The present invention provides an antiobesity composition comprising extract of Melissa as an active ingredient, use of Melissa extract, and a method for suppressing obesity using the composition.

Obesity is regarded as the worst plague ever in the globe and has been declared as a disease by the World Health Organization in 1997. Increase of overweight and obesity has been continued since 1960′, and such tendency hardly ever falls.
In USA, the number of people having overweight or obesity is continuously increasing. At present, 65% and 30% of adults over 20 years old are considered as having overweight and obesity, respectively. Even in developing countries, obesity rates in economically developed regions are no less than those of advanced countries. Currently, the number of people with obesity in USA and Japan is up to about 300 million. Every year, more than 0.3 million people die from obesity and the expenses in connection with obesity are amounted to about $100 billion.
Over the world, the obesity population surges with environmental changes boosted by economic development, modernization, and urbanization. And overweight rate is higher in male population than in female, while obesity rate is generally less in male than female. The obesity rate in children and the young is high in developed countries and advanced countries both.
The currently-used therapies for obesity include dietary therapy, physical activity, behavior therapy, drug therapy, combined therapy surgery (gastrectomy), etc.
Most of foods widely used for controlling obesity are dietary fiber, and some foods that have not been medically proved in their effect are also sold in market.
As antiobesity drugs approved by FDA, the following drugs are now available: Orlistat (brand name: Xenical), Phentermine (brand name: Fastin, Zantryl etc.), and Sibutramine (brand name: Reductil, Meridia, etc.).
Orlistat (Xenical), which has been approved most recently, has an efficacy to prevent absorption of about 30% of fat taken from food, thereby makes reduce body weight. In other sides, Phentermine and Sibutramine have an efficacy to suppress appetite.
Orlistat (Xenical) combines with lipase in digestive tract, then makes reduce the lipolysis in the small intestine thereby prevents absorption of fat. However, undegraded fat remaining in the intestine gives rise to several side effects such as abdominal discomfort or pain, rectal discomfort or pain, fatty or oily stools, vomiting, depression, leg pain, swollen feet, etc. Such side effects may be more severe if more fat are taken.
Phentermine changes the serotonin value in the brain to suppress appetite. But it may raise blood pressure and heart rate and stimulate the central nervous system, which are the same side effects of amphetamine.
Sibutramine can suppress reabsorption of norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine which are neurotransmitters, thereby induce appetite suppression in brain. However, it may cause a lot of side effects including abdominal pain, anxiety, constipation, depression, headache, insomnia, joint pain, nausea, nervousness, stomachache, etc. Furthermore a recent report that Sibutramine (Reductil) is linked to cardiac death brought up the matter of safety as a critical issue.
Accordingly, an ideal obesity treatment should be able to reduce only body fat selectively without affecting muscles and bones, enable maintaining body weight after successful body weight loss, and first of all, have no side effect caused by long-term administration.
In order to develop antiobesity drugs that can solve the above problems and reduce body fat and body weight simultaneously, the inventors of the present invention studied the antiobesity effects of herbal medicines that have been used for a long time.
With regard to antiobesity effects of herbal medicines, KR 10-2004-0065427 A1 discloses anti-obesity biohealth products containing Artemisia iwayomogi oligosaccharide, AIP1 (Artemisia iwayomogi Polysaccharide Fraction 1) for improving endocrine physiological metabolism of obesity, and KR 10-2005-83066 A1 describes a food for antibesity comprising Eucommia-ulmoides Oliver extract or Morus-alba Linne extract.
As a result of arduous studies, a composition comprising extract of Melissa, a composition comprising extract of Melissa and extract of Mori Folium, and a composition comprising extract of Melissa, extract of Artemisia and extract of Mori Folium have remarkable effects on reduction of body weight and body fat, and then completed this invention.


Systems and methods may provide proactive news analytics based on integrated prediction statements. Users may extract and collect conditional statements from research reports. A compiled list based on the processing/linking of statements for signal generation may then be created. Similarly, a list of counter statements that are assigned a conflict rating that specifies how much agreement/disagreement on a specific topic exists for the counter statement and the statement itself may be created. The custom library may have semantic capabilities to justify conditional statements in order to capture meaning and identify supporting news related to the statement. When a relevant event is detected that relates to a conditional statement, expected conclusions are linked, and customized indexes are calculated to allow for analysis of the relevant event.

There are many sources for news and information available today. The sheer volume of sources and information available, both in print and on-line, can be overwhelming. The advent of social media has added an entirely new layer to sources of information. Even more troublesome can be monitoring these sources to find important information, or at least information important to the reader or the reader's industry. Typical analysis tools do not always find relevant material and are not customized to a particular user.
Research reports typically incorporate conditional statements such as: if market growth in a sector stays below 2% by Q2 2013, company X stock is expected to be $abc or as new patent law changes are likely to be effective in Q3 2013, company Y stock can see $xyz by Q4. Such predictions may be difficult to process for a variety of reasons, such as the statements not directly sentiment related, they are not real time, and they can affect a range of entities. However, by the time the event mentioned happens, the competitive advantage diminishes. Furthermore, these statements are hard to be considered after a period of time after publication of the report.
These and other deficiencies exist.

System and method for research report guided proactive news analytics for streaming news and social media


A machine vision system located at a user site is programmed from a remote site using a program development system connected via a LAN, WAN, or the Internet. A user application program is developed and tested from the remote location and then downloaded through the network to the machine vision system. Libraries of common software module objects are stored at both locations and used during user program development and implementation in the machine vision system.

The field of the invention is machine vision systems, and particularly, the development of application programs for such systems.
Computer vision, sometimes referred to as image processing, involves the extraction of vision-related information from signals representing a scene and performing image signal processing on those signals. Applications of computer vision techniques include character recognition, industrial inspection of manufactured items, robot guidance systems, radiology, remote sensing, and so on.
Implementation of a machine vision application typically involves the performance of a number of common processing steps. For example, in a first step, image acquisition is performed to acquire an image of the scene to be analyzed. The image may, for example, be represented in the form of a monochrome or simple digital image f(x,y) discretized both in spatial coordinates x,y and in brightness (gray levels). Image processing techniques may then be performed on the digital image in order to improve the image and increase the chances for success in subsequent analysis processes. Such image processing techniques may include enhancing the contrast between one or more objects and the background, and filtering noise from the image. A machine vision system may have a library of software tools for carrying out such image processing functions.
After the image is enhanced it is analyzed to provide the desired information. Analysis functions can conveniently be divided into four main categories: gauging; inspection; guidance; and identification. "Gauging" involves finding parts or their edges in an image and measuring the distance between them. For example, is the gap on a spark plug within tolerance? "Inspection" is typically a check on the quality of the imaged product. For example, is the ink smeared on a label or are there defects in the surface of sheet material? "Guidance" involves accurately locating objects in a scene. For example, what is the location and orientation of a part for a robot to pick up? And finally, "identification" involves the interpretation or reading of alphanumeric characters, bar codes or two-dimensional codes. For example, a bar code fixed to a product may be scanned and identified to record the removal of the product from inventory.
In early machine vision systems it was necessary to develop an application program in a programming language such as Fortran or C to carry out each of the above steps. In more recent systems, software modules may be provided in a library and these modules are selected and linked together by the user to form an application program for performing the desired machine vision functions. In modern machine vision systems, development can be performed programmatically, or by linking vision tools in graphic form using a development environment such as VisualBasic by Microsoft, LabView by National Instruments, or VisionPro QuickStart, by Cognex Corporation. In these systems a library of machine vision tools may be provided which link together the software modules to perform image processing and image analysis functions such as:                Histogram equalization: enhance the contrast of the scene, with some smoothing, to remove noise or for subsequent subsampling;        Alignment: a pattern location tool that can train a pattern, search for that pattern in the scene, and provide results of that search;        Caliper: determine the location of a single edge or the location and spacing of pairs of edges in a scene; and        Blob: locate within a scene any two-dimensional closed shape comprised of a specific range of gray-scale values and provide information such as the number of blobs and how the blobs are topologically related to each other.
Regardless of the machine vision tool library available to the user, the development of a machine vision application program is a highly skilled activity. The application programmer must select the proper software modules and/or vision tools from the system library to accomplish the machine vision task to be accomplished, and the programmer must specify particular parameters required by each software module or machine vision tool. This requires specialized training in machine vision in general and often in the particular machine vision system being used.
Large companies that use machine vision extensively can justify hiring application programmers having the requisite skills. Smaller companies or users with a limited number of machine vision systems can obtain programming support from the machine vision system vendor or systems integrators, but such support is costly and is often the factor which economically forecloses the use of machine vision for the particular application. This is particularly true if the user's machine vision system is in a remote location and the application programmer must travel a long distance and incur living expenses while performing the task.
In addition to developing the application program for a machine vision system, that program must be maintained over a long period of time. Over time, the appearance of parts being examined may change due to changes in part design or materials, manufacturing tolerances and quality metrics may change, and environmental conditions such as lighting may change. Additionally, it may be necessary to replace or upgrade the machine vision system or components of it. These changes may affect the operation of the machine vision system and require the skills of a trained programmer to correct.

Remote machine vision application program development method


A nasal dilator capable of introducing separating stresses in nasal outer wall tissues has a truss of a single body with a resilient member secured therein and a pair of spaced-apart end surfaces which, when forced toward one another from initial positions to substantially reduce direct spacing therebetween by a spacing reducing force external to said truss, results in restoring forces in the truss tending to return to the original direct spacing between the end surfaces. A resilient member, which is symmetrical with respect to a centerline of the truss that is perpendicular to the long axis of the truss, has a spring rate which continuously diminishes from the centerline to the end surfaces. An adhesive on the end surfaces adhesively engages exposed surfaces of nasal outer wall tissues sufficiently to keep the truss attached to the nasal wall surfaces while subjecting them to the restoring forces.

This invention relates to an improvement to the design of a nasal dilator that is described in Spanish Patent No. 289,561 for Orthopaedic Adhesive granted to Miguel Angel Aviles Iriarti on 15 Sep. 1986. The Iriarti patent describes two designs of a nasal dilator. The first consists of a resilient band which has an adhesive on the bottom side and sufficient length so that when the center of the resilient band is bent over the bridge of the nose, each end is attached to the soft tissue on the lateral wall of the nasal passage. The adhesive can be applied as part of the back of the resilient band or applied directly to the skin prior to the application of the resilient band.
The second design described in the Iriarti patent shows a soft fabric cover with an adhesive on the bottom side which is larger than the resilient band. The resilient band is centered on the bottom of the soft fabric cover and attached to the adhesive. The center of the two-piece nasal dilator is bent over the bridge of the nose, and each end is attached to the soft tissue on the lateral wall of the nasal passage using the adhesive on the soft fabric cover that extends beyond the edge of the resilient band.
The mechanical forces generated by bending the resilient band from its initial planar state to its deformed state with the ends in contact with the lateral wall of the nasal passages result in forces tending to pull out on the lateral wall tissues which stabilize the walls of the nasal passages during breathing. The forces generated by the resilient band may be greater than the available strength of the adhesive which is located in the border of the soft fabric cover that extends beyond the resilient band as discussed in the second Iriarti design. One skilled in the art could combine the two Iriarti designs and add additional adhesive to the bottom of the resilient band which is attached to the bottom of the soft fabric cover and increase the ability of the nasal dilator to resist the mechanical forces generated by the resilient band.
The present invention is an improvement to the nasal dilator design disclosed in the Iriarti patent because it has a resilient band which has a variable spring rate that decreases from the point where the resilient band crosses the bridge of the nose to the point where the resilient band terminates at the lateral wall of the nasal passage.
The present invention also has a concave indent on one side of the dilator and a convex protrusion on the opposite side of the dilator at the center of the bridge of the nose to indicate to the user the proper orientation of the dilator when it is in use.
Another improvement to the Iriarti design is the use of a soft fabric cushion with adhesive on both sides to prevent the resilient band from coming in contact with the user's skin. This soft fabric cushion is the same size as the top soft fabric cover.
Blockage of the nasal passages from swelling due to allergies, colds and physical deformities can lead to breathing difficulty and discomfort. The nasal passages have mucus membranes which condition the air in the nasal passages prior to its arrival in the lungs. If the nasal passages are constricted due to swelling or minor deformities then the alternative is to breathe through the mouth. This means that the air bypasses the mucus membranes, losing the conditioning effects and causing irritation in the throat and lungs. At night, restrictions to breathing through the nasal passages can lead to snoring and/or sleep disturbances. In some cases, the restricted air supply can cause sleep problems brought on by a lack of oxygen.
For people with chronic blockages in the nasal passages, the alternative to correct the problem has been expensive surgery or medication. People with minor deformities and breathing problems brought on by swelling of the walls of the nasal passageways have been turning to various products fitted in or on the nose which claim to open the nasal passages.
The structure of the nose limits the options available for the design of nasal dilators. The nose terminates at the nostril, which has a slightly expanded volume immediately above it known as the vestibule. Above the vestibule, the nasal passage becomes restricted at a point called the nasal valve. At the nasal valve, the external wall of the nose consists of soft skin known as the lateral wall, which will deform with air pressure changes induced within the nasal passage during the breathing cycles. Above the nasal valve the nasal passage opens up to a cavity with turbinates over the top of the palate and turns downward to join the passage from the mouth to the throat.
The external structure of the nose consists of a skin covering over the nasal bones which are part of the skull. This gives the top of the nose a rigid structure at its base. Beyond the rigid nose bones, there is thin cartilage under the skin which is attached to the septum, which in turn contributes to the outside shape of the nose. The septum forms the wall between the two nostrils and may, if it is crooked, contribute to breathing problems.
As an alternative to surgery, the structure of the nose and the current art leave two alternatives for the design of nasal dilators. One alternative is the type of dilator that consists of some type of tube or structure which can be inserted into the nasal passage to hold it in the open position allowing the free passage of air. The disadvantage to this design is that the dilator structure covers up the mucus membranes which condition the air. Also dilators of this design are uncomfortable and can irritate the walls of the nasal passage.
The second alternative is a dilator design as taught by Iriarti where each end that attaches to the external lateral wall of each of the nasal passages has some type of resilient means connecting the ends for developing an external pulling force on the lateral wall causing it to open the nasal passage. This design has the advantage over the first alternative because the nasal passages are not disturbed by an internal insert. This design has limited control over the resilient force on the lateral wall of each of the nasal passages, and the resilient members crossing over the bridge of the nose can cause discomfort.
The present invention is an improvement over the Iriarti design because it redistributes the lifting forces within the resilient band by modifying the spring rate, so that they can provide optimum lift on the lateral walls of the nasal passage and maximum comfort to the user.
The prior art that comes closest to the present invention is nasal dilators with some means for adjusting the spring rate of the resilient band in the nasal dilator. The first is U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,091 to Johnson, which shows two parallel resilient bands of constant width and constant thickness which cross over the bridge of the nose and terminate at the outer wall of each nasal passage. The Johnson patent shows a plurality of notches cut into the top of each end of the resilient band to reduce the spring rate, which in turn prevents the end of the resilient band from peeling away from the skin. Each notch is a single point reduction of the spring rate with the spring rate reduction determined by the depth of the notch.
The second U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,944 to Petruson and the third U.S. Pat. No. Re 35,408 to Petruson cover the same nasal dilator design. In these patents, the nasal dilator is a one-piece molded plastic strip, the ends of which carry tabs for insertion into the nostrils.
The fourth U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,333 to Johnson shows the same concept of single point reduction in the spring rate of the resilient band using the notches shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,091 mentioned above. In addition this patent shows other designs for the resilient band with either holes or slots which are located at the ends of the resilient bands and are designed to reduce the spring rate at a single point to prevent the end of the resilient band from peeling away from the skin.
The fifth U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,658 to Voss shows a beam-shaped resilient band which extends from one side of the user's nose across the bridge of the nose to the other side of the nose. The resilient band is made of plastic and has a varying thickness and width over the entire span. The resilient band exhibits a rigidity increase from the center towards the two respective ends which attach to the sides of the user's nose, which is the exact opposite of what is attained with the present invention.
The sixth U.S. Pat. No. 6,453,901 to Ierulli shows several nasal strip designs where the cover member extends beyond the perimeter of the spring member, including one embodiment in which the strip has some degree of variation in the spring force over a portion of the length of the strip.
There are many other patents describing nasal dilator designs, but none of them teach the advantage of using a resilient band with a means for varying the spring rate to improve the performance of the nasal dilator or reduce the peel forces at the ends of the strip.


A pressurization and regulating device uses a CO.sub.2 cartridge for pressurizing a fluid container such as the fuel tank of a gasoline lantern or stove, a garden or lawn sprayer, and the like. The device includes an elongated body having an open end for receiving the cartridge and a cap for forcing the cartridge toward the body. The other end of the body is provided with a fluid outlet opening. An outlet cap is mounted on the second end of the body. A piston is reciprocably mounted in the outlet opening of the body, and a seal on the piston is engageable with a valve seat in the outlet opening for closing the outlet opening. A spring in the outlet cap biases the piston away from the valve seat. An eccentric shaft is rotatably mounted in the outlet cap and engages the piston. The eccentric shaft is rotatable between a first position in which the seal engages the valve seat and a second position in which the spring moves the seal away from the valve seat. The outlet cap includes an internally threaded connector end.

This invention relates to a CO.sub.2 cartridge pressurization device, and, more particularly, to a pressurization device which includes a shut-off valve, a pressure regulator, and a pressure relief valve.
Many commonly available products include a fluid tank or reservoir which is pressurized in order to force fluid from the tank or reservoir. For example, gasoline lanterns and gasoline stoves include a gasoline fuel tank for supplying fuel to a burner. The tank includes (hand pump for increasing the air pressure within the tank above ambient air pressure. When a fuel valve is opened, the air pressure forces fuel out of the tank.
Similarly, many lawn and garden sprayers include a fluid tank for holding fertilizer, herbicide, weed killer, etc. A hand pump on the tank pressurizes the tank for forcing fluid from the tank when a valve or spray nozzle is opened.
Many other devices for delivering fluid include a fluid tank or reservoir which relies on internal pressure to force fluid from the tank.


The present disclosure relates to reference and sense architecture in a cross-point memory. An apparatus may include a memory controller configured to select a target memory cell for a memory access operation. The memory controller includes word line (WL) switch circuitry configured to select a global WL (GWL) and a local WL (LWL) associated with the target memory cell; bit line (BL) switch circuitry configured to select a global BL (GBL) and a local BL (LBL) associated with the target memory cell; and sense circuitry including a first sense circuitry capacitance and a second sense circuitry capacitance, the sense circuitry configured to precharge the selected GWL, the LWL and the first sense circuitry capacitance to a WL bias voltage WLVDM, produce a reference voltage (VREF) utilizing charge on the selected GWL and charge on the first sense circuitry capacitance and determine a state of the target memory cell based, at least in part, on VREF and a detected memory cell voltage VLWL.

Phase change memory is a memory device which typically uses a chalcogenide material for the memory elements. A memory element is the unit that actually stores information. In operation, the phase change memory stores information on the memory element by changing the phase of the memory element between amorphous and crystalline phases. The chalcogenide material may exhibit either a crystalline or an amorphous phase, exhibiting a low or high conductivity. Generally, the amorphous phase has a low conductivity (high impedance) and is associated with a reset state (logic zero) and the crystalline phase has a high conductivity (low impedance) and is associated with a set state (logic one). The memory element may be included in a memory cell that also includes a selector, i.e., a select device coupled to the memory element. The select devices are configured to facilitate combining a plurality of memory elements into an array.
Phase change memory elements may be arranged in a cross-point memory array including row address lines and column address lines arranged in a grid. The row address lines and column address lines, called word lines (WLs) and bit lines (BLs), respectively, cross in the formation of the grid and each memory cell is coupled between a WL and a BL where the WL and BL cross (i.e., cross-point). It should be noted that row and column are terms of convenience used to provide a qualitative description of the arrangement of WLs and BLs in cross-point memory.
During a programming operation, the phase of the memory element may be changed by the application of a first bias voltage to the WL and a second bias voltage to the BL resulting in a differential bias voltage across the memory cell that may cause a current to flow in the memory element. The differential bias voltage may be maintained across the memory cell for a first time period sufficient to cause the memory element to "snap back" and then maintained for a second time period to transition the memory element from the amorphous state to the crystalline state or from the crystalline state to the amorphous state. Snap back is a property of the composite memory element that results in an abrupt change in conductivity and an associated abrupt change in the voltage across the memory element.
In a read operation, a target memory cell is selected via the application of a first bias voltage to the WL and a second bias voltage to the BL that cross at the target memory cell for a time interval. A resulting differential bias voltage across the memory element is configured to be greater than a maximum set voltage and less than a minimum reset voltage for the memory element. In response, the target memory element may or may not snap back, depending on whether the memory element is in the crystalline state (set) or the amorphous state (reset). Sense circuitry, coupled to the memory element, is configured to detect the presence or absence of snap back in a sensing time interval. The presence of snap back may then be interpreted as a logic one and the absence of snap back as a logic zero.
Although the following Detailed Description will proceed with reference being made to illustrative embodiments, many alternatives, modifications, and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Reference architecture in a cross-point memory


A posture correcting tool surrounding a player while performing a swing practice having an adjustable freestanding body unit adapted to provide position feedback to a player relative to the player's sway during a golf swing, with two substantially vertical telescoping legs and a substantially horizontal buttocks bar slidably and moveably connected between the first and second telescoping legs, an adjustable freestanding head unit independent of the body unit and disposed opposite the adjustable freestanding body unit, having a telescoping substantially horizontal head bar connected to an adjustable substantially vertical head bar support that further engages a third weighted foot plate connected to the adjustable substantially vertical head bar support.

A need has existed for a golf swing tool that helps with head location and behind location of a golfer while simultaneously providing information to the golfer about incorrect left and right sway during a swing.
A need has existed for a golf swing tool that is useful with a child, an adult and a handicapped person that is easy to operate and set up.
A need has existed for a golf swing tool that improves the posture of the player which is lightweight and easy to move and can be collapsible to fit a briefcase.
The present embodiments meet these needs.
The present embodiments are detailed below with reference to the listed Figures.


A method is provided of determining waveform stability of a pulse echo layer transducer (PELT) used for measuring paint film thickness of painted bodies. The method includes the steps of reading a signal with the PELT transducer with respect to a desired location of the vehicle. The method also includes the steps of determining whether a maximum absolute value of the read signal is greater than a noise threshold (xcfx86) and computing a measure (xcfx81) based on an option (k). The method includes the steps of determining whether the computed measure (xcfx81) is above or below a predetermined threshold (T) based on the option (k), and concluding a stable/unstable signal from the PELT transducer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to paint film thickness of painted bodies and, more specifically, to a method of determining waveform stability for a pulse echo layer thickness transducer used for measuring paint film thickness of painted bodies.
2. Description of the Related Art
The application of paint to a body of a vehicle is a sensitive process. The quality, durability and color matching of the paint are critical in producing a high quality product, and therefore require significant quality control efforts. Generally, paint film thickness is monitored by use of hand-held sensors, such as an ultrasonic pulse echo layer thickness (PELT) transducer. These sensors are handled by an operator who must manually apply the sensor against the surface of the painted body of the vehicle in a position normal to the surface at a plurality of locations on the surface to measure the paint film thickness. In the performance of this measurement, it is highly important that the operator position the sensor normal to the particular location being sensed, and it is also critical that the operator position the sensor consistently at the same plurality of locations on the surface being sensed. Errors in the angle of the sensor relative to the surface or in the location of the sensor on the surface can adversely affect quality control. Because a significant reliance is placed upon the operator, a significant amount of error is introduced in the quality control process.
The PELT transducer used for paint film thickness measurements receives signals from successive paint layers. Determining the stability of the signals that are reflected by the paint layers is important before any thickness measurements are conducted using the PELT transducer. A waveform is considered to be stable if a measure used for comparing two successive waveforms exceeds a certain threshold, and the measure does not change significantly over a series of successive waveforms. Previously, human judgment was used as a determining factor for identifying a possible stable waveform on the PELT transducer.
As a result, it is desirable to provide a method for determining as to when signals from a PELT transducer have reached steady state under the given specifications automatically. It is also desirable to provide a method for determining waveform stability for a PELT transducer used for measuring paint film thickness on a painted body of a vehicle. It is further desirable to provide a systematic method for determining stabilization of signals reflected from paint layers of a vehicle body using a PELT transducer.
Accordingly, the present invention is a method of determining waveform stability for a pulse echo layer thickness (PELT) transducer used for measuring paint film thickness of painted bodies on a vehicle. The method includes the steps of reading a signal with the PELT transducer with respect to a desired location of the vehicle. The method also includes the steps of determining whether a maximum absolute value of the read signal is greater than a noise threshold (xcfx86) and computing a measure (xcfx81) based on an option (k). The method includes the steps of determining whether the computed measure (xcfx81) is above or below a predetermined threshold (T) based on the option (k), and concluding a stable/unstable signal from the PELT transducer.
Some of the associated advantages with the method of the present invention include automatic waveform stability detection, fast and accurate performance, enhanced ergonomics (no need for visual information) if used by a human operator, and easily implementation in a robotic sensor.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated, as the same becomes better understood, after reading the subsequent description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Method of determining waveform stability for pulse echo layer thickness transducer


When front and rear pendulum arms are swung together under the action of a clock movement, the front pendulum arm can swing behind an article supported on a pin because a slit formed in the front pendulum arm allows the front pendulum arm to pass by the article supporting pin. The slit in the front pendulum arm is camouflaged not to exist by camouflaging patterns.. Therefore, although the article is supported on the pin with a space from the back board, the front pendulum arm can swing behind the article. The slit is camouflaged not to exist, so that the article will seem as if it supported itself or were floating in the air.. Since the front pendulum arm can swing behind the article, the illusion of the floating article in the air is further enhanced.

a. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display adapted to create an illusion that a thing actually fixed on a support supports itself or is floating in the air, and more particularly to a display using a pendulum for emphasis of the illusion of a self-supporting or floating thing in the air.
b. Description of the Prior Art
A display of this kind is known from the disclosure in the U.S. Pat. No. 4, 967,953, for example, wherein it comprises a hollow regular-hexahedral case having an opening formed in the front thereof, a mirror plate fixed on the diagonal inside the case vis-a-vis to the front opening in the case, and a decoration fixed on the mirror surface of the mirror plate. In this display, the mirror plate on the diagonal of the case is camouflaged to create an illusion that the mirror plate does not exist and the decoration is floating in the space in the case.

Display for illusion of floating in the air


An X-ray computed tomography apparatus including a rotor rotated in a predetermined direction, an X-ray tube unit mounted on the rotor, an X-ray detector opposed to the X-ray tube unit to detect X-ray transmitted through a subject, and a radiator unit mounted on the rotor. The radiator unit includes a tubed casing, a radiator engaged with a frontal opening of the casing in an orientation in which the radiator is subjected to the air moved by rotation of the rotor at a substantial front face thereof, a circulating system configured to circulate a fluid between the X-ray tube unit and the radiator, and a radiator air exit opened at the rear of the casing. The radiator unit further includes a switch for opening and closing the radiator air exit.

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent application No. 11-243856, filed Aug. 30, 1999, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to an X-ray computed tomography apparatus in which an X-ray tube is cooled by coolant, for example oil or cooling water. This will be explained using the most popular oil as an example.
FIG. 1 shows a structure of a rotation section inside a gantry of a conventional X-ray computed tomography apparatus. A substantially annular rotor 77 is rotatably supported by a fixing section (not shown). This rotor 77 has X-ray tube unit 71 and an X-ray detector 76 mounted thereon. This X-ray tube utilizes a braking X-ray that is accelerated by a high voltage applied between a cathode and an anode and generated by causing collision with the anode at a very high speed. As well known, the conversion efficiency of the X-ray energy against electric energy is very low, and 99% or more of the electric energy is converted into a heat. When a focal face of the anode is excessively high, the anode material is fused, and cracks, resulting in shorter service life of the X-ray tube. In order to increase a heat capacity, an apparatus of such type housing an X-ray tube in a container together with insulation oil is mainly used at present. In addition, there is employed an apparatus of such type improving a cooling effect by forcibly circulating oil between the X-ray tube unit 71 and a radiator (core) 73 of a radiator unit 72.
Further, in helical scan which is significantly popular recently, it is required to general an X-ray within a comparatively long time and continuously. In addition, X-ray strength per a unit time is likely to increase in order to suppress lower sensitivity due to a higher rotation speed. In order to process the thus increased heat rate, it is required to provide a fan 74 for forcibly cooling oil. The ventilation capability of this fan 74 is very highly designed based on the maximum heat rate of the X-ray tube simulated under a severe scan condition.
Thus, an excessive cooling state can occur under a normal scan condition. This excessive cooling provides an environment in which arcing is likely to occur with thermal electrons inside of the X-ray tube.
In addition, the fan 74 having its very high cooling capability generates a very large operating noise. This operating noise not only causes discomfort to a patient and an operator, but also interferes voice communication between the patient and the operator.
An object of the present invention is to reduce noise in an X-ray computed tomography apparatus, while ensuring the cooling effect of the X-ray tube.
According to the present invention, this apparatus comprises: a rotor rotated in a predetermined direction; an X-ray tube unit mounted on the rotor; an X-ray detector opposed to the X-ray tube unit to detect X-rays transmitted through a subject; a radiator mounted on the rotor; a circulating system configured to circulate and a fluid between the X-ray tube unit and the radiator. The radiator is disposed in a direction in which the radiator is subjected to the air moved by the rotation of the rotor at its front face.
According to the present invention, when the rotor is rotated, the radiator is subjected to the resultant air at its front face, whereby the fluid can be efficiently cooled. In addition, an air cooling fan is eliminated or the operation frequency of the air cooling fan can be reduced, and thus, noise can be significantly reduced.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.


An alignment clamp for aligning a pair of tubular members in a fixed, end to end relationship comprises a first clamp section having a pair of substantially semiannular first clamp members with first latch ends and first pivot ends, a second clamp section having a pair of substantially semiannular second clamp members with second latch ends and second pivot ends pivotally connected to the first pivot ends, and a latch mechanism operable by a hand lever to releasably engage recessed surfaces at each of the first and second latch ends. According to another aspect of the invention, a method of aligning a pair of tubular members in a fixed, end to end relationship employs clamping fingers which project from clamp members of the first and second clamp sections.

The invention relates to a clamp for aligning a pair of tubular members (i.e. pipes) in a fixed, end to end relationship, and further relates to a method for using the clamp. According to typical practice, once the tubular members are so aligned, the ends can be welded together.
The type of alignment clamp heretofore used most extensively comprises a pair of clamp sections, where each clamp section includes a pair of longitudinally spaced, semiannular members; a number of cross bars having their outer surfaces welded to the inner surfaces of the semiannular members; and a latch mechanism for latching the clamp sections in clamped engagement with a pair of aligned tubular members. The clamp sections have ends that are pivotally connected, and opposing ends that are drawn together by the latch mechanism to latch the clamp around the aligned tubular members. Various latch mechanisms have been employed, including a hydraulic jack, bolts and nuts, a ratcheted screw, and a mechanism operable by a hand lever.
With regard to the latch mechanism, the hydraulic jack, bolts and nuts, and ratcheted screw are very slow to operate in moving from an unlatched to a latched position. Furthermore, each of the hydraulic jack and ratcheted screw are relatively expensive, and can be easily tightened too far by an operator to result in deformation of the tubular members or damage to the clamp. The hand lever mechanism overcomes these problems in being quick to operate, simple and inexpensive in construction, and in providing a fixed stroke of the hand lever that limits the clamping force exerted by the mechanism. These attributes make the hand lever mechanism particularly suitable for use in aligning tubular members of relatively small diameters of 12 inches or less, where speed of operation is desirable and excessive clamping force is to be avoided.
One problem with the prior hand lever mechanisms, however, is the undesirably large friction-bearing surface areas, or those surface areas in frictional contact during operation. This problem is due to a typical design employing a shaft integrally connected to the hand lever and permanently but rotatably mounted in a sleeve at the latching end of one clamp section. Tie rods have ends pivotally and eccentrically (off-center) connected to respective ends of the shaft, and further have opposing ends secured to a latch bar. The latch bar is adapted to engage recessed surfaces at the latching end of the other clamp section. Rotation of the shaft by manipulation of the hand lever draws the latch bar toward the shaft, thereby urging the latching ends of the clamp sections toward one another. The shaft must necessarily have a diameter larger than the distance of movement of the latch bar relative to the shaft when moving from the unlatched to the latched position, thus contributing to the large friction-bearing surface areas of the shaft outer surface and the sleeve inner surface. This problem is compounded by the dirty and gritty conditions in the field which generally worsen the frictional resistance encountered in operation, thereby requiring more effort on the part of the operator and consequent slower operation of the latch mechanism.
Other problems with the above-described prior alignment clamp include: undesirable accessibility to the "weld areas" between the semiannular members of the clamp sections; contact of only the cross bars with exterior surfaces of the tubular members, thus contributing to the possibility of deformation of the tubular members and instability of the clamp as engaged with the tubular members; inability to clamp tubular members with their ends outside the areas between the semiannular members of the clamp sections, which can be desirable when one of the tubular members is a pipe fitting having a neck length insufficient to extend into such areas or when obstructions prevent positioning of the clamp relative to the tubular members so as to permit positioning of their ends in such areas; and labor intensive and costly weldment construction.


A chip carrier for testing electrical performance of a passive component includes: a core layer having a plurality of conductive traces on a surface thereof; at least one first trace connected with the passive component and having a first predetermined position and two ends, wherein the two ends are respectively electrically connected to a first bond finger on the surface of the chip carrier and to a first ball pad on an opposite surface of the chip carrier; at least one second trace not connected with the passive component and having two ends and a second predetermined position located on the same surface as the first predetermined position, one end of the second trace being electrically connected to a second ball pad located on the same surface as the first ball pad; and a solder mask layer applied over the conductive traces, with the first and second predetermined positions exposed.

Ball grid array (BGA) technology is getting commonly applied to the semiconductor package industry by virtue of having more I/O (input/output) connections, better heat dissipation efficiency, more desirable electrical performance and better surface mount reliability than predecessor package structures, thereby making BGA technology become a mainstream developing trend in the relevant fields. In order to enhance the electrical performance of a BGA semiconductor package, for example to eliminate noise signals, it is usually to mount one or more passive components such as capacitor, resistor, and inductor, on a chip carrier such as substrate. However, due to relatively lower testability of the passive components and thereby hard to find suitable testing machines, it makes testing of the passive component difficult to implement and sets undesirable limitation on the test performance and yield of the BGA semiconductor package.
Generally, for mounting a passive component on a package substrate, the conventional surface mount technology (SMT) is employed to attach the passive component to predetermined conductive traces formed on the substrate. After the passive component successfully passes a test of electrical performance, die bonding, wire bonding, encapsulation and ball deposition processes are then carried out to complete the fabrication of a BGA semiconductor package. In the case of the passive component being a capacitor, it is usually bridged on the substrate in such a manner that two ends of the capacitor are respectively connected to a ground ring and a power ring formed on the substrate. As shown in FIG. 6A, the two ends of the capacitor 71 have different electrical properties and can be tested through test contacts of a ground pad 74 electrically connected to the ground ring 72 by a conductive via 76, and a power pad 75 electrically connected to the power ring 73 by another conductive via 76. As shown in FIG. 6B, a set of probe heads 61 on a test socket 60 are respectively in contact with the ground pad 74 and the power pad 75 to allow the test of electrical performance for the passive component 71 to be easily conducted.
In the case of the passive component being a resistor or inductor, however, the resistor or inductor once being mounted on the substrate is hard to undergo a test of electrical performance as the resistor or inductor is connected to the conductive trace on the substrate in a serial manner. As shown in FIG. 7A, the resistor 81 is serially connected on a first contact 82a and a second contact 82b of a trace 82, wherein the first contact 82a formed on a first end of the trace 82 is electrically connected to a bond finger 85, and the second contact 82b formed on a second end of the trace 82 is electrically connected to a ball pad 87, such that the chip can be electrically connected to an external device by solder balls. As shown in FIG. 7B, the bond finger 85 is located on a top surface of the substrate 80 and bonded with a bonding wire formed on a bond pad of the chip, and the second end of the trace 82 is connected through a conductive via 86 to the ball pad 87 on a bottom surface of the substrate 80. Thereby, if the resistance or bondability of the resistor 81 intends to be measured, it needs to use the bond finger 85 on the top surface of the substrate 80 and the ball pad 87 on the bottom surface of the substrate 80 respectively as test points in place of the first contact 82a and the second contact 82b, and allow a set of test probe heads 61 to respectively contact the bond finger 85 and the ball pad 87. However, as shown in FIG. 8, the two probe heads 61 are respectively placed above and below the substrate 80, thus not consistent with the current automatic and standard probe testing system. And this testing method can only test one passive component in one time, and fails to perform quick tests for a large amount of passive component as a conventional testing system having an array of probe heads formed on the same plane.
Further, the testing method shown in FIG. 8 needs to contact the probe head 61 with the bond finger 85 on the top surface of the substrate 80. The location of bond finger of the conductive trace varies with different functions of the package, and is not regularly arranged as the case of the ball pad 87 on the bottom surface of the substrate 80. As such, during the test performance, the size of probe heads is hard to be standardized but depends on the package in different devices. Moreover, the irregular arrangement of bond finger may lead to inaccurate positioning of the probe head and result in undesirably erroneous test results.
The above testing method, with the probe head directly contacting the bond finger on the top surface of the substrate, further may degrade quality and yield of the package as a sharp tip of the probe head would easily damage the Ni/Au layer on the surface of bond finger, thereby deteriorate the quality of bond finger, which leads to incomplete bonding of gold wires in a subsequent wire-bonding process and produces a problem of poor electrical performance.
Accordingly, in order to solve the drawbacks encountered during the test of electrical performance for resistor and inductor in the use of the above conventional technology, the structure or design of the substrate needs to be changed, thereby significantly increasing the associated costs. Therefore, the problem to be solved herein is to provide a chip carrier and a testing method using the same, which do not need to alter the structure or design of the chip carrier, and which can quickly perform standard tests for the passive component and can be suitably used with chip carrier arrangement in different device without affecting the product yield.

Chip carrier and method for testing electrical performance of passive component

Siliconware Precision Industries Co., Ltd.


A tool holder includes a strip having a number of live hinges for allowing the strip to be folded to a housing having a base panel and a cover panel. Two or more bags for receiving tools are pivotally coupled to the strip at a live hinge for allowing the bags to be rotated relative to the strip. The strip includes one or more belts for securing the tool holder to the hand of the user. The cover panel may be engaged with the base panel for exposing the bags and may be folded to engage with the bags for stably retaining the tools in place.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tool holder, and more particularly to a tool holder for attaching tools to the user's hands.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typical tool holders are mostly provided for attaching the tools to the waist portion of the user and may not be used for attaching the tools to the hands of the user, such that the user may not easily obtain the tools.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional tool holders.

Tool holder for attaching tools to user's hand

No. 6, Avenue 32, Lane 300, Sec. 2, Ching Hai Road


An agent comprising:                an algin crosslinked with acetal linkages; and        at least one cation coupled to the crosslinked algin.

Cations such as calcium, copper, iron, zinc, and magnesium among others are the most abundant minerals and are essential in several signaling pathways in all biological systems. Both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells are efficient in maintaining optimum levels of minerals in the cytosol, and therefore, selectively increasing the intracellular levels of minerals in order to modulate the cytosolic signaling pathways has been challenging. For example, intracellular Cu to Zn ratio is maintained and utilized by enzymes such as catalase to prevent accumulation of excess hydrogen peroxide, and superoxide dismutase to prevent excess accumulation of radical oxygen. Disrupting this mineral homeostasis has been demonstrated to be effective in inducing cell death selectively in cancer cells as compared to non-cancerous cells. For example, superoxide mimics, such as copper(II) (3,5-diisopropylsalicylate)2 (Cu(II)DIPS) have been shown to induce hydrogen peroxide accumulation due to the conversion of radical oxygen into hydrogen peroxide, with this accumulation of hydrogen peroxide leading to cell death in cancer cells. Conversely, given that relatively low levels of superoxide are generated in normal cells, increasing the levels of hydrogen peroxide in non-cancerous cells can lead to their proliferation and survival. Currently, delivery of cell permeable Cu (II) requires the use of solvents such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) or ethanol and therefore making the formulation not particularly suitable for clinical translation. Therefore, there remains a need for development of effective delivery vehicles for cations, such as Cu (II), to the cytosol of the cells.

Stapled acid-sensitive endosome disrupting alginates

University of Pittsburgh—Of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education


Integrated circuit memory devices support write and read burst modes of operation with uniformly short interconnect paths that provide high-speed memory access timing characteristics. These memory devices include a semiconductor chip having a memory core therein and at least N bond pads thereon. The memory core is configured to support a xN burst-M write mode of operation at QDR and/or DDR rates, where N is greater than four and M is greater than one. The memory core is further configured to support one-to-one mapping between burst-M write data received at each of the N bond pads and corresponding ones of N memory blocks in the memory core during the xN burst-M write mode of operation.

Conventional memory devices are frequently organized to store a plurality of bits of related data in adjacent memory cells that are electrically coupled to a common word line. These memory devices may also include address decoding logic, which can access the common word line during writing and reading operations and thereby direct write data to or read data from a group of the adjacent memory cells. Such conventional decoding logic frequently requires that a plurality of data bits be routed from a corresponding number of bond pads scattered around a periphery of an integrated circuit chip to memory cells associated with a respective word line. These routing operations frequently establish relatively large and nonuniform interconnect paths associated with each of the plurality of data bits being written to or read from an addressed location in the memory device.
Techniques have been developed to limit the degree of nonuniformity of interconnect paths within memory devices. Such techniques include dividing a core of memory cells within a memory device into quadrants, with each quadrant being configured to communicate with a corresponding group of bond pads. Each quadrant may also have independent addressing logic. Other techniques, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,396,766 to Lee, include using multiplexer logic to reduce the differences between the shortest and longest interconnect paths within a multi-bank memory device.
Notwithstanding these conventional techniques, there continues to be a need for multi-bank memory devices having even faster memory access timing characteristics.

Multi-bank integrated circuit memory devices having high-speed memory access timing


A quantum communications system may include transmitter node, a receiver node, and a quantum communications channel coupling the transmitter node and receiver node. The transmitter node may be configured to co-propagate a first pulse for a quantum state and a second pulse to stabilize the quantum state through the quantum communications channel.

In a quantum communications system, sometimes referred to as a quantum information system, information is exchanged between a transmitter node and a receiver node using encoded single photons. Each photon carries information that is encoded on a property of the photons, such as its polarization, phase, or energy in time. These quantum communications systems generally require sending information from one node to another node, such as a transmitter node, usually referred to as "Alice," and a receiver node, usually referred to as "Bob." The term quantum communications system encompasses multiple applications. For example a quantum key distribution (QKD) system allows the sharing of cryptographic keys between the transmitter node and receiver node, thus allowing secure communications between the two parties. A QKD system provides a way to share unconditionally secure keys between Alice and Bob based on principles of physics, rather than on the challenge of performing computationally intensive calculations. A QKD system provides a way to test, on average, whether the key would be known to an unauthorized third party eavesdropper, usually referred to as "Eve."
Individual bits of the bit stream are transmitted using single photons. Information may be encoded onto a photon in such a way to reveal whether an unauthorized third party, e.g., "Eve," is monitoring the photon, since any monitoring would disturb its state. When a secret key is established between the two parties by this QKD system, the two parties may then encrypt data transmitted over any conventional communications channel.
In the QKD system, the two parties as Alice and Bob at the respective transmitter node and receiver node may use two or more non-orthogonal bases to encode bit values. The laws of quantum mechanics apply to the photons and any measurement of the photons by an eavesdropper, e.g., Eve, without prior knowledge of the encoding basis of each photon, causes an unavoidable change to the state of some of the photons. These changes to the states of the photons may cause errors in the bit values sent between the transmitter node and receiver node, and by comparing a part of the common bit steam, the two parties may determine if the eavesdropper, e.g., Eve, has gained information. Photon polarization is often used to provide the complementary properties for encoding, and is used in the common QKD protocol, BB84, and may be applied to conjugate states, such as phase encoding. Other QKD protocols, such as E91, may be based on entanglement of photon pairs and used in a QKD system.
Other applications of a quantum communications system include quantum random number generator (QRNG) systems that use the inherent indeterminacy of quantum entangled photons to produce random binary digits, and quantum secure direct communication (QSDC) systems that transfer direct information between Alice and Bob without a distribution key. In QSDC systems, the transmitter node at Alice generates quantum photons that carry secure quantum information representative of the data to be communicated. The quantum photons carrying the data are decoded upon receipt at the receiver node as Bob.
QSDC systems are based on quantum mechanics for direct transmission of information without employing a distributed cryptographic key to encrypt the data. QSDC systems may be more efficient than some keyed communication systems because the cryptographic key development and key storage requirements are eliminated. Transmitted photons carrying data within the QSDC system may be more readily maintained in confidence without being erased, manipulated or monitored by unintended third parties, such as Eve. These QSDC systems may provide tamper evident communication links that are compatible with the direct transmission of data at the single photon level. As a result, QSDC systems may become more important as quantum computers increase in sophistication and allow conventional cryptographic keys to be more easily broken, while quantum interconnects are developed that network computers together. Improvements in QSDC systems may also provide quantum signatures and improve the efficiency and impart greater security in a quantum communications channel. Further applications involve the bussing of quantum information, encoded onto single photons, from one node of a quantum computer to another, in distributed quantum computing or sensing networks.
The quantum communication channels connecting the transmitter node and receiver node may be the more vulnerable part of a quantum information system and may operate as a performance bottleneck. Quantum resources may be inherently fragile and dissipative, or degraded quantum communication channels may create communications issues because of the diffraction, dispersion, and turbulence within the channel. Dissipative examples include the dispersion caused by quantum resources that spread in time. Diffraction, on the other hand, causes the quantum resources to spread in space. Degraded examples include those situations when turbulence causes the state of the quantum resource to break-up.
Some current techniques have been developed to address these limitations by increasing the brightness of quantum sources to allow more photons to reach the receiver node. Increasing the brightness of sources at the transmitter node, means more quantum resources are created in a given moment of time. As a result, there is a greater probability that a single photon will reach the end of a communications link in a given period of time. There is also a limit in how much the photon brightness can be increased. Some quantum communication systems may not be able to successfully operate by simply increasing the number of photon events, when each photon carries important information which needs to be preserved for later computations. An adaptive wave front control mechanism may mitigate the impact of wave front distortions on individual photons. Techniques of adaptive optics apply equal and opposite phase to a proton to increase the probability that a photon state will be effectively received. However, this process can create loss, does not necessarily preserve the original state of the photon, and introduces additional latencies into a quantum communications system.

Quantum communications system having stabilized quantum communications channel and associated methods


Provided is a ballistic shield having a body formed from a ballistic resistant material and sized to protect at least a torso of an individual. A first flap is connected to a side of the body that is configured to fold into a first closed position and a first open position, in the first open position the first flap is configured to connect to second body of a second ballistic shield. A second flap is connected to a bottom of the body that is configured to fold into a second closed position and a second open position, in the second open position the second flap is configured to connect to second body of a second ballistic shield. A corner flap is connected to the first flap or the second flap, the corner flap is configured to fold into a third closed position and a third open position, in the third open position the corner flap is configured to cover any openings between a corner of the first body and a corner of the second body. Also provided is a method of connecting a plurality of the ballistic shields together to protect a group of individuals.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,418,595 illustrates a ballistic shield for protecting a single user, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. This shield discloses multiple small parts that can be extended vertically to provide a single body shield.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,276,498 discloses a ballistic shield system for protecting a single user, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Ballistic shield and method of using multiple interconnected ballistic shields to protect a group of individuals


An apparatus of playing back an audio signal includes storage means for dividing exercise tempos of a user into a plurality of groups and storing digital audio data concerning music pieces, the digital audio data being associated with the plurality of groups; a playback circuit that plays back the digital audio data; detecting means for detecting an exercise tempo of the user; and a control circuit that reads out the digital audio data from the storage means to supply the readout digital audio data to the playback circuit. The control circuit determines which group, among the plurality of groups, the exercise tempo detected by the detecting means belongs to, and reads out the digital audio data concerning a music piece associated with the determined group from the storage means to supply the readout digital audio data to the playback circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method of playing back an audio signal.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, an increasing number of people address themselves to walking, jogging, or running for the purpose of health maintenance, health promotion, and/or dieting because of increasing awareness of health. In order to achieve a certain effect from such walking or running, it is necessary to continuously perform the walking or running for a quite a large amount of time (exercise including the walking, jogging, and running is hereinafter collectively referred to as "walking" for simplicity).
Audio players which walkers (users) can carry during walking and which are capable of playing back music pieces having tempos matching with the walking tempos of the walkers are proposed. The walking tempo denotes the number of steps per unit time, for example, per one minute. The music tempo denotes the number of beats per one minute. In this specification, the walking tempo is represented in units of steps per minute (spm) and the music tempo is represented in units of beats per minute (bpm).
With such audio players, the walkers can enjoy walking in rhythm with the music.
Related art concerning the above devices is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-156641.

Apparatus and method of playing back audio signal


A high etch cleaner for aluminum and aluminum alloy substrates that leads to enhanced corrosion protective performance of a variety of anti-corrosion pretreatments. The cleaner comprises low levels of silicate of from 0 to 250 ppm, 50 to 500 ppm of at least one chelator, and has a pH of from 11.0 to 13.5. The cleaner may be used to etch from 0.5 to 4.0 grams per meter squared from substrates. Substrates treated with the cleaner and then coated with a variety of anti-corrosion pretreatments and outer coatings show enhanced corrosion resistance compared to substrates cleaned with standard cleaners that have low etch rates, high silicate levels and no chelating agents followed by anti-corrosion pretreatments and outer coatings.

An anti-corrosion pretreatment coating is often applied to metal substrates, especially if the substrate will be exposed to the elements in use, prior to the application of outer decorative or protective coatings. These pretreatment coatings are designed to minimize corrosion of the metal substrate, if and when the substrate is exposed to moisture and oxygen. One common metal substrate comprises aluminum or aluminum alloys. These substrates find particular use in the automotive industry, aerospace industry and others wherein a light weight strong metal substrate is required. These substrates are typically initially treated with an alkaline cleaner to remove oil and other surface debris prior to application of a corrosion resistant pretreatment layer. Such alkaline cleaners include Parco® Cleaner 1533 available from Henkel Adhesive Technologies. Typical anti-corrosion pretreatments used after the cleaning step include zinc phosphate based treatments such as the Bonderite® systems or the zirconium oxide based TecTalis® systems. Both of these are available from Henkel Adhesive Technologies. Key to application of these pretreatments is adequate cleaning of the substrates with the alkaline cleaners. In a typical automotive process the substrate is initially cleaned with an alkaline cleaner, rinsed with water, treated with a pretreatment coating, rinsed again with water and then coated in order with an electro-coating, a primer, a base paint coat, and a clear coat.
Aluminum and its alloys are particularly susceptible to corrosion of a filiform type. Filiform corrosion appears as small thread-like formations under organic coatings on aluminum substrates. The initiation is usually at a scratch or defect in the coating. The corrosion filament propagates by an anodic undermining reaction. The aluminum surface at the front of the filament is corroded causing the coating to detach from the substrate and get pushed up by the corrosion products that form in the filament. Typically the corrosion occurs at humidity levels of from 40 to 90% and they follow a pre-existing directionality. It has been observed in the past that the formation of filiform corrosion is especially evident in aluminum alloys that have copper levels of 0.5% by weight or higher. The aluminum substrates are also more susceptible if they experience mechanical stress during the production process such as sanding operations. Although attempts have been made to reduce filiform corrosion, they have not met with complete success and there is a need for improved filiform corrosion resistance particularly in zirconium based coatings and in coatings in general on aluminum alloys having copper levels of greater than or equal to 0.5 weight %.
It is desirable to enhance the corrosion resistance provided to aluminum substrates by standard anti-corrosion pretreatments such as zinc phosphate or zirconium based pretreatments. It is desirable to provide this enhancement in a manner that requires minimal change to existing processes and in a cost effective manner. Preferably the cleaner will also enhance corrosion protection of mechanically stressed aluminum or aluminum alloy substrates. Finally, the cleaner preferably will be applicable to a variety of pre-treated aluminum and aluminum alloy substrates.

Pretreatment process for aluminum and high etch cleaner used therein


Techniques for generating oscillator signals in a wireless communication device are described. A phase-locked loop (PLL) may be used to generate an oscillator signal for a selected frequency channel. Different PLL settings may be used for the blocks in the PLL for different frequency channels. The different PLL settings may be for different PLL loop bandwidths, different amounts of charge pump current, different frequency equations associated with different sets of high and low divider ratios, different frequency division schemes associated with different prescaler ratios and/or different integer divider ratios, high side or low side injection for a super-heterodyne receiver or transmitter, and/or different supply voltages for one or more circuit blocks such as an oscillator. A suitable set of PLL settings may be selected for each frequency channel such that adverse impact due to spurs can be mitigated.

I. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to electronics, and more specifically to techniques for generating oscillator signals in a wireless communication device.
II. Background
A wireless communication device (e.g., a cellular phone) may have a transmitter and a receiver to support two-way radio communication with a wireless communication system. For data transmission, the transmitter may upconvert an output baseband signal with one or more transmit local oscillator (LO) signals to obtain an upconverted signal. The transmitter may further filter and amplify the upconverted signal to obtain an output radio frequency (RF) signal and may then transmit this signal via a wireless channel to base stations in the wireless system. For data reception, the receiver may receive signals from base stations and obtain a received RF signal. The receiver may amplify, filter and downconvert the received RF signal with one or more receive LO signals to obtain an input baseband signal. The LO signals may be generated based on oscillator signals, which may be generated by oscillators within the wireless device.
The wireless device typically includes various analog circuits to condition analog signals in the transmitter and receiver. The analog circuits may include amplifiers, mixers, filters, phase-locked loops (PLLs), LO generators, etc. The analog circuits may operate on analog signals with small signal levels. Hence, the analog circuits should be exposed to as little noise as possible in order to preserve signal quality and achieve good performance.
The wireless device also typically includes digital circuitry to digitally process data being transmitted and/or received. The digital circuitry may include processors, memories, controllers, etc., which may operate based on clocks. Digital circuits typically have large signal swings and generate lots of digital noise including spurs. A spur is an undesired signal at a specific frequency or tone and generated within the wireless device. Spurs may be generated by clocks, by mixing between clocks and oscillator signals, etc. The spurs from the digital circuits may have large levels because of the large and sharp signal swings of the digital circuits.
The spurs from the digital circuits may degrade the performance of the analog circuits in various manners. First, the oscillator signals used to generate the LO signals for frequency conversion by the analog circuits may contain the spurs, which may then degrade a desired signal being received or transmitted. Second, the spurs may mix with out-of-band signal components and generate inband noise that may degrade the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the desired signal. Third, the spurs may appear at the receiver inputs and/or transmitter outputs in a frequency band of interest due to substrate or package coupling paths when the analog and digital circuits are integrated in the same integrated circuit (IC) and thereby degrade the SNR of the desired signal.
To mitigate the adverse effects due to spurs, the analog circuits may be isolated from the digital circuits, which may then reduce the coupling of the spurs from the digital circuits to the analog circuits. This isolation may be achieved by (i) implementing the analog and digital circuits on separate printed circuit boards or separate sections of a printed circuit board or (ii) implementing the analog circuits on one or more analog integrated circuit (IC) dies and implementing the digital circuits on one or more digital IC dies. However, it may be difficult to achieve the desired amount of isolation or to even predict the amount of isolation that can be achieved due to limitations of design tools. Furthermore, it may be desirable to integrate the analog and digital circuits (e.g., on the same IC die) in order to reduce size and cost. Thus, techniques that can mitigate the adverse effects of spurs are highly desirable.

Oscillator signal generation with spur mitigation in a wireless communication device


A system for carrying containers suspended from a track member which may be attached to a body encircling belt or attached to clothing which includes a pair of protruding tracks substantially parallel and from which the containers for holding articles are suspended by clips on the containers which are attachable to the tracks anywhere along the lengths thereof or positionable lengthwise on the tracks by sliding thereon at tapered ends of the tracks and is particularly useful for police and military personnel in carrying weapons, ammunition and the like holstered articles. This system includes a clamp for locking the container in place on the tracks to prevent the container from sliding along the tracks to an undesired position and inhibiting forceful unintended removal of the clip and container from the tracks without removal of the clamp.

Police and military personnel have for a long time carried weapons and ammunition attached to a waist encircling belt. In recent years the need for added security has caused a proliferation of safety holsters to protect the wearer from losing his weapon to an attacker. The many designs of safety holsters all require a rigid belt which provides structural integrity and a stable platform from which to draw, and these belts with attaching loops weigh several pounds. A lighter belt system has been needed that would also eliminate the bulky belt loops necessary for each container, i.e., magazine case, holster, handcuff case, radio case, etc.
In my earlier filed U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,576 dated Mar. 3, 1998, a novel, lightweight system for carrying containers by a wearer is described and claimed. That application relates to system to which the many types of containers can be easily attached. Such a track system can, if desired, be incorporated into an armored vest or be used with an extremely lightweight belt and does not require a heavy material separating the tracks. A wide variety of containers can be attached to this track system. It has now been found by modifying the basic features of the track system of U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,576, the system can be further improved, particularly in stabilizing the attached containers against any movement lengthwise along the track. Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved system for carrying equipment on the wearer. Also, improvement in permitting attachment of the clip at any desired position is accomplished without threading of the clip onto the tapered ends of the tracks.


In a spectrographic workpiece metrology system having an optical viewing window, the viewing window is calibrated against a reference sample of a known absolute reflectance spectrum to produce a normalized reflectance spectrum of the reference sample, which is combined with the absolute reflectance spectrum to produce a correction factor. Successive production workpieces are measured through the window and calibrated against the viewing window reflectance, and transformed to absolute reflectance spectra using the same correction factor without having to re-load the reference sample.

Various surface properties of an integrated circuit or wafer are determined in a metrology system from the spectrum of light reflected from the integrated circuit surface. The spectrum of reflected light is referred to herein as the spectral reflectance or, equivalently, the reflectance spectrum. One surface property of interest, for example, is thin film thickness. Another property may be the length or height of a periodic structural features. The reflected light is collected and dispersed by a wavelength separation element, such as a diffraction grating. The wavelength dispersed image or spectrum obtained from the diffraction grating represents a distribution of light intensity across a wavelength range. This distribution is processed in accordance with conventional algorithms to produce a measurement of the surface property of interest. In order for such processing to produce valid results, the distribution or spectrum must represent the absolute reflectance spectrum of the integrated circuit surface. The light source used to generate the spectrum may itself have a non-uniform intensity distribution across the wavelength range, which distorts the measured reflectance spectrum of the integrated circuit surface, thereby preventing observation of the absolute reflectance spectrum. Furthermore, the spectral distribution and intensity of the light source may drift over time. In order to solve these problems, the conventional approach is to periodically replace the integrated circuit or production wafer with a reference sample whose absolute reflectance spectrum has been predetermined. The metrology system then measures the spectral reflectance of the reference sample. The measured reflectance of the reference sample is then compared with its predetermined absolute reflectance spectrum, to generate a correction function. This correction function accounts for non-uniformity in the light source spectrum and for light source drift. The correction function is then applied to the observed spectral reflectance of the production wafer to produce the absolute reflectance of the production wafer. This absolute reflectance is then processed to compute the true measure of the surface property of interest.
One limitation of the foregoing approach is that a series of production wafer measurements is followed by the measurement of a reference sample, in order to frequently generate a new correction function to guard against system drift. For each such reference sample measurement, a reference sample must replace a production wafer on the metrology system wafer support, which greatly reduces productivity. What is needed is a metrology system that does not require the periodic replacement of a production wafer with a reference sample, but which nevertheless guards against system drift.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Spectrometric metrology of workpieces using a permanent window as a spectral reference


A toy gun comprising a plurality of pre-cut thin layer members along with a plurality of pin members, wherein the toy gun is adapted to store a number of elastic bands and to shoot the stored elastic bands in rapid succession. A barrel top notch is adapted to receive front end of a stretched elastic band that will be fired by the toy gun. The stock comprises a series of recesses each of which is adapted to accommodate the rear end of a stretched elastic band. The fore-end member is movable and includes a series of secondary recesses along its back end, staggered in relation to the stock recesses, wherein any particular secondary recess is slightly below the corresponding stock recess and functions to transfer each elastic band from its stock recesses to an adjacent stock recess in the upward direction, toward the firing recess.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an elasticized band projectile toy gun assembled from a kit of parts, and more specifically to an elasticized band projectile gun having multiple and selectable firing modes, where the gun is assembled from a kit of multiple flat portions joined by multiple pin members, providing a safe and easy-to-assemble toy gun with the capability of firing a plurality of elasticized bands either singularly, jointly, or in rapid succession with each loading operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Toy guns which fire safe projectiles have existed as long or longer than traditional firearms as we know them. What eventually evolved were toy guns capable of firing rubber bands or similar projectiles which could be used to shoot at small paper targets or to antagonize siblings.
Traditional rubber band guns use a variety of mechanisms to hold a band in a stretched position and for releasing that band, resulting in the band being "fired" from the gun toward a target. The simplest such release mechanism uses a simple clothespin which can clasp down on the band and causes the band to be released upon depressing the pin. This results in a simple, yet limited single-fire pistol.
More complicated rubber band guns include repeater pistols which rely upon a tooth wheel which spins as the trigger is depressed. These pistols allow for a rapid succession of shots, but each shot will only fire the band or bands as they are loaded onto the wheel. There is no way to load up additional bands for firing using the wheel mechanism alone.
Other rubber band guns rely on highly complicated mechanical systems to achieve rapidly fired bands; however, these designs are overly complicated and still cannot fire additional bands to those that have been loaded to each firing "tooth." Traditional rubber band guns have not produced a rubber band gun with multiple firing modes as is presented herein.
Heretofore there has not been available a toy gun with the features and elements of the present invention.

Elastic band projectile toy gun and method of assembly