An electronic musical tone synthesizing apparatus includes a damper pedal and an envelope generator. The envelope generator imparts an envelope to a musical tone to be produced. When the termination of the musical tone is designated, the envelope generator imparts a decaying envelope thereto. If the damper pedal is depressed during the processing of the decaying envelope, the decaying rate becomes slower. This leads to the performance of sustaining effects such as in an acoustic piano.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to an electronic musical instrument, and relates in particular to an electronic musical instrument which is capable of producing a diminuendo effect of a musical tone similar to an acoustic musical instrument.
2. Technical Background of the Invention
In general, the generation of a musical tone in the keyboard type of electronic musical instruments is controlled through the control of the characteristics of the tone envelopes, by dividing a tone generation process into four regions or states: attack, decay, sustain and release states.
Therefore, when a key-release event is detected in conventional electronic instruments, and a key-off processing is ready to be initiated, the decay processing begins from the envelope level at the time when a key-off event has been detected, in accordance with the diminuendo envelope characteristics provided in the key-release processing.
Also, in the conventional tone synthesizing apparatus, the detailed processing steps for envelope waveform generation are carried out independently of those for the central processing control apparatus.
On the other hand, in an acoustic piano which is an acoustic musical instrument, damper pedals and sustaining pedals are used to achieve long lasting sound effects by pressing on the pedals to release the dampers pressing down the strings. Further, pressing on the pedals is effective even after the key-release event, because of the reverberation achieved by the effects of releasing the dampers. Such a technique is a favorite playing style.
In the conventional electronic musical instruments, when a key-off event is detected, the amplitude of an envelope waveform is decreased at a relatively large predetermined rate, and such a rate is maintained even if dampers and other devices are operated subsequently. These musical instruments, therefore, could not produce such reverberation effects as an acoustic musical instruments, and suffered from the serious deficiency in good musical expressions.
To overcome such a deficiency in the conventional electronic musical instruments, a technique is known of operating a damper pedal so as to provide a "resonance effect" to the process of generating a musical tone as disclosed in a U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,121. When a damper pedal is pressed in the instrument, a resonance tone is added to an ordinarily generated tone, thus generating a tone signal which includes the resonance tone. The resonance tone may be produced by passing an ordinary tone signal through a filter. Alternatively, data obtained by recording a tone actually reproduced on an acoustic piano, when a damper pedal is operated, may be stored in a memory and a resonance tone may be generated by reading out the stored date form the memory. The resonance tone signal may be sounded by itself or after mixing with an ordinary tone signal at a suitable mixing ratio.

Electronic musical tone synthesizing apparatus generating tones with variable decay rates


In a case where a set value, which is used during a time of job execution by an image forming apparatus that is different from the use-target image forming apparatus, is selected as a set value to be set into a use-target image forming apparatus, based on set value identification information, an information processing apparatus of an image forming system identifies a set value corresponding to the selected set value from set values for a set item of the use-target image forming apparatus, and transmits setting information, which is for changing a current set value of the use-target image forming apparatus to the identified set value, to the use-target image forming apparatus.

The present disclosure relates to an image forming system and an information processing apparatus.
Conventionally, an image forming apparatus connectable to networks such as an internet and the like is known. For example, an image forming system is known, in which an image forming apparatus and a server are connectable to each other via a network.
In such image forming system, it is possible to save setting information for changing and setting a set value for a set item that the image forming apparatus has. According to this, for a user, if setting information corresponding to a desired set value is saved beforehand, a set value of the image forming apparatus is changed and set to the desired set value by only transmitting the setting information from the user to the image forming apparatus; therefore, it becomes unnecessary to perform an input operation for changing and setting the set value of the image forming apparatus to the desired set value, and convenience is good.
For example, there is a case where an image forming system is structured by connecting a plurality of image forming apparatuses to a sever in a communicating manner. In this case, there is a case where the user wants to set again a set value (desired set value) set in an image forming apparatus used in the past into an image forming apparatus that is now a use target. But, if the image forming apparatus used in the past and the current use-target image forming apparatus are different from each other in specification (e.g., maker), there is a case where the desired set value able to be set in the image forming apparatus used in the past is unable to be set in the current use-target image forming apparatus. Accordingly, the user has to perform an input operation for performing a setting change of a set value of the current use-target image forming apparatus such that it is possible to obtain the same result as a result obtained when a job is executed by means of the desired set value, which is inconvenient.
The present disclosure is intended to solve the above problems, and it is an object of the present disclosure to provide an image forming system and an information processing apparatus that are able to reduce operations performed by a user to improve convenience for the user when executing a job (setting of a set value).

Image forming system and information processing apparatus


Display tube with a deflection unit which is mounted thereon and includes a funnel-shaped coil support. After the optimum position of the deflection unit has been set with respect to the display tube, the coil support is fixedly secured to the envelope of the display tube. A shrink sleeve which is partly shrunk around the narrow end of the coil support and partly around the envelope of the tube is used for fixation.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a display tube with a deflection unit which is mounted on said tube and comprises a coil support, said deflection unit being fixedly secured to the envelope of the display tube in an operational position with respect to the display tube.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known that in display tubes of the type used for TV receivers and monitors a deflection unit is slid on the neck of the display tube after its assembly, which deflection unit is supported by the funnel-shaped portion of the envelope of the display tube.
In practice, the rear end of the coil support of the deflection unit is fixedly secured to the glass neck of the display tube by means of a metal clamping strap. For a good performance it is generally necessary to set the correct operational position of each deflection unit with respect to its display tube in advance, notably by moving in the axial direction, by tilting, and/or by rotating about its longitudinal axis so as to optimally adjust given parameters such as colour purity, convergence and the position of the grid with respect to the display screen.
In this connection it is desirable to use easy-assembly techniques for fixing the deflection unit on the neck, i.e. techniques which require a small number of components, are preferably not time-consuming and can preferably be automated without this being at the expense of the mechanical specifications (such as resistance to drop tests).

Display tube with deflection unit secured thereon by means of a shrink sleeve


The present invention relates to a plastic cover, preferably made of CPVC plastic, for traditional baseboard heaters. The plastic cover contains a front piece with bulges and a connected perforated top piece with back flanges. The plastic cover is supported by preferably two support brackets which are attached to the wall. The support brackets have top and bottom slots in the back and protruding arms which fit into the bulges of the front piece. The slots of the support brackets hold top and bottom angled slats that direct hot air into a room. The plastic cover is easily attached to the support brackets as the bulges snap into place over the protruding arms of the support bracket and the back flanges of the top cover piece locks onto the top slat held in place by the supporting brackets. Side pieces prevent hot air from escaping and might further include straight or corner connectors to longitudinally extend the plastic cover.

The present invention relates to a cover supported on a bracket held to a wall for protecting a conventional baseboard heater system in residential or commercial use. Specifically, the invention comprises an inventive bracket and snap-on cover for a baseboard heater. Baseboard heaters are conventionally made of horizontally extending copper pipes (with hot water coursing therethrough when "heat" is demanded by the system's thermostat) and a set of tightly spaced, thin aluminum, longitudinally extending plates or fins with central apertures which pass over the copper piping. The surface area of the fins radiates the heat to the room sought to be heated, with the heat radiating through the longitudinal apertures of the protective cover for the fins and pipes. The covers, conventionally, are made of simple sheet metal, often thin steel, and, when contacted by water or other liquid urine, causes rust to appear and, in any event, when the metallic fins come into contact with the cover and one another, often result in cracking noises which can be annoying. The present invention comprises a bracket securable to the vertical wall of the room sought to be heated, located, behind the copper piping and the fins and comprises a snap on, preferably plastic cover. The invention will eliminate rusting of a baseboard heater's cover (as it is replaced by a non-rusting material) and, in addition, will tend to reduce the noise due to relative differences in coefficient of expansion and contraction among the components. The bracket will hold the snap on cover in position and, yet, allows for selective access to the copper piping and fins, as needed. The brackets and non-metallic cover will protect the copper piping and the horizontally extending longitudinal fins, providing a tight yet with clearance fit therebetween which will allow for proper heat radiation and, yet, with a minimum of profile/space being occupied. The plastic cover eliminates rusting, is lightweight, easy to manufacture, will not present sharp metallic edges on the ends and is able to be inexpensively molded in comparison to sheet metal covers for baseboard heater elements in residential homes.
Preferably, the cover is made from a heat-resistant and water resistance plastic, preferably CPVC, as opposed to thin-walled steel to eliminate or reduce the opportunity for relative expansion and contraction (and accompanying noise associated therewith) of the materials during change of temperature conditions (i.e., when highly heated water courses through the copper pipes, radiates from the surface area of the aluminum fins, and then emanates to the room through openings in the cover) and the cessation of the same, when the room's thermostat shuts off the coursing of the flow of heated water.
The present inventive baseboard heater cover is adapted to be easily removable and replaceable. The plastic material helps to reduce or maintain the noise level caused by the pipes and heating system during operation of the heater. The present invention also is advantageous in that it does not rust as metal would, does not dent, as the material is more resilient than metal, and is more aesthetically pleasing than a conventional metal heating cover. It is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and is lightweight.
The present inventive heater cover is preferably provided in a variety of colors (by coloring of the plastic rather than the expense and time of painting the sheet metal of conventional baseboard heaters) and can be presented in a variety of aesthetic designs. Because it is easily removable, a user can easily remove the same from a heater and replace it with a different cover of a desired color. The ease of removal is also advantageous for cleaning, as it helps ensure that dust does not accumulate in crevices which are not visible while the present inventive cover is attached to a baseboard heater. Finally, the present invention is designed to quickly and easily snap into place onto other corresponding parts so that the same holds firmly in place and conceals the heater beneath.
The present invention is designed to meet the guidelines or standards published by the International Organization for Standardization ("ISO"), namely ISO-9001, which deals with the requirements for these types of products and materials. While the ISO does not set the standard, it provides guidelines for quality heat transfer and management systems. Third party certification bodies provide independent confirmation that organizations meet the requirements of ISO 9001. Here, the present invention is designed to meet standards set by the International Plumbing Code, Chapter 5, relating to Water Heaters, and Chapter 6 relating to Water Supply and Distribution, as well as the applicable standards of the International Mechanical Code, Chapter 10, relating to Boilers, Water Heaters, and Pressure Valves, the teachings of all of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference. Those regulations can be found at the International Code Council website for the International Plumbing Code and Mechanical Code, http://publicecodes.cyberregs.com/icod/pic/2012/index.htm and http://publicecodes.cyberregs.com/icod/imc/2012/index.htm, respectively.


Increasing fertility in a mammal utilizes cationic steroidal antimicrobial (CSA) compounds and CSA-containing compositions. Such treatment in a mammal includes administering a formulation (e.g., lavage and/or infusion) including at least one CSA compound, or pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, to the reproductive structure(s) of the mammal (e.g., horse, dairy cow, human, etc.). The formulation may be applied topically as lavage and/or infusion to desired reproductive structures, such as the vagina, cervix, uterus, penis, or combinations thereof. The formulation may kill both planktonic and biofilm forms of sperm killing microbes, and may at least partially break up a microbial plaque or film located within any of the reproductive structures (e.g., the uterus). The CSA or pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof may be selective or preferential in its action, so as to preferentially kill sperm killing microbes without causing harm to beneficial microbes also residing within the reproductive structure of the mammal.

1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to compositions and methods for increasing fertility in a mammal using cationic steroidal antimicrobial (CSA) compounds.
2. The Relevant Technology
Maintaining fertility in dairy cows, horses, domestic animals, and other mammals continues to be of importance to those engaged in the farming industry. Loss of fertility greatly reduces the value of breeding animals, which can only then be used for meat but which may not be suitable for such use. Thus, fertility loss, especially premature infertility, may substantially or completely destroy the economic value of an animal relied upon for breeding.
In general, there may be many reasons to restore or enhance fertility in a wide variety of different mammals, including humans. Current treatments to enhance fertility include administration of fertility drugs, including hormones or other substances that act by accelerating ovulation, and/or surgical procedures, some of which can be very invasive and expensive.
In addition to old age, infertility may also be caused by fungal or bacterial endometritis, which occurs when a bacteria or fungus (e.g., yeast) contaminates the uterus and causes infection and inflammation. In some cases, endometritis can be sexually transmitted, such as Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM), caused by Taylorella equigenitalis, a Gram negative coccobacillus. The bacteria can survive for an extended period on the external genitalia of the stallion and the vagina or clitoris of the mare. When infected, the stallion may show no clinical signs. The mare, however, typically presents acute endometritis with a thick, grey, mucoid discharge after breeding and may short cycle due to inflammation. The acute signs may subside rapidly, with some mares remaining as asymptomatic carriers.
Endometritis is difficult to treat and has a high rate of recurrence. Current treatments may include uterine lavage with large volumes of fluid and/or administration of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), antifungal agents (e.g., clotrimazole, amphotericin, fluconazole, nystatin), or antibiotics. Such treatments are expensive and outcomes uncertain. The prognosis is often poor since treatment only affects certain stages of bacterial or fungal development. In some cases, the microbe may be attached within folds of the endometrium, or the mare may have delayed uterine clearance. Even with successful treatment, chance of re-infection is high.
Accordingly, there remains a present but unsatisfied need to find reliable treatments for increasing fertility in mammals.

Lavage and/or infusion using CSA compounds for increasing fertility in a mammal


Systems and methods for determining the health of a compressor are disclosed. In one embodiment, a prognostic-diagnostic unit (PDU) compares expected compressor power consumption, based on current operating conditions of the HVAC system, to actual compressor power consumption. If the actual power consumption is within a predefined range of the expected power consumption under current operational conditions, the HVAC system is determined to be operating properly. If the actual power consumption deviates from the expected power consumption, a fault is indicated. An appropriate action is taken, such as displaying a fault alert, transmitting a fault message to another device, and storing information relating to the fault for later retrieval to assist troubleshooting.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure is directed to improving the reliability of HVAC systems, and in particular, to improved systems, apparatus, and methods for monitoring HVAC compressor performance to identify potential or imminent failures before they can occur.
2. Background of Related Art
Air conditioning and heat pump systems, sometimes referred to as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, employ the vapor-compression refrigeration cycle to cool or warm indoor air. In the case of an air-conditioning system, refrigerant gas is pressurized by a compressor and flows through a condensing coil. A fan blows air through the condensing coil to move heat from the refrigerant into the outside environment, causing the refrigerant to release heat and condense into liquid form. Refrigerant continues to an evaporator where it expands and vaporizes, absorbing heat from, and thereby cooling, indoor air blown through the evaporator by a second fan. In the case of a heat pump, the cycle is reversed whereby heat is moved from the outside environment to indoor air. The compressor and fans are typically driven by electric motors, which may be driven at a fixed speed or at a variable speed. Variable speed motors may be driven by a variable speed drive (VSD) which utilizes an inverter to vary the frequency of alternating current power delivered to the motor.
Over time, HVAC components are subject to wear and tear or other faults which can cause reduced efficiency, component failure, damage to other system components, or even system shutdowns. A technician responding to a service call faces a number of challenges when troubleshooting an HVAC system, particularly if the underlying problem is intermittent or temperature-related. For example, an HVAC system might fail on a hot and humid day, but if the technician arrives on a cooler day where the failure does not occur, it may be difficult to determine the cause of the failure and the proper remedy. In another scenario, a compressor nearing the end if its service life may be functional albeit at a lower efficiency, which increases operating costs to the homeowner in a manner which is not immediately apparent. In yet another scenario, a refrigerant leak can cause diminished performance, can damage compressor internals, and can be harmful to the environment.
An HVAC system which identifies potential problems before they occur would help maintain the overall effectiveness and reliability of the HVAC system, assist service technicians during troubleshooting, prevent customer dissatisfaction, and be a welcome advance in the art.


A base having removable side rails for elevating a toilet for use by physically handicapped or elderly persons is disclosed. The base is formed generally in the shape of a flat rectangle having a height equal to the amount by which it is desired to elevate the toilet above a floor for use. A large aperture is formed through the base near the central portion thereof having appropriate plumbing fittings for connecting the bowl of the toilet to the drain. A first pair of smaller apertures are provided to permit the passage therethrough of appropriate threaded fasteners so as to secure the toilet to the floor. A second pair of apertures are formed through the sides of the base to permit appropriate side rails to be inserted therein for use. Each of the side rails includes an adjustable grip which can be positioned and secured in a desired manner so as to assist a person in getting on and off of the toilet seat.

1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates in general to toilets and in particular to a base having removable side rails for elevating a toilet.
In the past, toilets or water closets have typically been formed of a fixed height, stool-type construction. Such a construction often causes difficulties to persons who have difficulty in controlling their movements, such as those who are physically handicapped or elderly, and who must be lowered a relatively long distance onto the toilet seat. It is known in the art to form the toilet with an enlarged bowl support member, thus disposing the toilet seat at a higher height than normal in order to reduce the distance through which the person must be lowered. It is further known to provide handrails on the enclosing walls of the toilet to aid a person in the process of getting on and off the toilet seat. However, both such structures are permanent and not easily removable, and are typically very expensive. Prior to the present invention, no structure was known for readily adapting a conventional toilet for convenient use by physically handicapped or elderly persons.
2. Description Of The Prior Art
Various toilet and water closet constructions are described and illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 102,738 to Wellington, 331,610 to Bunting, Jr., 340,287 to Clifford, 851,679 to Lloyd, 3,010,115 to Wiggs, 4,041,554 to Gregory et al., 4,052,756 to Whiteman, Sr. et al, 4,091,473 to Matthews et al., and 4,174,546 to Ohtake.

Base having removable side rails for elevating a toilet


This disclosure relates to tetrahydroisoquinolines, salts, and derivatives useful for managing mental or cognitive diseases or conditions of the brain or central nervous system. In certain embodiments, the disclosure relates to compounds and compositions having formula I: prodrugs, esters, or salts thereof, wherein the substituents are described herein.

NMDARs typically contain a GluN1 subunit in addition to GluN2A-GluN2D subunits. Stimulation of one or more of the subunits are thought to be beneficial for the treatment of cognitive dysfunctions as well as other conditions dependent on synaptic plasticity such as motor retraining and rehabilitation after ischemic insult, traumatic brain injury, and conditions that involve impairment of movement, speech, vision, or other functions controlled by the brain. See Traynelis et al., Glutamate receptor ion channels: structure, regulation, and function. Pharmacol Rev, 2010, 62:405-496. See also Hardingham & Bading, Synaptic versus extra-synaptic NMDA receptor signaling: implications for neurodegenerative disorders, Nat Rev, Neurosci, 2010; 11:682-696; Tang et al., Genetic enhancement of learning and memory in mice, Nature, 401, 63-69 (1999); and Brigman et al., Loss of GluN2B-containing NMDA receptors in CA1 hippocampus and cortex impairs long-term depression, reduces dendritic spine density, and disrupts learning. J Neurosci, 2010, 30, 4590-4600.
Tetrahydroisoquinoline-based potentiators of GluN2C and GluN2D containing N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors are reported in Santangelo et al., J Med Chem, 2013, 56(13):5351-81. See also US Published Application 2014/0275529; US 2012/0028977; Acker et al., Mol Pharmacol, 2011, 80(5):782-95; and Zimmerman et al., J Med Chem, 2014, 57(6):2334-56.
References cited herein are not an admission of prior art.

N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) potentiators, pharmaceutical compositions, and uses related thereto


A light guide panel includes a front surface portion, a back surface portion located on the opposite side of the front surface portion, and an incidence end surface portion located on one side of the front and the back surface portions. The incidence end surface portion is configured for introducing light from a light source into the light guide panel. A plurality of optical elements are randomly disposed on the front and/or back surface portions. The optical elements typically have a maximum diameter in a range from 10 .mu.m to 150 .mu.m and are configured for emanating light propagating in the light guide panel from the front surface portion and/or back surface portion to the outside of the light guide panel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light guide panel in which light introduced from a side end surface emanates from a front or back surface, the light guide panel being used in a plane illuminator apparatus, and more specifically to plane illuminator apparatus for use in illumination of a display using a transmission or a reflection type liquid crystal device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A plane illuminator apparatus used as the so-called backlight for a liquid crystal is adapted such that light from a light source is guided into a transparent light guide panel from a side end surface of the same. The light uniformly emanates from a front or back entire surface area of the light guide panel by making use of the reflection of the light in the light guide panel. Considering the characteristics of a liquid crystal display for which a plane illuminator apparatus is used, it is particularly important that the plane illuminator apparatus emit light uniformly over the whole of the apparatus. It is also preferred that the apparatus be thin plate-shaped as a whole and that power consumption of a corresponding light source be reduced to the utmost.
To achieve such requirements, a conventional plane illuminator apparatus enjoys a structure in which there are superimposed two prism sheets one on the other. A light reflection sheet is provided on a back surface side of a light guide panel and a plurality of isosceles triangle pillar-like shaped prisms are parallely arranged on the front surface side of the light guide panel such that these prisms cross perpendicularly to each other in their longitudinal directions. More specifically, light emanating from the back surface side of the light guide panel is forced to again impinge the light guide panel with the aid of the light reflection sheet and light emanating from the surface of the light guide panel is converged with a pair of the prism sheets to ensure highly bright illumination light.
There is further known a light guide panel in which light incident on the light guide panel is intended to be uniformly distributed. For these innumerable dots with the size from several hundred micrometers to several millimeters, white colored ink is printed on the back surface of the light guide panel. For preventing these dots from obstructing the view, a light diffusion sheet is interposed between the light guide panel and the prism sheet. The light diffusion sheet disperses light emanating from the front surface of the light guide panel.
The light emanating from the front surface of the light guide panel suffers ordinarily from uncontrollable directivity which is dependent upon the physical properties of the light guide panel. A direction where maximum brightness is obtained and a desired direction of a view is obtained are practically not coincident with each other. Therefore, simple superposition of the prism sheet on the front surface of the light guide panel causes the light from the light guide panel to emanate only from one slope side of the prism, so that light intensity with uniform distribution is not obtained.
Prior art in which dots formed with white colored ink are printed on the back surface of the light guide panel, and light propagating in the light guide panel is diffused, suffers from occurrence of absorption loss of the light. Further, in order to prevent these dots from becoming conspicuous, it is necessary to jointly use the light diffusion sheet so that most of the light passing through the light diffusion sheet becomes diffusion light to result in sharp reduction of brightness. As a result, a bright light source with a greater intensity of radiation must be used. It is further quite impossible to control the propagation direction of the light.
The Conventional prism sheet is capable of converging the diffusion light from the light guide panel. Light emanating from the light guide panel, however, contains components which are not perpendicular to the surface of the light guide panel and are generally inclined in the direction where they are separated from the light source. Thus, the Conventional prism sheet cannot deflect the light emanating from the front surface of the light guide panel in a desired direction, i.e., perpendicularly to the front surface of the light guide panel.
The Conventional plane illuminator apparatus uses two prism sheets superimposed on the light guide panel in addition to the diffusion sheet. This large number of parts makes it impossible to reduce the thickness thereof as a whole. Severe optical loss happens owing to the diffusion sheet and owing to reflection on an interface between the two prism sheets. As such, is necessary to use a bright light source with a greater intensity of radiation. This causes a factor of preventing the whole of the plane illuminator apparatus from being made compact and the apparatus from being made low power consumption.
A reflection type liquid crystal display has higher image contrast than a transmission type liquid crystal display to ensure an excellent quality image, but it requires illumination by outdoor daylight and hence it can not be used at night or in a room and the like without any illumination. Accordingly, a transmission type liquid display in which a backlight source can be incorporated is solely used as a display mounted on a portable small-sized computer.
There are situations where effective illumination is required for a limited area without use of a large-scaled illuminator instrument without limiting to such a reflection type liquid crystal display.
For such a requirement, a method is used conventionally in which an object to be observed is directly illuminated with an LED or a midget lamp.
Recently, a small-sized illuminator apparatus has been designed for reflection type liquid crystal display comparable with the backlight source for use in a transmission type liquid crystal display such that a reflection type liquid crystal display excellent in view of image quality is usable at night or in a room without any illumination.
However, the conventional illuminator apparatus has the problem that it is difficult for the apparatus to achieve uniform illumination because the apparatus illuminates an object to be observed from the side thereof or obliquely from the front with light from an LED or a midget lamp. It is therefore difficult to apply the apparatus to a reflection type liquid crystal display.
Further, there is a possibility that when an illumination light source is located between an observation point and an object to be observed, the illumination light source interferes with a liquid crystal panel and hence the whole of the object fails to be observed.

Light guide panel and plane illuminator apparatus


Systems and methods for compensating for leaks in a ventilation system based on data obtained during periods within a breath in which the patient is neither inhaling nor exhaling. The methods and systems described herein more accurately and quickly identify changes in leakage. This information is then to estimate leakage later in the same breath or in subsequent breaths to calculate a more accurate estimate of instantaneous leakage based on current conditions. The estimated leakage is then used to compensate for the leak flow rates, reduce the patient's work of breathing and increase the patient's comfort (patient-ventilator breath phase transition synchrony).

The present description pertains to ventilator devices used to provide breathing assistance. Modern ventilator technologies commonly employ positive pressure to assist patient ventilation. For example, after determining a patient-initiated or timed trigger, the ventilator delivers a specified gas mixture into an inhalation airway connected to the patient to track a specified desired pressure or flow trajectory, causing or assisting the patient's lungs to fill. Upon reaching the end of the inspiration, the added support is removed and the patient is allowed to passively exhale and the ventilator controls the gas flow through the system to maintain a designated airway pressure level (PEEP) during the exhalation phase. Other types of ventilators are non-triggered, and mandate a specified breathing pattern regardless of patient effort.
Modern ventilators typically include microprocessors or other controllers that employ various control schemes. These control schemes are used to command a pneumatic system (e.g., valves) that regulates the flow rates of breathing gases to and from the patient. Closed-loop control is often employed, using data from pressure/flow sensors.
Many therapeutic settings involve the potential for leaks occurring at various locations on the ventilator device. The magnitude of these leaks can vary from setting to setting, and/or dynamically within a particular setting, dependent upon a host of variables. Leaks can impair triggering (transition into inhalation phase) and cycling (transition into exhalation phase) of the ventilator; and thus cause problems with patient-device synchrony; undesirably increase patient breathing work; degrade advisory information available to treatment providers; and/or otherwise comprise the desired respiratory therapy.
Determining Ventilator Leakage from Data Taken During a Stable Period within a Breath
This disclosure describes systems and methods for compensating for leaks in a ventilation system based on data obtained during periods within a breath in which the patient is neither inhaling nor exhaling. The methods and systems described herein more accurately and quickly identify changes in leakage. This information is then to estimate leakage later in the same breath or in subsequent breaths to calculate a more accurate estimate of instantaneous leakage based on current conditions. The estimated leakage is then used to compensate for the leak flow rates, reduce the patient's work of breathing and increase the patient's comfort (patient-ventilator breath phase transition synchrony). Without the improvements provided by the disclosed methods and systems, changes in the leak conditions during a breath may not be identified and/or accurately characterized until the following breath or later.
In part, this disclosure describes a method for identifying leakage in a respiratory gas supply system. In the method, data indicative of at least one of pressure and flow in the respiratory gas supply system is monitored during the delivery of respiratory gas to a patient. The method includes identifying that the data meet at least one stability criterion indicating that pressure and flow conditions have been stable for a period of time within a breath. These stability criteria are selected to identify stable periods within a breath in which the patient is neither inhaling nor exhaling. Upon identification of a stable period, the method calculates leakage information based at least in part on the data taken during the period of time within the breath. This leakage information may take the form of one or more orifice constants, leak conductances, leak factors, exponents, or other leak characteristics as required by the leakage model utilized by the ventilator to estimate instantaneous leakage from the current status (e.g., pressure or flow) of the ventilator. The method then uses the leakage information to determine a leakage rate in subsequent calculations performed after the stable period. This may include estimating an instantaneous leakage after the period of time based at least in part on the leakage information derived from data taken during the stable period.
This disclosure also describes a respiratory gas supply system that identifies stable periods within a breath and derives leakage information for use later in the same breath or in subsequent breaths in estimating instantaneous leakage. The system includes a pressure generating system capable of controlling the flow of breathing gas through a patient circuit and a patient interface to a patient, a stable period identification module that identifies a stable period within a breath, and a leak compensation module that calculates leakage information using data obtained during the stable period identified by the stable period identification module and that calculates, during subsequent stable and unstable periods within the breath or a later breath, an instantaneous leakage rate based on the leakage information.
This disclosure also describes another method for determining leakage from a respiratory gas supply system providing respiratory gas to a breathing patient. The method includes identifying at least one stable period within a patient breath and calculating leakage information based on pressure and flow data obtained during the at least one stable period. The method also, at times subsequent to the stable period, estimates the leakage from the respiratory gas supply system based on the leakage information calculated from the data obtained during the at least one stable period and the current data.
These and various other features as well as advantages which characterize the systems and methods described herein will be apparent from a reading of the following detailed description and a review of the associated drawings. Additional features are set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the technology. The benefits and features of the technology will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

System and method for determining ventilator leakage during stable periods within a breath


Disclosed herein is a method for controlling a washing machine according to absorption characteristics of the laundry. The washing machine performs washing, rinsing and spin-drying steps in sequence. In the washing machine control method, first of all, a washing mode for absorption characteristics of laundry is set. A preset plural number of intermittent spin-drying operations are performed in the washing and rinsing steps in accordance with the set washing mode for absorption characteristics of the laundry.

This application makes reference to, incorporates the same herein, and claims all benefits accruing under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119 from my application entitled CONTROL METHOD OF WASHING MACHINE CONSIDERING CHARACTERISTIC OF ABSORPTION IN CLOTHES filed with the Korean Industrial Property Office on Jul. 31, 2001 and there duly assigned Serial No. 2001-46165.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method for controlling a washing machine, and more particularly to a method for controlling a washing machine according to absorption characteristics of the laundry, in such a way that when highly absorptive laundry is washed in the washing machine; during a rinsing step, a plural number of intermittent spin-drying operations are performed instead of a high-speed spin-drying operation to provide sufficient time for discharging water; and during a spin drying step, a sufficient number of spin-drying operations are performed to discharge water absorbed into the laundry and, thereafter, a normal spin-drying operation is performed to reach the final highest spin-drying speed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, a washing machine has several washing modes to be selected by a user in accordance with the material of the laundry. Therefore, once one washing mode is selected by the user in accordance with the material of the laundry such as cotton, silk or synthetic fiber, the washing machine performs a washing cycle (consisting of washing, rinsing, and spin-drying steps) according to the preset information of the selected washing mode including washing time, washing speed, washing temperature, number of rinsing operations, spin-drying time, spin-drying speed and water level. Furthermore, some of options, such as washing temperature, spin-drying speed, and number of rinsing operation, may be manually selected by the user input.
Generally, even the laundry formed of the same material may absorb and discharge different amounts of water according to the weaving characteristics of the laundry. Accordingly, the amount of water absorbed by the laundry may be varied with the weaving pattern of the laundry. In particular, laundry formed of a pile texture in the form of loops, such as a towel or blanket, rapidly absorbs a large amount of water, and discharges a large amount of water during the spin-drying operation.
However, in the conventional method for controlling a washing machine, washing modes are classified into various types in accordance with only the material of the laundry, so the same rinsing and spin drying steps are carried out for the laundry formed of the same material. Accordingly, there arises a problem that the laundry formed of the same material are washed in the same manner regardless of their different water absorption characteristics, thereby hindering the laundry from being effectively rinsed and spin-dried.
Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problem, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for controlling washing machine according to absorption characteristics of the laundry.
In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a method for controlling a washing machine according to the absorption characteristics of the laundry, the washing machine performing washing, rinsing and spin-drying steps in sequence, comprising the steps of: setting a washing mode for the absorption characteristics of laundry; and performing a preset plural number of intermittent spin-drying operations in the washing and rinsing steps in accordance with the set washing mode for the absorption characteristics of the laundry.

Method for controlling washing machine according to absorption characteristics of the laundry


A surgical device and method are disclosed for closing the sternum following a median sternotomy. Instead of using stainless steel wire or a flat steel band, a strand of thin flexible suture material is used which is compressible in its radial dimension (either because of a hollow tubular shape, or due to solid material properties), while remaining strong and inelastic in its longitudinal dimension. The longitudinal strength may be maintained by using selected plastics, or by using nylon fibers or other materials for reinforcement. When not compressed, the strand has a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the needle used to place the strand in position around the sternal halves, between the ribs. After insertion, the expandable suture material will provide gentle pressure against the surrounding tissue to minimize bleeding in the needle track. The soft suture material will also help cushion, distribute, and minimize the stresses and damage inflicted on the sternum or ribs during postoperative ambulation. A fastener device which provides additional advantages is also disclosed.

This invention is in the field of surgical devices. It relates to surgery on the heart or lungs, and to other thoracic procedures that require opening of the sternum (the breast bone).
Most surgical procedures involving the heart or lungs are performed through a midline sternal incision, widely referred to as a "median sternotomy." The breast bone is comprised of the smaller manubrium superiorly (which is located near the neck) and the larger sternum inferiorly; the composite bone structure is usually referred to as the sternum. After an incision is made through the skin, the sternum is cut longitudinally using specialized power saws. The cut extends the entire length of the sternum, from the sternal notch, at the neck, to the xiphoid (the small protrusion of bone at the solar plexus). This midline cut allows the two halves of the sternum and the anterior portion of the ribcage to be spread several inches apart, giving the surgeons access to the heart and lungs. During surgery, the two halves of the sternum are held apart by mechanical retractors.
At the end of the surgery, the sternum must be closed, or "reapproximated." In the vast majority of cases, surgeons use stainless steel wire closure devices. These closure devices are composed of a thin stainless steel wire with a diameter of about 1-1.5 mm, coupled to a curved needle. The composite device is formed by inserting one end of the stainless steel wire into a hollow cavity in the non-sharpened end of the curved needle which is then crimped tightly to secure the wire to the needle. When this closure device is passed to the surgeon by a scrub nurse, the free end of the stainless steel wire is usually controlled by securing it with a small surgical clamp. The needle is used to pass the wire through the sternum or around the sternal halves, between the ribs that connect to the sternal halves at roughly right angles. The path of each of the six wires used for a typical sternal closure is as follows: 1) around and behind the left sternal half (between the ribs at each level) and 2) behind and up around the right sternal half (once again between the ribs at each level). In the upper portion of the closure, where the manubrium portion of the sternal bone is relatively wide, the needle is usually pushed through the bone. Below the manubrium, the needle is usually passed through "peristernal" tissue (i.e., tissue which surrounds the sternum) and usually does not penetrate the sternal bone except when the sternum is exceptionally wide.
After the wire is properly placed around the two sides using the needle, the needle is cut off and the wire is clamped at the cut end. This leaves a piece of wire that passes around and behind each of the sternal halves, with some excess wire attached to a clamp on each side of the sternum. This procedure is repeated until the desired number of wire segments (usually six) have been inserted into the peristernal tissue around the sternal halves. Each segment is usually positioned between two ribs, so that the wire does not have to penetrate the bones which constitute the ribs or the sternum (except at the wide manubrium).
After all of the wire segments have been properly positioned, the clamps of each wire are sequentially picked up by the surgeon and the wires are twisted around each other to secure them initially. The ends are then trimmed, and the twisted junctures are twisted again using a heavy needle driver, usually several more times, to create an extra-snug closure that will ensure that the sternal bones are pressed tightly against each other to minimize bleeding and ensure proper fusing of the sternal halves into an intact sternum to promote healing in a manner comparable to the healing of a broken bone.
Normally, the wire loops are left in place permanently. Unless problems arise which require a second surgical operation to remove the wires, they remain in place for the remainder of the patient's life, even after the sternal halves have fused together again.
Despite their widespread use, stainless steel wires can be highly problematic during surgery, and afterward. The problems associated with stainless steel wire closure of the sternum include:
1. The free end of a sternal wire can stab a surgeon, assistant, or scrub nurse during preparation or application. This problem is aggravated by the fact that the wire is typically cut using a wire cutter with relatively blunt blades, which generates a chiseled point which is typically quite sharp. To reduce the risk of stab wounds to surgeons and their assistants, which have become of major concern since the onset of the AIDS epidemic, clamps are used to secure the free ends of any wires in the patient's chest. Such clamps clutter the operating field, especially near the end of an operation, when at least a dozen clamps will be attached to the six wire loops; the clamps are tedious and time-consuming to work with and around, and even when they are properly attached to the wires, it is very common for exposed wire tips (or the clamps themselves) to tear surgical gloves and/or cause stab wounds. Such clamps may even promote operator injury, by holding the stiff wire in a fixed and unyielding position which the operator or assistants may brush against during the course of the operation. These sharp wire points and clamps expose the operating team to blood-borne diseases, including AIDS and hepatitis, and may break proper sterile technique and expose the patient to infection. Kjaergard et al, "Accidental Injuries and Blood Exposure to Cardiothoracic Surgical Teams," European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery 6: pages 215-217 (1992) reported that in a large study of cardiac surgical cases, stab wounds and glove lacerations caused by steel wires during sternal closure represented one of the most common causes of operator exposure to blood from a patient. Therefore, steel closure wires pose dangerous risks to cardiothoracic surgeons and their assistants, as well as to their patients.
2. The stiff, unyielding characteristic of stainless steel wire (compared to flexible plastics) make it unwieldy and difficult to manage on the operative field. After each wire is placed, the segment that sits below the sternal halves may press down on the heart or coronary artery bypass grafts while the other wires are being placed. Injury to these soft tissues can occur from these stiff wire segments during the normal course of sternal closure, further endangering the patient.
3. The wires are smaller in diameter than the needles that are used to pass the wires through or around the sternal halves. Thus, bleeding (supplied by the intercostal blood vessels or sternal marrow) often occurs in the needle tracks (i.e., the tunnels which are made when a needle passes through tissue or bone), since the diameter of the wire is not sufficient to press out in a radial manner to compress the small bleeding vessels. This results in unnecessary blood loss and visual obstruction of the operative field; occasionally, a return to the operating room becomes imperative to control internal hemorrhaging.
4. Postoperative stress on the closure loops may cause the thin wires to cut into and through the bone of the sternum. The result is further loosening of the sternal closure which can lead to painful instability of the two sternal halves with respiratory compromise and ultimately sternal dehiscence (i.e., complete separation of the sternal bones). Elderly patients or patients who have thin or highly porous bones (osteoporosis) are particularly susceptible to this complication. Instability of the sternal closure can also result in internal bleeding and can increase the risk of infection. If a second operation for sternal rewiring is required, it is made even more difficult by the fact that the sternal halves are often sliced into many pieces by the stainless steel wires.
5. Sternal wires occasionally break after an operation. Such breakage can be secondary to the thinning and deformation of the steel strand by the excessive torsion stresses that are sometimes applied to the loops during routine closure (especially as the operator twists the two ends tighter to effect a more secure approximation of the sternal halves). If a broken loop causes discomfort and/or protrudes toward or through the skin, a second surgical operation can be required to remove the wire.
6. For the rest of the patient's life, the stainless steel sternal wires interfere with any computerized axial tomography (CAT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the chest. Unlike an X-ray, where steel loops generate clear and distinct images within a larger picture, steel closure loops can disrupt the entire image generated in a CAT or MRI scan.
Despite their obvious disadvantages, stainless steel closure wires are used in the overwhelming majority of the hundreds of thousands of median sternotomies performed each year. As described below, at least two efforts have been made to create better tools or techniques for sternal closure; however, neither of these modifications has succeeded in displacing stainless steel wires from their preeminent position in actual practice.
One prior art effort to create an improved sternal closure device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,615 (Sutherland and Vasconcellos, 1988). This patent describes a flat band made of metal and coated with plastic, which slides through a fastener device which was referred to in the patent as a buckle. The band contains protruding serrations (comparable to sawtooth projections which extend out from a flat surface) which interact in a ratcheting manner with an angled tang in the buckle. This allows the band to be pulled tight while the tang slides across the raised serrations. Subsequently, if tension is exerted which tries to expand or open the loop, the angled tang presses against the shoulder of a serration, thereby preventing the band from moving in the opposite direction. This holds the band in the tightened position.
This arrangement suffers from certain limitations; in particular, the sawtooth protrusions extending outward from the surface of the band can injure tissue as the band is being pulled through a patient's sternum or peristernal tissues. A modified closure device which avoided that specific problem is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,416 (Pollak and Blasnik 1989), which described a flat stainless steel band with notches rather than serrations. The notches interact with bumps in a buckle device, to hold the band securely after the band it has been pulled tight. Except for the fact that they are made of steel, both of the foregoing devices are similar to various plastic bands that are widely used to bundle various types of merchandise, or to take up slack in electrical cords attached to household appliances.
These devices offer certain improvements over the standard sternal closure using wires; however, they suffer from various limitations which limit their utility. For example, the flat shape of these bands results in relatively sharp side edges, which can slice into the surrounding tissues or bone like a blade when they are pulled through behind the needle. These edges, if unprotected, also have considerable potential to slice into the fingers of the operating surgeon or assistants. In addition, both devices are made of stiff, unyielding metal which, just as in the case of stainless steel wires, makes the device unwieldy and capable of inflicting injury to the soft tissues below the sternum during closure.
It is also known, from anecdotal reports, that a number of cardiothoracic surgeons (including the Applicant) have tested various woven tapes, such as Mersilene tape, which is somewhat similar to a flattened shoe lace. Since this type of tape is relatively wide and flat, it helps to evenly distribute the stresses imposed on the sternal bone. As each loop is completed, the ends of the tape are usually tied together by hand.
In another field of prior art that is related only peripherally to sternal or other bone closures, various types of suture materials created for use in suturing soft tissues having certain types of surface porosity which encourage the growth of cells into the suture strands. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,763 (Frazier) teaches the use of sutures made of "woven or expanded" material in ligamentous joints or to repair Achilles tendons. The purposes of using "woven or expanded" material on the surface of the suture is to allow ingrowth of newly formed ligamentous tissues into the porous material. Such tissues can supplement and reinforce and may eventually replace the holding action of the suture.
One type of suture described by Frazier is hollow, to allow ingrowth of tissue. Although radial compressibility is not taught or mentioned by Frazier, his hollow suture would appear to be radially compressible, due to its hollow tubular structure and to the flexibility of the material used to make it. However, this type of suture would not resist such radial compression to any significant degree; if someone flattens or compresses it, it simply stays flat or compressed, like a piece of tubular cloth. Since these sutures do not try to return to their original diameter after compression, they would not provide a useful and gentle compressing action to minimize bleeding, as provided by the sutures described herein.
Another type of suture material with a porous outer surface was described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,880,002 (MacGregor). These sutures are made of an outer layer of permeable and compressible material, to promote cell growth into the suture material in a manner similar to the Frazier patent, surrounding an inner reinforcing strand. The sutures taught by MacGregor must also be longitudinally elastic (i.e., stretchable in the longitudinal direction). This longitudinal stretchability would render them unsuited for sternal closure use; as described below, sternal closure sutures must be substantially inelastic in the longitudinal dimension, to provide secure closure of sternal bones.
It should also be noted that sutures taught for other (i.e., non-sternal) purposes are much smaller in diameter than the sternal closure sutures described herein. For example, MacGregor teaches sutures which "typically" have diameters of about 1/20th of a millimeter or less; the largest suture size mentioned by MacGregor is a USP size 2 suture, which has a diameter of about 0.6 mm, but even that is too thin to use as sternal closure material, since it would pose a grave risk of wearing and cutting through the sternal bones of the patient. By contrast, sternal closure sutures preferably should have a thickness of at least about 2 mm.
The Applicant has created a sternal closure device and method which differ substantially from any known items of prior art, and which offer a number of advantages not available from the prior art. The subject invention uses a thin, flexible suture material which has a circular cross-section, such as a clear, soft plastic which is strong and inelastic in its longitudinal dimension while remaining soft and compressible in its radial dimension. The suture remains compressible in its radial dimension because of its hollow tubular shape; alternately, it can be composed of a radially compressible soft spongy material, reinforced by a stronger material such as nylon fibers.
When not compressed, this suture material should have a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the needle used to insert the suture through the sternal bone or peristernal tissue. Unlike a stainless steel wire or band, this suture material will expand gently in the radial direction after insertion, thereby creating gentle pressure against the surrounding tissue. This causes the suture material to act as a compress to minimize bleeding in the needle track.
In addition, unlike a steel wire or band, this type of suture material will help cushion, distribute, and minimize the torsion and other stresses that are inflicted on the sternal bones during normal post-operative ambulation. These advantages can be obtained with no loss of longitudinal strength by using selected materials such as polyvinyl chloride, or by using an internal material with high tensile strength such as nylon to reinforce a soft material.
In addition to the advantages which arise from the selection and design of the suture material, this invention also discloses a fastener device which provides additional advantages described below.
Accordingly, one object of this invention is to provide a sternal closure device which uses a strand of flexible material which can be radially compressed and which is slightly thicker than the needle used to insert the strand through the sternal bone or peristernal tissue, so that after insertion, the material will expand gently and provide mild pressure against the surrounding tissue, to minimize bleeding.
Another object of this invention is to provide sternal closure suture material having a relatively thick and preferably round cross-section which does not have any thin or squared edges or thin-diameter cross-sections, which therefore evenly distributes stresses and minimizes injury to bone or tissue surfaces that contact the suture material.
A third object of this invention is to disclose a sternal suture fastener device which offers an improved gripping component for securing the suture material.
These and other advantages will become apparent from the following summary and detailed description of the invention and from the accompanying drawings.


A gas turbine vane, especially a vane pertaining to an aircraft engine, comprising a blade and a vane footing. The blade is defined by a flow inlet edge or a front edge, a flow outlet edge or a rear edge, and a blade surface extending between the front edge and the rear edge and forming a suction side and a pressure side. The suction side of the blade includes at least one microprofiled or microstructured region for optimizing the flow around the blade.

The present invention relates to a gas turbine vane, in particular a vane of an aircraft engine.
Gas turbines, such as aircraft engines for example, are made up of multiple subassemblies, namely a fan, preferably multiple compressors, a combustion chamber, and preferably multiple turbines. For improving the efficiency and the working range of such gas turbines it is necessary to optimize all subsystems or components of the gas turbine. The present invention relates to the improvement of the flow-around behavior of gas turbine vanes, in particular of rotary vanes of a compressor of the gas turbine.
As a rule, compressors of gas turbines are made up of multiple stages, which are situated axially consecutively in the flow, each stage being formed by a rotary vane ring formed by rotary vanes assigned to a rotor. The rotary vanes forming the rotary vane ring and assigned to the rotor rotate together with the rotor vis-à-vis the stationary guide vanes and a likewise stationary housing. For reducing manufacturing costs, an increasingly compact compressor design having the lowest possible number of stages is aimed for. Furthermore, the overall pressure conditions within the gas turbine and thus the pressure ratios between the individual stages increase due to the constant optimization of the efficiency and the working range of such compressors.
Increasingly larger stage pressure ratios and an increasingly smaller number of stages inevitably result in higher circumferential velocities of the rotating components of the compressor. The rotational speeds, which increase with the reduction of the number of stages, result in increasing mechanical stresses in particular on the rotary vanes rotating together with the rotor and in supersonic flow conditions within the vane grid. Such flow conditions require an optimized, aerodynamic design of the gas turbine vanes.


ForcePhone is a novel system for enabling phones to recognize the force applied to their touchscreen and/or body. ForcePhone uses built-in sensors to measure the applied force via a physical property called structure-borne sound propagation. The phone plays an inaudible sound through the phone's speaker. When the phone is free to vibrate, the sound from the speaker easily travels through its body to the phone's microphone. When a force is applied to the phone, vibration is restricted and the sound traveling through the pathway is degraded. ForcePhone estimate the amount of applied force by monitoring the change in sound degradation.

As smartphones become an essential part of our daily activities, human-phone interactions have become a norm. To enhance the input capability on the severely limited space of a phone's touch screen, researchers and practitioners have been seeking various ways to expand the input dimensions. For example, an augmenting force-sensitive, deformable, or squeezable input is shown to enrich the input vocabulary significantly, especially for the one-hand operations. However, most of those extended input interfaces have not yet been fully developed nor deployed in commodity phones for two reasons. First, they usually require additional hardware, such as capacitive or contact piezoelectric sensors, which are usually unavailable in commodity phones, and the requirement of additional cost and space make them less attractive to phone users and manufacturers. Second, systems based only on built-in sensors usually impose unnatural/inconvenient usage restrictions because it is challenging to know those interactions without additional sensors. For example, users are required to touch the microphone reception hole or block the camera flash light source for sensing a touch interaction, both of which limit the usability of this additional sensing. Other systems require continuous vibration of the phone with a vibration motor, causing significant annoyance to users. To the best of our knowledge, the only commodity phone supporting a force-sensitive touch screen is the latest iPhone 6s, enabled by their proprietary sensors. Unlike these systems, a new, inexpensive solution is proposed, which provides a force-sensitive input interface to commodity phones without any addition/modification of hardware and is referred to herein as ForcePhone. Moreover, ForcePhone provides this force-sensing capability to the touch screen as well as the phone's body, called a squeezable interface.
This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.

Force sensing based on structure-borne sound propagation

The Regents of The University of Michigan


The invention relates to a drum-type valve (1; 101; 201; 301; 301′) comprising: a partial cylindrical surface forming a first area (2; 102; 302); two circular segment surfaces each forming a second area (3; 103; 303), and; an outer encircling edge (4; 104; 304), which is disposed essentially in two planes, outwardly projects, and which is rests against correspondingly formed contact surfaces, whereby the drum-type valve (1; 101; 201; 301; 301′) has at least one second edge (5; 105; 305).

The invention relates to a drum flap, in particular for distributing air in a motor vehicle ventilation system.
Drum flaps which have a rim running around the outside in order to increase the stability and to form a seal are known. Drum flaps of this type still leave something to be desired in terms of their leaktightness.
An air flap with a surrounding rim is also known from DE 100 53 814 A1, but this air flap deviates from a cylindrical shape.
DE 198 19 280 A1 has disclosed an air distribution apparatus with drum flap which comprises a housing with a cylindrical wall including at least two air passage openings, a flap mounted pivotably with respect to an axis of rotation and a generally cylindrical closure wall, which is mounted movably in relation to a flap body comprising two side parts, in a direction which is approximately radial with respect to the axis of rotation of the flap, with this movement being effected by adjustment means which are synchronized with the rotation of the flap, with the result that the closure wall can be moved away from the wall when the flap is in an opening position, and with the result that the closure wall can be moved toward the wall of the housing when said flap is in a closure position. An air distribution apparatus of this type has a large number of components and a complicated construction, making it too expensive to produce.
It is an object of the invention to provide an improved drum flap.
This object is achieved by a drum flap described herein.


A temperature measuring method for a target substrate to be thermally processed in a semiconductor processing apparatus under a predetermined process condition is provided. This method includes the steps of detecting a heat flux supplied from at least part of the target substrate and detecting a temperature of a sensor by using the sensor facing the target substrate, and calculating a temperature of the target substrate from a parameter, including a thermal resistance between the sensor and the target substrate under the predetermined process condition, the detected heat flux, and the temperature of the sensor. The sensor is arranged opposite to heating means, through the target substrate, which heats the target substrate. The parameter may be obtained in advance by calibration.

The present invention relates to a temperature measuring method and apparatus in a semiconductor processing apparatus which performs heating and cooling, and a semiconductor processing method and apparatus and, more particularly, to a temperature measuring method and apparatus which are used for an RTP (Rapid Thermal Process) or the like to measure a wafer temperature in-situ, and a semiconductor processing method and apparatus.
Semiconductor integrated circuit manufacturing processes include various types of thermal processes such as a baking process, film forming process, ashing process, and the like in photolithography. Conventionally, in the thermal processes, a halogen lamp arranged to face a target substrate (semiconductor wafer) emits light to heat the target substrate. The temperature of the target substrate is measured in the non-contact manner by using a radiation thermometer arranged opposite to the halogen lamp through the target substrate. The light quantity of the halogen lamp is adjusted on the basis of the measurement result, so the heating temperature of the target substrate is controlled.
Since the radiation thermometer conventionally used for temperature measurement receives energy radiated from the surface from an object with a light-to-energy converting element, it can measure the surface temperature of the object in the non-contact manner. Also, the temperature range where the radiation thermometer is used is as wide as about 100xc2x0 C. to 3,000xc2x0 C.
While the radiation thermometer needs the emissivity of the surface of the object for temperature measurement, this emissivity cannot be measured accurately, and the temperature measurement precision is accordingly as low as about 5xc2x0 C. to 20xc2x0 C. In particular, when the object is heated or cooled at a high speed, since the emissivity largely depends on the temperature, accurate temperature measurement is difficult to perform.
Also, the emissivity depends on the temperature, the wavelength of light, the type and thickness of the film forming material in CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition), and the like.
It is also difficult to calibrate the radiation thermometer. A radiation thermometer that measures a temperature while measuring the emissivity is very expensive.
It is the main object of the present invention to provide a temperature measuring method and apparatus with high measurement precision.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive semiconductor processing method and apparatus.
In order to achieve the above objects, a temperature measuring method according to the present invention is a temperature measuring method for a target substrate to be thermally processed in a semiconductor processing apparatus under a predetermined process condition, and includes the steps of detecting a heat flux supplied from at least part of the target substrate to a sensor facing the target substrate and detecting a temperature of the detector, and calculating a temperature of the target substrate from a parameter, including a thermal resistance between the sensor and the target substrate under the predetermined process condition, the detected heat flux, and the temperature of the sensor. The sensor may be arranged opposite to heating means, through the target substrate, which heats the target substrate. The parameter may be obtained in advance by calibration.
A temperature measuring apparatus according to the present invention is a temperature measuring apparatus for a target substrate to be thermally processed in a semiconductor processing apparatus under a predetermined process condition, and comprises heat flux detecting means, having a sensor arranged to face the target substrate, for detecting a heat flux supplied to the sensor from at least part of the target substrate, temperature measuring means for measuring a temperature of the sensor, and calculating means for calculating the temperature of the target substrate from a parameter, including a thermal resistance between the sensor and the target substrate under the predetermined process condition, the detected heat flux, and the temperature of the sensor. The sensor may be arranged opposite to heating means, through the target substrate, which heats the target substrate. The parameter may be obtained in advance by calibration.
A semiconductor processing apparatus according to the present invention comprises heating means for heating a target substrate, temperature measuring means for measuring a temperature of the target substrate to be thermally processed by the heating means, and control means for controlling the heating means on the basis of a measured temperature, to thermally process the target substrate under a predetermined process condition. In this semiconductor processing apparatus, the temperature measuring means is any one of the temperature measuring apparatuses described above. The temperature measuring means also comprise a plurality of temperature measuring means. These temperature measuring means measure temperatures of respective areas of the target substrate divided into a plurality of areas. The control means control the heating means on the basis of the temperatures of the respective areas of the target substrate which are measured by the temperature measuring means. The heating means are controlled to heat one or the plurality of areas of the target substrate divided into the plurality of areas. The semiconductor processing apparatus have storage means for storing, for each of a plurality of different process conditions, a parameter including a thermal resistance between the detector and at least the target substrate under the process condition. The calculating means of the temperature measuring means calculate the temperature of the target substrate for each of the different process conditions on the basis of a parameter corresponding to a current process condition read out from the storage means.
A semiconductor processing method according to the present invention is a semiconductor processing method of thermally processing a target substrate in a semiconductor processing apparatus under a predetermined process condition, including the steps of measuring a temperature of the target substrate to be thermally processed by heating means, and controlling the heating means on the basis of a measured temperature. The step of measuring the temperature of the target substrate includes measuring the temperature of the target substrate in accordance with either one temperature measuring method described above. The detector for detecting the heat flux comprises a plurality of detectors to correspond to respective areas of the target substrate divided into a plurality of areas, and measure temperatures of the respective areas of the target substrate. The step of controlling the heating means comprises controlling the heating means on the basis of the temperatures of the respective areas of the target substrate, thereby heating one or the plurality of areas of the target substrate divided into the plurality of areas. The storage means store, for each of a plurality of different process conditions, a parameter including a thermal resistance between at least the detector and the target substrate under the process condition. The step of measuring the temperature of the target substrate to be thermally processed by the heating means comprises measuring the temperature of the target substrate for each of the different process conditions on the basis of a parameter corresponding to a current process condition read out from the storage means.
With this arrangement, according to the present invention, a heat flux and temperature of one portion are measured, and the temperature of the target substrate is calculated on the basis of them. Accordingly, higher-precision temperature measurement than in the prior art can be performed. No expensive radiation thermometer need be used. As a result, an inexpensive temperature measuring apparatus and a semiconductor processing apparatus using it can be provided.

Temperature measuring method and apparatus in semiconductor processing apparatus, and semiconductor processing method and apparatus


A retractable needle safety syringe is provided having a braking mechanism. The braking mechanism may be disposed at a proximal portion of a syringe body of the syringe. The braking mechanism may comprise a brake member which is traversable between a braking position and a released position. At the braking position, fingers of the brake member frictionally engage an outer surface of the shaft of a plunger of the syringe. The frictional engagement counterbalances a retraction force that urges a piston of the syringe toward a retracted position. When the brake members are traversed to the released position, the fingers do not press against the outer surface of the shaft. As such, the retraction force may traverse the piston toward the retracted position and traverse a needle and needle holder into the body of the syringe.

Hypodermic needles are used on a regular basis by medical professionals such as doctors, nurses and other medicine related fields. The typical hypodermic needle has a syringe body with a hollow interior cavity. A piston is slideably disposed within the syringe body and may be traversed between a proximal position and a distal position. A shaft may be fixedly attached to the piston and extend through a proximal portion of the syringe body. A thumb platform may be attached to the proximal portion of the shaft. The thumb platform may be traversed toward or away from the proximal portion of the syringe body to traverse the piston toward the distal position or the proximal position, respectively. The distal portion of the syringe body may have a needle attached thereto. The syringe body piston and the distal portion of the syringe body define a variable fluid chamber. The variable fluid chamber may be filled with fluidic medication to be injected into a patient. In the typical hypodermic needle, the needle is  fixedly engaged to the distal portion of the syringe body. Also, the piston may be positioned anywhere between the proximal position and the distal position. The user may release the thumb platform and the piston will remain at such position because there is no biasing force urging the piston back toward the retracted position.
In use, the hypodermic needle may be provided to the medical professional without fluidic medication filled within the variable fluid chamber. The user may traverse the piston toward the distal position. The needle of the hypodermic needle may be inserted into a fluidic medication container. The user may retract the piston toward the proximal position thereby transferring fluidic medication from the container into the variable fluid chamber. The user may release the thumb platform and the piston is not traversed to the proximal position because there is no biasing force which urges the piston back toward the proximal position.
The medical professional may remove trapped air within the variable fluid chamber by inverting the syringe such that the needle is pointing upwardly, tapping the outside of the syringe body to urge the air bubbles toward the needle, and depressing the thumb platform slightly to eject the air bubbles from the variable fluid chamber. The medical professional may release the thumb platform, and the piston is not retracted back toward the proximal position. The medical professional may insert the needle into a skin of the patient and inject the fluidic medication into the patient by traversing the piston toward the distal position. Once the piston is at the distal position, the fluidic medication is injected into the patient and the medical professional removes the needle from the patient. At this point, the needle contaminated and exposed and is a health-risk to the medical professional or other people who may handle the syringe. Also, drug addicts may reuse the needle.
The risks associated with the spread of blood-borne pathogens through use of prior art hypodermic needles are significant and well documented. In recent years, the public has become increasingly aware of the health hazards associated with needle reuse and accidental needle prickings. These risks are most prevalent among certain groups of people, such as drug addicts, drug users (e.g., diabetics), medical personnel and healthcare providers. In fact, more than twenty blood-borne pathogens can be transmitted by the reuse of needles or accidental needle prickings, just a few of which include human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), hepatitis B, hepatitis C, syphilis, malaria, tuberculosis, and herpes.
In 1997, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sponsored a study which found that approximately 76% of needle pricking injuries could be avoided by using safety needles. As a result, needle legislation has now been introduced in approximately twenty-five states and in the District of Columbia. In fact, such safety needle legislation has already been signed into law in a number of states including California, Texas, Tennessee, New Jersey and Maryland. In addition, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has promulgated a Blood-borne Pathogens Standard requiring employers to evaluate the effectiveness of existing controls designed to minimize or eliminate employee occupational exposure and to review the feasibility of instituting more advanced controls. Furthermore, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in an effort to protect health care workers, has set forth guidelines suggesting specific features that a safety syringe should possess. These include a safety feature that is not only simple and self evident to operate, thus requiring little or no additional training to use effectively, but also a safety feature that is an integral part of the apparatus. In other words, the guidelines suggest that the safety feature itself be unremovable and utilization of the safety feature be unavoidable. (www.osha-slc.gov/SLTC/needle stick/saferneedledevices/saferneedledevices.html; www.seiu.org).
As a result of the foregoing state legislation and agency guidelines, a great amount of time, effort and money has been invested by syringe manufacturers in developing syringes with safety needle designs. Presently, there are at least 250 types of safety syringes. However, the safety syringes that currently exist have been criticized for generally being too expensive to manufacture and having a safety feature that is not an integral part of the safety syringe. Another criticism includes safety syringes that are not economically feasible because operation of the safety feature is not self evident and therefore additional training is required to use the apparatus effectively. Additionally, the safety feature of at least one safety syringe is simply ineffective at preventing the transmission of blood-borne pathogens due to "reflux" blood contamination.
Of the current safety syringes, safety syringes using a spring mechanism are the most common for automatically retracting a hollow needle after injecting a fluid. However, these safety syringes are typically more expensive because of the required incorporation of additional materials for manufacture. Standard or conventional hypodermic needle syringes typically cost from five to seven cents each. On the other hand, the median increase in cost for a safety syringe is approximately thirty cents or more. At first glance, this minimal cost increase does not seem  significant. However, after considering the thousands, if not millions, of needles used each year, the resultant increase in annual cost for utilizing the more expensive safety syringe is unfortunately excessive.
Another syringe has been created that avoids some of the additional cost associated with spring mechanism safety syringes. This syringe, found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,413,236, entitled "Automatically Retractable Needle Safety Syringe," issued on Jul. 2, 2002, seeks to solve the problem of needle reuse and accidental needle prickings through use of a vacuum. As disclosed therein, the safety syringe is configured to automatically retract the needle portion of the syringe into the body of the syringe utilizing a vacuum within the syringe, such that after a single use, the syringe may not be reusable nor lead to an accidental pricking.
As understood, the syringe of U.S. Pat. No. 6,413,236 utilizes vacuum pressure to exert an automatic retracting force upon the needle. Apparently, the syringe includes a plunger and a needle holder (to which the needle is attached) and is configured to frictionally engage the plunger with the needle holder. Once engaged with the needle holder, the vacuum pressure inside the syringe exerts the retracting force upon the plunger, which causes the plunger to remove the needle holder/needle and pull it into the syringe itself. After being completely retracted, the needle does not protrude out of the syringe body and the syringe cannot be reused nor accidentally prick an individual.
The aforementioned retractable safety syringes have helped alleviate many of the problems associated with accidental needle prickings and reuse of hypodermic needles. However, due to the configuration and retraction force inherent in the vacuum or spring mechanism aspect of these syringes and others like them, the user of the syringe may often experience difficulties in its use. Specifically, due to the vacuum pressure or spring mechanism, which exerts an automatic retracting force upon the plunger, the plunger may automatically retract at an undesirable time.
It is an apparent object of these syringes to retract the plunger when the needle holder has been frictionally engaged with the plunger. However, automatic retraction of the plunger prior to frictional engagement with the needle holder may often be very problematic. For example, automatic retraction may make syringe handling very difficult between the time the fluid is drawn to the time the fluid is emptied. In effect, a user must manually maintain the position of the plunger by exerting a force to counter the automatic retracting force. Otherwise,  the plunger will retract. Retraction of the plunger may be a nuisance if the syringe has not been introduced into the subject. However, while the needle is introduced into the subject, retraction of the plunger could effectively result in drawing fluid therefrom instead of the intended injection of fluid into the subject. This situation could be very harmful and lead to various unfortunate consequences.
Therefore, a need exists for an effective and efficient, inexpensive safety syringe that is simple and self evident to operate and integrally comprises a safety feature having a hollow needle that protectively retracts automatically after a single injection, but that mitigates against automatic retraction of the needle prior to completion of use. Further, there is a need in the art for an automatically retractable safety syringe that mitigates against automatic retraction of the needle during administration of the fluid injected therewith.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


In a protective netting comprising a plurality of cables disposed in mutually crossed relationship, the two cables are fixedly connected together at the intersection thereof by connecting wires which are wound in a crossed arrangement around the intersecting cables.

It is known for protective or guard mesh or netting to be used to safeguard mountain slopes against falls such as for example mudflows, to safeguard rock faces, in particular crumbly rock faces, from rock falls, and also to use them for avalanche protection structures. Typically the protective netting comprises cables in crossed-over relationship which are joined together at their respective intersections by connecting elements. The cables may be plastic cables, for example of nylon, or steel cables. The cables are formed into square or lozenge-shaped meshes to provide nets, by a manual operation. The cables are joined together at their respective intersections by connecting elements which may be for example in the form of small metal plates which are also pressed on to the cables by hand. A netting configuration of that kind is shown in FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawing, showing a small plate member as a connecting element 5 at the intersections 4 between each two cables 2 and 3. The illustrated netting may also involve small metal plate members which are pressed into position on both sides. The metal plate members comprise galvanised metal plate and the size of the meshes of the netting is generally from 200 to 300 mm. The cable diameter are between 5 and 10 mm. The netting can be made up from sub-portions which are surrounded by an edging cable which is from 10 to 22 mm in thickness. Those sub-portions may be from 3 to 10 meters in length and from 2 to 8 meters in height. The protective nettings are fitted by hand on a frame and the connection at the intersections between the cables is also effected manually by means of the metal plate members which are pressed together, as already referred to above. It will be seen therefore that the production of such a netting is a long and tedious manual procedure.

Protective netting and processes and apparatus for the production thereof


Systems and methods for visualization and control of application interactions are disclosed. An approach includes receiving a selection of a primary application, retrieving information regarding a relationship between the selected primary application and at least one of another application and a computer device resource, and calculating a thickness value for the relationship, wherein the thickness value represents at least one parameter of interest to a user. The approach includes displaying icons representing the selected primary application and the other application(s) and computer device resource(s), and displaying at least one relationship line between the selected primary application and the other application(s)/computer device resource(s), wherein the at least one relationship line has a line weight based on the thickness value.

The present invention relates generally to control of application interactions, and more particularly, to a system and method for graphical representation and control of relationships between a computer device application and other applications and/or computer device resources.
It is problematic to troubleshoot relationships between applications on a computer device and to comprehend application interactions with one another and with computer device resources. For example, a smartphone or tablet that has one or more applications may cause undesirable effects such as: sending physical location information to unauthorized cloud applications; accessing personal contact lists; consuming a large proportion of network interface capacity; consuming a larger proportion of storage; accessing other applications or data within those applications; and causing other applications to activate hardware resources. Present methods for visualizing application interactions are limited to a few rudimentary methods for representing battery usage.
Relationships between entities, such as applications and system resources (e.g., memory, central processing unit, battery, and system devices) in an operating system may be controlled through the operating system security models and may involve some type of data store that records decisions on access to those resources. In the case of applications, this data store is often populated by decisions made by the device owner/administrator through explicit requests for sharing of information between applications and/or resources through a user prompt and approval (e.g., "allow this application to access your address book?"). These systems allow these decisions/settings to be changed using basic but cumbersome processes of selecting the application and manually turning off or on the permissions for each attribute/share request.
Certain applications, such as some social media applications, allow a user to control some interactions of the application with other applications and/or resources. However, such control is limited to only select interactions, and it may not be possible to verify that the user's control selection is being implemented by the application.

Visualization and control of application interactions

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