The invention relates to compounds of general Formula (I), Wherein R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, m, n are defined herein, and pharmaceutically acceptable salts, prodrugs, hydrates, or solvates thereof, for use—alone or in combination with one or more other pharmaceutically active compounds—in therapy, as JAK kinase and protein tyrosine kinase inhibitors for preventing, treating or ameliorating diseases and complications thereof, including, for example, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, rosacea, lupus, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, Type I diabetes, asthma, cancer, autoimmune thyroid disorders, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, Alzheimer's disease, leukaemia, eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration as well as other autoimmune diseases and indications where immunosuppression would be desirable for example in organ transplantation.

This invention relates to novel compounds which are inhibitors of protein tyrosine kinases such as the Janus kinases, also referred to as JAK1, JAK2, JAK3 and TYK2. Said compounds are useful in the treatment of diseases related to activity of Janus kinases, including, for example, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, rosacea, lupus, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, Type I diabetes and complications from diabetes, asthma, cancer, autoimmune thyroid disorders, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, Alzheimer's disease, leukaemia, eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration as well as other autoimmune diseases and indications where immunosuppression would be desirable for example in organ transplantation.
Protein tyrosine kinases are a family of enzymes catalysing the transfer of the terminal phosphate of adenosine triphosphate to tyrosine residues in protein substrates. Phosphorylation of tyrosine residues on protein substrates leads to transduction of intracellular signals which regulate a wide variety of intracellular processes such as growth, differentiation and activation of cells of the immune system. As activation of T-cells and B-cells as well as other cells of the immune system such as monocytes and macrophages is implicated in a number of inflammatory conditions and other disorders of the immune system (e.g. autoimmune diseases), modulation of the activity of protein tyrosine kinases appears to be an attractive route to the management of inflammatory diseases. A large number of protein tyrosine kinases have been identified which may be receptor protein tyrosine kinases, e.g. the insulin receptor, or non-receptor protein tyrosine kinases.
The protein tyrosine kinases JAK1, JAK2, JAK3 and TYK2 have essential roles in cytokine-dependent regulation of proliferation and function of cells involved in immune response. They are critical in signal transduction in response to their activation via tyrosine phosphorylation by stimulation of interleukin receptors. (1) Schindler C. et al. JAK-STAT signaling: from interferons to cytokines. J. Biol. Chem. 2007; 282(28):20059; 2) O'Shea J. J. Targeting the Jak/STAT pathway for immunosuppression Ann. Rheum. Dis. 2004; 63 Suppl 2:ii67; 3) Schindler C. Series introduction. JAK-STAT signaling in human disease. J. Clin. Invest. 2002; 109(9):1133).
While JAK1, JAK2 and TYK2 are ubiquitously expressed JAK3 is predominantly expressed in hematopoietic cells.
JAK1 plays a critical role in mediation of biological responses and JAK1 is widely expressed and associated with several major cytokine receptor families. It is involved in signalling by members of the IL-2 receptor family (IL-2, IL-4, IL-7R, IL-9R, IL-15R and IL-21R), the IL-4 receptor family (IL-4R, IL-13R), the gp130 receptor family and class II cytokine receptors.
JAK2 is implicated in signalling by several single chain receptors (including Epo-R, GHR, PRL-R), the IL-3 receptor family, the gp130 receptor family and Class II receptor cytokine family. Thus, JAK2 plays a critical role in transducing signals for Epo, IL-3, GM-CSF, IL-5 and IFNγ. JAK2 knockout mice exhibit an embryonic lethal phenotype.
JAK3 is involved in signal transduction by receptors that employ the common gamma chain of the type I cytokine receptor family (e.g. IL-2, IL-4, IL-7, IL-9, IL-15 and IL-21). XSCID patient populations have been identified with reduced levels of JAK3 protein or with genetic defects to the common gamma chain, suggesting that immune suppression should result from blocking signalling through the JAK3 pathway. Animal studies have suggested that JAK3 not only plays a critical role in B and T lymphocyte maturation, but that JAK3 is constitutively required to maintain T cell function. Modulation of immune activity through this novel mechanism can prove useful in the treatment of T cell proliferative disorders such as immune system diseases, in particular autoimmune diseases.
TYK2 is implicated in type I interferons, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12 and IL-23 signalling. A human patient with a TYK2 deficiency has been described and this patient had a primary immunodeficiency disorder characterized as a hyper-IgE-like syndrome with many opportunistic infections by virus, bacteria and fungi. Because Il-23 has been found to play an important role in many chronic inflammatory conditions, a TYK2 inhibitor could conceivably be very effective in treating diseased influenced by IL-23.
Inhibitors of the Janus kinases are accordingly expected to show utility in the treatment of inflammatory and non-infectious autoimmune diseases wherein these kinases are involved.
It is further envisaged that compounds of the present invention may be useful as inhibitors of other kinases, such as Src family kinases (Src, Yes, Fyn, Lyn, Fgr, Blk, Lck and/or Hck) responsible for receptor mediated signalling in T, B and other immune cells; Raf-1/Ras, MAP kinase signalling pathway; Syk and ZAP70 kinases responsible of activation of immune cells.
WO1999065908A1, WO1999065909A1, and WO2001042246A2 disclose pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine compounds as inhibitors of the enzyme protein tyrosine kinases such as Janus kinase 3 and as useful therapy as immunosuppressive agents.
WO2003022214A3 discloses piperazine and homopiperazine compounds for use in the treatment of thrombosis.
WO2004035740A3 discloses aromatic bicyclic heterocycles to modulate IL-12 production.
WO2004099205A1 discloses azaindole compounds as kinase inhibitors.
WO 2005112938A3 discloses disalt nitrogen-heteroaryl inhibitors of IL-12 production.
WO2005051393A1 discloses a method of treatment of atherosclerosis by administering a pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine compound.
WO2005060972A2 discloses a method of treating or preventing chronic, acute or hyperacute organ transplant rejection using pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine compounds.
WO2006096270A1 discloses pyrrolopyrimidines useful as inhibitors of protein kinase.
WO2006069080A2 discloses pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyridine-4-yl amines and pyrrolo[2,3b]pyrimidine-4-yl amines useful in the treatment of diseases related to activity of Janus kinases.
WO2006127587A1 discloses pyrrolopyrimidines useful as inhibitors of protein kinase.
WO2007077949A1 discloses heterocyclic Janus kinase 3 inhibitors being useful for the treatment or prevention of various immune diseases.
WO2007117494A1 discloses deazapurines useful as inhibitors of Janus kinases.
WO2007104944A1 discloses pyrrolopyrimidine derivatives having HSP90 inhibitory activity and useful in the treatment of inter alia cancer.
WO2008128072A3 discloses heterocyclic compounds as AXL kinase inhibitors useful for the treatment of cancer or hyperproliferative disorders.
WO2009021169A2 discloses heterocyclic compounds useful as kinase inhibitors.
US2004/0058922 A1 discloses pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine compounds as inhibitors of protein tyrosine kinases, such as the enzyme Janus Kinase 3 and as useful therapy as immunosuppressive agents.
US2005/0130954 A1 discloses AKT protein kinase inhibitors for the treatment of hyperproliferative diseases such as cancer.
US2006/0189638 A1 discloses 4-piperidin-1-yl-7H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine compounds and their use for e.g. treatment of hyperproliferative disorders.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Sulfamide piperazine derivatives as protein tyrosine kinase inhibitors and pharmaceutical use therof


The present invention provides devices and methods for detecting and capturing molecular biomarkers from a subject in situ. Specifically, the devices contain an array of microneedles to which are attached probes specific for one or more biomarkers of interest. The devices can be used directly on a subject (e.g., via skin piercing) in detecting the biomarkers in the body of the subject (e.g., tissues, blood stream).

Analysis of biomarkers is fast becoming the preferred method for early detection of disease, patient stratification and monitoring efficacy of treatment. Rapid and highly sensitive detection of changes in a biomarker is often technically impossible, or may require a cumbersome procedure involving multiple processing steps, necessitating large sample volumes and a prolonged diagnosis/prognosis timeline. The sample from a patient is often of a limited volume and not amenable to processing or to procedures requiring multiple steps that extend the processing time.
Current methods for detecting molecular biomarkers or biological analytes of interest for diagnostic applications rely primarily on extraction of body fluid (e.g., blood, interstitial tissue fluid) from a patient. It is from this sample of fluid that specific biomarkers are assayed. More recent inventions do not directly sample clinically relevant biomarkers from the site of application, but rather, require further processing of body fluids. Other diagnostic methodologies that are not based on molecular assaying, e.g., biopsies, are usually cumbersome and fraught with misdiagnosis risks due to their inherently visual and subjective nature. For localized, non-circulating biomarkers, however, this has often been the only diagnostic option to-date.
There is a need in the art for better means for detecting and analyzing biomarkers present in the body of subjects having or at risk of developing various diseases or disorders. The present invention addresses this and other needs.

Methods and devices for detection and acquisition of biomarkers


A locking device for securing a component, such as a seating frame to a floor, for example, in an aircraft, includes a locking bolt, one end of which is provided with a locking cross-head, having two projections that engage under rail rims of a support rail in the floor. The other end of the bolt is provided with a threading that cooperates with a nut for providing the required clamping force. At least two alignment guide studs are so positioned that the locking bolt is oriented intermediate the two studs. These studs fit into respective recesses in the rail for properly locating the locking device. A carrier member of the locking device may be a separate base plate or it my be part of the seating frame structure. A slot, at the visible end of the locking bolt, is so oriented, that it indicates the locked or unlocked condition of the locking bolt. The slot also serves for inserting a tool to bring the cross-head with its projections into the locked position and to then hold the bolt for tightening or loosening the nut.

A floor that divides a passenger cabin from a cargo hold in an aircraft is equipped with support rails which are secured in the floor. The support rails are accessible from above by the locking device. Such locking devices include at least one locking element, that is rotatable in a carrier and has at least one projection for lockingly engaging the support rail, more specifically a locking rim of the support rail.
Such devices are used, for example, to secure seating structures or other equipment to the floor in a passenger cabin of an aircraft. However, such locking devices are not limited to the just given example. The devices may also be used, as another example for securing components, such as room dividers, in a cargo hold of an aircraft. Such room dividers are secured to respective rails in the floor of the cargo hold. However, conventional devices of this type leave room for improvement, since these devices do not permit a simple and rapid operation of the locking devices, for example, for changing a seating arrangement. Further, the operational locking devices are not especially compact and leave room for improvement with regard to securing such components in all three directions of space in a three-dimensional coordinate system having coordinates X, Y and Z.

Locking device for securing a component to a rail, especially in an aircraft


A post-incubation treatment is employed to effectively remove targets, such as proteins/protein complexes, or other label-bearing moieties that may non-specifically bind to a microarray substrate during a binding assay. Following incubation, a one-step wash is carried out with a liquid containing digester, e.g., a digestive enzyme (protease) or lysosome, which is effective to remove non-specifically bound targets or at least labeled portions of such targets from the substrate. Proteases are bound to or coated onto large molecules or onto solid particles of such a size such that they are prohibited from entering the porous surfaces of 3-D hydrogel microspots and are unable to reach and digest labeled target-probe complexes that are disposed within such porous hydrogel microspots. Digested segments of such protein which contain labels (or of essentially the entire protein) are carried away in the wash liquid and thus are not present to create background noise during imaging.

Background binding of proteins, carbohydrates, cell lysates and the like to glass or other substrates employed in microarrays which include microspots containing protein capture agents or the like has posed a problem for a number of years. Non-specific binding of proteins to a microarray substrate increases the background noise when the microarray is imaged or the signals generated on the microspots are otherwise read; this makes it difficult to detect and distinguish signals being obtained from labels which should be specifically bound to particular spots, particularly in instances where the signal is relatively weak, because such background noise interferes and prevents obtaining precise readings.
To date two of the more common methods being used to attempt to alleviate or mitigate this problem involve manners of blocking the regions of the surface of the substrate surrounding each of the plurality of microspots. Such blocking has been done by chemically coating the surface of the substrate, e.g., by carrying out chemical reactions with the amino groups with which the glass surface has often been derivatized, as for example using succinic anhydride. A second method has employed the attachment of small molecules to the glass surface, for example, BSA, tRNA, skim milk solids, casein and the like. Various of these blocking methods are described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/004823 which itself proposes the use of a "spreading enhancer solution" that would presumably be effective in assays employing nucleic acid probes. U.S. Pat. No. 5,248,595 is concerned with assays which employ antibodies, and it suggests removing uncomplexed protein materials using an aqueous wash, buffered to pH 9 or above and containing a specific anionic surfactant. U.S. Pat. No. 5,656,504 is concerned with assays employing antibodies, and it discloses coating glass supports with a layer of carboxylated dextran to prevent the undesired binding of proteins. U.S. Pat. No. 5,017,559 suggests blocking non-specific absorption of antibodies or the like onto a substrate by the use of milk protein plus a specific percentage of an organic acid.
Although various of these proposed solutions to the problem have shown some success, none of them has been widely accepted as the total solution to this problem. Accordingly the search has gone on for better solutions for combating background noise in reading microarrays, and particularly for those which use three-dimensional (3-D) hydrogel microspots.

Alleviation of non-specific binding in microarray assays


Provided is a vehicle rear spoiler device to be mounted on a rear side of a roof of a vehicle. The vehicle rear spoiler device includes a wall surface for forming an air flow path between the wall surface and a rear window glass of the vehicle. A part of an air current moving rearward along a roof surface of the roof during traveling is caused to pass through the air flow path as a downward current toward the rear window glass. The wall surface is formed to gradually widen the air flow path in a manner that an outflow width of an outlet on the rear window glass side in the air flow path is larger than an inflow width of an inlet on the roof side in the air flow path.

Hitherto, various types of vehicle rear spoiler devices have been proposed. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a vehicle rear spoiler device configured to form an air flow path having an outflow width smaller than an inflow width between the vehicle rear spoiler device and a rear window glass provided in a rear section of a vehicle. With this, a width of the air flow path between the vehicle rear spoiler device and the rear window glass is gradually reduced. As a result, an air current passes through the air flow path at higher speed (flow rate), and the air current at the higher flow rate is directed to the rear window glass in the rear section of the vehicle. Water droplets and the like adhering to the rear window glass are blown off by the air current at the higher flow rate, or the water droplets are suppressed from adhering thereto by an air-curtain effect. In this way, a cleaning effect of the rear window glass can be obtained (refer, for example, to Patent Literature 1).


The invention relates to a compound of the general formula (I) or a physiologically functional derivative, solvate or salt thereof,

Casein kinase 1 (CK1) is a family of highly related, constitutively active serine/threonine protein kinases (Christenson E, De Maggio A J and Hockstra M F. (1997). Recent Results Cancer Res. 143, 263-274; Gross S D and Anderson R A. (1998). Cell Signal 10, 699-711).
CK1 is ubiquitously expressed in eukaryotes. Mammalian family members comprise at least seven mammalian CK1 isoforms (α, β, γ1, γ2, γ3, δ and ε) and their various splice variants. (Fish K J, Cegielska A, Getman M E, Landes G M and Virshup D M. (1995). J. Biol. Chem. 270, 14875-14883; Graves P R, Haas D W, Hagedorn C H, De Paoli-Roach A A and Roach P J. (1993). J. Biol. Chem. 268, 6394-6401; Rowles J, Slaughter C, Moomaw C, Hsu J and Cobb M H. (1991). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88, 9548-9552; Zhai L, Graves P R, Robinson L C, Italiano M, Culbertson M R, Rowles J, Cobb M H, De Paoli-Roach A A and Roach P J. (1995). J. Biol. Chem. 270, 12717-12724).
These isoforms share a high degree of similarity within their protein kinase domains. For example CK1δ and CK1ε are 98% identical in this region (Fish K J, Cegielska A, Getman M E, Landes G M and Virshup D M. (1995). J. Biol. Chem. 270, 14875-14883; Graves P R, Haas D W, Hagedorn C H, De Paoli-Roach A A and Roach P J. (1993). J. Biol. Chem. 268, 6394-6401), but show considerable variation in the presence, length and primary structure of the C-terminal non-catalytic domain (Christenson E, De Maggio A J and Hockstra M F. (1997). Recent Results Cancer Res. 143, 263-274). These variable C-terminal domains are responsible for substrate specificity of the different isoforms (Cegielska A, Gietzen K F, Rivers A and Virshup D M. (1998). J. Biol. Chem. 273, 1357-1364; Graves P R and Roach P J. (1995). J. Bio. Chem. 270, 21689-21694) and are involved in the regulation of the interaction with other proteins, and/or subcellular structures.
Autophosphorylation, (Cegielska A, Gietzen K F, Rivers A and Virshup D M. (1998). J. Biol. Chem. 273, 1357-1364; and perhaps dimerization in the case of CK1δ Longenecker K L, Roach P J and Hurley T D. (1998). Acta Crystallogr. D. Biol. Crystallogr. 54, 473-475) are additional mechanisms that regulate CK1 activity, specificity, and sub-cellular localization. The list of known substrates of the CK1 family is still increasing, and so far includes cytoskeleton proteins such as spectrin, troponin, myosin and tau (Simkowski K W and Tao M. (1980) J. Biol. Chem. 255, 6456-6461; Singh T J, Akatsuka A, Blake K R and Huang K P. (1983). Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 220, 615-622; Singh T J, Grunke-Iqbal I and Iqbal K. (1995). J. Neurochem. 64, 1420-1423; and transcriptional components such as RNA polymerases I and II, SV40 T antigen and CREM Dahmus ME. (1981). J. Biol. Chem. 256, 11239-11243; de Groot R P, den Hertog J, Vandenhee de J R, Grois J and Sassone-Corsi P. (1993). EMBO J, 12, 3903-3911; Grässer F A, Scheidtmann K H, Tuazon P T, Traugh J A and Walter G. (1988). Virology 165, 13-22).
CK1 isoforms can influence the development of tumors in many ways. Their ability to modulate p53 and Mdm2 functions through site-directed phosphorylation, their function in centrosome and spindle regulation, the opposite roles of CK1 isoforms in Wnt signaling and their involvement in impeding apoptosis demonstrate the potential role of CK1 family members in proliferative diseases on multiple levels. Different isoforms seem to play an important role in the development and progression of certain tumor types. Therefore, the interest in targeting CK1 for drug development has increased within the last 5 years. The role of the casein kinase 1 (CK1) family in different signaling pathways is linked to cancer development (Uwe Knippschild et. al., Onkologie 2005; 28:508-514). Further information on specific disorders connected with the casein kinase 1 (CK1) family has been published in: Uwe Knippschild et al., Cellular Signalling 17 (2005) 675-689.
The Wnt and Hedgehog pathways are involved in the regulation of stem cell identity and the initiation and maintenance of many tumor types. Dysregulation of these pathways play an important role in cancer stem cell maintainence. Casein kinases 1ε and 1δ are mainly positive modulators of the Wnt and the Hh pathways. Thus, selective inhibition of Casein kinases 1ε and 1δ inhibit the proliferation and self renewal of cancer stem cells.
Multiple members of the casein kinase I family of serine/threonine protein kinases can have positive or negative effects on individual regulatory elements of the Wnt and Hedgehog pathway, which in summary leads to inhibition. These roles, including recent results on Casein kinase 1 (CK1) phosphorylation and activation of LRP6, CKI phosphorylation of Ci and mediation of Ci-Slimb/β-TrCP binding were revived ("CKI, There's more than one: casein kinase I family members in Wnt and Hedgehog signaling" Price M A, Genes & Dev. 2006. 20: 399-410). Both the Wnt and Hh signaling pathways are important in many developmental patterning events.
Alzheimer's disease is an age-related disorder characterized in part by the appearance of intracellular lesions composed of filamentous aggregates of the microtubule-associated protein tau. Abnormal tau phosphorylation accompanies tau aggregation and is considered to be an upstream pathological event in this disease. Enzymes implicated in tau hyperphosphorylation in Alzheimer's disease include members of the casein kinase 1 family. (Kannanayakal, T J et al. Nuerosci Lett. 2008; 432(2): 141-5.)
The circadian clock links our daily cycles of sleep and activity to the external environment. Deregulation of the clock is implicated in a number of human disorders, including depression, seasonal affective disorder and metabolic disorders. Casein kinase 1 epsilon (CK1ε) and casein kinase 1 delta (CK1δ) are Ser-Thr protein kinases, which are closely related to each other and serve as key clock regulators. This was demonstrated by mutations in CK1δ and CK1ε that dramatically alter the circadian period. Therefore, inhibitors of CK1 have utility in treating circadian disorders. (Walten, K. M. et al. JPET 330:430-439, 2009.)
Several publications describe casein kinase inhibitors: Wager Travis et. al. Abstracts of Papers, 238th ACS National Meeting, Washington, D.C., United States, Aug. 16-20, 2009; Oumata Nassima et al. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry Volume 51 Issue 17 Pages 5229-5242 Journal 2008; Mashhoon N. et al. J Biol Chem 200; 275(26): 20052-60; Pfeifer C. et al. J Med Chem. 2009 Dec. 10; 52(23):7618-30.
In addition several patent applications regarding CK1δ and/or ε inhibitors were published: US 2010/0179154 A1; US 2004/0110808 A1; US 2008/0027124 A1; US 2009/0099237 A1.
Several patents and patent applications described certain specific acyl-amino-benzimidazoles with pharmacological activity: EP 1 388 341 A1 and US 2004/0110808 A1; U.S. Pat. No. 7,132,438 B2; WO 2007/064932 A2; DE 27 54 930 A1; US 2003/0144286.

Bifluorodioxalane-amino-benzimidazole kinase inhibitors for the treatment of cancer, autoimmuneinflammation and CNS disorders

Abstract: wherein    A, X, L, Y, R, and RN are as defined herein. The invention further relates to the use of the compounds of formula (I) as a medicament, a pharmaceutical composition comprising them, a method of treatment or prevention of a medical condition entailing the administration thereof, and the use thereof in the manufacture of a medicament for the treatment or prevention of a medical condition, particularly autoimmune inflammatory disorders, CNS disorders, sleeping disorders, or proliferative diseases including cancer. The invention further relates to a specific process for the preparation of said compounds.


A dishwasher operates to sense the need for a drain or purge operation based on dynamic characteristics of a respective washing operation such that an adaptive system is defined. In accordance with the invention, washing fluid used to spray clean kitchenware being washed is filtered and soil from the kitchenware is collected. When the filtering system becomes clogged, a flow signal is established to indicate the need for at least a partial drain operation. Most preferably, this arrangement is used in combination with signals from a turbidity sensor, as well as pump motor current signals, to provide an comprehensive, dynamically adaptive control system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of dishwashers and, more particularly, to a drain and purge system employed in a dishwasher.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In a typical dishwasher, washing fluid is pumped from a sump into upper and lower wash arms such that kitchenware retained on vertically spaced racks within a tub of the dishwasher will be sprayed with the washing fluid for cleaning purposes. The washing fluid is heated, filtered and recirculated. Prior to recirculating the washing fluid, the fluid is directed through one or more filters to remove soil from the fluid, with the soil being collected in a chamber. Periodically, the system will be purged in order to drain the collection chamber of the soil.
In recent years, it has become increasingly common to provide a series of straining or filtering units in connection with an overall dishwasher pumping system such that different sized soil particles are collected at varying locations. For example, a strainer can be employed to retain large soil particles, while a fine filter can be utilized to remove smaller particles. That is, the smaller particles are able to pass through the strainer, which essentially constitutes a first filtering unit, and are caught by the second or fine filter. In connection with the pumping and filtering operation, it is also known to incorporate a mincer or chopper in order to minimize soil particle size, such as just prior to a drainage operation.
Obviously, the ability of the dishwasher to thoroughly clean the kitchenware will depend on a number of factors, including the actual configuration and flow of fluid through the filtering system, as well as the manner in which pumping and draining operations are performed. For instance, as the degree of soil on the kitchenware being cleaned can significantly change between loads, the amount of soil collected in the overall dishwasher pump will be different. Correspondingly, the desirable number of drain or purge operations needed to expel the collected soil can vary. Although various dishwasher pump and filtration systems are known in the art, there still exists a need for improvements in this field in order to further enhance the overall cleaning functions performed by dishwashers, particularly in connection with determining an effective system for providing drain or purging operations based on system dynamics such that an adaptive control is established.

Adaptive drain and purge system for a dishwasher


The present invention provides a spread spectrum type clock generation circuit whose EMI for peripheral equipment is reduced. The clock generation circuit comprises a phase-locked loop circuit and a clock modulation circuit. The clock modulation circuit comprises a ΔΣ modulator, to frequency-modulate an output clock by modulating the frequency division number of a frequency divider in the phase-locked loop circuit by a digital circuit, and further comprises a modulation pattern controller for distributing the peak of a triangular waveform which is a modulation waveform generated by a modulation pattern generator to change the amplitude and the period thereof, thereby making it possible to eliminate dullness and distortion of a modulation waveform in a modulating method using a conventional analog circuit and to obtain an output clock having higher modulation efficiency than that in a case where a normal triangular waveform is employed in a conventional modulating method using a digital circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a clock generation circuit for frequency-modulating an output clock, and more particularly, to a Spread Spectrum type clock generation circuit whose electromagnetic interference (hereinafter referred to as EMI) for peripheral equipment is reduced.
2. Related Background Art
Conventionally, as EMI measures, a clock generator having a clock modulation circuit may be employed in many cases in order to reduce the number of components such as ferrite beads and a passive filter in a case where the frequency of a system operation clock exceeds 10 MHz. However, the higher frequency modulation efficiency is in the clock generator, the more effective the use of the clock generator is as the EMI measures.
In a case where frequency modulation is performed with respect to a general clock generation circuit, modulation efficiency in the frequency modulation indicates how much the peak value is reduced when the respective spectra of an output clock in a case where no modulation is performed and a case where modulation is performed are compared with each other. That is, the smaller the peak value becomes, the better the modulation efficiency is.
The modulation efficiency varies depending on the period and the amplitude of a modulation waveform. It is said that the modulation efficiency is best when the period of the modulation waveform is generally 20 kHz to 50 kHz. The larger the amplitude of the modulation waveform is, the higher the modulation efficiency becomes. When the amplitude is increased, however, the frequency of the output clock greatly swings, so that jitter is increased. When the jitter is too high, an IC using the output clock may be erroneously operated. Therefore, a method of increasing the amplitude of the modulation waveform to improve the modulation efficiency has a limit. Thus, the frequency modulation efficiency has been conventionally improved by changing the modulation waveform.
A first example of modulating methods conventionally known is a method of modulating a control signal to be fed to a voltage controlled oscillator (hereinafter referred to as VCO) in a phase-locked loop (hereinafter referred to as PLL), that is, an output of a charge pump by an analog circuit, to generate a modulated clock by intentionally changing the frequency of an output clock (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 09-098152, U.S. Pat. No. 5,631,920).
It is generally said that as the inclination of a modulation wave form increases toward its peak portion, while decreasing toward its intermediate point when the amplitude and the period of the modulation waveform are respectively the same, the modulation efficiency thereof increases. In the above-mentioned conventional example, therefore, a modulation waveform generation apparatus capable of generating not a simple triangular waveform or sine waveform but a complicated waveform commonly called "hershey-kiss waveform" shown in FIG. 1 is employed in order to satisfy the above-mentioned inclination.
A second example of modulating methods conventionally known is a method of modulating the frequency division number of a frequency divider receiving an output of a VCO. In the second conventional example, it is possible to construct all constituent elements from one for generating a modulation waveform to one for adding a modulation component to the frequency division number of the frequency divider by a digital circuit and to generate a modulation component signal having a small number of steps of quantization by employing ΔΣ modulation to minutely change the modulation amplitude thereof (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-117662, U.S. Pat. No. 6,559,698).
In the above-mentioned first conventional example, a modulation signal is generated using the analog circuit, or using a digital-to-analog converter. Therefore, the modulation waveform is frequently distorted. Degradation of the frequency modulation efficiency due to the distortion second conventional example, the modulation waveform is generated by the digital circuit. From the viewpoint of eliminating the need for a complicated circuit, the modulation waveform is mainly a triangular waveform shown in FIG. 2. Since the slope of the triangular waveform is constant, however, the triangular waveform is inferior in frequency modulation efficiency.

Spread spectrum type clock generation circuit for improving frequency modulation efficiency


A new and distinct variety of peach tree which is somewhat remotely similar to the "Elegant Lady" peach tree (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 4,399) and the "O'Henry" peach tree (U.S. Pat. No. 2,964), but from which it is distinguished by producing fruit which is mature for harvesting and shipment approximately July 22 to August 5 in the central San Joaquin Valley of California, the fruit being freestone having an oval shape and which further exhibits a highly colored and very firm light yellow flesh.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of peach tree, which will hereinafter be denominated varietally as the "Special Red July" peach tree, and, more particularly, to such a peach tree which produces freestone fruit which is mature for commercial harvesting and shipment approximately July 22 to August 5 in the San Joaquin Valley of central California, and which is further distinguished by the fruit being large, highly colored, productive and very firm and which hangs well on the tree so that it can be harvested over an extended two week period.
The discovery and development of new commercial varieties of fruit is a science dependent upon many years of observation of the myriad of individual characteristics of a multitude of varieties, a full knowledge of the critical characteristics of the best existing commercial varieties, a knowledge of the markets for the fruit thereof and a substantial amount of good fortune. Since the value of new varieties of fruit bearing trees is largely dependent upon the commercial acceptance of the fruit thereof, those attributes which enhance the attractiveness of the fruit to consumers generally receive the greatest scrutiny. Thus, size, coloration, flavor and the like are very important. Perhaps less obviously, but of equal importance, are such attributes as ripening time, productivity, holding quality, resistance to damage and resistance to disease and to pests. These qualities are of significance in ensuring that the fruit can be made available to the consumer at the best time, in the best possible condition and in commercially practical volume.
The fruit of the "Special Red July" peach tree of the subject invention possesses an unusually attractive combination of many of these commercial attributes. As will hereinafter be described in greater detail, the peach tree of the subject invention produces large, highly colored fruit having unusually firm flesh with superior holding qualities and ripening during a time period complementing existing commercial varieties.


A temperature control system for a gas appliance utilizes an improved variable orifice gas flow modulating valve (10) capable of direct modulation of gas flow through an orifice (20) directly into a gas burner (54) to provide a constantly maintained temperature in an appliance working compartment, as selected by human interface via a temperature selector. An actuator (12) attached to a gas fitting body (14) of the valve provides for linear movement of a metering pin (16) into the taper inside the orifice, accomplishing the variable controlled modulated flow of gas directly into the burner. The actuator (12) is controlled by an input signal from a programmable controller (90) whose output is determined by calculations based on inputs from a temperature selector and a temperature sensor located in the gas appliance working compartment.

1. Field
Embodiments of the present technology relate to gas valves for use in gas appliances. More particularly, embodiments of the technology involve a variable gas valve for modulating a flow of gas into a burner of a gas appliance.
2. Description of the Related Art
Gas valves are used to regulate an amount of gas fed to a gas appliance such as, for example, an oven, furnace, hot water heater, or fireplace. Gas valves have traditionally had two settings, on and off. Use of such valves causes undesirable fluctuations in appliance output. An oven set at 350°, for example, may fluctuate between 345° and 355° as the oven temperature control cycles through on at 345°, off at 355°, and then back on at 345°.
To address the problem of output fluctuation in gas appliances, variable gas valves were developed to modulate gas flow across a range of outputs instead of between an on position and an off position. Such variable gas valves enable output control systems to operate with less fluctuations than a traditional on/off type gas valve. Unfortunately, variable gas valves suffer from various problems and limitations. For example, modulating gas flow in variable gas valves affects the gas-air mixture, causing undesirable combustion of the mixture, such a "lazy yellow" flame instead of a "hard blue" flame.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,968,853 relates to a motor-operated valve for regulating gas flow, the valve being a lift-type modulating valve with a cut-off member providing a modulated flow between a minimum and maximum flow, and a safety shut-off means in the event of a locked motor rotation.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,287,108 discloses a method and apparatus for accurately and reproducibly setting a volumetric gas flow through a gas feed line to a burner nozzle of a gas-operated cooking or baking appliance as required for a desired burner heat output. A control system uses actual flow measurements from a gas flow meter and makes gas flow adjustments by means of an actuator operated valve accordingly.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,705 relates to a gas control valve for effecting the largest possible manipulation of visible flames in, for example, a gas-heated fireplace or similar device. A first valve includes a switch and control device facilitating operation and supervision of a burner by turning a flow of the gas on and off. A second valve manages pressure control and adjustment of the flame height by regulating a volume of gas flowing to the burner. A battery-operated, motor-driven actuator drives one of the two valves.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,484 relates to a safety and regulation valve including a reversible motor actuator acting on a movable device. The movable device is movable between an on position, an off position, and a plurality of intermediate positions for varying a volume of gas flow.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,294 provides a variable-orifice, solenoid-operated valve as a control device to meter gas flow as a function of sensed temperature and desired temperature.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,196 discloses a gas modulating valve for use with a gas burner. The valve accomplishes modulation through the use of two sliding plates positioned next to each other that have orifice holes that result in a reduced orifice passageway when the two plates are misaligned with each other. One of two variations disclosed discharges a gas jet directly into a mixing tube of a gas burner, while a second variation operates as an in-line gas modulating valve.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,488 relates to a microprocessor-controlled gas appliance comprised essentially of a computer control system and a microprocessor-actuated modulating gas valve.

Variable orifice gas flow modulating valve


In a personal communication service (PCS) environment, a plurality of messages are stored which are used to provide caller directive announcements. The caller directive announcements are associated with tag messages previously stored by a subscriber, and are sufficiently detailed to tell a caller, for example, that a subscriber is in a hotel and, thus, should be asked for by name.

Personal communication service (PCS) is a service in which subscribers, rather than locations or telephone stations, are assigned a personal telephone number. Calls placed to a subscriber's personal telephone number are routed to the subscriber at a telephone near that subscriber's current location. In order to provide a subscriber with such a personal communication service, e.g., as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,035, issued to Jordan, et al, the system providing the service (PCS system) must be supplied with the telephone number of a telephone near the subscriber's current location to which it should route calls placed to his personal telephone number. Each time the subscriber changes his location, the telephone number to which calls placed to his personal telephone number are routed must be changed. This requires the subscriber to call into the PCS system and to supply the telephone number to which his calls should currently be routed. Constantly having to call in to the PCS system can be tiresome, and supplying a ten-digit telephone number each time a subscriber changes his location is cumbersome.
To overcome these drawbacks, one prior art solution is to program a sequence of telephone numbers at any one of which the personal telephone service subscriber might be reached. The telephone numbers in a sequence are typically those of locations where a person is likely to be at various times throughout the day, such as "home," "car phone," "office," "pager," etc. When a call is made to the subscriber's personal telephone number, the PCS system attempts to complete the call by sequentially routing the call to each telephone number of the sequence. This process continues until: (a) the call is answered; (b) the call is abandoned; (c) the line associated with the telephone number is determined to be busy; or (d) until a predetermined period of time has elapsed. However, requiring the sequence of calls to be set by the subscriber in advance, and being the same for all callers, is inflexible.
Other special telephone calling systems that require a caller to enter a personal identification number (PIN) to determine to which of several potential destinations a call should be routed, are cumbersome, in that for each person a caller wishes to call, he might be required to learn a separate PIN.
Other systems exist in which calls are forwarded, or priority levels (call screening) are selected based on Automatic Number Identification (ANI). In these systems the subscriber can choose the maximum number of rings to occur at a particular location, or tailor the response of an answering machine based on the ANI. Other similar systems are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,199,062 and 5,239,577.
Another related patent of interest is U.S. Pat. No. 5,430,791, which patent is assigned to the same assignee as is the instant application.
However, none of the prior art systems give the calling party the flexibility of specifically providing caller directive announcements which indicate the location or status of the subscriber.

Method for providing caller directive announcements in a personal communication system


The height adjustable sink and vanity includes a fixed base portion that preferably includes two doors on the front that swing open to the sides. The cabinet is freestanding, but has no supporting surfaces on the front portion. The sink and countertop are vertically adjustable as a unit, with a standpipe below the sink that easily accommodates the adjustability. Projecting downward from the right and left edges of the countertop are panels that help prevent fingers and other objects from being pinched between the adjustable countertop portion and an adjacent, fixed surface. A remote control unit may be located on the end of a cord connected to a small electric motor that moves the unit up and down, depending on the selection made on the remote control unit.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to sinks and vanities to which the sinks are attached that may be vertically adjusted. In particular, the invention relates primarily to the drain pipe from the sink that permits of the vertical adjustability.
2. Background Information
There are several situations where it is desirable to be able to adjust a kitchen sink or bathroom basin in a vertical orientation. This is especially true in a home or institution where the sink or basin is used by people of varying heights or limited physical abilities. Obviously, the scene of a child standing on his or her tiptoes trying to reach the water faucet is a familiar one to those with families having small children. Perhaps less familiar but even more problematic are those situations where the sink or basin is used both by able-bodied people and also those with certain physical challenges. In particular, senior citizens who are restricted to a wheelchair may find it extremely inconvenient, if not impossible, to reach the faucet of a sink or basin that is intended to accommodate an able-bodied person of average adult height.
Others have tried to accomplish the task of providing a sink and vanity combination that is height adjustable. A number of problems accompany this endeavor, however, not least of which is the need for a drain pipe that meets the building code of most localities and is not prohibitively expensive. Also important, however, especially when considering an adjustable vanity, is a
The height adjustable sink and vanity of the present invention overcomes difficulties described above and affords other features and advantages heretofore not available.


A battery enclosure that includes a bottom portion configured to house a battery array and a top portion that is configured to rest on the bottom portion and enclose the battery array. The top portion of the battery enclosure is configured to be at least partially supported by the battery array when a load is placed on the top portion.

Telecommunications remote sites, utility switchgear sites, wireless sites and railroad sites all typically have electronic cabinets located in an outdoor environment. The equipment housed in these electronic cabinets frequently includes a battery back up that is used in the event of a utility power failure.
Batteries in such an environment are typically housed in the electronic cabinets themselves. While in operation, the equipment in the electronic cabinets generates heat that raises the ambient temperature of the batteries. Additionally, the electronic cabinets are heated by the sun, thus serving to further raise the temperature of the environment in which the batteries are operating. In most cases, a high heat environment shortens a battery's life. It is well known by those within the commercial battery industry that the effective life span of a battery is significantly diminished by extreme ambient temperatures.
In attempts to increase the effective life span of the batteries, prior art devices have been developed in which the batteries may be removed from the electronic cabinets. An example of such a device is an upright battery cabinet that may be placed next to the electronics cabinet. Upright cabinets and other prior art devices, however, take up additional space at the telecommunications, utility or other site. At many sites, space is at a premium, and the presence of separate battery enclosures crowds the site, making it more difficult for technicians to access the equipment housed in the electronic cabinets.
Additionally, even if an upright battery cabinet has a small footprint and does not take up a significant amount of space at the telecommunications, utility or other site, the expense and weight of the upright battery cabinet might make it impractical to use. An upright battery cabinet accommodates multiple batteries by arranging them on several vertical shelves. The vertical design requires the enclosure to be built with heavy bracing and metal to support the weight of the batteries. The bracing must be further reinforced if the battery cabinet is to be used in an area susceptible to seismic forces. As an upright battery cabinet gets taller, the moment arm when shaken gets larger and heavier metal and bracing is required. As heavier bracing and metal is needed, the expense of the upright battery cabinet increases. Additionally, the weight of the upright battery cabinet increases dramatically. The weight of some upright battery cabinets combined with the batteries housed inside the cabinet can exceed well over 400 pounds per square foot, which exceeds the capacity of most building rooftop designs, making use of the upright battery cabinet impracticable.
Accordingly, there exist a need in the art for an improved battery enclosure that houses batteries outside of an electronic cabinet.

Low profile insulated battery enclosure incorporating a step/work surface


An image forming apparatus, a color registration test pattern of the image forming apparatus, and a method of forming the color registration test pattern are provided. A time required for color registration may be reduced by minimizing a region in which a color registration test pattern is formed on an intermediate transfer body. A control method of the image forming apparatus, which includes photosensitive media arranged side by side to correspond to colors in a rotation direction of the intermediate transfer body, includes forming first patterns of the colors arranged in a single row in a sub-scanning direction in a first region of the intermediate transfer body over a single-rotation period of the photosensitive media, and forming second patterns of the colors arranged in a single row in the sub-scanning direction in a second region of the intermediate transfer body over another single-rotation period of the photosensitive media.

1. Field
Embodiments relate to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to color registration or color correction of the image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image forming apparatus of an electrophotographic system such as a laser printer, a digital copier, or the like is an apparatus in which a photosensitive medium charged to prescribed potential is irradiated with light to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive medium. A toner that is a developing agent is supplied to the electrostatic latent image to develop the electrostatic latent image into a visible image, and then the developed visible image may be transferred to a paper sheet to print the image.
In a case in which images of different colors are superimposed on each other in a color image forming apparatus, deterioration in quality of the image, such as at the edges of the image appearing to be blurred, and the like may occur when the images of the respective colors are not superimposed in a correct position. Since the deterioration in quality of the image may occur by a complex action of several variables such as replacement of a developer, an increase in the number of printed sheets, and the like, color registration that arranges images of the respective colors so as to be superimposed in a correct position is required.
In the related art, a separate additional working time other than a time allotted to printing work is required in order to determine positional deviation for each color or to arrange colors based on the positional deviation, and therefore efficiency of the printing work is decreased.

Image forming apparatus and method of controlling the same


A plant growth regulator for cotton harvest, which contains as an active ingredient, a compound of formula (I):

Various plant growth regulators have been used to enable easy crop harvest. For cotton plants, plant growth regulators for harvest are applied, for example, for the purposes of (1) allowing the cotton picker to operate faster and more efficiently, (2) preventing the main source of trash, resulting in better grade cotton, (3) allowing quicker drying of morning dew so that cotton boll picking can start earlier in the day, and (4) helping stimulate cotton boll opening to enable simultaneous harvest. Commercially available plant growth regulators for cotton harvest are widely used at present. However, there has been a great demand for higher-performance plant growth regulators for cotton harvest.

Plant growth regulators for cotton hervest

Abstract: wherein X is CH or nitrogen; Z is halogen; A is oxygen, sulfur, or NH; R1 is hydroxyl, C1–C7 alkoxy, C3–C7 alkenyloxy, C3–C7 alkynyloxy, C5–C7 cycloalkoxy, {(C1–C7 alkoxy)carbonyl}C1–C3 alkoxy, (C1–C7 alkylamino)oxy, {di(C1–C7 alkyl)amino}oxy, (C3–C7 alkylideneamino)oxy, C1–C7 alkylamino, di(C1–C7 alkyl)amino, C3–C7 alkenylamino, C3–C7 alkynylamino, C5–C7 cycloalkylamino, {(C1–C7 alkoxy)carbonyl}C1–C3 alkylamino, or (C1–C7 alkoxy)amino; R2 is hydrogen or methyl; and R3 is hydrogen, halogen, C1–C3 alkyl, or C1–C3 alkoxy.


A track traverse detecting circuit for generating a count-out signal with precision in addressing high-speed traverse operations appropriately. The circuit includes a tracking zero cross (TZC) signal generating circuit, two delay circuits, an edge detecting circuit and a mirror signal generating circuit. The TZC signal generating circuit generates a TZC signal at the zero cross timing of a tracking error signal. The TZC signal is then delayed by one of the two delay circuits by an appropriate time in accordance with the traverse speed for access to a desired track. Edges of the delayed TZC signal are detected by the edge detecting circuit. A mirror signal output by the mirror signal generating circuit is sampled at the timing of the detected TZC signal edges. The output of the sampling is provided accurately as the count-out signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital servo apparatus for optical disc players and, more particularly, to a track traverse detecting circuit contained in the digital servo apparatus to detect the traverse operation of an optical pickup spot across tracks (i.e., pit arrays) on an optical disc.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When starting to play back a disc, optical disc players such as CD players read and store beforehand TOC (table of contents) data from a read-in area of the currently set disc. Upon access to a desired track based on a search command, the microcomputer in the optical disc player first calculates the currently read sub-code Q data to find the current track number and then the number of the desired track. The difference between the two track numbers allows the microcomputer to find the number of tracks to be jumped. Accordingly the microcomputer drives the optical system of the player to jump the calculated number of tracks in order to reach the target track. The need to count the number of tracks jumped upon jump operation requires detecting the traverse operation of the optical pickup spot across tracks. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a prior art tracking servo system for controlling the jump operation. In FIG. 1, the information recorded on a disc 1 is read by an optical pickup 2. The read RF signal is sent to a demodulating system, not shown, via an RF amplifier 3 as well as to a track traverse detecting circuit 4.
A tracking error signal generating circuit 5 generates a tracking error (TE) signal based on the output of the pickup 2. Generated by the known three-beam generation method or the like, the TE signal has a S-curve characteristic. The TE signal is then fed to the track traverse detecting circuit 4. In turn, the track traverse detecting circuit 4 generates a count-out signal Cout based on the RF signal and TE signal. The count-out signal Cout is a signal that indicates the traverse operation of the optical pickup spot across a track. The signal Cout is supplied to .mu.CPU (microcomputer) 6.
The .mu.CPU 6 counts the count-out signal Cout that is generated every time the optical pickup spot traverses a track. When the count value coincides with the track count held beforehand in a register in keeping with the search target address, the .mu.CPU 6 issues a jump stop command to a tracking controller 7. Accordingly the tracking controller 7 operates a tracking actuator, not shown, in the pickup 2 through an actuator driver 8.
FIG. 2 is a clock diagram of the typical prior art track traverse detecting circuit 4. In FIG. 2, the RF signal and TE signal are digitized by an A/D converter 11 before they are sent to a mirror signal (mirror face detection signal) generating circuit 12 and a TZC (tracking zero cross) signal generating circuit 13. The mirror signal generating circuit 12 generates a high-level mirror signal ( a ) ( see FIG. 3) by detecting a mirror face between tracks (pit arrays) on the disc 1.
The mirror signal (a) is a signal which goes High when the optical spot is irradiated at a disc mirror face (area between tracks or pit arrays), and which goes Low when the optical spot is irradiated at a track. A TZC signal (c) is generated when the sign bit of the TE signal (b) is captured, the TE signal representing the deviation of the optical spot from any of the tracks or from any mirror area therebetween. When the TE signal (b) is zero, i.e., when the optical spot is located precisely on a track or on a mirror face, the TZC signal (c) goes from High to Low or vice versa.
During a traverse operation, a TZC edge signal (d) is generated at the time when a midpoint is reached between a High and a Low period of the mirror signal. This is how the phase difference becomes substantially 90 degrees between mirror signal (a) and TZC signal (c). In a digitized setup, however, the delay resulting from the sampling by the A/D converter and the delay stemming from a noise-reducing LPF (low pass filter ) combine to delay the mirror signal (a) in phase.
The TZC signal generating circuit 13 generates the TZC signal (c) by detecting the zero cross timing of the TE signal (b). The TZC (c) signal is supplied to an edge detecting circuit 14. The edge detecting circuit 14 detects leading and trailing edges of the TZC signal (c). The TZC edge signal (d) output by the edge detecting circuit 14 is fed as a sampling signal to a sampling circuit 15 for sampling of the mirror signal (a). The output of the sampling circuit 15 is provided as the count-out signal Cout (e) which is a track traverse signal.
The growing use of digital servo circuits today requires the mirror signal (a) to be generated by a mirror signal generating circuit 12 of a digital circuit construction, as described. In such cases, the generation timing of the mirror signal (a) is delayed illustratively by two factors, the first being the delay from the sampling of the A/D converter 11, the other being the delay due to a noise-reducing LPF (low pass filter) in the mirror signal generating circuit 12. Theoretically, there should be the 90-degree phase difference between mirror signal (a) and TZC signal (c), as shown in FIG. 3.
For the reasons described, the generation timing of the mirror signal (a) tends to be delayed. This poses no serious problem when the traverse speed is not very high during track search. However, as the traverse speed is increased, a delayed-mirror signal (a) develops a disturbed phase relationship relative to the TZC signal (c). When the traverse speed is very high, the TZC signal (c) can overtake the mirror signal (a) in phase.
At low-speed traverse time, the delay of the mirror signal (a) is negligible with respect to its pulse width, as shown in FIG. 3. As the traverse speed is increased, the pulse width of the mirror signal (a) is reduced. This raises the delay ratio of the mirror signal (a) with respect to its pulse width. In turn, the phase difference becomes smaller than the theoretical 90 degrees between mirror signal (a) and TZC signal (c).
The signal Cout is obtained by sampling the mirror signal (a) using the TZC edge signal (d). Since what needs to be accomplished here is for the microprocessor to count the number of tracks traversed, there is no intrinsic need for the 90 degree phase difference to be maintained between mirror signal (a) and TZC signal (c). However, as the traverse speed is made still higher, with the result that edges of the mirror signal are delayed relative to the TZC signal (c), the signal Cout tends to develop missing edges. This means that the ,microprocessor is now incapable of accurately counting the number of traversed tracks.
At high-speed traverse time in particular, the count-out signal Cout is most likely to develop missing edges, as illustrated by the signal Cout at 16, 17, 18 and 19 FIG. 5. This phenomenon, making it impossible to count the number of traversed tracks accurately, exemplifies the inability of the prior art to acquire precise track counts. This is a major impediment to the accurate provision of track-related control functions including track indexing.

Digital servo apparatus for optical disc player


A mounting system adapted to receive a plurality of transmitter receiver modules and each including an upper antenna part and a lower electronic components part. The lower part includes transmitter receiver module contacts on the end opposite the upper part. The mounting system includes a substrate rear panel including transmitter receiver module contact receivers on a first side and active support units on a second side. Each contact receiver is adapted to receive transmitter receiver module contacts of one receiver module. The supports are adapted to support a plurality of receiver modules. One single substrate rear panel is adapted to receive the receiver modules in a matrix. The mounting system includes a ground plane and an electric conductive sheet, and is arranged such that when the receiver modules are mounted in the mounting system, the ground plane levels with the receiver modules transition from the upper to the lower part.

AESA arrays are well known. An AESA is based on a high number of TRM:s that can control the direction of the radar beam by adjusting their individual transmission. Today the TRM:s are normally assembled into a multipack of TRM:s, wherein the multipack is mounted together with other multipacks to form the AESA. The TRM:s are mounted in rows in the individual multipacks. The smallest exchange unit is this multipack which must be exchanged in a whole if one of the TRM:s in the multipack is defective. This is obviously a waste of those TRM:s still working in such an multipack. Further, as several multipacks are mounted adjacent to each other periodical errors can occur, wherein the radar performance of the AESA decreases.
Each multipack is typically provided with metallic structures adapted for support, cooling and shielding of the TRM:s in the multipack. Thereby is the weight of each of the multipacks, and even more the AESA array in a whole, considerable and it is wished to reduce this weight.

Mounting system for transmitter receiver modules of an active electronically scanned array


An improved, portable X-ray tomography system is disclosed wherein lateral movement of the various tomography components relative to a stationary patient during a scanning procedure is precisely controlled by mechanical displacement means which, in tarn, is coupled to electro-mechanical means for simultaneously measuring and monitoring the amount of the displacement.

The present invention is an improvement in portable X-ray tomography systems such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,928,283 (issued May 22, 1990 to Bernard M. Gordon for X-Ray Tomography Apparatus, and assigned to the present assignee) and 5,109,397 issued Apr. 28, 1992 to Bernard M. Gordon et al. for X-Ray Tomography Apparatus With Lateral Movement Compensation, also assigned to the present assignee); and helical scan tomography systems such as described in German Gebrauchsmuster File No. G 87 03 190.6, filed by Siemens AG and published Aug. 11, 1988, all three documents being incorporated herein by reference.
Tomography systems have been used for many years to create images of cross-sectional slices through object, and are particularly used as a diagnostic aid. CT (computed tomography) scan systems usually include a gantry assembly comprising a disk mounted for rotation within a gantry frame. In third generation machines, the disk supports X-ray imaging components including an X-ray source and X-ray detectors that rotate within a stationary frame. In fourth generation machines the X-ray detectors are secured equiangularly around the stationary frame while the source rotates with the disk relative to the detectors. In both types of systems, the source may provide periodic X-ray pulses, or alternatively, continuous-wave (CW) X-rays. The disk of the gantry is normally adapted to rotate through a full 360.degree. rotation so that the imaging components secured to the disk rotate through a plurality of incremental positions where a corresponding series or set of readings (called "views") by the detectors are made. The number of photons absorbed along the various paths through the object, during each sampling period defining each view or set of readings is a function of the absorption characteristics of the portions of the object along each path during each set of readings. Thus, a plurality of views are taken through the portion of an object disposed within the common plane of rotation of the X-ray paths (hereinafter the "scanning plane"). The detectors generate a corresponding plurality of analog information signals representative of X-ray flux detected by the detectors during each sampling period or projection view.
The output analog information signals of the X-ray detectors acquired from all of the views of the 360.degree. rotation, i.e., through all of the incremental angular positions of the 360.degree. rotation within the scanning plane, are processed, typically through a back projection processing technique, so as to create an image of the slice of the interior structure of the object exposed to the X-rays: In some CT scanners, provision is made to move the patient support while performing a scan in order to provide a helical scan so as to increase the scanned volume.
An important consideration in CT scanning has always been the accurate and consistent alignment of the tomography components and the patient both throughout the rotation and over the course of many scans and patients. Misalignment or movement can negatively influence the data of an entire scan. In order to deal with this factor, manufacturers of prior art CT scan apparatus typically have produced a very large and massive machine which includes a heavy gantry assembly for supporting the tomography components. The handling of this weight requires additional mass in the remainder of the apparatus and typically a large apparatus overall. The rotating disk supporting at least the X-ray source is typically rotatably supported in a excessive, finely-machined bearing assembly, and an extremely massive and heavy support system is provided for supporting the gantry assembly and tomography components. The very massiveness of these systems helps to minimize vibration and other lateral mechanical movements, which, for example, can occur with wear between parts moving relative to one another.
But such massive systems are also extremely expensive to build and once located and constructed for use are extremely difficult to relocate. They require large amounts of floor space and thus can not be used in space limited environments. Thus, use of such systems, for example, within the operating theater are impractical. The result is that a very powerful data gathering diagnostic system is not readily available to a surgeon when such data might be very helpful, or to trauma units when movement of the patient should be minimized.
One ramification of the extra size and mass of these machines has been to provide a fixed gantry assembly so as to require a movable patient table, as the weight of the patient and the patient table is typically much less than the weight of the gantry assembly and its rotating components. A movable patient table is used not only to properly position the patient in the desired location relative to the fixed gantry assembly so that a scan can be performed through a select portion of the patient's body; but in the case of machines capable of performing helical scans, to move the patient parallel to the rotation axis (referred to as the "Z-axis") of the tomography imaging components, while the components are rotating about the patient. But, the apparatus which has resulted from these various requirements has been typically large, heavy, expensive, and difficult to relocate. It has required a large amount of floor space and thus can not be used in space-limited environments. A further disadvantage caused by the size and weight of these apparatuses has been the wear experienced in the moving parts thereof. Moreover, in the course of repositioning a movable patient table for successive scans or a helical scan, the momentum of the movement of the table can result in patient movement during the scan resulting in erroneous scanning data. This problem can be especially acute when the table moves abruptly at the beginning or end of a scan.
At least one three dimensional CT scanning system has been suggested in German Gebrauchsmuster File No. G 87 03 1906 (described above) in which the tomographic elements move through a helical path about a stationary patient table. As described in the document, a rotating ring supports the X-ray source and X-ray receiver. The rotating ring is provided with helical screw threads so that as the ring rotates within a shell during a scan it simultaneously moves parallel to the patient table so that the ring moves in a helical manner along the length of the patient table and so that a high three-dimensional volume can be measured. The data acquired during a three dimensional scan male it possible to reconstruct large volume images. However, the movement of the rotating ring is confined to helical movement so that the system is only capable of three-dimensional scanning. Additionally, while the patent suggests that, depending on system design, it is possible to reconstruct images taken during the three-dimensional scanning process for any theoretical rotating ring inclination (layer angle) on the basis of data taken during the scan even through the scanning plane established by the ring can not be-tilted. This would require the ring to be laterally displaced parallel to the orientation of the patient table over a large distance. For example, to obtain data equivalent to a 45.degree. inclined angle, the rotating ring would have to transverse a distance equal to the distance between the source and detectors exposing the patient to excessive amounts of X-rays over a large period of time. Further, the ring appears to be large, and unnecessarily massive. The system therefore would not be practical as a portable system.
The portable tomography apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,283 (Gordon) represents a significant improvement in the state of the art by providing an apparatus with a high degree of mobility. The tomography components are supported on a structure that also serves to support a removable patient table. The gantry assembly is movable between a first position where the table is disposed within the gantry and a scan can be performed on a patient disposed on the patient table and a second position where the gantry assembly is oriented 90.degree. to the first position so that it can be more easily transported and stored. The gantry assembly can be tilted The support structure in the Gordon patent also provides means for rotating the tomography components about the Z-axis and means for moving the tomography components linearly along the Z-axis relative to the table when the tomography components are oriented in the first direction. The patent suggests that the apparatus is thus capable of helical scanning.
The apparatus of the Gordon patent is therefore an improvement over the much larger, essentially immobile tomography systems of the prior art, With the Gordon apparatus, the tomography system can be brought to the patient, for example, instead of vice versa. But, the apparatus of the Gordon patent is still larger and less maneuverable than desired because this apparatus necessarily incorporates the support structure for the patient table. Furthermore, this apparatus requires transferring a patient to the special removable patient table, which inhibits use of the apparatus at critical times such as during surgery, or during emergency situations. In addition, precise control and measurement of the position of the gantry assembly relative to the patient is an elusive problem, since reducing the overall weight and mass of the system increase the amount of vibration and mechanical noise to which the system will be subject as the components rotate during a scan.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,397 (Gordon et al.) attempts to overcome some of the problems endemic to a portable tomography system by incorporating means for providing error information at incremental angular positions and means for compensating the data derived from the analog information signals. Another type of measurement system for providing such error information is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/162,653 filed on Dec. 6, 1993 in the names of Bernard Gordon, et al., for "Apparatus for and Method of Measuring Geometric, Positional and Kinematic Parameters of a Rotating Device" (Attorney's Docket No. ANA-21) and assigned to the present assignee. It remains desirable, nevertheless, to reduce or eliminate misalignment errors in portable tomography systems through more accurate control and measurement of the position and orientation of the tomography components.
It is desirable to provide an improvement over the X-ray system described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,283 (Gordon), by providing an improved X-ray tomography system with translation a pivoting control so that precise positioning of the components relative to a stationary patient table can be easily accomplished.

X-ray tomography system with gantry pivot and translation control


A computing system is described herein that expedites deep neural network (DNN) operations or other processing operations using a hardware accelerator. The hardware accelerator, in turn, includes a tensor-processing engine that works in conjunction with a scalar-processing unit (SPU). The tensor-processing engine handles various kinds of tensor-based operations required by the DNN, such as multiplying vectors by matrices, combining vectors with other vectors, transforming individual vectors, etc. The SPU performs scalar-based operations, such as forming the reciprocal of a scalar, generating the square root of a scalar, etc. According to one illustrative implementation, the computing system uses the same vector-based programmatic interface to interact with both the tensor-processing engine and the SPU.

Many deep neural networks (DNNs) operate in environments that demand low-latency responses. These types of environments include search engines, real-time video analysis engines, interactive speech recognition engines, sensor analysis engines, and so on. For example, a user who interacts with a search engine will expect a near real-time response to his or her search request.

Tensor-based hardware accelerator including a scalar-processing unit


A spark plug is provided which is suitable for use in a spark ignition system for an internal combustion engine. The spark plug is equipped with a specially configured firing tip on each of its electrodes for the purpose of minimizing the demand voltage of the spark plug, as well as extending the life of the spark plug by maximizing the time over which the demand voltage will remain within an acceptable level. For this purpose, the firing tips are configured such that their firing surfaces include at least three edges and three corners which serve as arc initiation sites of a relatively low resistance arc path between the electrodes.

Spark ignition of an internal combustion engine generally involves igniting an air/fuel mixture with an electric spark generated between a center electrode and a ground electrode of a spark plug. The facing surfaces of the center and ground electrodes are typically flat, and serve as arcing or firing surfaces between which the electric spark is generated. The voltage required to generate a spark between the electrodes is often referred to as the sparking, arcing, or demand voltage, and is known to be dependant in part on the spark gap between the electrodes and the size of the electrodes. Typically, the electrodes are formed from a nickel-based alloy which is resistant to the harsh electrical, thermal, chemical and mechanical environment of an engine's combustion chamber. The nickel-based alloy is often applied over a copper core which improves the thermal conductivity of the electrodes, such that excessive electrode temperatures are avoided that might otherwise cause auto-ignition.
As illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 5,196,760 to Takamura et al., electrodes which are specially shaped to maintain the demand voltage at a relatively constant level over the life of the spark plug are known. Takamura et al. teach a center electrode having an annular undercut. The thickness of the portion above the undercut determines the useful life of the spark plug, in that the demand voltage remains generally stable while this portion exists, but increases drastically once the electrode has eroded down to the undercut. The portion of the electrode above the undercut has a circular cross-section, as is conventional, such that the circular perimeter of the electrode's firing surface provides a single and continuous sharp edge as an arc initiation site for an electric spark. However, as noted by Takamura et al., this edge is eventually consumed, such that suitable arc initiation sites available during the majority of the spark plug's life are limited to the electrode's firing surface and the sharp edge formed by the undercut and the portion remaining above the undercut.
As noted in Takamura et al., it is known to substitute a noble metal for the more conventional nickel alloys for the purpose of extending the life of the electrode. The use of a noble metal electrode is particularly advantageous when attempting to minimize the size of the electrode. As is known in the prior art, minimizing the size of an electrode reduces the potential for a phenomenon known as flame quenching or extinguishing, which occurs when an excessive amount of thermal energy in the flame kernel produced within the spark gap is absorbed by the electrode. As is also known in the prior art, a smaller electrode also serves to lower the demand voltage of its spark plug.
To minimize the amount of noble metal required, it is also known to attach a noble metal firing tip, such as a thin platinum alloy disc, to the firing surface of an otherwise conventional nickel alloy electrode, for the purpose of minimizing the amount of noble metal required. U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,103 to Yamaguchi et al. teaches a variation of this, in which a firing tip having minimal mass is welded to and projects from the surface of its base electrode. As a result, the firing tip is specifically configured to benefit from the advantages noted above with smaller electrodes. The firing tip taught by Yamaguchi et al. preferably has a rectangular shape with a square cross-section, with its longitudinal axis being oriented transverse to the axis of the center electrode. The firing tip is not coaxially aligned with the center electrode, as is conventionally done, but is offset such that only an edge of the firing tip is proximate to the center electrode. Alternative shapes are suggested for the firing tip, including circular, trapezoidal, and triangular cross-sections.
While the above approaches taught by the prior art generally achieve their respective objectives, further improvements in efficiency would be desirable. For example, though the demand voltage for the spark plug taught by Takamura et al. remains generally stable as long as the portion above the undercut is present, the demand voltage nevertheless increases significantly as the sharp edge at the firing surface's perimeter is eroded. While the noble metal firing tip taught by Yamaguchi et al. offers advantages over the electrode taught by Takamura et al., the potential arc initiation sites on the firing tip are generally limited to the proximate edge and its included corners. Consequently, as the spark gap increases with the consumption of the edge and its corners during the life of the spark plug, a corresponding and immediate increase in the demand voltage also occurs.
Therefore, it would be desirable if the advantages of a noble metal firing tip could be realized, in which the firing tip is specifically configured so as to achieve and maintain a relatively stable demand voltage over a longer period of time so as to further extend the service life of the spark plug. Such a firing tip would be even more desirable if an actual reduction in demand voltage could be achieved for a given spark gap. Finally, the firing tip would also preferably contribute minimal mass to a spark plug electrode so as to minimize the potential for flame quenching. A suitable method for forming such a firing tip would also be desirable in order to adapt the firing tip to mass production conditions.
The prior art spark plug 110 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2a-2g is representative of that taught by U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,103 to Yamaguchi et al. As is conventional, the spark plug 110 includes a ceramic body 112 which serves as an insulator between a center electrode 114 and a ground electrode 116. A first firing tip 118 is welded to the upper surface of the center electrode 114, while a second firing tip 120 is welded to the lower surface of the ground electrode 116. Both firing tips 118 and 120 are preferably formed from a noble metal, such as a platinum alloy. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the distal end 116a of the ground electrode 116 terminates short of the axis of the center electrode 114. The firing tip 120 projects from the distal end 116a of the ground electrode 116, such that an edge and two corresponding corners of the firing tip 120 are proximate the firing surface 118a of the firing tip 118. As such, the edge and corners serve as the firing "surface" 120a of the ground electrode 116, in that they represent arc initiation sites for the lowest resistance arcing path of an electric spark generated between the electrodes 114 and 116. As illustrated in FIG. 2a, the cross-section of the firing tip 120 shown in FIG. 1 is square, with the firing tip 120 being secured in a recess within the ground electrode 116. FIGS. 2b through 2g illustrate variations taught by Yamaguchi et al., in which the cross-section of the firing tip 120 is altered or the degree to which the firing tip 120 is recessed into the ground electrode 116 is altered.
While Yamaguchi et al. generally teach the advantages of spark plugs equipped with noble metal firing tips, a significant shortcoming of the spark plug 110 is that the firing surface 120a is not a surface at all, but only two corners of the firing tip 120 and their included edge. As such, the demand voltage for the spark plug 110 will increase significantly as the edge and corners erode, in that (1) the rate of erosion along the edge will be relatively high due to the spark being concentrated at a single edge, and (2) the spark gap between the firing tips 118 and 120 will increase as the firing surface 120a erodes. The alternative embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 2b through 2g provide, most preferably, two corners and one edge as arc initiation sites (FIGS. 2a, 2e and 2g) and, as a lesser preferred alternative, only one edge as an arc initiation site (FIG. 2c). Though three edges are present with the trapezoidal cross-section shown in FIG. 2e, the oblique edges are not preferential arc initiation sites due to their relative distance from the firing surface 118a on the center electrode 114. A further disadvantage with each of the configurations shown in FIGS. 2a through 2g is that, by locating the firing tip 120 within a recess in the ground electrode 116, the center and ground electrodes 114 and 116 are positioned closer together, thus increasing the potential for flame quenching.

High efficiency, extended life spark plug having shaped firing tips


The present invention relates to the field of electronic devices known as baluns. It concerns an active balun which is broadband and reciprocal. Embodiments of the invention integrate an active splitter balun with an active combiner balun so as to form three transmission lines. A first active coupling is provided between the first and second transmission lines and a second active coupling is provided between the first and third transmission lines. The active couplings are provided by means of amplifier cells distributed along the transmission lines. Embodiments of the invention have configurable means for polarizing the different amplifier cells so as to create a specific coupling direction between the various transmission lines. The device according to the invention can be applied in the field of broadband mixers which are used, notably, in radio transmission and reception circuits.

There is a significant demand for broadband mixers in present-day industry. These circuits are used in some reception and transmission circuits. It is possible to envisage numerous architectures for the production of mixers. These include, in particular, what are known as "balanced" or "double-balanced" structures which offer the best performance in terms of parasitic frequency rejection and very good channel isolation. There is a known way of producing a double-balanced mixer using a field-effect transistor bridge or a diode bridge. In order to produce such a circuit in MMIC (Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit) technology which can operate over a wide frequency range, it is necessary to use functional units known as broadband baluns.
The term "balun", which is a contraction of the expression "balanced-unbalanced", generally denotes a three-terminal device capable of either splitting an input signal into two output signals which have the same amplitude and have a phase difference of 180° between them, thus forming a power splitter with outputs in phase opposition (a splitter balun), or combining two input signals in such a way that the output signal represents the difference between the input signals, thus forming a combiner circuit with inputs in phase opposition (a combiner balun).
There are currently two known methods of producing baluns.
In the first method, shown in FIG. 1, mid-point transformers 12, 13 and 14 are produced and used to drive, for example, a field-effect transistor bridge 11. This device, which is passive and reciprocal, can advantageously provide both of the aforementioned functions. However, it is very difficult to use planar technology to produce a circuit of this type for operation at hyperfrequency. Moreover, it cannot be used for operation over a very wide frequency band (more than two to three octaves) or at low frequency (f<1 GHz).
In the second method, an active balun is used, based on a distributed structure, as described in the French patent application filed by the present applicant on 21 Dec. 2005 and published under the number 2 895 168. This active balun combines two balanced structures, one of which is composed of amplifier cells of the "cascade" or "Darlington" type, while the other is composed of amplifier cells of the "cascode" type. This specific circuit can be used, notably, to resolve the problem of gain unbalance between channels, which generally occurs in conventional circuits in the form of unbalance between the two output channels (in a splitter circuit) or between the two input channels (in a combiner circuit). It also enables a phase difference of 180° to be produced between channels.
This second method can be used to produce baluns operating at low frequencies and in much wider frequency bands (on the order of a decade or more) than those at which other existing devices operate. It is therefore a more advantageous solution than the first method. However, the active structures produced in this way are not reciprocal. Unfortunately, therefore, it is necessary to produce two different structures in order to produce a splitter and a combiner. If this type of structure is used in a mixer, the mixer will be unilateral.
Thus, regardless of which method is chosen, it is not possible at present to design an active balun, operating over a very wide frequency band (of the order of a decade), which is reciprocal and which can handle low frequencies (f≦1 GHz).
Consequently, anyone wishing to produce a reciprocal balun at the present time has to use a passive balun, for example a structure such as that of the Marchand balun. This structure, which is known and is illustrated in FIG. 2, is based on line coupling, with a main line 21 having a length of λ/2 and two lines 22 and 23 coupled to the main line and each having a length of λ/4, these two lines being arranged so as to provide signals of the same value and in phase opposition on their respective outputs 25 and 26. This structure can be used advantageously to produce reciprocal baluns. However, the use of passive couplers gives rise to problems of large overall dimensions, especially when operation at relatively low frequencies (around 1 GHz) is desired, since the passive coupler must always have a length of λ/2 with respect to the central operating frequency of the mixing device in which it is incorporated. This type of structure is therefore difficult to incorporate in MMIC technologies. Moreover, because of its structure, a balun of this type cannot be used for broadband applications (covering several octaves).

Broadband reciprocal active balun structure


A wrist exercise device has a tube-like handle with rubber grips proximate each end. Resistive tubing is attached to the center of the handle at one end of the tubing, and is attached to a strap at the other end of the tubing. The attachment to the handle is made by an aperture in the handle through which an end of the tubing is passed, and a ball is friction fit into that end of the tubing. The tubing is similarly connected to the strap by forming an aperture in the strap, reinforced by a grommet, and friction fitting a ball into the end of the tubing which is passing through the strap. An exerciser uses the device by anchoring it by passing, for example, a foot through the strap or holding the strap and by pulling or rotating or otherwise moving the handle against the resistance of the resistive tubing. Resistance may be increased by winding the tubing around the handle a desired amount.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a unique wrist exercise device.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are many wrist exercise devices. In patents to Kropp (U.S. Pat. No. 5,549,532 issued Nov. 13, 1934), Hinds et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,195,835 issued Apr. 1, 1980), and Wieder et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,265 issued Nov. 22, 1977), the emphasis is on exercising the arms and legs by resistant bands. All of these inventions generally use dual straps or one strap doubled back in order to provide balanced exercise for the arms and legs.
In a patent to Hunter (U.S. Pat. No. 1,980,861 issued Nov. 13, 1934), an exercise apparatus provides a center resistive device but no resistance is provided by handle 28 to the wrists or the forearms. The Hunter device is one to exercise the arms and legs and not the wrists.
Most wrist exercise devices are directed to exercising the larger muscle groups and not the tendons, ligaments, and muscles of the forearm and wrist area.
What is needed is a device to exercise both wrists simultaneously and to develop tendons, ligaments, and muscles. What is also needed is such an exercise device which is simple to use, simple in construction, inexpensive, lightweight and reliable.


A disposable, securely retained dental angle is provided. The angle includes a one-piece hollow housing having a short leg at its front end, which is angled with respect to the long leg. Both the short and long legs have a through bore. The short leg has an aperture, which is connected to the bore of the long leg to allow insertion of a driving shaft through the short leg of the angle. A driven rotor is inserted in the short leg. A horse-shoe-like snap rotor retainer fits within the short leg over the driven rotor to retain the driven rotor in the angle. A paw-like or, alternately, a horse-shoe-like locking means fits within the long leg over the driving shaft to lock the driving shaft in the angle and to retain the angle together. In one embodiment, a pair of splinters on the driven rotor provides the function to retain the rubber prophy cup firmly while the driven rotor is in operation.

A prophy angle is a dental appliance employed by a dentist or dental hygienist in a dental treatment to remove the plaque and polish the surface of the dentin of teeth. A prophy angle includes a prophy cup that is secured to the angle and is rotated by a drive mechanism, typically a gear drive. The prophy cup is shaped to retain a desired amount of prophy paste, which is used to polish and clean a patient's teeth.
In order to rotate a prophy cup to perform the teeth cleaning and polishing task, a dental prophy angle includes a driving mechanism that is typically implemented with a gear connection between a driving gear shaft and a driven gear rotor with a right angle. The driving rotor is rotated by a dental handpiece with a speed of about 2,000 to 5,000 rpm, then the rotation is transferred to the driven rotor by the gearing mechanism resulting in rotating the attached prophy cup at a right angle.
However, since the prophy angle includes the moving parts connected by driving gears while the gear connections and the prophy cup are continuously operated with high speed rotation, the long term reliability and consistent performance of the gear connection and the rotational prophy cup become a technical challenge. Poor long-term reliability often becomes a problem, particularly for the components made of plastic. The plastic components may be implemented either as moving parts or as part of the gear connections between the moving parts and these plastic components often cracks or break off when subject to tearing forces if these the moving parts or the gear connections are not tightly engaged. In order to improve the reliability by reducing the material wear and degradation under constant use and to eliminate potential weak links, many patented inventions have been disclosed. These disclosures provide new gear material, gear shape, gear position and novel lubrications. These previous patents include U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,203,322, 5,964,590, 5,749,728, 5,730,595, 5,645,426, 5,120,220, and 5,040,978. However, in the present market, many of the prophy angle products still exhibit operating life problem because of the insecure gearing connection, which leads to unreliable performance and causes inconvenience for dentists and hygienists
Therefore, a need still exists in the art of designing, component manufacturing and assembling the prophy angles to provide new and improved configuration implemented with better engagement contacts between the moving components to enable a more secure retaining of the driving shaft and driven rotor to assure reliable and high performance operations of a prophy angle.

Disposable dental prophy angle with secure retention mechanism


An electric vehicle may include a body; a low-voltage component disposed in a rear portion of the body; and at least one coupling member securing the low-voltage component to a plurality of securing portions of the body. The plurality of securing portions may include at least one first securing portion located forward of the low-voltage component in a vehicle front-rear direction and at least one second securing portion located rearward of the low-voltage component in the vehicle front-rear direction. A center of the at least one first securing portion and a center of the at least one second securing portion are located at different positions from each other in a vehicle vertical direction.

"Toyota Technical Reports (Toyota Gijutsu Kokaishu)" (Issuance No. 31263, issued on Aug. 31, 2018) published by TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION describes a technique for protecting a high-voltage component of an electric vehicle in a rear-end collision. The high-voltage component herein means an electrical component configured to operate at an AC voltage exceeding 30 volts or a DC voltage exceeding 60 volts. The high-voltage component includes, for example, a motor configured to drive wheel(s) and a power control unit configured to control power supplied to the motor.

Electric vehicle having low-voltage component in rear portion of vehicle body