An electrotherapy apparatus has a sensor for detecting periodically recurring signal peaks, in particular the R-R peaks of an electrocardiogram of a person and a processor for deriving from the periodically recurring signal peaks a time delay corresponding to approximately the end of the next T wave. A trigger system or circuit is initiated by an output signal of the processor or is embodied within the processor for applying electrical stimulations to one or more active electrodes provided on the person at a time that is related to the end of the time delay. The apparatus has a plurality of output channels for applying electrical stimulation to the one or more active electrodes on the person.

The present invention relates to an electrotherapy apparatus comprising a sensor for detecting periodically recurring signal peaks, in particular the R-R peaks of an electrocardiogram of a person, a processor for deriving from the periodically recurring signal peaks a time delay corresponding to approximately the end of the T-wave, and a trigger system or circuit initiated by an output signal of the processor or embodied within the processor for applying electrical stimulations to one or more active electrodes provided on the person at a time related to the end of the time delay. Furthermore the invention relates to methods of using such electrotherapy apparatus.
Electrotherapy apparatus of the initially named kind is described in the international patent application with the publication number WO 01/13990 A1, now expired.
The electrotherapy apparatus described there is adapted to stimulate the muscles of the body of a person or a mammal using so-called counter-pulsation. That is to say, the momentary heart beat of the person or mammal is determined generally by detecting the R peaks of an electrocardiogram derived in real time from the person or mammal being treated. From the distance in time measured between the last two R peaks a time is calculated corresponding to the end of the T-wave of the electrocardiogram using the known so-called Bazett relationship. The electro-stimulation pulses are then applied to the selected muscle generally starting within a window which extends from 5% of the length of the R-R path before the end of the T-wave to a position up to 45% of the length of the R-R path after the end of the T-wave.
It has been found that this type of electrotherapy leads to extremely beneficial effects with respect to the heart of the person or mammal and, depending on precisely how the electrotherapy is carried out, can also be used for curing a whole spectrum of adverse conditions.
In the aforementioned document WO 01/13990 the beneficial effect is primarily attributed to the specific shape of the curve in FIG. 3 of that reference showing a hump in the blood pressure curve just after the onset of diastole which considerably increases the flow through the coronary arteries of the patient concerned, thus leading to an improvement of the condition of the heart muscles.
The experiments conducted to date seem to suggest that this explanation is only part of the story and that in fact even quite small local stimulations of a person or patient can lead to increased perfusion in the small peripheral blood vessels resulting in a significantly lower back pressure on the heart which itself improves the working of the heart. It is believed that some form of bio-feedback is taking place via the autonomous nervous system and that this accounts for the astonishing results that have been achieved.
The aforementioned document WO 01/13990 describes that, although the treatment can be carried out using just one neutral electrode and one active electrode, it is better if a plurality of active electrodes are used. The reason is that the human body becomes accustomed to the applied pulses and, if only one active electrode is provided, then the muscles affected by the electro-stimulation signals gradually become tired and are stimulated less effectively. By applying the stimulating pulses to different active electrodes in sequence it is possible to ensure that the muscle groups affected by the applied impulses do not become tired. It is stated that the minimum number of active electrodes for sequencing is two and a specific embodiment is described in which the train of stimulating pulses is applied in sequence to first, second, third and fourth electrodes.
The apparatus described in WO 01/13990 is provided with a safety cut-out function, meaning that the apparatus switches off automatically if the patient's heart rate goes too high or too low, or if a patient's blood pressure becomes too high or too low or when arrhythmia is detected.
The prior art reference also describes a problem called interference.
This problem can be described as follows. When using any measured heart QRS trace (an electrocardiogram), a trigger signal for detecting the patient's heart rate is usually derived from the positive rising slope of every R peak. The trigger signal is generally a digital trigger signal and initiates the electrical muscle simulation signal after the required delay at a time within the time delay window described earlier. Since this stimulation signal is an electrical signal with a magnitude many times higher than the heart rate signal itself, the electrical stimulation impulse is transmitted on the human body and consequently the heart signal sensor also senses the electrical stimulation signal. If now the control setting of the electrotherapy apparatus is such that a stimulation pulse for the muscle is delivered in counter-pulsation to the heart (i.e. at the end of the T-wave), the trigger unit first receives from the heart rate sensor the wanted trigger input representing an R peak. Moreover, during the R-R cycle, exactly at the moment of the muscle stimulation, a much higher electrical stimulation signal is delivered to the muscle which is interpreted as another R peak and results in a further trigger signal. This trigger signal then leads to a second unwanted muscle stimulation within the same R-R cycle at exactly the same delay but now after the further trigger signal. This second unwanted stimulation is perceived by the stimulated person as a sudden surprising disturbance which is completely irregular in comparison to the calming rhythm expected from the counter-pulsation mode. As a result the heart rate immediately increases sharply, probably via neuro-transmission to the brain and back to the heart. Synchronized stimulation counter-pulsation does not work when such interference is present and the wanted heart load reduction cannot then be achieved.
In order to overcome this problem the reference WO 01/13990 provides a gating mechanism which effectively closes an interference window after a trigger signal from a heart rate sensor has been registered by the electrotherapy apparatus. This interference window is reopened by the electrotherapy apparatus in time to accept the wanted trigger pulses but to avoid unwanted trigger pulses resulting from electro-stimulation.
The WO reference describes one practical execution of the gating mechanism defining the interference window. This gating mechanism is realized in the form of software controlling a microprocessor whereby the rising edge of the digital trigger signal triggers the microprocessor into an interrupt routine and then the closing of the interference window is activated by a software gate which disables the acceptance of any unwanted trigger signal. Thus a further trigger signal resulting from electro-stimulation is prevented from being transmitted to the microprocessor as long as the interference window is closed. Closing and opening of the interference window is set by programmable adjustable setting values which are selected relative to the measured R-R cycle.
The WO reference also describes a practical programmable algorithm which defines the way an adaptive control unit in the electrotherapy apparatus can automatically find the lowest possible heart load. In accordance with the description given in the WO reference, first of all realistic minimum and maximum values for the delay are defined, i.e. for the delay from each R peak to the triggering of a stimulation signal. These limits are set relative to the prevailing heart rate as measured from successive R-R peaks. The minimum delay will usually be selected at or just before the start of the delay window, i.e. at or just before a time corresponding to 5% of the R-R path before the expected end of the T-wave, for example as calculated using the so-called Bazett relationship. As a safety precaution a maximum delay can also be selected which should not be later than 45% of the length of the R-R path after the end of the T-wave. The maximum delay could, however, be omitted.
An offset value is now defined and is added to the minimum delay and used to define the time at which stimulation signals start. A typical initial value for the offset could be 5% to 10% of the R-R paths. Stimulation is now commenced using this time delay; i.e. minimum delay plus offset and the heart rate are monitored by measuring the distance between successive R-R peaks. If a reduction of the heart rate, i.e. a lengthening of the R-R path, occurs, then a reduction in the offset is effected by a predetermined amount, for example a fixed fraction of the original offset, and a check is again made as to whether the heart rate has reduced. If so the offset is again reduced and this process is continued until no further reduction in the heart rate is detected, or alternatively, until the minimum heart rate set in the safety cut-out has been reached or until the heart rate increases again.
A renewed increase in the heart rate indicates that the delay (minimum delay plus offset) is no longer at an optimum value.
If the heart rate increases then the offset should also be increased in an attempt to reduce the heart rate. Once the heart rate starts to increase again then this is an indication that the offset is now too large. This signifies that the optimum value of the offset has been found, namely the value of the offset which resulted in a minimum heart rate. The offset can now be returned to this optimum value. Once a suitable offset value has been determined it can be retained for future use.
Although the WO reference provides a practical system for determining the required offset or the total time delay from each R peak to the triggering of a stimulating electrical pulse, and also practical realizations of the electrotherapy apparatus, there is scope for improvement, particularly with patients suffering from arrhythmia. In patients with such arrhythmia, an irregular heart beat, this means that reliance on a previously measured distance between two R-R pulses in order to determine the time at which a stimulating electrical signal should next be triggered can lead to triggering at undesired times and to discomfort for the patient.
Moreover, although the existing apparatus as described in the WO reference can be used in many applications with beneficial effect there is a desire to increase the performance of the electrotherapy apparatus and to increase its scope of use.

Counter pulsation electrotherapy apparatus for treating a person or a mammal


A water distributing device has one input pipe and two output pipes; a casing, and a turning rod located in the casing and turnable in the casing so as to provide a discharge of water in a first direction, a discharge of water in a second direction, a discharge of water in both directions with redistribution of a quantity of water, and a stopping of a flow of water.

The present invention relates to a water distributing device for shower systems and operates for distribution of water from a showerhead to a hand-held shower element.
Devices of the above mentioned general type are known in the art. The existing devices provide distribution of water in only two directions. In addition, in this case in the system, a bracket for the hand-held shower element is provided separately.
In new shower systems there is a need to provide additional positions for distribution of water in two directions simultaneously, with the possibility of adjustment of water dosage according to the directions, as well as a complete shutoff of the device. However, these functions are not provided in the existing devices.


The present invention provides an information processing apparatus in which a limiting value of a counter for restricting the use of the apparatus can be dynamically set and changed in a secure method and a controlling method of the information processing apparatus. License information including an appliance serial number of a copy machine SC1 and a new limiting value is input to the copy machine with a counter function that restricts a function when a counter value reaches a limiting value. The input license information is determined whether it is valid or not. If it is determined valid, a saved limiting value is updated to the new limiting value included in the license information.

A mechanism called "counter" is used mostly for counting the number of copies in an information processing apparatus such as a copy machine or counting the number of days using software in trial. Generally, in such information processing apparatus, an integral value is used for a counter value to be counted by the counter. The counter value is incremented or decremented for each use according to the embodiments.
In the conventional general techniques, methods below are known as a method for restricting a function of an information processing apparatus by using a counter.
(1) A method for disabling an information processing apparatus when a counter value reaches the upper limit, wherein the information processing apparatus is equipped with a counter mechanism that increments the counter value, and the counter value has the upper limit.
(2) A method for disabling an information processing apparatus when a counter value decrements from an initial value to reach the lower limit, wherein the information processing apparatus is equipped with a counter mechanism that decrements the counter value, and the counter value has the lower limit (e.g., 0).
The upper limit and the lower limit of a counter will be collectively called "limiting value" below.
Method for changing the upper limit or the like of a counter from outside the information processing apparatus equipped with the abovementioned conventional counter mechanism conventionally include methods below.
(1) A screen or the like that is not used by a general user is prepared and a specific user (administrator) sets or changes the current value or the limiting value of a counter on the screen or the like.
(2) License information that cannot be created by a general user is supplied to an information processing apparatus and the information processing apparatus sets or changes the current value or the limiting value of a counter based on the contents of the supplied license information. The method is executed with a method of a digital signature or the like using a private key for preventing a general user from creating license information. A method for restricting a period of service for an information processing apparatus with the abovementioned license information has been known (for example, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-197542).
However, among the abovementioned methods of changing a limiting value or the like of a counter from outside, in the first method of preparing a screen that is not used by a general user, processes to reach the setting or changing screen need to be prevented from being leaked to a general user. Thus, the procedure of reaching the screen should be much complicated, which in turn makes management of the information quite troublesome. Even if the information is not leaked, a general user may find out how to manipulate the information. Therefore, the first method is not completely secure.
On the contrary, the latter method of supplying the apparatus with license information is more secure than the abovementioned first method of using a screen, and can be used where advanced security is needed. However, a conventional method of supplying the apparatus with license information including a limiting value of a counter and setting the limiting value of the counter is an operating method which ignores the supplied current value of the counter of the apparatus, lacking flexibility and hard to be operated.
In order to perform a flexible operation, a method of including incrementing information of a counter in license information can be considered. However, even in this method, a general user may use the same license information and repeatedly change the counter value. In order to avoid this risk, the license information needs to include an expiration date or the apparatus needs to record used license information, which makes the method very complicated.
The abovementioned conventional methods have weakness respectively. For example, when license information includes an expiration date, another problem occurs in that a general user who has not made use of a function of the information processing apparatus by the expiration date has to bear an extra cost. As an information processing apparatus has the limit for the number of license information pieces to record, another problem occurs about dealing with license information pieces over the limit when the apparatus records used license information.
An information processing apparatus in which a limiting value of a counter for restricting the use of the apparatus can be dynamically set and changed in a secure method and a controlling method of the information processing apparatus.

Information processing apparatus and controlling method of the same


A retainer includes a retention module surrounding a heat sink and two clip members for cooperating with the retention module to retain the heat sink. Each clip member includes a strap resting on the heat sink and a pair of legs located at opposite ends of the strap and engagable with the retention module. The legs are pivotably attached to opposite ends of the strap. Friction between the legs and the strap is capable of holding the legs at any positions between released positions at which the legs are free from the retention module and engaged positions at which the legs are engaged with the retention module.

As computer technology continues to advance, electronic components such as central processing units (CPUs) of computers are made to provide faster operational speeds and greater functional capabilities. When a CPU operates at a high speed in a computer enclosure, its temperature can increase greatly. It is desirable to dissipate the generated heat quickly, for example, by using a heat sink attached to the CPU in the enclosure. This allows the CPU and other high-performance electronic components in the enclosure to function within their normal operating temperature ranges, thereby assuring the CPU quality of data management, storage and transfer. Oftentimes, a retainer is required for mounting the heat sink to the CPU.
One conventional retainer developed to mount a heat sink to a CPU is illustrated in FIG. 5. The retainer comprises a retention module 97 and two clips 90. The retention module 97 comprises four locking feet 98 formed at four corners thereof. Each locking foot 98 defines a locking opening 99 therein. Each clip 90 comprises an elongate strap 93 and a cam-type lever 92 pivotally connected to a middle of the strap 93. Two opposite ends of the strap 93 integrally extend downwardly to form a pair of legs 94. A hook 95 is formed at a bottom portion of each leg 94 corresponding to a respective locking opening 99 of the retention module 97. The retention module 97 is fixed on a printed circuit board around a CPU (not shown), and a heat sink (not shown) is mounted on the CPU. In assembly, the clips 90 are placed on opposite sides of the heat sink. The straps 93 of the two clips 90 are downwardly pressed to cause the hooks 95 to interlock with the corresponding legs 94 at the locking openings 99. However, the clip 90 is integral formed and therefore has a large rigidity. As a result, large force is needed in operation. Furthermore, the legs 94 of the clips 90 are prone to slide over the feet 98 to damage the CPU when the large force is applied.

Fu Zhun Precision Industry (Shen Zhen) Co., Ltd.


Libraries of compounds such as nucleic acids or peptides are contacted with a target molecule and libraries that have at least one compound that bind with at least a minimum activity are determined by a reiterative process in which a change in the rate of recovery (elimination) of compounds that bind to the target indicates that the library contains such a compound. The procedure may also be used to determine indirectly the sequence of such compound by employing sublibraries, each of which have a known entity at a known position of the compound.

This invention relates to determining whether or not there is an active compound in a compound library. This invention further relates to determining the identity of an active compound present in a library of compounds.
Various procedures have been proposed for identifying compounds present in a library of compounds that are active with respect to a specified target. Such activities have generally been directed to identifying nucleic acids or peptides which bind to a protein or other target molecule.
For example, one such procedure for identifying a nucleic acid present in a nucleic acid library that binds to a target molecule involves contacting a library with a target molecule, by a reiterative procedure, which includes amplification. Thus, for example, Kinzler & Vogelstein (Nucleic Acids Res. 17, 3645, 1989) and Tuerk and Gold (Science 249, 505, 1990) have disclosed an in vitro procedure in which the nucleic acids in the library are exposed to target molecules under competitive binding conditions. Those nucleic acids capable of binding to the target molecule are recovered in preference to those that are not bound, and the recovered, active, nucleic acids are subjected to an amplification procedure such as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The amplified nucleic acids are re-exposed to target, isolated and then amplified once again. The value of the amplification step is that with each iteration of the procedure the target is exposed to a mixture of nucleic acids that is progressively enriched for molecules that bind with the highest affinity to the target. This is considered to be a combinatorial approach because it is the property of the entire active nucleic acid molecule that contributes to its ability to bind to the target and leads to its selection to the exclusion of other molecules in the library that bind to the target with lower affinity. The procedure avoids a signal (active nucleic acids) -to-noise (non-active nucleic acids) problem by its process of reiteration. Each time the library is exposed to the target in early iterations, the amount of bound highly active nucleic acids may be very small compared to the background of those bound or recovered that are not active, but eventually the active nucleic acids are abundant enough because of the reiteration and amplification that they can be easily measured and identified. For these reasons, very large libraries can be used and even single molecules of highly active members can be identified. The reiterative procedure, when taken as a whole and coupled with amplification, has a low enough background and eventually a high enough signal from active nucleic acids that it overcomes the usual limitations from signal-to-noise ratio that restrict the useful complexity of most screening procedures. While this is impressive, this class of procedures effectively and dramatically limits the chemical diversity allowed in the libraries. This essentially means that only nucleic acids or slightly modified nucleic acids can be used because these methods rely upon amplification and discrimination by biological methods in order to allow both completion of the reiteration as well as direct and accurate identification of the active members of the library at the end of the procedure.
Screening procedures for peptide libraries are not reiterative. In vitro techniques such as PCR that will amplify peptides are not currently available. Accordingly, different strategies have been implemented. In one such approach, peptides of random sequence are displayed on bacteriophage, the phage are contacted with a target and those phage that interact with the target are isolated, recloned and the sequences encoding the active peptides are determined (Devlin et al., Science 249, 404, 1990; Scott and Smith, Science 249, 386, 1990). In another approach, referred to by some as "Encoded Synthetic Libraries" (ESL), (Dower et al., Patent WO 93/06121; Brenner & Lerner, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., U.S. 89, 5381, 1992; Needels et al., Proc. Natl. Acad Sci. U.S. 90, 10700, 1993) peptides are bound either directly or via a bead to nucleic acids in such a way that as an amino acid is added to a growing peptide, one or more nucleotides encoding the added amino acid is added orthogonally to the bead or to the peptide. The advantage of the ESL approach is that high complexity synthetic peptide libraries can be assayed in a combinatorial fashion. All screening strategies that use codes to indirectly identify the active members of a library (such screens have been described for other kinds of synthetic libraries in addition to peptides) are designed to allow combinatorial selection of libraries to identify rare, highly active library members. The signal-to-noise problem is overcome by brute-force approaches such as using cell sorting technology to examine individual beads each containing multiple copies of a single library member and its corresponding code. In this sense, such procedures are, in effect, methods for quickly screening large numbers of compounds, one by one, with advanced technology, as opposed to screening pools or mixtures simultaneously. The coding technology facilitates the identification of the active compounds because in such methods the amount of material isolated is usually very small (i.e., one "bead's worth" of peptide). By using an amplifiable nucleic acid code, the direct identification of the code (and, therefore, the indirect identification of the active compound) is possible. There are, however, limitations to these kinds of technologies, including (1) the need for complex chemistry to couple the library members to their respective codes, (2) the need in some embodiments to have the peptides attached to a comparatively large bead which, even though it might be relatively inert, might nevertheless impede interaction between peptide and target, (3) possible interaction between the target and the nucleic acid code or between peptides and codes and (4) in some of these procedures the compounds of the library are not in solution so that the selection conditions are dissimilar from those in which an active compound would normally be expected to function, namely binding in solution to the target.
There are serial approaches for screening peptide libraries (Houghten et al., Nature 354, 84, 1991) that do not have the complications of encoded library methodologies. Typically, a library consists of pools of peptides each containing the same number of amino acids; for example, the library might contain 400 pools of hexameric peptides such that each pool has one of the 20 amino acids in the first and second position of the peptides (thus 20.times.20=400 pools) and the remaining 4 positions of the peptides are random in every pool. The target is contacted with each of the 400 pools and each pool is measured for activity; for every active pool (for example, ala.his.x.x.x.x), 20 new sub-pools are synthesized wherein the first two amino acids of the active pool are conserved (i.e., ala.his), the third amino acid is fixed (i.e., ala.his.gly.x.x.x in the first pool, ala.his.ala.x.x.x in the second pool and so on) and the fourth, fifth and sixth positions are randomized so that the 20 pools are distinguished by the identity of the amino acid in the third position of the peptide. This serial "unrandomization" procedure is continued until active peptides have been selected in which all six positions are identified. Such a procedure has also been described for oligonucleotides (Ecker et al., patent WO93/04204). This kind of procedure avoids the chemical limitations of the oligonucleotide procedures that use amplification (i.e., the library members do not need to be amplified), as well as the chemical complications of the encoded-library procedures, but these limitations are replaced by the signal-to-noise problem because these procedures are essentially no more than serial pooling strategies that do not effectively address the signal-to-noise limitation. Therefore, these approaches are additive rather than combinatorial, whereby pools containing less active but more abundant subclasses of compounds will be chosen whereas pools containing less abundant, more active compounds are likely to be ignored. Thus, in the example given above, the pool with the best average activity might have been ala.his.x.x.x.x but there might have been individual members in other pools (e.g., val.leu.x.x.x.x) that had higher activity than any individual members in the selected pool but these would not be identified.
In summary, there are three common kinds of procedures for screening synthetic libraries: (1) For oligonucleotides, there are reiterative procedures that include amplification of the nucleic acids. These procedures are combinatorial and minimize the signal-to-noise problem. Without amplification, the direct identification of the active compounds present in large libraries by these procedures would not be possible because the amount of material recovered from the reiterative procedure would be too low to use in known procedures for identifying nucleic acid sequences. Because of the requirement for amplification, however, these procedures are restricted to a very limited set of compounds, namely nucleic acids that can be amplified. (2) Coding procedures are used to facilitate identification of non-amplifiable compounds via amplification of nucleic acid codes that are associated with, or bound to, each compound of a library. These procedures are combinatorial to the extent that the signal-to-noise problem is reduced by the use of screening procedures that minimize the noise and maximize the signal generated by even a single active library member. Such procedures, which usually involve physical separation of a solid support to recover copies of those individual compounds that are active, result in low yields of material, but the amplification of the code allows direct identification by known methods of nucleic acid sequencing. These procedures are generally more cumbersome, do not allow sampling in solution phase, and present challenges in chemistry that stem from the need to have a unique nucleic acid code attached to each compound in the library. (3) Serial "unrandomization" procedures are used to screen synthetic libraries for active compounds. These procedures are very flexible with regard to the chemistry that can be used and avoid some of the complications of the other procedures, but they are not combinatorial because they do not address the signal-to-noise problem. Therefore, procedures (1) and (2) limit the kinds of libraries that can be screened for technical (chemistry) reasons, whereas procedure (3) is likely to yield relatively abundant, less active compounds in preference to the rarer, most active compounds. A procedure that would enable the use of a wide variety of chemistries and synthetic libraries in solution, as in procedure (3), but that was also truly combinatorial, effectively minimizing or eliminating the signal-to-noise problem, as in procedures (1) and (2), would be a very powerful screening approach. The invention described below is a description of one such procedure.

Determination and identification of active compounds in a compound library


A nozzle, and FCC process using the nozzle for atomizing heavy feed to a riser reactor, are disclosed. A liquid feed stream is atomized by radial out-to-in impingement of atomizing vapor, discharged onto an impingement plug in an annular expansion region, then sprayed through an outlet. Baffles at the expansion region outlet, and an orifice outlet improve feed atomization and feed/FCC catalyst contact in a riser reactor. The nozzle may be used to distribute liquid over other reactor beds, or to add liquid to distillation columns.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a process for atomizing liquid feed to refinery process, such as distillation columns or an FCC riser reactor and to an apparatus for atomizing liquids.
2. Description of Related Art
Refiners have long known that feed atomization in the base of FCC riser reactors is a problem. It is difficult to contact many tons per hour of hot, regenerated cracking catalyst with large volumes of heavy oil feed, and ensure complete vaporization of the feed in the base of the riser reactor. Part of the problem is use of heavier feeds in FCC units. Many PCC's now process significant amounts, on the order of 5-20% of resid or non-distillable material. These materials are almost impossible to vaporize in fractionators, so vaporizing them in less than a second or so in an FCC riser reactor is a formidable task.
Part of the problem is that feed nozzles which were perfectly satisfactory for adding a readily vaporizable feed, such as a gas oil, are no longer adequate for heavier feeds. The problems are twofold: the heavier feeds are harder to vaporize because of their high boiling points, and the heavy feeds are harder to atomize because of their high viscosity even at the high temperatures existing in FCC riser reactors.
Efforts of refiners to cope with heavier feeds, or improve the vaporization of lighter ones, will be briefly reviewed.
Some of the efforts at improving regenerated catalyst/feed contacting were on the catalyst side, i.e., the use of lift gas to smoothly lift catalyst up into the riser. Other approaches assumed that catalyst distribution will be poor and forced oil distribution (via multiple nozzles) to be equally poor.
Increased steam addition is common practice for dealing with heavier feeds. Increased atomization steam usually leads to increased pressure drop across the existing feed nozzles, and increased sour water production. Although some improvement in feed dispersion is usually achieved, the problems of increased sour water production, and limits on pressure at which feed can be delivered to the nozzle inlets, limit the improvement from merely increasing steam rate.
In addition to focussing on catalyst/oil distribution and making existing nozzles work better with more steam refiners considered other nozzle designs. Some very effective nozzle designs were developed but required unusually high pressure drops across the nozzle for effective operation. Refiners like to operate the feed nozzles at as low a pressure as possible, both to save on capital equipment and operating cost. Many units are limited in the feed pressure, and major capital improvements are needed to use high pressure drop nozzles. Development of high pressure liquid streams also consumes a considerable amount of energy.
A good overview of developments in nozzles is presented in Fluid Catalytic Cracking Report: 50 Years of Catalytic Cracking; A. A. Avidan et al, Oil & Gas Journal, Jan. 8, 1990, at page 50. Open pipe or slotted, impact, spiral and critical venturi nozzles have all been tried.
The open pipe or slotted nozzle gives coarse irregular droplet sizes and is not ideally suitable for injecting heavy feeds into an FCC riser reactor.
Critical venturi nozzles, where an oil and steam mixture is passed through a critically sized venturi section into a larger, intermediate chamber and are discharged through a restricted nozzle can achieve very small droplet sizes. These droplets can be completely vaporized in less time than the droplets produced by spiral nozzles, but such nozzles require high liquid pressure drops, and develop a narrow spray pattern.
A hybrid approach, use of high velocity steam (1000 to 1800 ft/sec) to atomize a low velocity oil stream (20 to 50 ft/sec) was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,654,140, which is incorporated herein by reference. The high velocity steam imparts energy to the low velocity liquid. FIG. 2 of '140 shows oil discharged as a cone of liquid which is broken into droplets by a high velocity steam stream enveloping the cone. The design was an improvement over the nozzle shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,152,065, an earlier nozzle developed by the same assignee, wherein liquid passed through an annular region about a central steam pipe to contact an expanding steam stream upstream of a restricted opening. Imparting a centrifugal component to the liquid stream probably threw the liquid to the sides of the nozzle, and may have impaired atomization. The liquid went out as a cone and was not impinged by the high velocity steam stream in the central region of the nozzle.
Although there are myriad nozzle designs, many of which are unique and hard to classify, they can be more or less arbitrarily classified as relying on one or more of the following mechanisms for drop formation.
Expansion is the most widely used form of FCC feed nozzle. A mixture of 1-5 wt. % atomizing steam and the heavy, preheated feed, pass through a slot or circular orifice to form a spray.
Mixing/Expansion involves use of swirl vanes followed by an orifice.
Shear/Breaking atomizes liquid by passing it through a spiral-shaped orifice. Spiral FCC feed nozzles are examples.
Impingement nozzles pass an atomizing gas stream through multiple orifices to strike a liquid stream. The Lechler nozzle is a good example of this type of nozzle.
Breaking/Mixing nozzles atomize by the high velocity impact of two phases. The Snowjet nozzle is of this type.
Although it might seem possible to simply stack these types of nozzles in series, and thereby improve atomization, this is not possible in practice. Additional stages may or may not improve atomization, but will always increase pressure drop and this alone will usually prevent simple stacking of these unit operations. Many attempts to improve nozzle performance, as by stacking atomizing devices, degrade performance. We tried adding swirl vanes to a nozzle, and found that they actually made the distribution worse.
In FCC units, the nozzles must also be robust and reliable, as run lengths of one or two years or more are common. FCC units have additional constraints. The hydrocarbon feeds are supplied at a certain pressure, usually around 50-200 psig. Because of the large size of these streams, and the cost of energy needed to pump the feed to higher pressures, and site constraints which frequently prevent easy addition of high pressure pumps, it is very important to have a nozzle which will work well with relatively low oil pressures.
High pressure steam is usually readily available, and is a preferred atomization medium, but refiners usually want to minimize its use. High pressure steam is a valuable commodity in a refinery, and its use fills much of the FCC riser and downstream processing equipment with an inert material. Refiners are also reluctant to use too much steam, or to have too high an exit velocity from the nozzle, because of catalyst erosion, and riser impingement concerns previously noted.
Nozzle exit velocities, regardless of the internal oil or steam pressure required by the nozzle, should not be excessive because high velocity streams can shorten catalyst life, by attrition.
An additional constraint is that the material exiting the nozzle should contact as much of the catalyst flowing by the nozzle as possible, without carrying through the catalyst to a side portion of the riser.
It is also beneficial if the nozzles used, whether vertical or side mounted, are relatively small, so that flow of hot catalyst up the riser is not disrupted.
We realized a different approach was needed in nozzle design. Our nozzle combines several different mechanisms for droplet formation, and achieves efficient atomization, with relatively low amounts of atomizing fluid, without requiring inordinately high oil feed pressures, or impinging on the wall of the riser reactor. Our nozzle design does not exhibit slugging characteristics, and can be mounted either vertically or at a slant, which permits its use in riser reactors having side mounted nozzles. The design is both robust and compact, and catalyst flows readily around it.


A fishing rod with elastic sling bait launcher utilizes potential energy stored in a pre-tensioned elastic cord to propel a fishing lure or bait attached to one end of a fishing line forward from the rod tip without requiring casting motion of the rod, the other end of the line unwinding from a reel attached to said handle. The sling launcher includes a U-shaped yoke which is secured to the rod shaft at adjustable distances forward of the handle and reel. The elastic sling has an elastic member consisting of an elongated length of elastic cord or a tension spring attached at opposite ends thereof to upper ends of a pair of laterally opposed, upwardly protruding yoke arms. A generally flat, horizontally disposed bait launcher plate attached to the center of the elastic member is pulled rearward to tension parallel segments of the elastic member, and is engaged with a pivotable bait launching mechanism by an anchor pin protruding upwards from a forward end of an anchor bar secured to the rod handle, which protrudes upwardly through apertures provided through a base plate of the bait launching mechanism, and a bait launcher tray support on top of the bait launcher base plate, and through an anchor hole through the bait launcher plate. A bait and attached line are pulled rearwards from the tip of the rod shaft towards the bait launcher plate, thus pulling line from a reel located on the underside of the rod handle, and through a plurality of line guide eyes located on the underside of the rod shaft. A bait hook is positioned in a groove provided in a front edge wall of the bait launcher plate, with the bait and attached line arranged in a rearwardly directed half loop on the upper surface of the bait launcher support tray. A rearwardly protruding trigger plate of the pivotable bait launcher mechanism rocker arm is depressed by a fisherman's thumb to launch a bait, thus pushing the bait launcher plate upwardly off an engagement with the anchor pin and thereby enabling tension in the sling to propel the bait and attached line forward.

A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fishing rods of the type used by sportsmen and commercial fishermen to catch fish by a hook-and-line method, i.e., by using a bait and hook attached to a line payed out from a reel through line guides attached to an elongated flexible rod. More particularly, the invention relates to a fishing rod which uses potential energy stored in a tensioned elastic sling attached to the rod, to propel a bait attached to the end of a fishing line to accurately controllable distances and directions, while retaining the rod motionless.
B. Description of Background Art
Most sport fishing and some commercial fishing uses a hook-and-line catch method, in which an artificial or natural lure or bait with an attached hook is fastened at one end of fine, strong line. The other end of the line is usually attached to a fishing rod which has an elongated flexible shaft, and is most often wound onto a rotatable spool of a fishing reel. The reel is provided with a handle attached to the spool, which rotates as a bait on the distal end of the line is payed out through ring-shaped line guide eyes located along the length of the rod shaft, to position the lure at a desired lateral distance and depth relative to a fisherman located in a boat, or on a shore adjacent to a body of water such as an ocean, lake or stream. Rotating the reel handle winds the line back onto the reel spool, to reel in a fish which has been hooked by the bait, or to retrieve and reposition the bait at a different location.
A customary way of positioning a bait at a desired location in a body of water is to reel in the line sufficiently to position a bait attached to the line just beyond a tip guide eye which angles forward from the tip of the fishing rod shaft. The fisherman, holding the rod by grasping a handle located rearward of the reel, then draws the tip of the shaft and attached bait rearwards towards his body in a sweeping arc-shaped back swing. The shaft is then snapped forward from the fisherman's body in a quick, vigorous arc-shaped casting motion, typically in a horizontal or vertical plane. At the end of the arc-shaped casting motion, momentum thus imparted to the bait or lure causes it to continue to move forward after forward motion of the rod tip has ceased, causing the bait to be propelled forwards from the rod tip and dragging the attached line with it, the line paying out from the reel through guides attached to the rod, and unwinding from the reel spool, which has been unlocked by the fisherman during the cast.
Although casting a bait or lure in the manner descried above is a relatively simple task, it requires some degree of skill and practice for a person to be able to consistently position a bait at a selected splash point in the water, sometimes at a substantial distance away from the fisherman. Moreover, when casting is done from a boat with other people present, or on a crowded shore, care must be taken that the hooked bait or lure is not propelled into another person, or another person's fishing line. Also, there are situations in which even an experienced fisherman finds conventional bait casting techniques inadequate. For example, when fishing in a heavily wooded area adjacent to a stream or lake, foliage can sometimes be so thick as to make normal arc-shaped casting motions of a fishing rod difficult if not impossible. Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a fishing rod which enables a bait or lure to be propelled from a fishing rod without requiring a casting motion of the rod, for use in such locations as described above, which have limited overhead and/or lateral clearance for casting motions of a fishing rod.
In recognition of problems associated with utilizing conventional arc-shaped casting motions of a fishing rod to cast fishing lures, there have been previous efforts to provide devices which might enable casting of baits or lures without requiring motion of a fishing rod. Prior art references known to the present inventor which are intended to propel fishing lures or baits without requiring conventional casting motions of a fishing rod include the following United States patents: U.S. Pat. No. 2,217,820, Rowe; U.S. Pat. No. 2,225,719, Shattor, U.S. Pat. No. 3,015,102; Tuttle et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,962,813, Moon.
The foregoing references disclose compressed springs or compressed gas to propel baits from a rod. Hertkorn, U.S. Pat. No. 4,127,956 discloses a sling-shot type bait launching device which employs an elastic cord that is stretched rearwards from a U-shaped yoke protruding from the top of a fishing rod. The cord is attached to the rear end of a bait launching cup, which is releasable by a pistol-like trigger to thereby enable the cord to propel the bait cup and a bait within the cup.
The present invention was conceived of to provide a fishing rod of practical and versatile design which uses a stored energy source to accurately propel a wide variety of types of fishing baits and lures for substantially long distances and with substantial accuracy, without requiring a casting motion of the rod.

Fishing rod with elastic sling bait launcher


In an accumulator constituting a refrigerating cycle apparatus, a high liquid-level auxiliary pipe (14a) and a low liquid-level auxiliary pipe (14b), which act as oil recovery pipes, and each of which is provided with a plurality of oil recovery holes (10a), are attached to a discharge pipe (12) in positions so as to be different vertically from each other, so that lubricating oil can be surely recovered through the oil recovery holes.

The present invention relates to an accumulator constituting an air-conditioner or the like using refrigeration oil having very low or no solubility with a refrigerant or having solubility with a characteristic mutually separable from a refrigerant in accordance with temperature conditions.
A general refrigerating cycle is constituted by a compressor 1, a condenser 2, a decompressor 3, an evaporator 4, and an accumulator 5 which are connected circularly by piping as shown in FIG. 6.
For example, in a well-known accumulator 5 disclosed in JP-B-57-17187 and JP-B-62-52230, a suction pipe 11 and a discharge pipe 12 are attached to the intermediate portion and bottom portion of a cylindrical closed vessel 13 respectively, as shown in FIG. 7. One of the openings of the discharge pipe 12 is projected into the cylindrical closed vessel 13 and is provided with an oil recovery hole 10 at a position near a portion where the discharge pipe 12 penetrates the cylindrical closed vessel 13.
Because the conventional accumulator is arranged thus, a mixture of lubricating oil and refrigerant liquid collected in the bottom of the cylindrical closed vessel 13 is sucked into the discharge pipe 12 through the oil recovery hole 10, and sent to the compressor 1.
In addition, in a general refrigerating cycle system, the accumulator is provided before the suction side of the compressor, and required to perform gas-liquid separation of a gas-liquid mixture refrigerant to thereby prevent the compressor from sucking liquid refrigerant, and to return the lubricating oil of the compressor flowing together with the refrigerant to the compressor smoothly without leaving the lubricating oil staying in the accumulator.
In the accumulator 5 shown in FIG. 7 which constitutes such a conventional refrigerating cycle as shown in FIG. 6, a liquid mixture of liquid refrigerant and lubricating oil collected in the bottom of the accumulator has a tendency that a layer rich in the lubricating oil is collected in an upper portion while a layer rich in the liquid refrigerant is collected in a lower portion, particularly at a low temperature, in accordance with the relationship of specific gravities of the both components. Therefore, there has been a fear that only the liquid refrigerant is sucked through the oil recovery hole in accordance with the vertical position of the liquid level of the liquid mixture, and the lubricating oil does not return to the compressor, thereby causing damage in the compressor due to abrasion.
Description has been made above on the assumption that the refrigerant and the lubricating oil are dissolved with each other in the accumulator 5. In the case where the refrigerant is not dissolved in the lubricating oil at all, or has very low solubility in the lubricant oil, the refrigerant and the lubricating oil are separated perfectly in the accumulator 5 so that the lubricating oil is collected in the upper layer side of the liquid refrigerant based on the relationship of specific gravities of the two components, and the lubricating oil does not return to the compressor so long as the lubricating oil comes to the position of the oil recovery hole 10. Accordingly there has been a fear that the lubricating oil stays in the accumulator a, thus causing damage in the compressor.


A computer-based system and method automate the generation of megacells in the design and layout of integrated circuits. The preferred method utilizes an automatic design generator having a user interface which receives design requirements for a megacell or other complex integrated circuit design. A megacell processor receives the design requirements for the megacell and retrieves relevant megacell implementations from a megacell library. Stored megacell benchmarks are then retrieved from a megacell benchmark memory and applied to corresponding megacells to determine which of the various implementations optimally satisfies the user design requirements. Once the optimal megacell implementation is selected, the megacell processor produces a logic design consisting of a net list and a physical design consisting of design directives which are then used to place and route the megacell as a finished layout. Once the layout is completed, the finished layout is simulated and tested and test results from the finished layout simulation are then fed back to the automatic design generator where the megacell benchmark memory is updated.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to computer software and systems used in the design of electronic components and more particularly to the automatic generation of megacells in a computer system used in the design and layout of integrated circuits.
2. Description of the Background Art
Referring now to FIG. 1, a block diagram is shown illustrating a conventional IC design system 100 typically used in the design and layout of integrated circuits. Logic designs 103 are conventionally entered into the system 100 in the form of graphical schematic diagrams or as systems of Boolean equations. Other forms of logic design 103 entry include VHDL (VHSIC Hardware Description Language) descriptions and RTL (Register Transfer Language) descriptor sequences. Once the logic designs 103 are entered into the system, a net list 105 is conventionally produced using ECAD (Electronic Computer Aided Design) net list extraction tools such as Schematic Compiler, which generates net lists from schematics. Schematic Compiler is a component of Concurrent Modular Design Environment (C-MDE.TM.), manufactured by LSI Logic Corporation of Milpitas, Calif. A computer net list 105 consists of a listing of circuit devices such as transistors followed by sequences of attributes which include node numbers, electrical parameters, and physical device sizes. A variety of conventional net list formats are commonly used and understood by those skilled in the art. Once the net list 105 is generated, the electronic circuit design is converted to a physical layout design using a conventional place and route 107 computer program such as Block Compiler. Block Compiler is a component software utility of C-MDE which attempts to place and route the given net list within area constraints defined by the user. Conventional placement and routing, at best, is generally a semi-automatic process, where the design engineers enter specific layout constraints and make adjustments to the physical design as the process proceeds. Once a computer generated placement and routing occurs the physical design is examined and manual specifications are then applied to the placement shown in block 109. The steps of placement and routing 107 and adjustment using manual specifications 109 is iterated until a finished layout is produced in block 111.
The two common design criteria which are used as measures of performance in placement and routing 107 are circuit speed and physical design compactness. Two important goals in circuit design are to design circuits that operate at high speed and to produce circuits that require a minimum amount of electrical floor space. Greater circuit speeds enable the circuits to operate faster and thereby produce more functionality per unit time. Improved compactness enables savings in a variety of areas including manufacturing costs, power dissipation, and yield of parts manufactured. Since circuit devices which are packed more closely together tend to suffer less from transmission delay at high frequency, it is generally accepted that more compact circuits tend to run faster and more reliably.
Design intervention is required with manual specifications at block 109 in order to achieve optimal speed and compactness in the routing process. When low complexity circuit designs are involved, automated placement and routing systems 107 tend to do a reasonably good job of providing acceptable design performance. However, as the logic designs become more complex, manual intervention in the form of manual specifications 109 are more frequently required.
Design intervention is very time consuming and requires circuit designers who are highly knowledgeable both in circuit design and in the placement and routing of integrated circuits. Particularly as integrated circuits become more complex and run at higher operating speeds, the requirement for high levels of design skill on the part of the circuit designer will only increase. It has long been a goal of ECAD system design to enable less skilled integrated circuit designers to produce finished layouts while focusing attention on the logic design and not on the placement and routing required to produce the finished layout 111.
What is needed is an electrical computer aided design system which enables manual specifications to be inserted at the logic design stage in a way that the iterative requirement to intervene in the place and route process is eliminated.

Automated generation of megacells in an integrated circuit design system


The invention relates to piezoelectric resonators. An interposer element is used between a resonating plate and the resonator package to provide improved (i.e. reduced) acceleration sensitivity. The interposer element is preferably of similar thermal expansion characteristics to the resonating plate. Electrical connection to the resonating plate from the exterior of the package is preferably provided via the interposer element.

Due to the stability of the resonant frequency of the piezoelectric material, a piezoelectric resonator is commonly used as a frequency source in electronic circuits.
FIGS. 1 and 2 show a typical construction of a resonator comprising a piezoelectric material of appropriate shape, such as a resonator plate 6, fixed by an internal fastening structure 5 to the interior of an enclosure or hermetically sealed package 1. The enclosure may be filled with gas, usually inert gas, or house a vacuum.
One recognized problem in art of resonators relates to a parameter called acceleration sensitivity. For applications that employ the piezoelectric resonator under varying acceleration conditions, the reliability of the piezoelectric resonator as a stable frequency source is jeopardized.
Additional problems are faced when a resonator is exposed to G-shock. Acceleration sensitivity is related to resonant frequency variations resulting from external vibrations, but G-shock is a pulse inertial load in nature due to high external acceleration acting upon for a short time. The effect of G-shock on a resonator is what is known as a "residual frequency shift", which is described in detail below with reference to the "elastic recovery time" definition.
In a worst case G-shock can cause non-operation due to resonator breakage or fastening structure breakage. In some applications, the level of G-shock might induce inertial load high enough to cause elements of the fastening structure to undergo plastic deformations resulting in permanent, "residual frequency shifts" in the piezoelectric resonating plate due to changes in strain/stress conditions. Also, changes in resonating plate position relative to the enclosure will influence static capacitance, which also results in residual frequency shifts.
Some of the terminology used to describe the factors that affect resonator frequency will now be explained.
As used herein the term "electromechanical deformations" relates to a deformation that occurs when an active area of the resonating plate experiences periodic deformations due to the piezoelectric effect induced by an applied periodic electrical field.
As used herein the term "mechanical strength" describes the ability of the fastening structure to hold the resonator plate with minimal displacement of the resonating plate relative to the enclosure. If joints are too flexible, the resonator plate will move as a rigid body inside the enclosure under external accelerations. Ideally, the resonator plate does not move relative to enclosure, i.e. the enclosure and resonator plate inside move as a single body and there are no strain/stresses induced by deformations of internal fastening structure. The acceleration sensitivity of the resonator is then reduced to only variations in electromechanical deformations in a gravitational field (g-sensitivity effect).
As used herein the term "thermal strain" is the result of different thermal deformations of joined parts resulting in changes in shape and dimensions of the joints of the internal fastening structure and of the resonating plate. The enclosure is typically made of isotropic material such as ceramic, glass, steel or the like, or any combination of these materials. The piezoelectric material is always anisotropic. Accordingly, the temperature coefficients of expansion (TCE) of the piezoelectric resonator plate will differ from the TCE of the enclosure in at least one direction, resulting in strain/stress in the fastening structure which in turn is applied to piezoelectric resonator plate.
In the processes of manufacturing and testing and in applications the resonator may be subjected to significant temperature variations. Differences in TCE will result in different dimensional changes (deformations) of the enclosure and resonator plate. These differences are to some degree transferred between the enclosure and resonating plate through the internal fastening structure.
As used herein the term "mechanical strain" describes the stresses/strains due to external mechanical loads, resulting in changes in the shape and dimensions of the resonating plate and consequently in strain/stress of joints of the internal mounting structure. In many applications the resonator must maintain frequency stability under vibrations and/or significant external accelerations (G-shock). To this end, the internal fastening structure is preferably flexible to provide damping in a spectrum of vibrations to reduce mechanical strain induced by externally applied acceleration. The internal fastening structure is preferably strong enough to prevent its breakage under significant inertial loads due to G-shock. It can be seen, therefore, that the design of the internal fastening structure is a trade-off between mechanical strength and the transfer of minimum strain/stresses due to mechanical deformations of resonating plate.
As used herein the term "elastic recovery time" relates to the phenomenon of residual frequency shift, which has been observed after resonators have been tested under vibrations and after G-shock tests. The internal fastening system must include at least two electro-conductive joints connected electrically to external terminals and to two different electrodes plated onto the resonator plate. In other words, the resonator plate must be fastened inside enclosure at least with two joints. Generally two or more joints, spaced apart in some appropriate way, will result in thermal strain in the internal fastening structure if the TCE of the joined parts are different. Mechanical strain in the internal fastening structure is a result of differences in the deformations of joined parts under external loads. After an external load, which may be thermal or mechanical or both, is removed the internal fastening structure tends to relieve internal strain/stresses. The term "elastic recovery time" relates to how fast the elastically-deformed internal fastening structure restores its initial state or establishes a new shape/volume depending on the magnitude of the strain due to the load. The elastic recovery time generally depends on the elastic modulus of the fastening structure as a function of the magnitude of the strain.
Ideally, the elastic recovery time of the internal fastening structure should be equal to the elastic recovery time of both joined parts. If the elastic recovery times are different the joined parts will be strained after external, thermal or mechanical, loads are removed.
An absolutely flexible internal fastening structure would not introduce thermal and mechanical strain issues, but such a structure would not provide any mechanical support for a resonator plate. The internal fastening structure must include at least one elastic joint.
As used herein the term "interposer" relates to a material that is placed as an intermediary between the piezoelectric material and the enclosure.
Current resonator mounting techniques will now be described with reference to prior art resonators shown in FIG. 1 to 4. The arrangement in FIGS. 1 and 2 utilizes two joints as the internal fastening structure. As will be described below, this arrangement has the short side of a strip resonator plate fastened to electrodes inside the enclosure by means of two elastic joints made of electrically conductive glue or another form of suitable conductive adhesive.
The enclosure in this arrangement comprises a ceramic casing 1 with electrodes 4 connected to external terminals, a seal ring 2 and a welded stainless steel lid 3. A resonator plate 6 is fastened to the electrodes 4 by means of conductive flexible adhesive 5. The resonator plate 6 has conductive electrodes 7 on its top and bottom surfaces to excite electromechanical vibrations in the resonator plate by application of an electric field across the plate.
Although this arrangement affords simplicity of assembly, it does make it difficult to limit movement of the resonating plate relative to the enclosure under external acceleration.
In the arrangement of FIG. 3, the prior art resonator uses metal elastic holders as the internal fastening structure. The resonator plate 10 is glued to holders 11 made of thin metal and welded to conductive wire leads passing through the glass filled holes in a base 12. A can 13 then is welded to the base 12 to provide a hermetically sealed enclosure.
This arrangement benefits from reduced thermal deformations and increased mechanical strength. However there are strict requirements in the positioning of the joints relative to the crystallographic axes of the resonating plate. Furthermore, this design is difficult to miniaturize.
FIG. 4 shows a further prior art resonator arrangement. The resonator includes a ceramic casing 21 and a lid 23 as in FIG. 1. One joint 25, which is made of non-elastic strong adhesive, is placed in the middle of one of the short sides of resonating plate 26 and connects the bottom electrode of resonating plate 26 with one of the internal terminals 24. The top electrode of the resonator plate 26 is connected to the opposite internal terminal 24 with a flexible wire joint 27 in the middle of opposite short side of the resonating plate 26.
This design allows for low thermal deformations as both the enclosure and the resonating plate may expand independently. However the design is complex and there may be significant mechanical deformations in the resonator plate under vibrations and external acceleration due to the necessity to use a strong and rigid adhesive, as only one joint can be used resulting in cantilevered mounting of the resonating plate.
There have been other prior art techniques to mount a piezoelectric material within a package. U.S. Pat. No. 6,777,858 to Bang et al. relates to ceramic package for a crystal oscillator. The ceramic package includes a bottom sheet, to which a ceramic buffer sheet is attached, and a crystal wafer that is mounted on the buffer sheet. The buffer sheet serves to support to crystal wafer while protecting the wafer by absorbing external impact applied to the crystal wafer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,250,870 to Fenlon et al. relates to a crystal package suitable for surface mounting. The piezoelectric device (crystal) is compliantly mounted to a thin package by dollops of adhesive. FIG. 1 of this patent shows the use of four adhesive dollops, while FIG. 2 shows the use of two adhesive dollops to mount the crystal.
A four-point mount for a quartz resonator for improved acceleration sensitivity is described in the 1992 IEEE Frequency Control Symposium paper by Larry D Clayton and Errol P Eernisse, entitled "Four-Point SC-Cut Crystal Unit Design Calculations for Reduced Acceleration Sensitivity". This paper describes the use of an integral mount having four V-clips spaced at equal angular intervals around the circumference of an SC-cut crystal.
A quartz resonator with an internal fastening structure to improve acceleration sensitivity is described in the 1991 IEEE Forty-Fifth Annual Symposium on Frequency Control paper by Y. S. Zhou and H. F Tiersten, entitled "An Analysis of the Normal Acceleration Sensitivity of Contoured Quartz Resonators Stiffened by Identical Top and Bottom Quartz Cover Plates Supported by Clips". This paper describes a biconvex quartz resonator that is sandwiched between identical quartz plates and attached by sidewalls. Despite an improved mechanical strength this prior art does not provide for compensation of residual frequency shifts due to possible changes in the relative position of resonating plate and the quartz plates if plastic deformation of the sidewalls takes place.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved resonator that overcomes or alleviates any of the above disadvantages or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.

Acceleration tolerant piezoelectric resonator


A control system for the engine and the automatic transmission of the automotive vehicle is arranged such that the torque of the engine is reduced by delaying the timing of ignition at the time of a shift of the automatic transmission with a multi-stage shift mechanism. The amount of the absorbed inertia at the time of the shift is computed as an amount corresponding to changes of the numbers of revolutions on the input side of the multi-stage shift mechanism prior to and subsequent to the shift thereof. The timing of ignition is so adapted as to be delayed in accordance with the amount of the resulting amount of the absorbed inertia. Preferably, the control amount for the torque to be reduced is computed in accordance with the torque of the engine at the time of the shift, and a control amount for the final torque to be reduced is given on the basis of the control amount for the torque to be reduced and the amount of the absorbed inertia, thereby delaying the timing of ignition in accordance with the control amount for the final torque to be reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control system for an engine and an automatic transmission for an automotive vehicle, so adapted as to reduce torque of the engine at the time of a shift of the automatic transmission.
2. Description of the Related Art
For instance, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication Laid-open (kokai) No. 55-46,095, it is known of a control system so adapted as to reduce torque of an engine by controlling the timing of ignition or the like, in order to suppress a torque shock from occurring due to a shift of a gear ratio at the time of a shift of the automatic transmission having a multi-stage shift mechanism.
Such a conventional control system for the engine and the automatic transmission is so arranged as to alter a shift stage in accordance with a variation in a running state of the vehicle to be determined by an angle of opening of a throttle valve, a vehicle speed or the like, on the basis of a shift map in which a shift line is predetermined. Further, such a control system is adapted to perform the control for reducing the torque of the engine at the time of a shift of the automatic transmission. The amount of the torque to be reduced is set on the basis of a map of the angle of opening of the throttle valve or the like in accordance with the shift map, and the map is so predetermined as to give an appropriate amount of the torque to be reduced at a constant shift point.
It can be noted that, for such a control system, a preset amount of the torque to be reduced becomes a value so adapted as to comply with a requirement for the amount of the torque reduced, if no shift point deviates and the absorbed inertia and the torque of the engine at the shift point is not varied due to an exterior factor, when the shift is performed. However, for instance, if the shift point is caused to deviate in accordance with changes of modes or other conditions, the amount of the absorbed inertia at the time of the shift is caused to vary in association with such changes, thereby causing a required amount of the torque reduced to vary, too. Hence, in these cases, the preset amount of the torque to be reduced may deviate from the required amount thereof, thereby impairing a feeling of the shift of the automatic transmission.

Control system for engine and automatic transmission


A print control apparatus which transmits print data to a printing apparatus according to a print instruction for a logical printer. The print control apparatus includes a logical printer information management unit which manages logical printer information that is provided for each logical printer and is used to store information including a network address of a printing apparatus corresponding to a logical printer, a printing apparatus search unit which searches for printing apparatuses connected to a network, and a print data transmitting unit which transmits print data to a network address of a printing apparatus found by the printing apparatus search unit if no network address corresponding to a logical printer specified in a print instruction is registered in the logical printer information.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a print control apparatus, a print control system, a print control method, and a recording medium having a print control program, and more particularly relates to a print control apparatus, a print control system, a print control method, and a recording medium having a print control program which transmit print data to a printing apparatus according to a print instruction to a logical printer.
2. Description of the Related Art
To send a print instruction from a personal computer (PC) to a printer (including a multifunction peripheral: MFP) which is connected to a network, identification information, such as an IP address, of the target printer should be registered beforehand for a printer port of the PC. The PC identifies the destination of print data by referring to the registered information.
[Patent document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-366502
Nowadays, however, because of the spread of portable devices such as notebook computers and personal digital assistants (PDA), users may want to print on different printers according to circumstances. For example, it is quite possible that a user brings a notebook PC, which is normally connected to a local area network (LAN) in his/her office, to another office and wants to print on a printer connected to a LAN in that office. In such a situation, the identification information of the printer should be registered in the notebook PC. However, changing settings every time may be bothersome and increase the risk of problems caused by setting errors.

Print control apparatus, print control system, print control method, and recording medium having print control program


The present application relates to an underwear for a male, which belongs to a technical field of clothing. The underwear for the male includes a body, and the body includes a front portion and a back part. The front portion is provided with a genital bag with an opening, and the genital bag is provided at an inner side of the body. A connecting part is provided at the inner side of the body, connected with cloth at an edge of the genital bag, and extends from the front portion to the back part.

An underwear is a kind of pants contacting skin, and includes an underwear for a male and an underwear for a female. At present, a bag is generally provided at the front of the underwear for a male. When wearing, the genital is placed in the bag, so as to avoid a contact between the genitals and the skin on inner thighs and reduce skin friction.
However, when a user is wearing such underwear, the scrotum is easy to fall out of the bag, rendering the wearing uncomfortable.
In view of this, there is still a need to provide a relatively comfortable underwear for a male.


An apparatus that mimics the physical effects of riding in a motor vehicle comprising a base structure on which a child automobile seat may be mounted to sooth an occupying child is herein disclosed. A top platform is laterally and longitudinally motioned by bottom mounted motion generating motor assemblies by means of supporting springs. A standard child's automobile seat can be fastened with the use of an integral seat belt. The apparatus is controlled by a microprocessor-based control system, which activates the motors to reproduce a gentle rocking, bumping, swerving or other motion commonly experienced in a motor vehicle. Additionally, the apparatus comprises a sound system capable of producing soothing music and a plurality of sounds designed to mimic those heard in a motor vehicle.

Infants and young children love to be rocked to sleep. This love begins within the arms of their parents, followed by baby rockers and bouncer seats and even to rocking toys, such as a hobby horse. It is evident that rocking motions sooth and calm young children, particularly when a child is placed in a car seat and taken on a trip in a motor vehicle. The movement and sounds generated by the vehicle seem to work magic on fussy or crying babies. Within minutes they are sound asleep and frequently remain so for the entire trip. In fact, many parents and professionals advise that taking a young child on a short car ride is a guaranteed method inducing sleep. While various items attempt to mimic a rocking motion inside the home, nothing seems to work as well as a car ride. Some parents, faced with a particularly fussy child, do indeed end up taking their child for a ride to calm them and get them to sleep. This method of calming a child may be effective but it can be incredibly inconvenient, can be expensive with the rising cost of gasoline, and can be dangerous for a tired parent to drive in the middle of the night.
Various attempts have been made to overcome this problem and provide a suitable seat or rocking device for the calming of young children. These attempts can be seen by reference to several U.S. Patents, including U.S. Pat. No. 5,147,109, issued in the name of Jolly, which describes a car seat apparatus for securing a child to a vehicle seat that utilizes a sound reproducing mechanism to induce the child to be secured and harnessed in the car seat apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,238,455, issued in the name of Cain, Jr. et al., describes an omni-directional rocking apparatus comprising a rocking base and a seating assembly to provide a rocking toy that simulates an animal body, vehicle, or the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,574,806, issued in the name of Maher, describes an infant seat rocking device that provides a rocking motion to an infant which doesn't rely on the movement of the infant or a parent seated nearby. The Maher device comprises a seat and a seat moving assembly which uses the rotation of a crank arm to pull on the seat to provide the rocking motion.
Another solution attempt to provide a means of simulating ground travel by attaching a drive mechanism to a child's ride-on vehicle toy as seen in U.S. Pat. No. 6,155,833, issued in the name of Lenihan, which describes a ride simulator for use with a children's ride-on vehicle.
Among the relevant attempts to provide vehicle ride simulations for amusement purposes are several U.S. Patents, including U.S. Pat. No. 6,431,872, issued in the name of Shiraishi et al., which describes a drive simulation apparatus and U.S. Pat. No. 6,533,670, issued in the name of Drobnis, which describes an amusement ride with pivotable motion base.
Additionally, ornamental designs for car seats and seat bases exist, particularly, U.S. Pat. No. D 417,568. However, none of these designs are similar to the present invention.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives, each of these references suffers from one or more deficiencies related to effectively reproducing the combination of sounds and motions provided by a moving vehicle. Accordingly, there exists a need for a means by which the movement and sounds as generated by a moving motor vehicle can be simulated in the home for the purposes of calming and helping a child to sleep. The development of the present invention substantially departs from the conventional solutions and in doing so fulfills this need.


A baby carrier includes: a belt part configured to be fixed to a waist of a wearer; a hip seat coupled to the belt part and configured to support a hip of a baby; and a fastener part including a first fastening member connected to the belt part and a second fastening member connected to the hip seat and removably coupled to the first fastening member. The hip seat includes a connecting portion fixed to the belt part, a seating portion foldably extending from an upper side of the connecting portion and configured to support a baby, and a support portion foldably extending from a lower side of the connecting portion and configured to support the seating portion. One end portions of the first fastening member and the second fastening member are connected to the belt part and an outer surface of the support portion, respectively.

A baby carrier is used for conveniently and safely carrying a baby who cannot toddle when a user goes outside with the baby. In the conventional baby carrier, a design using a shoulder belt is mainly used to assist a user in easily carrying a baby on the chest or back. However, in the case of the design using the shoulder belt, the weight of the baby is mostly transmitted to the shoulder of a user through the shoulder belt. In addition, the user should lean the upper body backward or forward to maintain the balance according to the posture of carrying the baby on the chest or back. As a result, the spine of the user may suffer from overload.
In order to solve such a problem, a so-called hip seat has been proposed. In general, the hip seat includes a seat portion, having therein with a support body, on which a baby is seated, a waist band coupled to both sides of the seat portion, and a shoulder belt worn on the shoulder and connected to the seat portion.
In the case of the hip seat, the weight of the baby is dispersed into the shoulder, waist, and pelvis of a wearer of the hip seat so that the wearer can more easily carry the baby. However, due to the excessive volume of the hip seat, it is not easy to store the hip seat.
Therefore, there is a demand for a hip seat that can be easily stored after use.


A display including static pixels and dots (individual element) arranged in a predetermined manner. Dynamic pixels are generated dynamically, comprising dots selected from at least two adjacent static pixels. Overlapping of dynamic pixels on the static pixels creates an enhanced resolution at the human's eyes. A weighted dot rendering method can be performed for all static and dynamic pixels of a low resolution inventive display to be displayed in an additive way with the viewing perception of an enhanced higher resolution display. By adjusting the light emitting area and space of dots in a static pixel, maximum optimized brightness in a white balance equilibrium with good contrast can be obtained in finding an optimal ratio between the non light emitting area (black mask or black barrier ribs) and the light emitting area.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a display comprising pixels and dots, including but not limited to the following display technologies: Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), Field Emission Display (FED), Vacuum Florescent Display (VFD), Plasma Display Panel (PDP), Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), Light Emitting Diode (LED), Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED), Polymer Light Emitting Diode (PLED), Electroluminescence (EL), Electronic inks, Surface Emitting Display (SED), Digital Light Processing (DLP), Electro-mechanics, Phototronics, Biotronics and any light sources known or invented in the future as well as a method for controlling the (said) display.
It is another objective of the present invention to adjust the light emitting area and space of different individual elements in a pixel contoured by black mask or barrier ribs of the same structure to optimize the luminance and the brightness of a display.
It is further objective of the present invention to provide a method to display high resolution video source like HDTV in a dynamic high resolution enhanced display of the present invention. Further to provide a method to display upscaling low resolution video source like SDTV, to be displayed on a dynamic high resolution enhanced display of the present invention.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a dual mode (HDTV video mode and Computer text mode) in an HDTV enable WebTV for internet browsing as well as for watching HDTV quality video.
It is another objective of the present invention to perform a weighted dot rendering method for the generated dynamic pixels to display a picture, text, or video frame.
It is another objective of the present invention to present an automatic or manual colors re-calibrating method for compensating the shifting of colors due to the different decreases in light intensity over the time from the characteristic of different red, green, and blue light sources.
The invention relates to a display comprising pixels and dots, as well as a method of controlling said display.
2. Description of Background Art
In known display of the kind used in video, film and computer technology, so-called pixels are arranged along horizontally and/or vertically extending lines. The pixels generally consist of so-called dots representing the three basic colours red, green and blue. Dots are sources of luminous radiation the light of which is mixed to generate luminous mixed colours in a process referred to as additive mixing.
In computer monitors and television receivers the display is divided into a plurality of pixels arranged on a fixed grid or raster. Each pixel is controlled individually, with the pixels addressed from left to right and from the top to the bottom, for instance, as is customary practice for CRT screens.
EP 0 637 009 A2 discloses a method of controlling active LCD displays in which the dots are arranged in a mutually offset pattern to form a delta shape, with the dots of each colour group vertically interconnected by a control line. Horizontal control is effected pixelwise, meaning that the three dots of each RGB pixel are addressed at the same time. Further, each dot comprises a memory element and a switching element, whereby RGB data can be transmitted using synchronizing information, as is the case in conventional monitors, for example.
DE 36 06 404 A1 discloses a method of generating picture elements on a colour display, as well as a colour display. The method uses a light gate array of which the light gates are addressable individually by means of control circuitry in such a manner that the desired colour intensity is obtained by controlling the transmission properties of the respective light gate. Light sources are disposed behind the light gate to provide at least two primary colours and are switched in alternating light cycles at a repetition rate of at least 25 Hz, with the light gates being controlled synchronously therewith. Because of the inertia of the human eye, it is possible for a gate to display the desired colour.
One drawback of this kind of display is that the number of pixels is limited by the fixed grid, which limits the resolution and the picture sharpness as well. The finer the grid, the higher the resolution. The fineness of the grid itself is limited by manufacturing technology, however, because the cathode ray tubes that are used for the displays comprise so-called shadow masks having holes therein which cannot be reduced to whatever size unless one puts up with considerable expenditures.
Likewise, in LCD displays, the integration of a great number of thin film transistors (TFT) is extremely expensive and very prone to produce major amounts of rejects. In Plasma (PDP) or in FED displays, the technical and economical manufactured size of a RGB pixel is physically limited by the mass production technology itself and further reduction of the RGB pixel size for higher resolution cannot be achieved without huge manufacturing equipment cost and over proportional scraps which are economically not viable.
In LED displays, the placement of the LEDs is complicated and expensive as their space demand is predetermined by their shape.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Dynamic pixel resolution, brightness and contrast for displays using spatial elements


The RFID tag includes a base that can bend and unbend; a communication antenna wired on the base; a circuit chip that is electrically connected to the antenna and performs radio communication via the antenna; a reinforcing member as a chip reinforcing member that covers at least the periphery of the circuit chip and a section of the antenna wiring, the covering preformed at least in an upper side with respect to the base designated as a bottom, and that has a concavo-convex shape and intersects with the antenna wiring at a concave section of the concavo-convex shape; and an adhesive that adheres the reinforcing member to the base, and in which an edge along a concave section of the edge of the reinforcing member traverses over the antenna.

1.Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag which exchanges information with an external device in a non-contact manner. Note that among those skilled in the art in the technical field of the present application, the "RFID tag" as used in the present specification is regarded as an internal component (inlay) for the "RFID tag" and so it may be referred to as an "inlay for an RFID tag". Alternatively, this "RFID tag" may be referred to as a "wireless IC tag".
2.Description of the Related Art
Various types of RFID tags that exchange information with an external device, typically represented by a reader/writer, in a non-contact manner using radio waves have been proposed in recent years (for example, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-310226, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-200332, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-351082). An RFID tag in which a circuit chip and a radio wave communication antenna pattern are mounted on a base sheet made of plastic or paper has been proposed as one type of such RFID tag. This type of RFID tag is designed to be used in a mode in which the RFID tag is attached to an article and identification of the article and the like can be performed by exchanging information relating to that article with an external device.
FIG. 8 is a view that illustrates an example of an RFID tag.
Part (a) of FIG. 8 is a top view of an RFID tag 800 as one example of an RFID tag, and part (b) of FIG. 8 shows a cross section along a line of cutting plane H-H of the RFID tag 800 as shown in part (a).
The RFID tag 800 shown in FIG. 8 consists of a long base 801 that is formed with PET film, a communication antenna 802 that is wired along the lengthwise direction on the base 801, a circuit chip 803 that is electrically connected to the antenna 802 and conducts radio communication via the antenna 802, and an adhesive 804 that adheres and fixes the circuit chip 803 to the base 801.
The circuit chip 803 constituting the RFID tag 800 can carry out radio communication with an external device via the antenna 802.
A wide range of usage modes including the usage mode described above can be considered for this kind of RFID tag. However, in the case of a usage mode in which the RFID tag is attached to an article that changes shape easily, such as clothing, a bending stress is applied to the circuit chip 803 because the circuit chip 803 is resistant to bending in comparison to the ease of bending of the base 801, and thus one major problem is that the circuit chip 803 breaks or the circuit chip 803 becomes unstuck from the base 801. Consequently, the following technique has already been proposed as one example of a technique for reducing the bending stress applied to the circuit chip 803.
FIG. 9 is a view showing one example of a conventional technique for reducing a bending stress that is applied to the circuit chip 803.
Part (a) of FIG. 9 is a top view of an RFID tag 900, and part (b) of FIG. 9 shows a cross section along a line of cutting plane J-J of the RFID tag 900 as shown in part (a) in a state in which the RFID tag 900 is bent.
In FIG. 9, components that are equivalent to components shown in the FIG. 8 are denoted by the same symbols as in FIG. 8, and a duplicate description of these components is omitted below.
The RFID tag 900 shown in FIG. 9 is provided with a reinforcing member 901 made of fiber-reinforced resin that covers the upper part of the circuit chip 803. The reinforcing member 901 is adhered and fixed to the base 801 with a thermosetting adhesive 902 that embeds the circuit chip 803.
As shown in part (b) of FIG. 9, according to this RFID tag 900, changes in the shape of the RFID tag 900 are prevented from reaching the vicinity of the circuit chip 803 by the reinforcing member 901 that is formed of a hard substance, namely fiber-reinforced resin, and thus the bending stress applied to the circuit chip 803 is reduced.
However, in the RFID tag 900 shown in FIG. 9 there is a problem that bending stress is concentrated at a part of the adhesive 902 that adheres and fixes the reinforcing member 901 to the base 801 where an edge section that protrudes from the reinforcing member 901 intersects with the antenna 802, resulting in a risk of the antenna 802 becoming disconnected.