In order to further develop a surgical instrument with an energy-driven operating device, an energy storage device as well as a control device for driving the operating device as required and supplying it with energy from the energy storage device such that an optimum utilization of the capacity of the energy storage device is achieved without any risk for the surgeon or the patient, in particular in view of the different energy requirements of the individual operating processes, it is suggested that when a predetermined state of residual charge of the energy storage device is reached and/or it is fallen below for the first time the control device make its residual charge available for returning the tool into a rest position.

The invention relates to a surgical instrument with an energy-driven operating device, an energy storage device as well as a control device for operating the operating device as required and supplying it with energy from the energy storage device.
Instruments of this type are known with an operating device which is driven electrically or pneumatically. Accumulators or batteries or rather gas cartridges serve as energy storage devices.
The energy capacity is necessarily limited in the case of such instruments, with the risk that operating processes can no longer be finished when the charge capacity is exhausted.
This is a problem, in particular, in the case of operations which relate to the central nervous system when the instruments are used to remove, for example, bones or tissue material from the patient with a considerable use of force, for example with so-called bone punches.
In the case of bone punches, forces of approximately 700 to approximately 750 N occur when bone material is removed. If the supply of energy fails while a punch cutter is being transferred from an operating position into an end position, in which the operating process is brought to an end, it remains on the bone and can become locked in position. The problem for the surgeon is then that the bone punch cannot be released from the patient and replaced by another instrument ready for use.
Other fields of use relate to clip appliers for, for example, vessel clips, anastomosis clips as well as aneurysm clips. Furthermore, the fields of use relate to so-called rongeurs or also other cutting instruments which must reliably remove body tissue or bone material in a manner similar to the punches specified above.
It is important for all these fields of use that an operating cycle can be run through such that, afterwards, the instrument is again in a defined starting position or rest position.
On the other hand, it is of significance in the case of the surgical instruments of the present invention that size and weight of the instrument are balanced with a view to ergonomic aspects. The space for accommodating the energy storage device is considerably restricted as a result. A generous dimensioning of the energy storage device from the point of view of safety cannot be realized for this reason alone. A permanent connection to an external energy source is also not desirable from an ergonomic point of view.
In many cases, operations do, however, require a supply of energy which would necessitate too large a volume and weight for one single energy storage device. This situation, in which the energy storage device is exhausted during an operation once or several times, is, therefore, foreseeable in many cases. In such a case, care has to be taken for the reasons specified that the instrument does not remain in an undefined operating state when the energy storage device is exhausted since this would entail a risk for the patient being treated and, in addition, hinder the work of the surgeon.
It has so far been suggested in the state of the art to dimension the energy storage device as far as possible such that all the operating processes can be completely finished with the charge capacity available. This can be brought about in the case of so-called clip appliers relatively simply in that the capacity of the clip magazine is reduced so that all the clips in the magazine can be applied before the energy storage device is exhausted.
In the case of instruments, with which the energy requirements per operating step cannot be predetermined so easily and precisely, it has been suggested in EP 1 884 204 A2 to use a counter for monitoring the supply of energy and to stop use of the instrument when it is likely from the number of operating processes that the energy storage device is almost exhausted.
Operation without any risk can be realized with this manner of proceeding only when the number of permissible operating processes is selected such that use of the instrument is stopped long before exhaustion of the energy storage device is reached.
A similar measure is also suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 6,619,529 B1 for a surgical clip applier, with which a counter likewise records the operating processes and use of the instrument is stopped after a predetermined number of operating processes, i.e. clips applied.
These concepts are unsatisfactory, in particular, for instruments which are more complex from an energy point of view since the supply of energy from the energy storage device can be used only very incompletely on account of the different energy requirements per operating process or, in another case, the risk is still present of the instrument no longer being supplied with the necessary energy while an operating process is being carried out, with the consequences described above.
The object of the present invention is to further develop a surgical instrument of the type described at the outset such that an optimum utilization of the capacity of the energy storage device is achieved without any risk for the surgeon or the patient, in particular in view of the different energy requirements of the individual operating processes.


Four novel members of the EPH sub-family of receptor protein tyrosine kinases are disclosed. Nucleic acid sequences encoding receptor proteins, recombinant plasmids and host cells for expression, and methods of producing and using such receptors are also disclosed.

Receptor PTKs are a structurally related family of proteins that mediate the response of cells to extracellular signals (Ullrich et al. Cell 61, 203-212 (1990)). These receptors are characterized by three major functional domains: an intracellular region containing the sequences responsible for catalytic activity, a single hydrophobic membrane-spanning domain, and a glycosylated extracellular region whose structure determines ligand binding specificity. Signal transduction is initiated by the binding of growth or differentiation factors to the extracellular domain of their cognate receptors. Ligand binding facilitates dimerization of the receptor which can induce receptor autophosphorylation. Both soluble and membrane-associated protein ligands have been shown to function in this manner. This process is the initial step in a cascade of interactions involving the phosphorylation of a variety of cytoplasmic substrates and culminating in a biological response by the cell. The best characterized response to tyrosine kinase receptor activation is cell growth. However, analysis of the role of some growth factors in vivo suggests that differentiation or cell survival might also be mediated by tyrosine kinase receptor/ligand interactions.
Receptor PTKs have been grouped into fairly well-defined families on the basis of both sequence homology and shared structural motifs. The amino acid sequence of the portion of the intracellular domain responsible for the catalytic activity is well conserved among all tyrosine kinases and even more closely matched within a receptor sub-family. Comparisons of this portion of the amino acid sequence have been used to construct phylogenetic trees depicting the relatedness of family members to each other and to the tyrosine kinases as a whole (Hanks and Quinn, Methods Enzymol. 200, 38-62 (1991)). This sequence conservation has also been exploited in order to isolate new tyrosine kinases using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)(Wilks, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 86, 1603-1607 (1989)). Oligonucleotides based on the highly conserved catalytic domain of PTKs can be used as PCR primers to amplify related sequences present in the template. These fragments can then be used as probes for isolation of the corresponding full-length receptor clones from cDNA libraries. Anti-phosphotyrosine antibodies have also been used to identify PTK cDNA clones in phage expression libraries (Lindberg and Pasquale, Methods Enzymol. 200, 557-564 (1991)). These strategies have been used by a number of investigators to identify an ever-increasing number of protein tyrosine kinase receptors.
There are now 51 distinct PTK receptor genes that have been published and divided into 14 sub-families. One such sub-family is the EPH-like receptors. The prototype member, EPH, was isolated by Hirai et.al. (Science 238, 1717-1720 (1987)) using low stringency hybridization to a probe derived from the viral oncogene v-fps. EPH-like receptors have been implicated in cell growth based in part on studies which show that overexpression of the gene in NIH3T3 cells causes focus formation in soft agar and tumors in nude mice (Maru et al. Oncogene 5, 199-204 (1990)). Other members of the EPH sub-family which have been identified include the following:
ECK (Lindberg et al. Mol. Cell. Biol. 10, 6316-6324 (1990)) PA1 Elk (Lhotak et al. Mol. Cell. Biol. 11, 2496-2502 (1991)) PA1 Ceks 4,5,6,7,8,9, and 10 (Pasquale, Cell Regulation 2, 523-534 (1991); Sajjadi et al. The New Biologist 3, 769-778 (1991); Sajjadi and Pasquale Oncogene 8, 1807-1813 (1993)) PA1 HEK2 (Bohme et al. Oncogene 8, 2857-2862 (1993)) PA1 Eek, Erk (Chan and Watt, Oncogene 6, 1057-1061 (1991)) PA1 Ehk1, Ehk2 (Maisonpierre et al. Oncogene 8, 3277-3288 (1993))
Homologs for some of these receptors have been identified in other species (Wicks et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89, 1611-1615 (1992)); Gilardi-Hebenstreit et al. Oncogene 7, 2499-2506 (1992)). The expression patterns and developmental profiles of several family members suggest that these receptors and their ligands are important for the proliferation, differentiation and maintenance of a variety of tissues (Nieto et al. Development 116, 1137-1150 (1992)). Structurally, EPH sub-family members are characterized by an Ig-like loop, a cysteine rich region, and two fibronectin-type repeats in their extracellular domains. The amino acid sequences of the catalytic domains are more closely related to the SRC sub-family of cytoplasmic PTKs than to any of the receptor PTKs. Among the catalytic domains of receptor PTKs, the EPH sub-family is most similar in amino acid sequence to the epidermal growth factor receptor sub-family.
It is an object of the invention to identify novel receptors belonging to the EPH sub-family. A directed PCR approach has been used to identify five human EPH-like receptors from a human fetal brain cDNA library. These receptors are designated HEK4, HEK5, HEK7, HEK8, and HEK11. The relationship of these receptors to previously identified EPH-like receptors is as follows:
HEK4 is the human homolog of Cek4 (chicken) and Mek4 (mouse) and is identical to HEK (Boyd et al. J. Biol. Chem. 267, 3262-3267 (1992); Wicks et al., 1992) which was previously isolated from a human lymphoid tumor cell line.
HEK5 is the human homolog of Cek5, a full-length eph-like receptor clone from chicken. A portion of the HEK5 sequence was previously disclosed as ERK, a human clone encoding about sixty amino acids (Chan and Watt, 1991)
HEK7 is the human homolog of Cek7 isolated from chicken.
HEK8 is the human homolog of Cek8 a full-length clone from chicken and Sek, a full-length clone from mouse. (Nieto et al., 1992; Sajjadi et al., 1991)
HEK11 does not have a known non-human homolog. With the addition of the new members HEK5, HEK7, HEK8 and HEK11 and the report of a PCR fragment encoding an eph-like receptor (Lai & Lemke Neuron 6, 691-704 (1991)), a total of twelve distinct sequences that represent EPH-like receptors have been published, making it the largest known sub-family of PTKs.
It is a further object of the invention to generate soluble EPH-like receptors and antibodies to EPH-like receptors. Soluble receptors and antibodies are useful for modulating EPH-like receptor activation.

Nucleic acids encoding EPH-like receptor protein tyrosine kinases


A system and method for managing battery energy usage by a mobile wireless network which detects threshold conditions for network signal found and lost; records historical events of signal found and lost with operational criteria associated with operational conditions of the events such as time, day, date, tower number, and geographic location; upon each detection of network signal loss, determines from the recorded event records a nap termination condition upon which network signal has been historically reliable; and enters a battery-saving nap mode until the nap termination condition is met.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to technologies for controlling power consumption in portable or battery-powered devices which perform a function of wireless networking or communications, including but not limited to battery consumption optimization for handheld computers with wireless network interfaces, cordless telephones, cellular telephones, and specialized portable terminal devices (e.g. handheld bar coding equipment, portable point-of-sale devices, etc.)
2. Background of the Invention
Battery-powered, portable devices which perform wireless networking for voice and/or data communications as all or part of their functionality are well known in the art, including but not limited to:                (a) cellular telephones;        (b) wireless web browsers;        (c) cordless telephones and cordless small office/home office (SOHO) telephone switch systems;        (d) laptop computers, palm top computers and personal digital assistants (PDA) equipped with wireless local area network (LAN) or cellular data interface cards;        (e) handheld system terminals such as the units used by car rental companies to check in cars upon their return;        (f) handheld bar code and inventory terminals such as those used by retail and warehousing enterprises;        (g) wireless point-of-sale (POS) terminals such as price scanners and cash registers; and        (h) one-way, two-way, text and voice pagers and terminal devices.
All of these devices have several architectural aspects in common. First, they are primarily battery powered between periods of recharging. Recharging of the battery may occur when the device is placed in a cradle, attached to the docking station, or plugged into the battery charger device. They each must manage battery consumption efficiently, as battery life is a key factor for selection of a device in a highly competitive industry. For larger systems such as laptop computers, this may include shutting down disk drives under certain conditions. For most systems, this also includes turning off display backlights, shutting dawn or suspending non-critical software and hardware functions, to completing powering down the entire unit.
It is common within the industry to refer to these various methods of battery consumption as "standby", "sleep", "suspension", "battery saver", or "low power" mode. Although almost all battery-powered devices such as these advertise and claim "advanced" battery saving functions, most implement different schemes of power consumption management depending on their specific control firmware and the hardware capabilities of the system to shut down or sleep portions of the system. So, even though two comparable personal communications systems (PCS) telephones use the same battery type, such as a Lithium Ion battery, and have the same wireless range, their operational characteristics may be considerably different based upon their ability to disable or control power consumption.
For the remainder of this description, we will refer primarily to cellular telephone examples and implementations. Certain terms from cellular telephone parlance are analogous in functionality to terms from other networking technologies, such as PCS towers being similar to "base stations" or wireless access points. It will be readily recognized by those skilled in the art, however, that the problems and the invention presented herein are common to all the various wireless network battery-powered devices as previously exemplified.
Turning to FIG. 1, two "cells" (10, 11) are shown geographically adjacent to each other, each cell having a "tower" (12, 13) located in its center. In this example, the cells are considered to be of hexagonal shape (15, 17) for network planning and management purposes, but in reality, the signals from the towers propagate equally well for a generally circular area (14, 16) of coverage, barring any geophysical obstruction such as a mountain, bluff, or tall building. The hexagonal cells fit wholly within the circular regions around each tower, thereby producing areas of coverage overlap (18) between adjacent cells. In practice, a cellular system (19) comprises multiple cells in a honeycomb arrangement, but only two adjacent cells are shown here for ease of understanding.
When a terminal device such as PCS handset or wireless web browser is at a position P1 outside of reception range of a tower within the system, the device will be unable to perform its functions such as making or receiving telephone calls, performing data communications, etc. Most systems will continuously "search" for a tower signal, performing some type of protocol to make contact with one or more towers which may be within reception range. This process of searching may simply include measuring a signal strength on a frequency and/or channel from the tower, or may be more active such as sending or transmitting a signal from the device's transmitter to initiate a contact with an in-range tower. While the former approach will consume some power for the search, the latter almost always consumes even more power as transmission of signals is usually a more power intensive operation than simply receiving a signal.
As a device reaches or travels a position to the "fringe" area of coverage for a tower P2, it may detect a usable signal strength from the tower (12) within its reception range, and/or may be able to effectively transmit a code, registration or other signal to the tower (12). At this position, the device is technically within the tower's cell (10).
The "logging in" or "registration" process as a device enters a tower's cell varies between different wireless technologies. For example, the registration process employed by PCS systems is different than the registration process used by its predecessor "analog" (e.g. AMPS") cellular system, and both are very different than the registration process employed by wireless data networking technologies such as BlueTooth, IEEE 802.11b, Motorola's Ricochet network, two-way pager networks, etc. For illustrative purposes, however, we now present a brief overview of the PCS registration process.
When a PCS telephone is first turned ON, it begins to "listen" for or search for a System Identification (SID) code which is continuously transmitted by PCS towers on a predetermined "control channel" frequency. Each PCS system operator (e.g. Sprint, MCI, AT&T, Verizon, VoiceStream, etc.) has been assigned a unique SID value, such that a PCS phone can determine if it is within a network compatible with and authorized for its use. Until a compatible SID code is received, the PCS handset will display a "No Service" indicator or "Out of Range" indicator.
Once the handset has received a compatible SID, it transmits a registration request with the SID on the control channel, which is received by one or more towers within range. For example, in FIG. 1, if the handset is in position P2, only one tower (12) may receive the registration request. If the handset is in position P4, however, when it is powered ON initially, it may be within the overlap of multiple cells, and the registration request may be received by multiple towers (12, 13), or may be directed to the tower for which the strongest signal strength is detected.
Many wireless networked systems are designed to handle providing continuous service as a unit travels from one cell to another, while other technologies do not provide this functionality. For example, a PCS telephone is expected to be used in a moving vehicle or while walking, and as such, the PCS system specifications and design include protocols and schemes for "hand off" of service to a handset from one cell tower to another. So, for example, as a handset moves from position P3 to position P4, and then to position P5, the handset may initially be served by first tower (12) and then be handed off to another tower (13) according to signal strength criteria and channel availability in each area of coverage (14, 16).
Turning to FIG. 2, a larger portion of a cellular network (24) is illustrated, to show how a terminal or handset may traverse multiple positions P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, P7, and P8, starting outside a network, entering the fringe of the network, passing through and being served by multiple cells (20, 21), and finally passing through the fringe and out of the network. Certain cells (23, 22) may never provide service to the handset based upon its position and proximity to other, closer towers.
If a handset, however, moves around the "fringe" area of a network or near the extremes of range for tower or base station, such as moving back and forth between positions P1 and P2 or positions P7 and P8, the handset may repeatedly lose service, reregister, etc. This problem may arise when a handset is located clearly within the geographic region of a cell, cut in an area where reception is attenuated by geographical features of man-made structures such as buildings. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, assume a handset is located within the normal cell range of a tower (34) inside a building (31), the building having several outside wall portions (33) which highly attenuate (35′, 35′) the signal (35) from the tower (34). Additionally, the building may have doors and/or windows (32) which do not cause considerable attenuation (35″)" of the signal (35) from tower (34).
Within the building, false "fringe" areas may be created, shown by the dotted lines, due to the inconsistent signal attenuation of building parts such that as a handset moves from position P1 to position P2 and then to position P3, the signal may be lost and found intermittently. This may cause the handset to have to reregister repeatedly as in the case of moving in and out of geographic service areas, although the cause of the problem is due to signal obstruction rather than geographic range.
A similar problem may also arise as environmental conditions change, such as weather and/or electromagnetic interference (e.g. sun spot activity), causing a signal to "fade in and out".
Some technologies, however, assume that the terminals are relatively stationary, such as the PCS-derivative wireless local loop (WLL), and some wireless data networking technologies such as "WiFi". These systems do not include the hardware and software functionalities to perform the "hand off" from one tower, base station or access point, on the assumption that the terminals will remain within range of a selected tower for the duration of the operation of the unit.
To save battery consumption, many methods and systems have been devised implemented in part in hardware or "silicon" solutions, and in part in software and firmware. Or example, most terminals will turn off high-consumption functions such as display and keyboard backlights after a period of inactivity, regardless of network signal strength. Still more power is saved when the system has been out of range of a tower or base station for a given period of time. The terminal or handset will go into "sleep" mode for a predetermined amount of time in which it powers down nonessential portions of the handset, wake up when the sleep period has transpired, and begin the process again. Most of the timer schemes found in current handsets and terminals are relatively simple, although some more advanced approaches are available.
Turning to FIG. 6, an illustration (60) of such a common battery saving scheme is given. As the signal strength (61) varies, the mode (62) of the terminal will vary as will the power consumption (63). In this example, when the terminal is initially switched from OFF to ON, it enters a period of searching for a tower (or base station). Because the signal strength is initially strong, service is initiated ("found"), and battery consumption is normal (C2). Later, however, as the signal strength fades, the terminal enters a period T1. During which it searches for another tower for service. After the tower is not found for this amount of time, it will enter a lower power "sleep" state for a predetermined period T2. During this sleep period, the signal strength may temporary improve, and fade again.
When the sleep time T2 expires, the terminal "wakes up", returning to a normal battery consumption level, white it searches and reregisters with the closest available tower, assuming signal strength is good as shown in this example. However, if the signal strength fades again soon, as is common intermittent conditions (e.g. inside buildings, transient weather, etc.), the terminal again will spend period T1 searching for a usable tower signal before it returns to sleep. This causes a waster of battery energy (C1). For many wireless terminals and devices, battery consumption during the "search for signal" mode is much higher than idle mode while a signal is available. For example, in an office where "false positives" or intermittent signal acquisitions are made all day, a user's phone is basically in search mode all day long. In such a situation, the phone battery is often dead by the end of the day, in contrast to a day of use outside the office in range of a normal signal during which the battery may last two days or more on a signal charge.
FIG. 5 provides a logical process (50) depiction for this type of battery saving method, including registering (52) initially with a first tower after searching (51) and finding the first tower's signal, losing (53) the signal from the first tower, searching (53) for a valid signal for a predetermined period T1, and then iteratively sleeping (54) for a predetermined period T2 and waking to search (55) until a valid signal is found (57) and the unit can register (58) with the same or an alternate tower.
Intermittent signal conditions such as there, unfortunately, are very common when a handset is present in conditions such as previously described. Additionally, as the handset is automated for these types of operations, many users may be completely unaware that their handset is performing transitory operations, especially if the handset provides no indication (e.g. a beep or tone) that signal is being found, lost found, lost, etc. So many users of such wireless devices experience much shorter battery life than advertised, but are unaware of the cause or potential remedies for the situation.
Manual remedies may include turning OFF the device when entering an area of known conditions such as this. This, however, is counterintuitive to using the device continuously, and depends in a great part on the knowledge and foresight of the user about such geographic and environmental conditions. For example, a user would have to:                (a) know that his office is near the fringe of signal strength;        (b) notice that a strong storm is arriving in the area;        (c) have the presence of mind to turn OFF the device at the storm's outset; and        (d) have the presence of mind to turn it back ON again when the storm has passed.
This process would likely lead to not turning the handset back ON, missed calls, etc. Alternatively, the user could take the PCS handset OFF his belt clip or out of her purse when in a building known to cause these problems, place the unit near a window during their visit to the building, and retrieve the unit before leaving. This would likely lead to missed calls (e.g. user is in another room when the phone rings), and lost handsets (e.g. user forgets to take his or her phone with them when they leave).
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a system and method which intelligently minimizes the battery consumption of portable or mobile wireless devices. Preferably, this new system and method would achieve such battery savings and life extension without expensive or complex additional circuitry or technology than is typically present in such wireless devices.

Power saving system and method for mobile wireless network device using historical periods of signal intermittence and reliability


The present invention is a filter for a display device having a substrate 1, an outermost layer inorganic film provided on the substrate 1 through or not through one or more other films and a surface modified film covering the surface of the outermost layer inorganic film and having a polar term component .gamma..sup.p of the surface energy of not more than 2.0 erg/cm.sup.2. The present invention provides a filter for a display device having an antireflection property superior in stain resistance, scratch resistance, processing resistance, etc. and suitable even when used as a front panel of a CRT or other display device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a filter for a display device having an antireflection property superior in stain resistance, scratch resistance, processing resistance, etc. and further relates to a filter able to be used as the front panel of a CRT.
2. Description of the Related Art
When viewing an object through a transparent material, it is bothersome if the reflected light is strong and the reflected image is clear. For example, in eyeglass lenses, "ghosts", "flares", and other reflected images occur and give an unpleasant feeling to the eye. Further, in telescopes etc., a problem occurs that the object viewed cannot be discerned due to the light reflected on the surface of the glass.
In the past, to protect against reflection, a substance having a reflectance different from the substrate has been coated on the surface by vacuum deposition etc. In this case, to bring out the maximum antireflectance effect, it is known to be important to properly select the thickness of the substance covering the substrate.
For example, selection of the optical thickness of the substance of the reflectance lower than the substrate to be 1/4 of the wavelength covered or an odd multiple of the same is known to give the smallest reflectance, that is, an extremely large transmittance.
Here, the optical thickness is given by the product of the reflectance of the coated shaped material and the thickness of the coating. Further, it is possible to form a plurality of layers of antireflectance films. Several proposals have been made regarding the selection of the thickness in this case (Kagaku Gijutsu Contact (Optical Technology Contacts), Vol. 9, No. 8, p. 17 (1971)).
On the other hand, the methods for forming antireflection films comprised of multiple layers satisfying the condition of the optical thickness using a liquid composition are described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 58-46301, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 59-49501, and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 59-50401. In recent years, the advantages of light weight, safety, ease of handling, and the like have been used to produce and commercialize optical products using a plastic substrate and having an antireflectance. Further, most use configurations of films having a silicon dioxide surface layer film.


A drive fluid inlet is at an uphole end of the submersible pump top drive. A removable hydraulic motor is driven by drive fluid received by the drive fluid inlet. The removable hydraulic motor is separable from a downhole pump. A receiver is at a downhole end of the hydraulic motor. The receiver is configured to mate with the downhole pump. A drive fluid outlet is configured to expel the drive fluid after the drive fluid has flowed through the hydraulic motor. The drive fluid outlet is downhole of the drive fluid inlet.

In hydrocarbon production, some geologic formations lack enough pressure in the reservoir to economically realize production through the well to the surface. Downhole pumps or compressors can be deployed into the well to increase production. Additionally or alternatively, a topside compressor or pump are sometimes used to extend the life of the well by decreasing pressure at the top of the well. In instances where pumps or compressors are deployed into a well, such devices can be driven by topside facilities, and are appropriately referred to as "top driven". Such systems can include shaft driven submersible pumps, where an extended shaft extends into the wellbore between a topside driver and a downhole pump, or they can include hydraulic submersible pumps (HSP). Alternatively or in addition, downhole equipment with its own driver, such as an electric submersible pump (ESP), can be used.


This invention relates to a prophylactic/therapeutic composition comprising a compound of the general formula: ##STR1## (wherein R means an alkanoyl group; a benzoyl group optionally having 1 or more substituent groups selected the group consisting of lower alkyl groups and halogen atoms; a phenylacetyl group; or a cyclohexanecarbonyl group) as an active ingredient, a method for prophylaxis and therapy of fish diseases which comprises administering a food supplemented with said compound to fish, and a fish food containing the same compound. The above composition exhibits beneficial efficacy as a prophylactic/therapeutic agent for fish diseases.

Recent years have seen a great flourishing of aquiculture (culture of saltwater fish and freshwater fish) with the attendant outbreaks of various fish diseases. For the prevention and treatment of such fish diseases, taking pseudotuberculosis in yellowtail as an example, antibacterial agents such as ampicillin, oxolinic acid and the like are frequently employed. However, the common usage of these antibacterial agents is presenting the problem that pathogenic bacteria resistant to these antibacterial agents have emerged with increasing frequencies.
There exists, therefore, a true need for development of new antibacterial agents for the prevention and therapy of fish diseases, which do not have cross resistance with the conventional drugs and are active against such resistant microorganisms.
To resolve this problem, the inventors of the present invention contemplated the use of bicozamycin [the same substance as WS-4545 substance which is produced by certain microorganisms of the genus Streptomyces (Japanese Publication of Examined Patent Application No. 29158/1973)] but found that this substance was not satisfactory in the absorption from the intestinal tract.
Meanwhile, certain esters synthesized for improving the absorption of bicozamycin after oral administration [the same substances as acylated WS-4545 substance (Japanese Publication of Unexamined Patent Application No. 39497 (1973)] fulfilled the need (The Journal of Antibiotics Vol. XXV, No. 10, pp. 576-581) but application of such bicozamycin esters to fish has been refrained from for the following reason. Thus, drugs for fish are usually administered as incorporated in a raw fish mince but it was generally suspected that if an ester of bicozamycin be administered to fish, especially yellowtail, in this manner, the ester would be hydrolyzed back to bicozamycin by the esterase occurring in the fish mince so that the object of improving the oral absorption of the drug would not be accomplished. (Actually, when a known ester of ampicillin, viz. bacampicillin, is incorporated in a fish mince before administration, it is decomposed in the mince).
Under the circumstances, the inventors of the present invention dared to experimentally administer a bicozamycin ester [compound (I)] to fish in the above manner and found surprisingly that the ester was not substantially decomposed in the fish mince but was well absorbed and retained in high concentrations for long in the fish blood. The finding was followed by further research which has culminated in the present invention.

Drug for preventing and treating fish diseases


A method is described for determining depth-resolved backscatter characteristics of scatterers within a sample, comprising the steps of: acquiring a plurality of sets of cross-correlation interferogram data using an interferometer having a sample arm with the sample in the sample arm, wherein the sample includes a distribution of scatterers therein, and wherein the acquiring step includes the step of altering the distribution of scatterers within the sample with respect to the sample arm for substantially each acquisition; and averaging, in the Fourier domain, the cross-correlation interferogram data, thereby revealing backscattering characteristics of the scatterers within the sample.

Optical imaging of a biological specimen has always been a formidable and challenging task because the complex microscopic structure of tissues causes strong scattering of the incident radiation. Strong scattering in tissue at optical wavelengths is due to particulate scattering from cellular organelles and other microscopic particles, as well as to refractive index variations arising within and between cell and tissue layers.
For over a century, conclusive diagnosis of many diseases of cellular origin (such as cancer) has been performed by the process of excisional biopsy, comprising the identification, removal, histological preparation and optical microscopic examination of suspect tissue samples. Many developments have taken place to aid the pathologist in interpretation of histological microstructure, primarily the development of a wide variety of histochemical stains specific to the biochemistry of tissue microstructures. This technique provides sufficient resolution to visualize individual cells within the framework of the surrounding gross tissue structure. In the last several years, a revolution has been stimulated in the field of ultra-high resolution microscopy for biomedical applications. Ultra-high resolution microscopy allows visualization of sub-cellular and sub-nuclear structures. This has resulted in the invention of tools for high resolution optical imaging, including near field scanning microscopy, standing wave fluorescence microscopy, and digital deconvolution microscopy.
These technologies are primarily designed for imaging features at or near the surface of materials. Inhomogeneties of the refractive indices inside a biological specimen leading to multiple scattering limit the probing depth of these techniques. Thus, considerable effort is required to cut and preserve the samples in order to prepare the specimen to the requirements of the microscope. In medical applications, this means that suspect tissue sites identified using minimally invasive diagnostic technologies such as endoscopy must still be acquired and processed via routine histological examination. This step introduces significant delay and expense.
The invention of confocal microscopy and its advanced development in the past few years have provided the researcher the capability to study biological specimens including living organisms without the need for tissue resection and histological processing. However, the presence of multiple scattering in samples limits confocal microscopy to specimens which are thin and mostly transparent. There is a need, therefore, for new optical methods capable of in vivo imaging deeper inside highly scattering tissues and other biological specimens.
Optical coherence tomography ("OCT") is a technology that allows for noninvasive, cross-sectional optical imaging in biological media with high spatial resolution and high sensitivity. OCT is an extension of low coherence or white-light interferometry, in which a low temporal coherence light source is utilized to obtain precise localization of reflections internal to a probed structure along an optic axis (i.e., as a function of depth into the sample). In OCT, this technique is extended to enable scanning of the probe beam in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis, building up a two-dimensional reflectivity data set, used to create a cross-sectional, gray-scale or false-color image of internal tissue backscatter.
Many studies have suggested the use of elastic backscatter or reflectance as a noninvasive diagnostic tool for early detection of several human diseases, including cancer. The use of backscattered light is based on the fact that many tissue pathologies are accompanied by architectural changes at the cellular and sub-cellular level, for example the increase in the nuclear to cytoplasmic volume ratio accompanying neoplastic conversion. In the near infra-red (NIR) zone, the elastic scattering properties of the tissue are most strongly affected by changes in tissue features whose dimensions are on the same order as the NIR wavelength. Preliminary success in diagnosing cancer in the bladder, skin, and gastrointestinal tissues has been reported with techniques based on elastic backscatter spectroscopy. However, currently implemented spectroscopic systems do not incorporate depth resolution and thus cannot provide information on the degree of infiltration or cancer staging. Although elastic backscatter spectra can be collected with confocal techniques, the turbidity of biological samples in combination with the point spread function of confocal microscopes limit the penetration depth for acquiring spatially selective spectra to no greater than a few hundred micrometers in most tissues. Many tissue samples have features of interest located at a depth more than that can be probed by confocal techniques, but less than that of other sub-surface imaging modalities such as ultrasound. Accordingly, there is a need for a spectroscopy system that is capable of obtaining depth-resolved elastic backscatter spectra from a sample.
Inelastic scattering processes including fluorescence and Raman spectroscopy have also been exploited for noninvasive disease diagnosis. Unlike elastic scattering events, in which the incident and scattered radiation are at the same frequency, in inelastic scattering events all or part of the incident optical energy is temporarily absorbed by the atoms and/or molecules of the subject tissue, before being remitted at a different (usually lower) optical frequency. Thus, inelastic scattering processes serve as intimate probes of tissue biochemistry. Several studies have reported on laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy as a potential early cancer diagnostic in the skin, breast, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and urogential tracts. Additional studies have reported on the more biochemically specific Raman spectroscopy for characterization of atherosclerotic lesions in the coronary arteries, as well as for early cancer detection in the gastrointestinal tract and cervix. In all studies of fluorescence, Raman, and other inelastic scattering spectroscopies in human tissues to date, means have not been available to resolve the depth of the scattered signal with micrometer-scale resolution. There is thus a need for a spectroscopy system capable of obtaining depth-resolved inelastic backscatter spectra as well as elastic backscatter spectra from a sample, such as could be obtained by extending Optical Coherence Tomography to detect inelastically scattered light. The depth resolved elastic and inelastic backscattering spectroscopic information could aid in the detection of the shapes and sizes of lesions in an affected organ and could thus assist in accurate staging of diseases such as cancer.
The inelastic scattering spectroscopies based on spontaneous fluorescence and spontaneous Raman scattering which have been used in medical diagnostic applications to date are not suitable for combination with Optical Coherence Tomography because they are incoherent scattering processes, and thus the scattered light would not be detected with OCT. However, coherent inelastic scattering processes do exist, in particular the process of stimulated emission is the coherent analog of spontaneous emission, and stimulated Raman scattering is the coherence analog of spontaneous Raman scattering. Other stimulated coherent scattering processes also occur which may find future application in medical diagnostics, for example coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) and four-wave mixing (FWM). All of these coherent inelastic scattering processes require the presence of pump energy which is converted into signal energy in a coherent gain process. Thus, by virtue of their coherence, stimulated coherent gain processes are suitable for combination with Optical Coherence Tomography to allow for depth resolution of the location of the inelastic scattering events. Therefore, there exists a need for a system which allows for this combination.

Depth-resolved spectroscopic optical coherence tomography

c/o University Hospitals of Cleveland, Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, 11100 Euclid Ave.


Embodiments of apparatuses and methods for delivering real time interrupts with an APIC are disclosed. In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a local advanced programmable interrupt controller including a storage location to store a non-maskable interrupt vector.

1. Field
The present disclosure pertains to the field of information processing, and more particularly, to the field of managing interrupts in information processing systems.
2. Description of Related Art
Many personal computer and other information processing systems manage interrupts according to Intel® Corporation's Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller ("APIC") architecture or an interrupt architecture based on the APIC architecture. One or more processors in such a system may include a local APIC, and the system may include one or more input/output ("I/O") APICs.

Delivering real time interrupts with an advanced programmable interrupt controller


The present invention aims at providing a rotary joint which is of a thin type and has broad band characteristics and which is low in loss and is excellent in power resistance as well. In order to attain the object, the rotary joint includes: first and second polarizers each having a common side terminal connected to a waveguide portion, and two branch side terminals through which two polarized waves orthogonal to each other inputted through the common side terminal are separately taken out; and the waveguide portion which has a rotatable connection portion, one end of which is connected to the common side terminal of the first polarizer and the other end of which is connected to the common side terminal of the second polarizer.

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a construction of a conventional rotary joint shown in JP 56-51522 B for example. In FIG. 12, reference numerals 101 and 102 respectively designate circular waveguides which are nearly identical in cross sectional size to each other and to which an interval axis is nearly common; reference numeral 103 designates a choke groove which is formed in a flange portion of a connection surface between the circular waveguides 101 and 102; reference numeral 104 designates a bearing; reference numeral 105 designates a connection portion consisting of the choke groove and the bearing; reference numerals 106 and 107 respectively designate projection portions for conversion from a linearly polarized wave to a circularly polarized wave; reference numerals 108 and 109 respectively designate input rectangular waveguides; reference numerals 110 and 111 respectively designate output rectangular waveguides; reference numerals 112 and 113 respectively designate short-circuit plates; and reference numerals 114 to 117 respectively designate coupling holes.
The choke groove 103 is the means which is usually used so that a gap defined between the circular waveguides 101 and 102 becomes equivalently short-circuit in a frequency of an electric wave propagated through the circular waveguides 101 and 102. The circular waveguides 101 and 102 are connected to each other in terms of a high frequency by a function of the connection portion 105 having the choke groove 105 while keeping a predetermined gap therebetween. The circular waveguide 102 can be rotated about a tube axis with respect to the circular waveguide 102 by a predetermined angle of rotation by a function of the bearing 104 while keeping the tube axis so that the circular waveguides 101 and 102 are aligned with each other through the tube axis.
The position of the projection portion 106 for conversion from a linearly polarized wave to a circularly polarized wave is set to the position making an angle of +45 degrees or −45 degrees with a direction of an electric field of a TE10-mode of the input rectangular waveguide 108. At this time, the position of the projection portion 107 for conversion from a linearly polarized wave to a circularly polarized wave is set to the position which, for the former, makes an angle of −45 degrees with a direction of an electric field of a TE10-mode of the output rectangular waveguide 110, and which, for the latter, makes an angle of +45 degrees. The coupling holes 114 and 116 are formed by cutting off parts of the short-circuit plates 112 and 113, respectively. The coupling holes 115 and 117 are formed by cutting off parts of sidewalls of the circular waveguides 101 and 102, respectively.
Next, operation will hereinbelow be described. After an electric wave of a TE10-mode made incident from the input rectangular waveguide 108 has been efficiently converted into the electric wave of a TE11-mode in the circular waveguide 101 through the coupling hole 114 now, it is then converted from the linearly polarized wave into the circularly polarized wave by the projection portion 106 for conversion from a linearly polarized wave into a circularly polarized wave. The circularly polarized wave obtained through the conversion is transmitted to the circular waveguide 102 through the connection portion 105 irrespective of an angle of rotation of the circular waveguide 102 due to the rotation symmetry of the mode to be guided into the output rectangular waveguide 110 through a course reverse to the above-mentioned course. That is to say, after the electric wave has been converted from the circularly polarized wave into the linearly polarized wave by the projection portion 107 for conversion from a linearly polarized wave into a circularly polarized wave in the circular waveguide 102, it is then transmitted to the output rectangular waveguide 110 through the coupling hole 116.
On the other hand, other electric waves of a TE10-mode made incident from the input rectangular waveguide 109 is efficiently converted into the electric wave of a TE11-mode in the circular waveguide 101 through the coupling hole 115. At this time, a direction of the electric field of the TE11-mode obtained through the conversion perpendicularly intersects that of the TE11-mode due to the incident wave from the input rectangular waveguide 108. For this reason, the electric wave of the TE11-mode obtained through the conversion via the coupling hole 115 is converted into a circularly polarized wave having rotation reverse to that of the TE11-mode through the coupling hole 114 by the projection portion 106 for conversion from a linearly polarized wave into a circularly polarized wave. At this time, the circularly polarized wave obtained through the conversion is transmitted to the circular waveguide 102 through the connection portion 105 irrespective of an angle of rotation of the circular waveguide 102 due to the rotation symmetry of the mode to be guided to the output rectangular waveguide 111 through a course reverse to the above-mentioned course. That is to say, after the electric wave has been converted from the circularly polarized wave into the linearly polarized wave by the projection portion 107 for conversion from a linearly polarized wave into a circularly polarized wave in the circular waveguide 102, it is then transmitted to the output rectangular waveguide 111 through the coupling hole 117.
As described above, in the conventional rotary joint shown in FIG. 12, a signal within the input rectangular waveguide 108, and a signal within the input rectangular waveguide 109 are respectively guided to the output rectangular waveguide 110 and the output rectangular waveguide 111 irrespective of presence or absence of the rotation of the circular waveguide 102 and the output rectangular waveguide 110. That is to say, the conventional rotary joint has a function as a two-channel rotary joint which is capable of transmitting different two signals at the same time.
In the conventional rotary joint, for obtaining a circularly polarized wave having excellent axial ratio characteristics, the projection portions 106 and 107 for conversion from a linearly polarized wave into a circularly polarized wave need to be provided so as to be relatively long. Thus, there is encountered a problem in that the total length becomes long.
In addition, in general, in the projection portions 106 and 107 for conversion from a linearly polarized wave into a circularly polarized wave, a frequency range in which a circularly polarized wave with excellent axial ratio characteristics is obtained is relatively narrow. Thus, there is encountered a problem in that the excellent axial ratio characteristics of a broad band are difficult to be obtained for a rotary joint as well.
The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, ant it is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a rotary joint which is of a thin type and has broad band characteristics and which is low in loss and is excellent in power resistance.


In an embodiment, a compact factory assembled and tested cabinet-based Direct Current (DC) power system includes at least one Alternating Current (AC) to DC converter disposed in a cabinet as at least one interchangeable module. An AC input section is also disposed in the cabinet and supplies AC power to the converter(s). At least one other electrical component is disposed in the cabinet, possibly as a module and it receives DC power from the converter(s). Other embodiments are also disclosed.

Generally, cabinet-based DC power systems, with and without batteries, are commercially available from a variety of sources. An AC to DC converter, with or without a battery charger, in a steel cabinet, is also commercially available from a variety of sources. A single steel cabinet mounting more than one AC to DC converter, with or without a battery charger, is also commercially available. An AC to DC converter, with or without a battery charger, and rechargeable batteries in a steel cabinet is commercially available. A combination of multiple chargers, battery sets, or cabinets is commercially available for use in the system. Rechargeable batteries in a steel cabinet may also be used in such systems. Multiple battery shelves installed in a steel cabinet to support rechargeable batteries is another commercially available component.
Other available components or equipment may be installed in existing steel cabinets, including: circuit breakers, vertical rack mount rails that meet EIA standards, inverters (DC to AC converters), relays, voltage monitoring equipment, current shunts, personal computers, and other communications and monitoring equipment. Other parts may include hinged doors, removable panels (full or partial) located on any side or bottom or top, cooling vents, filters, fans, thermometers, mounted on or in these steel cabinet systems.
Other commercially available items include provisions for moving and lifting steel cabinets, including various types of fork lift bases, and top lift features or attachments such as brackets, bolts, or other hardware.
In many existing DC power systems, AC to DC conversion is accomplished by transformer-type Silicon-Controlled Rectifier (SCR) battery chargers that are large, heavy, and inefficient. Newer switched mode converters enable greater power density and less waste heat so as to provide increased energy efficiency. In such switched mode converters, circuitry is used to make an input current waveform as close to sinusoidal as possible and in-phase with a sinusoidal input voltage waveform. This provides reduced ("cleaner") harmonic content on the AC line and fewer volt-amps wasted (apparent power is much closer to real power). This feature may be referred to as active power factor correction.
Various DC power systems described above are commercially available. In most cases, one or more specifications, measures, or parameters fall short of the desired performance characteristics and attributes in an improved system. Examples include, but are not limited to, the need for multiple systems to perform a function or a lack of integration. For example, a function may be performed in existing systems by a combination of expensive systems, less efficient systems, systems with a lower level of reliability, systems which are more difficult to install and repair, systems that require a longer period of time to repair or to return to service. Existing DC power systems are more difficult to understand and order correctly because of a larger number of model numbers. For example, a user who needs a system that can run on 208 VAC, but who ordered a system that runs on 240 VAC, has ordered the wrong system and the user has to incur the costs of return, restocking charges, reshipment, etc. Further existing systems can not be field-upgraded to produce more DC output power.
No pre-existing cabinet-based DC power system has been qualified, tested, and marked as compliant with International Building Code (IBC) Seismic standards.


A focus adjustment apparatus, which attains focus adjustment by extracting, as a focal point voltage, a predetermined frequency component of a video signal obtained from an image sensor upon sensing an image of an object, and moving a focus adjustment member in an optical axis direction using a moving unit to maximize the focal point voltage, has a detector that detects a half-stroke state of a shutter button, and a full-stroke state which is set via the half-stroke state, and a controller that executes focus adjustment control for the half-stroke state upon detection of the half-stroke state, and selectively enables or disables the focus adjustment control for the half-stroke state in accordance with a time elapsed from detection of the half-stroke state until detection of the full-stroke state, upon detection of the full-stroke state.

Auto-focus apparatuses for recent video cameras prevalently adopt a system which attains focus adjustment by detecting sharpness of a frame from a video signal obtained by photoelectrically converting an object image by an image sensing element or the like so as to obtain an AF (auto focus) evaluation value, and controlling a focus lens position so as to maximize the AF evaluation value.
As the AF evaluation value, a high-frequency component level of a video signal, which is extracted by a bandpass filter of a given frequency band, is generally used. That is, when a normal object image is sensed, the high-frequency component level increases as the focus lens position approaches an in-focus position. Hence, a point corresponding to the maximum high-frequency component level is determined as an in-focus position.
An actual video camera that can sense a still image executes AF control as follows. That is, the focus lens is controlled to smoothly maintain an in-focus position during monitoring before sensing a still image. When the user has pressed the release switch to sense a still image, the focus lens is controlled to quickly move to an in-focus position.
However, when the release switch for sensing a still image has half- and full-stroke positions, a blurred image may be recorded depending on the depression timing of the release switch by the user. In order to avoid such blurred image, the AF in-focus time is prolonged.

Automatic focus adjustment apparatus and method


A front suspension for a bicycle includes lower swing arms, upper swing arms and hub plates connected to the front forks in a substantially rhomboidal arrangement, and communicating with a shock absorber through a stabilizer tube, wherein the geometries of the trapezoid are balanced to provide substantially the same trail through the travel of the suspension.

Bicycles have long been used as a means of transportation and recreation. However, until recently, virtually all practical bicycles have involved a relatively rigid frame, which transmits directly to the rider shocks resulting from potholes, rocks or other unevenness in the riding surface. This has resulted in discomfort to the rider which is at the least undesirable, if not unacceptable.
Recently, various bicycles have been introduced which provide some rear suspension, particularly for use with mountain bikes. Mountain bikes, because they are designed for use on rough terrain, are particularly susceptible to problems resulting from encounters with boulders, ditches, ruts, rocks, gravel, and other debris. Bicycles which provide a rear suspension solve a significant portion of the problem, and provide a greatly worthwhile improvement over the conventional, rigid frame mountain bike.
However, there remains a need for a front suspension capable of absorbing shocks while at the same time providing continuous control so that the rider can properly maneuver the bicycle at all times. Two factors figure prominently in the maintenance of control by the rider. The first is stiction, which basically refers to how well the front portion of the frame can absorb shocks. Obviously, a conventional rigid frame has little ability to absorb shocks, and so the rider has to adjust or otherwise accommodate unevenness in the riding surface. The second factor is trail. Trail refers to the distance, measured at the ground, between the center point of the hub of the front wheel, projected perpendicularly onto the ground, and the projection of the center line of the head of the frame along the head angle onto the ground.
The typical solution to this problem found in the prior art has been to include a shock absorber substantially like those provided on motorcycles, although with slightly different damping materials. Such shock absorbers are typically of the telescoping type. One current example of such a product is sold under the trademark "Rock Shox". The difficulty with such designs is that, while they can absorb small shocks, they have limited travel and are more prone to loss of control than is desirable, particularly upon hitting a larger obstacle such as a curb.
Another limitation with prior designs for front suspensions is that trail varies significantly with the amount of travel of the shock. In motorcycles such variation is not necessarily significant to the rider. However, in bicycles, which are much lighter weight than motorcycles, even slight variations--on the order of one-eighth inch--in trail can be detected by experienced riders, and modest variations of as little as one-half inch can make very significant differences. As a result, there has been a need for a bicycle front suspension which provides shock absorption without material variation in trail.
There has therefore been a need for a front suspension for a bicycle which is capable of encountering relatively large obstacles and absorbing the impact caused thereby while at the same time permitting the rider readily to retain control of the bicycle.


A personal lubricant dispenser includes an enclosure, a pre-delivery chamber, one or more heating elements proximate to the pre-delivery chamber, an electrical connector disposed on an exterior of the enclosure and electrically connected to the heating elements, an inlet cavity disposed above the pre-delivery chamber, a piercing element attached to the inlet cavity, a inlet valve (normally closed) connecting the inlet cavity to the pre-delivery chamber, a inlet actuator disposed on the exterior of the enclosure and operably connected to the inlet valve to open the inlet valve, an outlet cavity disposed below the pre-delivery chamber, an outlet valve (normally closed) connecting the outlet cavity to the pre-delivery chamber, an outlet actuator disposed on the exterior of the enclosure and operably connected to the outlet valve to open the outlet valve, and a spout disposed on or within the exterior of the enclosure and connected to the outlet cavity.

Containers or kits have been configured to house a condom and/or liquid material used prior to, in, or after sexual activities. A device has been developed to house a condom and liquid material said device comprising a means to dispense the liquid material. Devices have been developed comprised of an element that heats liquid material contained therein prior to extraction using an exothermic or electric heat source. A device has been developed comprised of an element that heats a liquid material contained therein but only after the liquid material is dispensed on a target area. A device has been developed to house articles to be dispensed but only after a liquid material contained within the device is applied to an article and heated prior to dispensing the moistened, heated article. The prior art hereinafter discussed is limited to articles of manufacture that house one or more condoms, a liquid material used in sexual activities or a condom and a liquid material used in sexual activities and devices that heat a liquid material contained therein either prior to or after removal of the liquid material or heat a pre-moistened article contained within the device prior to removal of the article from the device.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,742,521 B2 issued in June of 2004 to McCleskey et al., entitled "Combination Prophylactic and Sanitizer," principally describes an invention combining a packaged prophylactic with a packaged sanitizer. The McCleskey invention claims a combination prophylactic and sanitizer comprising at least one disposable package containing at least one prophylactic and at least one disposable package containing at least one sanitizer said packages may be removably secured to each other. An alternative embodiment of the McCleskey invention claims a separate package used as a receptacle into which used/contaminated prophylactics or sanitizers are placed.
The McCleskey invention combines at least one disposable package containing at least one prophylactic and at least one disposable package containing at least one sanitizer. The term "sanitizer" is defined in the McCleskey specification. A sanitizer is a disposable towelette, napkin, wipe, and/or swab pre-moistened with a sterilizing agent, lubricant, or spermicidal. The specification further provides that although a sanitizer is preferably a pre-moistened towelette, it is contemplated in an alternate embodiment that a sanitizer may be a self-contained liquid/gel sterilizing agent (without towelette). However, the specification does not provide that a sanitizer may be a self-contained liquid used in sexual activities (without towelette) other than a self-contained liquid/gel antiseptic or sterilizing agent.
Moreover, the McCleskey specification provides that a prophylactic or sanitizer within a package is manually removed after tearing open the package. The McCleskey invention discloses a means to manually reseal a package that contains or contained at least one sanitizer or a receptacle designed to hold used/contaminated prophylactics or sanitizers/towelettes. The McCleskey invention does not provide a means to reseal a package containing at least one prophylactic. The package containing a prophylactic or sanitizer may be formed from any suitable packaging material including aluminum, plastic, or paper. The package comprises multiple two-sided packages—only two walls.
The McCleskey invention comprises a package containing at least one prophylactic. The specification makes no mention of a liquid material enclosed within the package other than that contained in a conventional package.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,581,775 B1 issued in June of 2003 to Hagopian, entitled "Method of External Genital Cleansing and Prophylactic Kit," describes a kit comprised of a sealed container housing one or more packaged condoms and one or more packaged wipes having topical microbicides, personal lubricants, sterile water, or sterile water-based solution disposed on or impregnated therein. The articles comprising the kit are principally used to avoid the transmission of disease during sexual intercourse, to provide a lubricating aid during sexual intercourse, and to externally cleanse the genitals prior to or after sexual intercourse. The articles comprising the kit are available over the counter.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,652,427 B2 issued in September of 2003 to Woodhouse, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Containing Prophylactic Articles," describes a sanitary non-disposable container for storing one or more prophylactics. The container is comprised of a convex compartment, a recessed compartment, and a hinge that permits the compartment to mate forming an airtight seal. An unpackaged prophylactic is situated between the two compartments when the container is in a closed position. Although not claimed, the specification provides that a sanitary compartment may be added that houses a personal lubricant.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,694,980 B2 issued in February of 2004 to Anderson, entitled "Prophylactic Garment System for Safer Sex," describes an undergarment worn while performing sexual activities comprising an opening in the crouch area facilitating intercourse and one or more pockets used to store sexual aids, including a packaged condom or packaged personal lubricant. The sexual aids are intended to be individually purchased over the counter.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,036,022 issued in March of 2000 to Young, entitled "Combination Condom Case and Fragrance Dispenser," describes a combination condom case and fragrance dispenser. The Young invention comprises a portable non-disposable container comprising a compartment that contains a condom or condoms and a compartment that contains a fragrance or perfume tube. The fragrance or perfume contained in the tube is dispensed through an opening in the front wall by means of depressing a plunger located on the top wall. The condom or condoms housed in the device are individually purchased over the counter.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,448 issued in November of 1992 to Foldesy, entitled "Condom Comprising Dispensing Structure and Method of Making and Using the Same," describes a condom comprising openings on its proximal portion said condom rolled onto a roll ring containing a liquid material and as the roll ring is squeezed the liquid material exudes out through the openings of the condom.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,484,514 B1 issued in November of 2002 to Joseph et al., entitled "Product Dispenser Having Internal Temperature Changing Element," describes a temperature modifying system for heating a product within a flexible container using an exothermic element also contained within the flexible holder. The heat from the exothermic element is released when pressure is applied to the outside of the flexible container causing the internal element to rupture. The product dispensed is heated as a result.
U.S. Patent App. No. 2004/0194472 A1 published in October 2004 by Wohland et al., entitled "Multi-Compartment Pack for Cooling or Heating of Products," describes a multi-compartment pack comprising a product contained within a compartment that is exothermically heated before being removed and two other compartments containing the components that create the chemical reaction resulting in exothermic heat.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,868 B1 issued in November of 2001 to Krietemeier et al., entitled "Dispenser Which Incrementally Heats Fluids with Substantial Non-Volatile Constituent Parts," describes a device that houses a large quantity of liquid material then transfers a portion of the liquid material to a pre-delivery chamber where it is heated to a desired temperature finally dispensing the liquid material by means of a dispensing spout. The device is AC or DC powered.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,911,010 B2 issued in June of 2005 to Dirks et al., entitled "Heated Massager with Massaging Liquid Dispenser," describes a hand-held battery powered vibrating massager comprising a heated vibrating body contacting element, and a sealed container of massaging liquid. The dispensed massaging liquid is heated on the target surface by means of the body contacting element.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,213,424 B1 issued in April of 2001 to Helfer-Grand, entitled "Towelette Dispenser Apparatus," describes a portable device that dispenses pre-moistened heated towelettes. The towelettes may be housed originally in the dispenser dry and moistened as dispensed or originally housed in the dispenser in a pre-moistened state. In either case the towelette is heated as dispensed. The portable dispenser if AC or DC powered.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,061,918 B2 issued in November of 2011 to Skalitzky et al., entitled "Heated Flowable Dispenser," describes a portable bottle comprising heat generating means used to heat a portion of personal lubricant contained therein. The bottle comprises a pumping mechanism used to drive the portion of the product to be heated into a heating chamber comprising the bottle. The bottle may be activated when positioned within a docking station which is comprised of the remaining electrical circuitry, including a PCB, and contains or is in communication with a power source.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20120003025 A1 published on Jan. 5, 2012 and filed by Skalitzky et al., titled "Heating Personal lubricantDispenser," describes a portable bottle comprising heat generating means used to heat a portion of personal lubricant contained therein. With the aid of a pumping system, the portion of the product to be heated is urged into a heating chamber comprising the bottle by squeezing the bottle or otherwise tormenting the bottle.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,454,127 B1 issued in September of 2002 to Suomela et. al., entitled "Self-Contained Liquid Dispenser with Heating Means," describes a portable liquid heating and dispensing system comprising a container housing a main reservoir of liquid a portion of which is heated prior to extraction and a docking station within which the container is positioned providing the electrical power to heat the liquid. A pump assembly is used to lift liquid out of the main reservoir into a chamber of the pump comprising heat generating means and eventually through a spout.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20120125950 A1 published on May 24, 2012 and filed by Bouix et. al., entitled "Reusable Pump Dispenser for Heated Personal Care Compositions," describes a portable hand-held device housing a main reservoir of personal lubricants portion of which is heated prior to extraction. A pump assembly is used to lift the product out of the main reservoir into a chamber of the pump comprising heat generating means and eventually through a spout.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,909,044 B2 issued in March of 2011 to Franchant et. al., entitled "Applicator Device for Applying a Cosmetic and the Use of such a Device," describes a hand-held battery operated cosmetic applicator having an internal cavity comprising an inlet into which a stick of mascara is manually loaded, a chamber comprising heat generating means in which said mascara is heated and softened and outlets through which said mascara is excreted onto the applicator bristles. The stick of mascara is heated and dispensed in its entirety.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 8,142,090 B2 issued in March of 2012 to Kamada et. al., entitled "Cosmetic Product and Method of Applying Mascara Composition," describes a hand-held battery operated cosmetic applicator having an internal cavity comprising an inlet into which a stick of mascara is loaded by a mechanical carrier of mascara sticks, a chamber comprising heat generating means in which said mascara is heated and softened and outlets through which said mascara is excreted onto the applicator bristles. The stick of mascara is heated and dispensed in its entirety.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,975,879 B2 issued in July of 2011 to Grossbeck et. al., entitled "Temperature Controlled Liquid Dispenser Containers therefore, and Bag-in-Box Container Construction," describes an article of manufacture that cools and heats water for human consumption. In one embodiment water cooled within the apparatus is dispensed through the main spout or diverted to an auxiliary heating unit through tubing running from the main spout to the heating unit where it is heated and dispensed through a second spout.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,056,764 B2 issued November of 2011 to Paasch et. al, entitled Metered Volume Liquid Dispensing Device," describes a liquid food product dispenser assembly with heat generating means. The dispenser assembly includes a dispenser comprising the means to dispense the personal lubricant from a reservoir within which the personal lubricants heated and a base comprising the heat generating means within which the dispenser is positioned when the product is being heated.


A system and method for communicating between a vehicle and a central facility includes initiating at a vehicle a request for turn-by-turn directions; establishing a packet-switched call between the vehicle and a central facility using a wireless carrier system and a mobile dialed number (MDN) associated with the vehicle; receiving determined route information at the vehicle from the central facility via the packet-switched call; offering a vehicle occupant a service option that uses a circuit-switched call; and if the vehicle occupant accepts the service option, directing the wireless carrier system to establish the circuit-switched call using the MDN while maintaining the packet-switched call in a dormant state.

Modern vehicles are capable of offering a large number of services to vehicle occupants. Using vehicle telematics devices, vehicle occupants can communicate both voices and data with outside parties, such as central facilities or third party callers. In one example, vehicle occupants can request and receive assistance and/or services from a central facility, such as a call center that is staffed with call advisors. For instance, a vehicle occupant can place a request to the central facility for navigational directions from one geographical place to another; this request is often called a request for turn-by-turn directions. The process of carrying out this request can involve initiating and ending a plurality of data and voice calls. Sometimes, the quantity of calls and/or the amount of time spent initiating and ending those calls during the request can extend the amount of time that elapses between requesting the turn-by-turn directions and actually receiving those directions.


A front end 7 of a locking arm 4 provided on a rear holder 1 is inserted into a hole portion 25 formed in a main housing 21, and the locking arm 4 is supported like as a bridge. The main housing 21 is inserted into a hood portion 44 of a cooperating housing 41 and connecting terminals are connected to each other to establish the electrical connection. A locking claw 5 formed on the locking arm 4 is once resiliently moved downward to pass through a locking claw 43 of the cooperating housing 41 and is then restored into an original posture to engage the locking claw 5 with the locking claw 43. Once the main housing 21 is engaged with the cooperating housing 41, these housings could not be released accidentally.

In order to retain accommodated connecting terminals within a housing, locking lances are usually provided within the housing. In order to further improve the above mentioned locking of the connecting terminals within the housing, it has been proposed to insert a rear holder into a rear portion of the housing. The rear holder serves to prevent the connecting terminals from being removed. It has been further proposed to provide locking lances within the rear holder.
In general, a pair of housings each having a connecting terminals installed therein are coupled with each other, and the coupled condition is maintained by means locking mechanisms provided on the housings. Usually the rear holder does not have any roll in this coupling, and therefore the rear holder could not be locked sufficiently. Moreover, when a locking arm is provided on the housing, a size of the housing is liable to be large and a height of the housing is increased.
The applicant of the instant application has proposed, in Japanese Patent Applications Nos. 2002-57638 and 2003-3995, a locking mechanism in which a locking arm is provided on a rear holder coupled with one of a pair of housings and this housing is locked with the other housing by means of the locking arm. Then, the housing with which the rear holder is coupled is sandwiched between the rear holder and the other housing, and the assembly is hardly decomposed accidentally.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Electrical connector having locking claw


A system for performing failure signature recognition training for at least one unit of equipment. The system includes a memory and a processor coupled to the memory. The processor is configured by computer code to receive sensor data relating to the unit of equipment and to receive failure information relating to equipment failures. The processor is further configured to analyze the sensor data in view of the failure information in order to develop at least one learning agent for performing failure signature recognition with respect to the at least one unit of equipment.

Large manufacturers today face extreme margin pressures from low-cost producers, rising energy costs, and regulatory and environmental restrictions. The need to improve asset performance is very great. One barrier to improvement has been the absence of a performance management solution encompassing the various divisions of operations, maintenance, and finance, for example. With each division using its own performance metrics, it is difficult for optimal decisions to be made, such as balancing reliability goals against asset utilization goals.
Many people have been chasing the "holy grail" of self-diagnostics. Furthermore, there are many balanced scorecards and key performance indicator solutions being offered in today's market. Many seem to be making similar claims including that their product will make a manufacturing process run better, faster, more efficiently, and with greater returns. However, one of the greatest challenges for effectively improving plant asset performance is that the necessary information is scattered across disconnected silos of data in each department. Furthermore, it is difficult to integrate these silos due to several fundamental differences. For example, control system data is real-time data measured in terms of seconds, whereas maintenance cycle data is generally measured in terms of calendar based maintenance (e.g., days, weeks, months, quarters, semi-annual, annual), and financial cycle data is measured in terms of fiscal periods. Furthermore, different vendors of various equipment and enterprise systems tend to have their own set of codes (e.g., status codes) and are non compliant with any universal standard.
Manufacturers are drowning in a flood of real-time and non-real time data and are losing revenues at the same time. Therefore, there is a growing call for a manufacturing intelligence solution that makes use of the enormous amount of data in an intelligent manner.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional, traditional, and proposed approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems and methods with the systems and methods as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.

System and methods for automated plant asset failure detection


A modular medical system employing a bedside patient monitor (20), a portable patient monitor (40), a monitor docking station (50), a therapy applicator (30) and a therapy docking station (60). In operation, the portable patient monitor (40) is docked to the bedside patient via the monitor docking station (50) whereby the bedside patient monitor (20) and the portable patient monitor (40) measure patient parameters (e.g., ECG, Sp O2, pulse rate, NIBP, Et CO2, etc.) upon the portable patient monitor (40) being coupled to a patient. Alternatively, the portable patient monitor (40) is docked to the therapy applicator (30) via the therapy docking station (60) whereby the therapy applicator (30) conditionally delivers the electrical therapy (e.g., defibrillation shock, synchronized conversion, transcutaneous pacing, etc.) to the patient upon the portable patient monitor (40) being coupled to the patient.

Portable defibrillator/monitors are used in hospitals and outside hospitals for emergency medical care. These devices incorporate one or more vital signs monitoring parameters such as, for example, electrocardiogram ("ECG"), pulse oximetry ("SpO2"), non-invasive blood pressure ("NIBP"), exhaled (end tidal) carbon dioxide ("EtCO2"), temperature and invasive blood pressure ("IBP"). These devices further incorporate electrical therapy delivery capabilities such as, for example, a defibrillation shock, synchronized cardioversion and transcutaneous pacing.
In a modular version of a portable defibrillator/monitor, all or part of the patient measurement capability is primarily provided by a portable patient monitor that is separable from the defibrillator for the high energy therapy delivery. The portable patient monitor is typically smaller and lighter than the defibrillator, which houses larger and heavier electrical components needed for the high energy therapy delivery. Because the portable patient monitor is small and light, the portable patient monitor can be handled easily and may be placed on a stretcher with the patient to provide continuous monitoring of the patient's vital parameters as the patient is transported.
For example, a commercially available modular defibrillator/monitor known as the corpuls3 may be split into a monitoring unit, a patient box and a defibrillator/pacer unit. When split apart, these modules are capable of wireless communication with the patient box providing a display and user interface controls for both the monitoring unit and the defibrillator/pacer unit.
By comparison, beside patient monitors may also incorporate modular capabilities to span care environments, patient acuity levels, and clinical requirements. More particularly, a bedside patient monitor, such as, for example, the commercially available IntelliVue MX800, may support multi-measurement monitoring via a the commercially available flexible module rack (which can hold up to eight (8) measurement modules) or via multi-measurement modules such as, for example, the IntelliVue X2, which can also operate as a portable patient monitor.
As known in the art, high-acuity patients are monitored continuously as being transported to a hospital and within the hospital. For example, referring to FIG. 1, a bedside patient monitor 20 is typically mounted to a wall in a patient space 10 (e.g., an ambulance, a patient room or an operating room) adjacent a patient bed 12 and the following measurements of a high-acuity patient 11 are made by beside patient monitor 20:                (1) electrocardiogram ("ECG") with electrodes/leads 13a coupling the beside patient monitor 20 to a chest of patient 11,        (3) non-invasive blood pressure ("NIBP") with a cuff 14 coupling beside patient monitor 20 to an arm of patient 11, and        (2) pulse oximetry ("SpO2") with a fingertip sensor 15 coupling beside patient monitor 20 to a finger of patient 11.
Additional monitored parameters might include exhaled carbon dioxide ("EtCO2"), temperature and invasive blood pressure ("IBP").
When there is a need to transport the high-acuity patient to another area of the hospital or another facility (e.g., from a patient room to radiology for a CT Scan), hospital protocols frequently mandate that the patient is connected to a defibrillator for quickly delivering a shock if the patient succumbs to sudden cardiac arrest ("SCA") while being transported. For SCA, immediate treatment increases the likelihood of survival and neurological recovery.
As shown in FIG. 1, bedside patient monitors are typically mounted to the wall of the patient's room as stated earlier. Therefore, defibrillators used for patient transport typically incorporate their own patient monitoring capabilities. Thus, to transport a high-acuity patient, the leads attached from the bedside patient monitor to the patient must be detached, and a new set of leads must be connected from the high-acuity patient to the defibrillator. At the destination (which might be returning to the original patient room), the leads from the defibrillator to the patient must be detached and a new set of leads must be attached from the patient to a bedside patient monitor unit.
For example, as shown in FIG. 1, bedside patient monitor 20 is mounted to the wall in patient space 10, and a defibrillator 30 incorporates its own patient monitoring capability for patient transport purposes. When preparing high-acuity patient 11 for transportation to another patient space (i.e., a destination), electrode/leads 13a attached from the bedside patient monitor 20 to patient 11 must be detached, and a different set of electrode/leads 13b must be connected from the patient 11 to defibrillator 30 whereby defibrillator 30 may conditionally deliver an electric therapy to patient 11 via pads/paddles 31. At the destination, electrode/leads 13b from defibrillator 20 to the patient 11 must be detached and a new set of electrode/leads must be attached from patient 11 to another bedside patient monitor or beside patient monitor 20 if returning to patient space 10). Additionally, when preparing patient 11 for transportation, a new cuff and/or a fingertip sensor may be needed to replace cuff 14 and/or sensor 15.

Modular medical system for patient monitoring and electrical therapy delivery