An apparatus and method to output a musical tone is disclosed. More particularly, disclosed is an apparatus and method to output a musical tone according to motion, which divides a space in which a terminal can move into a plurality of subspaces, and matches the subspaces with different musical tones, so that the terminal can output a musical tone matched with a specific subspace when the terminal has moved into the specific subspace.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method to output a musical tone, and more particularly to an apparatus and method to output a musical tone according to motion, which divides a space in which a terminal can move into a plurality of subspaces, and matches the subspaces with different musical tones, so that the terminal can output a musical tone matched with a specific subspace when the terminal has moved into the specific subspace.
2. Description of the Related Art
An inertial sensor senses the inertial force of a mass, which is caused by acceleration or angular motion, through deformation of an elastic member connected to the mass, and then outputs an electrical signal corresponding to the deformation of the elastic member by using an appropriate signal processing technology.
With the development of micro-electromechanical systems, it has become possible to miniaturize and mass produce inertial sensors. Inertial sensors are largely classified into acceleration sensors and angular sensors; they have become important in various fields, such as integrated control of vehicle suspension and brake systems, air bag systems, and car navigation systems. Also, the inertial sensor has been utilized as a data input means for portable devices, such as portable position-recognition systems (e.g., portable digital assistants) applied to a mobile intelligent terminal.
Also, in the aerospace field, the inertial sensor has been applied not only to the navigation systems of general airplanes but also to macro-air-vehicles, missile-attitude control systems, personal navigation systems for the military, and others. In addition, the inertial sensor has recently been applied to continuous motion recognition and three-dimensional games in a mobile terminal.
Also, a mobile terminal able to play a percussion instrument according to the motion of the terminal has been developed. Such a mobile terminal recognizes corresponding motions by means of a built-in inertial sensor, and outputs pre-stored percussion instrument tones according to the recognized motions. In this case, the percussion instrument may be selected and determined by the user. In order to play a percussion instrument according to motion, an acceleration sensor has been used to detect motion of a user because it is inexpensive and the size of a component that can be mounted in the mobile terminal is limited.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-76368 discloses a method for detecting a terminal's motion performed by the user and generating a sound in a mobile terminal, which includes a motion-detecting sensor such as a three-dimensional acceleration sensor. That is, according to the disclosed method, the mobile terminal determines a user's motions based on up, down, right, left, front, and rear accelerations, and generates a sound.
However, since the disclosed method is restricted to generating only a sound according to motion, it is difficult for the user to express various sound sources. Therefore, a method for simply and easily generating tones of various (built-in) sound sources is required.

Apparatus and method for generating musical tone according to motion


An apparatus and method for monitoring the status of at least one steam trap includes at least one monitor including at least one sensor for sensing at least one process condition of the steam trap; at least one means for calculating an average of the at least one monitored process condition; and, at least one transmitter for transmitting at least one signal responsive to the averaged monitored process condition.

Steam traps are a common item of equipment in factories, refineries and other industrial or commercial facilities. The steam traps are installed in process steam lines and act to separate condensed steam, or "condensate", from the steam without allowing the steam to escape. The separated condensate is then recycled back through condensate return lines to the boiler for conversion back to steam. To be effectively operating, the steam trap must prevent steam from escaping past the steam trap and entering the condensate return lines. If steam is allowed to pass through the steam trap into the condensate return line, the result is a loss of valuable energy and a reduction in the efficiency of the steam system.
There are several well-known types of steam traps, including inverted bucket traps, float traps, thermostatic traps and disc traps. Manufacturing facilities, refineries and large buildings often are fitted with extensive systems of steam lines for heating and for process steam. Some of these facilities can contain 1,000 or more steam traps. To promote efficient operation of the steam traps, some type of monitoring or inspection is required to detect malfunctioning traps.
In the past, several different methods of checking the condition of steam traps have been used. One system uses a battery powered probe to sense the temperature of the traps. Another system uses a battery powered probe in an inverted bucket steam trap to sense the presence of water in the trap. When the inverted bucket steam trap has water in it, the trap has a state or condition referred to as "prime". A properly operating inverted bucket trap must have a condition of prime if it is functioning properly. A requisite amount of water in the trap is indicative of proper steam trap operation. A known steam trap monitoring system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,633 to Vallery, which is hereby incorporated by reference. This patent discloses a probe extending into a steam trap, the probe being responsive to the level of condensate in the steam trap.
Other existing steam trap systems include signal lights on the steam traps indicative of the process conditions in the traps. Such systems require visual inspection of all the steam traps in the entire manufacturing facility for proper monitoring of the steam traps. In the past, this type of manual inspection has proven to be difficult to sustain. Without a rigorously enforced inspection system, malfunctioning traps will go undetected.
Another system to monitor steam traps is a hard wire system which includes physical wiring that is threaded from each of the steam traps to one or more centrally located steam trap control stations for receiving and storing data concerning the process conditions of the steam traps. It can be appreciated that, in large facilities, the work required to hard wire thousands of steam traps is very expensive, and, in fact, cost prohibitive. Hard wire systems are especially difficult to install in retrofit situations where the steam trap monitoring system is added after the facility is already built. Also, a hardwired system does not easily allow changes in the physical location of the steam traps.
Still other methods for monitoring steam traps included the transmission and reporting of data using radio frequencies, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,992,436 and 6,145,529 to Hellman et al. and assigned to the present assignee herein, which references are fully incorporated herein by reference.
It would be advantageous if a steam trap monitoring system could be devised to economically convey process condition information from a multitude of steam traps to one or more control stations. Such a system should be operable with low maintenance and should be easy and economical to install. Further, the system not only should provide process conditions of the steam trap, but preferably should also be able to positively identify the steam trap from which the signal originates.
It would further be advantageous if a steam trap could be devised to remotely monitor a steam trap's functionality while the steam trap is in a working, or live, steam system.
It would be further advantageous if a monitoring system could be devised that is adaptable to be used with many types of steam traps.
It would be still further advantageous if a monitoring system could be devised that is capable of being added, or retrofit, to existing steam traps already in place in a working environment.


The present invention is directed to a method for determining actual states of a number of adjusting elements. A position of an additional member relative to a basic member can be set by means of a number of adjusting elements. In order to determine the actual states of the adjusting elements, the additional member is firstly fixed mechanically relative to the basic member in such a way that it has only one degree of freedom. It is then possible to describe the position of the additional member relative to the basic member by means of a single scalar variable. The position of the additional member is then changed. Changes in state effected by the change in position of the additional member are detected, and the actual states of the adjusting elements are determined therefrom.

With machine tools, manipulating devices and robots, it happens that the driven components (i.e., adjusting elements) are not arranged at right angles to one another. To be operated, such machines require a so-called kinematic coordinate transformation which converts spatial coordinates (as a rule, Cartesian coordinates, in individual cases, also cylindrical or spherical coordinates) into desired values for the machine axes. In these machines, the accuracy of positioning is a function of a multiplicity of factors.
Thus, in particular the parameters of the kinematic transformation must be accurately known. Furthermore, the mathematical model for describing the kinematic transformation should be as complete as possible. Finally, the actual states of the adjusting elements must be exactly known.
The geometric parameters of the kinematic transformation comprise, inter alia, spatial coordinates of midpoints of links, and the mutual spacing of links. Such measurements are carried out as a rule on coordinate measuring machines. The parameters of the kinematic transformation, that is to say the positions of points of the basic member relative to one another, and the positions of points of the additional member relative to one another, can therefore be detected with sufficient accuracy as a rule. However, once these parameters have been detected, it is also still necessary to determine the actual states of the adjusting elements with high accuracy. This frequently constitutes a large problem in starting up a machine. The point is that in the overwhelming number of applications, it is necessary for the actual state to be exactly known in order to be able to adjust the additional member correctly. In the assembled state of the machine, however, the link midpoints are no longer accessible as a rule to direct measurement.
It is conceivable to set the actual states in repeated trials so that the positional accuracy of the additional member in the working space is as high as possible. However, this method is complicated and, moreover, not very accurate.
DE 198 28 181 A1 discloses a method for calibrating the kinematics. In this method, comparisons are made in the entire working space between a measured position and detected actual positions, and the parameters and the actual states of the adjusting elements are determined in such a way that the mean square error is minimized. This method also has only a limited accuracy and is, moreover, very complex mathematically.

Method for determining actual states of a number of adjusting elements


Disclosed is an improved hair extension and thickening process which reduces shedding, resists physical and chemical degradation, and which, further, provides for safely, easily, and cleanly removing the supplemental hair from the natural hair. A weft of natural or synthetic supplemental hair is suspended upon a mounting surface. A small bundle of supplemental hair is segregated from the weft. A liquid latex is applied thereto, and the latex is twisted into it so that the supplemental hair is thoroughly coated, intertwined, and bonded together at the junction so formed. Cyanoacrylate adhesive is applied to further bond the bundle of supplemental hair. The supplemental bundles are then permanently separated from the weft. The supplemental bundle may later be bonded to a person's natural hair through the use of a hot melt acrylic adhesive. Release and separation of the supplemental bundle from the person's natural hair is conveniently, safely, and cleanly obtained through the use of acetone.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to hair extension and thickening processes, sometimes also called hair infusion; and, more particularly, to an improved process for extending and thickening human hair in which a bundle of supplemental hair is preformed through the use of liquid latex and cyanoacrylate adhesive. The supplemental bundle is then bonded to the human hair through the use of a hot melt acrylic adhesive. Release of the supplemental bundle is conveniently and cleanly obtained by the use of acetone.
2. Description of Background Art
Persons with short hair, thinning hair, or those otherwise seeking to change their appearance, sometimes desire to lengthen or supplement their natural hair. Accordingly, various processes have been developed for extending and thickening the natural hair. These processes are sometimes known in the industry by the term, hair infusion.
Such processes seek to provide a longer, fuller, healthier appearance to the natural hair. Such processes, by various means, add supplemental hair to the natural hair. Examples of some such processes may be reviewed by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,121,761 to Meister; 5,072,745 to Cheh; 4,982,748 to Trimarchi; 4,947,877 to Meyer et al.; 4,934,387 to Megna; and, 3,295,534 to Dorkin.
Persons seeking such hair additions may spend hundreds of dollars, and invest many hours of time with a stylist, in order to achieve a longer and fuller style. Notwithstanding this investment, they may experience significant shedding of the supplemental hair within a few days following the application process. The problem is further compounded over time by the use of chemical treatments, shampoos and conditioners, blow-dryers, brushes, combs, and the like, and by swimming and sunning, all of which tend to degrade the adhesive junction between the person's natural hair and the supplemental hair. Such shedding is frustrating not only to the person undergoing the process, but also to the stylist who has invested significant time, energy, and creativity in fulfilling the needs of the client, and who has put his or her reputation at stake should the process fail to meet the expectations of the client.
Others have recognized and attempted to provide solutions to these difficulties. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,867 issued to Barrington on Apr. 28, 1992, for example, supplemental hair plugs are formed by the use of a cyanoacrylate adhesive. The tip of the plug is coated with hot melt glue and allowed to cool. The plug is then threaded, along with the person's natural hair, into a section of heat shrink tubing. Heat is then applied, which liquefies the hot melt glue, thereby joining the natural and supplemental hair. The heat further serves to shrink the tubing about the junction to compress and seal the junction.
When it is desired to remove the supplemental hair from the person's natural air, the junction is again heated. Because hot melt adhesives are used to bond the supplemental hair to the natural hair, however, the process of removing the supplemental hair may leave an undesirable, sticky residue upon the person's natural hair.
Thus, it is readily apparent that an improved hair extension and thickening process which reduces shedding, resists physical and chemical degradation, and which, further, provides for safely, easily, and cleanly removing the supplemental hair from the natural hair, is needed. It is, therefore, to the provision of such an improved hair extension and thickening process that the method of the present invention is directed.
Accordingly, the several objects of the present invention are;
to provide an improved hair extension and thickening process which can be used to improve various methods of adding length or volume, or both, to natural hair or hair prostheses; PA1 to provide an improved hair extension and thickening process which will not shed for extended periods of time, even through frequent washings and active wear; PA1 to provide an improved hair extension and thickening process which provides for safely, easily, and cleanly removing the supplemental hair from the natural hair; and, PA1 to provide an improved hair extension and thickening process which saves money and time by allowing the stylist to work faster and to use fewer materials.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the process of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art by reference to the drawings and to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment presented herein.


A torque fluctuation inhibiting device is disclosed. The torque fluctuation inhibiting device includes an input member, a pair of inertia rings and an inertia block. The input member, to which a torque is inputted, is disposed to be rotatable. The pair of inertia rings is disposed axially on the both sides of the input member. The pair of inertia rings is disposed to be rotatable relative to the input member. The pair of inertia rings is unitarily rotated with each other. The inertia block is disposed between the pair of inertia rings. The inertia block is attached to the pair of inertia rings.

Torque fluctuation inhibiting devices include an input member and an inertia member. For example, in a torque fluctuation inhibiting device described in Japan Laid-open Patent Application Publication No. 2018-132161, a pair of inertia rings is disposed to interpose a hub flange therebetween. The torque fluctuation inhibiting device is configured to inhibit fluctuations in torque inputted to the hub flange by utilizing an inertia force of the pair of inertia rings.
In order to increase the inertia force of the pair of inertia rings in the torque fluctuation inhibiting device configured as described above, increase in thickness of the pair of inertia rings can be assumed. However, when the pair of inertia rings is increased in thickness as herein described, the torque fluctuation inhibiting device is inevitably increased in axial dimension. This results in a drawback of expansion in installation space for the torque fluctuation inhibiting device.

Torque fluctuation inhibiting device and torque converter


A method and an apparatus for environmentally-friendly batch hot-dip coating of high-performance alloy are provided. The method is that workpiece is heated to the process temperature in the heating box with inner gas before galvanizing. The heating box body consist of two or three zones, which are waiting zone, heating zone and post-plating turnover zone (the post-plating turnover zone can be omitted). A zinc pot is arranged in the heating zone, and the zinc pot is configured for hot-dip coating. Workpieces can be processed with zinc or zinc-based alloys. A transporting device is configured to successively transport in a sealed state the workpiece to be processed to the waiting zone, the heating zone, the zinc pot, and the post-plating turnover zone (the post-plating turnover zone can be omitted). The new method realizes hot-dip coating with zinc and other zinc-based alloys without the use of the flux.

Batch hot-dip galvanizing refers to plating a metal onto a batch of steel components and products with different shapes arranged on a rack. The steel components include steel structural parts, guardrail plates, steel pipes, electric power fittings, fasteners and various miscellaneous parts. Currently, flux method (also called dry method) is mainly used for batch hot-dip galvanizing. The flux method is performed after rust is removed from the surface of a workpiece, and includes dipping the workpiece in a zinc ammonia type flux and drying. The traditional process is as follows: rust removal—water washing—flux—drying—hot-dip galvanizing—post-treatment. The principle of the flux method is that a zinc-iron reaction occurs on the surface of clean metal to realize the hot-dip galvanizing. The surfaces of the steel components are cleaned and dipped with the flux to protect them from rusting again. The clean metal surface is freshly exposed after the protective film of the flux is ruptured under heat during zinc coating. The above-mentioned flux method has the following disadvantages:
1. Environmental pollution: a large amount of zinc smoke is produced when the flux reacts with the high-temperature zinc bath on the surface of the workpiece. A large amount of zinc ash is also formed at the same time, resulting in an increased use of zinc, which adds expense to the process and further harm to the environment.
2. Low production efficiency: substantial time is necessary for the workpiece to be dried and heated to the process temperature for hot-dip plating. Production efficiency is essentially "capped" as a result.
3. High production cost: the flux method employs an open system for heating, and therefore, heat dissipation from the zinc pot surface causes substantial energy loss. In addition, the workpiece is heated in a zinc bath and, therefore, the workpiece must be immersed in the zinc pot for an extended period, resulting in overreaction of zinc with iron producing zinc dross. The flux oxidizes on the metal surface to produce zinc ash as well, which requires that zinc resources be replenished. Therefore, high energy consumption and high zinc consumption add substantially to production cost, decrease profits and decrease competitiveness for zinc hot-dip galvanizing.
4. The existing flux method for hot-dip galvanizing can coat workpieces only with zinc, but cannot coat workpieces with other zinc-based alloys.

Method and apparatus for environmentally-friendly batch hot-dip coating of high-performance alloy

TIANJIN GONGDA GALVANIZING EQUIPMENT CO., LTD.


An exemplary fuel cell of the invention includes a formic acid fuel solution in communication with an anode (12, 134), an oxidizer in communication with a cathode (16, 135) electrically linked to the anode, and an anode catalyst that includes Pd. An exemplary formic acid fuel cell membrane electrode assembly (130) includes a proton-conducting membrane (131) having opposing first (132) and second surfaces (133), a cathode catalyst on the second membrane surface, and an anode catalyst including Pd on the first surface.

Fuel cells are electrochemical cells in which a free energy change resulting from a fuel oxidation reaction is converted into electrical energy. Applications for fuel cells include battery replacement, mini and microelectronics, car engines, power plants, and many others. One advantage of fuel cells is that they are substantially pollution-free.
In hydrogen fuel cells, hydrogen gas is oxidized to form water, with a useful electrical current produced as a byproduct of the oxidation reaction. A solid polymer membrane electrolyte layer may be used to separate the hydrogen fuel from the oxygen. The anode and cathode are arranged on opposite faces of the membrane. Electron flow between the anode and cathode layers of the membrane electrode assembly may be exploited to provide electrical power. Hydrogen fuel cells are impractical for many applications, however, because of difficulties related to storing and handling hydrogen gas.
Organic fuel cells may prove useful in many applications as an alternative to hydrogen fuel cells. In an organic fuel cell, an organic fuel such as methanol is oxidized to carbon dioxide at an anode, while air or oxygen is simultaneously reduced to water at a cathode. One advantage over hydrogen fuel cells is that organic/air fuel cells may be operated with a liquid organic fuel. This eliminates problems associated with hydrogen gas handling and storage. Some organic fuel cells require initial conversion of the organic fuel to hydrogen gas by a reformer. These are referred to as "indirect" fuel cells. The need for a reformer increases cell size, cost, complexity, and start up time. Other types of organic fuel cells, called "direct," eliminate these disadvantages by directly oxidizing the organic fuel without conversion to hydrogen gas. Further classification of fuel cells may distinguish "passive" cells from "active" cells. In an active cell, fuel solution is continuously supplied for contact with the anode (as by pumping, for example), whereas in a "passive" cell a specified quantity of fuel solution is provided for reaction.
Fuel cells including methanol, formic acid, and other organic fuel cells make use of an anode catalyst and a cathode catalyst to promote efficiency. The catalysts promote the reduction reaction at the cathode and the oxidation at the anode. Some prior efforts have focused on platinum (Pt) based catalysts, with platinum/ruthenium or platinum/palladium anode catalysts being two examples. When used in an organic fuel cell, known anode catalysts, including Pt based catalysts, have only a low level of activity as compared to those in a hydrogen fuel cell. As a result, organic cells tend to require relatively large loadings of the catalyst. This adds considerable cost to the fuel cells due to the high price of the precious and semi-precious metals in the catalysts.

The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois


A video display apparatus for displaying a catalog of one or more candidate video items for replay, each video item being represented in the catalog by a catalog entry having at least one displayed representative image comprises a user control device operable to resize a displayed catalog entry by a select-and-drag operation; and means responsive to a resizing of a catalog entry to select a number of distinct representative images, for display in respect of that video item, so that the number displayed increases with increasing size of the catalog entry while the display size of each representative image stays substantially constant with respect to changes in the catalog entry size.

Field of the Invention
This invention relates to video display.
Description of the Prior Art
In a video display system, for example, a computer-based video display system, it is often difficult for a user to know what video material is available for viewing without wasting a lot of time manually searching through the material.
It has been proposed to use so-called representative images (often called "thumbnails" or "keyframes") to indicate the content of a piece of video material. A representative image is often taken from a fixed point within a piece of material, for example, the first frame. In a long piece of material, such a single image may not provide a good indication of the overall content of the material. In particular, the first image of a sequence may be invalid—for example, a blank image or a test pattern.
To address this problem, it has been proposed that multiple representative images could be used. The paper "A hierarchical keyframe user interface for browsing video over the internet", M. Guillemot et al, IDIAP-COM 03-02, August 2003 discloses an arrangement whereby the user may select one or two levels of increased detail, each providing a greater number of representative images.

Video display for displaying a series of representative images for video


A fastener, such as a housing, for mounting to a structure, such as a panel, that has an aperture formed therethrough. The fastener includes a shank member and an annular nut member that is configured to align coaxially with the shank member. The shank member is inserted through aperture in the structure and the nut member is placed on the shank member. Teeth on the radially outwardly facing surface of the shank member engage a pawl, such as one or more teeth, on the radially inwardly facing surface of the nut member to lock the nut member to the shank member. Removal of the nut member is effected by rotating the nut member to disengage the pawl from the teeth, thereby permitting longitudinal displacement of the nut member off of the shank member.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to fasteners for mounting through an aperture in a structure, and more preferably to a fastener for mounting through an aperture in a panel where the fastener is configured to contain an object, such as a sound-emitting transducer, in the manner of a housing.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are many fasteners that are capable of fastening two or more structures together. The conventional wood or metal screw has helical threads around a shaft, and the threads seat against the inwardly facing wall of an aperture formed in the structures. As the screw shaft is rotated, the screw head is displaced closer to one side of the structures to fasten them together. Alternatively, a nut and bolt can be used to fasten two or more objects together when the shaft of the bolt is inserted through an aperture in the objects and the bolt's head seats against the object on one end of the aperture and the nut seats against the object on the opposite end of the aperture. Upon tightening of the nut relative to the bolt, the interposed objects are fastened together.
One difficulty with a conventional nut and bolt is that it often takes numerous rotations of the nut relative to the bolt to tightly interpose the structure between the head and nut. Furthermore, if carried out by hand, these numerous rotations may consume time unnecessarily or cause repetitive-motion injuries, such as carpal-tunnel syndrome.
Various attempts have been made to solve these problems. U.S. Pat. No. 5,304,022 to Huska shows a bolt with a tapered shaft and a nut with engaging pitched threads on portions of the radially inwardly facing surface of the nut. Non-threaded portions of the radially inwardly facing surface of the nut are formed between the threaded portions of the nut, and a non-threaded portion of the bolt's shaft are formed between threaded portions. This configuration permits the nut to be slid onto the shaft for a part of the shaft's length.
U.S. Pat. No. 763,210 to Schwamberger and U.S. Pat. No. 5,980,177 to Schiess et al., disclose similar nut and bolt fasteners in which a nut is rapidly slid onto the bolt's shaft and then rotated to engage pitched threads. Such devices have the disadvantage that they still require some rotation. An additional disadvantage is that the pitch and coarseness of the threads must be such that the fastener can be tightened on opposite sides of the structures on which it is attached within the partial rotation permitted before the threads disengage. Otherwise, the fasteners will disengage without being sufficiently tightened.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,990,044 to Kimak is directed to a push-on fastener in which a nut has threaded structures that can be displaced radially away from a threaded shaft to permit the nut to slide over the bolt's threads. The nut is pushed as far as desired, and then threaded the remainder of the way. A disadvantage of such a device is that the tightening force on the nut also tends to displace the threaded structures radially, thereby permitting the nut to back off and loosen the fastener. Thus, any over-tightening might cause the nut to come loose over time, especially in an environment in which there is vibration.
One particular use for the above-described fasteners is as a housing for a sound-emitting transducer, such as a piezoelectric alarm or chime. Such transducers must often be mounted through an aperture formed in a panel, such as an elevator control panel, an automobile dashboard panel, or other structure. Conventional piezoelectric transducers, such as those offered and sold by Floyd Bell, Inc., have a circular cylindrical housing that contains the circuitry and a diaphragm that vibrates upon the actuation of the piezoelectric transducer. The housing has a helically-threaded male tip that extends through the aperture in the panel. A helically-threaded female collar fits onto the threading of the tip and tightens the housing against the back of the panel in the manner of a nut and bolt.
Conventional fasteners and housings have drawbacks that should be overcome to decrease the time required for installation, reduce repetitive-action injuries, improve the appearance of the finished product and decrease the likelihood of vibrating loose.


The invention relates to use of a biological material containing cells supported on three-dimensional scaffolds containing at least one hyaluronic acid derivative for the preparation of grafts suitable for application by arthroscopy, and a kit of surgical instruments for implanting said biological material by arthroscopy.

The aim of joint cartilage repair is to restore the integrity of the joint surface, reduce pain and prevent any further deterioration of the tissues.
Joint cartilage is a tissue which allows virtually frictionless movement of the joint. Its particular biological characteristics enable the joint to absorb forces at least five times greater than the body's weight. The joint cartilage, or hyaline, has a very limited capacity for self-repair, so the type of cartilage that is spontaneously regenerated after damage does not possess the same characteristics as the original tissue. It is known as fibrocartilage and has no properties of lubrication or absorption of mechanical shock. The final phase of hyaline cartilage degeneration is accompanied by pain and limited mobility that may cause locking of the joint. In the long term, the degenerative process may even cause the onset of complications such as osteoarthritis. In the most severe cases, the joint, usually the knee, has to be replaced with a metal prosthesis. This is a costly procedure and is not even permanent because many prostheses have to be changed after about 10-15 years. For this reason, knee replacements are only performed as a last resort in patients of under 50 years old. Joint cartilage lesions are currently treated by arthroscopic surgical techniques chiefly aimed at reducing pain, slowing down the degeneration process and, whenever possible, repairing the damage. Many methods have been applied to date to treat cartilage defects, and each of them has certain disadvantages (T. Minas et al. "Current concepts in the treatment of articular cartilage defects", Orthopedics, June 1997, Vol. 20 No. 6). One such technique involves trimming the margins of the cartilage defect, in other words, débridement of the edges of the lesion by removing any necrotic or diseased tissue. The technique of stimulating the marrow consists in reaching areas of the subchondral bone tissue by abrasion or perforation, thus stimulating the formation of a fibrin clot containing pluripotent stem cells. The clot then differentiates and takes form, giving rise to fibrocartilage repair tissue. The resulting tissue does not, however, have the mechanical properties or physiological or structural characteristics of healthy, lasting joint cartilage.
Another technique consists in implanting a piece of periosteum or perichondrium tissue, taken for example from rib cartilage, into the defect. Initially, this treatment triggers the development of hyaline cartilage, but the repair tissue does not take easily to the surrounding healthy tissues, and subsequently becomes ossified. Recently, a team of Swedish researchers devised an ex-vivo technique of grafting autologous chondrocytes, where chondrogenic cells are isolated from a small cartilage biopsy, grown in vitro and then regrafted in the same subject (M. Brittberg, A. Lindahl, A. Nilsson: "Treatment of deep cartilage defects in the knee with autologous chondrocyte transplantation", N. Eng. J. Med: 1994, 331, 889-895). According to the authors, in the culture phase, the chondrocytes temporarily de-differentiate and multiply under stimulation by suitable growth factors. Once transplanted to the damaged area, they recover their phenotype memory and consequently re-differentiate into chondrocytes able to produce a hyaline-type cartilage matrix. The surgical procedure is actually rather complex. First of all, the operation requires open surgery. Moreover, the cartilage defect must be well located and covered by a lid of periosteum (taken in the course of the same operation). This must be fixed to the cartilage tissue with a watertight seal of suture and fibrin (autologous or allogenic), so as to create a chamber into which the autologous cell suspension can be injected. Indeed, if the chamber is not perfectly sealed, the cells will leak out again and the operation will have failed.
To summarise, the main disadvantages of this procedure are that the operation is difficult to perform, the technique is invasive and the implanted cells are not perfectly differentiated. Autologous and homologous osteochondral grafts involve techniques that are surgically invasive and complex and there is a risk of viral transmission with the latter.
Other attempts at reconstructing the joint cartilage consist in implanting synthetic scaffolds containing allogenic chondrocytes, and growth factors able to stimulate proliferation of the chondrocytes.
The most frequently used synthetic scaffolds are of collagen gel, polyanhydride, polyorthoester, polyglycolic acid and the copolymers thereof. The chief disadvantage of using said scaffolds is represented by an immune response directed towards the implanted material.
There are known chondrocyte cultures in gel-scaffolds constituted by agarose, hyaluronic acid, fibrin glue, collagen and alginate.
However, said cultures in gel do not provide suitable mechanical stability to remain adhered to the site and allow the reconstruction of the cartilage structure.
Moreover, chondrocyte cultures in substances such as fibrin dedifferentiate into cells that are apparently similar to fibroblasts.
Lastly, although the gels constituted by substances such as agarose induce chondrocyte redifferentiation, the use of this compound has not been approved for internal application in humans.
As previously described joint cartilage defects have also been treated with isolated chondrocyte suspensions in the absence of supporting scaffolds. It is thought, however, that chondrocytes lose their viability and/or do not remain in the defect, and that they form fibrocartilage or islets of cartilage immersed in fibrous tissue (U.S. Pat. No. 5,723,331).
To overcome this problem, the Applicant has devised injectable compositions containing chondrocytes or cells of bone marrow stroma dispersed in a matrix containing at least one hyaluronic acid derivative (PCT patent application, publication No. WO00/37124).
As is known, hyaluronic acid plays a vital role in many biological processes, such as tissue hydration, proteoglycan organisation, cell differentiation, proliferation and angiogenesis (J. Aigner et al. L. Biomed. Mater. Res. 1998, 42, 172-181).
Also known is the use of hyaluronic acid derivatives prepared as described in EP patent No. 0216453 B1 for the preparation of three-dimensional scaffolds in the form of non-woven fabrics, membranes, sponges, granules, microspheres, tubes, gauzes, for the in vitro growth of stem and mesenchymal cells (PCT patent application publication No. WO 97/18842), in the form of a nonwoven fabric associated with a perforated membrane for the growth in vitro of fibroblasts and keratinocytes (PCT patent application No. WO 96/33750 and in the form of a nonwoven fabric for the growth of chondrocytes (J. Aigner et al. L. Biomed. Mater Res. 1998, 42, 172-181).

Use of a biological material containing three-dimensional scaffolds of hyaluronic acid derivatives for the preparation of implants in arthroscopy and kit for instruments for implanting said biological material by arthroscopy


The spot welding electrodes are driven by the servomotor (30) so as to be moved to and pressured against a work surface. The welding pressure controller (27) detects welding pressure corresponding to current flowing through the servomotor (30) via a driver (26) and controls the welding pressure so as to be changed according to the set welding pressure condition. The welding current flowing through the spot welding electrodes is controlled by the welding current controller (28). The welding current controller (28) and the welding pressure controller (27) are both controlled synchronously by the robot CPU (20) via the system bus (21). The robot CPU (20) controls the welding pressure and the welding current on the basis of the welding condition data (22) stored in a memory, so as to be changed in synchronism with each other at a plurality of welding stages, respectively. By doing this, it is possible to control the welding pressure and the welding current during the spot welding synchronously and systematically, thus realizing a spot welding control adaptive to work behavior.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spot welding control method and apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, spot welding has been widely used to join two metal plates (i.e, work or base material). In this spot welding, current is passed through a joint portion of the two metal plates, to join the joint portion by forming a nugget partially melted due to heat generated by resistance. In the mass production factory of automotive vehicles, in particular, a great number of welded portions are spot-welded automatically by use of a number of welder robots provided with spot welding electrodes.
FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram showing a prior art control apparatus used for a spot welder robot. The spot welding conditions are set to a welding controller 1, and the spot welding electrodes are moved and further pressured by use of a welding pressure actuator 2. Further, when the pressuring force of the spot welding electrodes is controlled by the welding controller 1, the pneumatic pressure of an air cylinder 6 is controlled. Further, the welding pressure actuator 2 includes a programmable logic controller (referred to as PLC, hereinafter) 4 for executing the welding sequence control, a valve unit 5 electrically controlled by the PLC 4, and the air cylinder 6 controlled by the valve unit 5 on the basis of pneumatic pressure to move and pressure the spot welding electrodes. Further, the welding controller 1 includes a welding pressure controller 7 for controlling the welding pressure, and a welding current controller for controlling the welding current flowing through the spot welding electrodes.
A robot controller (electric control unit) 3 for controlling a spot welder robot includes a robot CPU 10 for controlling the robot operation in accordance with a previously determined program, in which a memory for storing welding condition data 12 can be accessed through a system bus 11. As the welding condition data 12, various welding conditions such as position data, welding time, welding pressure, welding current, etc. all necessary for spot welding are stored. Therefore, after having accessed the welding condition data 12, the robot CPU 10 moves the spot welding electrodes to a welding position of a work to be spot-welded, and sets welding pressure to the welding pressure controller 7 and welding current to the welding current controller 8, respectively both included in the welding controller 1 via an interface (referred to as I/F, hereinafter) 13 connected to the system bus 11. Here, another I/F 14 is connected to the system bus 11, so that it is possible to input or output data in and from the welding pressure actuator 2. Further, as the serial transmission signal lines 15 and 16 conforming to the RS422 standard are provided between the I/F 13 and the welding controller 1 and between the I/F 14 and the welding pressure actuator 2, respectively.
When a welding pressure is set as the welding condition data 12, the welding pressure controller 7 forms data for generating the welding pressure by the welding pressure actuator 2, and controls the pneumatic pressure of the air cylinder 6. In order to execute a highly reliable spot welding operation without defects, it is necessary to control the welding pressure according to the time stage of the spot welding and the welding current synchronized with the welding pressure systematically under optimum conditions.
The prior art technique related to the synchronous and systematic control between the welding pressure and the welding current for the spot welding is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-226455 or No. 7-132382, for instance. In the case of the Japanese Patent Laid-Open Patent Application No. 6-226455, there is disclosed such a method that when an aluminum-lithium (Al-Li) alloy is spot-welded on the basis of resistance, a large welding current and a low welding pressure are set at the first half period of spot welding but a small welding current and a high welding pressure are set at the second half period of the same spot welding. Further, in the case of the Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 7-132382, there is disclosed such a method that a stable spot welding can be enabled, in spite of a small welding current, by switching high and low welding pressure alternately, while keeping the welding current constant or slightly increasing the welding current. In these prior art welding techniques, the welding pressure and the welding current are both changed at a plurality of the welding stages in order to form an excellent nugget at the joint portion; that is, in order that the welding can be executed under such conditions that a welding trouble such as so called "expulsion and surface flash" will not be generated.
In the prior art spot welding system as shown in FIG. 5, however, since the welding controller 1 for controlling the welding pressure and the welding current, and the welding pressure actuator 2 are both connected to each other through the system bus 11 and the two I/F 13 and 14, separately, the individual system elements are disposed separately. Therefore, there exists such a problem in that the data transmission paths are long between the respective system elements and thereby the timings required for transmission procedure are complicated, with the result that it is difficult to synchronize and execute a systematic control of both the welding current and the welding pressure during a single short time spot welding process.
Further, in the case of the spot-welded work, the joint portions of the work are not necessarily brought into tight contact with each other, but brought into tight contact with each other only after having been pressured by the spot welding electrodes. Further, when the nugget is formed by heating the resistance portion of the work by the welding current, the joint portions are thermally expanded or the melted portion and the heat generating portion are softened and thereby compressed by the welding pressure. As a result, in order to control the welding pressure of the spot welding electrodes, it is necessary to control the position of the spot welding electrodes according to change of the work status. In the case where the welding pressure is generated by the air cylinder 6 as shown in FIG. 5, when the spot welding electrodes are moved at a relatively slow speed, the welding pressure can be maintained constant. However, when the spot welding electrodes are moved at a relatively high speed, it has been difficult to control the spot-welded positions at high speed. In the case of the Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 6-226455, although the welding pressure and the welding current are both changed at two different stages, the construction of the used spot welder, in particular the construction of the pressuring mechanism of the spot welding electrodes is not shown. On the other hand, in the case of the Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 7-132382, although the welding pressure of the spot welding electrodes can be controlled by use of a welding pressure actuator including a rotation-to-straight convertor for converting the rotational motion of a motor into a straight line motion is disclosed, it is not clear the method of detecting and changing the welding pressure.

Spot welding control method and apparatus


A side cab providing enclosed pedestrian entrance to, or egress from, an airplane access door. The side pivot cab facilitates engaging one end of an access passageway with an aircraft access door by aligning interface structure for engagement with the aircraft. A side pivot cab rotates about an axis near, or associated with, a wall of an access passageway from an airport terminal building. A single adjustable wall extends or contracts to accommodate rotation of a pivot cab. Rotation capability of a side pivot cab may approach 270 degrees.

This invention relates generally to vehicular loading and unloading structure. It particularly relates to devices providing pedestrian or cargo entrance to, or egress from, an aircraft. It is most particularly directed to mechanized hallways providing an enclosed pedestrian passageway access from a building, such as an airport terminal, to an airplane access door or port.
Passenger boarding bridges are typically provided to transfer passengers from a centrally located airport terminal to aircraft. An above ground floor of a modem terminal provides distributed gathering locations for passengers of different aircraft. Such gathering locations are typically constructed at approximately the elevation of an aircraft. Elevated passenger boarding passageways are provided from a terminal exit opening to an aircraft access door. Such passageways minimize the climbing or descending required for a passenger to board an aircraft.
The elevation of the passageway separates the boarding process from baggage loading and unloading, which occurs primarily at ground level. Passageways are generally enclosed to provide climate control and protection from inclement weather. Enclosures also increase safety by keeping pedestrians on the boarding ramp, and shielding pedestrians from moving aircraft structure.
Passenger boarding ramps generally have the capability to increase in length to span a variable distance from a terminal to a parked aircraft. A discharge end of such a boarding ramp may also be capable of transverse movement to increase the range of aircraft service positions. A pivot cab is generally provided at the discharge end of a boarding ramp to align structure for engagement of an aircraft to aircraft having variable alignment with the boarding ramp. Examples of extendable passageways having pivot cabs are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.: 2,688,762; 2,700,169; 2,875,457; and 3,038,185.
Commercially available pivot cabs suffer certain inefficiencies. They provide a pivoting rotation of the cab about an axis located approximately on a centerline of the aircraft interface end of a passageway. This pivot location requires complicated and heavy assemblies for the construction of a pivot cab. One commercially available embodiment has rigid overlapping walls arranged in a circular configuration. Such a pivot cab has a range of allowable pivot angles limited by the length of overlapped walls, and relative sizes of exterior and interior openings. A typical total included pivot angle between a first and second extreme rotation afforded by a cab of this design might be 20 degrees.
A second commercially available pivot cab design has more rotation capability. In this design, an adjustable wall is provided on either side of an aircraft access opening. Rotation of such a pivot cab expands one wall while the other wall is simultaneously retracted. While affording increased rotation capability, such a pivot cab still suffers from heavy assemblies used in its construction. Also, the right exterior profile of the central pivot design presents obstructions which may interfere with propellers and spinners for commercial aircraft.
The present invention provides an apparatus for engaging one end of an access passageway with an aircraft access port. The invention may find application in: passenger boarding bridges, mobile aircraft service vehicles, aircraft service corridors, and mobile aircraft boarding lounges. The invention includes a pivot cab for association with an open end of a passageway. A pivot cab of this invention includes a pivot structure generally associated with a side-wall of the passageway. The pivot structure location, being out of registration with a center of the passageway, causes an unsymmetric rotation of the pivot cab about the passage opening. The passageway may be enclosed, or may simply include a sidewalk, bridge, or gangplank. A first end of a pivot cab is in open communication with the passageway. Structure of a pivot cab defines a volume bounded by a roof, a first panel, a floor, and an adjustable wall. In certain preferred embodiments, the volume enclosed by a pivot cab is also defined by a second panel. The first panel, preferably comprising a window to provide an operator a range of view, is rotatably secured to the pivot structure. Preferred embodiments will have an operator console cooperatively configured and arranged with the first panel to form an operator station being substantially to a side and out of the flow of traffic through the passageway. A second end of the pivot cab is in open communication with interface structure constructed and arranged to engage an aircraft. In general, a weather barrier comprising a doorway and a dividing panel will be provided to seal the passageway when an aircraft is not in engagement with the second end of the pivot cab. It is preferred for the dividing panel to comprise a window for improved operator field of view. A pivot cab according to principles of the present invention may have an included pivot angle capability of approximately 135 degrees between a first and a second rotation orientation. The maximum included angle of rotation for an embodiment of this invention approaches 270 degrees.
In practice at most modern airports, a total included pivot angle of 15 to 20 degrees is sufficient for an embodiment of a pivot cab. Particularly under such low articulation conditions, a configuration comprising one or more rigid panel elements may suffice as an adjustable wall. A suitable rigid panel configuration includes a plurality of overlapping adjacent panel members having a common curvature and disposed for transverse motion relative each other. The transverse motion would, of course, be in a direction to extend or retract the adjustable wall. An alternative adjustable wall may include a plurality of individual panels being interconnected and disposed to assume the shape of underlying support structure. Such an adjustable wall may be deployed from a rolled-up storage configuration. An adjustable wall may also include a curtain manufactured from a suitable fabric or other material. In certain embodiments include curtain walls, the adjustable wall may be stored in a rolled-up configuration within a housing. In other embodiments, the adjustable wall may be stored within, or adjacent, a storage wall panel by a relatively linear retraction, similar to either a hand-held fan or a pocket door. Such a storage wall panel may include structure associated with either a passageway side-wall or a pivot cab enclosing panel.

Side pivot cab for loading or unloading an airplane


A query with a UNION ALL (UA) view is detected by a query optimizer. A query execution plan and cost for the query is obtained. The query is rewritten to push aggregates of the original query into the view. A query execution plan is generated for the rewritten query and a cost for executing the rewritten query is obtained. The lowest cost execution plan is selected for execution by a database engine of a database.

In order to perform intelligent analysis over large data while minimizing the processing time needed for the analysis, it is often imperative to partition this large data into smaller units. A UNION ALL view/derived table is one of several commonly used techniques for partitioning large data into smaller units. As an example, it would not be uncommon for a sales company to store data accumulated over a number of years in order to study and exploit the purchase pattern of its customers. Such data could grow exponentially, therefore, it is imperative that partitioning strategies are employed to better manage the data.
With the advent of multiple hash maps that will co-exist on a system, it becomes even more imperative to optimize UNION ALL queries on tables residing on different hash maps.
Typically, query processing of aggregate operations on a UNION ALL view/derived table was done by first spooling the UNION ALL view, before the aggregate operations were done. This was done irrespective of the type of operations contained within the UNION ALL view.
However, because commercial database have voluminous amounts of data that can be distributed over many network nodes, spooling too much or too frequently can cause significant performance bottlenecks I the database system.
Therefore, there is a need for improved processing techniques with UNION ALL views.

Techniques for pushing joins into union all views


A communication network includes a database for storing information specific to called parties, an announcement system for announcing the information to calling parties prior to the call completion and a switch for completing the call connections between calling parties and called parties. The calling parties hear the announcements that identify the called parties and are able to avoid misdialing.

This invention relates to announcement systems for use in communication networks. Examples of such systems are long distance carriers' welcome announcement systems, telephone card verification systems, or the like that can invoke announcements in response to particular telephone calls. More particularly, the invention relates to a branding system for branding each call with an announcement providing information about a called party, i.e., ensuring that a calling party can determine whether his call is directed to the proper called party.
Many types of announcement systems are known. Most such announcement systems provide some type of information to aid the calling party during call completions. For example, the announcement systems may announce to the calling parties the identities of long distance carriers so that the calling parties can verify their choices of the long distance carriers. In another example, the announcement systems may announce to the calling parties the identities of calling card companies, and provide instructions so that calling parties can submit their personal identification numbers for verification.
These announcement systems for use in communication networks, however, lack capabilities to provide the information about called parties, e.g., identification of the called parties. Such information benefits not only calling parties but also called parties by minimizing the number of misdialed calls that are completed. For example, the calling parties, who place long distance calls, may want to confirm whether they have dialed the correct telephone numbers prior to the call connections so that they can avoid unnecessary long distance charges incurred due to their misdialing. In another example, the called parties who own wireless phones and are subject to charges upon receipt of calls may also desire confirmations of correct telephone numbers on the part of the calling parties for the same reason. Similarly, the called parties who have toll free telephone service numbers may like to avoid misdialed calls that cause inconveniences and tying up of a limited number of telephone lines without raising any revenue while they pay for the toll free services by the number of completed calls.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide call branding systems to announce to calling parties the information about called parties. It is more particularly an object of this invention to announce such information to calling parties prior to the completion of calls and minimize misdialing.


A vast amount of information currently accessible over the Web, and in corporate networks, is stored in a variety of databases, and is being exported as XML data. However, querying this totality of information in a declarative and timely fashion is problematic because this set of databases is dynamic, and a common schema is difficult to maintain. The present invention provides a solution to the problem of issuing declarative, ad hoc XPath queries against such a dynamic collection of XML databases, and receiving timely answers. There is proposed a decentralized architectures, under the open and the agreement cooperation models between a set of sites, for processing queries and updates to XML data. Each site consists of XML data nodes. (which export their data as XML, and also pose queries) and one XML router node (which manages the query and update interactions between sites). The architectures differ in the degree of knowledge individual router nodes have about data nodes containing specific XML data. There is therefore provided a method for accessing data over a wide area network comprising: providing a decentralized architecture comprising a plurality of data nodes each having a database, a query processor and a path index, and a plurality of router nodes each having a routing state, maintaining a routing state in each of the router nodes, broadcasting routing state updates from each of the databases to the router nodes, routing path queries to each of the databases by accessing the routing state.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an architecture for providing transparent access to heterogeneous XML data over the a wide area network such at the internet.
2. Description of Related Art
A vast amount of information currently accessible over the Web: and in corporate networks, is stored in databases. For example, in a service provider company like AT&T, there are a large number of useful databases containing information about customers, services (e.g., ordering, provisioning, and billing databases), and the infrastructure used to sup-port these services. Similarly, there are a huge number of publicly accessible datasets over the Web on a variety of subjects, such as genetics, which provide information about nucleotide sequences, gene expression data, reference sequences, etc.; and finance, which provide historical and current information about the stock market, periodic statistics about the economy and the labor markets, etc. To retrieve information from these databases, users typically have to: (i) identify databases that are relevant to their task at hand, and (ii) separately issue queries against each of these databases. This process can be quite onerous, especially since there are many different data representations and query mechanisms: legacy databases (for example, IBM's IMS) and specialized formats (e.g., ISO's ASN.1) abound. The task of identifying relevant databases is made more challenging by the dynamic nature of this collection of databases: new databases appear often, database schemas evolve, and databases (just like Web sites) disappear. In this environment, the goal of providing a mechanism to issue declarative, ad hoc queries against this dynamic collection of heterogeneous databases, and receive timely answers, remains elusive. The recent trend of publishing and exchanging a wide variety of data as XML begins to alleviate the issue of heterogeneity of databases/datasets accessible over the Web and in corporate networks. One can represent the contents of relational databases and legacy IMS databases as XML, just as datasets represented in the ASN.1 format can be transformed, into XML. XML query mechanisms, such as XPath and XQuery can then be used for uniformly posing queries against these databases, without the user having to know the specific data representation and query mechanism used natively by these databases. Several approaches proposed in the literature provide partial solutions to the problems of identifying relevant databases, and locating desired query answers, these solutions include:
Traditional data integration technology seeks to provide a single integrated view over a collection of (typically domain-specific) databases. Applications of this technology include systems for querying multiple flight databases, movie databases, etc. The principal advantages of this approach include the ability to pose declarative, ad hoc queries without needing to know the specific backend databases, and being able to receive timely answers. However, considerable manual effort is involved in the task of schema integration, and it is not obvious how this technology can be used in a flexible way over a dynamic collection of heterogeneous databases.Conventional Web search engine technology over static documents is based on spidering the documents, building a single site index over these documents, and answering keyword queries for document location using this index. For this technology to be potentially applicable to our problem, the contents of these databases would need to be published as static Web documents, which is rarely feasible. The principal advantage of this approach is the ability to pose (simple, keyword) queries against a dynamic collection of heterogeneous databases, without explicit schema integration. However, timeliness issues (search engine indices tend to be out of date), the lack of query expressiveness, and the infeasibility of publishing database contents as static Web documents, make this approach less than ideal for querying frequently updated databases. Recent peer-to-peer (see, e.g., and data grid technologies have proven useful in locating replicas of files (e.g., music files) and datasets (e.g., in collaborative science and engineering applications), specified by name, using centralized and distributed metadata catalogs. The principal advantage of applying these technologies for our problem is the ability to locate and access information in a timely fashion. However, it is not clear how these technologies could be used to provide declarative query access over a dynamic set of databases.
The present invention provides a solution to the problem of issuing declarative, ad hoc queries against such a dynamic collection of XML databases, and receiving timely answers. Specifically the present invention provides decentralized architectures, under the open and the agreement cooperation models between a set of sites, for processing XPath queries and updates to XML data. The architectures of the present invention model each site as consisting of XML data nodes (which export their data as XML, and also pose XPath queries) and one XML router node (which manages the query and update interactions between sites). The architectures differ in the degree of knowledge individual router nodes have about data nodes containing specific XML data. The system and method of the present invention further develop the internal organization and the routing protocols for the XML router nodes, that enable scalable XPath query and update processing in these decentralized architectures. Since router nodes tend to be memory constrained, and the routing states maintained at the router nodes are storage intensive, we facilitate a space/performance tradeoff by permitting aggregated routing states, and developing algorithms for generating and using such aggregated information at router nodes. The present invention experimentally compares the scalability of our architectures and the performance of the query and update protocols, using a detailed simulation model, varying key design parameters.


A process liquid changing method is provided for changing process liquids in a substrate processing apparatus including storage tank, a circulation line with a circulation pump, and a process liquid supply nozzle connected to the circulation line through a branch line. The method includes: discharging the process liquid in the storage tank; discharging a process liquid remaining in the circulation line from a drain connected to the circulation line at a second position of the circulation line, while supplying a purge gas to the circulation line at a first position of the circulation line, wherein the first position is located upstream of a junction area where the branch line is connected to the circulation line, and the second position is located downstream of the junction area and upstream of the storage tank; and supplying a process liquid into the storage tank.

In manufacturing of semiconductor devices, a cleaning process with the use of a chemical liquid is performed in order to remove unnecessary films or contaminants on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer. A substrate processing apparatus for performing such a cleaning process is provided with a process liquid circulation system for supplying a process liquid to liquid processing units incorporated in the substrate processing apparatus (See JP2007-329328A, for example.).
The process liquid circulation system provided in the substrate processing apparatus of JP2007-329328A includes a process liquid storage tank and a circulation line (pipeline) connected to the process liquid storage tank. The circulation line has a pump, by which a process liquid is fed out from the process liquid storage tank and is returned to the process liquid storage tank. Liquid processing units are connected in parallel to the circulation line through respective branch lines. In accordance with process schedules of the respective liquid processing units, the process liquid is supplied to each liquid processing unit through each branch line, and each liquid processing unit performs a predetermined liquid process to a substrate by using the process liquid. When the process liquid in the process liquid supply system deteriorates, the deteriorated process liquid is changed or replaced with a new process liquid of the same kind. When a different process using a process liquid of different kind or different concentration is performed in the substrate processing apparatus, the process liquid in the process liquid supply system is changed or replaced with the process liquid of the different kind or the different concentration.
A conventional process liquid changing method is carried out by (1) discharging an old process liquid from a process liquid storage tank, (2) feeding a new process liquid to the process liquid storage tank, (3) causing the new process liquid in the process liquid storage tank to circulate in a process liquid circulation line for a predetermined period of time, so as to expel the old process liquid in the process liquid circulation line therefrom, (4) discharging the process liquid from the process liquid storage tank, and (5) repeating steps (2) to (4) plural times. Since it is difficult to completely remove the liquid existing in the process liquid circulation system (in particular, in a piping), a certain amount of liquid inevitably remains in the process liquid circulation system. If the amount of liquid remaining in the process liquid circulation system is large, the aforementioned steps (2) to (4) should be performed many times, resulting in wasteful consumption of the process liquid.

Process liquid changing method and substrate processing apparatus


A method and an apparatus for selectively performing contrast harmonic imaging, tissue harmonic imaging and B-mode flow imaging with an ultrasound imaging system utilizes phase-coded excitation on transmit and selective firing-to-firing, i.e., "slow-time", filtering on receive. "Slow-time" filtering in combination with transmit phases which change over the set of transmit firings results in different effective "slow-time" filters corresponding to the different harmonic modes within the reflected signal. The transmit phases and the "slow-time" filter weightings are designed to selectively enhance the desired modes while substantially suppressing other modes.

Conventional ultrasound scanners create two-dimensional B-mode images of tissue in which the brightness of a pixel is based on the intensity of the echo return. Conventional B-mode images are formed from a combination of fundamental and harmonic signal components, the former being direct echoes of the transmitted pulse and the latter being generated in a nonlinear medium such as tissue from finite-amplitude ultrasound propagation. In certain instances, e.g., obese patients, ultrasound images can be improved by suppressing the fundamental and emphasizing the harmonic signal components.
Tissue harmonic imaging was proposed in an article by Averkiou et al. entitled, "A new imaging technique based on the nonlinear properties of tissues," Proc. 1997 IEEE Ultrasonic Symp. Propagation of sound beams in biological tissues is known to be nonlinear, giving rise to the generation of harmonics. In tissue harmonic imaging, energy is transmitted at a fundamental frequency .function..sub.0 and an image is formed with energy at the second harmonic 2.function..sub.0. Some of the characteristics of the nonlinearly generated second harmonic beams are a narrower beam, lower sidelobes than the fundamental and beam formation in a cumulative process, i.e., the second harmonic continually draws energy from the fundamental during propagation. These characteristics contribute to axial resolution improvements, reduction of multiple reflections due to tough windows, and clutter reduction due to inhomogeneities in the tissue and skin layers.
Conventional ultrasound imaging systems also have a so-called "color flow" mode in which the flow of blood or movement of tissue can be imaged. Conventional ultrasound flow imaging methods use either the Doppler principle or a time-domain cross-correlation method to estimate the average flow velocity, which is then displayed in color overlaid on a B-mode image.
Measurement of blood flow in the heart and vessels using the Doppler effect is well known. The frequency shift of backscattered ultrasound waves may be used to measure the velocity of the backscatterers from tissue or blood. The change or shift in backscattered frequency increases when blood flows toward the transducer and decreases when blood flows away from the transducer. The Doppler shift may be processed to estimate the average flow velocity, which is displayed using different colors to represent speed and direction of flow. The color flow velocity mode displays hundreds of adjacent sample volumes simultaneously, all color-coded to represent each sample volume's velocity.
In accordance with a known imaging system, the color flow mode employs multiple transmit firings for each focal point. Operating on a packet of as many as 16 transmits, a high-pass wall filter rejects echoes from slow-moving tissue or vessel walls to reduce the signal dynamic range for subsequent flow processing, using the Kasai autocorrelation algorithm or a cross-correlation algorithm to estimate the average flow velocity.
Although quantitative velocity information may be obtained in conventional color-flow imaging, the ability to see physical flow is limited by its clutter rejection capability, resolution, frame rate, and axial-only flow sensitivity.
Digital subtraction methods have been previously proposed to image moving reflectors in B-mode imaging (see Ishihara et al., "Path Lines in Blood Flow Using High-Speed Digital Subtraction Echography," Proc. 1992 IEEE Ultrason. Symp., pp. 1277-1280, and Ishihara et al., "High-Speed Digital Subtraction Echography: Principle and Preliminary Application to Arteriosclerosis, Arrhythmia and Blood Flow Visualization," Proc. 1990 IEEE Ultrason. Symp., pp. 1473-1476). However, these methods use frame-to-frame subtraction, which results in a wall filter having an extremely low cutoff frequency. The low cutoff frequency is due to the long time delay between adjacent frames, which does not adequately suppress signals from slow-moving tissue or vessel walls.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,277 to Chapman et al. discloses a nonlinear imaging system using phase inversion subtraction. The Chapman patent uses "first and second ultrasound pulses that are alternatively transmitted into the specimen being imaged," and mentions the particular embodiment of transmitting and summing on receive two pulses that differ by 180.degree..
Contrast agents have been developed for medical ultrasound to aid in diagnosis of traditionally difficult-to-image vascular anatomy. For example, the use of contrast agents is discussed by de Jong et al. in "Principles and Recent Developments in Ultrasound Contrast Agents," Ultrasonics, Vol. 29, pp. 324-380 (1991). The agents, which are typically microbubbles whose diameter is in the range of 1-10 micrometers, are injected into the blood stream. Since the backscatter signal of the microbubbles is much larger than that of blood cells, the microbubbles are used as markers to allow imaging of blood flow. One method to further isolate echoes from these agents is to use the (sub)harmonic components of the contrast echo, which is much larger than the harmonic components of the surrounding tissue without contrast agent. [See, e.g., Newhouse et al., "Second Harmonic Doppler Ultrasound Blood Perfusion Measurement," Proc. 1992 IEEE Ultrason. Symp., pp. 1175-1177; and Burns, et al., "Harmonic Power Mode Doppler Using Microbubble Contrast Agents: An Improved Method for Small Vessel Flow Imaging," Proc. 1994 IEEE Ultrason. Symp., pp. 1547-1550.]
U.S. Pat. No. 5,706,819 to Hwang et al. discloses a method and an apparatus for ultrasonic imaging using harmonic contrast agents, e.g., gas-filled microbubbles. Ultrasonic pulses of opposite polarity are transmitted in successive firings. The respective echo signals are summed to extract the harmonic response attributable to the injected contrast agents.
There is a need for a method of contrast harmonic imaging in which fundamental or second harmonic signals from contrast flow can be visualized with suppressed background tissue signals and little motion flash artifacts. This requires the imaging system to have high dynamic range, the ability to reject clutter from stationary or slow moving tissue and vessel walls, high resolution, high frame rate, and flow sensitivity in all directions. A need also exists for a method of tissue harmonic imaging in which harmonic signals generated by nonlinear propagation in tissue are visualized. In addition, a need exists for a method of visualizing fundamental signals from blood flow (without contrast agents) in B mode with minimal motion flash artifacts. A further need exists for a programmable ultrasound imaging system capable of selectively performing contrast harmonic imaging, tissue harmonic imaging and B-mode flow imaging.

Ultrasound imaging using coded excitation on transmit and selective filtering of fundamental and (sub)harmonic signals on receive


A semiconductor storage device includes: an input buffer that receives address data and command data; a first through-latch-type latch circuit that latches the command data in synchronism with a rising edge of a clock signal; and a second through-latch-type latch circuit that latches the address data in synchronism with a falling edge of the clock signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor storage device and a high-speed address-latching method that are compatible with a high-speed DDR (Double Data Rate) system, for example, LPDDR2 (Low Power DDR2).
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-265418, filed Oct. 11, 2007, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, semiconductor storage devices have required both low power consumption and high speed operation, and thereby required the high access efficiency of each signal. For example, DRAM compliant with LPDDR2 specifications has been required.
As a high-speed address-latching system in the DDR system, a function of sharing input pins for an address signal and a command signal that have been conventionally separated and a function of fetching a command and an address on rising and falling edges of a clock signal are under consideration.
In a conventional general DDR circuit as shown in FIG. 9A, command data and address data are fetched in synchronism with only a rising edge R1 of a clock signal CK (with a period of tCK) in the case of an ACTV (activation) command, for example.
As shown in FIG. 9B, an edge-trigger-type latch circuit 20 is used as the latch circuit for fetching command data and address data. As a result, an access time is determined by a trigger signal generated based on the rising edge R1 of the clock signal CK.
Since data are fetched both on rising and falling edges in the high-speed system, access penalty of a period ½ tCK occurs as shown in FIG. 10 if the edge-trigger-type latch circuit 20 shown in FIG. 9B is used. In other words, an address access time t1 is determined based on a falling edge F1, and an access time t2 from the rising edge R1 increases by ½ tCK compared with the access time t1.
For this reason, the problem of the access penalty of the period ½ tCK has been required to be solved in the DDR high-speed address-fetching system in which the input pins for the address signal and the command signal are shared and command data and address data are fetched both on rising and falling edges.
A memory control method and a memory control circuit are disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Fast Publication No. 2003-76602 as the conventional technique related to the present invention. However, an object of the memory control method and the memory control circuit of conventional techniques is to propose a memory control circuit that enables flexible and easy post-adjustment without much load on memory design and difficulty in dedicate timing adjustment, and not to solve the problem of the access penalty of the period ½ tCK in the DDR high-speed system.

Semiconductor storage device and high-speed address-latching method


A cosmetic composition free of mineral oil and free of lanolin includes effective amounts of the following cosmetically acceptable ingredients (components): (A) at least one wax; (B) at least one triglyceride; (C) a mixture of esters including (i) a mixture of esters with a first mixture (i) having a maximum acid value 0.5 and a saponification value of 268-288; and a second mixture (ii) having a maximum acid value of 0.5 and a saponification value of 206-226; (D) distarch phosphate; (E) at least one bulking agent; (F) at least one colorant; and (G) optionally, at least one preservative. The composition is preferably formed into a cosmetic stick shape.

This invention relates to cosmetic cover compositions which are mineral oil free and lanolin free--i.e., contain no mineral oil and no lanolin (wool fat).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,659,573 issued to Frischling et al. on Apr. 21, 1987 discloses an ester blend comprising tridecyl trimellitate blended with at least one additional ester selected from the group consisting of dipentaerythritol hexacaprylate/hexacaprate, tridecyl stearate and neopentyl glycol dicaprylate/dicarprate. It is disclosed that the blend contains about 5 to about 85 wt. % tridecyl trimellitate based on the weight of the blend. It is also disclosed that these ester blends are a substitute for mineral oil in toiletry and cosmetics. According to U.S. Pat. No. 4,659,573 the disclosed ester blends are suitable for use in night creams, moisturizers, lotions, make-ups, face creams, day creams, body lotions, lipsticks and lip glosses.
The technical information brochure for SOFTISAN.RTM.649 (Huls Troisdorf AG) discloses that this product is the glycerin ester of natural vegetable fatty acids, of an isostearic acid, and of the adipic acid, and that this product has the CTFA adopted name; caprylic/capric/isostearic/adipic triglyceride. It is disclosed that when SOFTISAN 649 is stirred in warm water it will form an emulsion having the properties of woolwax. It is also disclosed that emulsions containing SOFTISAN 649 have a better heat stability than emulsions with natural woolwax, they have a softer consistency, a good adhesion and leave a pleasant feeling on the skin. According to this brochure, SOFTISAN 649 is particularly suitable for skin care products, baby creams, sticks and other decorative cosmetics. The brochure gives formulations of several products containing SOFTISAN 649, amongst which there is included a sports cream stick on page 5.
Cosmetic cover compositions containing mineral oil and lanolin are known, and such compositions may not be ideally suitable for consumers who have oily skin and/or are sensitive to lanolin. These consumers would benefit from a composition that was free of mineral oil and free of lanolin, and they would further benefit if such a composition could also absorb some excess oil from the user's skin. Thus, a cosmetic cover composition free of mineral oil and free of lanolin, which could also absorb some excess oil from the user's skin, would be a welcome contribution to the art. Such a contribution is provided by this invention.

Mineral oil free and lanolin free cosmetic composition


A new method has been developed as an attempt to improve speed and robustness of existing ISAR classification methods. The new method produces a set of silhouettes of possible models in a 3D model database. The set of silhouettes of each model views the model from various viewing angles, as the target dimensions will vary as it is viewed from different angles. The silhouettes are stored as a training set. Classification is done by comparing the silhouette of the target with the set of silhouettes in the training set. The silhouettes are calculated prior to the silhouette matching.

Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) is a technique for high-resolution imaging of radar objects. A radar system supplies a sequence of images of moving objects. The radar images may have a striking likeness with the visual image of an object, and an operator may then perform manual classification of the object by visual analysis of the ISAR image. However, in a rapidly developing situation with many objects present on the radar screen, the operator will have very short time available to perform a correct classification. It would be very desirous to have an automatic tool available for classifying ISAR objects. This would reduce the radar operator workload, and lead to a more efficient use of the radar.
From literature there is known several method for automatic ship classification. In Musman, S.; Kerr, D.; Bachmann, C.; Automatic Recognition of ISAR ship images, IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, Vol. 32, No. 4, October 1996, pp. 1392-1403, there is presented a method based on comparing the shape of an object with wire-frame models.
A different implementation of this method is described in Knapskog, A. O.; Automatic Classification of Ships in ISAR Images Using Wire-Frame Models, Proceedings 5th European Conference on Synthetic Aperture Radar, 953-956. In this method the ISAR image of an object is compared with wire-frame models of possible objects stored in a database. Before a comparison is made, the orientation of the object in the ISAR image is found by analysing prominent features of the hull, e.g. the ship's centreline and positions of the hull sides, and candidate models in the database are transformed into the same orientation. Silhouettes of the observed object and the models are extracted and compared.
In the existing method each relevant model in the model database must be transformed for each ISAR object image. This makes the method rather slow, which makes it not suitable for real time classification.
Also, the method is vulnerable to inaccurate estimation of certain features. For example a ship centreline can be found by fitting a straight line through the object by the method of least squares. Tall structures (e.g. a mast) on the object will affect the least squares line fit. By manual operation the effect may be reduced. The hull side is found by fitting a second-degree curve to the side of the side of the object by the method of least squares. Often only one (the near-) side is visible on the ISAR image. The invisible side would then have to be found by mirroring the near side of the object. This makes the existing method not suitable for automatic and real-time classification of radar objects.

Method and system for automatic classification of objects


An optical transceiver module comprises a circuit structure, an optical fiber, a fixture, an optical transceiver and a cover. The optical fiber transmits optical signal. The fixture partially or completely covers the optical fiber, wherein optical signals are transmitted in the optical fiber. The optical transceiver is coupled to the fixture and connected to the circuit structure, and is for receiving/transmitting the optical signals. The cover is connecting one end of the optical fiber to the optical transceiver.

The invention relates to an optical transceiver module, and in particular to an optical transceiver module with simplified manufacturing process, and easier assembly and low cost.
In FIG. 1, a conventional optical receiver/transmitter module 10 includes a planar light wave circuit (PLC) 1, a ceramic plate 2 having an opening 3 and an optical fiber 4. The PLC 1, disposed on the ceramic plate 2, has an incident light inlet corresponding to the opening 3 of the ceramic plate 2. The optical fiber 4 is inserted into the opening 3 of the ceramic plate 2 is and is fixed at the incident light inlet of the PLC 1. Thus, assembly of the optical receiver/transmitter module 10 is completed after the ceramic plate 2 is fixed on a printed circuit board (PCB) via leads. However, it is necessary to use the ceramic plate 2 for the described optical receiver/transmitter module 10, and thus the manufacturing cost is high.
In FIG. 2, a conventional optical receiver/transmitter module 100 includes an optical fiber 102 having a core 120, a ferrule 104 made of Zirconium Oxide, a flange 106 made of free cutting copper, a PLC 108, a ceramic plate 110, a fiber cover 112, a plurality of legs 114, a base plate 116, and a PCB 118 having a V-shaped slot. The optical fiber 102 passes through the ferrule 104, and the ferrule 104 is coupled to the flange 106. The PLC 108 is fixed to the ceramic plate 110. The core 120 of the optical fiber 102 placed on the V-shaped slot of the PCB 118 corresponds to a waveguide incident surface of the PLC 108. The fiber cover 112, placed on the core 120 of the optical fiber 102, is thermally fixed to the PLC 108. The PLC 108 is electrically connected to the ceramic plate 110 by wiring. The ceramic plate 110 and the flange 106 are adhesively coupled to the base plate 116, to position the optical fiber 102 and the PLC 108 and prepare for the next connection. Thus, the optical receiver/transmitter module 100 can be completed after the legs 114 extending from the ceramic plate 110 are electrically connected to the PCB 118.
Although the utility amount of ceramic material can be reduced in the described optical receiver/transmitter module 100, it is still necessary to use the ferrule 104, the flange 106 and the ceramic plate 110 so that the corresponding manufacturing costs cannot be reduced. Further, the optical receiver/transmitter module 100 requires at least three steps more than the optical receiver/transmitter module 10, which increases the time and complexity of the manufacturing process.


A surface covering including a blend of a silane-grafted ethylene/vinyl acetate polymer and an ungrafted thermoplastic polymer retains the desirable balance between indentation, tensile strength and elongation of a fully grafted EVA while permitting the reprocessibility of scrap material. Preferably, the silane graft density is one graft per about 100 carbons to one graft per about 5,000 carbons. The preferred EVA has about 18% to about 28% vinyl acetate.

Resilient floor products have to meet a variety of performance requirements such as abrasion resistance, dimensional stability and gouge resistance. Of particular concern to a materials scientist are the resistance to indentation and flexibility requirements. These requirements can be particularly troublesome because in many instances improvements to indentation performance must be made at the expense of reduced flexibility.
Filled thermoset rubbers have been able to provide a good balance of these properties because the crosslinking provides good compression set resistance by providing a high degree of elasticity such that even if the product is quite flexible and relatively soft enough to allow significant indentation there is a high percent recovery. However, there are several disadvantages to these products. Firstly, the required raw materials produce a yellowish color that prevents the easy development of some light colors and prohibits the development of others. Secondly, the manufacturing procedures require an undesirably long cure step. Thirdly, the fact that the final product is thermoset means that there can be no reuse of out of specification material. Fourthly, there is a high level of smoke evolved during the combustion that might occur in a fire situation.
For the preparation of resilient flooring the most frequently used polymers are polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and vinyl chloride copolymers, principally copolymers of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate. The art of compounding and processing PVC-based compositions is well understood. The processing and forming of PVC-based compositions is greatly facilitated by the use of plasticizing additives. Esters of phthalic acid, such as di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DOP), are commonly used. The use of such plasticizing additives also facilitates the incorporation of high levels (up to about 90% by weight) of fillers and pigments, and affords finished compositions with an acceptable degree of flexibility and resiliency. PVC resins generally require the use of stabilizing additives to prevent discoloration resulting from thermally induced decomposition of the resin during processing. The use of stabilizing additives also helps to prolong the useful life of a PVC-based product by continuing to prevent degradation induced by heat or by light during the service life of the product. These stabilizing additives typically include metal containing compounds such as the barium, zinc, and cadmium salts of organic acids (e.g., stearic acid) and organotin compounds.
The necessary use of these additive materials can create a variety of undesirable problems in composite flooring structures. As one example, in a flooring structure in which a plasticized PVC composition is protected by a clear unplasticized coating, migration of the plasticizer from the PVC composition into the protective clear coating can soften the coating and thereby lessen its protective capabilities.
A second undesirable situation arises from the need to use metal-containing additives. It has been alleged that the forced combustion of PVC-based compositions, as in an incinerator, results in the creation of volatile and hazardous metal-containing pollutants.
Other undesirable conditions are also created when PVC-based compositions burn as might occur in a fire situation. The combustion of such materials can result in the evolution of dense smoke which can contribute to a hazardous condition at times when visibility is important. Furthermore, halogen-containing products of combustion, such as hydrogen chloride, can be formed, thereby adding a further element of hazard to a fire situation.
Ethylene/vinyl-acetate (EVA) copolymers have been successfully employed in the preparation of hot melt adhesives, sealants and a variety of coatings. U.S. Pat. No. 4,430,468 describes the modification of filled EVAs with surfactants to provide a high level of flexibility. EVA compositions have been formed into sheets, but such sheets did not have physical properties comparable to PVC flooring, particularly indentation resistance and reprocessibility.
More recently cross-linkable EVAs have been produced through the use of silane-grafting. These polymers have been used in the wire and cable industry to provide non-halogen, low smoke sheathing. In this industry the EVA is fully cross-linked to provide the greatest degree of fire resistance and highest temperature in use performance.