A coin sorting apparatus includes a coin receiving area, a coin sorting ramp, and a coin stripper. The coin stripper includes an inlet and a backing plate located adjacent said inlet to support a stack of associated unsorted coins received from the inlet with a face of a lowermost coin of the stack abutting the backing plate. The coin stripper further includes a pushing member located adjacent said backing plate and adapted for reciprocal sliding movement relative to said backing plate between an extended position and a retracted position. The pushing member, when moving from the retracted position to the extended position, engages the lowermost coin of the stack and moves the lowermost coin onto the coin sorting ramp.

The present invention relates to a coin sorting apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to a coin sorting apparatus that is motorized yet compact, and that utilizes a reciprocating coin pushing member to place individual coins from a hopper onto an upper end of a coin sorting ramp/slide. The present invention further relates to a coin sorting apparatus that supports a plurality of flexible coin wrappers on a base so that sorted coins are loaded directly into the appropriate one of the coin wrappers, and so that the base and wrappers are movable as a unit from its operative position, adjacent a main housing portion, to a convenient coin wrapper loading/unloading position wherein the base is moved away from the main housing portion to allow free access to the wrappers.
Coin sorting devices are generally known. A user places one or more coins into a hopper or similar coin receiving location. A motorized coin separating mechanism dispenses coins one at a time from the hopper to a location where they fall under the force of gravity into a coin sorting mechanism. The coin sorting mechanism classifies the coins according to their diameter. Coins of a particular diameter, and consequently of a particular denomination, are directed into the appropriate one of a plurality of sorted coin storage containers and/or wrappers.
One type of motorized coin sorter uses a coin separating plate/disc that is notched at its periphery and that rotates on an adjacent inclined backing plate. Upon rotation of the coin separating disc, individual coins are received in the notches and are moved slidably along the backing plate to an open portion thereof whereupon the coins fall through the open portion of the backing plate onto an upper end of a coin sorting ramp/slide. This type of coin sorting apparatus has been found to be highly effective and has enjoyed widespread commercial success. However, use of the rotating coin separating disc in this manner does impose some design limitations with respect to the size and shape of the housing of the coin sorting apparatus.
Certain prior coin sorting devices operate to deposit sorted coins directly into the appropriate one of a plurality of different flexible coin wrappers, without requiring use of a rigid tubular container to support each wrapper. These prior coin sorting devices have not provided optimal means for convenient loading and unloading of the wrappers. In particular, these prior coin sorting devices that have utilized the flexible wrappers only, without supporting tubes, have typically relied upon a fixed circular collar to support the upper end of each wrapper. These collars have been immovably connected to the coin sorter housing and have required that the coin wrapper be slid axially therethrough. This operation can be inconvenient and somewhat difficult, especially with a filled wrapper. None of these prior devices have included a base for supporting the flexible coin wrappers wherein the base cooperates with a main housing portion to define a collar for each flexible coin wrapper when the base is in an operative position, and wherein the base is movable away from the main housing portion to open each collar and to provide free, unobstructed access to the base for loading/unloading the wrappers.
Accordingly, it has been deemed desirable to develop a new and improved coin sorting apparatus that overcomes the foregoing deficiencies and others while providing better and more advantageous overall results.
According to the present invention, a new and improved coin sorting apparatus is provided.
In accordance with the present invention, a coin sorting apparatus includes a coin receiving area, a coin sorting ramp, and a coin stripper. The coin stripper includes an inlet and a backing plate located adjacent said inlet to support a stack of associated unsorted coins received from the inlet with a face of a lowermost coin of the stack abutting the backing plate. The coin stripper further includes a pushing member located adjacent said backing plate and adapted for reciprocal sliding movement relative to said backing plate between an extended position and a retracted position. The pushing member, when moving from the retracted position to the extended position, engages the lowermost coin of the stack and moves the lowermost coin onto the coin sorting ramp.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a coin stripping apparatus for moving individual coins from an unsorted coin receiving area to a coin sorting mechanism in a coin sorting apparatus includes an inlet for holding a stacked plurality of coins. A backing plate is located beneath the inlet to support the stacked coins. A planar pushing member is located above the backing plate and is adapted for reciprocating in relation to the backing plate between an extended position and a retracted position. The pushing member engages a lowermost coin of the stacked plurality of coins and moves the lowermost coin to the coin sorting mechanism when moving from the retracted to the extended position.
In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, a coin sorting apparatus includes a housing, a coin sorting mechanism connected to the housing; and, a door assembly mounted on the housing. The door assembly includes a base with a plurality of supports for retaining a respective plurality of associated coin holders. The door assembly is selectively movable between a closed position, wherein the associated coin holders are operatively positioned to receive sorted coins from said coin sorting mechanism and the door assembly blocks user access to the associated coin holders, and an open position wherein the door assembly including the base is moved relative to the housing for access to the associated coin holders.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, a coin sorting apparatus includes a housing, a coin receiving area located in the housing and adapted for receipt of a plurality of associated coins, a coin sorting ramp located in the housing, and a coin stripper located in the housing for moving individual coins from the coin receiving area onto the coin sorting ramp. The coin stripper includes an inlet in communication with the coin receiving area to receive unsorted coins therefrom. A backing plate is located adjacent the inlet and is adapted to support a stack of associated unsorted coins received from the inlet with a face of a lowermost coin of the stack abutting the backing plate. A pushing member is located adjacent the backing plate and is adapted for reciprocal sliding movement relative to the backing plate between an extended position and a retracted position. The pushing member, when moving from the retracted position to the extended position, engages the lowermost coin of the stack and moves it onto the coin sorting ramp. The apparatus further includes a door assembly having a door member, a base connected to the door member, and a plurality of pedestals projecting upwardly from the base and adapted for insertion in open lower ends of a respective plurality of associated coin holders whereby the holders are operatively supported on the base. The door assembly is movable relative to the housing between a closed, operative position wherein the associated holders supported on the base are positioned to receive sorted coins from the coin sorting ramp and wherein the door prevents user-access to the holders, and an opened position wherein the door assembly and associated holders supported on the base are spaced from the housing and accessible by a user of the coin sorting apparatus.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a coin stripping apparatus for moving individual coins from an unsorted coin receiving area to a coin sorting mechanism in a coin sorting apparatus includes an inlet for holding a stacked plurality of coins, a backing plate located beneath the inlet to support the stacked plurality of coins, and a planar pushing member located above the backing plate. The pushing member is adapted for reciprocal sliding movement in relation to the backing plate between an extended position and a retracted position. When moving from the retracted position to the extended position, the pushing member engages a lowermost coin of the stacked plurality and moves same to the coin sorting mechanism. The pushing member includes a leading edge that engages and pushes the lowermost coin, and the leading edge defines a thickness that is less than a thickness of a thinnest coin in the stacked plurality.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, a coin sorting apparatus comprises a coin receiving area adapted for receipt of a plurality of associated coins, a coin sorting ramp, and a coin stripper for moving individual coins from the coin receiving area onto the ramp. The coin stripper includes an inlet in communication with the coin receiving area to receive unsorted coins therefrom, a backing plate located adjacent the inlet and adapted to support a stack of associated unsorted coins received from the inlet with a face of a lowermost coin of the stack abutting the backing plate. The backing plate is located above at least a portion of the coin sorting ramp and defines a space between itself and the ramp that is smaller than a diameter of a smallest-diameter coin being sorted. A pushing member is located adjacent the backing plate and is adapted for reciprocal sliding movement relative to the backing plate between an extended position and a retracted position. When the pushing member moves from the retracted position to the extended position, it engages a lowermost coin of the stack and moves same onto the coin sorting ramp.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a coin stripping apparatus for moving individual coins from an unsorted coin receiving area to a coin sorting mechanism in a coin sorting apparatus includes an inlet for holding a stacked plurality of coins, a backing plate located beneath the inlet to support the stacked plurality of coins, and a planar pushing member located above the backing plate. The pushing member is adapted for reciprocal sliding movement in relation to the backing plate between an extended position and a retracted position. The pushing member, when moving from the retracted position to the extended position, engages a lowermost coin of the stacked plurality of coins and moves same to the coin sorting mechanism. The pushing member defines a leading edge that engages and pushes the lowermost coin simultaneously in a first direction and in a direction transverse relative the first direction to orient said lowermost coin relative to a subjacent sorting ramp.
In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, a coin stripping apparatus for moving individual coins from an unsorted coin receiving area to a coin sorting mechanism in a coin sorting apparatus includes an inlet for holding a stacked plurality of coins, a backing plate located beneath the inlet to support the stacked plurality of coins, and a planar pushing member located above the backing plate. The pushing member is adapted for reciprocal sliding movement in relation to the backing plate between an extended position and a retracted position. The pushing member, when moving from the retracted position to the extended position, engages a lowermost coin of the stacked plurality of coins and moves same to the coin sorting mechanism. The pushing member defines a member that projects upwardly therefrom and that shifts unsorted coins in the inlet away from the pushing member when the pushing member reciprocates.
One advantage of the present invention is the provision of a new and improved coin sorting apparatus.
Another advantage of the present invention resides in the provision of a motorized coin sorting apparatus that utilizes a reciprocating coin pushing member in a coin separating mechanism, rather than a rotating disc, to move individual unsorted coins onto an upper portion of a coin sorting ramp/slide without flipping and/or bouncing.
A further advantage of the present invention is found in the provision of a coin sorting apparatus that is more compact owing to its use of a reciprocating coin pushing mechanism positioned above and overlapping at least a portion of the coin sorting ramp/slide.
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of a coin sorting apparatus that operates to place sorted coins directly into flexible coin wrappers, and wherein the wrappers are supported on a base that moves to a wrapper loading/unloading position that allows for free, unobstructed placement/removal of wrappers relative to the base.
Yet another advantage of the present invention resides in the provision of a coin sorting apparatus wherein a movable base and a main housing portion cooperate to define a plurality of collars for operably supporting a plurality of sorted coin wrappers at their upper ends when the base in moved to its operative position.
A further advantage of the present invention resides in the provision of a coin sorting apparatus including an off-center infra-red coin sensor associated with each coin chute and adapted for sensing coins moving through the chute.
Still other benefits and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed description.

Coin sorting apparatus with reciprocating coin pushing member


A wiring board includes a substrate which has multiple opening portions and one or more boundary portions separating the opening portions, multiple electronic devices positioned in the opening portions of the substrate, respectively, a conductive pattern formed on a surface of the boundary portion, and an insulation layer formed on the substrate and the conductive pattern on the boundary portion of the substrate such that the insulation layer covers the electronic devices in the opening portions of the substrate. The boundary portion has a width which is in a range of approximately 0.05 to approximately 2.0 mm.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wiring board and its manufacturing method.
Description of Background Art
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003-152304 describes a wiring board which has a core substrate having an opening section, multiple electronic components accommodated in the opening section, and buildup layers formed on the core substrate and the electronic components. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-7531 describes a wiring board in which an assembly of chip capacitors made up of multiple chip capacitors (electronic components) is positioned in an opening section of a core substrate. Such an assembly of chip capacitors is formed with multiple chip capacitors which are integrated (encapsulated) by molding resin (epoxy resin). The contents of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication Nos. 2003-152304 and 2001-7531 are incorporated herein in this application.

Wiring board and method for manufacturing the same


A ferroelectric thin film device comprises an Si substrate; a TiN thin film whose Ti component is partially replaced with Al, the TiN thin film being formed on the Si substrate; and a ferroelectric thin film of an oxide with a perovskite structure formed on the TiN thin film, wherein the amount of Al atoms present at Ti sites of the TiN thin film after partially replacing Ti with Al is within the range from about 1% to 30% and the oxygen atomic content of the TiN thin film is equal to or less than about 5%.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ferroelectric thin film device and a method of producing the same, and more particularly to a ferroelectric thin film device applicable to a capacitor for use in a DRAM or a ferroelectric RAM (hereinafter referred to as a FeRAM), a pyroelectric device, a micro actuator, a thin film capacitor, a small-sized piezoelectric device, and the like and to a method of producing such a ferroelectric thin film device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, there have been intensive studies on thin films of perovskite compounds of Pb or other elements such as BaTiO.sub.3 (hereinafter referred to simply as BTO), SrTiO.sub.3 (hereinafter referred to simply as STO), (Ba, Sr)TiO.sub.3 (hereinafter referred to simply as BSTO), PbTiO.sub.3, (Pb, La)TiO.sub.3 (hereinafter referred to simply as PLT), PZT, PLZT, and Pb(Mg, Nb)O.sub.3 (hereinafter referred to simply as PMN), formed on an Si substrate. In particular, there is a great demand to grow an epitaxial thin film of a Pb-based perovskite compound such as PZT or PLZT having the property of great residual dielectric polarization thereby achieving spontaneous polarization aligned in one direction and thus achieving a greater polarization value and better switching characteristics. Such an epitaxial thin film will be extensively used as a high-density storage medium in various applications, and thus the development of a technique of growing such an epitaxial thin film is urgent.
In applications in which spontaneous polarization is aligned in one direction along the film thickness direction, it is required that a layer structure called an MFM (metal-ferroelectric-metal) structure consisting of a ferroelectric thin film sandwiched by electrically conductive layers (electrode layers) be formed on an Si substrate. In conventional techniques, however, it is difficult to form a triaxially-oriented ferroelectric oxide thin film having good crystal quality for the reasons described below.
First, when the conductive film on the Si substrate is realized using a metal film such as Ag, Au, or the like, oxidation occurs at the interface between the metal film and the ferroelectric oxide thin film and interdiffusion occurs between the metal film and the underlayer material, that is, the Si.
Second, when the metal film is formed using Pt, it is impossible to grow an epitaxial Pt film directly on an Si substrate although an epitaxial Pt film can be formed on an oxide single-crystal substrate such as MgO or SrTiO.sub.3.
Third, when the conductive thin film is formed using an oxide such as (La, Sr)CoO.sub.3 (hereinafter referred to as LSCO), it is necessary to form another layer between the Si substrate and the LSCO layer. A specific example of such a structure is PLZT/LSCO/BiTO/YSZ/Si. In this structure, however, it is difficult to form a high-quality epitaxial ferroelectric layer at the top of the structure. (BiTO is a short designation for Bi.sub.4 Ti.sub.3 O.sub.12 and YSZ is a short designation for ZrO.sub.2 doped with Y (yttrium)).
Fourth, with only one exception, no one has succeeded in growing a thin epitaxial layer of PZT, which is a Pb-based perovskite oxide ferroelectric, on an Si substrate. The exception is Koinuma et al. (Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. Vol. 135 (1996), L574) who grew an epitaxial layer of TiN on an Si substrate by means of a pulsed laser deposition (PLD) process at a low pressure (less than 10.sup.-7 Torr) and then formed an SrTiO.sub.3 (STO) buffer layer thereon, and finally formed an epitaxial thin film of PZT at the top, wherein the STO layer on the TiN film was formed in the ambient vacuum at a pressure of 10.sup.-5 Torr (at 550.degree. C.) which was quite different from the ambient (flow of .degree. 2 gas at 0.1 Torr at 450.degree. C.) employed to form the PZT layer. In this technique, oxidation of the TiN layer was prevented by growing the STO with the perovskite phase at the ambient with an extremely low oxygen partial pressure.
The Koinuma et al technique has the following-problems. It is necessary to employ an extremely low pressure of less than 10.sup.-7 Torr when an epitaxial thin film of TiN is grown on an Si substrate. To achieve such an extremely low pressure, it is necessary to use a high- quality vacuum system including a deposition chamber. Such a high-quality vacuum system is very expensive. Another problem of this technique is that to obtain a well-oriented PZT film, a buffer layer of STO, which behaves as a paraelectric at room temperature, is required between TiN and PZT layers.
In the conventional techniques, as described above, it is difficult to form a ferroelectric thin film of an oxide with a perovskite structure directly on an epitaxial layer serving as an electrode layer formed on an Si single-crystal substrate. In particular, it is very difficult to form a ferroelectric thin film of a Pb-based perovskite oxide in such a manner as to be oriented to a high degree (uniaxially or to a high degree).

Ferroelectric thin film device and method of producing the same


A lighting device assembly comprising an elongate base member (3) having a wall portion (9) on which several light emitting diodes (11) are mounted along the length of the base member, and an end cap (15) including an electrical terminal (17) at each respective end of the base member. The lighting device assembly further has an elongate light transmissive optical member (5) configured to be assembled with the base member, thereby enclosing the light emitting diodes. The base member is provided with at least one switch (55) configured to close an electric circuit connecting the light emitting diodes with the electrical terminals. The optical member is provided with at least one switching portion (59), configured to close said at least one switch in conjunction with the assembly of the base member and the optical member, said at least one switch being opened when the base member and the optical member are disassembled.

TL (luminescent/fluorescent tube) lighting devices exist in different form factors, such as those called T12, T8, and T5, e.g. having different diameters where T5 has the smallest diameter. Large efforts have been spent on reconstructing the traditional fluorescent tube having a combined electrode-gas light emitter by means of LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes). This tubular lighting device is called LED TL lighting device, and it is a tube having the same form factor and typically the same electrical terminals as a corresponding traditional TL lighting device, but it is provided with LEDs as light emitters. Several LEDs are arranged on an elongate base member, along the length of the tube, in one or more rows or some other configuration. However, the diameter of a form factor T5 lighting device is small and complicates the LED mounting. Luminaires often offer some extra space in the direction of the light output, inviting the use of a larger form factor lighting device, but there is not enough mounting space to install such a larger form factor lighting device.
Additionally, a LED TL lighting device that uses the original form factor socket and a rewired driver of the luminaire is subject to some safety risks. There may be a risk of electrical shock if the LEDs or PCB traces can be touched by hand.
Also, it is possible that the LEDs are blue LEDs that may be too bright for direct on-looking; they should be operated only when there is no direct line of sight onto the LEDs, and all light is reflected or transmitted by a Remote Phosphor layer.

Lighting device assembly and a method of mounting a lighting device assembly


A molding composition exhibiting bleach resistance includes a polyoxymethylene matrix polymer, from about 0.5 to about 10 weight percent of a bleach stabilizer selected from alkali metal or alkaline earth element carbonates or phosphates and mixtures thereof dispersed in the matrix resin. A bleach co-stabilizer is selected from the group consisting of: (a) a poly(alkoxy) stabilizer; (b) a zinc oxide stabilizer; (c) a color stabilizer consisting of a mixture of calcium citrate and calcium propionate, wherein the calcium citrate is the predominant component of the color stabilizer mixture; or (d) mixtures of two or more of (a), (b) and (c). The compositions exhibit a bleach resistance index of at least 2.0.

Polyoxymethylene polymers, those having recurring —CH2O— units, have been known for many years. These polymers may be prepared by the polymerization of anhydrous formaldehyde or by the polymerization of trioxane, which is a cyclic trimer of formaldehyde. Also known is the preparation of oxymethylene copolymers by copolymerizing trioxane with cyclic ethers such as dioxolane. These polymers and copolymers are used as molding resins. See U.S. Pat. No. 3,027,352, as well as "Acetal Resins", by T. J. Dolce and J. A. Grates, Second Edition Of Encyclopedia Of Polymer Science And Engineering, John Wiley And Sons, New York, 1985, Vol. 1 pp. 42-61.
Present state of the art includes means to impart desired properties to oxymethylene based molding compositions by inclusion of certain additives in order to maintain the workability and stability of the polymers. U.S. Pat. No. 5,173,532 discloses the use of calcium carbonate in polyoxymethylene compositions. U.S. Pat. No. 5,886,066 teaches use of at least about 0.25 weight percent of calcium carbonate to improve surface wear resistance. See, generally, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,996,253; 4,517,319; 5,354,798; 6,284,828; and 4,996,253. As to increasing stability and impact strength see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,699,062; 4,731,396; 4,780,498; 4,886,851; 6,156,834; and 4,831,073. As to increasing platability and color stability see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,096,951; 5,094,713; 4,418,162; and 4,836,899. As to increasing thermal stability see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,837,400; 5,948,844; 5,212,222; 5,939,481; 5,478,895; and 4,861,814. As to anti-static properties see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,886,066; 4,647,609; 5,106,896; 5,641,824; 4,559,380; 4,649,179; and 4,274,986. As to improving frictional properties, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,987. As a carrier for anti-bacterial and anti-fungal agents see U.S. Pat. No. 5,478,563. As to decreasing porosity see U.S. Pat. No. 5,298,537. A recurring problem characteristic of polyoxymethylene molding resins is their susceptibility to degradation such as delamination by bleaching agents. Despite all of the advances made in the polyoxymethylene injection molding field, there is a need for improving bleach resistance of resin compositions and parts prepared therefrom.

Polyacetals with improved resistance to bleach


Embodiments of the present invention are for use with implantable cardiac devices that have discriminator parameters that the devices use to discriminate between ventricular tachycardia (VT) and supraventricular tachyarrhythmia (SVT). A user is allowed to select a balance setting that specifies a balance between sensitivity and specificity, where an increase in sensitivity results in a decrease in specificity, and vice versa. In response to the user selecting the balance setting, a value of at least one of the discriminator parameters and/or how at least one of the discriminator parameters is used is automatically adjusted. The more the balance setting favors sensitivity, then the more likely an actual VT will be characterized as VT, but the more likely an actual SVT may be characterized as VT. The more the balance setting favors specificity, then the less likely an actual SVT will characterized as VT, but the less likely an actual VT may be characterizes as VT.

In a normal heart, cells of the sinoatrial node (SA node) spontaneously depolarize and thereby initiate an action potential. This action potential propagates rapidly through the atria (which contract), slowly through the atrioventricular node (AV node), the atriventricular bundle (AV bundle or His bundle) and then to the ventricles, which causes ventricular contraction. This sequence of events is known as normal sinus rhythm (NSR). Thus, in a normal heart, ventricular rhythm relies on conduction of action potentials through the AV node and AV bundle.
Rhythms that do not follow the sequence of events described above are known as arrhythmias. Those that result in a heart rate slower than normal are known as bradyarrhythmias; those that result in a faster heart rate than normal are called tachyarrhythmias. Tachyarrhythmias are further classified as supraventricular tachyarrhythmias and ventricular tachyarrhythmia. Supraventricular tachyarrhythmias (SVTs) are characterized by abnormal rhythms that may arise in the atria or the atrioventricular node (AV node). For example, a paroxysmal SVT can exhibit heart rates between approximately 140 beats per minute (bpm) and approximately 250 bpm. However, the most common SVTs are typically atrial flutter (AFI) and atrial fibrillation (AF). In addition, many SVTs involve the AV node, for example, AV nodal reentry tachycardia (AVNRT) where an electrical loop or circuit includes the AV node.
Atrial flutter (AFI) can result when an early beat triggers a "circus circular current" that travels in regular cycles around the atrium, pushing the atrial rate up to approximately 250 bpm to approximately 350 bpm. The atrioventricular node between the atria and ventricles will often block one of every two beats, keeping the ventricular rate at about 125 bpm to about 175 bpm. This is the pulse rate that will be felt, even though the atria are beating more rapidly. At this pace, the ventricles will usually continue to pump blood relatively effectively for many hours or even days. A patient with underlying heart disease, however, may experience chest pain, faintness, or even heart failure as a result of the continuing increased stress on the heart muscle. In some individuals, the ventricular rate may also be slower if there is increased block of impulses in the AV node, or faster if there is little or no block.
If the cardiac impulse fails to follow a regular circuit and divides along multiple pathways, a chaos of uncoordinated beats results, producing atrial fibrillation (AF). AF commonly occurs when the atrium is enlarged (usually because of heart disease). In addition, it can occur in the absence of any apparent heart disease. In AF, the atrial rate can increase to more than 350 bpm and cause the atria to fail to pump blood effectively. Under such circumstances, the ventricular beat may also become haphazard, producing a rapid irregular pulse. Although AF may cause the heart to lose approximately 20 to 30 percent of its pumping effectiveness, the volume of blood pumped by the ventricles usually remains within the margin of safety, again because the atrioventricular node blocks out many of the chaotic beats. Hence, during AF, the ventricles may contract at a lesser rate than the atria, for example, of approximately 125 bpm to approximately 175 bpm.
Overall, SVTs are not typically immediately life threatening when compared to ventricular arrhythmias, examples of which are discussed below.
Ventricular arrhythmias, which originate in the ventricles, include ventricular tachycardia (VT) and ventricular fibrillation (VF). Ventricular arrhythmias are often associated with rapid and/or chaotic ventricular rhythms. For example, sustained ventricular tachycardia can lead to ventricular fibrillation. In sustained ventricular tachycardia, consecutive impulses arise from the ventricles at a rate of 100 bpm or more. Such activity may degenerate further into disorganized electrical activity known as ventricular fibrillation (VF). In VF, disorganized action potentials can cause the myocardium to quiver rather than contract. Such chaotic quivering can greatly reduce the heart's pumping ability. Indeed, approximately two-thirds of all deaths from arrhythmia are caused by VF. A variety of conditions such as, but not limited to, hypoxia, ischemia, pharmacologic therapy (e.g., sympathomimetics), and asynchronous pacing may promote onset of ventricular arrhythmia.
It has been common practice for an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) to monitor heart rate, or more commonly the ventricular rate, of a patient and classify the cardiac condition of the patient based on this heart rate. For example, a tachyarrhythmia may be defined as any rate in a range above a designated threshold. This range is then divided into ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation zones. The ventricular tachycardia zone may be further divided into slow ventricular tachycardia and fast ventricular tachycardia zones.
As described above, SVTs and ventricular arrhythmias may lead to ventricular rates in excess of 100 bpm. In other words, ventricular rates of SVTs can overlap with rates of tachycardias of ventricular origin. These SVTs are often well tolerated and require no intervention. Further, physically active patients can have heart rates during exercise that overlap with their tachycardia rates. Accordingly, discrimination of VT from SVT, including increased heart rates due to exercise, may require more than just knowledge of a patient's ventricular rate. In other words, using heart rate as the sole criterion to classify the cardiac condition of a patient is often not sufficient.
To improve the specificity and accuracy of arrhythmia characterization, many implantable cardiac devices (ICDs) can also examine the morphology of an intracardiac electrogram (IEGM), in addition to the heart rate. The shape of an intracardiac complex can include information on the origin and sequence of the heart's electrical activity. A normal intracardiac complex traverses the AV node and is conducted by specialized cardiac tissue throughout the ventricles. This results in a distinctive complex morphology. A tachycardia of ventricular origin often has a different morphology due to its ectopic origin and conductance through cardiac muscle tissue. As such, in addition to monitoring heart rate, some ICDs are capable of performing morphology discrimination to classify the cardiac condition of the patient. For example, a template based on the morphology of a "known" signal can be stored in the ICD. The "known" signal can be, for example, a signal collected during a period where a patient is known to exhibit a normal sinus rhythm. By comparing the morphology characteristics (e.g., number, amplitude, sequence and/or polarity of waveform peaks, as well as the area of the peaks) of an arrhythmia to the template, the ICD can calculate the match (or lack thereof) between the waveforms. For a further description of morphology discrimination, refer to U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,009 (Williams), entitled "Medical Device with Morphology Discrimination" and to U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,645 (Olson et al.), entitled "System and Method for Waveform Morphology Comparison," which patents are hereby incorporated by reference. These are just a few example of morphology discriminator algorithms and parameters, which are not intended to be limiting.
Sudden onset and interval stability (also know as rate stability), which are discussed in more detail below, are examples of other factors that can be monitored to improve the specificity of arrhythmia characterization. Also, the relationship between ventricular rate (V) and atrial rate (A) can be used to characterize an arrhythmia. For example, this can be part of a rate branch algorithm, which, depending on V and A, may follow one of three branches: a V<A rate branch; a V=A (within a specified tolerance) rate branch; and a V>A rate branch. If V<A, then morphology discrimination and/or interval stability may be available to distinguish VT from AF or AFI. If A and V are essentially the same (within a certain tolerance), then morphology discrimination and/or sudden onset may be available to distinguish VT from sinus tachycardia. If V>A, then an arrhythmia may be characterized as VT. Also, specific branches can be turned on or off. For example, if V is greater than the tachycardia threshold but essentially the same as A, and the V=A branch is turned off, then the algorithm can cause the V>A branch to be followed, and the arrhythmia may be classified as VT. Additional details of an exemplary rate branch algorithm are provided in U.S. Pat. No. 6,636,746 (Fain et al.), entitled "Safety Backup in Arrhythmia Discrimination Algorithm," which is incorporated herein by reference. Also, atrioventricular association (AVA) can also be used to AFI from VT. In an exemplary (AVA) algorithm, the AV interval is measured from each ventricular sensed event to its preceding atrial event and an AVA Delta is then calculated as the difference between the second longest AV interval and the second shortest AV interval in a recent group of intervals. If the measured AVA Delta is less than a programmable AVA threshold parameter, the AV intervals are considered stable, which is indicative of SVT. If the measured AVA Delta is greater than or equal to a programmable AVA threshold parameter, the AV intervals are considered unstable, which is indicative of VT. More generally, the relative rate of the atria and ventricles and/or the timing relationship between atrial and ventricular events can be considered.
Typically an ICD is programmed to provide a therapy in response to an arrhythmia being detected, where the type of therapy corresponds to the type of arrhythmia that the ICD believes it has detected. For example, VT may be treated with a therapy consisting of low-energy pacing pulses designed to capture the ventricles. This therapy is referred to as Anti-Tachycardia Pacing therapy (ATP). VT may also be treated with relatively low energy, synchronized cardioversion shocks. VF, on the other hand, is typically treated more aggressively with high energy shocks. The ICD is programmed with numerous parameters that are used to discriminate between types of arrhythmias, and to define the types of therapies to be used to treat the various arrhythmias. An SVT may or may not be treated, depending on how an ICD is programmed.
Over the years, the number of programmable parameters has been increasing steadily. A modern ICD may have up to 200 or more programmable parameters. A major challenge for both ICD manufacturer and caregivers (e.g., physicians, clinician, or the like) is to select proper values and uses of these parameters. While the manufacturer may provide nominal values and uses of these parameters (also referred to as default parameters and criteria), these nominal values and uses may not be proper for all patients and it is up to the caregiver to change them using statistical information, knowledge of the patient and his/her condition, and the caregiver's personal experience.
Caregivers often have difficulty programming ICD parameters intended to aid in the discrimination of SVT from VT, because the implications of making adjustments to them are not clear. As a result, caregivers often either do not turn on these discriminators routinely, waiting to see if the patient will receive inappropriate therapies before attempting to program the device appropriately, or they turn the discriminators on with the default parameters provided by the manufacturer, without any attempt to customize them for the individual needs of the patient.
Historically, ICD manufacturers developed default criteria for discriminators based on the fact that the initial indications for ICD implantation included documented lethal arrhythmias or survival of an episode of sudden cardiac death. Given those indications, the defaults were chosen based on the fact that a single episode of an arrhythmia could be lethal, and therefore adhered to the philosophy that "it's better to give ten shocks too many than one too few." In general, because these so-called "secondary prevention" patients had already survived a potentially lethal arrhythmia, they were somewhat willing to accept an inappropriate shock, because they understood the consequences of not receiving a shock when actually needed. In addition, since these patients already had documented arrhythmias and/or had undergone electrophysiology studies, the types of arrhythmias they had (e.g., VT vs. primary VF), and their hemodynamic tolerance of those arrhythmias, was often known.
Today, the ICD implant population, and the indications for implantation have changed, such that a large percentage of patients receiving ICDs or other tachyarrhythmia control devices are so-called "primary prevention" patients, i.e., those who are at risk for tachyarrhythmias and sudden cardiac death, but who have not yet shown any evidence of actually having experienced such arrhythmias. For these patients, their understanding of their need for an ICD is often much less clear, and they are, therefore, much less tolerant of inappropriate shocks from a device that they are not convinced that they need. Moreover, since these patients have not experienced arrhythmias nor undergone electrophysiology studies, the type and tolerance of arrhythmias they may experience in the future is largely unknown.
Despite the shift in patient populations, manufacturers of ICDs and other arrhythmia control devices have been reluctant to change the default values for the discriminators to something "less safe", because not all patients fall into the primary prevention category. Coupled with caregivers' reluctance to program away from those default values because the implications/risks of doing so are unclear, the result is that the proper weighing of discrimination sensitivity vs. specificity is often not addressed by caregivers until the patient has received inappropriate therapies.
Accordingly, there is still a need to assist physicians, clinicians and other caregivers in programming discrimination algorithms in a way more appropriate to the indications and characteristics of patients.

Method for programming arrhythmia discrimination algorithms in ICDs


A railtruck apparatus is provided for supporting a railcar body on two longitudinally spaced wheel and axle sets. The railtruck includes a frame having two side frame members, each defining a pair of longitudinally spaced cradles. A bearing housing is received in each cradle and includes a top wall, two longitudinally spaced side walls depending from the top wall, and an open bottom sized for receipt over a journal bearing of one of the wheel and axle sets. A removable bottom cap closes off each bearing housing to permit assembly and disassembly of the wheel and axle sets. A primary suspension is positioned between each bearing housing and the frame for supporting the frame on the bearing housing, and is retained in position on the frame when the frame is raised relative to the bearing housing. Thus, when the wheel and axle sets are removed from the apparatus, the bearing housings and the primary suspension assemblies are retained on the frame. The railtruck apparatus can also be provided with a load-equalizing spring assembly for supporting each bearing housing on one of the wheel and axle sets, the load-equalizing spring assembly being operatively interposed between the bearing housing and the wheel and axle set along the path of transmission of loads between the bearing housing and the wheel and axle set so that when the set is lowered in the bearing housing, the load exerted on the set by the frame is transmitted through the primary suspension and the load-equalizing spring assembly acting in series.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to railtrucks for use in supporting cars for movement along parallel rails or tracks, and more particularly to a railtruck suspension for supporting such railtrucks on wheel and axle sets of known construction.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
It is known to provide an H-shaped railtruck for use in supporting a railcar on longitudinally spaced wheel and axle sets for movement along a pair of laterally spaced rails. A particular prior art construction is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,773, to Daley et al., and generally includes the railtruck -frame presenting four integral corner pedestals that receive wheel bearing housings within which the axles of the wheel sets are supported for rotation. A primary suspension is provided between the frame and each bearing housing for supporting the frame on the wheel and axle sets. A tie bar extends beneath each bearing housing and is fastened to the pedestal both in front of and in back of the housing for lifting the housing with the frame when the frame is raised.
Each bearing housing in the known construction forms a complete enclosure of the bearing therein, and is installed in an outboard bearing construction by sliding it horizontally over the bearing or journal after the wheels are pressed on the axle. In an inboard bearing construction of the apparatus, the bearing housing must be installed before the wheels are pressed on the axle.
The primary suspension between the frame and each bearing housing in the noted prior art construction includes front and rear elastomeric suspension members supported between the frame and the housing, wherein each member consists of a plurality of elastomeric pieces sandwiched between thin metal plates. The pieces and plates are both of chevron shape. The suspension members support the bearing housing so that upward movement of the housing produces compression of the elastomeric portions, increasing the vertical constraint that they provide and centering the vertical travel. Thus, the primary spring suspension units provide flexibility vertically, longitudinally and transversely to give control of wheel and axle set motions to reduce shock and vibration plus minimize hunting oscillations. Damping of the vertical motion can be provided by dampers connected between the housings and the frame.
Each of the suspension members in the prior art construction are mounted on the frame by an L-shaped intermediate mounting member having a long vertical portion presenting a vertical surface that mates with a corresponding vertical surface of the associated pedestal, and a short horizontal portion presenting an upper horizontal surface that bears against a lower horizontal face of the pedestal. The long vertical portion is tapered, presenting a wedge shape in side elevation, and presents a support surface opposite the vertical surface for supporting one of the suspension members. Retainers are provided for holding the intermediate mounting members in place on the pedestals, and extend through the tie bars and the short horizontal portions of the members. If it is necessary to adjust the vertical position of a bearing housing in its pedestal, e.g. because of wheel tread wear, this can be done by placing horizontal shims of the necessary thickness between the upper surfaces of the intermediate members and the lower horizontal surfaces of the pedestal that are associated with the housing.
In order to remove an axle from the railtruck of the known construction, it is necessary to first remove the tie bars from the two pedestals supporting the axle, and to raise the frame above the primary suspension members so that the chevron suspension members and the L-shaped intermediate mounting members fall to the ground. Thereafter, if the construction is an outboard bearing type, the axle can be rolled out and one or both of the bearing housings can be removed from the axle. Reassembly of the axle follows these steps in reverse, requiring that the suspension members and the intermediate mounting members be held in place by hand until the frame is lowered, loading the suspension members. Thus, several workers must cooperate to assemble the axle on the railtruck, and a relatively long time is required to complete the operation.
Shimming for wheel wear in the known construction is also relatively complicated, requiring again that the tie bar be removed from the pedestal at which shims are to be installed. Thereafter, the frame is raised to remove the load from the primary suspension members and produce a space for the shims. However, the frame must not be lifted too far or the suspension members will fall to the ground. Once a space is provided between the horizontal surfaces of the intermediate mounting members and the pedestal, shims are inserted and the frame is lowered to load the suspension members. The tie bars are then fastened in place to complete the operation.
The noted prior art construction does not allow for shimming to compensate for machining variations. Therefore, very tight tolerances must be maintained during machining, and non-conforming results must be welded and re-machined, adding to the cost of manufacture of the railtrucks. In addition, there is no provision for shimming for settlement of the chevron suspension members or for axle tram independent of machining tram. Thus, the construction does not permit the necessary adaptability to enable long use of the component parts thereof.
During the development of an improved railtruck apparatus, the inventors were made aware of new requirements that were being considered by regulators. The Amtrak High Speed Trainset Specification 558, issued on Apr. 17, 1995, states the new requirement as being 25% maximum wheel load change at 2.25" of height change at one wheel. Railtrucks having equal or less change are in compliance.
The requirement of 25% at 2.25" would effectively eliminate many types of previously considered acceptable rail passenger trucks including the prior art construction discussed above which shows about 40% wheel load change. No known type of outboard journal rigid frame railtruck with primary suspension at the journal box would comply with the new requirements. The wider frame possible with outboard journal railtrucks is sometimes preferred because it provides more space for mounting propulsion and braking equipment, and because it results in higher roll resistance which improves the ride performance. An advantage of inboard railtrucks is that they have improved wheel load-equalization characteristics due to geometry. However, even known inboard railtruck constructions would have difficulty complying with the new requirements.
There are two known types of passenger railtrucks that would comply with the noted requirements. The first is a fully equalized rigid frame truck having an added member called an equalizer beam that transmits the load from the frame to the journal box. The primary springs in this known construction are spaced closely enough to improve the wheel load equalization. The second type of passenger railtruck in compliance with the requirements is an articulated frame railtruck, of which one design has spherical ball joints or elastomer elements installed on a somewhat diagonal centerline to join two sides of the frame set, effectively forming a hinge line. This reduces the effect of raising or lowering one wheel by removing the rigidity of the frame.

Rail truck suspension and journal housing retention assembly


The quality of steam downhole is determined by injecting into the steam first and second tracers, each tracer having an affinity to a single of the two phases, and then sensing the passage of the tracers over a pair of sensors spaced apart or known measured distance. Thus the velocity of the phases, the slip ratio between the phases and the steam quality can be determined.

1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the measurement of average downhole steam quality and in particular to the measurement of the velocity of the two phases by sensing tracers, each having a single phase affinity, over a measured distance.
2. The Prior Art
Steam flooding has become an accepted practice for recovery of petroleum products from marginal fields or reservoirs that require a degree of stimulation to produce a satisfactory flow of crude petroleum. There is a need for a simple method and apparatus to determine the quality of steam at the wellhead of an injection well. Such a measurement, if simplified, would be particularly useful in determining the amount of heat which is applied to the underground reservoir by the injected steam.
The measurement or monitoring of steam quality is important since the steam's quality and hereby its reservoir or formation heatup effect directly affects the resulting production operations. Further, the quality of the steam which can be most economically injected into a particular substrate or reservoir is contingent on a number of circumstances. The latter include the age of the reservoir and the anticipated prospects for extracting commercially justified amounts of hydrocarbon products therefrom.
In brief, it is desirable that the quality of steam which is injected into each injection well be altered or adjusted to a level of quality that best conforms to the condition of the formation penetrated by that well. Clearly the quality of the steam must be known before any alteration or adjustment can be made.
It is known that in order to be particularly effective in this type of stimulation operation, the flow of injected steam must be monitored by use of metering means positioned in the steam-carrying line adjacent the wellhead. It can be appreciated that steam will normally leave the steam generator or source at a 15 known quality, pressure and mass flow rate. As the pressurized steam flow progresses towards an injection well, however, the quality will usually be substantially decreased. A decrease in the quality can be based on such factors as the distance between the well and the source and the effectiveness of pipe insulation. It will further depend on the pipe layout including number and orientation of fittings through which the steam has to travel prior to reaching the injection port or well because of phase separation that can occur in these fittings.
It is important, therefore, as a matter of economic practicality that a flow monitoring and controlling means be instituted into the steam-carrying conduit immediately upstream of each injection wellhead. A choke mechanism in the steam line will function to constrict the steam flow to thereby allow regulation of the steam mass flow rate which enters that particular well.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,032 discloses the use of an orifice plate in series with a critical flow choke to provide a method of measurement for both steam quality and mass flow rate. The present invention is distinguished from this earlier invention by the fact that only the steam quality is determined. The steam quality is determined by determining the slip ratio of the average vapor phase velocity to the average liquid phase velocity. The slip ratio is a function of the steam quality.
In 1962, Vance established that the slip ratio K of steam is related to the steam quality X.degree.. ##EQU1## and K=K (X.degree.), Vance's data can be approximately correlated as EQU K=(X.degree.).sup.-0.398,
It is believed that the steam pressure could play a role in the slip ratio i.e. the exponent on the "X.degree." should be a function of a steam pressure or dimensionless pressure EQU p/p.sub.c,
(p.sub.c -critical pressure of steam=3198.81 psia).
In a recent publication, Deichsel and Winter presented experimental data on slip ratio of critical flow of an air-water mixture and presented the slip ratio as function of quality (% of air in the mixture). Their results showed that for a quality between 10% and 100%, the slip ratio increases as the quality is reduced. They further showed that for the same quality, the slip ratio is reduced as the pressure increases. However, at a quality higher than 50%, the effect of pressure on slip ratio becomes less significant.
It should be pointed out that Deichsel and Winter's work used air and water for the two phases. There slip ratio is calculated according to an equation which showed the slip ratio as function of pipe area, density, fluid rate of the two phases and the Exit pressure and impulse force of the exit jet.

Method for determination of average downhole steam quality by measuring the slip ratio between the vapor and liquid phases of steam


A hermetic compressor including a crankcase defining a cylinder. The crankcase has an annular recess formed in the discharge end thereof which defines a shoulder. A cylinder head is disposed over the annular recess. A discharge valve assembly is disposed in the annular recess and includes a valve plate disposed in the annular recess immediately adjacent the shoulder. A valve plate wave ring is disposed at the outlet side of the valve plate and biases the valve plate against the shoulder. A valve leaf disposed radially inward of the first wave ring overlies the discharge ports in the valve plate and has an outlet side facing the cylinder head. A valve leaf wave ring is disposed radially inward of the valve plate wave ring at the outlet side of the valve leaf and biases the valve leaf against the valve plate.

1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to discharge valves, and, more particularly, to discharge valves used in reciprocating compressors.
2. Description of the related art
Compressors of the type to which the present invention pertains comprise a motor-compressor unit mounted within a hermetically sealed housing. The motor-compressor unit includes an electric motor drivingly coupled to a positive displacement reciprocating compressor mechanism for compressing refrigerant. The reciprocating compressor includes a piston driven by the electric motor and slidably carried within a cylinder.
It is known in the art to provide a discharge valve at the discharge end of the cylinder to allow compressed refrigerant to be discharged from the cylinder. Such discharge valves, however, are formed with one or more locating surfaces to properly orient the various flow openings formed in the valve parts, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,027,853 to Linnert; pre-assembled with the various parts fixed to each other in a particular desired orientation, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 2,935,248 to Gerteis; or include a mulitiplicity of parts, some of which form a housing for the other valve parts and have fluid flow openings therein, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,168 to Peruzzi. Such valves tend to be relatively expensive to manufacture and/or assemble.
What is needed in the art is a discharge valve which may be easily assembled in the compressor at the discharge end of the cylinder without any pre-assembly, and which does not require any particular orientation for proper operation of the valve.

Compressor discharge valve assembly having plural wave ring biasing means


The present invention relates to a method for determining the presence of pancreatic cancer in an individual comprising or consisting of the steps of: (a) providing a sample to be tested from the individual, and (b) determining a biomarker signature of the test sample by measuring the expression in the test sample of one or more biomarkers selected from the group defined in Table III, wherein the expression in the test sample of one or more biomarkers selected from the group defined in Table III is indicative of the individual having pancreatic cancer. The invention also comprises arrays and kits of parts for use in the method of the invention.

Despite major efforts, pancreatic cancer (PaC) still carries a poor prognosis [1]. While PaC is only the 10th most common cancer, it is the 4th leading cause of cancer death in the USA [2-4]. In fact, the 5-year survival is <5%, the lowest of all malignancies [2-3]. However, recent data have shown that the outcome could be dramatically improved by early detection when the cancer is still predominantly at stage I, as illustrated by a 5-year survival of 30-60% (≦20 mm sized tumour) and even >75% (≦10 mm sized tumour) after early PaC resection [2-4].
PaC is characterized by a rapid tumour progression, early metastasization, and unresponsiveness to most conventional therapies [1, 5]. The poor prognosis is mainly due to the lack of effective early diagnostics combined with that disease-specific clinical symptoms occur late in the course of the disease. At the time of diagnosis, the tumour has often reached a size of 30-40 mm and a majority of all patients (52%) already have metastases, 26% locally advanced cancer, and only 7% have tumours confined to the pancreas [2, 4]. At this time, about 15% of the patients are still operable, but their median survival is only 20 months.
A variety of non-invasive methodologies, including (endoscopic) ultrasound, computed tomography, and/or endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography, are used for PaC diagnostics [1-2, 6]. Albeit powerful, these methods are not specific for PaC and not designed for early detection when the tumour is still small and potentially curable. The situation is further complicated by the fact that PaC is difficult to differentiate from benign conditions, such as chronic pancreatitis, using currently available diagnostic tools [2]. Hence, the use of biomarkers for specific and early detection of PaC would be of invaluable clinical benefit.
In spite of major efforts, molecular fingerprints associated with PaC from in particular, crude, non-fractionated serum and plasma, remains to be deciphered [2, 7-9]. Among the number of mainly single biomarkers that have been outlined so far, including e.g. CRP, CA 242, GDF-15, haptoglobin, M2-pyruvate kinase, serum amyloid A, IGFBP-1, none have proven to be clinically superior to CA 19-9 [2, 8-10]. Still, the use of CA 19-9 is significantly hampered by the fact that it has been found to i) be elevated in both non-malignant conditions (e.g. pancreatitis and acute cholangitis) and other gastro-intestinal cancers (e.g. gastric cancer and colorectal cancer), ii) lack sensitivity for early PaC, and iii) be absent in about 10% of the population [2, 8-10]. When screening for PaC, CA 19-9 has only yielded medium sensitivity (ranging from 69% to 98%) and specificity (46% to 98%) [2, 9-11].
Against this background, the inventors developed a proteomic approach to prognostic diagnosis of cancer in WO 2008/117067 whereby the first sets of serum biomarkers for detection of pancreatic cancer and for predicting survival were identified.

Method, array and use for determining the presence of pancreatic cancer


The present invention relates to a clothing processing apparatus comprising: a drum which provides a space for storing clothing therein; a driving part which rotates the drum; a storage part, which is fixed on at least one surface of the front surface of the drum and the rear surface of the drum and provides a space for storing liquid therein; a plurality of balancers which are fixed on the circumferential surface of the drum and provide a space for storing liquid therein; a plurality of flow paths which connect the storage part and each of the balancers; and a plurality of valves which open and close each of the flow paths.

A conventional laundry treating apparatus includes a cabinet defining an exterior appearance, a tub mounted in the cabinet, a drum rotatably oriented in the tub to wash laundry and a motor fixed to the drum to rotate the drum, with a shaft penetrating the tub.
The drum is likely to fail in keeping dynamic equilibrium or dynamic balance according to the location of the laundry loaded in the drum, while rotating the laundry.
The term of dynamic equilibrium or dynamic balance means a status where a centrifugal force or a moment created by a centrifugal force becomes "0" (zero) with respect to a shaft while a rotating body is rotating. If mass distribution of a rigid body is uniform with respect to a shaft, it can be said that dynamic equilibrium or dynamic balance is maintained.
When applied to such a laundry treating apparatus, a dynamic equilibrium state or a dynamic-balanced state can be understood as a state where mass distribution of laundry with respect to the shaft of the drum is within a permissible range while the drum accommodating laundry is rotating.
In contrast, a dynamic-unbalanced state of the laundry treating apparatus can be understood as a state where mass distribution of laundry with respect to the shaft of the rotating drum is not uniform. In the laundry treating apparatus, the dynamic-unbalanced state occurs when the laundry is not distributed uniformly.
The rotating drum in the dynamic-unbalanced state is also vibrating and the vibration of the rotating drum is delivered to the tub or the cabinet, such that the vibration may cause a disadvantage of noise.
Some of the conventional laundry treating apparatuses include balancing units for compensating the unbalance of the drum. Such balancing units provided in the conventional laundry treating apparatuses are provided as ball balancers or fluid balancer having balls or liquid provided in a housing fixed to the drum.
The dynamic-unbalanced drum has the highest rotation speed when the laundry as an unbalance inducing factor is passing the lowest point of a drum rotation locus and the lowest rotation speed when the laundry as the unbalance inducing factor is passing the highest point of the drum rotation locus.
Accordingly, the ball balancer or fluid balancer provided in the conventional laundry treating apparatus controls unbalance by implementing the ball or fluid to move toward the lowest point of the drum rotation locus when the laundry as the unbalance inducing factor is moving toward the highest point.
However, it is difficult to solve the dynamic balance of the drum immediately (or to settle the dynamic balance actively), using the structure of such the balancer mentioned above.

Clothing processing apparatus and control method of clothing processing apparatus


The apparatus provides for the determination of the instantaneous phase in the respiratory cycle, subject""s average respiration rate and the provision of ventilatory assistance. A microprocessor (16) receives an airflow signal from a pressure transducer (18) coupled to a port (17) at a mask (11). The microprocessor (16) controls a servo (19), that in turn controls the fan motor (20) and thus the pressure of air delivered by the blower (10). The blower (10) is coupled to a subject""s mask (ii) by a conduit (12). The invention seeks to address the following goals: while the subject is awake and making substantial efforts the delivered assistance should be closely matched in phase with the subject""s efforts; the machine should automatically adjust the degree of assistance to maintain at least a specified minimum ventilation without relying on the integrity of the subject""s chemoreflexes; and it should continue to work correctly in the presence of large leaks.

The invention relates to methods and apparatus for the provision of ventilatory assistance matched to a subject""s respiratory need. The ventilatory assistance can be for a subject who is either spontaneously or non-spontaneously breathing, or moves between these breathing states. The invention is especially suitable for, but not limited to, spontaneously breathing human subjects requiring longterm ventilatory assistance, particularly during sleep.
Subjects with severe lung disease, chest wall disease, neuromuscular disease, or diseases of respiratory control may require in-hospital mechanical ventilatory assistance, followed by longterm home mechanical ventilatory assistance, particularly during sleep. The ventilator delivers air or air enriched with oxygen to the subject, via an interface such as a nosemask, at a pressure that is higher during inspiration and lower during expiration.
In the awake state, and while waiting to go to sleep, the subject""s ventilatory pattern is variable in rate and depth. Most known ventilatory devices do not accurately match the amplitude and phase of mask pressure to the subject""s spontaneous efforts, leading to discomfort or panic. Larger amounts of asynchrony also reduce the efficiency of the device. During sleep, there are changes in the neural control of breathing as well as the mechanics of the subject""s airways, respiratory muscles and chest wall, leading to a need for substantially increased ventilatory support. Therefore, unless the device can automatically adjust the degree of support, the amplitude of delivered pressure will either be inadequate during sleep, or must be excessive in the awake state. This is particularly important in subjects with abnormalities of respiratory control, for example central hypoventilation syndromes, such as Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome, where there is inadequate chemoreceptor drive, or Cheyne Stokes breathing such as in patients with severe cardiac failure or after a stroke, where there is excessive or unstable chemoreceptor device.
Furthermore, during sleep there are inevitably large leaks between mask and subject, or at the subject""s mouth if this is left free. Such leaks worsen the error in matching the phase and magnitude of the machine""s effort to the subject""s needs, and, in the case of mouth leak, reduce the effectiveness of the ventilatory support.
Ideally a ventilatory assistance device should simultaneously address the following goals:
(i) While the subject is awake and making substantial ventilatory efforts, the delivered assistance should be closely matched in phase with the patient""s efforts.
(ii) The machine should automatically adjust the degree of assistance to maintain at least a specified minimum ventilation, without relying on the integrity of the subject""s chemoreflexes.
(iii) It should continue to work correctly in the presence of large leaks.
Most simple home ventilatory either deliver a fixed volume, or cycle between two fixed pressures. They do so either at a fixed rate, or are triggered by the patient""s spontaneous efforts, or both. All such simple devices fail to meet goal (ii) of adjusting the degree of assistance to maintain at least a given ventilation. They also largely fail to meet goal (i) of closely matching the subjects respiratory phase: timed devices make no attempt to synchronize with the subject""s efforts; triggered devices attempt to synchronize the start and end of the breath with the subject""s efforts, but make no attempt to tailor the instantaneous pressure during a breath to the subject""s efforts. Furthermore, the triggering tends to fail in the presence of leaks, thus failing goal (iii).
The broad family of servo-ventilators known for at least 20 years measure ventilation and adjust the degree of assistance to maintain ventilation at or above a specified level, thus meeting goal (ii), but they still fail to meet goal (i) of closely matching the phase of the subject""s spontaneous efforts, for the reasons given above. No attempt is made to meet goal (iii).
Proportional assistist ventilation (PAV), as taught by Dr Magdy Younes, for example in Principles and Practice of Mechanical Ventilation, chapter 15, aims to tailor the pressure vs time profile within a breath to partially or completely unload the subject""s resistive and elastic work, while minimizing the airway pressure required to achieve the desired ventilation. During the inspiration half-cycle, the administered pressure takes the form:
P(t)=P0+R.fRESP(t)+E.V(t)
where R is a percentage of the resistance of the airway, fRESP(t) is the instantaneous respiratory airflow at time t, E is a percentage of the elastance of lung and chest wall, and V(t) is the volume inspired since the start of inspiration to the present moment. During the expiratory half-cycle, V(t) is taken as zero, to produce passive expiration.
An advantage of proportional assist ventilation during spontaneous breathing is that the degree of assistance is automatically adjusted to suit the subject""s immediate needs and their pattern of breathing, and is therefore comfortable in the spontaneously breathing subject. However, there are at least two important disadvantages. Firstly, V(t) is calculated as the integral of flow with respect to time since the start of inspiration. A disadvantage of calculating V(t) in this way is that, in the presence of leaks, the integral of the flow through the leak will be included in V(t), resulting in an overestimation of V(t), in turn resulting in a runaway increase in the administered pressure. This can be distressing to the subject. Secondly, PAV relies on the subject""s chemoreceptor reflexes to monitor the composition of the arterial blood, and thereby set the level of spontaneous effort. The PAV device then amplifies this spontaneous effort. In subject with abnormal chemoreceptor reflexes, the spontaneous efforts may either cease entirely, or become unrelated to the composition of the arterial blood, and amplification of these efforts will yield inadequate ventilation. In patients with existing Cheyne Strokes breathing during sleep. PAV will be design amplify the subject""s waxing and waning breathing efforts, and actually make matters worse by exaggerating the disturbance. Thus PAV substantially meets goal (i) of providing assistance in phase with the subject""s spontaneous ventilation, but cannot meet goal (ii) of adjusting the depth of assistance if the subject has inadequate chemoreflexes, and does not satisfactorily meet goal (iii).
Thus there are known devices that meet each of the above goals, but there is to device that meets all the goals simultaneously. Additionally, it is desirable to provide improvements over the prior art directed to any one of the stated goals.
Therefore, the present invention seeks to achieve, at least partially, one or more of the following:
(i) to match the phase and degree of assistance to the subject""s spontaneous efforts when ventilation is well above a target ventilation,
(ii) to automatically adjust the degree of assistance to maintain at least a specified minimum average ventilation without relying on the integrity of the subject""s chemoreflexes and to damp out instabilities in the spontaneous ventilatory efforts, such as Cheyne Stokes breathing.
(iii) to provide some immunity to the effects of sudden leaks.
In what follows, a fuzzy membership function is taken as returning a value between zero and unity, fuzzy intersection A AND B is the smaller of A and B, fuzzy union A OR B is the larger of A and B, and fuzzy negation NOT A is 1xe2x88x92A.
The invention discloses the determination of the instantaneous phase in the respiratory cycle as a continuous variable.
The invention further discloses a method for calculating that instantaneous phase in the respiratory cycle including at least the steps of determining that if the instantaneous airflow is small and increasing fast, then it is close to start of inspiration, if the instantaneous airflow is large and steady, then it is close to mid-inspiration, if the instantaneous airflow is small and decreasing fast, then it is close to mid-expiration, if the instantaneous airflow is zero and steady, then it is during an end-expiratory pause, and airflow conditions intermediate between the above are associated with correspondingly intermediate phases.
The invention further discloses a method for determining the instantaneous phase in the respiratory cycle as a continuous variable from 0 to 1 revolution, the method comprising the steps of:
selecting at least two identifiable features FN of a prototype flow-vs-time waveform f(t) similar to an expected respiratory flow-vs-time waveform, and for each said feature:
determining by inspection the phase xcfx86N in the respiratory cycle for said feature, assigning a weight WN to said phase,
defining a xe2x80x9cmagnitudexe2x80x9d fuzzy set MN whose membership function is a function of respiratory airflow, and a xe2x80x9crate of changexe2x80x9d fuzzy set CN, whose membership function is a function of the time derivative of respiratory airflow, chosen such that the fuzzy intersection MN AND CN will be larger for points on the generalized prototype respiratory waveform whose phase is closer to the said feature FN than for points closer to all other selected features,
setting the fuzzy inference rule RN for the selected feature FN to be: If flow if MN and rate of change of flow is CN then phase=xcfx86N, with weight WN.
measuring leak-corrected respiratory airflow,
for each feature FN calculating fuzzy membership in fuzzy sets MN and CN,
for each feature FN applying fuzzy inference rule RN to determine the fuzzy extent YN=MN AND CN to which the phase if xcfx86N, and
applying a defuzzification procedure using YN at phases xcfx86N and weights WN to determine the instantaneous phase xcfx86.
Preferably, the identifiable features include zero crossings, peaks, inflection points or plateaus of the prototype flow-vs-time waveform. Furthermore, said weights can be unity, or chosen to reflect the anticipated reliability of deduction of the particular feature.
The invention further discloses a method for calculating instantaneous phase in the respiratory cycle as a continuous variable, as described above, in which the step of calculating respiratory airflow includes a low pass filter step to reduce non-respiratory noise, in which the time constant of the low pass filter is an increasing function of an estimate of the length of the respiratory cycle.
The invention further discloses a method for measuring the instantaneous phase in the respiratory cycle as a continuous variable as described above, in which the defuzzification step includes a correction for any phase delay introduced in the step of low pass filtering respiratory airflow.
The invention further discloses a method for measuring the average respiratory rate, comprising the steps of:
measuring leak-corrected respiratory airflow;
from the respiratory airflow, calculating the instantaneous phase xcfx86 in the respiratory cycle as a continuous variable from 0 to 1 revolution, calculating the instantaneous rate of change of phase dxcfx86/dt, and
calculating the average respiratory rate by low pass filtering said instantaneous rate of change of phase dxcfx86/dt.
Preferably, the instantaneous phase is calculated by the methods described above.
The invention further discloses a method for providing ventilatory assistance in a spontaneously breathing subject, comprising the steps, performed at repeated sampling intervals, of:
ascribing a desired waveform template function Π(xcfx86), with domain 0 to 1 revolution and range 0 to 1,
calculating the instantaneous phase xcfx86 in the respiratory cycle as a continuous variable from 0 to 1 revolution,
selecting a desired pressure modulation amplitude A,
calculating a desired instantaneous delivery pressure as an end expiratory pressure plus the desired pressure modulation amplitude A multiplied by the value of the waveform template function Π(xcfx86) at the said calculated phase xcfx86, and
setting delivered pressure to subject to the desired delivery pressure.
The invention further discloses a method for providing ventilatory assistance in a spontaneously breathing subject as described above, in which the step of selecting a desired pressure modulation amplitude is a fixed amplitude.
The invention further discloses a method for providing ventilatory assistance in a spontaneously breathing subject as described above, in which the step of selecting a desired pressure modulation amplitude in which said amplitude is equal to an elastance multiplied by an estimate of the subject""s tidal volume.
The invention further discloses a method for providing ventilatory assistance in a spontaneously breathing subject as described above, in which the step of selecting a desired pressure modulation amplitude comprises the substeps of:
specifying a typical respiratory rate giving a typical cycle time,
specifying a present pressure modulation amplitude to apply at said typical respiratory rate,
calculating the observed respiratory rate giving an observed cycle time, and
calculating the desired amplitude of pressure modulation as said preset pressure modulation amplitude multiplied by said observed cycle time divided by the said specified cycle time.
The invention further discloses a method for providing ventilatory assistance in a spontaneously breathing subject, including at least the step of determining the extent that the subject is adequately ventilated, to said extent the phase in the respiratory cycle is determined from the subject""s respiratory airflow, but to the extent that the subject""s ventilation is inadequate, the phase in the respiratory cycle is assumed to increase at a pre-set rate, and setting mask pressure as a function of said phase.
The invention further discloses a method for providing ventilatory assistance in a spontaneously breathing subject, comprising the steps of: measuring respiratory airflow, determining the extent to which the instantaneous phase in the respiratory cycle can be determined from said airflow, to said extent determining said phase from said airflow but to the extent that the phase in the respiratory cycle cannot be accurately determined, the phase is assumed to increase at a preset rate, and delivering pressure as a function of said phase.
The invention further discloses a method for calculating the instantaneous inspired volume of a subject, operable substantially without run-away under conditions of suddenly changing leak, the method comprising the steps of:
determining respiratory airflow approximately corrected for leak,
calculating an index J varying from 0 to 1 equal to the fuzzy extent to which said corrected respiratory airflow is large positive for longer than expected, or large negative for longer than expected.
identifying the start of inspiration, and
calculating the instantaneous inspired volume as the integral of said corrected respiratory airflow multiplied by the fuzzy negation of said index J with respect to time, from start of inspiration.
The invention further discloses a method xe2x80x9cAxe2x80x9d for providing ventilatory assistance in a spontaneously breathing subject, the method comprising the steps, performed at repeated sampling intervals, of:
determining respiratory airflow approximately corrected for leak,
calculating an index J varying from 0 to 1 equal to the fuzzy extent to which said respiratory airflow is large positive for longer than expected, or large negative for longer than expected,
calculating a modified airflow equal to said respiratory airflow multiplied by the fuzzy negation of said index J,
identifying the phase in the respiratory cycle,
calculating the instantaneous inspired volume as the integral of said modified airflow with respect to time, with the integral held at zero during the expiratory portion of the respiratory cycle,
calculating a desired instantaneous delivery pressure as a function at least of the said instantaneous inspired volume, and
setting delivered pressure to subject to the desired delivery pressure.
The invention further discloses a method xe2x80x9cBxe2x80x9d for providing ventilatory assistance in a spontaneously breathing subject, comprising the steps of:
determining respiratory airflow approximately corrected for leak,
calculating an index J varying from 0 to 1 equal to the fuzzy extent to which the respiratory airflow is large positive for longer than expected, or large negative for longer than expected,
identifying the phase in the respiratory cycle,
calculating a modified respiratory airflow equal to the respiratory airflow multiplied by the fuzzy negation of said index J.
calculating the instantaneous inspired volume as the integral of the modified airflow with respect to time, with the integral held at zero during the expiratory portion of the respiratory cycle,
calculating the desired instantaneous delivery pressure as an expiratory pressure plus a resistance multiplied by the instantaneous respiratory airflow plus a nonlinear resistance multiplied by the respiratory airflow multiplied by the absolute value of the respiratory airflow plus an elastance multiplied by the said adjusted instantaneous inspired volume, and
setting delivered pressure to subject to the desired delivery pressure.
The invention yet further discloses a method xe2x80x9cCxe2x80x9d for providing assisted ventilation to match the subject""s need, comprising the steps of:
describing a desired waveform template function Π(xcfx86), with domain 0 to 1 revolution and range 0 to 1,
determining respiratory airflow approximately corrected for leak,
calculating an index J varying from 0 to 1 equal to the fuzzy extent to which the respiratory airflow is large positive for longer than expected, or large negative for longer than expected,
calculating JPEAK equal to the recent peak of the index J,
calculating the instantaneous phase in the respiratory cycle,
calculating a desired amplitude of pressure modulation, chosen to servo-control the degree of ventilation to at least exceed a specified ventilation,
calculating a desired delivery pressure as an end expiratory pressure plus the calculated pressure modulation amplitude A multiplied by the value of the waveform template function Π(xcfx86) at the said calculated phase xcfx86, and
setting delivered pressure to subject to said desired instantaneous delivered pressure.
The invention yet further discloses a method for providing assisted ventilation to match the subject""s need, as described above, in which the step of calculating a desired amplitude of pressure modulation, chosen to servo-control the degree of ventilation to at least exceed a specified ventilation, comprises the steps of:
calculating a target airflow equal to twice the target ventilation divided by the target respiratory rate,
deriving an error term equal to the absolute value of the instantaneous low pass filtered respiratory airflow minus the target airflow, and
calculating the amplitude of pressure modulation as the integral of the error term multiplied by a gain, with the integral clipped to lie between zero and a maximum.
The invention yet further discloses a method for providing assisted ventilation to match the subject""s need, as described above, in which the step of calculating a desired amplitude of pressure modulation, chosen to servo-control the degree of ventilation to at least exceed a specified ventilation, comprises the following steps:
calculating a target airflow equal to twice the target ventilation divided by the target respiratory rate.
deriving an error term equal to the absolute value of the instantaneous low pass filter respiratory airflow minus the target airflow,
calculating an uncorrected amplitude of pressure modulation as the integral of the error term multiplied by a gain, with the integral clipped to lie between zero and a maximum.
calculating the recent average of said amplitude as the low pass filtered amplitude, with a time constant of several times the length of a respiratory cycle, and
setting the actual amplitude of pressure modulation to equal the said low pass filtered amplitude multiplied by the recent peak jamming index JPEAK plus the uncorrected amplitude multiplied by the fuzzy negation of JPEAK.
The invention yet further discloses a method for providing assisted ventilation to match the subject""s need, and with particular application to subjects with varying respiratory mechanics, insufficient respiratory drive, abnormal chemoreceptor reflexes, hypoventilation syndromes, or Cheyne Stokes breathing, combined with the advantages of proportional assist ventilation adjusted for sudden changes in leak, comprising the steps, performed at repeated sampling intervals, of:
calculating the instantaneous mask pressure as described for methods xe2x80x9cAxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cBxe2x80x9d above,
calculating the instantaneous mask pressure as described for method xe2x80x9cCxe2x80x9d above,
calculating a weighted average of the above two pressures, and
setting the mask pressure to the said weighted average.
The invention yet further discloses apparatus to give effect to each one of the methods defined, including one or more transducer to measure flow and/or pressure, processor means to perform calculations and procedures, flow generators for the supply of breathable gas at a pressure above atmospheric pressure and gas delivery means to deliver the breathable gas to a subject""s airways.
The apparatus can include ventilators, ventilatory assist devices, and CPAP devices including constant level, bi-level or autosetting level devices.
It is to be understood that while the algorithms embodying the invention are explained in terms of fuzzy logic, approximations to these algorithms can be constructed without the use of the fuzzy logic formalism.

Method for calculating the instantaneous inspired volume of a subject during ventilatory assistance


A common-mode signal sensor for supplying a common-mode signal in response to a difference signal. A first input terminal and a second input terminal receive the difference signal and an output terminal supplies the common-mode signal. A first differential pair of a first conductivity type is connected to a first current source at a first node and has its control electrodes connected to the input terminals. A second differential pair of a second conductivity type opposite to the first conductivity type is connected to a second current source at a second node and has its control electrodes also connected to the input terminals. A diode-connected fifth transistor of the first conductivity type is connected between the first node and the output terminal and a diode-connected sixth transistor of the second conductivity type is connected between the second node and the output terminal.

The invention relates to a common-mode signal sensor for supplying a common-mode signal in response to a difference signal, comprising: a first input terminal and a second input terminal for receiving the difference signal, an output terminal for supplying the common-mode signal, a first and a second transistor, each having a first main electrode, a second main electrode and a control electrode, the first main electrodes of the first and the second transistor being interconnected in a first node and the control electrode of the first transistor being coupled to the first input terminal, a first current source coupled to the first node to supply a first bias current, a third and a fourth transistor, each having a first main electrode, a second main electrode and a control electrode, the first main electrodes of the third and the fourth transistor being interconnected in a second node and the control electrode of the fourth transistor being coupled to the second input terminal, and a second current source coupled to the second node to supply a second bias current.
Such a common-mode signal sensor is known from the article "CMOS Voltage to Current Transducers", IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems, Vol. CAS-32, No. 11, November 1985, pp. 1097-1104, FIG. 6. Common-mode signal sensors are used in common-mode rejection circuits for operational amplifiers, transconductors and similar electronic circuits. A known technique for measuring the common-mode signal content of a difference signal utilises the voltage on the node common to the first main electrodes of a standard differential pair whose control electrodes are arranged to receive the difference signal. This arrangement has the drawback that said voltage contains not only the common-mode signal but also the threshold voltage of the transistors which are used and, in addition, a part of the difference signal. The common-mode signal sensor known from said article employs two differential pairs. The first and the second transistor with the first current source constitute the first differential pair. The third and the fourth transistor with the second current source constitute the second differential pair. The control electrodes of the first and the fourth transistor are connected to the first and the second input terminal and receive the input signal whose common-mode voltage is to be measured. In a third node the control electrodes and the second main electrodes of the second and the third transistor are all connected to a third current source supplying a current equal to that of the first and the second current source. The voltage on the third node is a measure of the common-mode voltage of the input signal and no longer contains the threshold voltage of the transistors. However, this common-mode signal sensor has the drawback of a limited difference signal range because the voltages on the first and the second node do not increase symmetrically with an increasing difference voltage on the input terminals.