The present invention relates to an improved, cost effective and easy process for the preparation of azithromycin monohydrate isopropanol clathrate. The process provides a one-step method of preparing azithromycin monohydrate isopropanol clathrate directly from 9-deoxo-9a-aza-9a-homoerythromycin A. The process comprises at least partial dissolution and/or suspension of 9-deoxo-9a-aza-9a homoerythromycin A in isopropanol to form a mixture, adding methylating solution to the said mixture, refluxing or heating said mixture to form a reaction mixture, adding alkaline solution to the reaction mixture to adjust pH from about 10 to about 11 and isolating pure azithromycin monohydrate isopropanol clathrate. The process helps in reducing the total time of preparation, total utility cost for the production and also helps to avoid handling loss.

Azithromycin, 9-Deoxo-9a-aza-9a-methyl-9a-homo-erythromycin A, is a 15 member ring macrolide belonging to a new class of antibiotics termed "Azalides", due to the incorporation of a nitrogen atom in the macrocyclic ring.
Azithromycin (Formula I) is derived from the 14-membered macrolide antibiotic erythromycin A and shows significant improvement in its activity against gram—Ve organisms compared to erythromycin A (C. J. Dunn and L. B. Barradell Azithromycin: A Review of its Pharmacological properties and use as a 3-day therapy in respiratory tract infections, Drug, 1996, March, 51(3) 483–505).

Azithromycin was first discovered by G. Kobrehel and S. Djokic (U.S. Pat. No. 4,517,359; S. Djokic et al.). U.S. Pat. No. 4,517,359 describes methylation of 11-aza-10-deoxo-10-dihydro erythromycin A (presently called 9-Deoxo-9a-aza-9a-homoerythromycin A) in an excess of formaldehyde and formic acid in a halogenated hydrocarbon, e.g., chloroform or carbon tetrachloride. In the procedure described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,517,359 the isolation of azithromycin comprises extraction of the aqueous layer with a halogenated hydrocarbon solvent followed by evaporation of the solvent. The disadvantages of this process are that (i) a halogenated hydrocarbon is used which is environmentally unsafe and (ii) the isolation of azithromycin involves several cumbersome and/or inefficient extraction and solvent evaporation steps. According to European Patent Application EP 298650, the azithromycin obtained by the process taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,517,359, is a hygroscopic monohydrate. Because of its hygroscopic nature, this monohydrate is difficult to prepare and maintain in a form having a constant, reproducible water-content, and is particularly difficult to handle during formulation.
The processes taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,268,489 for the preparation of azithromycin dihydrate, while producing a non-hygroscopic form of azithromycin, have a number of disadvantages:    1. Water immiscibility of the organic solvent mixture (tetrahydrofuran plus hexane) can cause problems in obtaining pure material since crystallization processes are known to afford pure material when the anti-solvent is miscible with the solvent used to dissolve the crude product.    2. The drying process must be very carefully controlled since an increase in temperature will cause the transformation of the non-hygroscopic dihydrate to the hygroscopic monohydrate.    3. The use of low boiling point solvents is complicated by their toxicity and possibility of formation of explosive peroxide during solvent recovery.
Two other synthesis routes, affording azithromycin as a form that should differ from the crystalline ones previously mentioned, have also been described in WO 94/26758 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,517,359. According to such processes azithromycin is obtained by single evaporation to dryness. However, in these prior art documents there is no reference to the crystalline state of the azithromycin thus obtained.
Azihthromycin monohydrate isopropanol clathrate is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,245,903. According to this processes the azithromycin monohydrate isopropanol clathrate is obtained from azithromycin, azithromycin monohydrate or azithromycin dihydrate. There are two steps involved in this process, first step is isolating azithromycin in any form (i.e. azithromycin monohydrate or azithromycin dihydrate) from azaerythromycin and second step is the conversion of azithromycin to azithromycin monohydrate isopropanol clathrate.
Being of two steps, the process of U.S. Pat. No. 6,245,903 has the following drawbacks.    1) Substantial total time of process    2) High total utility cost of production    3) Loss of materials during handling.

Process for the preparation of azithromycin monohydrate isopropanol clathrate


A fixing device includes: a heating section; and a press section which presses the heating section and thereby forms a fixing nip section, wherein at least one of the heating section and the press section comprises, an endless fixing belt; a press member which presses the fixing belt to the fixing nip; and a sliding sheet covering the press member, wherein the sliding sheet is wider than the fixing belt; projections are provided at a first area which is inside of an end part of the press member of a surface of the sliding sheet in the width direction; and projections lower than the projections provided at the first area are provided at a second area which is near the end of the fixing belt of the surface of the sliding sheet, or projections are not provided at all at the second area.

Conventionally, as fixing devices used in image forming apparatuses of the electro-photographic method such as copying machines, printers, facsimiles, and multifunction peripherals provided with all these functions, fixing devices of heat roller type (which may be also called as heat fixing roller type) are widely adopted by from low speed equipments to high speed equipments as well as by from black-and-white equipments to color equipments. The fixing devices of heat roller type apply heat and pressure to recording medium with the toner image to be transferred thereon by gripping and conveying the recording sheet by a fixing nip portion formed by a fixing roller which is maintained in a predetermined range of temperature and a pressure roller that has an elastic layer, applies pressure and contacts to the fixing roller.
By the requirement of recent years for achieving colorization and speeding up, it is required to increase the nip width for fixing in order to effectively heat toner on the surface of the sheet. In order to increase the nip width, it is possible to consider increasing the diameters of the two rollers or increasing the dented (deformed) amount of the roller by increasing the contact force between the two rollers. However, if these measures are employed, problems such that the fixing device becomes big, and the reliability of the fixing device becomes low arise and the design flexibility becomes low.
In order to solve these problems, fixing devices of the belt nip type have been employed in these days that have an endless fixing belt which rotates driven by rollers and a press member which is fixed at a side of an inner peripheral surface of the fixing belt and presses the fixing belt towards the heat roller. Structurally, the width of the nip section of the fixing devices of the belt nip type can be wider than the width of the nip section of the fixing devices of the heat roller type.
Because the fixing devices of the belt nip type are configured that the fixing belt is pressingly contacted to the heat roller by the fixed sliding press member, running of the fixing belt is obstructed and sipping of image and wrinkle of sheet may be caused when the a friction between the fixing belt and the press member.
In order to solve such a problem, in the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publications 2002-148970, has been disclosed a fixing device that has a sliding sheet which is a sheet shaped member covering the press member for reducing a sliding friction with the inner surface of the fixing belt between, wherein a large undulation is formed on the inner surface of the sliding sheet, in order to prevent the slipping of image.
However, in the fixing device of the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publications 2002-148970, lubricant coated on the inner surface of the fixing belt and releasing agent coated on the surface of the heat roller are feared to seep from an edge to the inner surface of the sliding sheet and stick to the press pad covered by the sliding sheet. In such a case, the press pad swells and transforms by sticking oil such as the releasing agent and a problem is caused that the primary function does not work.
In fixing device of the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-79183, in order to solve such a problem, a protruding section is provided outside of the sliding sheet so that the edge of the protruding section locates outside of the edge of the fixing belt of the fixing roller to prevent the releasing agent from seeping into the inner peripheral surface of the sliding sheet.
However a problem has occurred that the sliding sheet easily tears by wearing of the sliding sheet promoted by a friction between the sliding sheet and the fixing belt because length of the sliding sheet is made longer than the fixing belt by providing the protruding section.
Especially, in the sliding sheet having the large undulation on the surface, contacting with the fixing belt concentrates at the undulation section and therefore the problem that the tear easily occurs at the undulation section is caused.
By taking into considering of the above described problem, one object of the present invention is to provide a fixing device which prevents the sliding sheet from tearing by wearing of the sliding sheet which covers the press member for pressing the inner peripheral surface of the fixing belt.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus

Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.


An imaging lens comprises, in order from an object side: a first lens that has a negative refractive power and is convex toward the object side; a second lens that has a positive refractive power and is a meniscus lens convex toward the object side; a stop; a third lens that has a positive refractive power and is convex toward an image side; and a cemented lens that has a positive refractive power as a whole and is formed by cementing a fourth lens and a fifth lens, wherein assuming that an Abbe number of the second lens with respect to d-line is ν2, a distance on an optical axis from a vertex of a surface of the first lens facing toward the object side to an image plane of the imaging lens is L, a focal length of the imaging lens is f, and a back focus of the imaging lens is Bf, the following conditional expressions (1) to (3) are satisfied:ν2>30  (1),2.5<L/f<4.0  (2), and0.5<Bf/f<1.3  (3).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging lens and an image pickup apparatus, more particularly, to an imaging lens suitable to be used in a surveillance camera, a cell phone camera, an on-board camera, and the like employing an image pickup device such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) and a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor), and an image pickup apparatus having the imaging lens.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, image pickup devices such as CCD and CMOS which have been excessively downsized and of which the number of pixels has been excessively increased. In addition, an image pickup apparatus main body having the image pickup device has been also downsized, and thus it is also required to unweight and downsize an imaging lens mounted therein.
Meanwhile, in an on-board camera, a surveillance camera, and the like, there is required a small-sized and high-performance lens that has high antiweatherability in the range from outside air in a cold region to a vehicle inside in summer of a tropical region and can be used in the wide temperature range. In addition, in case of the on-board camera, it is also required that a part of lens exposed to the outside of a vehicle should be small.
In JP-A-2004-354888 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 6,956,703B2) and JP-A-2004-61763, there is described an endoscope lens as a small sized imaging lens including, in order from an object side, a negative first lens, a positive second lens, an aperture diaphragm, a positive third lens, and a cemented lens. In addition, in Japanese Patent No. 3723637, there is described a lens for a still camera including, in order from, a negative first lens, a positive second lens convex toward an image side, an aperture diaphragm, a positive third lens, and a cemented lens.
However, since the lens described in JP-A-2004-354888 and JP-A-2004-61763 is an imaging lens for an endoscope, an F number thereof is large and the lens is formed as a dark optical system. Thus, the lens is inappropriate for a surveillance camera or an on-board camera to take a video. In addition, in a camera that is disposed in a vehicle to monitor the front side of the vehicle, there is required a bright lens that has a small F number to be able to be used even at nighttime. The lens described in Japanese Patent No. 3723637 has a long length of the whole optical system in an optical axis direction, and is not configured to be able to sufficiently correspond to the requirement of recent downsizing.


Methods of degrading filter cakes in subterranean formations are provided. An example of a method is a method of drilling a well bore in a subterranean formation. Another example of a method is a method of degrading a filter cake in a subterranean formation, the filter cake comprising an inorganic portion and an organic portion, and having been established in the formation by a well drill-in and servicing fluid that comprises a delayed-release acid component. An example of a composition is a well drill-in and servicing fluid.

The present invention relates to subterranean treatment operations, and more particularly, to methods of degrading filter cakes in subterranean formations.
Often, once drilling of a well bore in a subterranean formation has been initiated, a fluid referred to as a "well drill-in and servicing fluid" may be employed. As referred to herein, the term "well drill-in and servicing fluid" will be understood to mean a fluid placed in a subterranean formation, such as those from which production has been, is being, or may be cultivated. For example, an operator may begin drilling a subterranean borehole using a drilling fluid, cease drilling at a depth just above that of a productive formation, circulate a sufficient quantity of a well drill-in and servicing fluid through the bore hole to completely flush out the drilling fluid, then proceed to drill into the desired formation using the well drill-in and servicing fluid. Well drill-in and servicing fluids often may be utilized, inter alia, to minimize damage to the permeability of such formations.
Well drill-in and servicing fluids may include "fluid-loss-control fluids." As referred to herein, the term "fluid-loss-control fluid" will be understood to mean a fluid designed to form a filter cake onto a screen or gravel pack, or in some cases, directly onto the formation. For example, a fluid-loss-control fluid may comprise a comparatively small volume of fluid designed to form a filter cake so as to plug off a "thief zone" (e.g., a formation, most commonly encountered during drilling operations, into which the drilling fluid may be lost). Generally, well drill-in and servicing fluids are designed to form a fast and efficient filter cake on the walls of a well bore within a producing formation to minimize leak-off and damage. The filter cake often comprises an inorganic portion (e.g., calcium carbonate), and an organic portion (e.g., starch and xanthan). The filter cake generally is removed before hydrocarbons from the formation are produced. Conventional methods of removal have involved contacting the filter cake with one or more subsequent fluids.
Other conventional methods of removing the filter cake include formulating the well drill-in and servicing fluid so as to include an acid-soluble particulate solid bridging agent. The resultant filter cake formed by such well drill-in and servicing fluid then is contacted with a strong acid to ultimately dissolve the bridging agent. This method is problematic, however, because the strong acid often corrodes metallic surfaces of completion equipment (e.g., sand control screens), thereby causing such equipment to prematurely fail. Further, the strong acid may damage the producing formation. Additionally, the strong acid may cause the bridging agent to dissolve prematurely, resulting in the loss of the strong acid into the formation, before it can completely cover the filter cake.
Another method of filter cake removal has involved the use of a water-soluble particulate solid bridging agent in the well drill-in and servicing fluid, which bridging agent subsequently is contacted with an aqueous salt solution that is undersaturated with respect to such bridging agent. This method is problematic, however, because such bridging agents may require a relatively long period of time to dissolve in the aqueous salt solution, due to, inter alia, the presence of various gelling agents in the well drill-in and servicing fluids. Such gelling agents may prevent the aqueous salt solution from contacting the water-soluble bridging agents.
Operators also have attempted to remove the filter cake by contacting it with a combination of an acid and an oxidizer. The acid may be used to degrade the inorganic portion of the filter cake, while the oxidizer may be employed to degrade the organic portion. However, this may be unnecessarily expensive, as it involves placement of additional components into the formation, at additional cost. For example, operators have attempted to remove the filter cake by flowing a solution comprising hydrogen peroxide into the well bore and permitting it to contact the filter cake. This may be problematic, however, as the transportation, storage, and handling of hydrogen peroxide may present safety concerns.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A boundary scan compatible device includes functionality for use in diagnosing the presence of bridging faults within associated circuitry. In at least one embodiment, a boundary scan compatible device includes functionality for detecting an intermediate signal level on an electrical node of the device (e.g., a pin on a circuit package, etc.) that is indicative of a bridging fault. Various structures are provided that are capable of detecting an intermediate signal level.

Printed circuit board testing has traditionally been performed using bed-of-nails in-circuit test equipment. This equipment typically includes a test fixture having a multitude of test probes (known as a "bed of nails") that, when coupled to a circuit board, simultaneously contacts numerous electrical nodes on the circuit board, thereby providing electrical access to the components on the board. Various electrical tests may then be performed on the circuit components, usually under computer control. For various reasons, it is becoming increasingly difficult to perform in-circuit testing using a "bed-of-nails" approach. For example, integrated circuits (ICs) are getting smaller and IC packages are using finer and finer lead pitches making it difficult to contact all of the desired nodes in the circuit with a bed-of-nails. Also, many ICs are using packages that have an array of leads on a single side thereof (e.g., ball grid arrays, pin grid arrays, etc.) that are inaccessible to a bed-of-nails once the IC has been attached to the circuit board.
To overcome many of the problems associated with traditional in-circuit testing, boundary scan testing has been developed. Boundary scan is a technique that incorporates additional hardware into electrical devices that allows the pins of the devices to be accessed and tests to be performed without the use of a bed-of-nails type fixture. Boundary scan techniques can allow controllability and observability of the boundary pins of one or more compatible devices in a circuit or system via software control. Although boundary scan techniques have proven successful and are very popular, they are not currently capable of reliably identifying bridging faults in circuits. Therefore, there is a need for techniques and structures that are capable of increasing the reliability with which bridging faults are detected in circuits and/or systems having boundary scan compatible devices.

Apparatus for use in detecting circuit faults during boundary scan testing


An oxygen concentration-detecting device detects the concentration of oxygen present in exhaust gases emitted from an internal combustion engine. The device includes an oxygen sensor of a limit current type. A heater heats the oxygen sensor. A first voltage is applied to the oxygen sensor and the concentration of oxygen is detected based on a first output current from the oxygen sensor obtained when the first voltage is applied to the oxygen sensor. A second voltage is applied to the oxygen sensor at a first repetition period and the internal resistance of the oxygen sensor is detected based on a second output current from the oxygen sensor obtained when the second voltage is applied to the oxygen sensor. The oxygen sensor is heated by the heater based on the internal resistance of the oxygen sensor detected. Values of the concentration of oxygen are sampled based on the first output current from the oxygen sensor at a second repetition period shorter than the first repetition period and the sampled values of the concentration of oxygen are stored. The concentration of oxygen is estimated based on the sampled values of the concentration of oxygen stored. In another form of the invention, a predetermined repetition period (first repetition period) at which the second voltage is applied is set in dependence on operating conditions of the engine.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an oxygen concentration-detecting device for internal combustion engines, which detects the concentration of oxygen present in exhaust gases emitted from an internal combustion engine, and more particularly to an oxygen concentration-detecting device of this kind which employs an oxygen sensor of a limit current type (hereinafter referred to as "the LAF sensor").
2. Prior Art
Conventionally, an oxygen concentration-detecting device of this kind has been proposed, e.g. by Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 59-163556, which utilizes an output from the LAF sensor having a characteristic that when the temperature of the LAF sensor is within an activation temperature range, the sensor output current exhibits a value proportional to partial pressure of oxygen in exhaust gases if a certain positive voltage is applied to the sensor, to thereby linearly detect the concentration of oxygen present in the exhaust gases. The LAF sensor has a limit current characteristic which varies with the temperature thereof. Therefore, to maintain the accuracy of detection of the oxygen concentration, it is required to constantly control the temperature of the LAF sensor such that it is within the activation temperature range. To meet this requirement, the proposed oxygen concentration-detecting device utilizes a characteristic of the LAF sensor that when a negative voltage is applied to the sensor, the value of the sensor output current is not dependent on the partial pressure of oxygen but proportional to the temperature of the LAF sensor. More specifically, the proposed device detects the internal resistance of the LAF sensor by applying a predetermined negative voltage to the sensor, and heats the LAF sensor with a heater such that the detected internal resistance of the LAF sensor is held constant, to thereby maintain the LAF sensor in the active state.
However, since the oxygen concentration in exhaust gases and the internal resistance of the LAF sensor are detected by applying respective different values of voltage (the predetermined positive voltage and the predetermined negative voltage) to the LAF sensor, they cannot be detected concurrently. Therefore, the applied voltage is changed over between the predetermined positive voltage and the predetermined negative voltage at predetermined time intervals (in a time-sharing manner) to thereby alternately detect them.
Generally, the output from the LAF sensor is utilized for various kinds of control. For example, the output from the LAF sensor is used in air-fuel ratio feedback control of an internal combustion engine based on a modern control theory, in which fine control is carried out based on the output from the LAF sensor by using a controller of a recurrence formula type, such as an observer and an optimal regulator. In this control, the optimal value has to be selected from a group of samples of the LAF sensor output. This requires the sensor output to be sampled at a very short sampling period.
In the oxygen concentration-detecting device proposed by Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 59-163556, however, the detection of the oxygen concentration is suspended at least during a time period over which the internal resistance of the LAF sensor is detected, and therefore actual or true detected values of the oxygen concentration are not obtained during the time period. Moreover, the time period of detection of the internal resistance of the LAF sensor comes round at the predetermined time intervals irrespective of operating conditions of the engine (hereinafter, the period at which comes round the time of detection of the internal resistance will be referred to as "the internal resistance detection repetition period"). Therefore, if the internal resistance detection repetition period is set to a very short period, the detection of the oxygen concentration is suspended more frequently, which causes the observer, for example, to make inaccurate estimation of air-fuel ratios of exhaust gases from the cylinders of the engine (cylinder-by-cylinder air-fuel ratio), resulting in inability to properly achieve fine control as intended.
More specifically, in the observer, a value of the oxygen concentration detected immediately before the start of detection of the internal resistance of the LAF sensor is held until the start of the next detection of the oxygen concentration, and the held value of the oxygen concentration is regarded-as values of the same detected over the time period during which the detection of the oxygen concentration is suspended (suspension period). If the held value is selected as samples of the LAF sensor output to be obtained during the suspension period, the value of the oxygen concentration thus selected as a value for the desired cylinder (e.g. #2) can be closer to the actual value of the oxygen concentration of exhaust gases from the immediately preceding cylinder (e.g. #4) than a value which should be actually detected from exhaust gases from the desired cylinder (#2). In such a case, the difference between the air-fuel ratio value estimated based on the above held value and the actual or true air-fuel ratio value becomes large, leading to inaccurate estimation of the cylinder-by-cylinder air-fuel ratio. As a result, the air-fuel ratio feedback control cannot converge the air-fuel ratio of a mixture supplied to the engine to a desired air-fuel ratio or the air-fuel ratio of the mixture diverges. Especially, when the operating cycle of the engine and the internal resistance detection repetition period are almost synchronous with each other, it can occur that the air-fuel ratio of exhaust gases from a particular cylinder cannot be accurately detected at all, exerting a large adverse effect on the estimation of the cylinder-by-cylinder fuel-air ratio.
Thus, the proposed oxygen concentration-detecting device still remains to be improved in reaching the full potentials of various kinds of fine control which use values of the oxygen concentration detected by the LAF sensor, such as control based on the modern control theory.
Further, even in a type of control which does not require values of the LAF sensor output sampled at a short sampling period, if the frequency of coincidence of timing requiring a detected value of the oxygen concentration with the internal resistance-detecting period is high, this can degrade the air-fuel ratio controllability. Therefore, to decrease the frequency of coincidence, it is desirable to set the internal resistance detection repetition period as long as possible.
However, if the internal resistance detection repetition period is set too long, it is difficult to constantly maintain the temperature of the LAF sensor within the activation temperature range. For example, a delay of control of the temperature of the sensor element of the LAF sensor occurs due to the excessively long internal resistance detection repetition period when the temperature of exhaust gases suddenly changes, e.g. upper fuel cut of the engine. As a result, the accuracy of detection of the oxygen concentration by the LAF sensor is degraded.
Thus, if the internal resistance detection repetition period is uniformly set to a fixed value, there can arise inconveniences depending on operating conditions of engine.

Oxygen concentration-detecting device for internal combustion engines


The present disclosure relates to a two-photon probe for in-vivo imaging, having high selectivity for copper(II) ion, and a method for quantitatively estimating copper(II) on (Cu2+) in vivo using the same. The two-photon probe according to the present disclosure can detect intracellular free copper(II) on for a long period of time with a penetration depth greater than 90 μm in living cells and tissues without the problems of mistargeting and photobleaching and can quantitatively estimate copper(II) on concentration in vivo using the ratio of blue emission intensity at 400-450 nm and red emission intensity at 550-650 nm.

Copper on is an essential metal ion found in various organs and plays crucial roles in living systems as cofactors of cytoplasmic enzymes, mitochondrial enzymes and membrane-bound oxidases in production of cellular energy, reduction of oxygen molecules, signal transduction, or the like. Copper(I) ion (Cu+) in reduced state is internalized in cells but copper(II) ion (Cu2+) in oxidized state is often found in cells under oxidative environment. Abnormality in the regulation of copper ion level may cause severe diseases such as Menkes disease, Wilson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and prion disease and increased copper ion level in the body may cause gastrointestinal disorders, damage to the liver and kidneys, and so forth (Gaggelli, E.; Kozlowski, H.; Valensin, D.; Valensin, G. Chem. Rev. 2006, 106, 1995; Macreadie, I. G. Eur. Biophys. J. Biophy. 2008, 37, 295; Georgopoulos, P. G.; Roy, A.; Yonone-Lioy, M. J.; Opiekun, R. E.; Loy, P. J. J. Toxicol. Env. Heal. B 2001, 4, 341).
Total-reflection X-ray fluorescence (TRXRF) and atomic absorption spectroscopy are available as methods for quantitatively measuring copper on in normal and abnormal tissues. However, these methods are incapable of differentiating the oxidation state of copper and are not suitable for quantitative measurement of copper on level in vivo due to low detection sensitivity (Kucharzewski, M.; Braziewicz, J.; Majewska, U.; Gozdz, S. Biol. Trace Elem. Res. 2003, 92, 1).
Two-photon microscopy can solve the above problems and allows quantitative measurement of metal ions in vivo. The two-photon microscopy is a technique that uses two near-infrared photons with energy lower than that of confocal microscopy for excitation and allows imaging up to a very high depth inside cells (Helmchen, F.; Denk, W. Nat. Methods 2005, 2, 932; Zipfel, W. R.; Williams, R. M.; Webb, W. W. Nat. Blotechnol. 2003, 2, 1369; Kim, H. M.; Cho, B. R. Acc. Chem. Res. 2009, 42, 863; Kim, H. M.; Cho, B. R. Chem. Asian J. 2011, 6, 58).
Korean Patent Publication No. 2013-0039680 discloses a two-photon fluorescent dye selective for copper(I) ion and a manufacturing method thereof. Korean Patent Registration No. 886,722 discloses a two-photon dye capable of monitoring magnesium in the cytoplasm in real time and a monitoring method using the same. And, Korean Patent Registration No. 976,623 discloses a two-photon dye capable of monitoring calcium in cells in real time. Although various two-photon probes for detecting metal ions in vivo have been developed, development of a two-photon probe having selectivity for copper(II) on has not been reported. Accordingly, development of a two-photon probe capable of selectively detecting and quantitating the biologically important copper(II) on is needed.

Two-photon probe for detecting copper(II) ion and quantitative estimation of copper(II) ion in human tissue using the same

Korea University Research and Business Foundation


A protective finger heat-guard and method of manufacture are disclosed. The protective finger heat guard includes a sleeve formed of a singular woven or non-woven material that defines a protective enclosure for receiving a finger of a user to insulate the finger from high-heat environments, such as during metal joining processes.

Heat energy is utilized for joining metal parts, such as, for example, by welding, brazing or soldering. Typically, portions of the metals to be joined are heated up to a suitable temperature and/or molten materials are added to form a strong permanent metal joint.
Examples of known heat shields and finger guards used in such high-temperature environments are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,908,197, U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2017/0119069, US 2018/0199642; and U.S. Design Pat. Nos. D685,1365 and D782,1185. All of these configurations have numerous disadvantages—they are oversized, bulky and difficult to control during critical steps of the welding process where an extra level of control is often needed to stabilize the work pieces being joined. It is well understood that the look, feel and quality of the final welds/joint, and the ultimate performance of the joined materials, is highly dependent on how steady an operator is able to maintain the work pieces and tools during the joining process. Experienced welders nearly universally use welding gloves to protect their hands from excessive heat and occasional spatter of molten material inherent in the welding process. However, while welding gloves provide a reasonable level of protection against such heat and material spatter, they eventually tend to wear our and overheat a portion of the hand used to prop or align the work during extended weld bead runs. There are significant trade-offs between dexterity, protection and service life offered by a high-quality welding glove alone. Prolonged exposure to high heat conditions will inevitably burn through even the best gloves, thereby shortening their useful service life or otherwise overheating the welder's hand to the point where they may have to stop an incomplete weld.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a superior protective finger heat guard that may be used alone and in combination with welding gloves to overcome the inherent shortcomings in using welding gloves alone during high-heat metal joining processes.


The inflatable basin (10) comprised of a bottom wall (12) and upwardly extending side walls (14), which extend around the perimeter of the bottom wall (12). The side walls (14), in cooperation with the bottom wall (12), define a water-tight cavity suitably dimensioned for receiving the head of a patient. The side walls (14) are composed of a plurality of inflatable tubular members (14A and 14B) that include an opening (16) so that the head of the patient may be placed within the basin (10) when the patient is in a prone position. The basin is provided within a support structure (32) secured to the bottom wall (12), and a resealable valve (30) disposed in a drain outlet (28) in fluid communication with the interior cavity of the basin (10).

It is often difficult, if not impossible, for individuals confined to a bed to utilize conventional bathtubs and/or sinks to bathe or wash themselves. These individuals may be bed-ridden for various reasons, such as surgery, age, or disease. Many of these individuals are non-ambulatory and cannot be moved. Being confined to a bed also affects the patient when a patient desires simply for their hair to be washed without a complete bath. Typically, a patient has only two choices available for washing their hair. The first is to move the patient to a stationary sink over which the patient may lean to have their hair washed. However, this may be difficult due to the patient's physical condition or the physical demands made on the assistant. The other choice is to move the patient over to, and place them into, a conventional bathtub. However, attempting to wash a patient's hair in a conventional bathtub is both uncomfortable to the patient and ineffective due to the body position of the patient when disposed in a conventional bathtub. Additionally, the use of a bathtub poses serious safety concerns to the patient and unnecessary physical demands on the assistant.
Therefore, it is often the practice of hospitals, convalescent homes and nursing homes to rely on portable, inflatable wash basins, which have been suggested in the prior art. One such inflatable wash basin of the prior art is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. D293,364 and includes a rectangular tubular wall section, which is inflatable to form the periphery of the basin. A heat sealable floor panel is connected to the lower periphery of the tubular wall section to define the water-tight basin. The tubular wall section includes an opening for accessing the interior cavity of the basin. The basin may be filled with water from a suitable water source, forming a reservoir for washing the patient's hair.
While the aforementioned prior art wash basin works well in its present application, the prior art wash basin suffers from several deficiencies. One such deficiency is the lack of head support for the patient during the washing process. In order to use the prior art wash basin, the patient either has to hold their head up, if at all possible, causing discomfort and strain to the patient, or the assistant must lift and hold the patient's head with one hand while attempting to shampoo the patient's hair with the other hand. Another such deficiency is the lack of a shut-off valve in the drain outlet so that the assistant may either stop or release the water from the basin conveniently, depending on the situation, without leaving the patient unattended. The prior art wash basin requires a clamp that surrounds the drain hose. The clamp is squeezed tightly in order to stop the flow of water, which is awkward to use and requires significant strength. Additionally, the clamp is susceptible to breaking if "over-clamped," making the wash basin unusable. Finally, the wash basin is susceptible to tearing when the neck opening is forced open to accommodate the head region of the patient. In one construction method of the prior art basin, the ends of the neck opening between the upper and lower tubular members is constructed with a straight-line heat seal, thereby acting like a zipper capable of tearing a hole in the wash basin when the neck opening is forced open.


Methods and apparatus to implement receiver linearity enhancement are described. One example method includes controlling receiver gain by determining a level of a received signal that is to be provided to a radio frequency component; determining if the level of the received signal would cause the radio frequency components internally generated noise to increase; and when the level of the received signal would cause the radio frequency components internally generated noise to increase, reducing the level of the received signal prior to providing the received signal to the radio frequency component.

Radio frequency (RF) communication devices, such as cellular telephones and the like, typically include a receiver lineup that is coupled to an antenna. The receiver lineup converts RF signals received by the antenna to intermediate frequencies and, ultimately, to baseband frequencies.
The presence of in-band and out-of-band blocker signals and modulated interferers in the area of a receiver can adversely affect the performance of the receiver lineup. Such blockers can compress the receiver and cause receiver noise floor to increase and receiver gain to decrease. Depending on blocker power and frequency, blockers can either compress RF front-end circuits or the IF back-end circuits in the receiver.
In the presence of large blockers, receivers use an Automatic Gain Control mechanism (AGC) to prevent saturation. Traditionally, these AGC schemes have utilized some form of baseband or RF detector that reduces the gain of the receiver in response to blocker presence. A baseband detector can detect both in-band signals and blockers located close to the in-band frequency. The detection bandwidth of baseband detectors are limited by the filtering in the receiver chain, which limits accessible frequency content. Out-of-band blockers and higher frequency in-band blockers are not easily detected in the baseband. Such blockers can compress the RF front-end of the receiver and lead to poor performance if the front-end components are not sufficiently linear.
An RF detector, such as a log amplifier, can detect far out blockers as well as in-band signals. An RF detector is usually placed at the front of the RF chain where there is less filtering and the detection bandwidth the largest. An RF detector gives no indication of the frequency location of the signals it measures, but can be used to reduce the gain of the receiver chain in response to a large detected signal. The main issue with this type of detector is that because it gives no indication of the blocker frequency it is difficult to determine the optimum gain selection for the receiver. For example, if an out of band blocker is input to the receiver, then to prevent the receiver front end circuits from compressing the gain of the RF blocks should be reduced. With this type of detector it is not possible to determine the frequency location of the blocker relative to the desired signal and so it is difficult to determine where to reduce the gain in the receiver chain. Also, most RF detectors have a limited input dynamic range and cannot reliably detect low power signals. These lower power signals, if located close to the band of interest, can be amplified in the RF front-end of the receiver and cause compression of the low frequency receiver back-end.
As supply voltages provided to receiver lineups are reduced in successive process nodes, it becomes more difficult for receiver lineups to meet linearity performance criteria specified by relevant communication standards and, thus, it becomes difficult for a receiver lineup to accommodate the presence of a blocker without becoming compressed. Additionally, receiver lineups that are highly linear generally do not represent optimum designs as they need to be over-designed to meet all linearity requirements over process and temperature.
A known receiver lineup is shown at reference numeral 100 in FIG. 1. The receiver lineup 100 includes a low noise amplifier (LNA) 102, which is coupled to an antenna 104. The LNA 102 is coupled to a mixer 106, the output of which is low pass filtered by a filter 108. Subsequently, the signal from the filter 108 is coupled to a variable gain amplifier 110 and a low pass filter 112, which is further coupled to a variable gain amplifier 114 and a low pass filter 116. The output of the low pass filter 116 is coupled to an analog-to-digital converter (A/D) 118. The A/D 118 transforms the analog signals from the low pass filter 116 to a digital format that may be processed by a digital baseband processor 120. As shown in FIG. 1, the digital baseband processor 120 includes an intermediate frequency (IF) detector 122, which may be implemented using hardware and/or software.
In operation, the signal at the antenna 104, shown at node 130, has characteristics as shown in FIG. 2. That is, an RF signal 202 that is much smaller than the amplitude of a blocker 204, which is an in-band or out-of-band blocker or modulated interferer from another device or from some other source.
As shown in FIG. 3, which represents the characteristics of the signals at node 132, after amplification by the low noise amplifier 102, the RF signal 302 and the blocker 304 are amplified, as is the noise floor 306. As will be readily appreciated, the high amplitude blocker 304, when provided to the mixer 106, creates additional noise because the mixer 106 is driven in a non-linear region of operation called compression. Compression of the mixer also causes its gain to decrease. The mixer compression dramatically increases the noise figure of the receiver lineup 100. This result is shown in FIG. 4, which represents the characteristics of the signals at node 134. As shown in FIG. 4, IF signal 402 and blocker 404 have increased in amplitude, but such an increase is not in proportion to the noise floor 406, which grows disproportionally due to the mixer compression caused by the blocker 304. The blocker cannot be easily eliminated or the mixer compression caused thereby detected because the blocker 304 will be subsequently filtered out before the signals reach the IF detector 122.


There is described a method for the alignment of an earth station antenna with a satellite antenna, wherein a reference signal, emitted by the earth station antenna is analyzed in a monitoring station, wherein the reference signal is used as a carrier for authentication information about the earth station.

In order to establish and maintain reliable and high quality two-way communication services via satellite and in order to avoid interference to an existing service caused by unauthorized and/or out-of-tolerance transmission, operators of earth station terminals are requested to perform a pre-transmission alignment (line-up) when accessing a satellite for the first time.
For this purpose, the initial line-up phase focuses on the effective isotropic radiated power EIRP, on frequency and antenna alignment, in order to ensure correct and interference free access to the satellite.
Thus, the antenna of an earth station terminal must both be pointed correctly at the antenna of the respective satellite and, in the case of linear polarization, it must also be oriented about its axis to maximize reception of the linearly polarized signal.
For this purpose, an antenna for linear polarized signals must be set up with particular care. In particular, if the setup is defective, the antenna transmits both with the required polarization and with the perpendicular polarization, which causes interference to other services. Consequently, standards generally require an earth station transmitting with linear polarization to satisfy a minimum polarization discrimination requirement.
In order to meet these requirements, one of the problems of installing low cost small earth station terminals is that for the initial antenna alignment and terminal configuration a service technician is required which needs to be trained to install bi-directional satellite communication systems. Consequently the deployment of a telecommunication system in which a geostationary satellite communicates with a plurality of ground stations consumes a lot of time and money (traveling costs, expenses, etc.).
Therefore it is an object of the invention, to simplify the line-up process in order to enable local distributors or even clients to get the satellite terminal operational by themselves (self install).
According to the invention, this object is realized with a method for the alignment of an earth station antenna with a satellite antenna, wherein a reference signal, emitted by the earth station antenna is analyzed in a monitoring station and the reference signal is used as a carrier for authentication information about the earth station terminal.
The present invention provides a simple solution for the need to send information about the earth station terminal. In praxis, a so called CW signal (Continuous Wave signal), that is to say, a sinus signal is used as reference signal. According to the invention, the information is modulated on this signal by on-off keying the CW signal. Mathematically this is a form of digital modulation of the signal. Because the on-off keying is done with a very slow bitrate (eg 2 bits/sec.), so the bandwidth of the modulated signal is very low. In order to underline, that very-low-rate modulation happens, the expression on-off keying will be used in the following preferably.
In order to increase the information rate the CW signal may be modulated with different levels of amplitude instead of applying pure on-off keying.
Preferred embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims.
The object of the invention is also realized with a System comprising:                an earth station terminal with an antenna and with means for generating the modulated reference signal        a Monitoring Station with means for the detection and identification of line-up requests and means for monitoring the co-polar and cross-polar components of the signal transmitted from the earth station.

Method and system for the alignment of an earth station antenna with a satellite antenna


A device for releasing a volatile substance into an environment in a controlled/metered manner. A reservoir made of a substance-absorbent material that is impregnated with a volatile substance in its liquid phase is located in a cavity open at the front surface of a container body made of a material non-permeable to the substance. A wood or wood-type panel permeable to the substance covers the cavity. A clip may be fixed to the back surface of the container body so that the device may be secured to a mounting surface. The device may be packaged with skin pack film such that a vapor barrier is formed, preserving/storing the substance until such time as opened/activated by the consumer. When activated, a volatilization mechanism is initiated wherein the panel absorbs the substance from the reservoir, the substance is introduced to ambient air, volatilized, released and, finally, dispersed throughout an environment.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a device for releasing a volatile substance into an environment in a controlled/metered manner. In particular, this invention relates to an air freshener that, once opened/activated, uniformly and continuously releases a volatile fragrance/deodorant into the atmosphere surrounding it.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Products that dispense fragrances, deodorants and the like are well known and available in many forms. Many of these products utilize substances that are volatile. Volatile substances can be released into an environment through mere exposure to ambient air. When exposed to the atmosphere, a volatile substance converts from its solid, liquid, gel or other non-vapor form to a vaporous one. Once released, the vaporous emissions are dispersed, that is, they travel through the air to treat the surrounding environment.
Air fresheners that utilize volatile fragrances/deodorants typically include some type of container, holder or other housing. A variety of container types can be found on supermarket shelves and, while the containers differ radically in shape, size and materials used, all include some means by which the container may be sealed to effectively store/preserve the volatile fragrance/deodorant until such time as opened/activated by the consumer.
Also common to many air fresheners is the capacity to, once opened/activated, release a fragrance/deodorant into an environment in a controlled/metered manner, that is, maintain a continuous, uniform release rate for an extended period of time while the amount of substance initially present in the device is volatilized.
Exemplary of the various mean and methods for containing and sealing volatile substances and for controlling/metering the rate of release of vapors from them are as follows.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,960,240 (McElfresh) discloses an air freshener comprising a unitary container made of molded plastic comprising two partial enclosures adapted to be folded about a hinge and sealed together to form a generally flat, hermetically sealed enclosure. The sealed container is adapted to retain an active, vaporizable substance bearing member. One portion of the sealed container is provided with an integrally formed tear-away tab adapted to be removed by a user prior to use of the air freshener.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,523,870 (Spector) discloses an aroma dispensing cartridge and holder assembly attachable to an air vent in the interior of an automobile. The assembly is constituted by a holder provided with an array of parallel slots and a replaceable cartridge which is telescoped therein. The cartridge contains a porous pad impregnated with liquid scent and includes a further array of slots. The inserted cartridge is axially shiftable relative to the holder from an inactive position in which the holder and cartridge slots are out off registration to effectively seal the pad, to an active position in which the slots lie in registration, as a consequence of which the forced stream from the vent passes through the porous pad to volatilize the liquid scent and diffuse it within the automobile.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,988,284 (Smith) discloses a device comprised of a block made of wood, pulp, gum or the like which is impregnated with a fragrance and then hermetically sealed in an air-tight vapor-impermeable coating. One or more holes are drilled into the block through the coating and fragrance is emitted therefrom. Vaporization of the fragrance is controlled by the relatively small exposed surface area of the hole compared to the volume of the entire block.
Other means and methods for controlling/metering the release and dispersal of volatile substances found in the prior art are more exacting.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,158,440 (Sullivan) discloses a device comprising a reservoir of substance-absorbent material, for storing the substance, that is encapsulated in an envelope. At least a portion of the envelope comprises a permeable material which has porosity at least equal to ultramicroporosity. The permeable envelope portion has a greater affinity for the substance than does the reservoir material. The remainder of the envelope comprises a material impermeable to the substance. To activate the device, a hole is made in the envelope, exposing at least a portion of the ultramicroporous sheet to the environment. The substance permeates through the permeable envelope portion to be released therefrom in vapor form into the environment at a uniform rate.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,685,734 (Paciorek et al.) discloses a controlled fragrance release device which includes a substrate layer on which a layer of vinyl plastisol resin containing an essential oil or other volatile substance is coated. A cover ply is placed over the resin layer to contain the volatile substance until removed.
As is demonstrated in the prior art to varying degrees, a device whose object is to maintain a continuous, uniform volatile substance release rate for an extended period of time while the amount of substance initially present is volatilized is not novel.
The present invention is unique, however, in that the metering instrument utilized to control the rate of volatilization of the substance is a wood panel. Unlike the Smith patent, where a wood block suffused with fragrance is sealed with an impermeable coating, the present invention teaches a fragrance/deodorant-retaining reservoir in abutting contact with, but discreet from, the wood member.
Wood is a desirable absorptive medium not only because it is inherently porous, its appearance also provides consumers with a unique, stylishly organic and attractive alternative to the many predominantly plastic models of air freshening devices on the market today. Such is one object of the invention.
Another object of the invention is to provide an air freshener that is easily activated upon demand, that is, whose sealing means may be removed by the consumer with little effort. Tear-away tabs, removable cover plies and other means demonstrated in the prior art accomplish this object but, while effective, their use necessitates use of materials and processes in addition to those associated with whatever exterior packaging a device is shipped and/or sold in. These additional materials and processes can be expensive. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an air freshener that is economical in its efficiency. Skin pack film is vacuum sealed over the volatilizing/active surface of the device, the aforementioned wood panel, to a flat porous card. The film creates a barrier that prevents exposure of the panel to air, thereby preserving the volatile substance until such time as it is needed. The consumer may activate the device by simply peeling the film away from it and the card.
Most air fresheners are designed with consumer convenience in mind, but a wood block can be bulky and heavy and, therefore, cumbersome and does not lend itself practically to affecting the atmosphere in small areas, and plastic films and vinyls can be delicate and may require additional protective housing or limited in their application. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an air freshener that is small and light yet durable and remarkably adaptable.
Many products for dispensing fragrances and deodorants available today are designed to be simply set upon a stationary flat surface, such as a counter top or table, in the area targeted for treatment. Less accommodating areas/surfaces require more sophisticated means of insuring the device stays in place.
The McElfresh patent discloses an adhesive means, such as double-stick tape, to mount the air freshener to a surface in the area to be treated.
The Spector patent teaches use of a cruciform releasable clip to be attached to an automobile air vent at the front and middle of same.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,814,344 (Grief) discloses an automobile air freshener with means for attaching same that include cooperating Velcro-type attaching elements, one carried by the air freshener container bottom, the other carried by the louvre blade of an automobile air vent.
It is a yet a further object of the present invention to provide an air freshening device that is versatile, in that it can be temporarily, yet securely, attached to a variety of mounting surfaces. A clip fixed to the device container allows its user to quickly and easily attach it to or remove it from most surfaces, including the sun visor of an automobile, requiring no time consuming peeling-off of tapes and the like and leaving no messy adhesive residues.


Embodiments relate to an image sensor and a method for manufacturing an image sensor. According to embodiments, a transistor structure may be manufactured on a semiconductor substrate, and an insulating layer covering the transistor structure may be formed. The insulating layer may be patterned to form a first via that may expose the semiconductor substrate, and a silicon layer may be formed on the first via and the insulating layer. The silicon layer and the insulating layer may be patterned to form a second via exposing the transistor structure, and the second via may be filled with metal to form a connecting line electrically connected with the transistor structure. Conductive impurities may be implanted into the silicon layer and may form a light receiving portion connected with the connecting line.

An image sensor may be a semiconductor device that may convert optical images into electrical signals. Examples of an image sensor may include charged coupled devices (CCDs) and complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors.
In a method for manufacturing an image sensor, transistors and photodiodes, which may be electrically connected to the transistors, may be formed on a semiconductor substrate. An interlayer insulating layer and a line may be formed on the transistors and the photodiodes. Subsequently, microlenses, which may provide condensed light onto the photodiodes, may be formed on the interlayer insulating layer.
In an image device, incident light from an outside source may be condensed by the microlenses and may pass through the interlayer insulating layer and may be incident onto the photodiodes. A portion of light incident from the outside may be absorbed in the interlayer insulating layer. Hence, an amount of light that actually reaches the photodiodes may be different from an amount of light before the light passes through the interlayer insulating layer. This may reduce certain characteristics of the image device.


The intermittent linear motor of this invention incorporates features which enhance the exhaust scavenging and cooling processes, as well as simplifying overall construction including a compression plenum below the piston where air displaced during a power stroke by the piston is immediately transferred through the combustion chamber allowing said compressed air to immediately begin scavenging exhaust gases as the piston is returned by a resilient member further displacing spent gases from the motor.

This invention relates generally to the field of intermittent linear motors for use in combustion gas powered tools such as those used to drive fasteners.
The cycle of the intermittent linear motor is different to that of a continuous running engine. It does not continue automatically, as would be the case in a reciprocating internal combustion engine. Instead, the intermittent linear motor""s piston must be returned to, and remain in, an initial starting or rest position between each power stroke. Typically, a rod fitted to the piston engages a fastener or other load and mechanical energy is transmitted through the rod to drive a fastener or perform other useful work during the power stroke.
The piston is returned to its initial starting or rest position during a reciprocation stroke with a resilient member. This stroke is not generally used for compression purposes as in a conventional compression engine. Instead, the cylinder is vented during reciprocation so that the contents of the combustion chamber in the rest position are at or near atmospheric pressure. This is primarily done because holding a compressed charge for what may be extended periods between cycles has not proven practical. However, as a result of the inherent thermal-to-mechanical output inefficiencies resulting from this lack of compression, the combustion chambers of intermittent linear motors are required to be fairly large for a given power output.
These relatively large uncompressed combustion chambers of intermittent linear motors, as well as being inherently inefficient, are especially sensitive to the presence of residual exhaust gases from previous cycles. Failure to remove such residual gases will result in a diluted charge and deterioration of burn speed, which is critical when driving a fastener. Thus, unless such gases can be substantially completely removed and replaced with a clean air/fuel mixture, subsequent cycles will deliver significantly less power.
It is, therefore, necessary to provide some type of efficient exhaust scavenging system in devices utilizing intermittent linear motors. Such systems seek first to discharge exhaust gases from the tool as quickly as possible after combustion has been completed and useful work performed. This helps prevent the tool from overheating and also minimizes the amount of scavenging air required to completely clean out the remaining exhaust gases. There can be some variation due to the differing shapes and configurations of combustion chambers and their porting locations; however, it is generally necessary to pump clean air having a volume at least 2.5 times the volume of the combustion chamber in order to adequately clean out (i.e.xe2x80x94scavenge) exhaust gases prior to injecting fuel into the chamber. Representative prior art approaches to the problem of rapidly and efficiently scavenging exhaust gases can be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,403,722; 4,712,379; and 4,759,318.
These patents generally rely on a temperature drop in the gases remaining in the cylinder after exhaust gases have been allowed to escape following a power stroke. This temperature drop forms a partial vacuum, causing scavenging air to be drawn in through check valves at the ignition end of the combustion chamber. A critical problem associated with these systems is the speed with which the scavenging operations of this type can be accomplished. As it takes time and temperature drop for a vacuum to be realized after the fastener has been driven, hot gases are allowed to stay in the tool for long period of time up to 500 milliseconds. This causes the tool to heat up and lose power as well as severely limiting the operating speed of the tool.
In my current invention, a novel approach has been taken to address the problems described above, allowing rapid automatic operation in a simple device. Unlike my U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,712,379 and 4,403,722, which rely on a vacuum being set up and manual operations to complete their cycles, exhaust gases can be completely scavenged within 10 milliseconds in the cycle of my invention. This allows for very rapid cycling rates and minimal heating of the tool. It shares the advantages of my U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,759,318 and 4,665,868 as its cycle is initiated solely by electric signal without the need for manual pumps or valves, but does not require numerous complicated valves and seals. Thus, it represents a significant advance in efficiency and simplicity of operation over prior art devices.
The present invention relates to an improved combustion gas powered intermittent linear motor having a combustion chamber and, an associated piston reciprocating in a piston chamber; the piston powered in a power stroke by ignition of gas in the combustion chamber and biased to return to rest in a return stroke, when not powered by the ignition of gas. An exhaust valve is associated with the combustion chamber, which valve opens to exhaust spent combustion gases and air from the combustion chamber after combustion. A plenum chamber is provided, this plenum chamber being in fluid communication with the piston chamber below the piston remote from the combustion chamber. The plenum chamber is also in communication with the combustion chamber. The motor is configured so that:
(a) air is compressed in the piston chamber below the piston during the power stroke and this compressed air is compressed into the plenum chamber;
(b) then, as the combustion chamber pressure drops, the compressed air from the plenum chamber flows through the combustion chamber, and subsequently through the exhaust valve, scavenging the combustion chamber of spent combustion gases;
(c) as the plenum chamber pressure drops and the piston is on its return stroke, the piston draws in air from below it through an air inlet means in the piston chamber while exhaust gases above the piston are being forced out through the exhaust valve; and
(d) as the pressure in the combustion chamber and plenum chamber return to substantially atmospheric pressure, all valves close to ready the motor for fuel injection and ignition.


A supply system of the anode circuit of a fuel cell (1) comprising: a primary fuel tank (2) intended to supply the anode circuit during an operating phase of the fuel cell, a secondary fuel tank (4) intended to supply the anode circuit when the fuel cell is shut down, the primary and secondary tanks are installed so that the secondary tank is recharged with fuel from the primary tank during an operating phase of the fuel cell, and the system further comprises a permeable membrane (6) installed between the secondary fuel tank and the anode circuit of a fuel cell. Also disclosed is a fuel cell system comprising a fuel cell and the described supply system.

It is known that fuel cells enable electrical energy to be produced directly via an electrochemical redox reaction using hydrogen (the fuel) and oxygen (the oxidant), without passing via a mechanical energy conversion step. This technology seems promising, especially for motor vehicle applications.
A fuel cell comprises in general the series combination of unitary elements each consisting essentially of an anode and a cathode separated by a polymer membrane allowing ions to pass from the anode to the cathode. This combination is also referred to as a stack. A fuel cell comprises an anode circuit, via which the fuel, for example hydrogen, is brought to the anode, and a cathode circuit, by which the oxidant, for example oxygen, is brought to the cathode, during the operating phases of the cell.
On the other hand, when the fuel cell is shut down, the cell's supply of fuel and oxidant is cut off. Yet it has been observed that the presence of fuel in the anode circuit of the cell, even during shutdown phases, makes it possible to slow down the degradation of the cell, and thus to lengthen the service life thereof. Indeed, the presence of hydrogen in the cell makes it possible to guarantee a zero electrochemical voltage, and thus to prevent unwanted electrochemical reactions during long periods when the cell remains shut down.
Fuel cells are known in which a presence of hydrogen at the anode during short shutdown phases is achieved by terminating the shutdown with an excess of hydrogen in the anode circuit. In this case, the cathode circuit is pressurized with nitrogen taken from the air. However, the known fuel cells do not make it possible to achieve perfect leaktightness of the stack. Indeed, the stack consists of bipolar plates and membrane electrode assemblies, the leaktightness between the various components being ensured with the aid of seals that have a certain gas permeability. Thus, a gas such as hydrogen or other fuel present at the anode has a tendency to migrate to the outside of the cell over time. Conversely, the air present in the atmosphere has a tendency to enter the anode, which proves prejudicial for the service life of the fuel cells. Indeed, the oxygen introduced with the air has a tendency to react with the hydrogen due to the catalyst present in the fuel cell, which tends to make the residual hydrogen disappear. When the hydrogen has completely disappeared, the oxygen then imposes its electrochemical potential of 1.48V on the electrodes, which promotes corrosion.
In order to overcome this drawback, a solution has been proposed that consists, when the hydrogen concentration passes below a certain threshold, in opening the tank in order to reintroduce a certain pressure of hydrogen into the stack. This solution, although effective, is not however satisfactory in terms of safety. Specifically, it would mean that the vehicle could open the main valve of the hydrogen tank without human presence, which proves to be dangerous.
Also known, from application WO2007/090284, are fuel cell systems comprising a main tank that delivers hydrogen during an operating phase of the fuel cell and a secondary tank that delivers hydrogen during the shutdown of the fuel cell. However, the system described in this application does not guarantee that a hydrogen presence is maintained until the next restarting.

COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN


For a call received by an originating switching node in a cellular telephone network that does not support all upgraded calling service features, the call is redirected and transited for further handling to an upgraded service switching node. Alternatively, the call is redirected and transited only when the originating switching node has not been ungraded to support subscripted to calling service features or a certain initiated calling service feature. As another alternative, the call is handled by the originating switching node (i.e., through connected to a service switching node) up until such time as a calling service feature is initiated, and is then redirected and transited if the initiated calling service feature is not supported.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cellular telephone networks and, in particular, to the provision of a calling 5 service feature to a subscriber in connection with a cellular telephone call originally made through a switching node of the network that has not yet been upgraded to provide support for that particular calling service feature.
2. Description of Related Art
New calling service features are constantly being developed and implemented by cellular telephone network service providers. These calling service features are typically provided by the switching nodes within the cellular telephone network, and thus in order to offer the calling service feature to all subscribers regardless of location within the network each of the switching nodes must be upgraded to support the feature. Because of the large number of switching nodes present in the cellular telephone network, it is not possible for each of the switching nodes to be substantially simultaneously upgraded to provide the new calling service feature. Furthermore, in some instances it may not make economic sense to upgrade the switching node in view of the low incidence of traffic patterns involving such new service features.
A call made through a switching node that has not yet been upgraded cannot initiate those new calling service features. It would be an advantage for that time period during which the upgrading of all switching nodes within the network has not been completed, if such new calling service features could be offered and provided to all subscribers regardless of either the mobile station location within the cellular telephone network or the upgrade status of the switching node that originally handles the call.

Method and apparatus for providing calling service features within incompletely upgraded cellular telephone networks


A catheter for treating arrhythmia comprises a catheter shaft of a double-cylinder structure where an inner shaft is slidably inserted in an outer shaft, a balloon installed so as to straddle between the tip portion of the inner shaft and the tip portion of the outer shaft, a pair of high frequency current-carrying electrodes of which at least one electrode is provided inside the balloon, and a temperature sensor for monitoring the temperature in the balloon. The front edge portion of the balloon at least in a deflated state protrude from the tip portion of the inner shaft. Alternatively, a tube that is more flexible than the inner shaft is provided on the tip portion of the inner shaft.

In recent years, it has been learnt that many of the causes of arrhythmia (or arterial fibrillation) exist within a pulmonary vein, and for this reason, if the cause of the problem is electrically isolated, arrhythmia can be cared. In accordance with this, currently popular methods of treatment adopt a metallic electrode catheter comprised of a chip of 4 mm in length to contact the ostia of pulmonary vein, where the pulmonary vein joins the left atrium, and by repeated ablation achieved using high frequency current while moving sequentially around the circular ostia of pulmonary vein, the pulmonary vein constituting the cause of arrhythmia is electrically isolated from the atrium.
However, in the above-described treatment if sequential point-contact ablation around the circular ostia of pulmonary vein is not carried out several tens of times, it is impossible to ablate the entire surroundings of each ostium; accordingly, the method in question is problematic with respect to the exceptional amount of time required. A method of proposing contact between a balloon of a high frequency current type of balloon catheter and the ostia of pulmonary vein, and ablation by high frequency current has been proposed in Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 2002-78809 as a means of achieving this treatment in a short period of time. Using this balloon catheter, there is no need to repeatedly carry out ablation in the same way as with conventional catheters, and complete circumferential ablation of the ostia of pulmonary vein is possible through a single high frequency current-carrying process; accordingly, it became possible to greatly reduce the time required for treatment while simultaneously reducing the stress placed on the patient.
When treatment of arterial fibrillation using high frequency current type of balloon catheter as explained above is carried out, it is necessary for the balloon on the distal end of the catheter to be inserted into the affected area of the heart. And in the insertion procedure, the balloon is guided to the heart via the femoral vein and the inferior vena cava; furthermore, it is introduced to the left atrium through the septum by puncturing the interatrial septum via the right atrium. Once inside the left atrium, the balloon is inflated, and wedged into the ostia of pulmonary vein. However, when this type of catheter is passed through blood vessel and heart, the balloon thereof may unintentionally interfere with vessel junctions and the interior of the heart on the way to pulmonary vein, and this has resulted in damaging the body parts such as vessels and heart. It is not always the case, therefore, that the catheter is smoothly inserted without problems occurring. Accordingly, while the balloon catheter as described above does allow ablation to be carried out in a short period of time, problems remain to be solved with regard to the insertion process.
Another problem associated with the high frequency current type balloon catheter as explained above is softening of the catheter shaft as a result of the heat generated through high frequency current-carrying. And when softening of the shaft occurs in this way, the balloon pressing against the ostia of pulmonary vein can slip away because of the influence of pulmonary venous pressure. For this reason, cooling of the interior of conventional high frequency current type of balloon catheter is carried out through the circulating coolant water. However, in order for this cooling to be achieved, a pipe for circulating the coolant water must be inserted into the catheter shaft; accordingly, the catheter shaft becomes thicker, not only impairing the handling of the catheter thereof, but also increasing the stress placed on the patient.
Furthermore, the balloon temperature of high frequency current type of balloon catheter as explained above is raised to between 50° C. and 70° C. in order for ablation to be carried out. Although temperature sensors are provided inside the balloons in order to maintain the temperature at a constant level, the balloon temperature can not be accurately measured when the configuration and structure of the temperature sensor is not correct.


A water heater and method of assembling the water heater are disclosed. The method includes the step of positioning an insulation member around a water tank. An expandable tube is positioned at an elevation between a top surface and a bottom surface of the insulation member. An outer shell is positioned over the water tank, the insulation member, and the expandable tube to at least partially encapsulate the water tank. The expandable tube is expanded to compress at least a portion of the insulation member against the water tank or the outer shell. Foam insulation is delivered into a space defined adjacent the top surface of the insulation member and between the water tank and the outer shell. The foam insulation is substantially limited from traveling past the expandable tube when the expandable tube is maintained in an expanded state.

Conventional water heaters typically include a water storage tank, a cylindrical outer casing or jacket concentrically positioned around the water storage tank, and an annular cavity disposed therebetween. Foam insulation is typically injected into the annular cavity to significantly reduce the escapement of thermal energy from the water storage tank to the surrounding environment. It is desirable to limit the escapement of thermal energy in an effort to reduce operating costs of the water heater.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,023,031 to West et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, discloses a method of insulating a water heater with an expandable foam insulating material. The foam is injected into the annular space between the water tank and the outer jacket. The foam is injected into a sleeve, which acts to confine the foam during its most liquid state, positioned within this space.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,477,399 to Tilton, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, discloses a method for insulating a water heater with foamed insulation comprising the step of inflating a tube in the cavity between the shell and the tank to define a boundary for the cavity into which the insulating material is injected. The device is deflated after the foamed insulation has set in the cavity.
Despite the foregoing improvements, there is a continuing need to further develop methods and apparatuses for insulating electric and gas fired water heaters in the interest of energy conservation.

Water heater and system for insulating same


A method for controlling an integrated laser pointer of a projector includes causing the integrated laser pointer to, in response to commands from a processor: switch the integrated laser pointer to an ON state and adjust a position of the integrated laser pointer to display a dot on a predetermined position of a projected image, switch between the ON state and an OFF state in synchronization with a change in a content of the projected image, switch between an automatic mode and a manual mode, and switch to the OFF state and stop displaying the dot.

Laser pointers enable users to direct and focus an audience's attention to specific content or information. However, when operating laser pointers by hand, user-based errors such as fluctuations in the laser dot caused by natural hand tremors are unavoidable. These fluctuations may be distracting for the audience and embarrassing for the users. Regardless, users still wish to be able to use laser pointers while not having to worry about the effects associated with user-caused errors.


A temperature activated door spring device includes a spring having a coil with a contiguous upper arm and lower arm. The coil includes an inner hinge pin hole and has a circumferential edge sized to mount on the top of a hinge knuckle. A collar is affixed within the inner hinge pin hole wherein the inner hinge pin hole is encompassed by the collar sized to accept an inserted hinge pin. A pellet hole is located proximate an extended end of the upper arm, wherein the pellet hole is sized to accept a fusible pellet. An upper portion of the pellet hole traverses through the upper arm and a lower portion of the pellet hole traverses through the lower arm so that when a fusible pellet is inserted into the pellet hole it holds the upper arm and the lower arm together in a spring loaded position.

According to a September 2017 report from the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated average of 358,500 home structure fires per year during 2011-2015. These fires caused an average of 2,510 civilian deaths, 12,300 civilian injuries, and $6.7 billion in direct property damage per year. Seventy percent of reported home fires and 84% of the home fire deaths occurred in one- or two-family homes. The remainder occurred in apartments or other multi-family housing. Estimates were derived from the U.S. Fire Administration's National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) and the National Fire Protection Association's fire department experience survey. (NFPA, "Home Structure Fires," 2017).
Further, according to the same report, Home fire deaths occur more often in cooler months and between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. In 2011-2015, 47% of home structure fires and 56% of home structure fire deaths occurred in the five months of November through March. Reported home fires peaked around the dinner hours of 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. While just one-fifth (20%) of reported home fires occurred between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., half (52%) of the home fire deaths resulted from fires reported during these hours (Id).
As is known by fire-fighting professionals and fire departments, having a bedroom door closed can protect belongings inside even when temperatures reach 1,000 degrees. Having one's door closed can make a 900 degree difference in a fire. As a result having a door that automatically closes can be a life saver. While fire doors are required to separate a living space from a garage, for example, standard fire doors are kept in the closed position unless propped open (which is not recommended). For bedrooms and other interior rooms of a home it would be desirable to have the option of keeping a door open without the need for a door jam or the like.
Such devices are available, but have several drawbacks. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,955,194 issued Feb. 17, 2015 to Teta teaches a closure mechanism for a door actuated during a fire, which causes the door to automatically close. However, Teta teaches a mechanism that requires replacement of an entire hinge with a new hinge that includes a spring mechanism within the hinge. As a result, it is cumbersome to install since the entire hinge must be replaced and it requires a fairly complex set of internal parts.
In order to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art, the disclosure herein describes a closure mechanism for a door that is actuated during a fire. The closure mechanism automatically closes the door. Installation of the closure mechanism is easily accomplished by placing it on an existing door hinge and holding it in place by a hinge pin.