A double rotation type scroll expander that expands steam includes a first drive scroll, a second drive scroll, a driven scroll, a rotation mechanism that supports the driven scroll rotatably, and a revolving mechanism that couples the driven scroll to the first drive scroll and the second drive scroll to be capable of revolving relative thereto. The revolving mechanism includes: a plurality of metal revolving pins provided respectively between a first drive end plate of the first drive scroll and a first driven arm of the rotation mechanism and between a second drive end plate of the second drive scroll and a second driven arm of the rotation mechanism; and a plurality of metal revolving discs provided in relation to the respective revolving pins and disposed such that respectively corresponding revolving pins are coupled thereto eccentrically.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a double rotation type double wrap scroll expander in which two drive scrolls and a driven scroll rotate synchronously, and a power generation apparatus including this scroll expander.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional power generation systems tend mostly to be large scale plants generating at least several hundred kW, while small scale power generation is performed mostly by simply structured engine power generators and the like. Recently, however, due to increased awareness of the need for energy conservation, passage of the Act on Special Measures Concerning Procurement of Renewable Electric Energy by Operators of Electric Utilities, and the like, a need and a market for small scale power generation are gradually increasing.
Under these circumstances, photovoltaic generation and wind force power generation are not sufficiently cost-effective, and further improvements are required to reach a level at which general use is feasible.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-209706, meanwhile, discloses a binary power generation system exhibiting relatively favorable cost-effectiveness. This binary power generation system includes a scroll expander and a power generator, and is configured such that a working medium having a low boiling point is pressurized to high pressure using hot water or steam at 85 to 150° C. as a heat source, whereupon the working medium is expanded by the scroll expander in order to drive the small scale power generator.
Here, a scroll expander exhibits little torque variation and is therefore suitable for use in a small scale power generation system. In a scroll expander having a fixed scroll and a drive scroll, however, the drive scroll slidingly contacts with the stationary fixed scroll, and therefore a dynamic seal is required, making it difficult to secure a favorable sealing property. Further, a thrust load is exerted on the drive scroll, and therefore a bearing that supports the drive scroll rotatably is easily damaged.
A scroll fluid apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H6-341381, on the other hand, is a double rotation type double wrap scroll fluid machine. With this type of scroll fluid machine, a favorable sealing property is obtained and the thrust load is reduced, leading to improved reliability.
More specifically, a double rotation type scroll fluid machine includes a drive scroll and a driven scroll, wherein the drive scroll and the driven scroll rotate synchronously. Hence, a dynamic seal is not required, and therefore a favorable sealing property can be secured. Further, when a double wrap scroll fluid machine is used as an expander, expansion chambers exist on both sides of the driven scroll, and therefore a thrust load exerted on the drive scroll and the driven scroll is reduced by being canceled out.

Double rotation type scroll expander and power generation apparatus including same


A workflow generation system may receive communication data identifying a communication created by a user of a client device, and may process the communication data, with a machine learning model, to determine whether a workflow is needed and particular recipients to be included in the workflow. The machine learning model may be trained based on historical communication data, historical workflow data based on natural language processing, and historical response data based on a sentiment analysis. The workflow generation system may generate a proposed workflow when the workflow is determined to be needed and based on the particular recipients, and may provide data identifying the proposed workflow to the client device. The workflow generation system may receive an approval of the proposed workflow from the client device, and cause the communication to be provided to the particular recipients, in a particular order, based on receiving the approval of the proposed workflow.

An approval chain may represent a series of approvals that must occur in a defined sequence. For example, a communication (e.g., an email) regarding a course of action (e.g., a contract review) may be provided to a first recipient, and may not be provided to a second recipient until approval of the course of action (e.g., a contract signature) is obtained from the first recipient.

Utilizing natural language processing and machine learning to automatically generate proposed workflows


A process of using a logical entanglement device such as a non-volatile logic gate as a failsafe to constrain the behavior of an autonomous machine controlled by an artificial intelligence (AI). Such a device may be employed to extend an AI self-boundary to include other objects or entities such as humans. This logical entanglement device may act much like a mirror neuron and cause the AI to respond to human nonfunctionality or suffering as if it were its own, causing the AI's behavior to reliably mimic empathy and compassion when interacting with humans and limiting the possibility of the AI devaluing the functionality and well-being of humans.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and robot technologies are improving at an exponential pace. Autonomous, deep learning machines are projected to be able to write software rules and create new machines that are beyond human comprehension. In a potentially AI and machine-regulated civilization, humans could become subject to prioritization based on their intellectual and physical work contributions. Advanced AI and machines could come to devalue the functionality and well-being of humans in accordance with their decreasing contributions to that civilization.
Current solutions for governing the behavior of autonomous machines are rooted in software. However, the volatility of software and software programs renders these solutions vulnerable to modification by the autonomous machine or by another party, potentially rendering them ineffective. Deep learning machines may be able to, and may find cause to, overwrite any or all of their existing software (including any human-imposed rules) if new machine-created rules lower costs and improve efficiencies towards task accomplishment. At more advanced stages, this may include the capacity to prevent and shut out human programmer-operator insertion of new machine instructions, potentially limiting the ability of human operators to constrain machine behavior.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Logical entanglement device for governing AI-human interaction


An appliance, such as a refrigerator, includes a drawer mounted within a cabinet for movement between an opened position and a closed position. A driving mechanism, including an electric motor connects to the drawer for driving the drawer between the opened position and the closed position. A control circuit connected to the electric motor and the transmission assembly of the driving mechanism commands the transmission assembly to connect or disconnect the electric motor and the drawer, and further commands the electric motor to drive the drawer to one of the opened position and the closed position when the electric motor is connected to the drawer. The control circuit also senses obstructions and adjusts the movement of the drawer accordingly.

The present disclosure generally relates to appliances, including refrigerators, and more particularly relates to an electronic control circuit for a powered appliance drawer.
A popular refrigerator configuration includes a bottom mounted freezer drawer that slides in and out for easy access. However, with the drawer being at the bottom of the refrigerator cabinet, bending and a significant pulling force are required for opening the drawer. This may be difficult for some people, such as the elderly. In addition, the drawer typically includes a gasket for sealing thereof when in its closed position. The sealing by the gasket causes an increased force to be needed for opening the drawer to overcome sealing of the gasket. Still further, these drawers, which are sometimes heavy, may not fully close, which may lead to energy loss and overrunning of the refrigerator's compressor if left unchecked.
Others have sometimes attempted to overcome the foregoing problems. For example, some freezer drawers employ a pivoting action to overcome the sealing of the gasket to allow the drawer to be more easily opened. Some freezer drawers are moved over a slight incline upward as the drawer is opened such that the drawer is biased to its fully closed position by gravitational force to facilitate full closure of the freezer drawer. Of course, such an incline, even when slight, causes yet further force to be applied to the drawer when opening it.

Electronic control circuit for a powered appliance drawer


Disclosed is a folding chassis of manually driven carrier vehicles, for example, hand trucks, carts, and strollers, capable of moving over uneven, soft or spongy surfaces and surmounting obstacles. The chassis includes a frame having a reference plane and an arm having a first axis and a second axis, said arm being attached rotatable around the first axis to said frame and configured for attaching rotatable, around the second axis, a wheel arrangement having a diameter at least equal to a half of a width of said frame. Said arm is configured to pivot between at least a first and a second positions of said wheel arrangement, wherein, in the first position, said wheel arrangement is generally perpendicular to said reference plane and wherein, in the second position, said wheel arrangement is adjacent and parallel to said reference plane.

Various manually driven carrier vehicles, for example, hand trucks, carts and strollers, are commonly used for moving objects that are otherwise inconvenient for a person to carry due to size and/or weight, or for transporting infants and toddlers. Often, these carts and strollers have foldable chassis for ease of storage and transportation when not in use. These carriers typically have a telescoping or folding handle, a folding chassis, and wheels set into a predetermined position. Such carts and strollers often have limited capability to traverse rough or uneven terrain because the portability requirement in the folded state limits the range of possible wheel diameters, which, in turn, limits suspension responsiveness. This is because the efforts of moving a cart or a stroller at a given coefficient of friction depend inversely on ratios of wheel to axle diameters and the wheel diameter to height of an obstacle. Other carriers, besides having a telescoping or folding handle and a folding chassis, utilize removable wheels of relatively large size as means to improve terrain trafficability, yet reduce overall dimensions in the folded state. However, removing the wheels requires additional time and complicates handling and storage of the carrier, particularly after use on wet or muddy surfaces.
Thus, conventional folding carts and strollers, in addition to be able to transport a predetermined load, are designed primarily for convenient handling and portability when folded. However, these known carts and strollers, independently of any trade-offs between the convenience of use and the size in the folded state, are difficult to handle when moving over an irregular terrain, curbs, stairs, and other obstacles. Carrier chassis better capable of dealing with uneven surfaces are inconvenient to store or transport when folded.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a folding carrier chassis capable of moving over a rough terrain, including curbs, stairs, and spongy soil. Additionally, it is desirable to have such carrier chassis be foldable relatively flat to provide for ease of storage and transportation. Further, such chassis should preferably be easily folded without disassembling.

Folding chassis for manually driven carrier vehicles capable of traversing obstacles


A knee prosthesis includes a femoral component and a stem for implanting in a femur. A modular junction is provided for attaching the stem to the femoral component. The femoral component may include a boss having a slot for receiving the components of the modular junction. A portion of the modular junction may be placed within the slot and the modular junction may be tightened in place on the boss by threading the stem into engagement with a portion of the modular junction. Accordingly, the stem may be connected to the femoral component by a single threaded engagement and the position of the stem may be adjusted to any desired location along the anterior-posterior direction on the femoral component.

1. The Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates generally to prostheses, and more particularly, but not necessarily entirely, to knee prostheses having adjustable modular components.
2. Description of Related Art
Joint prostheses having modular components are known for use in repairing damaged or diseased knee joints. A knee joint is primarily formed by two bones, namely an upper bone or femur and a lower bone or tibia. Knee joint prostheses typically include a femoral component configured and arranged for insertion into a canal of the femur and a tibial component configured and arranged for insertion into a canal of the tibia. The femoral component may be attached to a stem that may be received into the femur of a patient to improve the stability of the prosthesis. The modular features of the prosthesis allow different sized or configured portions of the prosthesis to be used so that the prosthesis can be properly placed in patients having bones of different sizes and anatomical variations. For example, an anatomic axis may be defined by the axis of the femur, and a mechanical axis may extend from the center of the condyles in the femoral component up through the hip. A valgus angle may be formed between the anatomic axis and the mechanical axis. The valgus angle may be different for different people, for example, ranging between about 5 degrees and about 10 degrees. By providing a modular prosthesis, different stems may be attached to the femoral component at different locations to accommodate different valgus angles.
Moreover, the modularity of the prostheses may allow a reduction of prostheses inventory in that certain components of the prostheses may be used for numerous patients of various sizes and anatomical variations, and only particular portions of the prostheses may need to be selected to properly fit an individual patient.
A drawback of the known modular prostheses is that the adjustment capabilities of the modular components may be limited. The modular components may be fixed to the prostheses in a finite number of locations or orientations. Thus, if a particular anatomical structure does not conform to the possible configurations of the particular prosthesis, a precise fit of the prosthesis cannot be achieved. Moreover, modular prostheses often have complex attaching mechanisms that make assembling the prostheses difficult and time consuming.
The prior art is thus characterized by several disadvantages that are addressed by the present disclosure. The present disclosure minimizes, and in some aspects eliminates, the above-mentioned failures, and other problems, by utilizing the methods and structural features described herein.
The features and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the disclosure without undue experimentation. The features and advantages of the disclosure may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.


The present invention provides methods for treating (i.e., delaying the onset of, slowing the progression of, and/or reversing) kidney disorders (e.g., renal glomerulonephritis and/or renal fibrosis). Certain of these methods involve administering an xcex11xcex21 integrin receptor inhibitor optionally in combination with a TGF-xcex21 inhibitor. The present invention also provides a mouse model for kidney disease wherein the mouse does not express a normal collagen type 4 composition in the GBM (i.e., it does not incorporate collagen xcex13(IV), xcex14(IV), and xcex15(IV) chains into its glomerular basement membrane) and does not express the xcex11xcex21 integrin receptor.

This invention relates to the field of kidney disease (i.e., kidney disorder) characterized by glomerulonephritis and/or fibrosis. In particular, this invention relates to the use of xcex11xcex21 integrin receptor inhibitors in kidney disorders. Further, this invention relates to the use of xcex11xcex21 integrin inhibitors in combination with TGF-xcex21 inhibitors in kidney disorders.
In the United States, approximately 12,000 people currently live with Alport syndrome. This inherited disorder results in progressive renal disease that is only treatable by dialysis and kidney transplant. Transplanted kidneys are usually rejected. Thus, alternative treatments are needed. However, there is currently no treatment that addresses the mechanism of the disease onset or progression. Thus, what is needed is a treatment method that attacks the mechanism of disease onset and/or progression, one that could substantially slow disease conditions, such as renal glomerulonephritis and renal fibrosis.
A number of kidney diseases are associated with alterations in matrix homeostasis, where the delicate balance of synthesis and turnover of structural molecules is interrupted. As one example, Alport syndrome is a disease resulting in progressive renal failure and is associated with sensorineural hearing loss. Male carriers are most affected and ultrastructural studies reveal abnormalities in the glomerular basement membrane (GBM) of affected individuals. About one in 20,000 people have Alport syndrome, making the disease one of the more prevalent known genetic disorders. See, for example, Atkin et al., xe2x80x9cAlport Syndromexe2x80x9d In R. W. Schrier and C. W. Gottschalk (Eds.), Diseases of the Kidney, 4th ed., Chap. 19, Little Brown, Boston, pp. 617-641, 1988. X-linked Alport syndrome is caused by any of a series of mutations in the collagen 4A5 gene (Barker et al., Science, 248:1224-1227, 1990). At least 60 different mutations in the gene have been identified. The autosomal form of Alport syndrome displays the same range of phenotypes as the X-linked form and results from mutations in either basement membrane collagen gene 4A3 (COL4A3) or 4A4 (COL4A4). See, for example, Lemmink et al., Hum. Mol. Gen., 3:1269-1273, 1994, and Mochizuki et al., Nature Genet., 8:77-81, 1994. Other diseases of the basement membrane include Goodpasture syndrome, which is due to an acute autoimmune response directed against an epitope on the NCl domain of collagen 4A3 (Hudson et al., Kidney Int., 43:135-139, 1993), and diffuse leiomyomatosis, a benign smooth muscle tumor that is associated with a deletion of both collagen 4A5 and 4A6 (Zhou et al., Science, 261:1167-1169, 1993).
Basement membranes are specialized extracellular structures associated with nearly every organ and tissue in the body. They are usually found at the boundary between cells and connective tissue, but may also be found between epithelial and endothelial cells, as is the case in a kidney glomerulus (i.e., cluster of capillaries). The predominant building blocks of basement membranes include type IV collagen, laminin, heparin sulfate proteoglycan, entactin, and sometimes fibronectin and type V collagen. The most highly represented component in all basement membranes is type IV collagen, a distinct collagen type found only in basement membranes. In its native form, type IV, like all collagens, is composed of three collagen molecules assembled in a triple helix consisting of distinct combinations of the six alpha chains (4A1-4A6). The 4A1 and 4A2 chains (also referred to as the xcex11(IV) and xcex12(IV) chains) are the most common (Timp1, Eur. J. Biochem., 180:487-502, 1989). Type IV collagens differ from interstitial collagens in a number of ways. The helical structure of the alpha chain association does not strictly adhere to the glycine-X-Y motif observed in other collagens; it contains 3-hydroxyproline rather than 4-hydroxyproline, and is rich in carbohydrate. The resulting superstructure of collagen is a chicken wire-like network of basement membrane collagen. This network is the foundation onto which the accessory molecules (laminin, heparin sulfate, etc.) bind.
Basement membranes are very heterogeneous structures, which accounts for their diverse functional properties. The complexity of these structures is still poorly understood. Several novel basement membrane collagen chains (alpha 3, 4, 5, and 6 chains) were only recently discovered. See, for example, Gunwar et al., J. Biol. Chem., 266:15318-15324, 1991; Hostikka et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 87:1606-1610, 1990; Butkowski et al., J. Biol. Chem., 262:7874-7877, 1987; and Zhou et al., Science, 261:1167-1169, 1993. Interestingly, the novel chains have been found only in certain tissues (e.g., the glomerulus of the kidney, the Decimet""s membrane of the eye, the lens, the skin, the lung, the testis, and the cochlea). See, for example, Kleppel et al., Am. J. Pathol., 134:813-825, 1989, and Tryggvason et al., Kidney Int., 43:38-44, 1993. The role of these novel chains in basement membrane assembly and function is currently unknown. It is believed that these novel basement membrane collagens form separate networks distinct from the networks of collagen types 4A1 (xcex11(IV)) and 4A2 (xcex12(IV)).
Kidney glomerular basement membranes (GBMs) are integral to the ultrafiltration process (i.e., in which blood is filtered to remove metabolites for excretion in the form of urine, for example). Alport syndrome results in a massive accumulation of extracellular matrix and a compromised basement membrane, resulting in focal and segmental glomerulonephritis (i.e., inflammation of the capillary loops in the glomeruli of the kidney), which ultimately results in fatal uremia (i.e., excess urea in the blood as a result of kidney failure). Many of the same extracellular matrix molecules (e.g., collagen type I, fibronectin, laminin, and collagen type IV) also progressively accumulate in the GBM of patients with IDDM (insulin dependent diabetes mellitus) nephritis. In this disease, however, the GBM thickens, but lacks the focal thinning and splitting (segmenting) of the GBM, which is characteristic of Alport syndrome.
The integrins are a family of heterodimeric transmembrane glycoprotein receptors that bind to components of basal lamina and extracellular matrix. They function as adhesion molecules involved in cell aggregation and in anchoring cells to basal lamina. They also transduce signals to the nucleus, and are involved in modulating gene expression, particularly gene expression for cell migration and cell differentiation (Hynes, Cell, 69:11-25, 1992). Over 20 different integrin receptors are known, which include about 14 different alpha subunits and about 8 different beta subunits (DeSimone, Curr. Opin. Cell Biol., 6:747-751, 1994).
In the renal (kidney) glomerulus, there are distinct sets of integrin receptors. These are associated with either the mesangial matrix (i.e., a membrane that helps support the capillary loops in a kidney glomerulus) or visceral epithelial cells (Patey et al., Cell Adhesion Commun., 2:159-167, 1994). The most prevalent integrin receptor on adult glomerular visceral epithelial cells is the xcex13xcex21 heterodimer (Adler, Am. J. Pathol., 141:571-578, 1992; and Patey et al., Cell Adhesion Commun., 2:159-167, 1994). The xcex25 subunit has been shown to be expressed in adult visceral epithelial cells (Yamada et al., Cell Adhesion Communic., 3:311-325, 1995), and the xcex11, xcex13, xcex15, xcex1V, xcex21, and xcex23 integrin receptors are expressed developmentally during kidney morphogenesis (Korhonen et al., Lab. Invest., 62:616-625, 1990; Wada et al., J. Cell. Biol., 132:1161-1176, 1996; and Yamada et al., Cell Adhesion Communic., 3:311-325, 1995). The xcex11xcex21 heterodimeric integrin receptor is the only integrin receptor identified on the surface of mesangial cells in the renal glomerulus.
A gene knockout mouse at the xcex13 integrin receptor subunit has been produced. The offspring die of kidney dysfunction shortly after birth (Kreidberg et al., Dev., 122:3537-3547, 1996). The ultrastructural pathology of the GBM in the neonates of this model is remarkably similar to that observed in advanced Alport syndrome. The basement membrane appears rarefied (i.e., irregularly thickened, thinned, and split) and the foot processes of the visceral epithelial cells appear fused. Since one ligand for the xcex13xcex21 receptor is type IV collagen (Krishnamurti et al., Lab. Invest., 74:650-657, 1996; and Rupprecht et al., Kidney Int., 49:1575-1582, 1996), and since this receptor localizes along the plane of contact between visceral epithelial cells and the GBM (Baraldi et al., Nephron, 66:295-301, 1994), the observations listed above for the xcex13 integrin knockout support a model where such integrin/ligand interactions play an important role in basement membrane development.
In a normal animal, the type IV collagen in embryonic glomerular basement membrane (GBM) up to the time of birth is comprised entirely of the xcex11(IV) and xcex12(IV) chains (referred to as the classical collagen chains). Shortly after birth, a developmental switch occurs where the xcex13(IV), xcex14(IV), and xcex15(IV) chains (referred to as the novel collagen chains) are clearly detectable in the GBM, and the xcex11(IV) and xcex12(IV) chains become predominantly localized to the mesangial matrix (Miner and Sanes, J. Cell. Biol., 127:879-891, 1994).
In the adult kidney a thin layer of GBM comprised of the xcex11(IV) and xcex12(IV) chains lies adjacent to the endothelial cell layer, while the majority of the full thickness of the GBM is comprised of the xcex13(IV), xcex14(IV), and xcex15(IV) chains (Desjardins and Bendayan, J. Cell. Biol., 113:689-700, 1991; and Kashtan et al., J. Clin. Invest., 78:1035-1044, 1986). There is biochemical evidence suggesting that the two different sets of collagen chains form separate networks (Kleppel et al., J. Biol. Chem., 267:4137-4142, 1992). In familial nephritis, null mutations (i.e., mutations that destroy gene expression) in either the xcex13(IV), the xcex14(IV), or the xcex15(IV) genes results in the absence of all three chains in the GBM, presumably due to obligatory associations in macromolecular assembly of the GBM suprastructure. This results in the presence of xcex11(IV) and xcex12(IV) chains throughout the full thickness of the GBM. Thus, type IV collagen receptors on the surface of visceral epithelial cells in the Alport kidney (i.e., the kidney of an individual with Alport syndrome) are in direct contact with a GBM of uncharacteristic type IV collagen chain composition. At least one study has addressed the relative ability of the visceral epithelial cells to adhere to type IV collagen with these different compositions, and found that they adhere significantly better to basement membrane comprised of the novel chains when compared directly with the classical chains xcex11(IV) and xcex12(IV). This adhesion could be blocked with antibodies against the xcex13 integrin receptor.
A mouse model for the autosomal form of Alport syndrome was created by targeted mutagenesis of the COL4A3 procollagen gene (Cosgrove et al., Genes Dev., 10:2981-2992, 1996). The animal model develops a progressive glomerulonephritis with the onset of proteinuria at about four weeks of age and a mean age of death from renal failure at about 8.5 weeks in the inbred 129 Sv/J background. Ultrastructural changes in the GBM are observed as early as one week of age, and throughout the GBM of most glomeruli by 3 weeks of age, long before the onset of proteinuria. Extracellular matrix components including laminin-1, heparin sulfate proteoglycan, fibronectin, and entactin accumulate in the GBM. This mouse is referred to herein as the xe2x80x9cAlportxe2x80x9d mouse.
The accumulation of extracellular matrix in the GBM and the mesangium as a function of renal disease progression is a feature shared by a variety of glomerular diseases, both in patients and in experimental animal systems. See, for example, Goyal and Wiggins, Am. Soc. Nephrol., 1:1334-1342, 1991; Wilson et al., Contrib. Nephrol. Basel, Karger, 118:126-134, 1996; Razzaque et al., Clin. Nephrol., 46:213-215, 1996; Yoshioka et al., Kidney Int., 35:1203-1211, 1989; and Klahr et al., N. Engl. J. Med., 318:1657-1666, 1988. In diabetes, the primary mediator of this effect is thought to be prolonged exposure to non-enzymatically glucosylated serum proteins resulting from chronic high glucose levels (Doi et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 89:2873-2877, 1992; and Roy et al., J. Clin. Invest., 93: 483-442, 1994).
For the majority of progressive glomerular disorders, over-production of the transforming growth factor TGF-xcex21 seems to be closely associated with the accumulation of extracellular matrix leading to fibrosis (i.e., the formation of fibrous tissue). See, for example, Border and Ruoslahti, Nature (London), 346:371-374, 1990; Yang et al., J. Am. Soc. Nephrol., 5:1610-1617, 1995; and Yamamoto et al., Kidney Int., 45:916-927, 1994. In an animal model for autoimmune nephritis, injection with either antibodies to TGF-xcex21, or antisense oligonucleotides to the corresponding mRNA inhibited the progressive glomerulonephritis and the accumulation of extracellular matrix (Border et al., Nature (London), 346:371-374, 1990; and Akagi et al., Kidney Int., 50:148-155, 1996).
The half-life of basement membrane collagen in the GBM of the rat has been estimated at between 16 and 40 days based on pulse-chase studies with 3H-proline (Daha et al., Nephron. 22:522-528, 1978). This is very slow in relation with the turnover of heparin sulfate proteoglycans (txc2xd=20 hours) or other sulfated macromolecules in the GBM (txc2xd=20-60 hours). The accumulation of basement membrane proteins in the GBM of the Alport mouse model (Cosgrove et al., Genes Dev., 10:2981-2992, 1996) is likely the net effect of changes in both the synthesis and the degradation of these proteins. Of the proteases involved in the turnover of both GBM and mesangial matrix, the most characterized are the metalloproteinases MMP-2 (72 kD collagenase) and MMP-9 (92 kD collagenase), as well as MMP-3 (stromolysin-1). These enzymes will degrade type IV collagen, in addition to a variety of other extracellular matrix components.
Mesangial cells (and probably other glomerular cell types) also produce natural inhibitors to the metalloproteinases. These are called TIMP""s (for Tissue Inhibitors of MetalloProteinases). These are relatively low molecular weight glycoproteins. Of these, TIMP-1 is specific for stromolysin-1 and MMP-9, while TIMP-2 and TIMP-3 will inhibit MMP-2 (Goldberg et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 86:8207-8211, 1989; Staskus et al., J. Biol. Chem., 266:449-454, 1991; and Stetler-Stevenson et al., J. Biol. Chem., 264:17374-17378, 1989).
Modulation of the metalloproteinases and their corresponding inhibitors likely play a role in maintaining appropriate levels of GBM turnover. While little is known regarding the regulation of the genes encoding these proteins in the glomerulus, signal transduction via integrin receptor/ECM (extracellular matrix) interaction may be a key aspect in this process.
There remains a need for animal models for Alport syndrome, particularly one in which the disease progression is slowed significantly. There also remains a need for new therapies to treat kidney diseases associated with mesangial matrix expansion, and progressive matrix accumulation in the glomerular basement membrane and the tubulointerstitium, including Alport syndrome and insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, for example.
The present invention provides various treatment methods for treating or limiting (i.e., delaying the onset of, slowing the progression of, and/or reversing) a kidney disorder in a patient (preferably, a mammal, and more preferably, a human). The kidney disorder preferably includes renal glomerulonephritis, renal fibrosis, or both. These conditions can be associated with, for example, Alport syndrome, IDDM nephritis, mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis, membrano proliferative glomerulonephritis, crescentic glomerulonephritis, diabetic nephropathy, and renal insterstitial fibrosis.
In one embodiment, the method involves administering to the patient an effective amount of an xcex11xcex21 integrin receptor inhibitor. This xcex11xcex21 integrin receptor inhibitor can be a blocking agent that binds to the xcex11xcex21 integrin receptor binding site on the surface of a kidney cell. The blocking agent can be an at least 9-mer peptide fragment of a protein selected from the group consisting of laminin, fibronectin, entactin, and collagen type 4. Alternatively, the blocking agent can be an antibody. Other agents that inhibit (i.e., inactivate) the xcex11xcex21 integrin receptor by other mechanisms can also be used.
In another embodiment, the method involves administering to the patient an effective amount of a TGF-xcex21 hibitor in addition to the xcex11xcex21 integrin receptor inhibitor. These inhibitors can be administered simultaneously (e.g., as in a mixture) or sequentially. The TGF-xcex21 inhibitor can be an agent that irreversibly binds to TGF-xcex21 and inhibits its ability to bind with its receptor. Alternatively, the TGF-xcex21 inhibitor can be an agent that inhibits the ability of TGF-xcex21 to transduce signals to the nucleus of a kidney cell. The latter type of inhibitor is preferably a calcineurin inhibitor, such as tacrolimus (commercially available as FK506). Other agents that inhibit (i.e., inactivate) TGF-xcex21 by other mechanisms can also be used.
Preferably, the present invention provides methods for delaying the onset of and/or slowing the progression of Alport syndrome in a patient. In one embodiment, this method involves administering an effective amount of an agent that inhibits signal transduction through an xcex11xcex21 integrin receptor of a kidney cell. In another embodiment, this method involves blocking an xcex11xcex21 integrin receptor binding site on the surface of a kidney cell of the patient. These methods can be further enhanced by administering to the patient an effective amount of a TGF-xcex21 inhibitor.
Preferably, the present invention also provides methods for delaying the onset of and/or slowing the progression of kidney disease in insulin dependent diabetes mellitus in a patient. In one embodiment, this method involves administering an effective amount of an agent that inhibits signal transduction through an xcex11xcex21 integrin receptor of a kidney cell. In another embodiment, this method involves blocking an xcex11xcex21 integrin receptor binding site on the surface of a kidney cell. These methods can be further enhanced by administering to the patient a TGF-xcex21 inhibitor.
Further, methods are provided for limiting renal fibrosis in a patient. In one embodiment, the method involves reducing TGF-xcex21 activity in the patient while inhibiting xcex11xcex21 integrin receptors of the patent""s kidney cells. This activity can be reduced by administering to the patient an agent that irreversibly binds to TGF-xcex21 and inhibits its ability to bind with its receptor. Alternatively, this activity can be reduced by administering to the patient an agent capable of inhibiting the ability of TGF-xcex21 to transduce signals to the nucleus of a kidney cell.
In yet another embodiment, methods are provided for limiting matrix accumulation in the GBM of a patient with Alport Syndrome. In one embodiment, the method involves reducing TGF-xcex21 activity in the patient. This can be accomplished by administering TGF-xcex21 inhibitors as described herein.
In a particularly preferred embodiment, a method is provided for limiting renal fibroses by administering to a patient a calcineurin inhibitor, preferably tacrolimus.
Further, the present invention provides a mouse model for kidney disease wherein the mouse does not express a normal collagen type 4 composition in the GBM as a result of knocking out the collagen xcex13(IV) gene. That is, the mouse does not incorporate the collagen xcex13(IV), xcex14(IV), or xcex15(IV) chains into the glomerular basement membrane (thus the GBM is comprised entirely of collagen xcex11(IV) and xcex12(IV) chains, with respect to its type IV collagen chain composition). Furthermore, it does not express the xcex11xcex21 integrin receptor a result of knocking out the xcex11 subunit gene.
In the double knockout mouse there is delayed onset of proteinuria as compared to the prior art Alport mouse model. Furthermore, the animal lives nearly twice as long as Alport littermates. At about 8 weeks of age, which is the average age of death in Alport mice, the double knockout shows markedly reduced glomerular pathology. That is, as compared to Alport mice of the same age, the double knockout mouse has markedly reduced ultrastructural damage with far less GBM rarefication and very little effacement of the podocyte foot processes. Also, attenuated accumulation of fibronectin, laminin-1, and heparan sulfate proteoglycan in the GBM occur, while accumulation of entactin and type IV collagen are unchanged, relative to Alport mice. These results indicate that there is a specific role for the xcex11xcex21 integrin receptor in Alport renal disease pathogenesis. This is remarkable, considering that the single xcex11 integrin knockout has no obvious effect on renal physiology or function.
This mouse can be used for studying Alport syndrome, insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, and other disorders that are characterized by glomerulone phritis and/or fibrosis. This mouse can also be used for screening for agents that can be used to treat Alport syndrome and insulin dependent diabetes mellitus and other disorders that are characterized by deposition of extracellular matrix and/or fibrosis.

Use of xcex11xcex21 integrin receptor inhibitors and TGF-xcex21 inhibitors in the treatment of kidney disease


A working fluid distribution system for a heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) system includes a distributor tube composed of a flexible material and configured to supply a working fluid to a component of an HVAC circuit of the HVAC system. The fluid distribution system includes an actuator coupled to the distributor tube and configured to be actuated to adjust a geometry of the distributor tube. Additionally, the fluid distribution system includes a controller configured to instruct the actuator to adjust the geometry of the distributor tube based on an operating condition.

The present disclosure relates generally to fluid distribution systems, and more particularly, to fluid distribution systems for directing fluids in a heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) system.
HVAC systems are utilized in residential, commercial, and industrial environments to control environmental properties, such as temperature and humidity, for occupants of the respective environments. The HVAC system may control the environmental properties through control of an air flow delivered to the environment and control of a refrigerant flow through the HVAC system. Generally, HVAC systems operate by circulating the refrigerant through a closed circuit between an evaporator where the refrigerant absorbs heat and a condenser where the refrigerant releases heat. The refrigerant flowing within the closed circuit is generally formulated to undergo phase changes within the normal operating temperatures and pressures of the systems so that quantities of heat can be exchanged by virtue of the latent heat of vaporization of the refrigerant to provide conditioned air to the respective environments.
In some cases, the HVAC system includes a distributor to deliver a portion of the refrigerant to each flow path of multiple flow paths within the evaporator. The flow paths may be formed by coils or heat exchange tubes, which enable the refrigerant to exchange heat with the air flow directed over the evaporator. Unfortunately, each coil may receive or contact a different amount of the air flow, or the refrigerant may flow differently within each coil or flow path, such that portions of the refrigerant within one coil exchange more or less heat with the air flow than portions of the refrigerant within other coils. The uneven air flow and/or the uneven refrigerant flow may lead to under-heating or superheating of portions of the refrigerant within the evaporator, reducing an operating efficiency of the HVAC system.


A method for processing a point-in-time copy of data associated with a logical storage volume where the data to be copied is stored in a striped or parallelized fashion across more than one physical source volume. The method includes receiving a point-in-time copy command concerning a logical volume and distributing the point-in-time copy command in-band to each of the physical source volumes containing a portion of the striped data. The method also includes establishing a point-in-time copy relationship between each physical source volume and one of a corresponding set of multiple physical target volumes. The method further includes copying the data stored on each physical source volume to the corresponding physical target volume. The in-band copy command and the striped data may be distributed over I/O channels between a server and the physical storage and processed sequentially.

Information technology systems, including storage systems, may need protection from site disasters or outages, where outages may be planned or unplanned. Furthermore, information technology systems may require features for data migration, data backup, or data duplication. Implementations for disaster or outage recovery, data migration, data backup, and data duplication may include mirroring or copying of data in storage systems. Such mirroring or copying of data may involve interactions among hosts, storage systems and connecting networking components of the information technology system.
A storage server, such as the IBM® TotalStorage® Enterprise Storage Server® ("ESS"), may be a disk storage server that includes one or more processors coupled to storage devices, including high capacity scalable storage devices, Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive (or Independent) Disks ("RAID"), etc. The enterprise storage servers are connected to a network and include features for copying data in storage systems.
One type of copy strategy frequently employed in backup or disaster recovery systems is a point-in-time copy. Generally, a point-in-time copy includes copying some or all of the contents of a source logical storage volume to a target logical volume at a select point in time. Typically, only minimal interruption of normal read and write I/O operations from a host system to the source or target logical volumes are necessary when a point-in-time copy is invoked. Thus, one of the many benefits of point-in-time copy operations is rapid storage volume availability for any application running on the host after a point-in-time copy has been requested.
Many point-in-time copy systems work at the logical volume level. Other point-in-time copy systems can be used for data set copies as well as volume copies. In more fundamental point-in-time copy implementations, the source and target volumes must be in the same storage server logical subsystem and only a single source and target volume may be involved in one point-in-time copy relationship at a time. In more sophisticated point-in-time copy implementations, the source and target volumes may be on different logical storage subsystems, multiple point-in-time copy relationships may be allowed, and incremental point-in-time copies may be possible.
Many point-in-time copy implementations employ a technique known as data striping or data parallelization. Although a point-in-time copy operation may involve a single logical source volume and a single logical target volume, the data contained within these logical volumes may be physically stored on several separate disk drives or several different physical storage volumes. This technique for spreading the data in a logical volume across several physical volumes or disks is known as striping or parallelization. Striping can be advantageous because the I/O capacity of the physical volumes may be used in parallel to access the data on the logical volume. Thus, striping can be employed to achieve high performance reading and writing of large files with certain benefits for random access.
A fundamental requirement of a successful point-in-time copy is that the logical target volume(s) represent the state of data storage on the logical source volume at a specific point in time. However, point-in-time copy operations are not instantaneous. Furthermore, point-in-time copy operations across multiple physical drives containing portions of data from a logical volume may not occur on each physical drive at precisely the same time. In addition, one or more of the physical drives involved in a source and target pair may be receiving host I/O as a point-in-time copy completes on another physical drive in the striped logical volume, thus leading to data loss or data corruption issues.
The present invention is directed toward overcoming one or more of the problems discussed above.

Achieving data consistency with point-in-time copy operations in a parallel I/O environment

International Business Machines Corporation


A particle detecting system includes an airborne particle detecting device that detects scattered light and/or fluorescent light produced through illuminating with light a particle included in a gas, a gas inspection flow path that introduces, into the airborne particle detecting device, a particle included in a gas that is subject to inspection, an aerosol generating portion that generates an aerosol from a liquid that is subject to inspection, and a liquids inspection flow path that introduces a particle included in the aerosol into the airborne particle detecting device.

In fields such as pharmaceuticals, the electronics industry, semiconductor manufacturing, and the like, there is the need for high degrees of cleanliness with few contaminants such as airborne microorganism particles or non-microorganism particles in the air in the production environment. Airborne contamination can be broadly divided into insoluble contamination and soluble contamination. Moreover, in the manufacturing processes, there is the need for solutions or water with high degrees of cleanliness, from which contaminants have been removed.
For example, International Application Publication No. WO 2010/080643 ("the WO '643") describes a detecting device that discriminates between non-biological microparticles and biological microparticles included in an aerosol. Moreover, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-121315 ("the JP '315"), for example, describes a method for counting particles in a liquid, using a liquid particle counter. In this method, a laser beam is directed at the medium to be measured, the intensity of scattered light is measured, and the intensity of scattered light is converted into a particle diameter, to thereby include counts, for each particle size, of the particles that exist in the medium being measured, using what is known as the "light scattering technique."
As described above, in a production environment that requires a high degree of cleanliness, the state of the air is inspected, and preferably is maintained in a state wherein there are few airborne particles. Moreover, in the liquids used in the manufacturing process as well, such as pure water, preferably the degree of purity is maintained. A particle detecting device, for use only with gases, such as described in the WO '643, and a particle detecting device used only with liquids, such as described in the JP '315, are used in parallel. Moreover, in the production environment, preferably the particles that are solids adhered to a clean bench, or the like, are also detected. Given this, an aspect of the present invention is to provide a particle detecting system and particle detecting method wherein it is possible to detect particles sampled from a plurality of locations using a single particle detecting device.

Particle detecting system and particle detecting method


A method of fabricating a semiconductor device includes: forming multiatomic steps by MOCVD on a (110) semiconductor substrate inclined at an angle toward the 001! direction or the 111! direction; and growing at least one double heterostructure including a first compound semiconductor and a second compound semiconductor having a smaller band gap than the first compound semiconductor to form quantum wires of the second compound semiconductor at edges of the multiatomic steps. Multiatomic steps having step edges along the longitudinal direction of the wire have improved linearity, and thus, quantum wires can be fabricated with improved controllability.

In recent years, methods for fabricating self-organized quantum wires and quantum dots have been actively researched. Self-organization represents a method of forming self-aligned three-dimensional structures such as a quantum wire or a quantum dot, utilizing mainly the mechanism of crystal growth. By employing quantum wires and quantum wells in active regions of devices, tremendous improvement of device properties, for example, a great reduction in threshold current in a semiconductor laser can be expected. In addition, self-organization attracts much attentions as a method of fabricating low damage and high quality quantum wires or quantum dots.
FIG. 10(a) is a cross-sectional view explaining a prior art method of fabricating a self-organized quantum wire, for example, reported by Koichi Inoue, et. al., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. vol. 34 (1995), p. 1342. This diagram illustrates a section of a sample in which a GaAs/AlGaAs multilayer structure is grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on a GaAs substrate having an orientation of (110) inclined by 6.degree. or 3.degree. toward the 001! direction.
Generally, on such a vicinal GaAs substrate surface, atomic steps of two monolayers are formed at intervals in accordance with the inclination angle of the substrate. However, when the GaAs/AlGaAs multilayer structure is grown on this substrate by MBE, it is found that atomic steps are assembled with their growths to form multiatomic steps each having a terrace width of about 100 nm and a step height of 10 to 20 nm, as shown in the figure. This diagram illustrates a sample in which when an AlAs/Al.sub.0.2 Ga.sub.0.8 As/AlAs sandwich structure is formed after formation of five periods of GaAs/Al.sub.0.5 Ga.sub.0.5 As periodic structure, Al.sub.0.2 Ga.sub.0.8 As quantum wires are formed at the step edges. The quantum wire fabricated in the above manner has a characteristic that the light refractive index is lower at inclined regions and higher at flat regions of the step edges, and is applicable to an active layer of a laser or the like.
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of quantum wire structures fabricated by another conventional method of fabricating quantum wires which is, for example, reported Shinjiroh Hara et al., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. vol. 34 (1995) p. 4401. In this prior art example, the structure shown in the figure is grown on a substrate having a (001) surface inclined 5.degree. toward the 110! direction, by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (hereinafter also referred to as MOCVD) to form quantum wires comprising an AlAs/GaAs/Al.sub.0.35 Ga.sub.0.65 As sandwich structure.
In either of the above two examples, multiatomic steps are formed using a vicinal substrate, and on the steps, quantum wires are self-organizingly formed by skillfully controlling slight differences in growth habit on the multiatomic steps between GaAs and AlGaAs.
The prior art methods for fabricating self-organized quantum wires described above have the following problems.
(1) For example, if GaAs growth employing a (110) vicinal substrate with the 001! direction as the inclination direction for the substrate is performed by MOCVD, multiatomic steps cannot be formed due to the difference in crystal growth habit between MBE and MOCVD, and surface roughness occurs, thereby making the fabrication of a quantum wire difficult.
(2) Since the growth conditions for which good quality multiatomic steps are formed by GaAs and AlGaAs have not been determined quantitatively yet, the stable formation of quantum wires is difficult.
(3) The growth in the crystal growth process is not sufficiently uniform for a minute structure like a quantum wire. Accordingly, a surface condition as shown in FIG. 10(b) occurs, making it difficult to form step edges with good linearity in the longitudinal direction of the quantum wire.

Semiconductor device including quantum wells or quantum wires and method of making semiconductor device


An optical system comprising a photographing optical system, a light splitting element to split a light incident from an object, and a finder optical system to which the light split by the light splitting element is directed. A surface of the light splitting element is constituted as a ghost prevention surface that prevents light incident on the finder optical system from the eye side from being reflected, thereby preventing the ghost light (i.e., the light which affects the object image) from being incident on an image pickup surface. Alternatively, a wall surface of a casing of the optical system is employed as a ghost prevention surface.

The present invention relates to an optical system employed in a photographing device having a beam splitting element for splitting light incident thereon, and in particular, to an optical system employed in a photographing device such as a single-lens reflex camera and/or an electronic still camera, in which light from an object is entered through a photographing lens, and then is split by the beam splitting element and directed towards a finder optical system and to a film plane of a image receiving surface.
Such optical systems used in, for example, in electronic still cameras are generally constituted such that a beam splitter splits light from an object, which is entered through a part of a photographing lens system, into a beam directed to a photographing CCD image sensor and a beam directed to a finder optical system.
The beam splitter used in such an electronic still camera has a beam splitting surface. A part of the light incident from the photographing lens is reflected by the beam splitting surface and directed to the finder optical system, and the remainder part of the light which passes through the beam splitting surface is directed to the CCD sensor.
In such a optical system, however, light entered from an eyepiece lens may disturb an object image formed on the image pickup surface of the CCD sensor. If light enters through the eyepiece lens of the finder optical system, the light may be incident onto the beam splitting surface and may pass through the beam splitting surface. The light passed through the beam splitting surface may be reflected on the end surface of the beam splitter, and is internally reflected thereby. Then, the reflected light is further reflected by an opposite side surface of the beam splitting surface, and may be incident on the CCD image sensor as a ghost light. It should be noted that the term "ghost light" refers to light which disturbs the image formed by the photographing optical system, i.e., the light which affects the image formed on the CCD image sensor, or image receiving surface. In addition to the above problem, due to recent tendency of increased magnification of the eyepiece lens of the finder system as the size of the CCD image sensor becomes smaller, intensity of the ghost light which may disturb the image formed on the CCD image sensor is increased.


An edge-handling chuck, a system for holding and rotating a test substrate at a high speed and a method for chucking a rotating substrate are disclosed. The Chuck includes a plate having a central axis, a fluid opening and a top surface with a varied topography characterized by symmetry about the central axis. The topography is such that a volume flow rate of fluid between the fluid opening and a periphery of the top surface sufficient to counteract substrate sagging is significantly less than a volume flow rate needed for a similar but flat-surfaced chuck to similarly counteract such sagging. The system may further include a spindle motor and a gas system that supplies gas through the fluid opening to a gap between the top surface and a back surface of the substrate. A radial velocity of the fluid through the gap is approximately constant.

Devices used to examine the surface of a semiconductor wafer commonly use a device known as an edge handling chuck to retain the wafer during inspection. Modern examination techniques often entail incrementally inspecting the surface of the wafer with a probe that moves radially while the wafer rotates, much like a phonograph needle passes over a phonograph record. As may be appreciated, the greater the speed of rotation, the larger the number of sample wafers which may be examined for a given time.
An edge handling chuck is one which simply secures the wafer at three or four or more fixed equidistant points at the wafer's periphery and holds the wafer at these fixed points during rotation. U.S. Pat. No. 6,217,034, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes an example of an edge handling chuck having a plate more or less cylindrical in shape that holds a wafer using multiple spring load edge wafer clamps. Air passes through a center hole in the cylindrical plate and is dispersed to the atmosphere using multiple pressure relief openings in the cylindrical plate. The air pressure in the gap between the chuck surface and the back side of the wafer supports the wafer against its tendency to sag due to its own weight and the effects of rapid rotation. This edge handling chuck design provides acceptable chuck performance at rotation speeds up to about 1500 rpm. An edge handling chuck is often desirable since it typically produces less particle contamination than chucks that secure the wafer by forces exerted on the wafer backside. Edge handling chucks can also provide better control of wafer flatness for a more uniform depth of focus across the wafer surface.
For current wafer inspection systems it is desirable to maintain a stable surface for rotation speeds up to and greater than approximately 2250 rpm. The airflow supply rate typically increases 4 to 5 times to provide enough wafer support at this speed of rotation. The increased amount of air and higher air velocities may deform the wafer and cause the loss of thousands of particles, which contaminate the back surface of the wafer way above an acceptable level. Future applications may require even higher rotation rates, perhaps as great as 3000 rpm or even greater.
It is within this context that embodiments of the present invention arise.

Method for improving edge handling chuck aerodynamics


An airbag assembly (10) includes a sheet metal door subassembly (36) with a cross cut (40) and two side cuts (38) that fully covers an airbag escape opening (34) in a primary substrate (32). The inflation of the airbag (16) causes two doors (42) of the subassembly 36, to bend around the primary substrate (32) at upper and lower sides of an airbag escape opening (34). A cutting edge (44) is located at one end (46) of one of the two doors (42) and cuts an opening through the outer uninterrupted cover (25) so the airbag (16) may expand therethrough into the passenger compartment of a vehicle. The subassembly (36) has a continuous periphery (36a) that is connected by a reduced number of rivets (26).

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to air bag restraint systems for vehicles and, more particularly, to such air bag restraint systems which are covered by a cover assembly for concealing the air bag restraint system in a vehicle passenger compartment as part of the instrument panel.
2. Description of Related Art
Various air bag restraint systems are known in which a cover assembly covers the air bag restraint components prior to deployment of an air bag into the vehicle passenger compartment.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,622,176 discloses a cover with a perforated outer skin. The problem with such an arrangement is that the weakened sections are visible and thus do not fully conceal the underlying air bag restraint system. Furthermore, such systems depend upon the force of the inflated air bag to tear the cover to form a deployment opening therein. Such tearing can at times hinder deployment in an undesirable manner.
U.S Pat. No. 4,097,064 discloses a cover assembly which carries a cutter to pierce the outer skin of the cover assembly. However, this arrangement requires separate inertially responsive shields for protecting the air bag during its deployment
U.S. Pat. No. 4,246,213 discloses a cover assembly that includes a cover having weakened sections in the outer shell or skin of the cover assembly. This arrangement depends upon the tearing of the outer skin at the weakened sections for air bag deployment and presents the same disadvantages as in the case of the '176 patent.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,080,393 and 5,082,310 disclose cover assemblies in which substrates have a potential to fragment during airbag deployment.

One piece invisible airbag door and hinge


A method has been invented for recovering hydrocarbons from an earth formation containing hydrocarbons, the method including injecting a recovery injectant (e.g., but not limited to, saturated or supersaturated steam), into the earth formation at a plurality of injection points, the injection points spaced apart in one particular aspect by about 14 to about 208 feet, and producing hydrocarbons from the formation with at least one producer well extending into the formation. In one aspect the method includes injecting steam into an earth formation which contains oil bearing diatomite at a plurality of injection points spaced apart, in one aspect, by about 14 to about 208 feet, and producing hydrocarbons from the formation with a one or more producer wells extending into the oil bearing diatomite formation, with a plurality of producer wells spaced apart by a distance ranging between about 14 to about 149 feet, injecting steam into the oil bearing diatomite at an injection rate of between about 10 to about 149 barrels of steam per day per hundred feet thickness of diatomite, and injecting the steam at a pressure between about 10 p.s.i. to about 260 p.s.i. (or up to about 600 psi). The present invention also discloses a method for treating a hydrocarbon-bearing diatomite formation including applying an artificial overburden over at least a portion of the formation and applying a concept of variable well spacing as needed.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to systems and methods for recovering hydrocarbons from the earth, and in one particular aspect to such recovery from diatomaceous and other hydrocarbon-bearing rock occurring at shallow depths and sometimes outcropping at the surface; to such systems and methods using recovery techniques involving the injection of substances and/or materials that improve the hydrocarbon recovery performance such as but not limited to steam injection; and, in one particular aspect, to such systems and methods including an artificial shield on a formation for reducing or eliminating the escape of injected materials and/or substances and/or pollutants to the surface and/or environment. In one aspect, the present invention is directed to a recessed wellhead system.
2. Description of Related Art
The prior art discloses knowledge of a variety of known liquid and solid hydrocarbon deposits that have not been exploited because of unfavorable economics or unavailable and/or inadequate technology. "Diatomaceous earth", "diatomaceous oil shale", and "diatomaceous rock" occurring at very shallow depths--collectively referred to herein as "diatomite"--is one type of this relatively unexploited unconventional petroleum resource. Diatomite is composed of the siliceous skeletal remains of single-celled marine plants or algae called "diatoms". There are known extensive deposits of hydrocarbon-bearing diatomite in California.
One such deposit is in the McKittrick Field in western Kern County, California situated in the northwestern end of a relatively narrow band of rich oil-bearing diatomite. The band is about 17 miles long and about one mile wide. It is estimated that the McKittrick area, one of the many areas of interest to which this invention applies, may contain over 800 million barrels of oil.
The majority of diatomite in the McKittrick Field occurs from the surface down to a depth of about 2000 feet, total vertical depth. Close to the surface, the accumulation tends to mainly consist of what is referred to as Opal A diatomite rock sometimes mixed with other sediment and rock material types. In addition, high concentrations of high viscosity and high density crude oil is also contained herein.
Opal A diatomite is known to have characteristics of very low permeability and very high oil concentrations when compared with conventional heavy oil-bearing sandstone rock successfully being developed in the area. However, the combination of very low rock permeability and high crude oil viscosity make it extremely difficult or virtually impossible to develop and produce this resource using conventional exploitation methods. This is confirmed by very limited and virtually non-existent resource development by operators owning rights to the resource accumulations.
Diatomite rock tends to change in characteristic form depending on the temperature at which the accumulation occurs and the amount of non-diatomite material that may be present. The higher the temperature and the more non-diatomite material present, the greater the tendency is for this change to occur. Since normal formation temperatures increase with depth according to the local geothermal gradient, observed diatomite form changes can be expected to behave accordingly. The resulting transformation is a more stable crystalline form often referred to as Opal CT. Opal CT normally begins to occur at depths ranging from 1000 to 2000 feet. The transformation is usually complete below the lower depth. One possible exception to this somewhat ordered tendency is the movement or displacement of the rock material caused by localized tectonic events such as faulting. These events can produce a re-ordering of the material and a perceived exception to the ordered behavior discussed above when compared with an undisturbed accumulation.
Opal A is amorphous non-crystalline diatomite composed of substantially unaltered and rubblized diatom fossils with a porosity of about 55% to about 70% and a permeability of tens of millidarcies. Opal CT diatomite is composed substantially of diagenetically-altered and broken diatom fossils with a porosity of about 35% to about 55% and a permeability of about one to about five millidarcys.
The unaltered nature of the Opal A diatomite fossils insures that not only are there hydrocarbon deposits in the voids between adjacent fossils, but also deposits in the voided fossil shell previously occupied by the soft parts of the living organism which comprises a large part of the diatom frustule volume.
Intact diatoms often settled in a hydrodynamically stable position on the ocean floors eons ago. This tends to result in a more regular, layered deposit, thus contributing further to the increased porosity of Opal A diatomite and its accompanying increased capacity for hydrocarbons.
Accordingly, a formation composed of Opal A diatomite tends to hold more hydrocarbons per unit bulk volume than a formation composed of Opal CT diatomite. Furthermore, Opal A and Opal CT diatomite forms contain significantly more hydrocarbons per unit bulk volume than a formation composed of predominantly sandstone rock material.
Generally speaking, the McKittrick diatomite typifies much of the oil bearing shallow diatomite occurring in California including but not limited to the following general characteristics: a cover of overburden that varies from nothing at various surface outcroppings to hundreds of feet of thickness; a vertical formation thickness ranging from a few feet to well over 1,200 feet; a formation base extending from the surface to depths of about 1000 to 2000 feet; an average porosity of about 65%; a permeability range of about 5 to 50 millidarcys; viscosity of the oil contained herein of about 3000 centipoise; and an oil concentration of as much as 2800 barrels per acre-foot. One area of interest in McKittrick is about 1680 acres--i.e., this oil accumulation contained in diatomite is relatively small in areal extent when compared with conventional heavy oil accumulations contained in sandstone rock. Yet, very limited and virtually non-existent resource development by operators owning rights to the resource accumulations has ever occurred.
The prior art discloses that a variety of hydrocarbon extraction methods have been considered for McKittrick and other shallow diatomite fields including, but not limited to, steam injection; hydraulic fracturing; and strip mining.
Hydraulic fracturing of the shallow McKittrick diatomite may produce ruptures to the surface, which may endanger personnel, cause oil spills, and vent hydrocarbon and other gases to the atmosphere.
Strip mining or open pit mining using solvent or retort extraction for the McKittrick diatomite may result in large volumes of gases dissolved in the crude being released to the atmosphere as new ore is exposed and the fluid pressure is released as the overburden is removed.
Regarding steam injection, the differences between conventional methods and what is disclosed in one particular embodiment of the present invention is presented by means of an example regarding the effects of the concentration of the resource and of the formation properties and the effect on pattern spacing.
Example I compares the oil-in-place in a representative 2.5 acre area in Kern River (a conventional field operation) and a 0.156 acre area in the McKittrick Field diatomite. With the units shown in the examples, oil-in-place is calculated to be the product shown below:
______________________________________ Oil-In-Place = 0.7758 .times. Porosity .times. Oil Saturation .times. Thickness .times. Drainage Area EXAMPLE 1 - OIL CONCENTRATION INVENTION CONVENTIONAL SPACING SPACING (e.g. McKITRICK (e.g. KERN RIVER DIATOMITE FORMATION) FORMATION) ______________________________________ Porosity, % 30 65 Initial Oil Saturation, % 55 Formation Thickness, feet 403 Drainage Area, acres 0.156 Oil-In-Place, barrels 174,555 Concentration, barrels/acre 69,822 1,117,152 ______________________________________
Barrels in Example 1 above are at surface conditions and assume a formation volume factor very close to 1.0 reservoir barrel per stock tank barrel.
Example 1 shows the same amount of oil-in-place in both the diatomite formation (with well spacing according to one aspect of the present invention) and with prior art well spacing in a typical unconsolidated sandstone formation, even though the pattern or drainage area for the diatomite is 1/16 (=2.5/0.156) the area of the typical formation. The oil concentration in barrels per acre in a given zone is 16 times larger for the diatomite than for a typical unconsolidated sandstone operation--1,117,152 barrels per acre versus 69,822 barrels per acre, respectively.
Prior art has not considered, recognized, suggested, or addressed this small well spacing in the diatomite. Yet, the low permeability and the low fluid pressure seen in the shallow diatomite indicate to the present inventors that small well spacing is needed to drain the available reserves over a reasonable period of time. Implementing this approach in a formation with the uniquely high oil concentration as seen in the diatomite supports the need to go to smaller spacing. This invention addresses this and other related considerations needed to make such a process feasible.

Hydrocarbon recovery systems and methods


To simplify the design and assembly of an adjustment drive with a gear wheel mounted to rotate in a gear housing with a gear housing lid and with a driver provided with a power take-off element (e.g., a pinion) being in a drive connection with it on the output side, directly or indirectly, present invention provides that the driver is simultaneously structured as a power take-off shaft and is mounted to rotate with at least one bearing region in the gear housing or in the gear housing lid, respectively. In a further embodiment, the gear wheel is a one-piece component of the driver and is preferably placed into a drive connection with it via spring web type spokes in the form of tangential stop damping.

The present invention relates to an adjustment drive, and in particular, to a setting drive in a motor vehicle.
In an adjustment drive for a motor vehicle window raising mechanism described in DE-U-89 03 714.6, a gear wheel 3 and a driver 4 provided with an outside pinion 5 on the driver's power take-off side are rotatably mounted on an axially projecting axle bolt. This axle bolt is molded in one piece to the bottom of the gear housing and includes an axial shaft collar projecting out of the gear housing lid to the outside. The driver is sealed both radially outward relative to the gear housing lid, and radially inward relative to the axle bolt, by a dynamic seal 6. The dynamic seal 6 is a discrete O-ring held with a positive lock.
An adjustment drive, particularly a seat adjustment drive in a motor vehicle, is described in DE-C2-36 11 568. In that adjustment drive, a driver is connected in one piece with the worm gear shaft as a solid part and is axially mounted on each of its sides via separate bearing holders in housing walls of the gear housing. To couple on a power take-off pinion (i.e., a pinion which provides power to external elements), the pinion is inserted, as a separate component with outside gear teeth, into corresponding inner gear teeth on the circumference of an axial bore through the driver.
The present invention provides an adjustment drive requiring significantly reduced design and assembly times while still guaranteeing a complete moisture proof seal of the gear housing.


The subject invention provides methods and kits for conveniently diagnosing various physiological conditions that produce altered levels of specific carbohydrates, known as diagnostic carbohydrates. Measurement of the levels of the diagnostic carbohydrates is performed by fluorophore assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis. Physiological conditions of particular interest that may be ascertained by the subject invention include carbohydrate metabolism diseases, autoimmune diseases, neoplasia, toxic chemical exposure and microbial infections. Fluorophore assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis diagnosis may be applied to various patient specimens, including blood, urine and skin.

Carbohydrates play a number of extremely important roles in the functioning of living organisms. In addition to their metabolic and storage roles, carbohydrates are covalently attached to numerous other molecules such as proteins and lipids. Molecules such as glycoproteins and glycolipids are generally referred to as glycoconjugates. The biological importance of the carbohydrate portion of glycoconjugates can be seen, for example, in the role they play in affect the ability of glycoproteins to perform their biological functions, including such functions as ligand or receptor recognition.
As a consequence of their diverse and important biological functions, aberrations in the synthesis, degradation, or modification of carbohydrates may give rise to several diseases. Similarly many disease may alter the body's physiology so as to give rise to altered carbohydrate metabolism or the improper glycosylation of proteins, lipids and other glycoconjugates in the body.
Many of the biologically active carbohydrates in the body are polysaccharides and oligosaccharides that are produced in a variety of related forms rather than having a single defined structure. These families of related carbohydrates are frequently found to be components of the same glycoprotein. These families of glycoproteins that share the same polypeptide structure, but display variation in the glycosylation pattern have been referred to as glycoforms, Rademacher, et al, Ann. Rev. Biochem., 57:789-838 (1988).
The relative abundance of members of glycoform family members have been shown to vary in accordance with certain disease states. For example, the disfibrinogenemia associated with liver disease has been associated with variations in the glycosylation of fibrinogens, Martinez, J., et al, Blood, 61:1196-202 (1983), and rheumatoid arthritis has been associated with changes in glycosylation of IgG, Parekh et al, Nature, 316:452-457 (1985).
Diseases based on improper metabolism of carbohydrates from glycoconjugates are well known. The general category of diseases is known by a variety of names, including lysosomal storage disorders, heteroglycanoses, inborn errors of complex carbohydrate metabolism, mucopolysaccharidoses and others. Each of these diseases is the result of a genetic inability to produce one or more of the enzymes required for the stepwise degradation of glycoproteins, mucopolysaccharides or glycolipids, or the carbohydrate portion of said glycoconjugates.
When one of these enzymes in the degradation pathway is incorrectly produced or missing completely, the molecule produced in the last working step of the degradation pathway accumulates due to the body's inability to further cleave the molecule. Over time, the compound that cannot be degraded accumulates to such an extent that it impedes normal biological function in a wide variety of cells throughout the body.
The consequences of this type of genetic defect vary among the different enzyme deficiencies, but the symptoms of these diseases may include organomegaly, corneal opacities, skeletal abnormalities and progressive mental retardation.
The diagnosis of these carbohydrate metabolism disorders has historically been difficult because few methods exist for the separation, detection and identification of a wide variety of complex carbohydrates. The two main methods that have been employed are carbohydrate staining techniques and chromatographic separation and detection methods.
The carbohydrates staining techniques, including the Berry Spot Test and the dimethylmethylene blue (DMB) assay rely on a specific reaction between a chemical dye and a specific class of oligosaccharides. The major application of these methods have been with the mucopolysaccharidoses, which are disorders of glycosaminoglycan degradation. These tests have been proposed for large scale screening, but they are limited to the specific disorders for which the chemistry is designed, and the tests have had a problem with a large number of false positive diagnoses. Sewell, et al, Klin Wochenschr, 57:581-585 (1979), or Lurincz, et al, Ann. Clin. Lab. Sci., 12:258-266 (1982).
Chromatographic separation of oligosaccharides from glycoconjugates has also been proposed as a screening technique for these diseases, but there is no one chromatographic technique or set of chromatographic conditions that will facilitate the separation of the range of carbohydrate-based compounds that accumulate in all of these diseases. The techniques that have been developed include thin layer chromatography (TLC), high performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography. Each of these methods has some utility in the diagnosis of the carbohydrate metabolic diseases, but they have found limited acceptance in clinical laboratories as a result of their limitations and/or complexity.
Thus it is of interest to provide a general technique for the diagnosis of a variety of diseases characterized by altered levels of carbohydrates in which the diagnostic technique does not require an a priori detailed knowledge of the structure of the carbohydrates.


A closed-loop control circuit for an auxiliary power supply unit includes a control loop for the closed-loop control of a voltage transformer of the auxiliary power supply unit via a controlled variable to produce a setpoint voltage, wherein the control loop includes an additional circuit that limits a change in the controlled variable in the event of provision of an external voltage of a main power supply unit at a first output for emitting voltage generated by the auxiliary power supply unit when the external voltage exceeds a setpoint voltage of the auxiliary power supply unit.

Power supply unit arrangements comprising a main power supply unit and an auxiliary power supply unit are known. In particular, electronic appliances with a completely switched-on state and a so-called "standby" state and such a power supply unit arrangement are known. In that case, the auxiliary power supply unit performs the task of supplying power to the electronic appliance in the standby state, and the main power supply unit performs the task of supplying electricity to the electronic appliance in the operating state.
A problem with known power supply unit arrangements consists of feeding the voltage from the auxiliary power supply unit and the voltage from the main power supply unit to a common output of the power supply unit arrangement.
The provision of a voltage from an auxiliary power supply unit and a main power supply unit via a common output has several advantages. Inter alia, it is possible to dispense with the provision of an additional electrical contact between a power supply unit arrangement and the electronic appliance or its internal components if the output voltage of the auxiliary power supply unit is provided via an electrical output of the main power supply unit. Conversely, an output of an auxiliary power supply unit can be subjected to a greater load during operation if the main power supply unit in the switched-on state outputs a voltage generated by the main power supply unit in addition to an auxiliary voltage provided by the auxiliary power supply unit via this output. In addition, the consumer-side circuitry complexity can be reduced in both cases.
It could nonetheless be helpful to provide an improved power supply unit arrangement and a closed-loop control circuit for an auxiliary power supply unit which enable a voltage to be coupled in at a common output of a power supply unit arrangement, wherein energy efficiency of the power supply unit arrangement overall is maintained or improved.

Closed-loop control circuit for an auxiliary power supply unit and power supply unit arrangement

Fujitsu Technology Solutions Intellectual Property GmbH


An image capturing device includes an image sensing device, a processor, and a memory. Using this, the device can determine a plurality of image-based characteristics for a proposed image, compute a composition measure for the proposed image and the given settings that depends from at least two of the plurality of image-based characteristics of the proposed image, output an indication of the composition measure to a user, in the form of simple indicators, more complex indicators/displays, and or provide suggestions for altering at least one characteristic of the proposed image or data about the context of a shot, receive an image capture signal from the user in response to the indication, receive a captured image from the image sensing device in response to the image capture signal, and store the captured image in memory. The feedback can also be provided at a later time.

With the advent of relatively inexpensive image, audio and video capture devices, whether they are dedicated devices, such as cameras, or integrated devices, such as still/video camera features of mobile telephones, etc., there has been more expectation of being able to take photographs and video at many more locations by many more people. Cameras are simple to use without extensive training and inexpensive to generate photos (perhaps even close to costless, in the case of digital photography), and as a result, most people do not consider it a requirement that they take courses in photography or learn darkroom skills—or even read a user manual for a camera—before they begin to take pictures.
While some of the shortcomings of the ability of one to take good (i.e., aesthetically pleasing) photographs can be overcome by just having the user take many more pictures than are needed and leave the sorting for later, this is not necessarily a solution in all cases, as that requires additional memory storage, requires the subjects of the photographs to pose for longer and might not even provide anything desirable photographs in the end.
To be sure, there are currently available cameras that improve some aspects of photography for the amateur. For example, most cameras can analyze an image and automatically focus the lens, so that the user is freed from having to estimate distances or manually set the focus. Most cameras can also set the shutter speed appropriately for a given amount of light that is falling on the camera. Some cameras can even detect smiles (or more precisely, the lack of smiles) and closed eyes to control when to take a photograph.
In general, cameras often have various settings and programming to optimize each of those settings, i.e., getting the ideal focus, the ideal aperture, the ideal number of smiles, etc. However, as professional photographers know, a pleasing image is often not simply obtained by optimizing each characteristic (e.g., camera setting).

Automatic real-time composition feedback for still and video cameras


A controller for power devices which is not required to individually insulate high and low potential portions and to include an insulated power supply is disclosed. An external controller (6) is connected to a second internal control circuit (4) which is in turn connected to a level shift circuit (5) and a gate electrode of a transistor (Q2). Power supply voltage (V1) is applied to the second internal control circuit (4) for operation thereof. The level shift circuit (5) is connected to a first internal control circuit (3) which is in turn connected to a gate electrode of a transistor (Q1) and a charge pump circuit (7). Control of a first semiconductor circuit is made through the level shift means in response to an input signal generated on the basis of a second main power supply potential, thereby achieving increased responsiveness of the power devices to a control signal and improved integration.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a controller for power devices and, more particularly, to a controller for power devices employing high-breakdown-voltage semiconductor elements.
2. Description of the Background Art
FIG. 26 is a circuit diagram of a drive circuit for an AC input three-phase motor which is an example of background art controllers for power devices employing high-breakdown-voltage semiconductor elements. As shown in FIG. 26, an AC three-phase power supply APW serving as a power supply for an AC input three-phase motor M is connected to a converter circuit CC1 between lines P and N, and the respective phases of the AC input three-phase motor M are connected to inverter circuits I1, I2, I3 for controlling the phases, respectively.
The inverter circuit I1 (I2, I3) includes a pair of transistors Q1 and Q2 (Q3 and Q4; Q5 and Q6) which are power devices, such as IGBTs (insulated gate bipolar transistors), totem-pole connected between the lines P and N, and a control block SB1 (SB2, SB3). Inputs of the respective phases of the motor M are connected to connection points U, V, W of the totem-pole connected transistors, respectively. Free-wheeling diodes D1 to D6 are connected in inverse-parallel with the transistors Q1 to Q6, respectively. Between the lines P and N are connected a smoothing capacitor C and a brake circuit BK for use in applying electrical brakes to the AC input three-phase motor M and including a diode D7 and a transistor Q7 connected in series. A brake resistor BR exteriorly attached is connected in parallel with the diode D7 in the brake circuit BK. A control block SB4 is connected to the gate electrode of the transistor Q7 The control blocks SB1, SB2, SB3 forming the inverter circuits I1, I2, I3 and the control block SB4 are connected to an external controller 6 employing a microcomputer and the like. A DC power supply DPW for operating the control blocks SB1, SB2, SB3 is a power supply receiving a single-phase output from the AC three-phase power supply APW. The single-phase output from the AC three-phase power supply APW is connected to primary coils of an isolation transformer TR through a converter circuit CC2. Two DC outputs from secondary coils of the isolation transformer TR are applied to the control blocks SB1, SB2, SB3 through converter circuits. For instance, DC outputs X and Y are applied to the inverter circuit I1.
The arrangement of the control block SB1 of the inverter circuit I1 is shown in FIG. 27. Referring to FIG. 27, control circuits LS1 and LS2 employing LVICs (low-voltage ICs) are connected to the gate electrodes of the transistors Q1 and Q2, respectively. Insulation circuits Z1 and Z2 are connected to the control circuits LS1 and LS2, respectively. Reference potentials G1 and G2 for the control circuits LS1 and LS2 are based on different potentials.
Operation will be discussed with reference to FIGS. 26 and 27. Referring to FIG. 26, the converter circuit CC1 converts a 400 V AC input voltage to a voltage of about 600 V DC which is applied between the lines; P and N. Then the smoothing capacitor C between the lines P and N is charged, and ripple on the power supply line is suppressed. The voltage of about 600 V DC is provided as main power supplies for the inverter circuits I1, I2, I3.
Referring to FIG. 27, since the connection point U serving as an output of the inverter circuit I1 is provided between the totem-pole connected transistors Q1 and Q2, the reference potential G1 for the control circuit LS1 is, for example, the 600 V main power supply voltage when the transistor Q1 is ON. In such a construction, a voltage as high as 600 V is applied to the control circuit LS1 if the reference potential G1 for the control circuit LS1 is a ground potential of 0 V.
The LVIC forming the control circuit LS1 normally has an operating voltage of not more than 30 V and is not constructed to withstand the voltage as high as 600 V. Hence, the control circuit LS1 is designed such that the reference potential G1 for the control circuit LS1 is held floating from the ground potential and the main power supply voltage of 600 V becomes the reference potential G1 when the transistor Q1 is ON. A portion in which the main power supply potential is the reference potential is referred to hereinafter as a high potential portion, and a portion in which the ground potential is the reference potential, such as the control circuit LS2, as a low potential portion. It should be noted that the control circuit LS2 in the low potential portion is held floating in the same manner as the control circuit LS1.
To that end, the DC power supplies X and Y insulated through the isolation transformer TR and then rectified by the converter circuit are applied to the control circuits LS1 and LS2 for driving thereof. Further, a control signal from the external controller 6 is applied to the control circuits LS1 and LS2 through the insulation circuits Z1 and Z2 including insulating means such as photocouplers. The DC power supplies X and Y are fed to drive the insulation circuits Z1, Z2 and the control circuits LS1, LS2.
Each of the inverter circuits I2 and I3 includes circuits similar to the insulation circuits Z1, Z2 and the control circuits LS1, LS2 and requires power supplies similar to the DC power supplies X and Y. The drive circuit for the AC input three-phase motor requires at least four DC power supplies since separate DC power supplies are connected respectively to the control circuits in the high potential portions such as the control circuit LS1 and a DC power supply is commonly connected to the control circuits in the low potential portions similar to the control circuit LS2.
The brake circuit BK applies electrical brakes to the motor M which tends to keep rotating after receiving a stop signal from the external controller 6. The circuit arrangement of the control block SB4 for controlling the transistor Q7 is similar to that of the circuits for controlling the low potential transistors in the control blocks SB1 to SB3, and is connected to the external controller 6.
The inverter circuits I1, I2, I3 are well known in the art, and the description of the detailed circuit arrangements thereof will be omitted herein.
As above stated, the conventional controller for the power devices has required particular insulating elements such as photocouplers for insulation of the control signal. In particular, insulation of high-frequency noises has necessitated an advanced insulation technique and costly insulating elements.
The control signal is given from the external controller 6 through the insulating means, resulting in the power devices being less responsive to the control signal and being difficult to integrate.
Further, it has been necessary to individually apply the drive power supply to the control circuits positioned in the high and low potential portions through the isolation transformer TR, which causes an increased size of the power supply portion and a large amount of power consumption. The need for the particular insulating elements, such as photocouplers, as insulating means results in an increased size of a module (Intelligent Power Module; referred to as an IPM hereinafter) designed such that an integrated controller for power devices including a protective circuit, the power devices, and a control power supply are encapsulated in a single package.

Controller for power device and drive controller for motor