber amplifier typically includes a gain fiber, the core of which includes rare-earth dopant ions, such as erbium or neodymium. One or more laser diodes (or other pumping means) are coupled to the fiber to provide a pump signal to the fiber core. When optically pumped, the fiber exhibits gain over a wavelength region characteristic of the rare-earth dopant. The amplifier gain is related to the amount of pump power coupled to the gain fiber as well as to the length of the fiber. Also, the output power of the amplifier may influence the frequency response of the amplifier to signal modulation.
Both single mode and multimode fibers have been utilized to implement optical fiber amplifiers. A multimode fiber amplifier can propagate and amplify multiple modes (e.g., hundreds or thousands of modes) whereas a single mode fiber amplifier amplifies a single mode. In a multimode mode fiber, modes are a set of guided electromagnetic waves that travel unchanged in an optical fiber except for gain or loss. The modes thus can be described as solutions of Maxwell's equation for electromagnetic waves propagating in the bound core medium of the fiber.
The different transverse modes also travel at different speeds through the multimode fiber, which is referred to as modal dispersion and results in multimode distortion. Multimode distortion is a mechanism that occurs in multimode fibers in which the signal is spread in time because the velocity of propagation of the optical signal is not the same for all modes. For example, those rays which undergo the fewest number of reflections while propagating through the core will traverse the length of the fiber sooner than those rays which undergo a greater number of reflections. As a result of multimode distortion, the useful communication bandwidth of multimode fibers is limited. Additionally, amplified spontaneous emissions can occur for both single mode and multimode fiber amplifiers, which can add noise and reduce gain of the fiber amplifier. In view of these and limitations inherent in multimode fiber amplifiers, there has been a general reluctance to develop and utilize multimode fiber amplifiers in certain commercial technologies; consequently, potentially useful applications have been overlooked or neglected.

Image detection using multimode fiber amplifier


Various disclosed embodiments are directed to methods and systems for reducing memory space in sequential computer-implemented operations. The method includes generating a directed acyclic graph (DAG) having a plurality of vertices and directed edges, wherein each edge connects a predecessor vertex to a successor vertex. Each vertex represents one of the computer-implemented operations and each directed edge represents output data generated by the operations. The method includes merging one of the predecessor vertex with one of the successor vertex by combining the operations of the predecessor vertex and the successor vertex if the predecessor and successor vertices are connected by a directed edge and there is only one directed edge originating from the predecessor vertex. The merger of the predecessor and the successor vertices reduces the number of directed edges in the DAG, resulting in a reduction of intermediate buffer memory required to store the output data.

In a typical data processing operation, tasks are typically performed by a computer in a sequence subject to constraints that certain tasks be performed before others. As each task is performed, data is transformed or manipulated, and the resulting output is temporarily stored in a buffer memory to be used as input for the next task.
Consider, for example, an image processing application wherein multiple filters are applied to pixels of an image. A first filter may receive red, green and blue values of the pixels and compute gray values of the pixels using, for example, the equation:gray=0.021216*r+0.7152*g+0.0722*b, where r, g, and b are respective red, green and blue values of the pixels.
A second filter may compute standard deviation for the pixels. A third filter may compute exposure values of the pixels using, for example, the equation:Exp=e−12.5*(r−0.5)2*e−12.5*(g−0.5)2*e−12.5*(b−0.5)2.
A fourth filter may be a laplacian filter for performing a 3×3 convolution operation of the gray values of the pixel to detect edges. Various other filters may be applied to the pixels for further image processing as those skilled in the pertinent art will appreciate.
According to existing methods, the aforementioned operations may be implemented in a system which provides intermediate storage for the intermediate results of each filter operations. The system may, for example, allocate a buffer memory for storing the intermediate results of each filter operation. Since each intermediate result must be written in the allocated buffer memory, existing methods require increased memory usage and high memory bandwidth.

Methods for reducing memory space in sequential operations using directed acyclic graphs


A method of addressing one MEA failure mode by controlling MEA catalyst layer overlap, and the apparatus formed thereby is disclosed. The present invention addresses a feature of membrane electrode assembly (MEA) architecture that is associated with field failures due to the loss of ionomer from the edges of the electrolyte. To address ionomer degradation, the present invention provides a MEA design in which the cathode catalyst edges are closer than the anode catalyst edges to the edges of the electrolyte.

The present invention relates generally to proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells and particularly, to a method of addressing one membrane electrode assembly (MEA) failure mode by controlling MEA catalyst layer overlap, and the apparatus formed thereby.
Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell systems are currently being developed for use as power supplies in numerous applications, such as transportation, distributed and portable power, and co-generation. Such systems offer promise of economically delivering power with environmental and other benefits. Generally, successful commercialization of PEM fuel cell systems will need to exhibit not only adequate reliability in operation, but also durable system performance for many years of operation.
Component degradation reduces the reliability and performance of the fuel cell. One membrane electrode assembly (MEA) failure mode that can have an adverse effect of the durability of the overall fuel cell system is ionomer degradation (membrane material loss). Aside from the loss of power associated with one or more cells failing from voltage leaks, this situation poses reliability concerns. Accordingly, the present inventors have recognized a need for improvements in MEA design in order to provide a PEM fuel cell system with the improved durability.

Addressing one MEA failure mode by controlling MEA catalyst layer overlap


Electrokinetic (“EK”) pumps convert electric to mechanical work when an electric field exerts a body force on ions in the Debye layer of a fluid in a packed bed, which then viscously drags the fluid. Porous silica and polymer monoliths (2.5-mm O.D., and 6-mm to 10-mm length) having a narrow pore size distribution have been developed that are capable of large pressure gradients (250-500 psi/mm) when large electric fields (1000-1500 V/cm) are applied. Flowrates up to 200 μL/min and delivery pressures up to 1200 psi have been demonstrated. Forces up to 5 lb-force at 0.5 mm/s (12 mW) have been demonstrated with a battery-powered DC-DC converter. Hydraulic power of 17 mW (900 psi@ 180 uL/min) has been demonstrated with wall-powered high voltage supplies. The force and stroke delivered by an actuator utilizing an EK pump are shown to exceed the output of solenoids, stepper motors, and DC motors of similar size, despite the low thermodynamic efficiency.

Miniature pumps and valves have been a topic of increasing interest in recent years within the field of chemical analysis, especially in those applications where a variety of functions including pumping, mixing, metering, and species separation are necessary. In particular, there has been interest in integrating miniature pumps and valves with silicon and glass chip-based analysis systems designed to detect and identify trace amounts of chemical or biological material.
To meet these needs efforts have been made to develop and refine micro-scale pumps that rely on the well-known electroosmotic effect, so-called electrokinetic ("EK") pumps, and related control and valving mechanisms for these devices. The phenomenon of electroosmosis, in which the application of an electric field to an electrolyte in contact with a dielectric surface produces a net force on a fluid and thus a net flow of fluid, has been known since the nineteenth century. The physics and mathematics defining electroosmosis and the associated phenomenon of streaming potential have been extensively explored in "Introduction to Electrochemistry," by Glasstone, (1942) pp. 521-529 and by Rastogi, (J. Sci. and Industrial Res., v. 28, (1969) p. 284). In like manner, electrophoresis, the movement of charged particles through a stationary medium under the influence of an electric field, has been extensively studied and employed in the separation and purification arts.
The use of electroosmotic flow for fluid transport in packed-bed capillary chromatography was first documented by Pretorius, et. al. (J. Chromatography, v. 99, (1974) pp. 23-30). Although the possibility of using this phenomenon for fluid transport has long been recognized, its application to perform useful mechanical work has been addressed only indirectly. The present embodiment describes an actuator using an EK pump to drive a piston to perform mechanical work.
EK pumps are typically composed of a nanoporous packing or monolith (pore diameters from 10 to 500 nm) and a pair of high-voltage electrodes. For example, silica acquires a negative surface charge composed of deprotonated silanol groups (SiOHSiO−+H+) when an electrolyte with pH>4 is introduced. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a thin electric double-layer (10 nm for water with 1 mM NaCl) is known to develop adjacent to the walls of such devices. Application of an electric field exerts a body force on ions residing within the double layer and results in ion migration in the direction of the electric field gradient which induces viscous "drag" in the bulk fluid. Adding a flow restriction downstream of the porous EK pump monolith will result in an opposing pressure gradient. Hydraulic work, therefore, may be obtained after the fluid exits the porous EK pump monolith. The pressure-driven flow may be used for various applications, such as flow work against a capillary restriction, driving a piston, expanding a bellows, or fluid compression.
Conversely, external pressure-driven flows in these systems will generate electric fields that may be used to perform electrical work.
Many different microfluidic transducers have been implemented by micromachining of silicon and glass substrates. Transducers with pneumatic, thermo-pneumatic, piezoelectric, thermal-electric, shape memory alloy, and a variety of other actuation mechanisms have been realized with this technology. However, only the thermo-pneumatic and shape memory alloy designs have been incorporated in commercially-available products. Unfortunately, transducers utilizing the aforementioned actuation mechanisms are only able to generate modest actuation pressures and are therefore of limited utility.
What is needed is a transducer that can be used for microfluidic systems that can exert larger actuation pressures over longer distances (i.e., more work per stroke) than can be presently developed by conventional (non-explosive) transducers and provides both rapid "on" and "off" actuation.


A method includes determining one of a multiplicity of subframes in a resource space in which a shortened subframe is to be communicated. Each of the subframes has a predetermined number of symbol positions. The resource space includes the multiplicity of subframes. The method includes communicating the shortened subframe in the determined subframe. The shortened subframe has a multiplicity of active symbols at first symbol positions in the determined subframe and has a multiplicity of blanked symbols at second symbol positions in the determined subframe. In an embodiment, each of the subframes is a first subframe carried on subcarrier. The resource space corresponds to a special subframe in a frame including the special subframe and a multiplicity of second subframes. The special subframe and the plurality of second subframes are located in different timeslots. Apparatus, computer programs, and program products are also disclosed.

This section is intended to provide a background or context to the invention that is recited in the claims. The description herein may include concepts that could be pursued, but are not necessarily ones that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, what is described in this section is not prior art to the description and claims in this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
The following abbreviations that may be found in the specification and/or the drawing figures are defined as follows:
CA carrier aggregation
CC component carrier
DL downlink
DwPTS downlink pilot time slot
eNode B enhanced Node B (also, eNB)
FDD frequency division duplex
HetNet heterogeneous network
GHz giga-Hertz
GP guard period
LTE long term evolution
LTE-A long term evolution advanced
OFDM orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing
PCC primary component carrier
PDCCH physical downlink control channel
PDSCH physical downlink shared channel
PRB physical resource block
PSS primary synchronization signal
PUSCH physical uplink shared channel
Rel-8 Release 8
Rel-10 Release 10
SCC secondary component carrier
SC FDMA single carrier, frequency division multiple access
SF subframe
SSS secondary synchronization signal
TDD time division duplex
UE user equipment
UL uplink
UpPTS uplink pilot time slot
In the communication system known as evolved UTRAN (E UTRAN, also referred to as UTRAN-LTE, E-UTRA or 3.9G), the LTE Release 8 (Rel-8) is completed, the LTE Release 9 (Rel-9) is being standardized, and the LTE Release 10 (Rel-10) is currently under development within the 3GPP. In LTE, the downlink access technique is OFDMA, and the uplink access technique is SC-FDMA, and these access techniques are expected to continue in LTE Release 10.
Further releases of 3GPP LTE are targeted towards future IMT-Advanced systems, referred to herein for convenience simply as LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) which is expected to be part of LTE Rel-10. LTE-A is expected to use a mix of local area and wide area optimization techniques to fulfill the ITU-R (International Telecommunication Union Radiocommunication Sector) requirements for IMT-Advanced (International Mobile Telecommunications-Advanced) while keeping backward compatibility with LTE Release 8. Topics that are included within the ongoing study item include bandwidth extensions beyond 20 MHz, relays, cooperative MIMO and multi-user MIMO, and single user MIMO on the uplink.
LTE-A aims to provide significantly enhanced services by means of higher data rate and lower latency with reduced cost. Carrier Aggregation (CA) is one of key technologies to improve the data rate. The basic idea of CA is that LTE-Advanced terminals supporting CA can receive/transmit on multiple component carriers (CC) at the same time, thus having support for large bandwidth. It has been agreed that up to 5 (five) CCs could be aggregated in LTE Rel-10 in both FDD and TDD systems.
In Rel-10, the current discussion is mainly about CA of either FDD-FDD systems or TDD-TDD systems. However, if one operator has both TDD and FDD bands, the CA scenario of TDD/FDD is likely to become relevant. This is likely to be considered in Rel-11 and further releases. By using TDD/FDD CA, one can achieve some valuable benefits such as: balancing the traffic load among FDD and TDD systems, improving the peak data rate, and thus improving the spectrum efficiency in general for the operator.
In Germany, the government had an LTE spectrum auction this year for the 2.6 GHz spectrum. After the auction, the FDD UL/DL and TDD band is shared by four operators in a discontinuous manner. In the TDD spectrum, there is a very high chance some operators will operate with TDD system, but may still wish to support FDD UEs in case load is low in TDD system, especially in the early phase of implementation. On the other hand, an operator may also wish to have the flexibility of support TDD UE in FDD system in case of load balancing, or to improve peak data rate.


A resectoscope and a method of use for removing organic tissue, e.g., the prostate gland, from the body of a living being. The resectoscope includes an elongated member having a distal end adapted to be introduced into the body of the being at the situs of organic tissue to be removed via a tubular sheath. The resectoscope includes a laser for producing a laser beam adjacent the distal end of the elongated member to penetrate several millimeters through the surface of the tissue to coagulate. A rotatable cutter, e.g., a pair of angled offset planar blades, is disposed at the distal end of the elongated member and is arranged to be rotated at a high rate of speed by an associated drive assembly to cut the coagulated tissue. A lumen is provided to carry an irrigation liquid to the situs of the tissue. A suction lumen is provided to carry the tissue removed by the cutter so that it can be retrieved for histological examination. A viewing system is also provided and extends through the resectoscope in order to enable the operator to view the lasing and cutting of the tissue.

A resectoscope is employed transurethrally to perform prostate and/or bladder surgery. This device has an elongate central working section provided with an outer sheath, usually made of stainless steel, which is inserted into the urethra. The outer sheath prevents the urethra from collapsing, while the working elements internally of the sheath are employed to cut away the desired tissue.
Until recently the treatment of benign prostate hyperplasia has been by use of a technique called transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) utilizing conventional resectoscopes. Such resectoscopes for the most part either are of the cold punch type, wherein the cutting element is unheated, or are of the heated type, where the cutting element, in the form of a conductive wire, is heated through an electrical connection to a diathermy unit. The diathermy unit can be controlled by the surgeon, either through the use of a hand-operated switch or through the use of a foot-operated switch.
In a manually operated resectoscope of the type employing a heated cutting element, the surgeon manually extends the cutting element beyond the end of the outer sheath to a position engaging the tissue to be cut. Thereafter, the cutting element is energized through actuation of the diathermy unit, and at the same time the cutting element is manually retracted to cause it to slice away a desired amount of the tissue. The surgeon views the area being operated upon through a telescopic system that also is mounted within the stainless steel sheath of the device, and a continuous irrigation system is utilized to keep the line-of-sight free of blood and other debris.
During prostate surgery it is common to cut away approximately 1/10 of a gram of tissue with each cutting stroke of the resectoscope. Although the total weight of tissue to be removed varies with the size of the individual and the severity of the problem, it is quite common to remove anywhere from 20 to 150 grams of tissue in a typical prostate operation. Therefore, in even the simplest of operations, it is generally necessary to reciprocate the cutting element at least 200 times.
During transurethral resection of the prostate, fluids are used to irrigate the operative situs during the operation as well as during the immediate postoperative period. The fluid irrigation during the resection has two purposes: to first clarify the area so that the operator's vision is unobstructed and second to remove any prostatic chips toward the bladder. Therefore, the bladder acts as a temporary reservoir for prostatic chips and blood clots. Before the procedure is completed, and sometimes in the middle of the procedure, the bladder must be irrigated and cleared completely of any prostatic chips or clots. It would, however, facilitate the operation if irrigation fluid and the prostatic chips or clots could be removed without having to irrigate the bladder.
In the diathermy unit previously discussed, electricity is used both for cutting and coagulation. The electricity runs through a hot metal were (isolated in the proximal part) to cut pieces or chips of the prostate and to coagulate any bleeding areas. The use of these electrically operated resectoscopes has certain disadvantages. For example, there is a need for a very powerful diathermy machine; the electric loops through which the electricity runs have an average useful life of only one or two patients; each loop costs approximately fifty dollars; and the procedure produces tissue charring or carbonization which produces a slightly higher risk of a location for infection. (Charred tissue is dead tissue and with urine and blood flows close thereto, bacteria might find a suitable place to multiply.)
Furthermore, while operating time depends greatly on the size of the prostate as well as the skill of the operator, other considerations also increase operating time. These include excessive bleeding, a small bladder capacity to receive the irrigation fluid and the removal of prostatic chips. The average skilled operator or surgeon may take approximately one minute to remove each gram of prostatic tissue. Since the majority of prostate surgical removals are under 100 grams, e.g., approximately 20 to 60 grams, it can be seen that the process can become quite time consuming--and there are some prostates that range in size from 100 to 250 grams. Accordingly, it can be seen that any process or apparatus which decreases the operating time would be very beneficial.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,882 (Hakky) there is disclosed a resectoscope instrument embodying a laser for use in coagulating and removing prostate tissue. A cutting blade is provided in that instrument for cutting away tissue which had been coagulated by the laser. To that end the instrument utilizes a forward directed laser to penetrate the tissue to be removed prior to cutting of that tissue. The instrument also includes means by which a irrigation fluid can be continuously supplied to and removed from the cutting site, so that the irrigation fluid, cut tissue and any debris are withdrawn through the instrument without the need to fully irrigate the bladder.
Some devices are now becoming available for effecting transurethral resection of the prostate by means of a laser. For example, Surgical Laser Technologies of Oaks PA offers a "contact laser" which serves to vaporize the prostate in order to reduce bleeding and morbidity common with the traditional transurethral resection techniques. Another laser device is offered by Intra-Sonix, Inc. of Burlington, Mass. for effecting what it refers to as "transurethral ultrasound guided laser induced prostatectomy" (TULIP). That device utilizes a laser mounted on an ultrasonic transducer introduced transurethrally to heat the prostate tissue to the point that it becomes necrotic so that it sloughs off and is expelled in the patient's urine over an extended period of time, e.g., three to six weeks, following the surgical procedure.
As should be appreciated by those skilled in the art, when performing a prostate resection (or other tissue resection procedures, for that matter) it is desirable to be able to be able to retrieve the removed tissue for analysis, e.g., histological examination. Thus, laser devices which do not include any means for effecting the retrieval of lased tissue, particularly with the cellular architecture of that tissue substantially preserved, leave much to be desired from the standpoint of patient care. For example, the use of such devices leaves open the possibility of the failure to detect pathological conditions, e.g., malignant cells, in the removed tissue. Accordingly, the need exists for a laser resectoscope for effecting transurethral prostatectomy or other surgical procedures which addresses this concern.
A further consideration of prostate surgery is the fact that the capsule of the prostate contains many veins, and if any of these are breached, the capsule will bleed profusely and will allow the irrigation fluid to escape outside the urinary system into the area surrounding the prostate. This not only causes pain, but electrolyte disturbance with an increased morbidity and even possibly mortality. In order to avoid piercing the capsule, many surgeons stop short of the capsule by 0.5-1 mm or more depending on the skill of the operator and anatomy of the prostate. It would, of course, be beneficial to get as close to (without invading the capsule) as possible. Such skill is only obtained after many years of practice.
Thus, a need also exists for apparatus to enable the performance of prostate surgery as close to the capsule or even up to the capsule without damaging the capsule. Having such ability would not only allow much more thorough removal of the undesirable tissue, but would also reduce the anxieties associated with possible invasion of the capsule.

Laser resectoscope with mechanical cutting means and laser coagulating means