The present invention relates, in general, to an immunogen and, in particular, to an immunogen for inducing antibodies that neutralize a wide spectrum of HIV primary isolates and/or to an immunogen that induces a T cell immune response. The invention also relates to a method of inducing anti-HIV antibodies, and/or to a method of inducing a T cell immune response, using such an immunogen. The invention further relates to nucleic acid sequences encoding the present immunogens.

The high level of genetic variability of HIV-1 has presented a major hurdle for AIDS vaccine development. Genetic differences among HIV-1 groups M, N, and O are extensive, ranging from 30% to 50% in gag and env genes, respectively (Gurtler et al, J. Virol. 68:1581-1585 (1994), Vanden Haesevelde et al, J. Virol. 68:1586-1596 (1994), Simon et al, Nat. Med. 4:1032-1037 (1998), Kuiken et al, Human retroviruses and AIDS 2000: a compilation and analysis of nucleic acid and amino acid sequences (Theoretical Biology and Biophysics Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, N. Mex.)). Viruses within group M are further classified into nine genetically distinct subtypes (A-D, F-H, J and K) (Kuiken et al, Human retroviruses and AIDS 2000: a compilation and analysis of nucleic acid and amino acid sequences (Theoretical Biology and Biophysics Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, N. Mex., Robertson et al, Science 288:55-56 (2000), Robertson et al, Human retroviruses and AIDS 1999: a compilation and analysis of nucleic acid and amino acid sequences, eds. Kuiken et al (Theoretical Biology and Biophysics Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, N. Mex.), pp. 492-505 (2000)). With the genetic variation as high as 30% in env genes among HIV-1 subtypes, it has been difficult to consistently elicit cross-subtype T and B cell immune responses against all HIV-1 subtypes. HIV-1 also frequently recombines among different subtypes to create circulating recombinant forms (CRFs) (Robertson et al, Science 288:55-56 (2000), Robertson et al, Human retroviruses and AIDS 1999: a compilation and analysis of nucleic acid and amino acid sequences, eds. Kuiken et al (Theoretical Biology and Biophysics Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, N. Mex.), pp. 492-505 (2000), Carr et al, Human retroviruses and AIDS 1998: a compilation and analysis of nucleic acid and amino acid sequences, eds. Korber et al (Theoretical Biology and Biophysics Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, N. Mex.), pp. III-10-III-19 (1998)). Over 20% of HIV-1 isolates are recombinant in geographic areas where multiple subtypes are common (Robertson et al, Nature 374:124-126 (1995), Cornelissen et al, J. virol. 70:8209-8212 (1996), Dowling et al, AIDS 16:1809-1820 (2002)), and high prevalence rates of recombinant viruses may further complicate the design of experimental HIV-1 immunogens.
To overcome these challenges in AIDS vaccine development, three computer models (consensus, ancestor and center of the tree) have been used to generate centralized HIV-1 genes to (Gaschen et al, Science 296:2354-2360 (2002), Gao et al, Science 299:1517-1518 (2003), Nickle et al, Science 299:1515-1517 (2003), Novitsky et al, J. Virol. 76:5435-5451 (2002), Ellenberger et al, Virology 302:155-163 (2002.), Korber et al, Science 288:1789-1796 (2000)). The biology of HIV gives rise to star-like phylogenies, and as a consequence of this, the three kinds of sequences differ from each other by 2-5% (Gao et al, Science 299:1517-1518 (2003)). Any of the three centralized gene strategies will reduce the protein distances between immunogens and field virus strains. Consensus sequences minimize the degree of sequence dissimilarity between a vaccine strain and contemporary circulating viruses by creating artificial sequences based on the most common amino acid in each position in an alignment (Gaschen et al, Science 296:2354-2360 (2002)). Ancestral sequences are similar to consensus sequences but are generated using maximum-likelihood phylogenetic analysis methods (Gaschen et al, Science 296:2354-2360 (2002), Nickle et al, Science 299:1515-1517 (2003)). In doing so, this method recreates the hypothetical ancestral genes of the analyzed current wild-type sequences (FIG. 26). Nickle et al proposed another method to generate centralized HIV-1 sequences, center of the tree (COT), that is similar to ancestral sequences but less influenced by outliers (Science 299:1515-1517 (2003)).
The present invention results, at least in part, from the results of studies designed to determine if centralized immunogens can induce both T and B cell immune responses in animals. These studies involved the generation of an artificial group M consensus env gene (CON6), and construction of DNA plasmids and recombinant vaccinia viruses to express CON6 envelopes as soluble gp120 and gp140CF proteins. The results demonstrate that CON6 Env proteins are biologically functional, possess linear, conformational and glycan-dependent epitopes of wild-type HIV-1, and induce cytokine-producing T cells that recognize T cell epitopes of both HIV subtypes B and C. Importantly, CON6 gp120 and gp140CF proteins induce antibodies that neutralize subsets of subtype B and C HIV-1 primary isolates.
The iterative nature of study of the centralized HIV-1 gene approach is derived from the rapidly expanding evolution of HIV-1 sequences, and the fact that sequences collected in the HIV sequence database (that is, the Los Alamos National Database) are continually being updated with new sequences each year. The CON6 gp120 envelope gene derives from Year 1999 Los Alamos National Database sequences, and Con-S derives from Year 2000 Los Alamos National Database sequences. In addition, CON6 has Chinese subtype C V1, V2, V4, and V5 Env sequences, while Con-S has all group M consensus Env constant and variable regions, that have been shortened to minimal-length variable loops. Codon-optimized genes for a series of Year 2003 group M and subtype consensus sequences have been designed, as have a corresponding series of wild-type HIV-1 Env genes for comparison, for use in inducing broadly reactive T and B cell responses to HIV-1 primary isolates.

Modified HIV-1 clade C envelope glycoprotein immunogens comprising deletions in the gp120/gp41 cleavage site and gp41 fusion domain


A packet network includes a plurality of network elements interconnected to one another via a plurality of links, and systems and methods include, responsive to detecting a signal degrade condition on a link in the packet network, advertising the signal degrade condition on the link; maintaining a Traffic Engineering database which includes signal degrade condition status based on the advertising; and, responsive to path computation through the packet network, determining a best path considering the signal degrade condition status of the plurality of links. The systems and methods include further include, responsive to detecting the signal degrade condition on the link has cleared, advertising the signal degrade condition has cleared on the link.

Packet networks, such as Multiprotocol Label Switching-Traffic Engineering (MPLS-TE), can utilize various Traffic Engineering (TE) parameters for path selection to establish dynamic tunnels. Example parameters can include Link Color, Link Cost, Shared Risk Link Group (SRLG), and the like. However, there are no conventional approaches to take link quality into account (e.g., measured through Signal Degrade) for creating or redialing new or existing tunnels. Due to the lack of a signaling mechanism for a Signal Degrade condition in the network, it is possible that Label Switched Paths (LSPs) are established over links that are not performing well, i.e., over links with a Signal Degrade condition. Things can be worse in the case of LSP re-optimization. For example, assume an LSP re-opt tunnel is established over a degraded link, a customer will see even more unpredictable traffic loss patterns as the tunnel attempts to re-optimize.
Also, in Border Gateway Protocol Labeled Unicast (BGP-LU), Border Gateway Protocol Prefix Independent Convergence (BGP-PIC), Segment Routing (SR), etc. there are no conventional approaches that exploit a Signal Degrade parameter for path selection. Protocols like BGP that are used in BGP-LU/PIC architecture or SR deployments do not have any defined procedure for propagating signal degrade information that can be used as a criterion in dynamic route selection or statically by a Software Defined Networking (SDN) controller.

Traffic engineering attribute for avoiding packet paths with signal degrade


The thermal management and method for large scale processing of CIS and/or CIGS based thin film overlaying glass substrates. According to an embodiment, the present invention provides a method for fabricating a copper indium diselenide semiconductor film. The method includes providing a plurality of substrates, each of the substrates having a copper and indium composite structure. The method also includes transferring the plurality of substrates into a furnace, each of the plurality of substrates provided in a vertical orientation with respect to a direction of gravity, the plurality of substrates being defined by a number N, where N is greater than 5. The method further includes introducing a gaseous species including a selenide species and a carrier gas into the furnace and transferring thermal energy into the furnace to increase a temperature from a first temperature to a second temperature, the second temperature ranging from about 350° C. to about 450° C. to at least initiate formation of a copper indium diselenide film from the copper and indium composite structure on each of the substrates.

The present invention relates generally to photovoltaic techniques. More particularly, the present invention provides a method and structure for a thin film photovoltaic device using a copper indium diselenide species (CIS), copper indium gallium diselenide species (CIGS), and/or others. The invention can be applied to photovoltaic modules, flexible sheets, building or window glass, automotive, and others.
In the process of manufacturing CIS and/or CIGS types of thin films, there are various manufacturing challenges, such as maintaining structure integrity of substrate materials, ensuring uniformity and granularity of the thin film material, etc. While conventional techniques in the past have addressed some of these issues, they are often inadequate in various situations. Therefore, it is desirable to have improved systems and method for manufacturing thin film photovoltaic devices.

Thermal management and method for large scale processing of CIS and/or CIGS based thin films overlying glass substrates


Disclosed herein are apparatuses for supporting a person in an upright position while sleeping or resting in a bed such that the person can avoid sliding down into a horizontal position as a result of natural forces of gravity and normal movement during sleep. According to an aspect, an apparatus includes a harness configured to hold a person, an anchor to secure the harness to a bed, and a tether having one end connected to the harness and another end connected to the anchor. The anchor can include a support member and an insert extending from the support member such that the upper surface of the insert comes into contact with a mattress and the lower surface of the insert comes into contact with a bed-base. The insert can be positioned underneath the mattress and on top of the bed-base.

There are instances when it is beneficial for a person to sleep in an upright position, or more specifically to sleep while lying on one's back with the head and chest higher than the waist and legs. Such instances can include, for example, after upper body surgery, or as a result of a gastro-intestinal ailment, sleep apnea, or other medical conditions or procedures that can require a person to sleep upright to promote healing or prevent further damage to the body. Even if an individual props themselves up in bed with pillows, over time, the weight of the individual and the degree of incline in which they wish to remain work with gravity to return the individual to a supine position with the head and chest essentially at the same level as the waist and legs. In addition, once a person goes to sleep, the natural movement of the body also causes the person to slide down to a more horizontal position. Other methods of sleeping upright, such as a reclining chair, are expensive and uncomfortable and often do not allow for the deep sleep necessary for a compromised or infirmed person to heal.
Accordingly, there is a need for an apparatus that can prevent a person from sliding down while sleeping in an upright position and maintain the person in the desired degree of incline.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Apparatuses for supporting a person in an upright position


Systems and methods are provided for sample processing. A device may be provided, capable of receiving the sample, and performing one or more of a sample preparation, sample assay, and detection step. The device may be capable of performing multiple assays. The device may comprise one or more modules that may be capable of performing one or more of a sample preparation, sample assay, and detection step. The device may be capable of performing the steps using a small volume of sample.

The majority of clinical decisions are based on laboratory and health test data, yet the methods and infrastructure for collecting such data severely limit the quality and utility of the data itself. Almost all errors in laboratory testing are associated with human or pre-analytic processing errors, and the testing process can take days to weeks to complete. Often times by the time a practicing physician gets the data to effectively treat a patient or determine the most appropriate intervention, he or she has generally already been forced to treat a patient empirically or prophylactically as the data was not available at the time of the visit or patient triage. Earlier access to higher quality testing information at the time of patient triage enables earlier interventions and better management of disease progression to improve outcomes and lower the cost of care.
Existing systems and methods for clinical testing suffer major drawbacks from the perspectives of patients, medical care professionals, taxpayers, and insurance companies. Today, consumers can undergo certain specialized tests at clinics or other specialized locations. If a test is to be conducted and the result of which is to be eventually relied on by a doctor, physical samples are transported to a location which performs the test on the samples. For example, these samples may comprise blood from a venous draw and are typically collected from a subject at the specialized locations. Accessibility of these locations and the venipuncture process in and of itself is a major barrier in compliance and frequency of testing. Availability for visiting a blood collection site, the fear of needles—especially in children and elderly persons who, for example, often have rolling veins, and the difficulty associated with drawing large amounts of blood drives people away from getting tested even when it is needed. Thus, the conventional sampling and testing approach is cumbersome and requires a significant amount of time to provide test results. Such methods are not only hampered by scheduling difficulties and/or limited accessibility to collection sites for subjects to provide physical samples but also by the batch processing of samples in centralized laboratories and the associated turn around time in running laboratory tests. As a result, the overall turn around time involved in getting to the collection site, acquiring the sample, transporting the sample, testing the sample and reporting and delivering results becomes prohibitive and severely limits the timely provision of the most informed care from a medical professional. This often results in treatment of symptoms as opposed to underlying disease conditions or mechanisms of disease progression.
In addition, traditional techniques are problematic for certain diagnoses. Some tests may be critically time sensitive, but take days or weeks to complete. Over such a time, a disease can progress past the point of treatment. In some instances, follow-up tests are required after initial results, which take additional time as the patient has to return to the specialized locations. This impairs a medical professional's ability to provide effective care. Furthermore, conducting tests at only limited locations and/or infrequently reduces the likelihood that a patient's status can be regularly monitored or that the patient will be able to provide the samples quickly or as frequently as needed. For certain diagnoses or conditions, these deficiencies inevitably cause inadequate medical responses to changing and deteriorating physiological conditions. Traditional systems and methods also affect the integrity and quality of a clinical test due to degradation of a sample that often occurs while transporting such sample from the site of collection to the place where analysis of the sample is performed. For example, analytes decay at a certain rate, and the time delay for analysis can result in loss of sample integrity. Different laboratories also work with different quality standards which can result in varying degrees of error. Additionally, preparation and analysis of samples by hand permits upfront human error to occur at various sample collection sites and laboratories. These and other drawbacks inherent in the conventional setup make it difficult to perform longitudinal analyses, especially for chronic disease management, with high quality and reliability
Furthermore, such conventional analytical techniques are often not cost effective. Excessive time lags in obtaining test results lead to delays in diagnoses and treatments that can have a deleterious effect on a patient's health; as a disease progresses further, the patient then needs additional treatment and too often ends up unexpectedly seeing some form of hospitalization. Payers, such as health insurance companies and taxpayers contributing to governmental health programs, end up paying more to treat problems that could have been averted with more accessible and faster clinical test results.


To obtain a vehicle rear door structure that can improve a fitting performance of a rear door. A pair of connecting beads, that connect a lock mechanism placement portion with regions positioned at vehicle transverse direction outer sides with respect to a lateral bead, are formed at a rear door inner panel. Upper end portions of the connecting beads are disposed at positions apart from the lateral bead and are connected to an annular bead, and have outer side wall portions and inner side wall portions, that stand erect in a door thickness direction of a rear door. The outer side wall portions and the inner side wall portions both extend in a direction orthogonal to an extension line of the lateral bead as seen in a door elevation view. Further, the outer side wall portions are made integral with an inner peripheral wall portion of the annular bead.

A vehicle rear door is structured to include an outer panel and an inner panel (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 10-100684, for example). In the state in which the rear door is closed, a door lower end portion is pulled-in toward a vehicle front side and is locked while a vertical direction intermediate portion receives urging force substantially toward a vehicle rear side by dampers.


A unique syringe useful in the inflation and rapid deflation of a balloon used in balloon catheterization (transluminal angioplasty) procedures is disclosed. The syringe has a uniquely actuated thread engaging block which is engaged and disengaged by a rotary cam member interacting with the thread-engaging block. The thread engaging block engages a threaded piston rod which is attached to the piston within the barrel of a balloon catheter syringe. A rotary cam member engages the block so as to exert a positive force on the block, either moving the block into a thread engaging position or moving into a thread disengaging position. The unique syringe may also contain a piston face which is segmented so that a portion of the piston face is separately actuatable in order to introduce a minor increase in pressure while the main piston member remains in a stationary position.

1. Field of the Invention
The instant invention relates to syringes for inflating a balloon in a balloon catheterization device and to the systems and methods associated with balloon catheterization (transluminal angioplasty procedures).
2. State of the Art
Numerous syringes for balloon catheterization are extant in the art. A representative sampling of such syringes are disclosed in the following patents: U.S. Pat. No. 5,047,015 to Foote et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,692 to Box et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,651,738 to Demer et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,459 to Noce et a).; U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,974 to Kokernak and U.S. Pat. No. 5,084,060 to Freund et al. An exhaustive list of additional patents exists in the references cited portion of the Foote et al patent.
Devices disclosed in the above-identified patents are quite similar in structure; having a barrel and plunger or piston configured so that the piston may be screwed into the barrel in small increments to increase pressure on fluid within the barrel. Ultimately, the pressurized fluid flow into the balloon in a slow, controlled manner to inflate the balloon. Generally, all syringes disclosed in the above-identified patents have a quick release mechanism whereby the threaded engagement between threaded piston rod and the internal threads within the syringe body are quickly disconnected, allowing the piston rod and piston to slide freely within the device and be quickly retracted to reduce rapidly fluid pressure within the balloon.
Various techniques and means are employed to bring about the disengagement between the threaded portions of the piston rod and the syringe housing. In the Foote et al. patent the threads on the piston rod are permitted to retract when a trigger mechanism is pulled to cause the piston rod threads to slide along an inclined plane to remove them from contract with the threads of the syringe body. In Box et al. a lever on top of the syringe is pushed towards the syringe by the palm of the hand to press against a threaded member to push that threaded member away from contact with the threads of the piston rod.
In both the Box et al. and Foote et al. devices a spring member is used to maintain the two threaded members in contact with one another. In the Kokernak device, a locking mechanism rotates and is locked in place by spring loaded balls which fit into detents. Thus, in all three patents, springs are relied upon to hold the threads in an engagement position.
Although these devices may work well, there is the risk that a spring will fatigue and allow the threads to disengage at an inopportune or critical moment. Furthermore, in the manufacture of the device some machined piece of metal or plastic might become lodged in the spring cavity thereby preventing the spring from being depressed, thereby restraining the piston from disengagement. Either of these situations could result in adverse consequences to a catheterization patient.


A device receives a message from a fixed user device associated with a first user. The first user is associated with a first mobile user device, and the message is destined for a second mobile user device associated with a second user. The device generates a first charge record for the first user based on the message and on a telephone number associated with the first mobile user device, and provides the first charge record to a billing system. The device generates a copy of the message, provides the copy of the message to the first mobile user device, and forwards the message toward the second mobile user device.

Users may utilize mobile user devices or fixed user devices to communicate with one another. A mobile user device may include a mobile computation and communication device, such as a radiotelephone, a personal communications system (PCS) terminal, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smart phone, a laptop computer (e.g., with a wireless card), etc. A fixed user device may include a fixed (e.g., provided in a particular location, such as within a user's home) computation and communication device, such as a laptop computer, a personal computer, a tablet computer, a set-top box (STB), a television, a gaming system, etc.
In some instances, users may utilize such fixed or mobile user devices to exchange Short Message Service (SMS) or text messages. In one example, two users may exchange text messages with one another via mobile user devices, and both users may be billed for the text messages by a telecommunications provider. In another example, a first user may utilize a fixed user device to send a text message to a second user's mobile user device. The second user may utilize the mobile user device to send a text message to the first user's fixed user device. In this example, the telecommunications provider may bill the second user for sending or receiving text messages via the mobile user device. However, the telecommunications provider is unable to bill the first user for sending or receiving text messages via the fixed user device.

Network billing of text messages sent/received by fixed user devices


The present invention relates to compositions comprising an epoxy resin; a reagent selected from the group of cationic compounds or compounds which are capable to form cationic compounds or mixtures of those; at least one compound with two aromatic rings and at least one central cyclic oxygen bridged ring and the use of such compositions in adhesives, sealants and coatings.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to compositions comprising an epoxy resin; a reagent selected from the group of cationic compounds or compounds which are capable to form cationic compounds or mixtures of those; at least one compound with two aromatic rings and at least one central cyclic oxygen bridged ring and the use of such compositions to reduce shrinkage.
2. Brief Description of the State of the Technology
Curable compositions containing epoxide and cationic initiator (Bronsted acid, Lewis acid, and there derivatives involving various latent initiators) are widely used for adhesives, sealants, and coatings. Additionally these compositions are regarded as the most promising ones for electrochip bonding and underfills.
However, these compositions suffer from their volume shrinkage during curing reactions. The volume shrinkage during the curing reaction causes the formation of voids and micro-cracks in the cured material, and thus results in lowering the mechanical strength of the material. Especially in such semiconductor package and assembly applications, shrinkage causes contact failure between the adhesive and the substrate, thus leading to adhesion failure. More importantly, however, moisture can reach the surface of the substrate through voids and cracks, damaging the semiconductor chip and other components.
The problem of volume shrinkage has been conventionally solved by addition of inorganic fillers. However, addition of fillers to curable composition causes serious increase in its viscosity to make it less fluid. Moreover, the addition of fillers affects properties of the cured material (decrease in mechanical strength) and consequently has influence on the adhesion strength.
To solve the problem of volume shrinkage, it is opportune to add shrinkage suppressive monomers as co-monomers, which can undergo some reactions under the conditions for the curing reactions of epoxide. Such solutions are well known in the state of the art. Several compounds having cyclic ether structures have been claimed as shrinkage suppressive monomers in epoxy-cationic curing reactions. For example spiroketal compounds (SK) have been disclosed in JP2002128785 A2.

In a further publication Takata, T. and Endo, T. reveal spiroorthoester (SOE), and bicyclorothoester (BOE) as shrinkage suppressive monomers (in Polym. Prepr. Jpn., 1988, 37, 241). These monomers are designed so that they undergo cascading double ring opening reactions to create large free volume, compensating shrinkage of epoxy monomers upon curing reactions. However, the shrinkage suppressive effects by these compounds are still not sufficient. Some of the monomers require exhaustive multi-step syntheses with low yields, leading to high costs in utilization of these monomers. SOE is prepared by acid-catalyzed addition reaction of epoxide and lactone and the resulting crude mixture is used as a crude SOE, reducing cost for the monomer synthesis (JP59149924 A2 by Toshiba Corp., Japan). However, this method gives crude SOE contaminated with the acid catalyst, which seriously damage pot life of epoxy formulations containing the crude SOE.

Besides the above mentioned cyclic ethers also lactones have been disclosed as shrinkage suppressive monomers. In WO2003076544 A1 and JP59199712 A2 aliphatic lactones are mentioned as shrinkage suppressive monomers. Also Spirobislactone (SBL) is known as a shrinkage suppressive monomer (J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2005, 43(15), 3421-3432).
Nevertheless, the shrinkage suppression effects of those monomers were not satisfying.

Despite the mentioned state of the art there remains a need for effective shrinkage suppression in cationic-cured epoxy compositions.

Low shrinkage epoxy-cationic curable compositions


A flexible plate system for a hot runner assembly includes a backing plate; a manifold plate detachably connected to the backing plate; a manifold positioned between the backing plate and the manifold plate and having at least one nozzle associated therewith; and wherein the manifold plate has at least one plate slot that allows the nozzle to extend through the manifold plate and having at least a first lateral dimension substantially larger than the outside diameter of the nozzle. The manifold plate and the backing plate may be configured to have at least one manifold plate cavity and at least one backing plate cavity to accept at least one nozzle insert and at least one piston cylinder insert respectively, the nozzle insert having a nozzle bore or a plurality of insert slots therethrough for installation of the nozzle, and the piston cylinder insert having a cylinder bore for a piston cylinder.

Hot runner manifold systems are utilized to transfer molten material, typically plastic resin, from an injection molding machine to a mold. Hot runner manifold systems typically include a manifold plate, a manifold housed in the manifold plate, and a backing plate that supports the manifold and manifold plate. The manifold system routes molten material from a central sprue, which connects to an injection unit on an injection molding machine, to a plurality of nozzles which inject the molten material into cavities in the mold. The manifold system divides the flow of the molten material into several branches as it flows from the central sprue to the nozzles.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a prior art manifold system using two plates is shown with portions of the plates and main manifold cut away to reveal internal detail. A manifold assembly 10 is located between a manifold plate 12 and a backing plate 14. Sprue 16 connects to the manifold 10 at a central location. Manifold 10 has one or more melt channels 18 that communicate the molten material from the manifold 10 to nozzles (not shown) connected to the manifold 10.
One limitation of these prior art systems is that the backing plate 14 and manifold plate 12, in addition to the manifold 10, must be replaced each time a new hot runner system is desired. While the need for new manifolds and nozzles is largely unavoidable, the possibility of reusable plates represents a significant potential cost and time saving benefit. Even though the backing and manifold plates add relatively little value to a hot runner system relative to the manifolds and nozzles, these parts can represent as much as 30-40% of the cost of a new hot runner system
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a hot runner plate system that is reusable with new or modified manifolds and nozzles.
The present invention is directed to meeting one or more of the above-stated desirable objectives.

Flexible plate slot for a hot runner injection molding system


A space saving wall mount enclosure for receiving a small number of optic fiber cassettes. The enclosure receives a rack which is rotatable about a rack axis between a first closed position wherein the cassettes are held within the enclosure and the enclosure door may be closed and a second open position where the rack is rotatable outwards allowing for the insertion or removal of the cassettes.

The prior art discloses cross connect systems comprising cases which are designed to be mounted in 19″ racks or the like and which receive a large number of standardised fiber optic cassettes arranged side by side. The cassettes are typically inserted into the case from the front of the case and at right angles to the case, requiring at least a cassette's length of room in front of the case.

Wallmount enclosure for fiber optic cassettes


Systems and methods relate generally to a concealable marking. In an example, obtained is a printing device having a printhead, a plasma head, a platform, and a stencil holder. The printhead is configured to print to a surface of a medium. The plasma head is configured to provide a plasma. The platform is configured to support and transport the medium. The stencil holder is configured to hold a stencil between the surface of the medium and the plasma head. A region of the surface of the medium is covered with the stencil. The stencil defines at least one opening for exposure of a portion of the region of the surface. A plasma is generated with the plasma head. The portion of the surface of the medium is exposed to the plasma through the at least one opening to hydrophilize the portion of the surface thereof to provide the concealable marking.

Conventionally, watermarking may be used to form an identifying mark, a security or an anti-counterfeit mark on a medium. Watermarks are generally viewable with reflected lighting, atop a dark background, or backlighting. Watermarks are conventionally formed with a press or mold to impress same.
Generally, watermarks are generally readily viewable, but may be difficult to distinguish one from another. On the other hand, invisible ink, security ink, or sympathetic ink, which is invisible upon application or immediately thereafter, may be used to conceal a message, which message may be revealed such as by heat, chemical reaction, or ultraviolet light, among others depending upon the disappearing ink.


A marking carried by a physical object and discernible by an infrared (IR) sensor is at least partially concealed from the human eye. The marking is covered with a coating that is at least partially opaque in the visible spectrum and at least partially transparent in the IR spectrum (or other non-visible spectrum). The marking is thus not apparent to a human eye or to visible light sensors, while remaining discernible in the IR spectrum. Using the present invention to prevent a user from detecting the marking adds intrigue to the detection of the object, since the workings of the IR sensor that enable the sensor to identify the marking are not evident to a user. The present invention is also beneficially employed in games where it is desirable that an opponent be unable to see a marking that is detectable by the IR sensor.

Because of the widespread popularity of computers, most people have become comfortable with conventional computer input devices such as keyboards and pointing devices. The keystrokes and movements of mice, trackballs, and joysticks are sufficiently intuitive to provide satisfactory interfaces for most computer-related tasks. Nonetheless, as computers become increasingly more indispensable, limits of a human-machine interface that depends upon pressing buttons and dragging a pointer with a mouse or other device tends to restrict how quickly and naturally computers can be used.
In seeking to further enhance the human-machine interface, ever-improving hardware capabilities have made possible systems that avoid the need to enter text with a keyboard. Personal digital assistants and tablet PCs can now recognize human handwriting. Speech recognition software enables users to operate computers and enter text by speaking into a microphone. Such systems can thus provide a more efficient and satisfying experience for users who prefer not to type on a keyboard or are less proficient in doing so.
As computers become more ubiquitous throughout our environment, the desire to make computers and their interfaces even more user-friendly continues to promote development in this area. For example, the MIT Media Lab, as reported by Brygg Ullmer and Hiroshi Ishii in "The metaDESK: Models and Prototypes for Tangible User Interfaces," Proceedings of UIST10/1997:14-17," has developed another form of "keyboardless" human-machine interface. The metaDESK includes a generally planar graphical surface that not only displays computing system text and graphic output, but also receives user input by responding to an object placed against the graphical surface. The combined object responsive and display capability of the graphical surface of the metaDESK is facilitated using infrared (IR) lamps, an IR camera, a video camera, a video projector, and mirrors disposed beneath the surface of the metaDESK. The mirrors reflect the graphical image projected by the projector onto the underside of the graphical display surface to provide images that are visible to a user from above the graphical display surface. The IR camera can detect IR reflections from the undersurface of an object placed on the graphical surface.
Others have been developing similar keyboardless interfaces. For example, papers published by Jun Rekimoto of the Sony Computer Science Laboratory, Inc. and associates describe a "HoloWall" and a "HoloTable" that display images on a surface and use IR light to detect objects positioned adjacent to the surface.
By detecting a specially formed object or by detecting IR-reflected light from an object disposed on a graphical display surface, the metaDESK can respond to the contemporaneous placement and movement of the object on the display surface to carry out a predefined function, such as displaying and moving a map of the MIT campus.
Thus, computing systems such as the HoloWall and metaDESK may provide a more natural degree of human-machine interaction by providing the means for a computer to respond to specific objects. However, while such systems enable a person to interact with a computer by engaging and moving a physical object instead of a keyboard or mouse, the quality of the experience can be undermined somewhat if the object bears a bar code or other visible code detectable by the detectors used in those systems that is also readily apparent to the user. Further, in the case of a game where it is desirable to keep secret a value or identity of a game piece or playing card, a visible code might give away the value or identity to a savvy, observant competitor.
In the latter case, the presence of a visible IR code may be masked with a filter that is transparent to IR light but opaque to visible light. With such a filter, the IR detectors might still detect the code on the physical object, but the users would not be able to see it. Thus, hiding the codes with filters can restore some of the mystique of the computing system that appears to recognize each object that is placed on an interactive surface, without any apparent way being provided to enable such recognition.
Unfortunately, the use of filters does not necessarily lend itself to every desired application. Attaching thick filters to surfaces of objects may be just as apparent, if not more conspicuous, than allowing the codes to remain visible. Further, attaching filters to thin objects may not be practical. For example, if a number of cards are to be encoded for use with such a system, applying filters might make the cards too large or clumsy to handle, to be convenient. Ultimately, it would be desirable to be able to encode objects discreetly, without making the markings visible or using conspicuous filters.

Method and system for hiding visible infrared markings


Disclosed is an electronic control system for controlling the operation of an oil burner heating system. The control system comprises a relay circuit having first and second relays. When the relays are closed, an external power source is connected to an igniter and motor. The control system also comprises a relay contact monitor configured to detect whether the relays contacts are welded. The control system also comprises a relay control circuit adapted to energize the relays in response to the call for heat from the thermostat and a signal from the relay contact monitor indicative that the relay contacts are not welded. The relays are configured such that only one relay will open or close with power across its contacts. The control system further comprises an improved flame sense monitor adapted to quickly output signals indicative of flame or no flame when such conditions are present with sensitivity hysteresis and a feature to adjust such hysteresis.

Most homes, offices, and other dwellings have some type of heating system which includes some sort of control system that controls the "on" and "off" operation of the system. Although a wide variety of heating systems exist today, most involve the combustion of a fossil fuel as the energy source.
Oil based heating systems typically employ a motor/fuel pump to provide a combustible fuel/air mixture and an igniter to provide a spark to ignite the mixture. Conventional systems generally employ a switching device to connect an energy source to the igniter and motor in response to a call for heat from a thermostat.
Conventional switching devices utilize a relay. When the thermostat senses a temperature below the desired or set temperature, it closes and causes the relay to be energized. When the thermostat senses the preset temperature, the relay is de-energized, thereby disconnecting the igniter and motor from the energy source.
Although relays provide a convenient way of controlling application of electrical energy to the igniter and motor, they are susceptible to a variety of problems. In particular, the continuous "on" and "off" cycling of the heating system combined with power loading across the movable contact interface, may result in the movable contact being welded "closed," thereby rendering its relay inoperable to shut "off" the igniter and/or motor.
To overcome this problem, some switching systems are designed with two relays (which may be combinations of electro-mechanical or electronic relays) configured in series. In theory, if one relay becomes welded, the other relay would still function to turn "off" the igniter and motor when the thermostat is opened. However, this solution is at best a temporary one in that the system would continue to operate and because both relays have sustained wearing action, it is likely that the second relay contact will become welded at a subsequent heat cycle.
Conventional control systems are also designed such that the igniter and motor are turned "off" if no flame is detected after a certain period of time, commonly referred to as the trial for ignition (TFI) or start-up period. Such systems generally utilize a photocell adapted to detect a flame in the combustion chamber, and if no flame is present after the TFI period, the relays will be de-energized and the system is "locked-out" by activation of a lock-out circuit. Thereafter, the system can only be operated by manual activation of a reset switch. Photocells are typically adapted to operate in the thermal radiation region of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Use of an igniter in conjunction with a photocell that detects thermal radiation, presents a unique problem in that at start-up, the igniter gives off radiant heat which may cause the photocell to become activated before any combustion. If this occurs, the motor will continue to pump fuel into the combustion chamber which may lead to dangerous conditions. To overcome this problem, conventional flame sense circuitry is designed such that at start-up, it compensates for the additional radiant heat provided by the igniter. After the start-up period, the flame sense circuitry returns to a higher sensitivity level so that it can properly detect when the flame goes out.
Conventional flame sense circuitry, however, has several drawbacks. First, conventional circuitry is relatively imprecise in providing control signals indicative of whether "flame" or "no flame" exists. This is a disadvantage in that if a flame occurs at the end of the TFI period, the system may be "locked-out" unnecessarily due to the imprecise output of a control signal indicative of flame.

System and method for controlling the operation of a primary burner


A bus is placed at the center of a housing. Breakers and cables forming branch circuits branching from the bus are placed at the upper and lower stages in the housing, being displaced in the right-left direction. Spaces formed between the side wall of the housing and the side walls of an upper-stage breaker compartment and an upper-stage cable compartment containing the upper-stage apparatuses are used as paths leading to the housing ceiling for a bus compartment, and a lower-stage breaker compartment and a lower-stage cable compartment containing the lower-stage apparatuses. The bus compartment and all the apparatus compartments each directly lead to a ceiling portion of the housing and have an opening portion. Pressure discharge plates are provided on the opening portions.

As a conventional switchgear having a pressure discharge plate, for example, a switchgear is disclosed in which: a main circuit apparatus chamber containing withdrawable breakers individually, which are piled at multiple stages in the vertical direction, and a control apparatus chamber are arranged in the right-left direction on the front side of a housing made of grounded metal; a common pressure discharge duct chamber extending in the vertical direction is provided in back of the control apparatus chamber; in back of these, a vertical bus chamber, a current transformer chamber, a horizontal bus chamber, and a cable chamber are provided; the above chambers are partitioned by partition walls; and among the partitioned chambers, except the horizontal bus chamber, partitioned chambers contacting a ceiling portion have pressure discharge plates at the ceiling portion, and partitioned chambers not contacting the ceiling portion are linked with the common pressure discharge duct chamber which has a pressure discharge plate at the ceiling portion (see Patent Document 1).
In addition, for example, an enclosed switchboard is disclosed in which: the inside of the board housing is partitioned into breaker chambers and cable chambers at upper and lower stages and a main bus chamber, which are separated from each other by partition walls; exhaust ducts extending in the vertical direction are provided at the center and the back of the inside of the board housing; an apparatus chamber provided at the upper stage has an exhaust opening directly on a ceiling; the breaker chamber at the lower stage, the cable chamber at the lower stage, and the main bus chamber communicate with the ceiling side through the exhaust ducts, and are provided with respective exhaust openings on the ceiling; and each exhaust opening has a pressure discharge plate (see Patent Document 2).


An expandable and retractable garment that is comfortable to wear, having a front portion and a back portion and including a tubular waist casing formed at a waist opening of the skirt or pants and receiving a elastic band, which is fixed at two points to the back portion and freely extends through the tubular casing at the front position. A free end of the elastic band provided with button holes or snaps extends outwardly of the casing on said band through an opening and is fastened by the fastening means to the back portion as said garment is adjusted in the waist.

It has been already known to manufacture garments, such as trousers, skirts, slacks and the like with adjustable waist bands which can be expanded and contracted as the comfort of a wearer may demand. In this way, a garment may be worn, for example, during an entire pregnancy, and after, since it can be adjusted to the increase and decrease in the waist size and the increase and decrease in volume of the abdomen.
Particularly so called maternity skirts and slacks of the type under discussion typically comprise various arrangements for altering the size of the garment.
It should be taken into consideration that the garment wearer is also concerned about comfort and appearance of the garment. Garments of the type under consideration can be also used by individuals gaining and/or reducing weight, growing children or individuals requiring the additional comfort to be obtained from relaxation of the waistband. The wearer of the garment can use the garment at all times, whether or not the waist is expanding, or contracting, such as in pregnancy, child growth or weight gain and reduction.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,793,645 discloses an adjustable waist band arrangement for garments, such as skirts, in which a waist encircling band has a resiliently stretchable back portion. Two front portions of the band are connected to each of the ends of the stretchable back portion. The front portions of the band overlap each other and are provided with buttons and button holes, respectively, for holding the overlapped front portions, respectively, together. A non-stretchable belt extending around the back portion of the waist encircling band is detachably fastenable at its ends to the front portions. The buttons to which the belt is fastened are selected to provide a comfortable fit.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,292,184 discloses an adjustable band in a garment having a rear portion and a front portion. The band is a combination of a belt folded longitudinally and secured to the rear portion and having overlapping tongues, one or more snap buttons secured to one of the tongues and snap button caps secured to another tongue and positioned to selectively engage one of the snap buttons when the desired adjustment has been obtained.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,760,426 shows a trouser or an analogous article of apparel having a rear waist band portion with two overlapped terminal sections and a front waist band portion. The forwardly directed portions of the rear waist band portion have slots, whereas studs are provided on the front waist band portion, which may be locked in one of the slots, upon adjustment of the amount of overlap.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,413,657 discloses an adjustable garment waist band utilizing a number of snaps or hooks to adjust a belt loosely positioned within a tunnel made round the waist band in the men's trousers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,139,913 shows extensible maternity slacks including a front flap and a rear flap and a waist band containing a reinforcing elastic having a succession of spaced apart button holes, wherein one of the button holes can cooperate with a button located on the side of the front flap.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,333,410 discloses a skirt having a tubular pocket extending around the front portion of the skirt, including a non-elastic band passing through the pocket, the band including fastening means at the rear of the skirt. Although the circumference of the band may be adjustable, there is no provision for expansion or contraction of the garment at the front or the back while in use at a selected circumference waist and a band freely passing through the pocket and having fasteners at a free end thereof, cooperating with respective fastening means provided on the fixed end of the belt.


In a token train retrieval device including a memory device (24) for memorizing a plurality of tokens as stored tokens each of which starts at a starting address and ends at an end address and each of which has a nest level selected from first through N-th nest levels and comprises a header and a data set where the header comprises a data length code and a data identifier code including a nest bit, a retrieval condition memory (25) memorizes a retrieval condition as a stored condition. Supplied with the header, a header register (26) holds the data length code, the data identifier code, and the nest bit as a held data length code, a held data identifier code, and a held nest bit. Responsive to the held data identifier code and a decided nest level, a checking circuit (27) checks whether or not the stored condition is satisfied to produce a matching signal when the stored condition is satisfied. An intra-train address generating circuit (29) generates an intra-train address variable in response to the matching signal, the held nest bit, and the held data length code. By using the intra-train address and the held data length code, an end address calculating circuit (30) calculates the end address of each token as a calculated address. By using the calculated address, the intra-train addresses, and the held nest bit, a nest level decision circuit (31) decides the decided nest level indicative of one of the first through the N-th nest levels.

This invention relates to a token train retrieval device for retrieving tokens including multi-media information which is communicated between heterogeneous data processing systems.
The token train retrieval device is for use in processing of protocol conversion between the heterogeneous data processing systems, processing of protocol analysis therebetween, hypertext search, retrieval of a multi-media data base, or the like. The token train retrieval device is necessary to communication and retrieval of the multi-media information between the heterogeneous data processing systems which are connected to one another in an information communication network. The information communication network is built on the basis of a network architecture systematized according to a protocol.
Inasmuch as such a protocol has been originally developed by each of computer makers, it is impossible to carry out information interchange between the heterogeneous data processing systems. In order to solve this problem, a standard protocol has been established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). This standard protocol is called a layer protocol of Open System Interconnection (OSI) in the art. Such a layer protocol is disclosed in a book written by William Stallings and published 1985 by Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, under the title of "DATA AND COMPUTER COMMUNICATIONS", pages 394 to 408, Chapter 12.
The layer protocol consists of seven layers which comprises a physical layer, a data link layer, a network layer, a transport layer, a session layer, a presentation layer, and an application layer. Each layer of the layer protocol has a processing function which should be standardized between the computer makers. Inasmuch as the layer protocol of the OSI is well-defined, it is possible to carry out protocol conversion between the layer protocol and a specific protocol developed by a particular computer maker. Each of the heterogeneous data processing systems comprises a protocol conversion system which carries out the protocol conversion. By the protocol conversion, it is possible to carry out the information interchange between the heterogeneous data processing systems.
Attention will be directed to the application layer. As is known in the art, the application layer is divisible into first through N-th sublayers where N represents a predetermined natural number which is equal to, for example, sixty-four. The first through the N-th sublayers are referred to as first through N-th nest levels, respectively, in the art. The first through the N-th nest levels are a lowest through a highest nest level, respectively. According to the application layer, data transmission is carried out between the heterogeneous data processing systems on the basis of Message Handling Systems (MHS) recommended by the International Telegraph and Telephone Consultive Committee (CCITT) Recommendation X.409.
More specifically, the multi-media information is transmitted between the heterogeneous data processing systems as a plurality of tokens. Each of the tokens is given by a nest level selected from the first through the N-th nest levels as a selected level. Each of the tokens comprises a header and a data set as described in Chapter 12 of the above-mentioned book. The data set has a data length and is for nesting one of the tokens that has a higher nest level than the selected level and will be referred to as a particular token. The header comprises a data length code representative of the data length and a data identifier code. The data identifier code includes a nest bit indicative of whether or not the particular token is nested in the data set.
In a conventional token train retrieval device, the tokens are memorized in a memory device as stored tokens. Each of the stored tokens starts at a starting address and ends at an end address. In prior art, retrieval of a specific token selected from the stored tokens is carried out after the stored tokens are successively read from the memory device as read tokens and the header of each of the read tokens is decoded. The specific, token has a designated nest level and the header includes a designated identifier code. Both of the designated nest level and the designated identifier code are given as a retrieval condition. More specifically, a nest level of each read token is decided by decoding the header of each read token as the selected level. Subsequently, a check is made between the selected level and the designated nest level. After decision of the selected level, the retrieval of the specific token is performed by software in a computer. The conventional token train retrieval device has been therefore disadvantageous in that a long processing time is consumed to locate the specific token which satisfies the retrieval condition. As a result, it is impossible to rapidly and smoothly carry out selection of the specific token and processing of the protocol conversion.

System for retrieving token having a selected nest level and satisfying predetermined retrieval condition


A bill payment center container is provided with removable trays so that the items desired for paying bills can be located in a single convenient location. A cover with a slot is provided so that when a bill envelope passes through the slot it is received by one of the trays.

The present invention relates to a bill payment center container that stores and organizes the various items a person needs to pay bills. More particularly, the present invention relates to a molded plastic container having removable trays that can be used to store and organize the various items necessary to pay bills.
It is not unusual for people to either pay their bills upon receipt or to store them in one location until a particular time of the month. If they pay their bills upon receipt, they must retrieve their checkbook, write the check, retrieve a stamp and envelope, and file the informational portion of the bill or discard it. If they pay their bills on a particular day of the month, they typically gather all the bills, the checkbook, a calculator, pens, stamps, and envelopes and the various items necessary to pay the bills. The receipts and the informational portion of the bill are then discarded or filed in a box, a cabinet, or the like. Each of these methods are wasteful and time consuming. Accordingly, many people desire a means to help them organize their bills and minimize the time necessary to pay their bills each month.
The present invention solves this particular problem by providing a portable case having removable trays that can store and organize the incoming bills, envelopes, pens, stamps, calculator, and the like, as well as files for the receipts and informational portion of the bills. Accordingly, all the materials necessary for paying bills can be stored in a single container to thereby minimize the time required to pay one's bills.

Molded bill payment center container with removable trays


In a magnetic resonance system and a method and device for generating a control command sequence for operating the magnetic resonance system, a magnetic resonance data acquisition sequence is provided to a processor and is modified in the processor. The sequence operates the magnetic resonance system to acquire magnetic resonance data from a subject in multiple individual data acquisitions for subsequent automated evaluation of the individual data acquisitions with respect to an evaluation parameter. The individual evaluation results are combined into an overall evaluation result. The control command sequence is automatically modified in the processor by varying at least one sequence control parameter between different individual data acquisitions so that a variance of a measurement error in the overall evaluation result is minimized.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a method and a control sequence determination device to determine a magnetic resonance system control command sequence to acquire raw magnetic resonance data for a magnetic resonance measurement sequence that includes a number of individual measurements in order to evaluate the individual measurements later with regard to an evaluation parameter, and to combine the overall evaluation result that is thereby obtained from the individual measurements into an overall evaluation result of the measurement. The invention furthermore concerns a method to operate a magnetic resonance system using such a control command sequence, as well as a magnetic resonance system with a corresponding control sequence determination device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a magnetic resonance system, the body to be examined is typically exposed to a relatively high basic magnetic field (for example of 3 or 7 Tesla) with the use of a basic magnetic field system. A magnetic field gradient is additionally applied with the aid of a gradient system. Excitation signals (RF signals) are then emitted via a radio-frequency transmission system by means of suitable antenna devices, which should lead to the effect that the nuclear spins of specific atoms excited to resonance by this radio-frequency field, are flipped by a defined flip angle relative to the magnetic field lines of the basic magnetic field. This radio-frequency excitation or the resulting flip angle distribution is also designated in the following as a nuclear magnetization, or "magnetization" for short. Upon relaxation of the nuclear spins, radio-frequency signals (magnetic resonance signals) are radiated that are received by suitable reception antennas and are then processed further. Finally, the desired image data can be reconstructed from the raw data acquired in such a manner. The emission of the radio-frequency signals or nuclear magnetic resonance magnetization for the most part takes place by the use of a "whole body coil" or "body coil".
In order to implement a defined magnetic resonance measurement, a control command sequence is typically generated in advance, which control command sequence includes the individual RF pulses to be emitted and gradient pulses to be emitted in coordination for this. This control command sequence is defined (possibly with additional control specifications) in what is known as a measurement protocol which is created in advance and retrieved (from a memory, for example) for a defined measurement and can possibly be modified on site by the operator. During the measurement, the control of the magnetic resonance system then takes place wholly automatically on the basis of this measurement protocol, wherein the control device of the magnetic resonance system reads out and executes the commands from the measurement protocol.
In most cases, magnetic resonance examinations are composed of a sequence of multiple contiguous individual measurements. Typically, multiple parallel, equidistant slices of an examination subject are thus acquired in a multislice measurement in order to optimally acquire the entire volume of a region of interest of the examination subject. For many examinations or diagnostic questions, the individual measurements are—as already mentioned—additionally evaluated later with regard to a specific evaluation parameter, and the evaluation results that are thereby obtained from the individual measurements are combined into an overall evaluation result. A typical example of this is the determination of a volume of a specific organ or part of an organ (for example the volume of a heart chamber). For this the cross section area of the examination subject (for example of the heart chamber) is respectively determined (as an evaluation result of the individual measurements) in the acquired slices, and the cross section area is respectively multiplied by a slice thickness or the slice interval. The volume slices that are obtained with this are then totaled up in order to obtain the total volume as an overall evaluation result. Another example is the creation of an enrichment curve, for which multiple individual measurements are implemented with a defined time interval in order to monitor the enrichment or depletion of a contrast agent in a defined tissue region of interest. Since the overall evaluation result depends on the evaluation results of a plurality of individual measurements which all have unavoidable measurement errors, the overall evaluation result is often plagued with a not inconsiderable uncertainty.

Variation of an MRI sequence parameter to minimize the variance of a measured value


A dual-path current amplifier having a slow high-gain path and a fast low-gain path is described. In one design, the slow high-gain path is implemented with a positive feedback loop and has a gain of greater than one and a bandwidth determined by a pole. The fast low-gain path has unity gain and wide bandwidth. The two signal paths receive an input current and provide first and seconds currents. A summer sums the first and second currents and provides an output current for the dual-path current amplifier. The dual-path current amplifier may be implemented with first and second current mirrors. The first current mirror may implement the fast low-gain path. The first and second current mirrors may be coupled together and implement the slow high-gain path. The first current mirror may be implemented with P-FETs. The second current mirror may be implemented with N-FETs, an operational amplifier, and a capacitor.

I. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to electronics circuits, and more specifically to an amplifier.
II. Background
Amplifiers are commonly used to amplify input signals to obtain output signals having the desired signal level. Various types of amplifiers are available and include voltage amplifiers, current amplifiers, etc. A voltage amplifier receives and amplifies an input voltage signal and provides an output voltage signal. A current amplifier receives and amplifies an input current signal and provides an output current signal. Voltage and current amplifiers typically have different designs and are used in different applications.
An amplifier may be designed to implement a particular transfer function, which may be dependent on an application for which the amplifier is used. Various circuit elements (e.g., transistors, resistors, capacitors, etc.) may be used to implement the transfer function. It is desirable to design the amplifier to obtain the transfer function while minimizing cost, size, power, etc.


In a W-CDMA communication system, even the RNC goes into the congestion state due to increasing user data, the RNC may distribute loads while continuously performing its processing without causing system down. An ATM network used in a RAN is IP-networked, where a C plane processing device for signaling processing and a U plane processing device for user data processing are provided in a physically separated manner. With the U plane processing device, a backup system is prepared independently from an active system. When congestion occurs in the active system, part of processing is switched to and inherited by the backup system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile communication system and an operation control method thereof, and more particularly, to a congestion control method of a radio access network system in a W-CDMA (Wideband-Code Division Multiple Access) communication system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An architecture of a W-CDMA communication system including a mobile communication system is shown in FIG. 18. A radio access network (RAN) 1 is configured with radio network controllers (RNC) 4, 5 and Node B6 to 9, and is connected with a core network (CN) 3 as an switching network via an Iu interface. The Node B6 to 9 are logical nodes for radio transmission/reception, and more specifically, are radio base stations.
An interface between the Node B and RNC is referred to as an Iub, and an Iur interface is also standardized as an interface between RNCs. Each Node B covers one or more cells 10 and is connected to a mobile unit (UE) 2 via a radio interface. The Node B terminates a radio line, and the RNC manages the Node B and selectively combining and splitting radio paths. Note here that the detail of the architecture shown in FIG. 18 is specified in 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Projects).
FIG. 19 shows a protocol architecture of the radio interface in the W-CDMA communication system shown in FIG. 18. As shown in FIG. 19, the protocol architecture is composed of three protocol layers of a physical layer (PHY) 11 denoted as Layer 1, a data link layer 12 denoted as Layer 2, and a network layer (RRC: Radio Resource Control) 13 that is an upper layer of the data link layer 12 and is denoted as Layer 3. The data link layer of Layer 2 includes two sublayers of a MAC (Media Access Control) layer 121 and an RLC (Radio Link Control) layer 122.
An ellipse shown in FIG. 19 indicates a service access point (SAP) between layers or sublayers, where the SAP between the RLC sublayer 122 and the MAC sublayer 121 provides a logical channel. That is, the logical channel is provided from the MAC sublayer 121 to the RLC sublayer 122, and is classified by functions and logical characteristics of a transmission signal and characterized by contents of transferred information. The logical channel includes, for example, a common channel of CCCH (Common Control Channel), a paging channel of PCCH (Paging Control Channel), dedicated channels of DCCH (Dedicated Control Channel) and DTCH (Dedicated Traffic Channel), or the like.
The SAP between the MAC sublayer 121 and the physical layer 11 of Layer 1 provides a transport channel which is supplied from the physical layer 11 to the MAC sublayer 121. The transport channel is classified by a transmission form and is characterized depending on how and what information is transmitted via the radio interface. The transport channel includes, for example, a FACH (Forward Access Channel), a RACH (Random Access Channel), a PCH (Paging Channel), a DCH (Dedicated Channel), or the like.
The physical layer 11 and the data link layer 12 are controlled by the network layer (RRC) 13 via a C-SAP providing a control channel. The detail of the protocol architecture shown in FIG. 19 is specified in ARIB STD-T36-25.301v.3.8.
In the foregoing conventional art, there exists a C (Control) plane that controls signaling, and a U (User) plane that transports user data.
The RNCs 4, 5 of the radio access network (RAN) 1 in the conventional art are devices in each of which a processing function of controlling the C plane and a processing function of controlling the U plane are physically integrated. By using such a single device having the both processing functions integrated, a radio bearer service is provided to a terminal which is a mobile unit.
In the mobile communication system including such a conventional RNC that integrally has functions of U plane and C plane, if we need to enhance the function of the C plane, however the RNC itself should be added in the system. In the some way, if we need to enhance the function of the U plane, however the RNC itself should be added in the system. Therefore, the conventional RNC constitution makes constructing a system with high scalability quite difficult.
Moreover, there has been widespread data communication and image communication including moving pictures by using portable information terminals such as mobile telephones, notebook-sized personal computers, or the like, according to which user data transmitted through communication circuits increase in amount. This may consequently increase loads on a device handling the user data in the radio access network (RAN), causing a congestion state locally or system down in the worst case. Therefore, there now appeared the necessity of performing load distribution processing while continuing the processing for user data without causing system down even in the congestion state.

Mobile communication system and operation control method thereof


A method of prohibiting personal information identification of a photographic subject including: digitally photographing the photographic subject to form a photo of the photographic subject, the photographic subject having an indicia incorporated in the photo indicating prohibiting personal information identification of the photographic subject, the indicia being invisible to the human eye; reading the indicia; responsive to reading the indicia, processing the indicia to make a determination when the indicia prohibits identification of personal information of the photographic subject; and disclosing on a social network system the photo and the personal information of the photographic subject according to the determination.

The present exemplary embodiments pertain to photographers taking pictures of others who may not want their picture taken and published. The exemplary embodiments further pertain to a method to automatically alter the faces of the others who don't want their picture taken when their photo is published such as on social network systems (SNS).
It may happen that a person is intentionally or accidentally photographed by a photographer without the person's permission. Such an incident may happen when the person is in a crowd and the person is photographed with everyone else in the crowd. Subsequently, this photograph may be published on SNS. There may be no way to stop the photographer from taking the picture but the person would still like to maintain their privacy.
After the fact, a SNS may agree to take down the photograph but there may be other copies of the photograph circulating on other SNSs. Accordingly, this would not be an effective solution

Automatic prohibition of personal information identification

International Business Machines Corporation


An information processing apparatus for exchanging information with a plurality of other apparatuses connected thereto through a bidirectional interface includes a storage unit for storing attribute information of IDs and users of the plurality of other apparatuses, a search unit for searching the storage unit for IDs of apparatuses belonging to designated attribute information, and a transmission unit for transmitting information to the plurality of apparatuses searched by the search unit. An information processing method using this information processing apparatus, and a storage medium storing control programs for the information processing apparatus and method are also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method, and a storage medium and, more particularly, to an information processing apparatus such as a host computer serving as a main function on a predetermined network, an information processing method using this information processing apparatus, and a storage medium storing control programs.
2. Related Background Art
In an information processing system in which an information processing apparatus such as a host computer and a plurality of output devices such as printers are connected on a predetermined network, when a specific individual wants to distribute a document to a plurality of persons, the document distributor as the specific individual specifies the ID numbers (identification numbers) of output devices of receivers as the plurality of persons and distributes a specific document to the specified output devices, thereby distributing the document to the plurality of persons.
In the conventional technique described above, however, the document distributor must specify output devices corresponding in number to the output devices owned by the receivers prior to the document distribution as described above. In addition, the document distributor must store the ID numbers (identifiers) corresponding in number to the output devices of terminals subjected to the document distribution. Therefore, when the number of receivers is large, the document distributor must perform a cumbersome operation for specifying the output devices.

Information processing apparatus and method, and storage medium storing control programs


A pivoting keel guide for boat trailers which can be used with most boats, can be easily field added to existing trailers, and which will provide excellent centering action for crosswinds when the trailer is submerged. A base plate attaches to a cross-member of the trailer. Pivotally attached to the base plate is a U-channel guide arm, with a pair of guide rollers supported on roller arms mounted on the end of the guide arm opposite the pivot. The guide arm is biased into a raised position using resilient elements such as springs, so that the guide rollers can contact the bottom of the boat while the trailer is submerged. The guide arm pivots along the length of the trailer as the boat settles onto the trailer, exerting a constant centering force.

Trailers have long been used to transport boats over the road. In most cases, for most boats which are small enough to be moved and launched by the user, the trailer consists of a frame with a cradle to hold the boat, with a raised portion in front to attach to a ring in the bow of the boat. The cradle may be formed of rollers or of padding-covered flat props.
When the boat has been driven to the body of water in which it is to be used, the trailer is backed down a ramp, and the boat is released into the water. For retrieval, the process is reversed.
In most cases, the retrieval process involves submerging the trailer to a greater or lesser degree. The boat is then floated up over the trailer, the bow fastened to the front of the trailer, and the trailer is pulled out of the water. As the trailer is pulled up the ramp, the boat settles onto the trailer, ready for transportation over the road.
If the cradle on the trailer is of the kind provided with rollers, the trailer need not be fully submerged, as the boat can be pulled up the rollers by means of a winch or the like. Schroeder, U.S. Pat. No. 2,586,485, Carbone, U.S. Pat. No. 4,620,716, and Ullman, U.S. Pat. No. 3,974,924, show three of the many patents on roller-keel trailers in which the varying number and arrangement of rollers on the keel are expected to exert a centering action, once the boat has settled onto them. These rollers can do little or nothing when the boat is floating in the water above them, as is the case when the trailer has been backed into the water. If the trailer is not submerged, then the rollers can act to a greater or lesser degree to center the boat, but at the cost of having to actually winch the boat out of the water with the guide rope, which takes far more effort than merely centering the boat and driving the trailer up the ramp.
Trailers without rollers must be submerged entirely, and then driven out of the water with the boat on them, as the boat will not easily shift once it is resting on the padded props.
While this process sounds simple in theory, in practice the actions of wind, waves and water currents make retrieving a boat much more complicated. The boat can be easily attached to the winch at the bow, but if it is not accurately aligned on the trailer it will not settle properly into its cradle as it is pulled out of the water.
The wind can exert a major force on a small boat--in fact, it is more of a factor in small, light boats which are easily blown about than in larger, heavier boats. The boat will tend to weathercock in the wind, pivoting around the bow attachment. It does not take much wind to blow the boat fully sideways, right off the trailer, before the owner can get into the car and pull it out of the water.
In rollerless trailers, there is no centering tendency at all--however the boat settles, there it will ride. In a worst case, the boat could be damaged as it lands incorrectly and bounces on the props under wave action.
Tilting trailers, where the tongue breaks and allows the trailer to articulate, can alleviate the problem to a minor degree. However, this requires extensive modification to the design of the trailer, can weaken the structure, and cannot easily be added to existing trailers in the field.
There have been a number of attempts in the past to devise trailers which will center the boat, but they have not met with commercial or practical success. The following patents are offered as examples of the different types of boat-guiding trailers, and are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all such trailer patents.
Tingley, U.S. Pat. No. 4,684,145, shows a pivoting bow guide which is mounted in the rear third of the trailer and pivots forward, sliding down the bow and under the keel, as the boat is pulled onto the trailer. Like all bow guides, Tingley's device is of little use in crosswinds, as the rear of the boat is free to weathercock as the bow is pulled forward. Further, his guide will work properly only with boats having smoothly tapered keels as shown in the patent--a flat-bowed boat, or one without a sharp keel (most fiberglass boats) will not center properly with this guide.
Kehne, U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,657, shows another pivoting bow lever. Kehne has the opposite intention of the present invention and Tingley, in that the lever is pulled upward with a cable to lift the bow and force the boat off the trailer.
Backus, U.S. Pat. No. 2,827,304, is an example of another class of boat-centering devices using upright posts at the rear of the trailer to guide the boat as it is pulled up onto the trailer. This kind of guide looks good in theory, but in practice in a crosswind the boat tends to push against the downwind post. which retracts against its spring, and the boat does not then center properly. Such a guide will prevent the boat from weathercocking completely perpendicular to the trailer, but it will not center accurately enough for the boat to ride correctly, especially on rollerless trailers. Backus' modification of the general design, using intermeshing gears to move both guides in tandem, would exaggerate the problem, as pressure against the downwind guide would open the pair excessively and the boat would be even less likely to center properly.
Another drawback of all boat guides which mount at the rear of the trailer, of whatever kind, is that it becomes necessary to enter the guides from the rear. In practice, this means that the boat usually has to be pushed backwards into the water and then guided back through the guides. This can be very difficult with larger boats or windy conditions.
A number of patents have been granted on trailers which include floating or levered boat cradles which completely surround the boat, parallel to the water surface. Fond, U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,706, and Ernst, U.S. Pat. No. 5,013,206, are examples of this kind of trailer. While this type of trailer does eliminate the weathercocking problem completely once the boat is in the cradle, it adds significantly to the weight, cost and complexity of the trailer, and cannot easily be added to an existing trailer.
Aasen, U.S. Pat. No. 4,209,279, shows a loading guide which, like the present invention, can be added to existing trailers, and which acts to guide the bottom of the boat as it settles onto the trailer. However, it has a number of drawbacks. Like the rear post guides, especially Backus, the boat would tend to push against the downwind guide and resist centering, and the linked guides would tend to exacerbate this effect. Also, like Tingley, the design is limited to boats with sharp, evenly tapering keels, on which the guides can evenly ride sideways as the boat settles. This design would be useless in a semi-catamaran design, where there are multiple parallel keels, as the guides would tend to hang up between the keels. On a flat bottomed boat with a thin keel, such as is commonly found in aluminum boats, Aasen would have no centering effect at all.


A reversible two-phase electromechanical transducer comprises a stator (2) extending primarily over three levels and a rotor (38) including a multipolar permanent magnet (48) located between first and second principal stator parts (4, 8). The first stator part defines a stator hole and first and second principal magnetic poles (80, 82) magnetically coupled to secondary magnetic poles formed by the castellations (70) of a circular gapped crown located on the edge of the stator hole. The second principal stator portion defines at least one third principal magnetic pole (90), such second principal stator portion being magnetically coupled to each of the first and second principal magnetic poles by means of respective first and second magnetic flux guidance legs (12, 13), each bearing an energization winding (28, 29).

In the case of the electronic watch, there is generally employed an electromagnetic motor having a bipolar permanent magnet operating in a stepping mode, the rotor effecting a rotation through 180.degree. for each step. If the watch includes a seconds hand for which stepping takes place at a frequency of 1 Hz, there is then required a reduction by a factor of 30 between the rotor of the motor and such hand. The rotation of the rotor through 180.degree. per step and the gearing system serving for the reduction bring about energy losses basically due to friction and generate a relatively substantial noise.
Next, if one wishes to obtain an almost continuous displacement of the seconds hand with a bioplar permanent magnet, it is necessary to increase the operating frequency of the motor and consequently the reduction down between the rotor of such motor and the hand. This inevitably leads to additional energy losses and modifications of the timekeeping movement, especially insofar as these concern the dimensioning of the driving gears.
On the other hand, a multipolar motor showing a sufficient number of pole pairs enables reducing the energy losses, indeed the number of transmission gears and it renders possible an almost continuous displacement of the associated mechanism without thereby requiring a greater reduction than that which is necessary in the case of a motor with a bipolar permanent magnet, as mentioned hereinbefore.
It will also be observed that a motor with a multipolar permanent magnet may enable a lessening of the driving noise.
There is known in particular from European patent EP 0 151 158 a two-phase electromagnetic motor with an axially magnetized multipolar permanent magnet. The stator of this motor is basically formed from four principal stator parts and two magnetic flux guidance legs, each bearing a winding and each coupling two of such stator parts. The two stator parts coupled respectively to the first and to the second winding are profiled in a manner such that they fit into one another and that, when the first stator part is superposed on the south poles located on one of the two halves of the multipolar permanent magnet, the second stator part is superposed over the north poles of the same half of the multipolar permanent magnet.
The magnetization of the multipolar permanent magnet being axial, a disc of soft ferro-magnetic material serving as a magnetic flux guide is secured, in a first variant, on the face of the permanent magnet opposed to that located facing the stator parts. In a second variant, such disc is mounted in a manner such that the permanent magnet of the rotor is located between it and the general stator plane.
This motor exhibits the following disadvantages:
the two corresponding principal stator parts fitted into one another require a delicate adjustment. Additionally, they are not appropriate for a high number of poles. Next, a relatively substantial gap must be provided between such two parts located in a common plane in view of the magnetic potential difference between such two parts when the corresponding winding is energized. PA1 In the first variant, the disc of soft ferromagnetic material secured on one of the faces of the permanent magnet of the rotor gives rise to magnetic short-circuits between the magnetic poles of the rotor permanent magnet. Additionally, the rotor permanent magnet being located in a plane other than the general stator plane, it is attracted by the stator itself. It is thus necessary to exert a force thereon in order to hold it in place, which causes friction lowering the yield of the motor. Finally, such disc increases the inertia of the rotor without increasing its useful volume. PA1 In the second variant, the problem of positioning the rotor permanent magnet and the increase in inertia are partially resolved, but at the cost of an increase of magnetic reluctance. Effectively, the magnetic fluxes circulating in one of the motor magnetic circuits then traverse four gaps stator - permanent magnet of the rotor. PA1 a stator comprising two magnetic flux guidance legs and a first principal stator part defining a first stator hole having a central region and a peripheral region surrounding said central region, the contour of said first stator hole defining within said peripheral region a first gapped circular crown located in a first stator plane and formed of castellations separated by slots; and PA1 a rotor having a rotation axis substantially perpendicular to said first stator plane and traversing said central region of said first stator hole, such rotor including an even number greater than two of bipolar permanent magnets each defining a pair of magnetic poles arranged on either side of a general rotor plane substantially perpendicular to said rotation axis so that the magnetic axis defined by each pair of magnetic poles has an orientation substantially parallel to said rotation axis and opposed to that of the magnetic axes defined by the adjacent pairs of magnetic poles, said pairs of magnetic poles being at least partially arranged facing at least a superposition portion of said castellations; PA1 first and second windings mounted respectively on said first and second magnetic flux guidance legs; such electromagnetic transducer being characterized in that said stator comprises a second principal stator part having a superposition portion arranged to face said pairs of magnetic poles and defining a second stator plane substantially parallel to said first stator plane, said superposition portions of said castellations and of said second principal stator part being respectively located on a first side and on a second side of said general stator plane, said first principal stator part defining first and second principal magnetic poles and said second principal stator part defining at least one third principal magnetic pole, said first and second magnetic flux guidance legs magnetically and respectively coupling said first and second principal magnetic poles with said second principal stator part.
There is also known from Swiss patent CH 656 990 another two-phase electromagnetic motor having a multipolar permanent magnet.
The stator of this motor is primarily formed by a stator part defining a stator hole and four stator poles. Two adjacent stator poles are coupled to one another by a leg on which is assembled an energization winding. In the same manner, the two remaining poles are coupled to one another by a second leg bearing a second energization winding. The magnetization of the magnetic pole pairs of the rotor permanent magnet is axial.
The permanent magnet of the rotor is located in a neighbouring but different plane from the stator plane. In order to enable magnetic coupling between the stator poles and the permanent magnet, secondary stator poles are provided formed by teeth arranged over about a quarter of the circumference of the stator hole and directed towards the center thereof.
Each secondary pole belonging to a common principal pole is angularly separated from such principal pole by an even number of rotor poles relative to the other secondary poles of such principal pole and by an odd number of rotor poles relative to the secondary poles of the second principal pole energized by the same winding, whilst being angularly separated relative to the secondary poles of the other two principal poles magnetically coupled to the other winding by a whole number plus one half of rotor poles.
This special configuration of the secondary poles enables operation at 60 steps per revolution for a permanent magnet possessing thirty pairs of axially arranged poles by alternately energizing the two windings. Additionally, such a motor operates in the two possible rotation senses of the rotor.
However, this motor exhibits at least two major disadvantages. Initially, in order to permit the return of the magnetic flux, a disc of low magnetic reluctance is applied against the face of the permanent magnet which is opposed to the face located facing the stator. In the same manner as in the case of the first variant of the preceding motor, this plate brings about magnetic short circuits and thus increases the leakage fields of the rotor permanent magnet. Additionally, such plate increases the inertia of the rotor. Next, the rotor permanent magnet is also placed in a non-equilibrium position within the stator, that is to say, in a position not corresponding to the minimum energy of the stator - rotor system. Thus, the rotor magnet is attracted by the stator parts located in a plane neighbouring that of the permanent magnet. In order to maintain the magnet in its position, it is necessary to exert a mechanical sustaining force bringing about friction forces lowering the yield of such a motor.
Secondly, the two poles associated with the same winding must be magnetically insulated by a relatively large gap in view of the magnetic potential difference between such two poles when the associated winding is energized. This diminishes the possible utilization of the magnetized volume of the rotor permanent magnet.
The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the disadvantages described hereinabove in providing a two-phase multipolar electromagnetic transducer in which the position of the rotor permanent magnet corresponds substantially to a minimum energy position which is a balanced position of the latter within the stator, this motor further exhibiting a compact configuration, a very good yield and a relatively low manufacturing cost.

Electromagnetic transducer with a multipolar permanent magnet


The present disclosure generally pertains to methods and kits for preparing an ACL repair surgical implant, the method including drilling femoral and tibial bone plugs of a tendon graft to create medial to lateral holes, and passing a braided suture around the tendinous portion of the tibial end, through soft tissue, and out the tibial end. Next, an anterior to posterior femoral hole is drilled, and a flat-braided suture is passed through the femoral medial to lateral hole and, using a bent needle, passed through junctions of the femoral bone plug and the tendinous portion and out through junctions of the tibial bone plug and the tendinous portion on both sides of the graft. Ends of the flat-braided suture are crisscrossed through the medial to lateral tibial hole. A bone-to-bone fixation suture assembly is passed through the anterior to posterior femoral hole.

Anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL reconstruction is often necessary or recommended when the ACL is torn or otherwise injured. This ligament is a major ligament of the knee that stabilizes it during rotation and is located behind the patella, connecting the femur to the tibia. Injuries, such as sprains, partial-tears, or tears, may occur during activities that involve quick changes in direction, slowing, or stopping. ACL reconstruction allows the replacement of the torn ligament with substitute tissue, which is typically tendon tissue. Sources include autografts, which is tissue from the same patient in which the ACL is to be reconstructed, and allografts, which is tissue from a donor or cadaver.
In ACL reconstruction surgical procedures, the injured or torn ACL is first removed and the joint inspected for any further damage. Next, tunnels are made between the tibia and the knee joint and between the femur and the knee joint, serving as anchor point for the tendon graft. The graft is then inserted through each tunnel and secured at the tibia and femur using screws and bone anchors. The inserted graft then acts as a scaffold for further growth and strengthening, allowing the ACL to be reconstructed.
While the surgical technique aims to provide the patient with a functional ALC and to allow the patient to return to normal activities or sports, graft rupture and incomplete function remain significant challenges. Thus, reinforcement techniques for graft tissue have been devices to enhance graft stability. The present invention presents a technique for ACL reconstruction using a patellar tendon graft augmented with a cross linked suture tape. A cortical button is used for fixation on the femoral side, while either a button or interference screw plus suture anchor are used for the tibial side fixation. The graft preparation of this technique has, to our best knowledge, not been previously described, and constitutes a novel method for enhancing graft stability and strength.

Patellar tendon graft and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction method using suture tape augmentation