A magnetizer for a tissue-penetrating medical tool such as a needle, cannula, stylet, or catheter consist of a magnetic flux generator which generates a magnetic field in a tool-receiving space. The tool can be passed through or into and out of the space to magnetize it. Optionally the space can be defined by a disposable plastics tube, with a closed end, so that a defined length of the tool is magnetized. The magnetic flux generator can be a permanent magnet or electromagnet. Alternatively a conveyor belt can be used to transport a tissue-penetrating medical tool through a magnetic field generated by an electromagnet with the belt and the electromagnetic being controlled in response to an optical sensor for detecting the position of the tissue-penetrating medical tool. The device is suitable for magnetizing tools for use in surgical procedures where the tool is to be magnetically tracked.

Unless explicitly indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not admitted to be prior art.
There are numerous medical procedures that involve the insertion of a medical tool or instrument, such as a needle, cannula, catheter or stylet, into a subject's body, e.g. minimally-invasive surgical procedures, local anaesthesia, detection of bio-electrical signals, electrical stimulation for diagnosis or treatment, vascular access, fine needle aspiration, musculoskeletal injections and so on. In such procedures it is generally necessary to guide the medical tool properly to the desired position in the subject's body and it can also be beneficial to monitor or track the medical tool position to ensure that it remains at the desired location. In general it is very difficult for the user to determine the exact position of the tip of the medical tool and thus to be sure whether it is in the desired place, for example adjacent a nerve, or whether it has undesirably penetrated something else, for example a blood vessel.
It has been proposed to use x-ray techniques for needle guidance by providing the clinician with an x-ray image of the needle in the body. However in view of the risks associated with exposure to electromagnetic radiation, it is not possible to provide continuous guidance during insertion of the medical tool and so a series of snapshots are relied upon, which does not give optimal guidance.
More recently the use of ultrasound imaging to guide needle and catheterisation procedures has been proposed. Ultrasound imaging is advantageous compared to x-ray techniques because of the lack of exposure to electromagnetic radiation, and ultrasound probes are easily manipulable to image many different parts of the body. However ultrasound imaging has two main challenges: firstly that the interpretation of ultrasound images is rather difficult, and secondly that needles do not show-up particularly reliably or visibly in the ultrasound image.
As to the problem of needle visibility, the ultrasound image acquisition plane is thin—of the order of 1 mm thick, and so if the needle is out of that plane it will not be imaged. Further, even when the needle is in the imaging plane, because the echogenicity of standard needles is poor at high angles of incidence, the needle may not be particularly visible. It has been proposed to produce echogenic needles which make the needle more visible to ultrasound imaging devices. However these only help when the needle is well-aligned with the imaging plane. Similarly techniques for image processing and ultrasound beam steering help only when the needle is well-aligned with the imaging plane and do not work well for angles of incidence greater than 45 degrees.
Various needle tracking technologies have been proposed based either on a needle guide fitted to an ultrasound probe, e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 6,690,159 B2 or WO-A-2012/040077, or based on the transmission and reception of electromagnetic information, e.g. US-A-2007-027390), but these have functional and accuracy limitations which means that the needle tip position is not exactly known in every clinical circumstance. Typical accuracies are of the order of 2 mm, which can mean the difference between the needle tip being inside or outside a nerve. Further they often require the use of heavily modified or new equipment which is unwelcome to clinicians and to institutions with relatively rigid purchasing regimes.
Most often, therefore, practitioners rely on their skill and experience to judge where the tip of the medical instrument is as it is inserted. They may rely on sound, the touch and feel of the physical resistance to the medical tool and sudden changes in resistance, and changes in resistance to the injection of air or fluids. Developing this level of skill and experience is time-consuming and difficult and as there is an anatomical variation from patient to patient, the procedures inevitably entail some risks.
More recently it has been proposed to utilise magnetic tracking of a needle or other tissue-penetrating tool using a magnetometric detector attached to a freehand ultrasound probe and using a magnetised tissue-penetrating tool. Such a technique is described in our co-pending International patent application no. PCT/EP2011/065420. In this system a standard freehand ultrasound probe has a magnetometric detector attached to it, the detector comprising an array of magnetometric sensors. The sensors detect the magnetic field from the magnetised tissue-penetrating medical tool and send their readings of the magnetic field to a base station. The base station includes a data processor for calculating from the measurements the relative position and orientation of the tissue-penetrating medical tool relative to the ultrasound probe. The base station can supply this calculated position and orientation to the ultrasound imaging system so that the tissue-penetrating medical tool can be displayed on the ultrasound image of the subject's anatomy.
The system is advantageous in that it allows the operator to see both the ultrasound imaged anatomy and the magnetically detected tissue-penetrating medical tool on the same image. This enables greater accuracy in the procedure. Further, the attachment of a magnetometric detector to the ultrasound probe does not alter the feel of the ultrasound probe significantly, and it remains, therefore, familiar to the practitioner. Similarly the magnetization of the tissue-penetrating medical tool does not alter its physical characteristics, again, preserving the familiarity and experience of the clinician. The system is also simple and cheap compared to optical or electromagnetic tracking technologies and because the ultrasound probe can be manipulated freely, the ease-of-use of the freehand ultrasound system is preserved.
The system requires, however, that the tissue-penetrating medical tool is reliably and consistently magnetised.
Accordingly the present invention provides a device and method for magnetising a tissue-penetrating medical tool. In particular at least part of the tissue-penetrating medical tool is magnetically saturated by the magnetization device and method. The device and method preserve the sterility of the tool while reliably magnetising the tool to the extent necessary. The device and method may also be adapted to magnetise a defined length of the tissue-penetrating medical tool.
In more detail one embodiment of the invention provides a device for magnetizing a tissue-penetrating medical tool comprising a tool-receiving space for receiving at least part of the tissue-penetrating medical tool; a magnetic flux generator generating a magnetic field, the magnetic field having a magnetization region for magnetically-saturating the part of the tissue-penetrating medical tool which is in said tool-receiving space, the magnetic flux in the magnetization region being oriented in a direction substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the tissue-penetrating medical tool.
Another aspect of the invention provides a method of magnetising a tissue-penetrating medical tool comprising: positioning at least part of the tissue-penetrating medical tool in a tool-receiving space; generating a magnetic field in said tool-receiving space to magnetically-saturate the part of the tissue-penetrating medical tool which is in said tool-receiving space, the magnetic flux in the magnetization region being oriented in a direction substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the tissue-penetrating medical tool.
Preferably the tool receiving space is adapted to permit movement of the tissue-penetrating medical tool in a movement direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tissue-penetrating medical tool. Preferably the tool-receiving space is adapted to admit a predefined length of the tissue-penetrating medical tool, and more preferably to allow it to be moved into and out of the tool-receiving space in opposing movement directions. The tool-receiving space may have a longitudinal axis substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tool and substantially parallel to the magnetic flux in the magnetisation region.
The magnetic flux generator may be provided on one side of the tool-receiving space. More preferably the magnetic flux generator is provided on two sides of the tool-receiving space. Alternatively the magnetic flux generator may surround the tool-receiving space, e.g. by having a cylindrical configuration.
The magnetic flux generator may comprise a stationary part and a movable part, the stationary part generating a magnetic field extending through the magnetization region and the moveable part being movable towards and away from the magnetization space so that its magnetic field is selectively applied to the magnetization region. The movable part of the magnetic flux generator may comprise a plurality of magnets positioned along a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tissue-penetrating medical tool. The plurality of magnets may have alternating pole orientations. Preferably the plurality of magnets comprise a first set of magnets with alternating poles on one side of the magnetization region and a second set of magnets on the opposite side of the magnetization region, the second set of magnets having the same pole orientations as the first set.
Preferably the movable part of the magnetic flux generator is movable towards and away from the magnetization region in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the tissue-penetrating medical tool.
The tool receiving space may be constituted by a longitudinally-extending space.
The magnetic flux generator may be a permanent magnet or electromagnet.
A conveyor belt may be provided to convey a tissue-penetrating medical tool through the magnetization region in the tool-receiving space. Where an electromagnetic and conveyor belt are used together, the electromagnetic may be controlled to vary the strength and/or direction of the magnetic flux in the magnetization region as the tissue-penetrating tool passes through the magnetization region. Preferably an optical sensor is provided to detect the position of the tissue-penetrating tool as it passes through the magnetization region.
The tool-receiving space may have one open end for receiving the tool and a closed end, the length of the tool-receiving space thus defining a length of tissue-penetrating medical tool which is within the magnetization region.
The tool-receiving space may comprise a sterile liner such as a disposable drape and/or disposable plastics tube. The disposable plastics tube may be a standard needle or cannula cover.
In one embodiment the device is sterile and, optionally, disposable.
The device is preferably hand-held and optionally is provided with a guard extending around the entrance to the tool-receiving space to protect the user's hand. The guard may be a plastics shroud or protective lip.
The tissue-penetrating medical tool can be a needle, cannula, stylet, or the like.


A method and system for nerve identification, monitoring, location marking, and location recognition system used during laparoscopic surgery.

Traditionally, surgery on internal body parts is performed by cutting an incision in the skin to access the internal body parts. Such open surgery entails a number of known risks including infection, inadvertent damage to other organs, nerves and other structures, scarring, and loss of blood. In an effort to reduce some of these risks and improve patient outcomes surgeons have developed laparoscopic, and more recently robotic techniques to perform surgery. Robotic surgery is essentially an advanced type of laparoscopic surgery in which the arms that enter the body cavity are robotically controlled instead of manually controlled. During a laparoscopic or robotic surgery, such as the da Vinci® surgery system, small incisions are made in the skin through which 5-12 millimeter access ports are placed. These ports serve as doorways through which small working instruments and an optical element can be placed. The optical element/camera creates a magnified view of the internal organs that the surgeon sees on a monitor or console. Such less invasive laparoscopic and robotic surgeries typically have reduced side effects for the patient to allow a more rapid and complete recovery. They have not, however, substantially decreased the incidence of intraoperative nerve damage that has been attributed to post-surgery side effects such as paralysis, erectile dysfunction, and urinary and fecal incontinence.
This inadvertent nerve damage often occurs because the surgeon cannot identify the nerves during surgery because they are either buried in tissue and/or are too small to be seen with the naked eye or with the magnification typically used during laparoscopic and robotic surgery. This problem is complicate in laparoscopic and robotic surgery because not only can the surgeons not see the nerves but, because their hands are not in the surgical field, they cannot palpate them either.
This problem of inadvertent nerve damage during surgery gave birth to the intraoperative neuromonitoring industry over 20+ years ago. Since that time, intraoperative nerve identification and monitoring has become standard of care in open surgical procedures in spine, ENT, vascular and many other surgical specialties. Until recently, however, intraoperative nerve monitoring was not performed during laparoscopic or robotic surgery. This changed with the introduction of the ProPep Nerve Monitoring System. This System allows nerve identification and nerve monitoring to be performed in real-time during both robotic-assisted and traditional laparoscopic surgery. Unfortunately, the system does not "remember" or mark where the nerves are when the surgeon moves the laparoscopic/robotic optical element, changing his view of the anatomy. This is cumbersome for the surgeon and can increase the procedure time as the surgeon has to reaffirm the location of the nerve throughout a surgical procedure.

System and method for laparoscopic nerve identification, nerve location marking, and nerve location recognition


An amplifier includes a biasing section, first and second differential amplifying sections and an output section. The biasing section outputs first and second bias currents based on first and second power source voltages. The first differential amplifying section outputs a first amplified voltage based on the first bias current. The second differential amplifying section outputs a second amplified voltage based on the second bias current. The output section outputs the second power source voltage based on the first amplified voltage and the first power source voltage, and outputs the first power source voltage based on the second amplified voltage and the second power source voltage. Therefore, a variation of the threshold voltage is compensated to enhance display quality.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an amplifier, a data driver and a display apparatus having the amplifier. More particularly, the present invention relates to an amplifier capable of an offset compensation, a data driver and a display apparatus having the amplifier.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a polysilicon thin film transistor (p-Si TFT) is widely used for a driver circuit of a liquid crystal display apparatus. Recently, the SOG (System On Glass) product including not only a gate driver circuit but also a source driver integrated circuit (IC) that is mounted on glass is under development.
A source follower amplifier is connected to an output terminal of a digital-analog converter (DAC) in the source driver IC. There are various kinds of source follower amplifier. One of the source amplifiers is a compensation type OP-AMP. The compensation type OP-AMP has wide range output, high speed and good linearity.
FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram illustrating a conventional push-pull amplifier. In detail, FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram illustrating a conventional push-pull amplifier having a compensation type OP-AMP.
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional push-pull amplifier includes a biasing section 10, a first differential amplifying section 20, a second differential amplifying section 30 and an output section 40.
The first biasing section 10 provides first and second bias currents to the first and second differential amplifying sections 20 and 30, respectively, based on first and second power source voltages VDD and VSS.
The first differential amplifying section 20 includes P-channel differential pair having N-channel current mirror. The first differential amplifying section 20 amplifies a difference between an external input voltage and an output voltage based on the first bias current to provide the output section 40 with a first amplified voltage corresponding to the amplified difference.
The second differential amplifying section 30 includes N-channel differential pair having P-channel current mirror. The second differential amplifying section 30 amplifies a difference between an external input voltage and an output voltage based on the second bias current to provide the output section 40 with a second amplified voltage corresponding to the amplified difference.
The output section 40 pulls down the output voltage VOUT to output the second power source voltage VSS based on the first amplified voltage, and the output section 40 pulls up the output voltage VOUT to output the first power source voltage VDD based on the second amplified voltage.
When a threshold voltage of an N-channel transistor is raised, the first and second amplified voltages outputted from the first and second differential amplifying sections 20 and 30, respectively, are raised. Therefore, a linear region is deformed, as the first and second amplified voltages are increased, so that variations between inputs and outputs occur. For the same reason, a change in a threshold voltage of a P-channel transistor influences the outputs.
Therefore, when the OP-AMP employs the p-Si TFT, a large variation of the output occurs even when same input voltage is applied to the OP-AMP. The variation of the output is referred to as "offset" or "offset voltage". The offset shows large variance in accordance with the characteristics of transistors.
The liquid crystal display panel includes a plurality of p-SI TFTs, and the p-Si TFTs show large variance in threshold voltage Vth over the panels, even within a panel. Therefore, when the variation of the threshold voltage is not compensated, different outputs are outputted in accordance with the pixels of the liquid crystal display panel, even though same data voltage is applied to the p-Si TFTs of the liquid crystal display panel. Therefore, display quality is lowered.

Data driver capable of an offset compensation and display apparatus having the same


A microporous graphite foam, comprising a matrix of graphite fibers joined by a graphitized graphite-forming precursor, wherein the foam comprises irregular interstitial spaces having an average pore size in the range from about 0.1 to about 10 microns and a void fraction in the range from about 80% to about 95%. A process for producing a microporous graphite foam including a matrix of graphite fibers joined by a graphitized graphite-forming precursor. In its various embodiments, the graphite foam has one or more of pore sizes less than about ten microns, low bulk density, high physical strength and good machinability, while also having the desirable characteristics of graphite, including high thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity and solderability. A cryogenic cooling system including the graphite foam. In one embodiment, the graphite foam is a component of a cooling interface in the cryogenic cooling system.

Many uses are known for carbon and graphite foam materials, and a number of processes have been developed for making carbon and graphite foams. Known uses include uses such as a heat sink, a heating element, an electrical conductor, a lightweight form filling body for composite structures, cryostatic devices for cooling detectors such as infrared, electron, X-ray or other radiation detectors, a fuel cell element, a membrane for separation of conductive fluids, and combinations of these. Graphite has a very high conductivity, and foams made of graphite share this characteristic.
Most processes for making graphite foams include some combination of the application of heat and inert gases under high pressure to a material such as pitch which can be converted to graphite, followed by changes in pressure and/or temperature in which bubbles or voids are caused to form in the material, and subsequent carbonization and graphitization. Such processes generally produce foams having pore sizes substantially greater than ten microns and are not capable of producing microporous graphite foams having a pore size less than about ten microns, while still having features such as a low bulk density, low brittleness and acceptable physical strength. The low brittleness and physical or mechanical strength are needed for subsequent handling and machining into items having a shape other than a relatively simple molded shape. Low bulk density is needed for light weight. While prior art methods could attain some of these characteristics, it has not been possible to attain desired combinations of them together with a microporous structure.
Thus, a need remains for a microporous graphite foam having pore sizes less than ten microns, low bulk density and good physical strength for subsequent handling and machining into items having a shape other than a relatively simple molded shape, while also having the desirable characteristics of graphite, including light weight, high thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity and solderability.

Microporous graphite foam and process for producing same


A socket terminal assembly is configured to electrically connect a contacting area of an integrated circuit with a corresponding connection region of a substrate, the socket terminal assembly comprising a socket shell including a first end configured to contact the corresponding connection region of the substrate and a second end defining a first open cavity; a pin including an end defining a second open cavity; and a coiled spring interposed between the socket shell and the pin, the spring including a first end section received within the first open cavity and a second end section received within the second open cavity.

Ball grid array (BGA) and land grid array (LGA) packages are becoming increasingly popular because of their low profiles and high densities. With a BGA package, for example, the rounded solder balls of the BGA are generally soldered directly to corresponding surface mount pads of a printed circuit board rather than to plated thru-holes which receive pins from, for example, a pin grid array IC package.
Sockets are used to allow particular IC packages to be interchanged without permanent connection to a circuit board. More recently, sockets for use with BGA and LGA packages have been developed to allow these packages to be non-permanently connected (e.g., for testing) to a circuit board. It is desirable that such sockets present a low-profile.


A method for maintaining a set temperature of wash water of clothes washer comprises the steps of supplying first cold water into a wash tub, measuring supply time of the first cold water until filling a first target level of the first cold water, measuring temperature of the cold water contained in the wash tub, supplying hot water and second cold water in the wash tub containing the first cold water, measuring supply time of the hot water and the second cold water until filling a second target level of the hot water and the second cold water, measuring temperature of mixed water being comprised of the hot water and the first and second cold water contained in the wash tub, and comparing temperature of the hot water which is calculated on the following four values-supply time of the first cold water, temperature of the first cold water, supply time of the hot water and the second cold water, and temperature of the mixed water with predetermined temperature, and controlling a valve for the cold water and a valve for the hot water.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for maintaining a set temperature of wash water of clothes washer. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for maintaining a set temperature of wash water of clothes washer in which cold water is supplied at the onset and then cold water and hot water having proper temperature are supplied until a predetermined level.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Clothes washer provided with typical control system is shown in FIG. 3. The washer is comprised of a water supplier 12 providing valves 12a, 12b for supplying hot water and cold water into a wash tub 17, a temperature detector 15 for sensing temperature of mixed water supplied from the hot valve 12a and the cold valve 12b, a temperature controller 14 for controlling the opening or closing of each valve according to the sensed temperature by the temperature detector 15, and a micro-computer 13 for controlling functions of the above mentioned elements.
At the onset of a water supply mode, the temperature controller 14 enables the hot and cold water valves 12a, 12b to open under a command of the microcomputer 13, and the hot water and the cold water flow into the wash tub 17. Thereafter, the temperature of mixed water comprised of the hot and cold water is detected by the temperature detector 15, and then the detected value is sent to the temperature controller 14. Further, the water supplier 12 is controlled to obtain a target temperature of the mixed water so the washing water having a desired temperature flows into the wash tub 17.
In the clothes washer providing the control system, excessive hot water unexpectedly flows into the wash tub 17 through the hot valve 12a, which leads to problem that the clothes contained in the wash tub 17 seem to be badly damaged. Further, the temperature of the mixed water comprised of hot water and cold water is sensed at a portion located after the supply area, that is, the portion before the hot water and the cold water are sufficiently mixed, which causes an inaccurate temperature of the mixed water.

Method for maintaining set temperature of wash water of clothes washer


A method and apparatus for heat stretching a synthetic fiber rope. The rope is attached to tensioning members and suspended in a liquid medium so that this extends in a generally horizontal direction. The liquid medium has a specific gravity which is approximately equal to that of the rope at the desired stretching temperature, so that the rope is buoyed by this in order to relieve the weight of the segment from the tensioning members. The liquid medium is then heated so that the rope is uniformly heated to the stretching temperature, and tension is applied between the tensioning members so as to stretch the segment of rope to a predetermined increase in length.

Typically, synthetic rope or cordage is made up of many thousands of individual strands of synthetic fiber. Each of these fibers has a certain load-bearing capacity (e.g., breaking strength), and theoretically, the total load-bearing capacity of the rope should be equal to the sum of these. However, in practice, this is not so: during the normal fabrication of the rope, the individual fibers do not all end up being of equal length, and so some of these take up the load while others may not do so until the shorter strands break. This problem has become more severe with the advent of ultrahigh strength fibers which stretch very little (e.g., 2%) before parting, as opposed to the 40% stretch or so which was exhibited by earlier nylon fibers and the like.
As a result, the actual load-bearing capacity of a rope is normally some relatively small fraction of the combined capacity of its fibers. In the art, this is expressed as "translational efficiency". For example, relatively large diameter synthetic lines (e.g., 3/8"-4") may typically have a translational efficiency as low as 30-40%. As a result, for a given application, these ropes must be much larger, heavier, and more difficult to handle than would be the case if their translational efficiencies were nearer their theoretical maximums.
Heat stretching of synthetic lines can dramatically increase translational efficiency. When the line is heated, the modulus of elasticity of the fibers is reduced, and then when tension is applied, the shorter fibers are stretched out until the longer ones begin to take a load, and are also stretched out; finally the great majority of the fibers will have the same length and so will be able to bear loads equally.
Heat stretching also tends to improve the structure of synthetic lines on a molecular level. As is known, the molecules of the initial fiber material are often poorly aligned in a somewhat isotropic state; heat stretching essentially "pulls" the polymer material out so as to cause alignment of a greater proportion of the chains of macro molecules along the fiber axis, so that these can bear tensile loading in a more efficient manner.
Heat stretching has been employed previously to achieve these goals, but only with individual yarns or very small diameter synthetic line. For example, both fishing line and bow strings have been successfully stretched by means of a hot gas process. This involves running the line between unequal diameter (or unequal speed) payout and takeup reels, and through a stream of heated air or other gas. The temperature of the gas is typically such that the line would be destroyed if it were to pause in the stream, but the reels are operated at a high rate of speed so that the line is only momentarily softened and stretched in the heated zone before cooling again.
The heat stretch process described in the preceding paragraph works well with very small diameter (e.g., 1/32") synthetic line, but it is inherently unsuitable for use with much larger lines such as braided or twisted rope, which may range upwardly of 4" in diameter. Firstly, the arrangement of high speed payout and takeup reels is simply impractical for handling of rope of this size, at least on an economical basis. Also, the insulating qualities of the rope material would tend to prevent the core of the rope from becoming sufficiently heated to permit stretching before the exterior of the rope degraded in the hot gas stream; the heated gas provides a poor medium for uniformly heating the rope material, and it is also very difficult to control this so as to maintain an accurate temperature very close to the melting point of the rope fibers.
Yet another serious problem stems from the weight of the rope itself (e.g., up to 5 lbs./ft. or more). If a segment of the rope is suspended between a pair of support points (for example, between a pair of eyes, or between a payout and takeup reel), this weight will tend to make the segment droop downwardly towards its center and place a heavy strain on the rope near the support points; if the rope has been heated for stretching, this will tend to cause the material to over-stretch and "neck down" near the support points, with a result that the utility of the rope is destroyed.
While these problems have previously presented themselves with respect to heat stretching synthetic ropes, certain newly developed fiber materials exhibit characteristics which intensify these difficulties. One such a material is an ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fiber marketed by Allied Signal Corporation under the trademark "SPECTRA". This is a high specific strength material which is very abrasion and UV resistant, and which possesses a high specific modulus of elasticity and a low specific gravity. These qualities render it highly desirable for use in rope. However, the material also presents severe difficulties from the standpoint of previously-known heat stretching techniques: it possesses a low melting point (147.degree. C.) and its tensile properties drop off rapidly near this temperature, and it also acts as an excellent thermal insulator. Accordingly, these characteristics make it very difficult to stretch a rope made of the SPECTRA.TM. fibers using conventional heat stretch processes.

Method for heat stretching synthetic fiber rope


Methods and apparatuses for a low EMI power supply. The power supply may include a control circuit, a power switch connected to the control circuit, an anti-parallel diode connected to the power switch, an inductor coupled to the anti-parallel diode, an output diode coupled to the inductor, and an output capacitor connected to the output diode. The power supply may include a series diode and no anti-parallel diode. The power supply provides a controllable and variable high voltage power supply from a small number of devices while, at the same time, producing low EMI. Power conversion is achieved at high efficiencies due to the recycling of energy in parasitic capacitance. Due to its low EMI, the power supply is particularly well suited for driving electronic devices such as avalanche photodiodes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the fields of power and power supplies. More particularly, it concerns methods and apparatuses for providing a controllable and variable high-voltage, logic-controlled, resonant switching power supply. Even more particularly, it concerns methods and apparatuses for providing power exhibiting low electromagnetic interference (EMI); thus, the invention may be used for driving, for example, avalanche photo diodes (APDs), which typically require high voltage but are sensitive to excess EMI.
2. Description of Related Art
The ability to provide power exhibiting low EMI is important in a wide variety of disciplines. For instance, sensor equipment such as avalanche photo diodes, medical equipment, communication equipment, and a variety of other general electronic applications may greatly benefit from utilizing low EMI power.
EMI can negatively impact communications systems and interfere with the proper operation of sensitive electronic equipment. For example, in medical applications, EMI may cause false readings and, in extreme cases, may disrupt the proper operation of life-sustaining electronic devices such as cardiac pacemakers. In the case of sensor equipment such as APDs, EMI may contribute to noise, which may disrupt readings by interfering with the measurement of the signal of interest.
As is known in the art, conventional transformers and switched-mode power supplies (SMPS) may contribute to EMI. SMPS typically operate at switching frequencies (and harmonics of those frequencies) that fall well within the frequency bands commonly allocated for communications and other devices, such as high-frequency (HF), very-high frequency (VHF), and ultra-high-frequency (UHF) bands. Consequently, their leakage signals represent a potential source of interference to consumer, commercial, and military communications services worldwide, as well as other analog and digital electronic systems such as photodiode systems, radars, and medical electronic systems that may be hindered by the interference.
Much of the noise generated by SMPS is related to the switching process itself. In its open position, an ideal switch provides infinite resistance to the flow of electrical current. In its closed position, the ideal switch offers zero resistance, allowing current flow with negligible drop in voltage. An ideal switch would control the conduction of high-speed pulsed waveforms without adding transient events or causing voltage spikes. However, real switches cannot change states instantaneously. Instead, they require transition periods known as rise and fall times. These transition periods impose distortion on the harmonic components of high-frequency SMPS waveforms. The switching process produces voltage spikes resulting in EMI and radio frequency interference (RFI) that can reach well past 100 MHz. The voltage spikes are typically caused by short-duration charging and discharging of parasitic capacitances in the power-supply circuitry.
In extreme cases where transformer or SMPS EMI levels are high, at least some of the interference may be controlled with a magnetic shielding enclosure. The enclosure surrounds the transformer, captures stray magnetic flux or radiation, and channels the unwanted energy to a ground plane. Unfortunately, such enclosures are typically bulky and add cost, weight, and manufacturing complexity to a design.
Aspects of the present disclosure may be used in conjunction with conventional apparatuses and methods relating to power supplies in general, and more particularly to switching power supplies. Below, several U.S. patents that are representative of such conventional technology are briefly discussed. Although each of these references has shown at least a degree of success in its respective application, room for significant improvement remains.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,448,465, which is hereby incorporated by reference, involves a switching power supply that supplies a regulated output voltage and suppresses spike voltage and spike current generated by a switching action of transformers. It also suppresses switching frequency drift due to load variation. A reduction of noise interference to electronic equipment and power loss in the switching power supply itself results. A series connection of a primary winding of a first transformer and a first switching means, which repeats an on/off action is connected across a DC power source. A series connection of a second switching means, which repeats an on/off action alternately with the first switching means, and a first capacitor is connected in parallel with the primary winding of the first transformer. A series connection of a primary winding of the second transformer and a second capacitor is connected in parallel with the second switching means. Regulated DC outputs are taken out from each secondary winding of the transformers through rectifiers/filters. A control circuit supplies on/off signals, which on/off-ratios are varied according to one of the regulated DC outputs, to the first and the second switching means.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,128, which is hereby incorporated by reference, involves a power supply apparatus in which a series circuit of first and second switching elements not blocking their reverse-directional currents is connected in parallel to a series circuit of a DC power source and a capacitor. A primary winding of a transformer is connected between a junction point of the DC power source and capacitor and a junction point of the switching elements. A secondary winding of the transformer is connected to a load circuit, and a controller is provided for controlling ON and OFF operation of the switching elements to cause a switching frequency of the switching elements to be set higher than a resonance frequency of the capacitor and an inductance of the transformer and to cause a voltage across the capacitor to increase.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,155, which is hereby incorporated by reference, involves a resonant switching power supply circuit that includes positive and negative DC input terminals. First and second switching elements are connected in series between the DC input terminals. Each switching element has a control input for receiving a control signal controlling a duty cycle of the switching element. A first capacitor is connected between the DC input terminals. Second and third capacitors are connected in series between the DC input terminals. A first pair of reverse biased rectifying elements in series is connected between the DC input terminals. Each rectifying element of the first pair is connected in parallel with a respective one of the switch elements. A second pair of reverse biased rectifying elements in series is connected between the DC input terminals. Each rectifying element of the second pair is connected in parallel with a respective one of the second and third capacitors. The circuit also includes a transformer including a primary winding having opposite winding ends connected between the rectifying elements of the first pair and between the rectifying elements of the second pair respectively, and a secondary winding having opposite winding ends. A pair of output terminals is connected to the winding ends of the secondary winding of the transformer respectively to supply power. The resonant switching power supply circuit can be used as a power inverter or converter.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,018,467, which is hereby incorporated by reference, involves a resonant mode power supply. It includes a DC voltage source and switching elements for alternatively connecting an oscillating circuit, including a primary winding of a transformer, to the DC voltage source and to ground. A first secondary winding supplies the main output voltage of the power supply, and a second secondary winding provides a control output voltage. An opto-coupler is included and has a light emitter connected to the second secondary winding and a light sensor connected to a controller for controlling the switching of the switching elements. The higher the frequency of the switching, the lower the power being supplied by the power supply. Burst mode stand-by is started by the first secondary winding being shunted to the second secondary winding causing the light emitter to emit a maximum amount of light. The controller increases the switching frequency until it exceeds a predetermined maximum frequency. The controller then stops the switching of the switching elements until the voltage across the light emitter falls below a predetermined value, and the controller then re-starts the switching.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,087,782, which is hereby incorporated by reference, involves a resonant mode power supply. It includes a DC voltage source and switching elements for alternatively connecting an oscillating circuit, including the primary winding of a transformer, to the DC voltage source and to ground. In order to detect faults in the load on a secondary side of the transformer which would cause the resonant mode power supply to attempt to supply and inordinate amount of power, the power on the primary side is detected. And, if this primary power exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the frequency of oscillation is increased to reduce the power. If the fault condition persists, the switching of the switching elements is discontinued.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,130,825, which is hereby incorporated by reference, involves a switching power supply. Primary-side MOS transistors are alternately turned on so that a resonant current flows into the primary winding of a transformer, and an alternate power is transferred to the secondary side. The alternate voltage generated at the secondary winding is applied by the voltage generated at the wound-up secondary winding to the gates of secondary-side MOS transistors such that they are turned on respectively in periods when the polarity of the voltage is positive. Rectified currents flow into a capacitor through a choke coil to perform synchronous rectification. If the voltage of a smoothing capacitor becomes higher than the alternate output voltage when the transformer is inverted, reverse currents flow into the secondary-side MOS transistors. With the counterelectromotive force of the choke coil, the reverse currents flowing when the transformer is inverted are suppressed, and the efficiency of the switching power supply is prevented from decreasing.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,147,881, which is hereby incorporated by reference, involves a resonant switching power supply that has a zero voltage and zero current switch feature that can be operated in a half-bridge or a full-bridge scheme. This enables power consumption to be reduced and electromagnetic radiation to be minimized, and it provides for low cost and convenient manufacture in mass production. The power supply is not influenced by parasitic capacitance and leak inductance.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,157,179, which is hereby incorporated by reference, involves a switched-mode power supply specially suitable for supplying a low output power. The switched-mode power supply periodically first charges a capacitor from an input voltage during a first period of time. It then forms a resonant circuit, including the capacitor and an inductor, to transfer the charge in the capacitor to a load via a rectifier during a second period of time.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,278,620, which is hereby incorporated by reference, involves a switching power-supply circuit comprising: rectifying and smoothing means for generating a rectified and smoothed voltage and outputting the rectified and smoothed voltage as a direct-current input voltage; an insulating converter transformer for transferring a primary-side output to a secondary side; switching means for intermittently passing on the direct-current input voltage to a primary winding of the insulating converter transformer; a primary-side resonance circuit for actuating the switching means in a voltage resonance mode; power-factor improvement means for improving a power factor by generating intermittently a rectified current based on the fed-back switching output voltage; a secondary-side resonance circuit on a secondary side of the insulating converter transformer; direct-current output voltage generation means carrying out a rectification operation in order to generate a secondary-side direct-current output voltage; and constant-voltage control means for executing constant-voltage control on the secondary-side direct-current output voltage.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,288,504, which is hereby incorporated by reference, involves a deflection current/high voltage integration type power supply that has a flyback transformer having a primary winding and a secondary winding. It includes a series circuit of a deflection coil and a first capacitor, connected in series to the primary winding of the flyback transformer; a resonance capacitor connected in parallel to the series circuit of the deflection coil and the first capacitor; a first switching element, connected in parallel with the series circuit of the deflection coil and the first capacitor, to be turned on/turned off by a drive signal so that a high voltage is generated at the secondary winding of the flyback transformer and a deflection current flows in the deflection coil; a parallel connection circuit of a second switching element and a second capacitor, connected in series to the primary winding of the flyback transformer; and a switching control means to control the deflection current flowing in the deflection coil and the high voltage generated at the secondary winding of the flyback transformer by controlling the on-timing and the off-timing of the second switching element in approximate synchronism with the drive signal.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,317,337, which is hereby incorporated by reference, involves a switching power supply circuit that has an insulated converter transformer with a gap for a loose coupling on the secondary side. A parallel resonant capacitor is connected parallel to a secondary winding, and a full-wave rectification circuit produces a secondary-side DC output voltage for increasing a maximum load power. On the primary side, an ordinary full-wave rectification circuit, rather than a voltage doubler rectifying circuit, inputs a rectified and smoothed voltage having a level corresponding to the level of an AC input voltage. A constant-voltage control circuit system for stabilizing a secondary output voltage varies a switching frequency depending on the level of the secondary output voltage to perform composite control over a resonant impedance of a primary parallel resonant circuit and a conduction angle of the switching element.
Although each of the above references exhibit advantageous qualities for its particular application, room for significant improvement remains due to the inability of conventional systems to provide a controllable and variable high voltage power supply from a small number of devices while, at the same time, producing low EMI. Relatedly, conventional systems lack the efficiency, small size, and low EMI with inherent "soft-start" exhibited by embodiments of the present invention described below. Moreover, conventional systems do not allow for operation with a single inductor, no transformer, and one power switch, in contrast to certain specific embodiments described below. Finally, conventional systems typically obtain resonance with a capacitor in series with an inductor, whereas specific embodiments herein are able to obtain resonance with parasitic capacitances in parallel with an inductor.
The referenced shortcomings of the prior art are not intended to be exhaustive, but rather are among many that tend to impair the effectiveness of previously known techniques concerning low-EMI power supplies. Other noteworthy problems may also exist; however, those mentioned here are sufficient to demonstrate that methodology appearing in the art have not been altogether satisfactory.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Logic controlled high voltage resonant switching power supply

BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc.


A bolster assembly for a vehicle is provided, the bolster assembly comprising a body, and a plurality of brackets provided on a front surface of the body, the plurality of brackets being arranged in paired sets. Also provided is a plurality of energy absorbing elements, wherein each of the plurality of energy absorbing elements is operably associated with a respective bracket, and where within each paired set of brackets, the energy absorbing elements are disposed in adjacent relationship separated by a gap. Each paired set of brackets is aligned with a frame structure provided in the vehicle, the frame structure having a width greater than the gap. Upon a crash event and forward displacement of the body, the paired sets of brackets engage the frame structure, the energy absorbing elements deforming during the forward displacement to absorb energy.

In the manufacture of automotive vehicles such as passenger cars and trucks, there are many safety standards that must be met by the vehicle to reduce the likelihood and/or severity of injury to occupants during a crash event.
In order to meet these safety standards, portions of the vehicle, for example interior structures such as the instrument panel assembly are required to absorb at least some of the energy of an impact of an occupant during a crash event. To achieve this, the instrument panel assembly may implement one or more energy absorbing structures known as a bolster. For example, a knee bolster assembly may be implemented to absorb energy in the event of an impact from the knees of a vehicle occupant during a crash event. In general, energy absorption is achieved through deformation of the bolster structure.
Passive bolster assemblies may additionally use specialized structures to assist with energy dissipation. For example, some passive bolster assemblies incorporate energy absorbing brackets. In some forms, these brackets dissipate the energy by way of controlled deformation of the bracket structure during the crash event.
In many current designs, the bolster forms a portion of the surface of the instrument panel, and therefore must meet certain appearance characteristics. Many bolster systems are made from injection-molded parts, which have good appearance characteristics on the surface which is visible within the vehicle. However, in order to achieve these appearance characteristics, injection molded parts must be formed within certain design parameters. For example, to avoid warping and shrinkage issues, injection molded parts are often provided with wall structures of 3 mm or less, thus limiting the overall strength of the bolster system. To compensate, the injection-molded bolster component is mated to a metal back-plate for overall strengthening. These components are ultimately connected to the vehicle structure using separately formed brackets, designed to provide the energy absorbing characteristics of the overall bolster system.
Bolster systems constructed in this way, that is having an injection molded component, a metal back-plate, and bracket structures are complicated and expensive structures to manufacture. In addition, conventional passive bolster systems have been known to produce load-deflection profiles that are not optimal for injury mitigation. For example, conventional passive bolster systems generally exhibit a non-uniform deformation resistance, as well as excessively long displacement to dissipate a given quantity of energy. As a result, typical load-deflection profiles for conventional bolster systems show one or more peak loads that are high with respect to recommended limits. Accordingly, there exists a need for a more simplified overall construction capable of achieving a load deflection profile that effectively dissipates energy in a controlled manner, with shorter overall displacement, and within recommended injury threshold limits.


A soft disposable ejector tip 2 that can match the various contour of the mouth cavity is attached to a chamfer shape copper wire reinforced tube end 3. This tube is attached to a metal holder with finger control level to regulate the negative vacuum pressure needed to extract saliva or spray water inside the mouth during dental works.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show the current ejector used by most dentists. It consists of a straight tube item 1 and the Prior Art tip 2P which is about 9 mm outside diameter, less than 8 mm inside diameter and 14 mm long with six very thick reinforced slit openings at the lower side and one tiny bottom hole 2 mm above the contact surface. Each of these six slit openings is 5 mm long and 1 mm wide from side view and is also opened at the bottom for about another 2 mm, an area too big to prevent soft tissue aspiration. The tip is very hard at the corner area.
The copper reinforced tube has a outer diameter about 6 mm and inner diameter of 4 mm or a inside air flow area about 12 mm square. The net air passage cross section area from the six slit openings, the bottom hole and the surrounding gaps between the tube 1 and the tip 2P is estimated at two to three times of 12 mm square. Air being sucked into the slit openings at the top 2 or 3 mm range can fill the air flow volume inside the tube without providing any interaction or suction at the bottom 1 or 2 mm range for the saliva to jump through the air and move into the tube. Fortunately, if the tip is placed at the right place, it can be pressed into the soft tissue making the saliva level at 1 to 3 mm above the hard bottom of the tip readied to be sucked into the ejector via three vertical wall reinforcements acts as the tube and tip mating stoppers. However, if the tip is loosely left inside the mouth and not pressing down against the soft tissue, as during deep cleaning, then a 1 or 2 mm rise of liquid level would NOT be sucked into the tube when the ejector tip is perpendicular to the tissue surface, and 2 to 3 mm if it is at an angle. These liquid substances would then flow toward the throat area and causes the patient to choke; regardless what the vacuum pressure level is set at the finger controlled metal handle.


Medium-chain length fatty alcohols such as octanol, decanol, dodecanol, or analogues thereof can be used as a stimulator of hematopoiesis, hematopoietic stem cell proliferation, and/or proliferation of one or more of the progenitors of red or white blood cells (e.g., erythrocyte, leukocyte, neutrophil, granulocyte, megakaryocyte, or any combination thereof). It also relates to the treatment of myelosuppression; in particular, this includes the treatment of anemia and/or neutropenia associated with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. Moreover, anemia arising from chronic renal failure or treatment of HIV-infected patients with AZT (zidovudine), or other inhibitors of reverse transcriptase, can be treated. Furthermore, neutropenia arising from infections, hematologic diseases, or nutritional deficiencies can be treated. It also relates to reducing drug toxicity and enhancing drug efficiency.

Chemotherapy refers to the use of cytotoxic agents such as, but not limited to, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, daunorubicin, vinblastine, vincristine, bleomycin, etoposide, topotecan, irinotecan, taxotere, taxol, 5-fluorouracil, methotrexate, gemcitabine, cisplatin, carboplatin, and chlorambucil to eradicate cancer cells and tumors. However, these agents are non-specific and, particularly at high doses, they are toxic to normal, rapidly dividing cells. Ionizing radiation is also toxic to normal, rapidly dividing cells. This often leads to various side effects in patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Myelosuppression, a severe reduction of blood cell production in bone marrow, is one such side effect. It is characterized by anemia, leukopenia, neutropenia, agranulocytosis, and thrombocytopenia. Severe chronic neutropenia is also characterized by a selective decrease in the number of circulating neutrophils and an enhanced susceptibility to bacterial infections.
The essence of treating cancer with chemotherapeutic drugs is to combine a mechanism of cytotoxicity with a mechanism of selectivity for highly proliferating tumor cells over host cells. However, it is rare for chemotherapeutic drugs to have such selectivity. The cytotoxicity of chemotherapeutic agents limits administrable doses, affects treatment cycles, and seriously jeopardizes the quality of life for the cancer patient. Similar drawbacks affect the treatment of cancer with radiotherapy.
Although other normal tissues may also be adversely affected, bone marrow is particularly sensitive to proliferation-specific treatments such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Acute and chronic bone marrow toxicity, which is a common side effect of cancer therapies, leads to decreases in blood cell counts and anemia, leukopenia, neutropenia, agranulocytosis, and/or thrombocytopenia. One cause of such effects is a decrease in the number of replicating hematopoietic cells (e.g., pluripotent stem cells and other progenitor cells) caused by both a lethal effect of cytotoxic agents or radiation on these cells and by differentiation of stem cells provoked by a feedback mechanism induced by the depletion of more mature marrow compartments. The second cause is a reduction in self-renewal capacity of stem cells, which is also related to both direct (mutation) and indirect (aging of stem cell population) effects (Tubiana, M., et al., Radiotherapy and Oncology 29:1-17, 1993). Thus, cancer treatments often result in a decrease in red blood cells or erythrocytes and white blood cells or leukocytes (which consist predominantly of neutrophils) in the general circulation.
Erythrocytes are non-nucleated biconcave disk-like cells which contain hemoglobin and are essential for the transport of oxygen. Hemoglobin is a tetrapeptide which contains four binding sites for oxygen. Anemia refers to that condition which exists when there is a reduction below normal in the number of erythrocytes, the quantity of hemoglobin, or the volume of packed red blood cells in the blood as characterized by a determination of the hematocrit. The hematocrit or "red blood cell volume" is considered to be a particularly reliable indicator of anemia. Typically, in normal adults, average values for red blood cell count (106/mm3), hemoglobin (g/100 mL), and hematocrit (the volume of packed red blood cells in mL/100 mL) for females and males (at sea level) are 4.8±0.6 and 5.4±0.9, 14.0±2.0 and 16.0±2.0, and 42.0±5.0 and 47.0±5.0, respectively, as described in Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 8th Edition, Appendix-Table A-5, McGraw Hill (1977). In normal humans, erythrocytes are produced by the bone marrow and released in the circulation, where they survive approximately 120 days. They are subsequently removed by the monocyte-phagocyte system.
Anemia is a symptom of various diseases and disorders. Therefore, anemia may be classified in terms of its etiology. For example, aplastic anemia is characterized by absence of regeneration of erythrocytes and is resistant to therapy. In such patients, there is a marked decrease in the population of myeloid, erythroid, and thrombopoietic stem cells, which results in pancytopenia. Hemolytic anemia arises from shortened survival of erythrocytes and the inability of the bone marrow to compensate for their decreased life span. It may be hereditary or may result from chemotherapy, infection, or an autoimmune process. Iron deficiency anemia refers to a form of anemia characterized by low or absent iron stores, low serum iron concentration, low hemoglobin concentration, or low hematocrit, etc. Iron deficiency is the most common cause of anemia. Pernicious anemia, which most commonly affects adults, arises from a failure of the gastric mucosa to secrete adequate intrinsic factor, resulting in malabsorption of vitamin B12. Sickle cell anemia arises from a genetically determined defect in hemoglobin synthesis. It is characterized by the presence of sickle-shaped erythrocytes in the blood. The above are only exemplary of the many different anemias known to medicine. However, within the context of this invention, it is of particular interest to address anemia associated with the use of chemotherapy or radiotherapy in the treatment of cancer. According to a statement published in BioWorld Today (page 4; Jul. 23, 2002), approximately 1.2 million cancer patients will undergo cytotoxic chemotherapy in the United States this year and about 800,000 or 67% of them will become anemic. Additionally, anemia is also associated with end-stage renal disease as is the case for patients who require regular dialysis or kidney transplantation for survival. This falls under the umbrella of chronic renal failure or the clinical situation in which there is a progressive and usually irreversible decline in kidney function.
Erythropoietin (EPO) is a glycoprotein with a molecular weight of 34,000 which is produced in the kidney. EPO stimulates the division and differentiation of committed erythroid progenitors in the bone marrow (BFU-E cells) and maintains cell viability (inhibition of apoptosis of BFU-E and CFU-E cells). The biological effects of EPO are receptor mediated. Amino acid identity amongst different animals is 92% between human EPO and monkey EPO and 80% between human EPO and mouse EPO. The primary stimulus for the biosynthesis of EPO is tissue hypoxia. However, as may be seen from the above, EPO has significant therapeutic potential for the treatment of certain anemias. For example, EPO can be used to treat anemia arising from a diminished endogenous production of EPO, which may result from a damaged or nonfunctional kidney (e.g., chronic renal failure as discussed above). Alternatively, EPO can be used to treat anemia arising from damaged bone marrow and subsequently diminished proliferation of erythrocyte progenitors (e.g., BFU-E cells) which results from treatment of cancer patients with cytotoxic chemotherapy or radiotherapy (as also discussed above). Various forms of recombinant EPO are available on the market. They differ by their expression system used for their manufacture and by their sites and degree of glycosylation of the protein. Epoetin alpha is expressed in CHO cells and is available under the trade name of PROCRIT®, EPOGEN®, or EPREX®. Like EPO, Epoetin alpha has three N-linked glycosylation sites at asparagine (Asn) residues; Asn 19, Asn 33, and Asn 78. Epoetin beta is also N-glycosylated at three sites. Epoetin omega is N-glycosylated at Asn 24, Asn 28, and Asn 83 and partially O-glycosylated at serine (Ser 126). Recently, a hyperglycosylated version of EPO has been approved which contains five N-linked glycosylation sites. It is a slow or extended release form of epoetin alpha available under the trade name of ARANESP®. This protein displays enhanced biological activity compared to the natural form, due to its approximately three-fold longer serum half-life. However, the use of these glycosylated proteins is expensive and restricted since they have to be produced by recombinant technology.
In individuals with normal blood cell counts, neutrophils constitute approximately 60% of the total leukocytes (SI Units Conversion Guide, 66-67, 1992, N. Engl. J. Med. Books). However, as many as one in three patients receiving chemotherapy treatment for cancer may suffer from neutropenia. Mean normal neutrophil counts for healthy human adults are on the order of 4400 cells/μL, with a range of 1800-7700 cells/μL. A count of 1,000 cells/μL to 500 cells/μL is moderate neutropenia and a count of 500 cells/μL or less is severe neutropenia. Patients in myelosuppressive states are prone to infection and frequently suffer from blood-clotting disorders, requiring hospitalization. Lack of neutrophils and platelets is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality following cancer treatments and contributes to the high cost of cancer therapy. In these above-mentioned conditions, the use of any agent capable of inhibiting neutrophil apoptosis or stimulating neutrophil activation and mobilization can be of therapeutic value. Efforts to restore the patient's immune system after chemotherapy involve the use of hematopoietic growth factors to stimulate remaining stem cells to proliferate and differentiate into mature infection fighting cells.
In bone marrow transplantation, a phenomenon known as "mobilization" has also been exploited to harvest greater numbers of stem/progenitor cells from peripheral blood. This method is currently used for autologous or allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. Growth factors are used to increase the number of peripheral progenitor stem cells to be harvested before myeloablative therapy and infusion of progenitor stem cells.
Post-therapy bone marrow transplantation can also counter neutropenia. However, these treatments require 10-15 days of treatment which leaves patients vulnerable to infection. Agents capable of stimulating bone marrow stem cells can facilitate and accelerate stem cells engraftment thus shortening the neutropenic window following bone marrow transplantation.
Although hematopoietic growth factors such as granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) can exert such actions, their use is expensive since they have to be produced by recombinant technology. Such post-therapeutic ameliorative treatments are unnecessary if patients are "chemoprotected" from immune suppression.
Therefore, there is a need for novel compositions and methods to reduce the undesirable side effects of myelosuppressive states induced by chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy.

Medium-chain length fatty alcohols as stimulators of hematopoiesis


The guide pin (P) in accordance with the present invention is a guide pin (P) having a predetermined pin diameter to be inserted into a guide pin insertion hole (9) of a ferrule (11); which is configured to have an inserting portion (31) penetrating through the ferrule (11), and an engagement portion (32), having a diameter greater than that of the guide pin insertion hole (9), adapted to abut against the back face (11b) of the ferrule (11).

The present invention relates to an optical connector guide pin to be utilized for coupling optical connector plugs to each other upon optical interconnection, and an optical connector plug having such a guide pin.
Conventionally, as a technique in such a field, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. HEI 6-34845 has been known. The optical connector plug disclosed in this publication has a ferrule of a rectangular parallelepiped form, and an optical fiber exposed from a tip of a ribbon fiber is fixed to this ferrule. Also, the ferrule has two guide pin insertion holes each extending in the optical fiber insertion direction and penetrating therethrough from the front face to the back face, while a guide pin is inserted in each guide pin insertion hole. Further, the optical connector plug has a damper disposed behind the ferrule, which prevents the guide pin from dropping out of the ferrule. Specifically, the rear end part of each guide pin is formed with a constricted portion, which is fitted into an insertion hole formed between engagement lugs of the clamper, thereby preventing the guide pin from dropping out. Also,when the optical connector plug is used in a place where the guide pin is strongly desired to be prevented from dropping out, the guide pin and the damper are secured with an adhesive.
However, since the conventional optical connector plugs are configured as mentioned above, there have been problems as follows. Namely, in order to prevent the guide pin from easily dropping out of the ferrule, the guide pins and the damper have been machined into complicated forms, and it has been necessary to strictly manage the dimensions of the constricted portion of the guide pin and the insertion hole in the damper in order to maintain the clamping force of the damper with respect to the guide pin. Also, when the guide pin is strongly desired to be prevented from dropping out, the guide pin has been secured with an adhesive, thus increasing the cost. Further, when inserting the guide pin into the guide pin insertion hole of the ferrule, if the guide pin is inserted from the front face side of the ferrule, there has been a possibility that the tip of the guide pin may damage the front face of the ferrule, thereby deteriorating the quality of the ferrule.
In order to overcome the above-mentioned problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a guide pin and an optical connector plug which facilitate simplification of the structure, make it possible to cut down the cost, and contribute to maintaining the quality of the ferrule.
The optical connector guide pin in accordance with the present invention is an optical connector guide pin having a predetermined pin diameter to be inserted into a guide pin insertion hole of a ferrule; wherein the guide pin comprises an inserting portion penetrating through the ferrule, and an engagement portion, having a diameter greater than that of the guide pin insertion hole, adapted to abut against a back face of the ferrule.
Since the rear end part of the guide pin is provided with the engagement portion formed greater than the guide pin insertion hole; when the guide pin is attached to the ferrule, the engagement portion can prevent the guide pin from forwardly dropping out. Also, when such a guide pin is to be projected from the front face of the ferrule by a predetermined amount, the tip of the guide pin would be inserted into the guide pin insertion hole from the back face side of the ferrule. Namely, this guide pin is not expected to be inserted from the front face side of the ferrule, whereby the tip of the guide pin would not damage the front face of the ferrule nor chip off the guide pin hole during the operation of inserting the guide pin into the ferrule. Also, changing the position of the engagement portion can easily alter the amount of projection of the tip portion of the guide pin from the ferrule.
An optical connector plug in accordance with the present invention is an optical connector plug comprising a ferrule having there with in an optical fiber aligning portion for aligning a plurality of optical fibers and guide pin insertion holes penetrating therethrough from a front face to a back face on both sides of the optical fiber aligning portion, in which the optical fibers are secured to the optical fiber aligning portion, and a guide pin is inserted in each guide pin insertion hole; wherein the guide pin has an inserting portion penetrating through the ferrule, and an engagement portion, having a diameter greater than that of the guide pin insertion hole, adapted to abut against the back face of the ferrule.
In this optical connector plug, a simple operation of just inserting the guide pin into the guide pin insertion hole from the back face side of the ferrule can achieve positioning of the guide pin with respect to the ferrule, thus contributing to improvement in the workability of assembling.
An optical connector plug in accordance with the present invention is an optical connector plug having a ferrule pressed outward by a spring member in a ferrule accommodating space disposed at a front end portion of a ferrule housing, so as to peep from an outlet opening of the ferrule accommodating space, holding the ferrule in a floating state within the ferrule accommodating space, and projecting a tip portion of a guide pin from a guide pin insertion hole formed in the ferrule; wherein the guide pin comprises an inserting portion penetrating through the ferrule, and an engagement portion, having a diameter greater than that of the guide pin insertion hole, adapted to abut against a back face of the ferrule, and wherein a stopper is disposed between the engagement portion and the spring member, the stopper abutting against a rear end face of the guide pin while in a state separated from the ferrule.
This optical connector plug has a configuration in which the spring member is utilized for outwardly pressing the ferrule. This is a structure for improving the connectivity between the end faces of ferrules upon plugging by way of the guide pin. Also, as a stopper is disposed between the ferrule and the spring member, the ferrule is kept from being directly pushed by the spring member, whereby the ferrule can appropriately be prevented from being broken or chipped off by the spring member. Further, the stopper inhibits the guide pin from retracting. For example, when coupling ferrules to each other by way of the guide pin, the stopper inhibits the guide pin from retracting as its tip abuts against the front face of the opposed ferrule.

Guide pin for optical fiber connectors and optical fiber connector plug


A device for dampening noise and a rock drilling rig. The noise dampening device includes a skin structure and a frame, which are separate elements. The skin structure is configured to form a space for receiving at least a part of the rock drilling unit and includes several noise dampening panels, which are mounted to the frame in a removable manner.

In mines, construction sites and at other work areas different type of rock drilling rigs are used for drilling holes for different purposes. The rock drilling rigs are provided with one or more booms and rock drilling units are arranged at distal ends of the booms for drilling the drill holes.
When rock is drilled, noise is spread to the surroundings. The noise is produced mainly by an impact device of a rock drilling machine percussing on an impact head of a drilling tool and the tool impacting on the rock. In order to prevent problems caused by the noise, attempts have been made to solve the issue, particularly in surface drilling, by using various noise damping housings around the feed beam and the rock drilling machine. However, the present noise dampening solutions have shown to contain some disadvantages regarding their complicated, expensive and clumsy structure.

Device for noise damping and rock drilling rig


A method of manufacturing a spring assembly, which includes two annular plates and compression coil springs, and which is adapted so that the compression coil springs are assembled to the annular plates by caulking projection portions formed on the two annular plates, respectively. Projection portions are formed at the side of the annular plates. Plural large-diameter walls and plural small-diameter walls are alternately provided in the circumferential direction of each of the projection portions. A punch having a portion, whose diameter is larger than the inside diameter of a space between the small-diameter walls, is inserted into an inner space among the large-diameter walls and the small-diameter walls of each of the projection portions. As the small-diameter walls of each of the projection portions are enlarged in diameter, the large-diameter walls adjoining each of these small-diameter walls are easily enlarged in diameter.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a spring assembly to be used as, for example, a return spring means for returning a multiple disc clutch piston in a clutch mechanism of an automotive automatic transmission.
2. Description of the Related Art
This kind of related spring assembly (although not concretely shown) includes two annular plates and plural compression coil springs interposed between these annular plates in the circumferential direction thereof at predetermined intervals. At the practical assembling thereof, a state, in which each of the end turn portions of the compression coil springs is set on the outer periphery of a projection portion formed in such a way as to face an associated one of the inner surfaces of the annular plates, is obtained. Then, each of the projection portions is outwardly enlarged in diameter by using a caulking punch. Thus, each of the end turn portions of the compression coil springs is supported by being sandwiched between the outer peripheral surface of an associated one of the projection portions and the inner surface of an associated one of the annular plates.
With such a configuration, in the step of assembling a same-side one of the end turn portions of each of the compression coil springs to an associated one of the annular plates, the caulking punch can easily be made to come closer to an associated one of the projection portions. Thus, the projections can relatively easily be caulked. However, in the step of assembling the other end turn portion of each of the compression coil springs to the associated one of the annular plates, the caulking punch cannot easily be inserted into a region between the annular plates. In this case, extremely difficult and troublesome operations are forcibly performed.
Thus, hitherto, the following method has been proposed as a countermeasure thereagainst. That is, in the case of assembling a same-side one of the end turn portions of each of the compression coil springs to an associated one of the annular plates, the associated one of the projection portions is caulked by using an ordinary caulking punch as heretofore. However, in the case of assembling the other end turn portion of each of the compression coil springs to the associated one of the annular plates, caulking is performed by using a longitudinal split punch and a spreading pin.
Concretely, the longitudinally split punch has an outside diameter that is slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the projection portion. An end portion of the longitudinally split punch is split by a splitting groove in such a manner as to be able to be enlarged. The spreading pin has such an outside diameter that this pin can be inserted into the projection portion associated with the other annular plate. The end portion of the longitudinally split punch can be spread by leading the pointed end portion of the spreading pin into the splitting groove of the longitudinally split punch.
Thus, the end portion of the longitudinally split punch is inserted from the inside of the projection portion associated with one of the annular plate, which has already been caulked, and then made to descend, while the pointed end portion of the spreading pin is faced to the inside of the projection portion provided at the side of the other annular plate to be caulked. Then, the pointed end portion of the spreading pin is led into the splitting groove, so that the end portion of the longitudinally split punch is spread. Consequently, the projection portions can be outwardly spread and caulked (see, for instance, Japanese Patent No. 3288458).
Therefore, according to the related manufacturing method, the projection portion associated with the other annular plate can easily be caulked by using the longitudinally split punch and the spreading pin. Thus, an operation of assembling the other annular plate and the compression coil spring to each other is improved. However, in the case of caulking the projection portion, the projection portion is not uniformly spread over the entire circumference thereof but only partly spread at the end portion thereof, which is split through the splitting groove of the longitudinally split punch. Thus, the holding forces of the compression coil springs against the other annular plate decrease by themselves. Consequently, there is a fear that the compression coil springs may disengage therefrom. Also, the end portion of the longitudinally split punch itself is split through the splitting groove. Thus, the end portion of the longitudinally split punch is poor in strength. Consequently, there is a fear that the longitudinally split punch may easily be broken and abrade away.


A rotary shaft is formed with an external screw thread; a movable nut is engaged with the rotary shaft, and arranged to move axially in accordance with rotation of the rotary shaft; and a link member is swingably connected with the movable nut to transmit motion from the movable nut. The link member includes first and second side portions and a connecting portion connecting the first and second side portions and forming a depressed portion in which the rotary shaft is received when the link member is in a predetermined leaning posture.

The present invention relates to an apparatus such as an actuating apparatus, or an assembly or subassembly of an actuating apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates to a mechanism which can be used for a variable valve actuating apparatus for controlling an intake or exhaust valve lift quantity or a valve operating angle of an internal combustion engine in accordance with an engine operating condition.
A Japanese patent application publication JP 2004-076824 shows an actuator device usable for a variable valve actuating system for an internal combustion engine. This actuating device includes a ball screw shaft, a ball nut and a link member which includes a bifurcated first end portion swingably connected with the ball nut on both sides at diagonally opposite positions, and a second end portion not bifurcated.


A circuit includes a transconductance stage having first and second outputs. The circuit also includes a comparator having first and second inputs. The first input is coupled to the first output, and the second input is coupled to the second output. The comparator includes first through fifth transistors and a pair of cross-coupled transistors. The pair of cross-coupled transistors is coupled to the second current terminals of the first and second transistors. The second current terminal of the third transistor is coupled to the second current terminal of the first transistor, and the first current terminals of the first, second, and third transistors are coupled together. The second current terminals of the fourth and fifth transistors are coupled together and to the control input of the third transistor.

An analog-to-digital converter (ADC) converts an input analog signal into a digital signal. One type of ADC includes a delta-sigma modulator in which a change in the analog input signal is encoded. The modulator includes, among other components, an integrator and a comparator. The output of the comparator is used to generate a feedback signal for the integrator. Continuous-time delta-sigma modulators suffer from excess loop delay due to the propagation delay through the comparator. The comparator samples the output signal from the integrator and compares the sampled output signal to a threshold. Any propagation delay through the comparator means that the feedback signal from the comparator is not based on the current comparator output signal but rather on a delayed comparator output signal. The comparator delay degrades the performance of the feedback loop, and the comparator delay can cause the modulator to be unstable.

Loop delay compensation in a sigma-delta modulator