Peritoneal dialysis fluids and the use thereof for performing peritoneal dialysis are disclosed. The peritoneal dialysis fluid comprises a physiologically acceptable aqueous solution containing physiologically acceptable inorganic anions and cations and, as an osmotic agent, at least one sugar derivative, at concentrations sufficient for the removal of water and solutes from a patient by peritoneal dialysis. The sugar derivative is a compound of formula

The present invention relates to novel peritoneal dialysis fluids and to the use thereof for performing peritoneal dialysis.
In the human body, the transfer of solutes and toxins from one body fluid compartment to another occurs by a variety of chemical and physical processes which include diffusion, osmosis and active transport. In this respect, toxins, excess of water and solutes are transferred from the tissues to the blood stream and then via the arteries to the kidneys. In the kidneys substances to be eliminated may be metabolised and eliminated in the urine.
In renal disease, kidney function is not sufficient to maintain an adequate degree of clearance, thus the accumulation of water and uremic toxins occurs in the body. Today, the medical treatments available for patients suffering from a malfunction of the kidney are kidney transplantation, extracorporeal hemodialysis, or alternatively intracorporeal peritoneal dialysis. Treatment by kidney transplantation. remains the preferred therapy as the patients may lead a near normal life. Hemodialysis (an extracorporeal procedure) and peritoneal dialysis (an intracorporeal procedure) are the alternative therapies to treat end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients.
Peritoneal dialysis is a well established intracorporeal procedure which is used today as an alternative to the extracorporeal hemodislysis. In fact, in many instances, peritoneal dialysis is preferred to the extracorporeal therapy.
However, in some medical centers, hemodialysis technology is not available and the cost of peritoneal dialysis in general may be lower when other medical complementary care procedures are excluded, For some patients, the surgery required to prepare for permanent blood access has been unsuccessful. Finally, some nephrologist prefer peritoneal dialysis as a hemodialysis procedure, because it uses a natural membrane and residual (resting) kidney function may be maintained for a long period after starting the therapy.
In peritoneal dialysis, a dialysis fluid is introduced with the aid of a catheter into the peritoneal cavity in the abdomen of the patient. This catheter is permanently implanted by surgery through the abdominal wall. The peritoneal cavity is flooded with the dialysis fluid, left for an appropriate lapse of time, and then drained.
Peritoneal dialysis relies on the physiological activity of the peritoneum. The peritoneum is a layer of mesothelial cells which contains large numbers of blood vessels and capillaries. These facilitate use of the peritoneal cavity as a semipermeable membrane. The peritoneal dialysis procedure involves the introduction of a fluid into the peritoneal cavity for a suitable period of residence time. This allows an exchange of solutes between the dialysate and the blood during the residence time of the dialysate in the peritoneum. This residence time (also called dwell time) varies from patient to patient and can be about five hours. Accordingly, the frequency with which the dialysate has to be exchanged is on average, four to five times per day.
The removal of uremic toxins takes place across the peritoneal membrane by diffusion, and excess water in the body is removed by an osmotic pressure induced by an osmotic agent such as glucose. Glucose is currently the standard osmotic agent and is generally used in a concentration in the dialysis fluid (% weight by volume) of from 1.36 to 4.25.
As indicated, glucose is currently included in the dialysis fluid to impart the necessary osmotic gradient, i.e., it is the standard osmotic agent for dialysis solutions. However, because it is introduced into the peritoneal cavity, it will find its way into the bloodstream during therapy. In fact, glucose crosses the peritoneum so rapidly that the magnitude of the osmotic gradient falls within 2-3 hours after the injection of the dialysate. This causes the unwanted result of water being reabsorbed from the dialysate toward the end of the dialysis period, i.e. before the dialysis fluid is replaced with fresh fluid.
Further, the amount of glucose which is absorbed represent a large portion of the patient""s energy uptake, possibly being as high as 15-40%. The clinical consequences are hypoglycemia and obesity. In addition, the sugar has a long term undesirable effects, especially for diabetic patients, for whom there is an additional requirement to increase the injection of the insulin doses or to introduce additional insulin in the dialysis fluid.
A further negative effect of using glucose is the formation of advanced glycation of proteins in diabetic and uremic patients, due to a high concentration of glucose, which is not quickly metabolized. This disadvantage may be the cause of peritoneal membrane damage during therapy and may be also responsible for membrane scelerosis which decreases the salt clearance.
The reduction of advanced glycated end product (AGE) uremia in the peritoneal membrane is today a new considerable factor in assessing the performance of dialysis therapy1. Glycation of the protein matrix of the peritoneum membrane has been demonstrated in CAPD patients. The local biological effects of AGE on peritoneal cells, has been demonstrated in vitro and involves activation of mesotheial cells and the pathological change of the peritoneal cell matrix which may cause scelorosis.
One of the most important and difficult aspects of peritoneal dialysis, is finding a suitable osmotic agent for the preparation of the dialysate, by which the required osmotic pressure can be achieved without the secondary problems referred to above. An appropriate osmotic agent should have the following properties: it should satisfy the needs for peritoneal dialysis; be a non-toxic substance: the accumulation of unacceptable derivatives or metabolites in the peritoneum or in the circulation should be avoided; it should not rapidly cross the peritoneal membrane into the blood and in this respect it should allow maintenance of the required ultrafiltration; it should not react with the peritoneum or with proteins, leading to secondary reactions involving pathology of the peritoneal membrane, of peritoneal cells, or of cells from the circulation; it should not alter cell function which can reduce natural local phagocytosis, and the ability of the immune system to kill bacteria.
To date, several osmotic agents such as dextran2, fructose3, xylitol4, sorbitol5, polyglucose7,8, amino acids9, glycerol10, peptides11, and plasma substitutes12, have been proposed, but most of these have not completely satisfied the medical needs.
In Dolkart R. E WO 82/03987, the use of a monosaccharide sugar alcohol such as glycerol has been suggested as an alternative osmotic agent to overcome glucose overloading, mainly in diabetic patients. In addition, xylitol and sorbitol have also been proposed in the 1970""s. However when given in their pure form and in an amount sufficient to exert transperitoneal ultrafiltration, all these sugar alcohols have a high transperitoneal absorption and lead to their accumulation in the blood at a rate over the rate of their metabolic clearance, thus causing several adverse reactions.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,911,915 by Seifter et al, a disaccharide in the form of maltose has been proposed for intraperitoneal use. Although maltose has been demonstrated to have beneficial effects following intravenous administration14 in respect to the insulin need and glucose overloading when compared to glucose, this substance was not provided a suitable osmotic agent in peritoneal dialysis.
The use of high molecular weight polyglucose have been proposed by Milner in the U.S Pat. No. 3,928,135 for the use as ingredients for oral or intravenous administration, and by Alexander in No. WO 83/00087 for the special use as osmotic agent in peritoneal dialysis. This proposal by Alexander is based on the concept that an iso-osmotic solution containing polyglucose exercises transperitoneal ultrafiltration. Although glucose polymers seem to be well tolerable by patients, plasma oligosaccharide concentrations sharply and chronically increased. Long term effects of these levels are not yet known. In this respect, long term effects resulting in storage disease with problems of the reticulo-endothelial system blockade as known for large molecular weight plasma substitutes13 are speculated. On the other hand, the effects of accumulation and circulation of large molecular weight oligosaccharide may increase the levels of complex Amadori and Mallard products, These include glycated end products. A particular undesirable effect is that the Amadori products formed from polyglucose (the early and reversible stage of glycation) have a strong inhibitory effect on the activity of the xcex1-glucosidase enzyme which is responsible for the metabolism of oligosaccharide.
According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a dialysis fluid, said fluid comprising a physiologically acceptable aqueous solution containing physiologically acceptable inorganic anions and cations and as an osmotic agent, at least one sugar derivative, said physiologically acceptable inorganic anions and cations and said at least one sugar derivative being present in concentrations sufficient for the removal of water and solutes from a patient by peritoneal dialysis, characterized in that the sugar derivative is a compound of formula
wherein the or each SG, which maybe the same or different, represents a residue of a physiologically acceptably metabolizable sugar, SA represents a residue of a physiologically acceptable metabolizable sugar alcohol, n is from 1 to 4 and
represents a glycoside linkage that is capable of being cleaved by an xcex1-glycosidase enzyme. Preferably, n is 1 or 2. However, as indicated, n may also be 3 or 4.
Preferably, the adduct of formula
is a hydrogenated oligosaccharide (especially a hydrogenated xcex1-D-oligosaccharide). Especially preferred are such compounds wherein the or each SG is a glucose residue.
Where the term xe2x80x9chydrogenated oligosaccharidexe2x80x9d is used herein to refer to a compound of Formula
such usage does not necessarily mean that the substance in question has been prepared or manufactured by hydrogenation of an oligosaccharide starting material, although such a method of preparation is possible. Thus the adducts of formula
may be prepared by chemical or enzymatic procedures in which the residues of formulae [SG] and [SA] are linked together, or different [SG] and [SA] residues are exchanged for one another.
Where hydrogenation procedures are used, a compound of formula
may be hydrogenated to form a compound of formula
Similarly, the term xe2x80x9csugar alcoholxe2x80x9d as used herein, is used interchangeably with the term xe2x80x9cpolyolxe2x80x9d to refer to residues obtainable by hydrogenating sugar residues.
So far as the inventor of this invention is aware, hydrogenated oligosaccharides have not been suggested hitherto for intravenous or intraperitoneal perfusion. Specific hydrogenated oligosaccharide have however been the subject of studies as oral ingredients in respect to their digestion and absorption in the intestinal tract and are believed to be non-toxic and safe to use.
Thus the extent to which oligosaccharides can be modified in order to create a more suitable substance than glucose has hitherto been studied only with the objective of reducing caries, reducing the need for insulin in diabetic patients, and for reducing energy uptake, and as sweeteners for oral ingestion. Methods applied for making such compounds include transglycosidation, to form the desirable (1xe2x86x926) and (1xe2x86x924) glucosyl linkage and chemical reduction of a carbonyl group into the corresponding polyol moiety. Thus, the so-called Palatinit(copyright), an equimolar mixture of alpha-D-glucopyranosido-1,6-sorbitol and alpha-D-glucopyranosido-1,6-mannitol has been prepared by microbial transglycosidation, followed by chemical reduction. The terms xe2x80x9coligosaccharide alcoholxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9chydrogenated oligosaccharidexe2x80x9d have been proposed by Grupp et al. in describing Palatinit as a hydrogenated palatinose15. Known oligosaccharides having polyol moieties have also been synthesized by Ducan et al18, Sawai and Hehre19, Lindberg20, Fischer and Seyferth21.
The invention in its more specific aspects relates to the application of hydrogenated xcex1-D-oligosaccharides as new osmotic agents in peritoneal dialysate, specifically, such compounds having xcex1-D-glucosyl arrangement with (1xe2x86x926) or a (1xe2x86x924) glucosyl linkages in which the non-reducing sugar at the end of the glucosyl arrangement has been hydrogenated. The hydrogenated alpha-D-oligosaccharides used according to the invention include, but are not limited to those which can be isolated as a naturally existing entity, or can synthetically be derived by known chemical or enzymic reactions from available natural carbohydrate substrates. The oligosaccharides used in this invention, desirably result from the modification of natural carbohydrates by transglycosidation, e.g. replacement of constitutent monosaccharide(s) by different building blocks (saccharide units), and chemical reduction of carbonyl groups into a corresponding polyol moiety.
The resulting preferred hydrogenated alpha-D-oligosaccharides can be used in a homogeneous form or as mixtures and desirably contain between one or two glucosyl units plus one terminal polyol (i.e. a unit at the end of the glucosyl chain).
The invention thus in its preferred aspects relates the use of modified oligosaccharides, more particularly hydrogenated alpha-D-oligosaccharides with specifically (1xe2x86x926) or a (1xe2x86x924) glucosyl linkages (also called oligosaccharide alcohols) to replace glucose monohydrate or glucose polymers in peritoneal dialysis. Such hydrogenated alpha-D-oligosaccharides can be designed to be well tolerated and metabolized in uremic patients. The use in formulations of such hydrogenated alpha-D-oligosaccharide can result in low levels of transperitoneal absorption, biocompatibility in terms of cell function and effect on the peritoneal matrix, an effective osmotic effect of longer duration (dwell time), and the reduction of the requirement for insulin in diabetic patient.
Preferred aspects of the invention are based upon specific choices of the glucosyl arrangement of the oligosaccharide alcohol, upon the number of glucosyl groups, on the identities of the terminal polyols (sugar alcohols), and on the proportion in the mixture of different polyols.
In carrying out the invention, the manufacture of the preferred hydrogenated alpha-D-oligosaccharide may be based on (i) transglycosidation to form (1xe2x86x926) and (1xe2x86x924) glycoside linkages and replacement of constituent monosaccharides by a different building blocks, or (ii) chemical reduction of the last sugar of a disaccharides and/or trisaccharide.
In accordance with preferred aspects of this invention, the hydrogenated oligosaccharide with specifically (1xe2x86x926) or a (1xe2x86x924) glucosyl linkages are used to make dialysis solutions.
Most preferably the dialysis solutions are aqueous solutions with a pH between 5.4 and 7.4, and preferably in the physiological range of from pH 7.0 to 7.4.
The solutions of this invention may contain typical physiological inorganic salts which are commonly used in peritoneal dialysate solution, e.g. sources of Na+, K+, Ca+ and Clxe2x88x92 ions, Buffers to be use in the solution to achieve the correction of the metabolic acidosis can include lactate, bicarbonate, pyruvate or a combination of pyruvate and bicarbonate.
The proportion of the hydrogenated oligosaccharide can vary, but normally would be in the range of about 1 to 60% by weight of the dialysate solution. The hydrogenated oligosaccharide may thus be added to a water solution containing typically from 116 to 140 mEq/liter of sodium, 0 to 5 mEq/liter of calcium, 100 to 144 mEq/liter of chloride, and 5 to 40 mEq/liter of bicarbonate and/or pyruvate and/or lactate.
Preferred hydrogenated alpha-D-oligosaccharide of the invention are ones possessing one and/or two glucosyl units plus a non-reducing terminal sugar alcohol or polyol unit. These sugar alcohols or polyols are preferably ones which are readily metabolized in humans. Examples include glucytol (sorbitol ), xylitol, ribitol, and glycerol.
Preferably, oligasaccharide alcohols with the defined specified terminal sugar alcohols or polyols, are mixed in proportions to ensure that the respective end metabolites remain below the metabolic capacity of the (usually uremic) patients being treated. The oligosaccharide alcohol used in the invention include those which can be isolated as a naturally existing entities, or ones which can synthetically be derived using known chemical or enzymic reactions from available natural carbohydrate substrates.
In accordance with a further preferred aspect of this invention, hydrogenated disaccharides with a molecular weight of from 254 to 368 MW can be used as a complete or as a partial substitute for glucose. However, a mixture of hydrogenated alpha-D-oligosaccharide obtained by chemical reduction of a carbonyl group into different polyols moiety is preferred. The use of hydrogenated disaccharide is preferred, while it represents the most economical and realistic way of producing hydrogenated disaccharide which is metabolised through the action of alpha-glucosidase, without risk for the patients.
The hydrogenated alpha-D-oligosaccharide most suitable and applicable for peritoneal dialysis are the O-alpha-D-glucopyranosido-1,6-sorbitol (GPSorbitol), O-alpha-D-glucopyranosido-1,4-D-Xylitol(GPXylitol), O-alpha-D-glucopyranosido-1,6-ribitol (GPRibitol), O-alpha-D-glucopyranosido-1,6-glycerol (GPGlycerol). These contain respectively terminal sorbitol, xylitol, ribitol, and glycerol residues attached to a single glucose residue,
In accordance with the invention, the proportions of the various oligosuccharide components may be adjusted to take account of the fact that part of the ofigosaccharide alcohol which enter the blood circulation by transperitoneal absorption, should be rapidly metabolized to prevent blood hyperosmolality. For instance GPSorbitol, GPXylitol, GPRibitol and GPGlycerol are rapidly metabolized and can be included at a relatively high concentration. On the other hand, hydrogenated alpha-D-oligosaccharide involving terminal mannitol, arabitol, and dulcitol residues, desirably should be absent or included at very low proportion, (preferably smaller as 1%) because they are metabolized more slowly.
Preferably, disaccharide hydrogenated alpha-D-oligosaccharide mixtures are used. Optimal formulations comprise mixtures of GPSorbitol, GPXylitol, GPGlycerol and GPRibitol. These may be present in approximately equal amounts, i.e. a mixture of 25% of each.
Alternatively, a mixture of hydrogenated alpha-D-oligosaccharides derived from disaccharides and trisaccharides with a molecular weight from 256 MW to 524 MW can be used as complete or as partial substitute for glucose. These may be based on the conversion of natural carbohydrates substrates such as standard partial hydrolysates of maize starch, to hydrogenated oligosaccharides. The proportion in the resulting mixture of hydrogenated oligosaccharides of disaccharides and trisaccharide may vary between 1% and 99%. The hydrogenated alpha-D-oligosaccharide more suitable and applicable for peritoneal dialysis are similar to those prescribed in the disaccharide form, except that the average number of the glucosyl residues lies between one and two.
Alternatively a preparation of hydrogenated trisaccharide of homogeneous molecular weight can be used as a complete or as partial substitute for glucose. In accordance with the invention, the use of the 524 Molecular Weight hydrogenated trisaccharide may have the advantages that the transperitoneal absorption is less than the hydrogenated oligosaccharide in a disaccharide form, and after hydrolysis in the circulation there are less polyols generated. Therefore, the osmolality and metabolic half life is relatively reduced compared to the disaccharide form.
The naturally existing natural carbohydrate substrates, which may be involved in the preparation of hydrogenated alpha-D-oligosaccharides useful in the present invention may comprise the products of standard partial hydrolysis of maize starch. These typically contain 11% of maltose and 9.1% of trisaccharide. The most conveniently prepared hydrogenated alpha-D-oligosaccharide is the alpha-D-glucopyranosido-1,6-sorbitol, which may be obtained by microbial Protamino-bacter rubrum transglycosidation of saccharose into alpha-glucopyranosido-1,6-fructose (palatinose or isomaltulose), followed by chemical reduction of palatinose into the mixture GPSorbitol and GPMannitol16. The isomeric disaccharide alcohols can be fractionated by fractional crystallization from aqueous solution17. Using the same principles, other hydrogenated alpha-D-oligosaccharides such as O-alpha-D-glucopyranosido-1,4D-xylitol18, Oalpha-D-glucopyranosido-1,6-glycerol19 can also be manufactured. Higher molecular weight hydrogenated trisaccharides with (1xe2x86x926) or (1xe2x86x924) glucosyl linkages20,21 can also be prepared in the same way.
Preferably, up to 60 grams of hydrogenated oligosaccharide in disaccharide or trisaccharide form may be present per liter of peritoneal dialysis solution. This range of concentrations can be used for all formulations irrespective of the molecular weight of the hydrogenated oligosaccharide and irrespective of what mixtures are used.
In the formulation of dialysis solutions based on hydrogenated disaccharides which comprise a homogeneous or equimolar mixtures of GPSorbitol, GPXylitol, GPRibitol, and GPGlycerol with the molecular weights in the range of 254-368 and an average of 353, various concentrations may be used to achieve the desirable osmoiality and ultrafiltration. Preferably, from 1 to 60 grams per liter of peritoneal dialysis fluid can be used. Added to a standard peritoneal dialysis solution containing physiological salt concentrations, this represents an osmolality range between 280 milliOsmol/kg and 460 milliOsmol/Kg.
In the formulation of dialysis solutions based on hydrogenated trisaccharide which comprise a homogeneous or equimolar mixtures of [GP]2Sorbitol, [GP]2Xylitol, [GP]2Ribitol, and [GP]2Glycerol with the molecular weight in the range of 416-524 and a average of 497, again various concentrations may be used to achieve the desirable osmolality and ultrafiltration. Preferably, from 1 to 60 grams per liter of peritoneal dialysis fluid can be used. Added to a standard peritoneal dialysis solution containing physiological salt concentrations, this represents an osmolality range between 280 milliOsmol/kg and 405 milliOsmol/Kg.
In the formulation of dialysis solution based on hydrogenated di- and trisaccharide equimolar mixture with a molecular weight range of 254-524 and an average of 425, again various concentrations may be used to achieve the desirable osmolality and ultrafiltration. Preferably, from 1 to 60 grams per liter of peritoneal dialysis fluid can be used. Added to a standard peritoneal dialysis solution containing physiological salt concentrations, this represents an osmolality range between 280 milliOsmol/kg and 420 milliosmol/Kg.
Typically, when compared to a 4.25% glucose peritoneal dialysis solution, a formulation based on 4% hydrogenated disaccharides produced a similar ultrafiltration profile at 6 to 7 hours dwell times, and a higher ultrafiltration profile at between 8 and 12 hours dwell times, despite a lower initial osmolality (395 versus 485 milliOsm/Kg). A formulation based on hydrogenated trisaccharide produced a similar ultrafiltration profile at 7-8 hours dwell , and a higher ultrafiltration profile over 10 hours dwell time. Preferably, a hydrogenated disaccharide formulation may be used for peritoneal dialysis with short dwell time during the day, and a trisaccharide formulation may be used for long dwell time for overnight therapy.
The use of hydrogenated oligosaccharide reduces the body load of glucose by approximately 40-60%, resulting in a lower energy uptake. For example, during peritnneal dialysis; with both hydrogenated disaccharide and/or trisaccharide formulations, the circulating free fatty acids (a parameter reflecting the caloric intake) decreased to 50% as compared to use of a glucose peritoneal solution. This may reduce the elevated triglycerides in patients receiving glucose peritoneal dialysis. In addition, the reduction of the circulating high glucose levels in uremic patients may also reduce the risk of the generation of advanced glycated end products, an advantage involving a possible health benefit in the pathology of uremia and in particular in diabetic nephropathy.
Reducing sugars such as glucose, oligosaccharide and polyglucose containing carbonyl groups in the sugar unit react with free amino groups of proteins to form labile Schiff bases that undergo Amadori rearrangement to stable ketoamines. This process is called, glycation and has been found to be increased in diabetes and uremia. The Amadori products undergo very slowly a series of rearrangement reactions (Maillard reactions) resulting in the formation of brown fluorescent and cross-linking glycated proteins or advanced glycation end products (AGE), and play an important role in the process of ageing, diabetic and uremic late complications. In this invention hydrogenated oligosaccharides having the alpha-D-glucosyl arrangement with (1xe2x86x926) or a (1xe2x86x924) glucosyl linkages in which the non-reducing sugar at the end of the glucosyl arrangement has been hydrogenated, do not contain a terminal carbonyl group (c.f. oligosaccharides or sugar monohydrates). Because of the lack of terminal carbonyl groups, the Maillard reaction inducing the formation of advanced glycated proteins in the peritoneal cavity does not occur, This has the advantage that the peritoneum matrix and the peritoneal mesothelial and endothelial cells forming the peritoneum membrane are not altered by the possible action of glycated protein, leading to fibrosis and protein cross-linking which may destroy the natural membrane.
Formulations of peritoneal solutions, free of carbohydrates without terminal carbonyl groups may be steam sterilized in physiological pH ranges without the risk of caramelization and the forming of a dark color during industrial processing. Glucose monohydrate and normal oligosaccharides should be maintained during steam sterilization procedures in acid pH ranges of 5.2 to 5.6, to avoid caramelisation of the sugars and reduce the production of sugar degradation products. The use of acidic glucose based peritoneal solution has a cytotoxic effects on the peritoneal cells leading to the alteration and inhibition of the natural immune protection such as bacteria killing properties and cytokine production.
Hydrogenated oligosaccharides have a higher molecular weight than glucose monohydrate, diffuse less rapidly through the peritoneal membrane. For example, the transperitoneal absorption of hydrogenated disaccharides or trisaccharide solution with 1% up to 4% concentrations is reduced by between 20% to 40% compared to a 4.25% glucose solution for a dwell time of 8 hours. The reasons for the low peritoneal absorption of hydrogenated oligosaccharide is probably not solely due to their higher molecular weight but also due to the lack of receptors for hydrogenated oligosaccharide in mesothelial and endothelial cells which would otherwise accelerate transport.
The replacement (or partial replacement) of glucose by oligosaccharide alcohol in a peritoneal dialysis can reduce the requirement for insulin and the body load in glucose is significantly reduced, For instance, after venous infusion of 0.6 grams of a formulation of mixed hydrogenated disaccharides or hydrogenated trisaccharide in rats, the insulin increase is in the average of 50% reduced when compared to the same amount of glucose infusion.
The transperitoneally absorbed hydrogenated oligosaccharides are rapidly metabolized predominantly in the liver by the action acid maltase cell lysosome which acts during the first hour, cleaving 50% of glucose and 50% of polyols for the hydrogenated oligosaccharide formulations, or cleaving 75% of glucose and 25% of polyols for the hydrogenated trisaccharide formulations. Although a large portion of the metabolites are glucose, it does not require insulin for further metabolism. For example, the metabolic response to a venous infusion of 0.6 grams of a formulation of mixed hydrogenated disaccharides or hydrogenated trisaccharide in rat experiments, demonstrated a total metabolism of the hydrogenated oligosaccharide and the resulting end metabolites such as glucose and polyols after 120 minutes. The urinary excretion of all metabolites represented only a maximal portion of 10%, demonstrating that under uremic condition there no risk in the accumulation of hydrogenated disaccharides and hydrogenated trisaccharide. It follows from these this animal experiments that the rate of the transperitoneal adsorption of hydrogenated alpha-D-oligosaccharide with 100% hydrolysis occurring in the first two hours and inducing the cleavage of glucose and polyols can not exceed the polyol metabolic capacity of the body even under uremic conditions.
In the case of the formulation of hydrogenated disaccharide and trisaccharide peritoneal solution at a concentration between 0.1 and 6% providing an osmolality to perform the required ultrafiltration and exchange, the net weight of glucose which is received into the blood circulation after total metabolism is 50% to 76% reduced, compared to a corresponding glucose solution.
Furthermore, in the case of formulation of hydrogenated disaccharide and trisaccharide peritoneal solution at a concentration between 0.1 and 6% providing an osmolality to perform the required ultrafiltration and exchange, the net weight of polyols which are received into the blood circulation after metabolism is 25% to 50%, compared to a corresponding polyol solution such as a glycerol, sorbitol or xylitol solution. Thus, a mixed formulation containing 2 to 3 types of hydrogenated oligosaccharide, as proposed in the preferred aspects of this invention will significantly reduce the net weight of polyols which are received into the blood.
In the case of a homogeneous formulation containing hydrogenated disaccharides at a concentration between 0.1 and 6%, the maximal doses of end metabolites xylitol or sorbitol, or glycerol or ribitol are calculated to be between 10 g/day and 60 g/day. Respectively, a homogeneous formulation containing hydrogenated trisaccharide, will induce a maximal doses between 5g/day and 30 g/day.
In the case of an equimolar mixture containing different hydrogenated disaccharides at a concentration between 0.1 and 6%, the maximal doses of end metabolites xylitol and sorbitol, and glycerol and ribitol are calculated to be between 2.5 g/day and 15 g/day. Similarly, an equimolar mixture containing hydrogenated trisaccharide, will induce a maximal doses between 1.25 g/day and 7.5 g/day. The use of a mixed formulation is preferred, while reducing the risk of the secondary effects associated with polyols.
The use of the hydrogenated oligosaccharides as osmotic agents has advantages in respect to their biocompatibility and cytotoxicity, Since the hydrogenated oligisaccharides can be provided at a more physiological pH, and the hydrogenated oligisaccharides are not metabolized in the peritoneum (forming glucose), no alteration of cell function (such as cell inhibition) tends to take place during therapy,
The advantage of the use of hydrogenated disaccharides or hydrogenated trisaccharide, is that these substances are not glycated and do not inhibit the action of alpha-glucosidase. This has the advantages, that long term peritoneal dialysis with hydrogenated oligisaccharides as described in this invention does not induce so-called storage disease. For instance in an in vitro experiment, it can be demonstrated that the incubation of polyglucose (a situation which occurs in the body) inhibits the action of the alpha-glucosidase after six weeks. In contrasts the incubation of hydrogenated oligosaccharide with glucose does not inhibit the action of alpha-glucosidase. The importance of alpha-glucosidase is to cleave the (1xe2x86x926) and the (1xe2x86x924) glucosyl linkage, its inhibition may lead to storage diseases involved in the rediculo-endothelial system blockade described by the use of high molecular weight osmotic agents.
The specific use of hydrogenated disaccharides and/or hydrogenated trisaccharides as described in this invention, has the advantage that the metabolites glucose and maltose can be metabolized before the Amadori or the Maillard (non enzymatic reaction) can take place to modify these substances in the blood circulation. The use of hydrogenated oligosaccharide with a higher degree of polymerization (e.g. up to four) are not preferred, because their metabolism is slow and thus glycation can take place in the circulation. The consequences are that inhibition of the alpha glucosidase may occur and reduces the cascade metabolism of the oligosaccharide.
Amino acid materials, preferably a mixture of essential amino acids with a concentration varying between 5 and 35 grams per liter, may be substituted for a portion of the hydrogenated oligosaccharide, to increase the osmolality or to provide a desired amount of nutrition to the patients and to counterbalance the lost of amino acids and peptides in the peritoneum during the therapy. Sulfhydryl-type antioxidants, may be added to stabilize the amino acids. By addition of amino acids, the concentration of hydrogenated oligosaccharide may be reduced to maintain the desired osmotic properties of the peritoneal solution.
The hydrogenated oligosaccharide of the invention may, as indicated, be supplied and used as a dialysis fluid, However, a peritoneal dialysis solution containing hydrogenated oligosaccharides may be prepared in a solid form by freeze drying. Before use in peritoneal dialysis the dry material is reconstituted by dissolution in sterile and pyrogen free water.
Thus in accordance with a further aspect of the invention there are provided compositions for use in preparing a peritoneal dialysis fluid as defined herein, by reconstitution by addition of sterile, pyrogen free water, said composition comprising the specified components in dry form or in the form of an aqueous concentrate.
The invention further provides a method of performing peritoneal dialysis which comprises perfusing the peritoneal membrane with a peritoneal dialysis fluid as defined herein.
Additionally, the invention provides the use of a compound of Formula
in the manufacture of a peritoneal dialysis fluid.

Abstract: wherein each SG, which may be the same or different, represents a residue of a physiologically acceptable metabolizable sugar, SA represents a residue of a physiologically acceptable metabolizable sugar alcohol, n is from 1 to 4 and

Abstract: represents a glycoside linkage which is cleavable by an xcex1-glycosidase enzyme.


A disk hub of the present invention is provided with a hub's main body to which a magnetic plate is attached, an energy director for ultrasonically joining the disk, and a center hole to which a disk-drive spindle is inserted. The hub's main body, the energy director and the circumferential edge of the center hole are integrally molded into one part from a hard synthetic resin with which an abrasion-resistant resin in fine powder form such as, for example, fluororesin is blended. Thus, the friction resistance of the circumferential edge of the center hole is reduced, and abrasion of the center hole is also reduced even after repeated inserting and removing operations of the spindle into and from the center hole. Moreover, when, for example, poly-tetra-fluoroethylene, which is easily available at low costs, is used as the fluororesin, it becomes possible to provide an inexpensive disk hub, and also to reduce the friction resistance of the circumferential edge of the center hole effectively.

FIG. 9(a) is a perspective view showing the appearance of a 3.5 inch magneto-optical disk cartridge C on its surface side, and FIG. 9(b) is a perspective view showing the appearance of the magneto-optical disk cartridge C on its rear-surface side.
As illustrated in FIGS. 9(a) and 9(b), a rotatable disk 2 is housed inside the cartridge case 1 of the magneto-optical disk cartridge C. Further, a shutter 3, which is free to slide laterally, is installed on the surface of the cartridge case 1. The shutter 3 is closed when the magneto-optical disk cartridge C has been removed from a disk driving device, not shown. Thus, it is possible to protect the disk 2 and its central driving section from dust and dirt, and also to protect them from damage.
Moreover, as illustrated in FIG. 9(b), a location hole 6 and an alignment hole 7 are provided in the rear-surface of the magneto-optical disk cartridge C. The location hole 6 has a perfectly round shape. Here, a positioning pin 4 (see FIG. 11), which is attached to a disk driving device 40 (see FIG. 11) that will be described later, is fitted to the location hole 6 so that the original position for the magneto-optical disk cartridge C is determined with respect to the disk driving device 40.
The alignment hole 7, on the other hand, is an elongated hole. A positioning pin 5 (see FIG. 11), which is attached to the disk driving device 40, is fitted to the alignment hole 7 so that the planar position of the magneto-optical disk cartridge C is determined with respect to the disk driving device 40. Moreover, reference surfaces 8a, 8b, 8c and 8d of the cartridge case 1 come into contact with respective receiving faces of the disk driving device 40 so that the position of the magneto-optical disk cartridge C is determined with respect to the rotation-axis direction of the disk driving device 40.
Here, the following structures are exemplified as a disk hub 30 that is attached to the disk 2. The disk hub 30 is fitted to a spindle 31 (see FIG. 11) for rotating the disk 2, and transmits the rotational driving force of the spindle 31 to the disk 2.
FIG. 10(a) shows one structural example of the disk hub 30 that is attached to a disk of 90 mm (3.5 inch). The main body 30a of the disk-use hub 30 is molded from polycarbonate resin. Further, a magnetic plate 32, made of a magnetic metal such as, for example, SUS (Stainless Steel)-430, is inserted into the hub's main body 30a during its molding process. Moreover, a center hole 34 is provided in the center of the magnetic plate 32 by a draw-bending process.
A flange 30b is integrally formed around the periphery of the hub's main body 30a. Here, an energy director 30c, which is used for ultrasonically joining the disk, is provided on one side face of the flange 30b in a protruding ring shape.
FIG. 10(b) shows another structural example of the disk hub 30 that is attached to a disk of 130 mm (5.25 inch). Here, the members that have the same functions as those used in the above-mentioned disk hub 30 attached to the disk of 90 mm are indicated by the same reference numbers.
The main body 30a of this disk hub 30 is molded from polycarbonate resin, and a magnetic plate 32 is inserted to the hub's main body 30a during its molding process. Further, a hole-formation member 30d, which is made of another type of resin having a lower friction resistance, is formed at the central portion of the magnetic plate 32 during its molding process so that the center hole 34 is provided. Here, an energy director 30c is integrally formed on the hub's main body 30a.
Referring to FIGS. 11(a) and 11(b), the following description will discuss processes during which the magneto-optical disk cartridge C is placed into the disk driving device 40.
When the magneto-optical disk cartridge C is inserted into the cartridge entrance (not shown) of the disk driving device 40 from its front portion (a portion at which the shutter 3 (see FIG. 9) is provided), the shutter 3 is first opened. Then, as the magneto-optical disk cartridge C is further inserted, the positioning pins 4 and 5 inside the disk driving device 40 are respectively fitted into the location hole 6 and the alignment hole 7 (both shown in FIG. 9) that are formed in the cartridge case 1.
Coinciding with this positioning operation, the disk hub 30, provided in the center of the disk 2 that has been housed in the magneto-optical disk cartridge C, is allowed to fit to the spindle 31 that is provided in the disk driving device 40 in the following manner.
As illustrated in FIG. 11(a), the magnetic plate 32, which is attached to the disk hub 30 of the disk 2 that is located in a disk-housing space inside the cartridge case 1, is attracted to a magnet 33 that is attached to the spindle 31, and then the center hole 34 of the disk hub 30 is inserted into the spindle 31. In this case, the disk 2, which is placed in the disk-housing space inside the cartridge case 1, is allowed to slide into the spindle 31, while the center hole 34 is being aligned by the tip of the spindle 31. Consequently, as illustrated in FIG. 11(b), the disk 2 comes into contact with a disk clamp 35 that is fitted into the spindle 31, thereby completing the inserting operation.
After completion of the inserting operation of the magneto-optical disk cartridge C, the spindle 31 and the disk clamp 35 fitted into the spindle 31 are allowed to rotate. Then, the rotational driving force of the spindle 31 is transmitted to the disk 2 that is being pressed against the disk clamp 35 by a magnetic force, and the disk 2 rotates at a predetermined speed.
Here, when the center hole 34 of the disk hub 30 slides into the spindle 31 to fit thereto while being aligned by the tip of the spindle 31, abrasion takes place between the tip of the spindle 31 and the open edge of the center hole 34. Further, when the magneto-optical disk cartridge C is drawn from the disk device, abrasion also takes place between the outer circumferential surface of the spindle 31 and the inner circumferential surface of the center hole 34.
Therefore, in the conventional disk hub 30 shown in FIG. 10(a), since the metal spindle 31 and the center hole 34 of the metal magnetic plate 32 contact each other, both of the members are subjected to abrasion every time the inserting or drawing operation is repeated. The resulting problem is that the alignment accuracy is lowered. Moreover, in the above-mentioned disk hub 30, dust is raised due to the abrasion, and the dust, scattered in the periphery, causes adverse effects on the optical system and mechanical system of the disk driving device 40.
In the conventional disk-use hub 30 shown in FIG. 10(b), on the other hand, the above-mentioned problem is alleviated, since the hub's main body 30a is molded from a resin material suitable for the joining to the disk 2, and since the center hole 34 is provided as the hole-formation member 30d that is made of another type of resin having a low-friction resistance. However, this disk hub 30 is expensive with a complicated structure, and the processing cost is also high since two types of resin materials are used.

Disk hub molded from a hard synthetic resin blended with a fluororesin, a disk cartridge housing a disk having such a disk hub and a disk driving device having a spindle coated with a fluororesin


Method and system for the provision of interactive assistance over a network for a user to complete a desired computing task on a user computing device. Task-guides are generated on task-guide generators operating on author user devices. Each task-guide includes a sequence of processes, each process including an action for the user to perform in association with a graphical user interface (GUI) object displayed on the user computing device. The process obtains information about the GUI object using at least one data-gathering technique. An administrator operating on a server computing device receives a task-assistance request from a task-guide executor operating on an end user device, and sends back at least one suitable task-guide over the network. The task-guide executor executes the task-guide on the end user device, displaying a sequence of instructions for the end user to follow in order to complete the desired computing task.

With the rapid adoption of computer technology worldwide, increasing numbers of computer users are confronted with the problems of learning how to navigate new operating systems, software, and web content. The user typically enters a query into a designated help query window, and is provided with several listings, only some of which may actually include a predefined fixed set of instructions, which may or may not address the problem for which the user's query was made.
The user must then perform the steps listed by the instructions on his/her computer. This typically involves alternatively performing actions and reading the instructions. Such a process may frustrate the user, as they fail to complete the instructions, resulting in abandonment of the task, or failure, as the user fails to correctly follow the instructions, or the instructions are inappropriate for the user's actual situation.


A software-based equalization method corrects for effects of impedance interactions of a source device and an output device, on an aggregate frequency response, in audio playback of a system. The correction results in perceived sound remaining consistent from any source device and output device combination. The method does not require any hardware modifications and a cloud-based database of source devices and output devices provides corrections for a wide array of possible device pairings.

The present invention relates to correcting the frequency response of audio devices and in particular to correcting a frequency response which has been altered by interactions of impedances of an acoustic source device and output device combination.
Interaction between the impedance of an acoustic source device and an output device has been found to alter the frequency response in headphones, and other audio devices. The impedance interaction may prevent a consistent perception of sound when listening to any given output device connected to any given source device.
The impedance interaction problem is known in the audio industry. The known solutions propose changes to the electrical or acoustical design of either the source device or the output device. No known software-based impedance interaction problem solutions are available.

EQ correction for source device impedance and output device impedance interactions


Method, apparatus, and computer readable medium for restructuring a software program hierarchy having interface files and implementation files that include the interface files are described. In one example, dependencies between program units in the interface files and the implementation files are determined. The dependencies are represented as a plurality of bit strings. Correlated bitstrings of the plurality of bit strings are clustered into a plurality of partitions. Each of the plurality of partitions is transformed into corresponding program units. New interface files are respectively created having the corresponding program units for each of the plurality of partitions.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention generally relate to software management and, more specifically, to a method and apparatus for restructuring a software program hierarchy.
2. Description of the Related Art
Legacy software systems typically include a deep and complex interface file hierarchy. In such systems, one interface file may in turn include several other interface files and so on. Moreover, multiple implementation files can include the same interface file. This results in the same set of interface files being compiled repeatedly with each implementation file they are included in. As such, larger than required interface files will have a detrimental effect on compilation times and preprocessed code size.
Factors like adaptations due to market demand, internal debugging and maintenance, individual developer coding styles, and the like lead to increased software entropy. Software entropy is manifested in the form of false dependencies between interface and implementation files. There are several drawbacks of false dependencies. Notably, they increase the preprocessed code size due to inclusion of unnecessary program units. Fresh and incremental compilation times increases loading, parsing and compilation of unnecessarily included program units in each implementation file. These problems make the software system harder and costlier to maintain. In fact, it is the incremental compilation time that impacts the developer efficiency the most. An increase in incremental compile time amounts to practically equivalent stalling of development and testing time. This is directly proportional to increased cost in terms of developer salary, wastage of resources, etc. So there is a need to devise a scheme for restructuring the interfaces such that the program units are placed in the interfaces in a manner so that the false and redundant dependencies are minimized.
Existing approaches try to optimize the interfaces by translating the dependencies to a graph and then partitioning the graph so that only true dependencies are left and false dependencies are removed. The source code is then regenerated based on the true dependencies to achieve better cohesion and reduced coupling between the files. The major drawback of these approaches is unsupervised reorganization and regeneration of the code and header file hierarchy, which in a large productized environment is often impractical. The techniques provide no means by which user can control the extent of distortion that the overall software system will incur as part of the approach. Moreover, the techniques only work in a corrective and not in a prophylactic manner. Such techniques do not aid the user in deciding whether or not the placement of a new program unit during development will degrade the dependency structure. In addition, graph based algorithms are not very suitable for handling of large datasets.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for a method and apparatus for restructuring a software program hierarchy having implementation files and interface files that overcome the aforementioned deficiencies.

Method and apparatus for restructuring a software program hierarchy


A spindle apparatus for supporting and rotating a workpiece in a grinder. The spindle apparatus includes a workpiece spindle rotatably supported on a spindle head and driven for rotation by a motor, and a spindle plate mounted to the front end of the workpiece spindle and including an eccentric drive pin. The workpiece spindle has a bore in which a ram is axially movable. A center is fit in the front end of the ram. A unit is provided to advance the ram to engage with one end of the workpiece when the workpiece is to be supported. A rotary sleeve is rotatably supported on the front end of the ram and includes an engagement portion which is displaceable in the axial direction of the spindle and engageable with the drive pin in the direction of rotation. A driving unit is mounted to the front of the rotary sleeve to engage the workpiece in the direction of rotation when the ram is in its advanced position to thereby transmit rotation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spindle apparatus for supporting and rotating a workpiece, particularly, wherein a spindle center can be displaced in the axial direction of a spindle.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
A cylindrical grinder designed to grind a cylindrical workpiece or a cam grinder is generally constructed as shown in FIG. 1.
Specifically, a wheel head 102 and a table 103 are arranged on a bed 101 and are slidable along guides in vertical and lateral directions in the drawing, respectively. A wheel shaft 105 is supported on the wheel head 102 and is driven for rotation by a motor 106 through a belt-and-pulley mechanism 107. A pair of grinding wheels 104a and 104b are mounted to the wheel shaft 105.
A spindle head 110 is mounted on one end of the table 103. A workpiece spindle 109 is supported by the spindle head 110 and driven in rotation from a motor 108. The workpiece spindle 109 includes a chuck and a center 129. Mounted on the other end of the table 103 is a tailstock 113 including a tailstock spindle 112. The tailstock spindle 112 includes a center 111 in a face-to-face relation to the workpiece spindle 109.
A pair of workpiece stand-by stations 114a and 114b are located on the table 103 adjacent to front ends of the workpiece spindle 109 and the tailstock spindle 112. An instrument 115 is provided on the bed 101 to sense the axial or longitudinal position of a workpiece.
In the prior art, a workpiece shifter 150 is located on the table 103 between the workpiece spindle 109 and the tailstock spindle 112.
The tailstock spindle 112 or the center 111 is in its retreated position before abrasive action is initiated.
A workpiece W is loaded temporarily on the workpiece stand-by stations 115a and 115b by a loader or similar means. The workpiece W is thereafter moved toward the workpiece spindle 109 by the workpiece shifter 150 until one end of the workpiece W is brought into engagement with the center 129 of the workpiece spindle 109. The tailstock spindle 112 is then advanced so that the other end of the workpiece W is brought into engagement with the center 111.
The end of the workpiece adjacent to the workpiece spindle is gripped by the chuck of the workpiece spindle 109.
The wheel head 102 is advanced while the workpiece W is being rotated by the motor 108. The workpiece W is then abraded by the grinding wheels 104a and 104b which are rotated by the motor 106.
After abrasive or grinding action has been completed, the wheel head 102 is moved back or retreated, and the motor 108 is stopped.
The workpiece W is then released from the chuck, and the tailstock spindle 112 is moved to its retreated position. The workpiece W is thereafter moved to the workpiece stand-by stations 114a and 114b by the workpiece shifter 150 and moved away from the system by the loader.
In such a conventional grinder, loading and unloading of a workpiece requires the use of the workpiece shifter 150. A large workpiece shifter is thus necessary when a large workpiece is to be loaded and unloaded.
The workpiece W is displaced from the workpiece stand-by stations 114a and 114b toward the workpiece spindle 109 by the workpiece shifter 150. This results in an increase in the distance between one end of the workpiece W and the tailstock spindle 112. The tailstock spindle 112 must project more toward the workpiece spindle 109 or must be moved more toward the workpiece spindle 109 to support the other end of the workpiece W in proportion to the displacement of the workpiece W by the workpiece shifter 150. This impairs the rigidity of the tailstock spindle 112.
A further problem of the prior art is that it takes quite a time to support the workpiece since the workpiece shifter 150 must be used to load the workpiece, and the tailstock spindle 112 must be moved by an increased distance.

Spindle apparatus for supporting and rotating a workpiece


A display apparatus includes a gate driver, a data driver, a display panel, a power supply and a common voltage line. The gate driver outputs a gate signal, and the data driver outputs a data signal. The display panel includes a display area displaying images in response to the gate signal and the data signal, and a peripheral area surrounding the display area. The power supply generates a common voltage and supplies the common voltage to the display panel. The common voltage line is disposed in the peripheral area surrounding the display area. and the common voltage line has two ends adjacent to the power supply. One of the two ends, which is disposed farther away from the gate driver, is connected to the power supply to receive the common voltage. Accordingly, the common voltage is differentially applied according to a length of the common voltage line.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a display apparatus. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a display apparatus having improved image display quality.
2. Discussion of Related Art
A liquid crystal display displays desired images by forming an electric field between two substrates and adjusting the amount of light passing through liquid crystals interposed between the two substrates. In the liquid crystal display, a plurality of gate lines, a plurality of data lines and a plurality of pixels may be provided at a lower substrate of the two substrates and a common electrode may be provided at an upper substrate of the two substrates. The liquid crystal display may sequentially drive the gate lines such that a data voltage applied to the data lines is provided to the pixels connected to the gate lines.
A signal delay may occur in the gate lines due to a parasitic capacitance and an interconnection resistance. The signal delay may cause voltage of a data line to shift. This shift in voltage may be referred to as a kickback voltage, which can cause a flicker in a screen of the liquid crystal display.
Thus, there is a need for a liquid crystal display which can reduce or prevent the flicker caused by a kickback voltage.


A system and method for providing virtual spaces, where a character associated with a user can be manifested within instances of a plurality of the different virtual spaces. Since a single character can be manifested within instances of different virtual spaces, the character can be transferred by the corresponding user between instances of different virtual spaces and controlled by the user to interact with the different virtual spaces. When the user transfers the character between instances of different virtual spaces (and/or different types of virtual spaces), various aspects of the character may persist between the different virtual spaces (and/or the different types of virtual spaces). This may provide an enhanced continuity to the character between the different virtual spaces.

Systems that provide virtual worlds and/or virtual gaming spaces accessible to a plurality of users for real-time interaction are known. Such systems tend to be implemented with some rigidity with respect to the characteristics of the virtual worlds that they provide. As a result interaction with and/or between a plurality of the virtual worlds and/or virtual gaming spaces tend to be limited.
For example, some virtual worlds are configured such that instances of the virtual worlds manifest characters that are controlled by users accessing the virtual worlds. Controlling a character within a virtual world may provide the primary mechanism through which the user interacts with the virtual world. Due to the relatively rigid, monolithic nature of conventional virtual worlds, it may not be practicable for a character within one virtual world to be enter another virtual world by being manifested within an instance of the virtual world with manifestation characteristics (e.g., appearance, etc.), parameter information (e.g., score, inventory, social connections, etc.), inventory (e.g., objects, currency, etc.), and/or other information that is persistent between the different virtual worlds. Instead, a user may be required to create separate characters within the different virtual worlds.
Conventional video gaming systems exist where a user may create an avatar, or visual representation, that can be expressed within a plurality of different games. For example, the Wii system from Nintendo enables users to create "Miis," which are digital representations of people that can be expressed within a plurality of different games that are played on the Wii system. However, in the Wii system and/or other similar conventional systems the avatars created and/or obtained by a user are only stored locally on a gaming console where an application that is specific to a game being played is executed. As such, characters cannot be accessed from other consoles or terminals unless a storage device (memory card, hard drive) is physically moved from one console to another; there exists no centralized storage usable by any networked device, including possible applications such as Internet-facing presentation of the character data via a web browser. Further, outside of the visual representation of avatars like Miis, conventional systems enable little to no information related to the avatars to be persistent between different games.

System and method for enabling characters to be manifested within a plurality of different virtual spaces


A system and a method of determining a long term driving tendency of a driver may include a data detector detecting data for determining the long term driving tendency and a short term driving tendency of the driver; and a controller determining the short term driving tendency and the long term driving tendency of the driver based on the data received from the data detector, and controlling an engine or a transmission according to the short term driving tendency of the driver or the long term driving tendency of the driver, wherein the controller continuously determines the short term driving tendency of the driver for a predetermined time and determines the long term driving tendency of the driver from a predetermined number (n) of short term driving tendencies of the driver.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and a method of determining a long term driving tendency of a driver. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and a method of determining a long term driving tendency of a driver from a predetermined number of short term driving tendencies of the driver.
2. Description of Related Art
Customer satisfaction related to driving performance of a vehicle depends on how precisely the vehicle runs in accordance with a tendency of the customer. While tendencies of the customers vary, however, performance characteristic of the vehicle is set to one performance characteristic in the same vehicle model. Therefore, reaction of the vehicle may not coincide with the tendency of the customer. Accordingly, the customer often lodges a complaint against the driving performance of the vehicle. That is, if the driving tendency of the customer is grasped and a shift of the vehicle is controlled to coincide with the tendency of the customer, the customer satisfaction related to the driving performance may be maximized.
Therefore, many methods of learning the driving tendency of the customer for a long time and controlling the shift according to the learned driving tendency have been developed. The method of controlling the shift according to the learned driving tendency is performed under the assumption that the driving tendency of the customer is constant. The driving tendency of the driver, however, is not constant and changes according to temporary changes of driver's feeling or driving will, road condition and so on. Therefore, the learned driving tendency may differ greatly from an actual driving tendency of the driver at one point.
In addition, the driving tendency of the driver may change with the passage of time. According to a conventional method of learning the driving tendency, however, change of the driving tendency with the passage of time is slowly reflected.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

System and method of determining long term driving tendency of driver


An elastomeric cap for concealing a fastener used to secure an object (e.g., an elastomeric object such as foam padding or the like) to a substrate (e.g., frame, wall, etc.). A head of a fastener may be inserted through an aperture in one wall of the cap and into an internal cavity of the cap. A shank of the fastener may be at least partially inserted into or through an aperture of the object (e.g., and the substrate). A tool (e.g., screwdriver, torque wrench, etc) may be inserted through an opposing aperture in an opposing second wall of the cap and used to manipulate the fastener head and thus the shank to secure the object to the substrate via clamping of the object between the fastener head and opposing second wall of the cap on one hand and the substrate on the other hand.

1. Field of the Description
The present invention generally relates to fasteners used to secure objects to substrates and, more particularly, to systems for and manners of concealing such fasteners.
2. Relevant Background
Ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) (e.g., the material used in Crocs™ shoes) has shown significant promise as a padding material in several applications due to its weather resistance, chemical resistance, tear resistance, and the like. However, the chemistry of EVA foam that provides such advantages on the other hand generally makes use of adhesives to attach EVA foam to substrates a difficult proposition (i.e., EVA foam generally does not accept adhesives very well).
In this regard, traditional fasteners (e.g., screws, other threaded members) are sometimes used to secure EVA foam pads to substrates (e.g., frames). For instance, a fastener may be inserted through aligned apertures in a foam pad and substrate and threaded into the substrate until a head of the fastener clamps and thus secures the pad against the substrate. Typically, it may be advantageous to cover or conceal the fasteners to limit undesired interaction (e.g., tampering) with the fasteners and maintain the impact properties of the foam (e.g., such as in seat padding applications). In one existing system, a fastener may be inserted through an aperture in the bottom of a bowl or cup-shaped cap before being inserted through aligned apertures in the foam pad and the substrate. After threading or otherwise tightening the fastener against the bottom of the cap (and thus the pad against the substrate), a "pop top" connected to the cap by a living hinge may be closed to cover the top of the cap and thus conceal the fastener. The pop top may subsequently be opened to provide access to the fastener. Other existing systems include plastic or metal caps designed to snap and/or be adhered over fastener heads, two-part decorative caps, and/or the like, all to conceal the fastener heads from view and limit (e.g., unintended) interaction therewith.

Elastomeric cap for seamlessly concealing fastener used to secure object to substrate


This application discusses, among other things, communication apparatus and methods, and more particularly, a single conductor or single wire communication scheme. In an example, a method for communicating between a master device and a slave device using a first single conductor can include transmitting a first ping on the first single conductor using a master device, the first single conductor configured to couple the master device to a slave device, receiving a slave ping on the first single conductor at the master device during a ping interval, toggling a logic level of the first single conductor prior to sending a first data packet using pulses having a duration of less than one half of a unit interval, such as a unit interval associated with a bit interval.

There are many communication protocols for communicating between devices that are wired together. Many of these protocols rely on multi-conductor communication busses. However, certain conductors on the bus are often idle providing an opportunity for additional communications to be conducted on the communication bus without deteriorating the original performance of the communication bus.

Apparatus and method for operating and switching a single conductor interface


An adjustable forklift load backrest has a first lateral support, a second lateral support and a central connector. The lateral supports are adjustably engaged with the central connector opposite each other. The width of the load backrest can be adjusted by moving the lateral supports closer together or farther away from each other. The lateral supports are affixed to the central connector by bolts traversing through bolt holes on the support arms and slotted openings on the connecting arms of the central connector.

Forklifts are one of the most common types of equipment used for lifting and transporting heavy and/or bulky materials. The forklifts find particular use in manufacturing and warehousing operations involving large amounts of materials that cannot be efficiently lifted and transported by hand. Forklifts are available in many variations and are divided into multiple classes based on mechanism of operation. Because forklifts routinely lift and transport large, bulky, and heavy materials, it is of the utmost importance that the materials are stabilized during lifting and transportation. As a result, all forklifts are outfitted with a load backrest that is bolted to the forklift carriage. The carriage moves vertically along the forklift mast rails when lifting and lowering the forks. As any loads lifted by the forks are exposed to the mast rails, the load backrest prevents the loads from becoming unstable and falling backwards onto the mast rails. A common problem encountered when manufacturing or replacing the load backrest component of forklifts is the widely varying dimensions of the carriage component. This is due to the fact that there is no set of standards regarding the dimensions of forklifts. When replacing load backrests, manufacturers are required to create many variations of the load backrest component in order to accommodate the widely varying dimensions of individual forklift models. As a result, manufacturers face increased costs in purchasing and shipping the individualized load backrests. The process also results in logistical time delays. Finally, manufacturers are required to allocate warehouse space for storing the individualized load backrests. The present invention seeks to address the aforementioned issues and provide a practical and convenient solution.
The present invention is a load backrest that is adjustable with regards to size. The load backrest is universally mountable on all models of forklifts In its preferred embodiment, the present invention comprises a load backrest featuring a three piece design. The load backrest comprises a first support, a second support, and a central connector. The first support and second support are nested within the central connector and may slide along the central connector. By sliding the first support and second support along the central connector, a user may increase and decrease the size of the load backrest. The first support and second support are locked in place on the central connector by tightening bolts through elongated and slotted holes on the first support and second support. Alternatively, the three pieces of the load backrest may be permanently welded together following adjustment. The load backrest is mounted to the carriage by bolting the first support and second support to the left side and right side of the carriage. The first support and second support feature additional elongated and slotted openings that are designed to accommodate for varying bolt spacing arrangements across individual models of forklifts.
The object of the present invention is to provide a universally mountable load backrest that addresses a number of issues faced by forklift manufacturers. The present invention eliminates the need for manufacturers to purchase and store varying load backrests for individual models of forklifts. As such, manufacturers may universally utilize the present invention when replacing load backrests. This increases manufacturer efficiency while reducing incurred costs brought upon by the multiple types of load backrests.


An anti-skid brake control device has a control circuit 6 to which signals from a steering angle sensor 14, a yaw detector 7 and respective wheel velocity sensors 3a.about.3d of a motor vehicle are inputted, an oil pressure actuator 5 controls of the pressure of the braking fluid for respective wheel cylinders 2a.about.2d based upon target slip rates Sfrt. Sflt, Srrt and Srlt and measured slip rates Sfr, Sfl, Srr and Srl for the respective wheels calculated in the control circuit 6. The target slip rates for the respective wheels, which are principally determined dependent upon the deviation .beta. between compensated target yaw angular acceleration .omega.R and measured yaw angular acceleration .omega., are set independently and are modified dependent upon the motor vehicle body velocity, whereby the braking forces for the respective wheels are independently controlled . In this way, it is possible to suppress generated yaw moment and to improve stability of the motor vehicle, while also safely reducing the braking distance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an anti-skid brake control device for a motor vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
As is well known, an anti-skid brake control (hereinbelow referred to as an ABS control) device is a device which is designed to prevent wheel lock even at the moment of sudden braking of a motor vehicle on a slippery road by temporarily reducing the braking pressure when the wheels are likely to lock and to stop the motor vehicle stably without losing control of the vehicle.
However, under such circumstance where the road surface conditions at the right and left sides of the motor vehicle are different, a difference between the braking forces acting on the wheels at the right side of the motor vehicle and those at the left side appears when control for maintaining an equal slip rate for the right and left side wheels of the motor vehicle is performed, with the result that a yaw moment which causes spinning of the motor vehicle around a vertical axis is generated by the braking force difference to render the motor vehicle unstable.
Under such circumstances, in a conventional ABS control device, a so-called select low control is performed in which the brake fluid pressures for wheels not likely to lock are matched to the brake pressure for a wheel likely to lock in order to improve the stability of the motor vehicle, however, such a solution results in a drawback that the braking distance of the motor vehicle increases due to the braking force decrease.
U.S. Pat. No. JP-A-1-208256(1989), for example, discloses one of the improvements ABS of the systems type above indicated in which the cornering force is increased on the one hand by reducing the target slip rate for the rear wheels under an unstable condition of a large yaw rate of the motor vehicle ,and on the other hand by reducing the target slip rate for the front wheels under a condition of a poor steering effort.
However, the above ABS control device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. JP-A-208256 sacrifies either the braking performance or the stability of the motor vehicle and can not achieve both at the same time.
Further, even under a control which places importance on stability of a motor vehicle, no measures were taken positively to cancel out the braking force difference of the right and left wheels on a so called split .mu. road in which the road surface condition greatly differs at the right and left sides of the motor vehicle, and therefore a substantial stability of the motor vehicle could not be obtained even if the braking force difference between the right and left wheels could be reduced.


A method and system of aligning plurality of physically scaled mammography images within at least one viewport comprising: categorizing each mammography image to a corresponding mammography view; determining the image dimensions of each image based on the pixel spacing; choosing a first mammography image for each mammographic view based on the image dimensions; centering the first mammography image of each mammographic view within the at least one viewport; generating a virtual line across the at least one viewport along a boundary of the first mammography image; and aligning subsequent mammography images of the same mammographic view such that a boundary of the mammography image is aligned to the virtual line.

1. Field of the Invention
The embodiments described herein relate to a system and method for image analysis and in particular to a system and method for the alignment of a plurality of physically scaled mammography images.
2. Description of the Related Art
Medical personnel (e.g. radiologists) examine mammography images to identify various abnormalities in a breast. The task of analyzing mammography images in a digital mammography system typically comprises of using a digital workstation with a display or viewport to align a pair of breast images acquired during a mammography study and comparing breast tissue images of the same side (left/right breast only) or symmetric sides (left and right breasts). The images used for comparison, while of the same object, may be acquired at different times, acquired with different imaging systems and/or acquired using different display settings. As such, medical personnel desire mammography systems that facilitate efficient diagnostic reviews of mammography images, regardless of its provenance, so as to allow them to quickly compare and detect differences between mammographic images and report their findings within clinically acceptable time frames.
Different types of image alignment protocols are employed for displaying mammography images of the breast for comparison. For example, one alignment protocol for images in the cranio-caudal ("CC") view may involve placing the left and right CC breast views next to each other so that the chest walls will meet on the central vertical axis of the viewport. Similar arrangements, known to those skilled in the art, also exist for medio-lateral oblique ("MLO") views. Other image alignment strategies include alignment based on anatomical features of the breast. In CC images, for example, the nipple located in each pair of images may be positioned so that they are horizontally aligned, that is, at the same height. For MLO images, either the nipple or pectoralis may be chosen as features used for alignment.
In general, the requirements with respect to mammographic images comparison are: 1) aligning the breast view so as to make the image comparison process easier and more efficient; 2) displaying mammographic images in the same physical scale such that a corresponding real object in each image is observed as the same size; and 3) ensuring that mammographic images are not panned so as to have image areas corresponding to breast tissue being partially outside the viewport or invisible to the examiner.
While currently employed alignment strategies satisfy the above listed requirements, these methods often result in reduced image symmetry, making image comparisons more time consuming. It is preferable to align images to achieve maximum symmetry so that they resemble mirrored images allowing the eyes and brain to quickly identify differences between images. Furthermore, breast features being obscured or missing due to the positioning of the breast during image acquisition may also make alignments relying on those features difficult or impossible. Consequently, a more robust and reliable alignment scheme is desirable. As described herein, a method and system for centering and aligning mammography images may provide greater symmetry is presented, thereby facilitating easier and faster side-by-side comparison.

System and method for aligning mammography images


A non-aqueous pigment dispersion includes a color pigment, a polymeric dispersant, and a dispersion synergist in a dispersion medium wherein the dispersion synergist is represented by Formula (I):

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to stable pigment dispersions and pigmented inkjet inks including color pigments that are stabilized by polymeric dispersants in a non-aqueous medium using dispersion synergists which exhibit a structural similarity with the color pigments.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pigment dispersions are made using a dispersant. A dispersant is a substance for promoting the formation and stabilization of a dispersion of pigment particles in a dispersion medium. Dispersants are generally surface-active materials having an anionic, cationic or non-ionic structure. The presence of a dispersant substantially reduces the required dispersing energy. Dispersed pigment particles may have a tendency to re-agglomerate after the dispersing operation due to mutual attraction forces. The use of dispersants also counteracts this re-agglomeration tendency of the pigment particles.
The dispersant has to meet particularly high requirements when used for inkjet inks. Inadequate dispersing manifests itself as increased viscosity in liquid systems, loss of brilliance and/or hue shifts. Moreover, particularly good dispersion of the pigment particles is required to ensure unimpeded passage of the pigment particles through the nozzles of the print head, which are usually only a few micrometers in diameter. In addition, pigment particle agglomeration and the associated blockage of the printer nozzles has to be avoided in the standby periods of the printer.
Polymeric dispersants contain in one part of the molecule so-called anchor groups, which adsorb onto the pigments to be dispersed. In a spatially separate part of the molecule, polymeric dispersants have polymer chains compatible with the dispersion medium, thus stabilizing the pigment particles in the dispersion medium. Typical polymeric dispersants are graft copolymers and block copolymers.
In aqueous inkjet inks, the polymeric dispersants generally contain hydrophobic anchor groups exhibiting a high affinity for the pigment surface and hydrophilic polymer chains for stabilizing the pigments in the aqueous dispersion medium.
The preparation of good thermally stable dispersions with submicron particles is more difficult for non-aqueous inkjet inks, such as solvent based, oil based and radiation curable inkjet inks. The pigments are especially difficult to disperse when they have a non-polar surface.
These problems have led to the design of very specific polymeric dispersants wherein the anchor groups are pigment derivatives. For example, EP 0763378 Å (TOYO INK) discloses a pigment composition including a non-aqueous type pigment dispersing agent having a portion which has a high affinity with a pigment and which has at least one type selected from the group consisting of an organic dye, anthraquinone and acridone only at a terminal end or at both terminal ends of at least one polymer selected from a linear urethane polymer and a linear acrylic polymer, and a pigment.
Another approach for dispersing pigments with non-polar surfaces in non-aqueous dispersion media is changing the surface to a more polar surface by addition of compounds known as dispersion synergists. A dispersion synergist is a compound that promotes the adsorption of the polymeric dispersant on the surface of the pigment. It is suggested that the synergist should have the chemical structure of the pigment including one or more sulphonic acid groups or ammonium salts thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,647 (ICI) discloses a dispersion of a pigment in an organic liquid containing a water-insoluble asymmetric disazo compound including a central divalent group free from acidic and other ionic substituents linked through azo groups to two monovalent end groups wherein one end group, the first, is free from acidic and other ionic substituents and the other end group, the second, carries a single substituted ammonium-acid salt group.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,057,436 (ICI) discloses pigment dispersions in organic liquids using polymeric or resinous dispersing agents in the presence of a substituted ammonium salt of a colored acid wherein there are between 16 and 60 carbon atoms contained in at least 3 chains attached to the N-atom of the substituted ammonium ion.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,641,655 (AVECIA) discloses the use of a diquaternary ammonium salt of a colored acid as a fluidizing agent wherein the diquaternary ammonium cation contains two or more nitrogen atoms.
According to the best of our knowledge, only two products have been commercialized, i.e., C.I. Pigment Blue 15 and C.I. Pigment Yellow 12, both substituted by sulphonic acid groups. Although these dispersion synergists work fine for some pigments, many other pigments cannot be dispersed to an acceptable quality in a non-aqueous medium.
EP 1146088 Å (TOYO INK) discloses a method of producing a disazo pigment, in which a coupling reaction is carried out while feeding, into an acidic aqueous solution, a tetrazo aqueous solution containing a tetrazo component of benzidines and a coupler aqueous solution containing a coupling component. Aqueous printing inks using the wet pigment compositions are also disclosed.
EP 957136 Å (DAINIPPON INK) discloses additives including carboxylic acid functions for a disazo pigment with superior dispersibility, which is suitable for printing inks.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,759,731 (HOECHST) discloses mixed crystals of polar and nonpolar disazo dyes combined with an oil-modified alkyd resin.
GB 2356634 (ILFORD) discloses mono-azo compounds derived from diazotized 2-alkoxycarbonylanilines and N-[(carboxy/sulpho)-phenyl]acetoacetamides and their use in aqueous ink compositions.
There is a need for dispersing other pigments since each pigment has a different set of properties. Pigments are selected for inkjet inks based upon the properties required for their application, for example, for outdoor inkjet applications light stability may be more important than producing inkjet images with high color strength.
For consistent image quality, inkjet inks require a dispersion stability capable of dealing with high temperatures (above 60° C.) during transport of the ink to a customer, jetting at elevated temperatures and changes in the dispersion medium of the inkjet ink during use, for example, evaporation of solvent and increasing concentrations of humectants, penetrants and other additives.
Therefore, it is highly desirable to be able to manufacture stable pigmented inkjet inks using dispersion synergists in a non-aqueous medium for a wide range of color pigments.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Non-aqueous pigment dispersions containing specific dispersion synergists

Abstract: wherein AR1 and AR2 represent a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic group, and R represents a substituted or unsubstituted aliphatic group, with the proviso that one of R, AR1, and AR2 contains at least one carboxylate anion and that the molecular weight of the anionic part of the dispersion synergist is smaller than 98% of the molecular weight of the color pigment. Also, methods of preparing the non-aqueous pigment dispersions.


A tape drive arrangement is configured to automatically adapt to drive different size tape cassettes and includes a sensor that senses the size of a tape cassette inserted into the tape drive. A controller is automatically responsive to the signals provided by the sensor to move drive spindles to respective different positions to drive different size tape cassettes.

The storing of large amounts of data has been accomplished by a variety of methodologies. One of the most successful of these is the use of magnetic recording tape. Tape drives have improved and over the years have increased capacity to compete with other forms of media storage technology. The ever-increasing need for storing greater amounts of data, however, maintains pressure on the tape drive industry to provide tape storage with increased capacity.
In the past, tape drives utilizing cassette loaded media have provided increased storage capacity by using media with increasing bit density and decreasing tape thickness. These measures allow for longer lengths of tape within the tape cassette. At a certain point, however, these methods are no longer feasible with existing technology so that a new tape cassette with a different form factor must be employed to replace the prior tape cassette. This creates a number of problems, but most especially the tape drive supporting the new tape cassette will be incompatible with the older tape cassettes having the previous form factor. This problem renders obsolete the media which may contain important archived data.
The above problem is especially acute since the very popular digital data storage (DDS) format is now in its fifth generation using the same form factor tape cassette. The prior capacity increases in the DDS format are based on format changes and thinner, longer tape. Employing a larger cassette with an increased amount of tape may render obsolete the DDS form factor tape cassettes that have been so prevalent.

Tape drive with automatic adaptation for different size tape cassettes


An ultrasound device generates polar-coordinate image data divided up into an (N×M) array of polar-coordinate image data blocks; a first external memory configured to store the (N×M) array of data blocks; a second external memory configured to store x-y coordinate image data corresponding to the polar-coordinate image data; a video processing chip comprising an internal memory configured to store an (N×R) array of the polar-coordinate image data blocks; and a controller configured to perform a data conversion operation on the (N×R) array of data blocks to generate x-y coordinate image data, and to store the x-y coordinate image data to the second external memory. N, M, and R are integers greater than 1; R is less than M; and an internal access time for the internal memory element is shorter than an external access time for the first external memory element.

Ultrasound scanning devices obtain image data by emitting a number of ultrasonic beams at a target, and then detecting the reflections of those waves. Based on these reflections, the ultrasound device generates data that will show an image of the target. Because this data results from an ultrasound scan, it is sometimes referred to as scan data.
In practice, a typical ultrasound device will have an emitter device, often hand-held, that contains a number of ultrasonic beam emitters. These ultrasonic beam emitters will each transmit an ultrasonic beam from essentially the same starting point, with each beam fanning out at a slightly different angle. In this way, the beams will cover the entire target area.
As a result of this engineering design choice, the image data that is gathered from the reflected ultrasonic waves is most easily stored using polar coordinates. In particular, each data point corresponding to an ultrasonic reflection is identified by an angle corresponding to the angle of the reflected beam, a distance (i.e., radius) of the reflection, and pixel data.
However, standard video display devices, such as cathode ray tubes (CRTs), liquid crystal displays (LCDs), plasma displays, or the like, are typically laid out with a set of display pixels using x-y coordinates (i.e., Cartesian coordinates). In other words, the display devices usually have their display pixels set up in an array of parallel rows and parallel columns defined using x-y coordinates. Images are provided to the display device by providing image data in a similar array that corresponds to the pixel array of the display device. This can be accomplished using a raster scan (e.g., in a CRT), individual addressing of pixel display elements (e.g., in an LCD), or any other suitable method.
When using such a display element in an ultrasound system, it is therefore necessary for the system to convert the received ultrasound image data from polar coordinates into x-y coordinates so that it will be suitable for desired display device. This is typically achieved by performing a mathematical conversion process on the polar coordinate data to approximate x-y coordinate data that corresponds to the polar coordinate data.
Furthermore, because an ultrasound device must display its images in real-time, it is necessary for this conversion process to likewise be performed in real-time. This means that whatever processor is performing the conversion process must be able to access a stored image frame polar coordinate data quickly enough to achieve real-time conversion into x-y coordinate data. As a result, the polar coordinate data must typically be stored in a fast-access memory element, such as an internal memory element associated with the processor, e.g., an internal CPU cache, such as a level 1 cache or a level 2 cache. In one embodiment, this can be implemented using a static random access memory (SRAM) element.
However, the expense of a memory generally increases along with its speed and its size. This means that a memory both large enough to hold the entire polar coordinate data set for a given ultrasound image frame and with a fast enough access time or latency to allow real-time conversion to x-y coordinate data would be comparatively expensive
It would therefore be desirable to provide a way to initially store the polar coordinate data in a cheaper, slower memory, and switch it to a faster memory only as needed for data conversion.

System and method for converting scan data


A jewelry forming article utilizes free magnetic bodies and free deformable chains to form various jewelry objects, such as rings, bracelets, necklaces, and the like. The various jewelry objects are formed by magnetically engaging the surfaces of the free magnetic bodies to two or more regions along a length of the deformable free chains, forming one or more loop circumferences along the length of the chains between the engaging regions, where the loop circumference may be increased or decreased by changing the positions of the engaging regions relative to the surfaces of the magnetic bodies to enable a person to secure the article on his or her body in the form of the various jewelry objects.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to jewelry, and more specifically to a jewelry forming article which can be arranged into a number of different jewelry objects by manipulation of the engagement between a free body fabricated from magnetized material and a free length of chain.
2. Background Information
It is often desired to be able to change the style of a piece of jewelry. A wearer may become bored having a single, unchangeable piece of jewelry, or may desire to have a versatile piece of jewelry which can be modified according to dress or occasion. Alternatively, the wearer might desire to change the type of jewelry to match the style, preferring a necklace to a bracelet without the purchase of separate jewelry to achieve these fashion goals.
Several devices that allow for the removal and replacement of ornaments from jewelry are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 439,139 to Gaynor describes a setting for coins to be worn as a pin or brooch. U.S. Pat. No. 690,095 to Bleaden teaches a ring having a removable stone and a sliding door that fits behind the stone and secures it to the ring. U.S. Pat. No. 1,182,534 to Driggott describes a gem setting for a ring.
While these devices allow for removable and replaceable ornaments (coins, stones, gems, etc.), none of them allow the type of jewelry to be changed. Typical in the art are bands which can be modified to form different types of jewelry objects such as bracelets, watches, collars, anklets, and the like. These devices employ various mechanical means to achieve the desired band circumferences. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 2,508,147. Such devices have the disadvantage of being mechanically complex, and thus, prone to failure.
Magnetism has been used to overcome some of the problems typically associated with mechanical means for adjustment. For example, Quintel (U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,582) describes an adjustable band which allows for adjustment of band circumference using magnets. Further, Hartgrove (U.S. Pat. No. 6,715,315) discloses interchangeable settings for various body portions of jewelry such as ring composites.
However, these and other devices require the magnetized component of the device to be integral within either the body of the jewelry itself or to serve simply as a clasping means to hold together various components that make up the jewelry device (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,729,159 or JP2002142820).
These inventions then, while making exchange of magnetically attachable ornamental pieces or providing a means to replace mechanically dependent variations in length or circumference, do not provide the versatility to change a jewelry object from a necklace to a ring or vice versa. In other words, the wearer is limited basically to the same jewelry object.


A battery charger employs a temperature sensor and single chip microcomputer (SCM) programs for controlling and performs charging with a pulse current. The polarization occurred during battery charging can be eliminated and the charging voltage and current can be automatically regulated based on ambient temperature. An intelligent pulse temperature control charger has a casing and a charging circuit having a high voltage switch power supply circuit and a low voltage control circuit. In the low voltage control circuit, a SCM is employed for controlling, the SCM has three pins as input terminals connected to a temperature sampling circuit, charging voltage sampling circuit and charging current sampling circuit of the battery, respectively, and the SCM has two pins as output terminals, one connected via a photoelectric coupler with the high voltage switch power supply and the other connected with a dichromatic light emitting tube and a heat dissipation fan.

The prior lead-acid battery charger of the electric bike generally has a three-stage charging mode, i.e. constant current charging, constant voltage charging, and constant voltage trickle charging. Always a direct current is output and the battery will be polarized during charging. Moreover, the voltage value and the current value during charging are given under a temperature condition of 25° C. As the charging for the lead-acid battery is remarkably affected by the air temperature, the battery would be over-charged in summer and would be under-charged in winter. Both the over-charging and under-charging would cause water loss and sulfation of the lead-acid battery.

Intelligent pulse temperature control charger