A frame pulse generation apparatus for a SD-VCR generates a correct frame pulse even though a track pair number differs from an original one due to an error, to obtain an accurate picture. A frame base pulse generator compares the track pair number detected from a reproduced signal with a reference number and generates a frame base pulse toggled whenever the comparison result represents consistency. A phase-locked-loop (PLL) circuit controls the phase and period of the generated frame base pulse to be constant, and outputs a final frame pulse. The apparatus also greater a reference frame pulse a stable clock obtained by dividing the system clock and controlling the rotational speed of a drum so that track pair number detected at the level transition point of the reference frame pulse becomes a desired number, in order to contain one-frame data within the reference frame pulse. Thus, a normal reproduced picture can be formed irrespective of errors.

The present invention relates to a frame pulse generation apparatus for a standard definition video cassette recorder (SD-VCR), and more particularly, to a frame pulse generation apparatus which generates for a correct frame pulse to form an accurate picture in a SD-VCR, even though an error occurs in a playback signal.
Development of a semiconductor technology has enabled digital signal processing to be applied to fields of wide-band video and audio recording and reproducing, among others. In addition, development of a recording and reproduction medium and recording and reproduction technology has enabled general home VCRs to utilize digital signal processing.
FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate a relationship between a track and a frame in a SD-VCR system, one-frame data is recorded in ten tracks in a 525/60 system of NTSC and in twelve tracks in a 625/50 system of PAL. That is, assuming that a number is assigned to each track, one-frame data is recorded in the 0th to 9th tracks on a video tape in a NTSC system, and in the 0th to 11th tracks in a PAL system. Thus, when a signal is reproduced from a video tape, the 0th to 9th tracks in the NTSC system and the 0th to 11th tracks in the PAL system should be contained in a one-frame pulse. If the phase of the frame pulse with respect to the one-frame tracks deviates, a normal picture cannot be formed.
Referring to FIG. 2, four sectors such as an insert and track information (ITI) sector, an audio sector, a video sector and a sub-code sector are arranged in each track. Among them, the audio sector and video sector include a total of 169 sync blocks. Each sync block includes 90 bytes in which sync areas SYNC0 and SYNC1 occupy 2 bytes, identification (ID) codes ID0, ID1 and ID2 occupy 3 bytes, and data fields DATA0-DATA84 occupy 85 bytes. A sync pattern is inserted into the sync area. An ID includes a 2-byte ID data and a 1-byte ID parity. Information representing a current track and the track pair number, which represents a pair of two neighboring tracks as 4 bits, are recorded in an area indicated by ID0 and ID1. Also, all sync blocks in a track have the same track pair number, which varies for every other two tracks. Table 1 shows a relationship between a track pair number and a track.
TABLE 1 ______________________________________ Track Pair No. 525/60 System 625/50 System ______________________________________ 0 Track 0 & 1 Track 0 & 1 1 Track 2 & 3 Track 2 & 3 2 Track 4 & 5 Track 4 & 5 3 Track 6 & 7 Track 6 & 7 4 Track 8 & 9 Track 8 & 9 5 Reserved Track 10 & 11 ______________________________________
Meanwhile, when reproducing a playback signal, a head is not controlled with respect to which track should be read first among the various tracks. Accordingly, it is necessary to form one-frame of data within a one-frame pulse without being out of phase, using read-out data.
FIG. 3 shows a flowchart for explaining a frame pulse generation operation in a conventional SD-VCR. An ID code is detected among the reproduced data in step 1, and a track pair number is detected from the detected ID code in step 2. In step 3, the detected track pair number is compared with a reference number "N" and a determination is made as to whether the former is consistent with the latter. Here, the reference number "N" is 4 in case of the 525/60 NTSC system, and 5 in case of the 625/50 PAL system. In step 4, transition of a frame pulse level is performed whenever the detected track pair number is consistent with the reference number "N." Since the track pair number is detected in sequence of "0011223344" in NTSC systems, transition of a frame pulse level is performed at the time when a track pair number "4" ends or "0" starts. Since the track pair number is detected in sequence of "001122334455" in PAL systems, transition of a frame pulse level is performed at the time when a track pair number "5" ends or "0" starts. If the detected track pair number is inconsistent with the reference number "N," the program returns to step 1 to perform the steps 1-4 repetitively. That is, transition of the frame pulse level is performed everytime the track pair number becomes "N" as shown in FIG. 4A. As a result, the frame pulse is subject to level-transition for every 10 tracks in NTSC systems and for every 12 tracks in PAL systems.
However, when a detected track pair number differs from an original one due to a detected ID code which contains an error, a level transition does not occur at the time (N') where the level transition should occur, as shown in FIG. 4B. In this case, accurate signal processing to form a normal picture is not possible.

Frame pulse generation apparatus for a video cassette recorder


A method and apparatus for the formation of coplanar electrical interconnectors. Solder material is deposited onto a wafer, substrate, or other component of an electrical package using a complaint mold such that the terminal ends of the solder material being deposited, i.e., the ends opposite to those forming an attachment to the wafer, substrate, or other component of an electrical package are coplanar with one another. A complaint mold is used having one or more conduits for receiving solder material and having a compliant side and a planar side. The compliant side of the mold is positioned adjacent to the wafer, substrate, or other component of an electrical package allowing solder material to be deposited onto the surface thereof such that the planar side of the compliant mold provides coplanar interconnectors. An Injection Molded Solder (IMS) head can be used as the means for filling the conduits of the compliant mold of the present invention.

As used herein the term "interconnector" means a solder-material-deposit attached to an electrical component capable of being electrically interconnected to another electrical component. In addition, the term "microelectronic interconnection" is meant to mean the connection established between two electrical components by one or more interconnectors in a microelectronic package. Finally, the term "solder material" should be understood to include traditional solders as known to those skilled in the art, as well as less traditional materials like lead free solders, polymer based materials, and various other combinations thereof.
Presently, there are a wide variety of microelectronic package interconnections used in modern semiconductor devices. Such microelectronic package interconnections include connections between: IC chips (chip-on-chip stacking), IC chips and carriers, carriers and substrates, and substrates and printed circuit cards. As the need for greater area array densities for microelectronic interconnections increases, improved techniques are developing that allow for solder material to be deposited onto receiving pads contained on wafers and substrates, e.g., bottom layer metallurgy (BLM) and bottom surface metallurgy (BSM).
Related to IC chip and chip carrier interconnections recent developments have been made in flip-chip solder bump technologies in response to increased demand for electrical performance, functionality, and reliability offered by wafer bumping as compared to other technological solutions like wire bonding for example. Using flip-chip technology, solder is deposited on the receiving pads of a wafer in the form of small bumps through the process known as wafer bumping. Unlike wire bonding, wafer bumping allows for area array interconnections across the entire surface of the chip to be deposited with solder bumps that are subsequently microelectronically interconnected to a substrate using a solder reflow process. At the substrate level, solder column connection (SCC) or ceramic column grid array (CCGA) or copper column grid array (CuCGA) technologies have developed providing a process for the attachment of solder columns to the metalicized pads of a substrate (e.g., BSM). Such techniques avoid the disadvantages associated with pin grid array (PGA) interconnections at this level such as higher cost and lower interconnection density.
For CCGA and CuCGA the PbSn (90%/10%), which has melting point greater than 260° C., or copper columns can be joined to a board using PbSn eutectic solder (37%/63%), which has a melting point of 183° C., or lead free solders, which have melting points between 217° C. and 231° C. These structures permit a solder column or copper column to be joined while maintaining a lower joining temperature, for connection to the board, with use of eutectic PbSn solder or lead free solders such as SnAgCu, SnAg, or SnCu. This type of structure also permits a larger height between package and board to be maintained for the solder column and joining solder metallurgy by creating a non-melting solder column and solder melting joining composition for surface attachment to the board. In this multi-solder structure, and for copper column plus solder attachment structures, the resulting product benefits from a longer life prior to fatigue failures of the mounting to a board in reliability testing and in product application for these surface mount attach structures as compared to lower height ball grid array mounting to a board, for similar package sizes.
As the types of interconnectors increases efficient ways for their formation and placement are also being developed. Injection-molded solder (hereinafter "IMS") technology has been steadily developing in the field of microelectronic interconnections. A discussion of wafer bumping using IMS head technologies is provided by P. A. Gruber, et al., Low-Cost Wafer Bumping, IBM J. Res. & Dev., Vol. 49 No. 4/5 (July/September 2005), hereby incorporated by reference. IMS has found applicability to flip-chip wafer bumping and CCGA substrate formation. Broadly, IMS wafer bumping is a two-step process in which solder is injected into a mold and subsequently transferred to the surface of a wafer or substrate using a reflow process. The IMS method allows for the controlled injection of molten solder using a variety of mold geometries. Thus the use of IMS has been extended beyond wafer bumping to other microelectronic interconnections, e.g., solder ball and solder column arrays as well as ceramic and organic chip carriers. IMS techniques are further adaptable to the use of a variety of Pb-free solders, including both ternary and quaternary alloys, thus, making the use of IMS more attractive as the microelectronics field moves from PbSn to Pb-free solder and other solder materials.
Even with the developments related to the microelectronic interconnections field, described above, however, significant challenges have yet to be effectively overcome. One of these problems is microelectronic interconnection non-coplanarity. While great pains are taken to create wafers and substrates with planer surfaces variations still remain. The result of depositing solder material interconnectors on non-planar wafers and substrates is non-coplanar interconnectors that negatively impact the resulting microelectronic interconnections. In addition, an efficient means for the creation of coplanar interconnectors that are comprised of more than a single solder material type and/or capable of having various shape geometries has yet to be developed in the field.
A need has therefore been recognized in connection with providing an effective means for achieving coplanar interconnectors and coplanar microelectronic interconnections.

Method and apparatus for depositing coplanar microelectronic interconnectors using a compliant mold

International Business Machines Corporation


An exemplary power switching circuit (20) includes a control signal input terminal (210); an output terminal (220); direct current (DC) power supply (230); a first transistor (250) including a control electrode connected to the control signal input terminal, a first current conducting electrode, and a grounded second current conducting electrode; a second transistor (260) including a control electrode connected to first current conducting electrode of the first transistor via a discharging resistor (264) and a diode (266) respectively and connected to the DC power supply via a discharging capacitor (265), a first current conducting electrode connected to the DC power supply, and a second current conducting electrode connected to the output terminal; and a third transistor (270) including a control electrode connected to first current conducting electrode of the first transistor, a first current conducting electrode connected to the output terminal, and a second grounded current conducting electrode.

An LCD has the advantages of portability, low power consumption, and low radiation, and has been widely used in various portable information products such as notebooks, personal digital assistants (PDAs), video cameras and the like. Furthermore, the LCD is considered by many to have the potential to completely replace CRT (cathode ray tube) monitors and televisions.
A typical LCD includes an LCD panel. The LCD panel includes a multiplicity of pixels, each having a capacitance. When a power supply provides an operation voltage to the LCD and then the power supply is turned off, the operation voltage does not immediately decrease. For example, when a power supply voltage of 5V is turned off, a decrease to a residual voltage 0.4 V takes about 20 seconds. If the power supply is turned on again quickly before the residual voltage in the power supply has decreased to a predetermined voltage, this causes an operational error in the LCD. To prevent such operational error, a power switching circuit is provided in the LCD to remove the residual voltage.
FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of a typical power switching circuit 10 used in an LCD. The power switching circuit 10 includes a control signal input terminal 110 which is configured for receiving control signals, an output terminal 120 connected to the LCD, a twelve volt direct current (DC) power supply 130, a five volt DC power supply 140 functioning as a main power source of the LCD, a first negative-positive-negative (NPN) transistor 150, a second NPN transistor 170, an n-channel enhancement mode metal-oxide-semiconductor (NMOS) transistor 160, a first resistor 155, a second resistor 156, a third resistor 165, a fourth resistor 175, and a fifth resistor 176.
The first NPN transistor 150 includes a base electrode "b" connected to the control signal input terminal 110 via the first resistor 155, an emitter electrode "e" connected to the base electrode "b" via the second resistor 156 and further connected to ground, and a collector electrode "c" connected to the 12V DC power supply 130 via the third resistor 165.
The second NPN transistor 170 includes a base electrode "b" connected to the control signal input terminal 110 via the fourth resistor 175, an emitter electrode "e" connected to ground, and a collector electrode "c" connected to the output terminal 120 via the fifth resistor 176.
The NMOS transistor 160 includes a gate electrode "G" connected to the collector electrode "c" of the first NPN transistor 150, a source electrode "S" connected to the output terminal 120, and a drain electrode "D" connected to the 5V DC power supply 140.
In order to apply a 5V voltage from the 5V DC power supply 140 to the output terminal 120, a first control signal such as a low level 0V voltage is provided to the control signal input terminal 110 by an external circuit (not shown). Thus the first NPN transistor 150 and the second NPN transistor 170 are switched off. A 12V voltage from the 12V DC power supply 130 is applied to the gate electrode "G" of the NMOS transistor 160 via the third resistor 165. Thus the NMOS transistor 160 is switched on, and the 5V voltage from the 5V DC power supply 140 is applied to the output terminal 120 via the activated NMOS transistor 160.
In order to suspend the supply of the 5V voltage from the 5V DC power supply 140 to the output terminal 120, a second control signal such as a high level 5V voltage is provided to the control signal input terminal 110 by the external circuit. Thus the first NPN transistor 150 and the second NPN transistor 170 are switched on. The gate electrode "G" of the NMOS transistor 160 is connected to ground via the activated first NPN transistor 150, so that the NMOS transistor 160 is switched off. Thus, the 5V voltage from the 5V DC power supply 140 cannot be provided to the output terminal 120. Electric charges stored in the LCD which is connected to the output terminal 120 can be discharged quickly through the actived second NPN transistor 170.
Referring to FIG. 4, a current wave diagram of the power switching circuit 10 is shown. When the NMOS transistor 160 is switched on, and the supply of the 5V voltage is provided to the LCD via the activated NMOS transistor 160, a five amperes rush current is generated at the moment that the NMOS transistor 160 is switched on. The rush current may accelerate an aging process of electronic devices of the LCD. Thus a service life of the LCD is reduced.
It is desired to provide a new power switching circuit used in an LCD which can overcome the above-described deficiencies.

Power switching circuit for liquid crystal display


A hardening composition comprising a hardening component and hardening agents, said hardening component consisting essentially of magnesium oxide, said hardening agents consisting essentially of propylene carbonate and water, content of said magnesium oxide being 100 parts by weight, content of said propylene carbonate being 1 to 60 parts by weight, and content of said water being 20 to 135 parts by weight. Further disclosed are a hardened product prepared by hardening the hardening composition, and a method for producing the hardened product.

This invention relates to a hardening composition for civil engineering and construction works, more specifically, to a hardening composition which gives a hardened product having high compressive strength and high bending strength, and such hardened product, and a method for producing such hardened product.
There has hitherto been known an inorganic hardening composition which contains an alkali metal silicate as a requisite hardening component, often referred to as water glass, and a hardening agent therefor. For example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 57-198782 discloses a method for stabilizing soil using a mixture of (A) an aqueous solution of sodium silicate and (B) a mixed aqueous solution of sodium hydrogensulfate and potassium chloride; or an aqueous solution of a mixture of the mixed aqueous solution and (a) magnesium oxide and/or magnesium hydroxide, and/or (b) at least one member selected from the group consisting of sodium dihydrogenphosphate, potassium dihydrogenphosphate, disodium hydrogenphosphate, dipotassium hydrogenphosphate, aluminum sulfate, magnesium sulfate, magnesium chloride, and potassium alum, with an addition of ethylene carbonate and/or propylene carbonate to the solution (B). The solutions (A) and (B) are mixed and hardened in the soil for stabilization. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,665 to Barrier et al. discloses a moldable composition of matter comprising an admixture of (1) sand, (2) an alkali metal silicate, (3) a hardening agent comprising an alkylene carbonate, carboxylic acid ester, or mixtures thereof, and (4) a demolding agent including a mixture of alkaline earth metal oxide or carbonate and a hydrate alumina. U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,019 to Motoki discloses a self-hardening refractory composition for coating on a steel column or steel beam, comprising at least one water-soluble alkali silicate, a hardener for the water-soluble alkali silicate such as bivalent or higher valent metal salts of higher fatty acids, and at least one material selected from the group consisting of a material containing bound water and a material capable of absorbing heat when heated.
On the other hand, there has hitherto been proposed a hardening composition which does not contain water glass as a requisite hardening component. This hardening composition has a totally different composition from that of the inorganic hardening composition as mentioned above. For example, compositions are known containing as the hardening component an alkaline earth metal hydroxide or an alkaline earth metal oxide. However, a type and mixing amount of a hardening agent for these hardening components vary depending on the type of the alkaline earth metal hydroxide or the alkaline earth metal oxide. Therefore, there has hardly been obtained a hardened product hardened within a practical hardening time and having a sufficient strength comparable to or higher than that of a hardened product containing water glass as the hardening component. In this regard, there has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,029 to Johnson to use an organic binder such as a urea-formaldehyde resin in addition to the hardening agent such as water, thereby reinforcing the binding force between the hardening components. However, studies have not been made on selection of the hardening agent itself.

Hardening composition, hardened product, and method of producing hardened product


A two color infrared detector (10) is described comprising a heterojunction diode and a metal insulator semiconductor ("MIS") device. The diode comprises first (12) and second (14) semiconductor regions which are operable to generate electron-hole pairs when struck by infrared radiation having first and second wavelengths respectively. The gate (24) of the MIS device is operable to generate a potential well in the first semiconductor region conjunction with an insulator layer (22).

Infrared detectors sense electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength, generally, between 0.5 and 15 .mu.m (or having an energy of 2 to 0.1 eV). Infrared detectors are used for a variety of purposes including target acquisition and tracking.
Infrared detectors have been incorporated into integrated circuits for mass production and miniaturization. Typically, they are fabricated in N.times.M arrays. Each element in the array is itself fabricated with a piece of semiconductor consisting of mercury, cadmium, and tellurium ("HgCdTe") which is operable to generate electron-hole pairs when struck by infrared radiation. The particular wavelength from which each element generates electron-hole pairs may be tuned by adjusting the ratio of mercury to cadmium in the semiconductor material.
In certain applications, it is desirable to be able to detect two distinct wavelengths of infrared radiation. The ratio of two different wavelengths of infrared radiation may be used by a targeting computer for target recognition and target distance calculations. Heretofore, two color infrared detectors have been manufactured using one of two device types. The first device type is a triple-layer-heterojunction diode. This structure employs two back-to-back diodes forming a three terminal semiconductor device. The second type of device is an N.times.M array consisting of twice the usual number of individual detector elements. Half of the elements are tuned to a first frequency while the second half are tuned to a second frequency. Both of these solutions have numerous disadvantages.
The triple-layer-heterojunction diode consists of two infrared sensitive N-type layers separated by a center P-type layer which is insensitive to infrared radiation. The three layers are aligned along a vertical axis which is generally parallel to the direction of propagation of the incident infrared radiation. A voltage is applied between the first and second and second and third layers such that each diode is reverse biased, either sequentially or simultaneously. If each N-type layer is tuned to a separate infrared wavelength, the detector can detect two infrared wavelengths. Unfortunately this structure requires the center P-type layer and its related interconnect structure. Also, this structure requires two separate sensing circuits to sense two distinct wavelengths. In the alternate, the device could use one sensing circuit and a multiplexer to alternately connect each N-type layer to the sensing circuit.
The second type of two color infrared detector simply uses twice as many elements to sense twice as many events. These elements are laid out in the same horizontal plane which is perpendicular to the axis of incident infrared radiation. This format requires geometrically more space which is oftentimes critical. In addition, this system is not a true two color detector since each set of array elements are not aligned along the same optical axis.
Therefore, a need has arisen for a two color infrared detector which is able to simultaneously detect two wavelengths of infrared light, which is compact, and which minimizes the complexity of the related sensing circuitry.


A composite tip cap assembly for a helicopter main rotor blade includes a composite main fairing, a unitary composite rib detail internally integrated in combination with the composite main fairing, a composite closure fairing bonded in combination with the composite main fairing, and an abrasion strip bonded in combination with the composite main fairing and the composite closure fairing.

A helicopter main rotor assembly, and in particular the main rotor blades thereof, is subjected to a variety of operational forces--aerodynamic, inertial, and centrifugal. In particular, main rotor blades must be designed to accommodate various dynamic loads such a bending loads, flapwise (out-of-plane) and chordwise (in-plane) loads, axial loads (centrifugal), and torsional loads. Such dynamic loads subject the main rotor blades to varying degrees of stresses/strains.
In particular, the extreme outboard end or tip of the main rotor blade is subjected to the greatest stresses/strains due to aerodynamic forces, and concomitantly experiences the greatest structural degradation due to wear and abrasion (due to the high rotational velocity of the main rotor blade tip), during operation of the helicopter main rotor assembly. In addition, the extreme outboard end of the main rotor blade has the highest probability of experiencing structural damage as a result of striking external objects.
Accordingly, it is well known in the helicopter art to provide a sacrificial or removable tip cap at the extreme outboard end of a helicopter rotor blade. Representative examples of tip caps for helicopter rotor blades are presented in U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,610 which discloses an end tip cap secured to the nose spar of a main rotor blade; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,320,494 which describes a replaceable tip portion for a main rotor blade comprised of a composite skin bonded to an internal honeycomb core and a composite tip cap attached to the tip portion.
FIGS. 1A-1C illustrate an exemplary main rotor blade 100 for a helicopter as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,820. The main rotor blade 100 comprises an inboard segment 102 configured for mounting the main rotor blade 100 to the helicopter rotor hub assembly (not shown), an intermediate segment 104, and a replaceable tip segment 106 (reference numeral 105 identifies the demarcation between the outboard end of the intermediate segment 104 and the replaceable tip segment 106). The inboard, intermediate, and tip segments 102, 104, 106 in combination define the span of the main rotor blade 100. The main rotor blade 100 has a leading edge 108 and a trailing edge 110, which in combination define the chord of the main rotor blade 100.
The inboard and intermediate regions 102, 104 of the main rotor blade 100 are fabricated from upper and lower composite skins 112, 114 that define the upper and lower aerodynamic surfaces of the blade 100, respectively, a honeycomb core 116, a spar 118, one or more counterweights 120, a leading-edge sheath 122, and adjustable trim tabs 124. The upper and lower composite skins 112, 114 are bonded to the honeycomb core 116, which functions as a low weight, structural stiffening member between the composite skins 112, 114. The spar 118 is a prefabricated component (either from composite material(s) or a metallic material such as titanium) and functions as the primary structural member of the main rotor blade 100, reacting the torsional, bending, shear, and centrifugal dynamic loads developed in the blade 100 during operation of the helicopter main rotor assembly.
One or more counterweights 120 are bonded to the spar 118 to balance the main rotor blade 100 statically and dynamically. The leading-edge sheath 122 is a prefabricated hybrid component fabricated from composite materials, e.g., woven fiberglass material embedded in a suitable resin matrix, and abrasion-resistive materials, e.g., titanium and nickel strips. The sheath 122 has a generally C-shaped configuration that defines the leading edge 108 of the main rotor blade 100 from the inboard end of the inboard segment 102 to the outboard end of the intermediate segment 104. The leading-edge sheath 122, and in particular the abrasion-resistive strips, provide abrasion protection for the leading edge 108 of the main rotor blade 100. The leading-edge sheath 122 also provides control of airfoil tolerances of the main rotor blade 100.
The replaceable tip segment 106 of the main rotor blade 106 has a defined aerodynamic configuration, e.g., rearward sweep, taper, and/or anhedral, to enhance the aerodynamic performance of the main rotor blade 100 and the main rotor assembly. The replaceable tip segment 106 comprises upper and lower composite skins bonded in combination with a honeycomb core. A recess 140 is formed in the honeycomb core of the replaceable tip segment 106, the recess 140 having dimensions slightly greater than the external dimensions of the spar 118. The replaceable tip segment 106 is attached to the spar 118 by bonding using an adhesive material such as epoxy film adhesive applied to the wall(s) defining the recess 140 and the external surface of the spar 118. Further, fasteners 145, e.g., threaded fasteners, may be used to enhance the attachment of the replaceable tip segment 106 in combination with the intermediate segment 104. Replaceable tip segments as described hereinabove are removable at the depot level, which greatly facilitates timely repair or replacement thereof.
The described embodiment of the main rotor blade 100 further includes a composite tip cap 144, e.g., graphite fibers embedded in a suitable resin matrix, that is secured, e.g., by fasteners 146, in combination with the outboard end of the replaceable tip segment 106. Alternatively, the tip cap 144 may be fabricated from a metallic material such as titanium or aluminum. The tip cap 144 is replaceable at the field level, which minimizes the time and costs associated with the replacement thereof The replaceable tip segment 106 includes an abrasion strip 150 and the composite tip cap 144 includes an abrasion strip 152. The abrasion strips 150, 152, which are typically formed from an abrasive-resistant metallic material such as nickel, in combination define the leading edge of the replaceable tip segment 106.
The Assignee of the present invention, Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, currently provides replaceable tip cap assemblies for its UH-60 BLACK HAWK.RTM. and SH-60 SEAHAWK.RTM. (BLACK HAWK and SEAHAWK are registered trademarks of the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation) helicopters. These replaceable tip cap assemblies include a main fairing, internal ribs, a composite closure fairing, and a nickel abrasion strip. The main fairing is fabricated from aluminum and has a defined aerodynamic configuration, i.e., upper and lower airfoils having aerodynamic surfaces, a leading edge, and a trailing edge. The internal ribs comprise a plurality of aluminum C-shaped members that are disposed within the cavity of the main fairing and secured to the upper and lower airfoils by means of aerospace fasteners. The composite closure fairing, which has an aerodynamic configuration, is fabricated from a KEVLAR.RTM.-based composite material (KEVLAR is a registered trademark of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Wilmington, Del. for an aromatic polyamide fiber of extremely high tensile strength) and bonded in combination with the main fairing using a suitable adhesive. The nickel abrasion strip is bonded in combination with the leading edges of the main and closure fairings. The aluminum tip cap assembly is bolted in combination with the outboard end of the main rotor blade.
While the aluminum tip cap assemblies described in the preceding paragraph are functionally effective for their designed purpose, such prior art tip cap assemblies do have some limitations. For example, each of these aluminum tip cap assemblies is comprised of sixteen separate components such that the manufacture and assemblage of these aluminum tip cap assemblies is both time consuming and labor intensive. In particular, the integration of the individual C-shaped rib members in combination with the main fairing is particularly time consuming and labor intensive, requiring in excess of ninety aerospace fasteners to secure the individual C-shaped rib members in combination with the main fairing. In addition, the main fairing is susceptible to fatigue cracking as a result of the high aerodynamic loading to which the tip cap assemblies are subjected during operation of the main rotor assembly such that the aluminum tip cap assemblies must be regularly inspected and replaced.
A need exists to provide a tip cap assembly for helicopter main rotor blades that is easier to manufacture and assemble, i.e., that is more reproducible, and is more cost effective that the prior art aluminum tip cap assemblies described in the preceding paragraphs. Such a tip cap assembly should have a design configuration that makes it compatible as a retrofit item for the aluminum tip cap assemblies currently utilized in UH-60 BLACK HAWK.RTM. and SH-60 SEAHAWK.RTM. helicopters.

Composite tip cap assembly for a helicopter main rotor blade


Quantitative cooking device including an electronic scale, a heater disposed on the electronic scale and a container to be heated by the heater. The heater is electrically connected with the electronic scale which controls powering on/off of the heater. The electronic scale compares the measured actual weight with the preset value. When the measured actual weight is equal to the preset value, the heater is powered off to stop heating the container. Therefore, the cooking will be stopped in accordance with the preset value and a quantitative cooking effect is achieved.

The present invention is related to a quantitative cooking device, and more particularly to a quantitative cooking device which compares a preset value with the measured actual weight of the cooked foods so as to control and determine whether the heating should be continued.
When boiling herbal medicines or stewing foods with a stewing cooker, the heating time is generally controlled in accordance with experience. The foods can be well-done or a proper amount of water will remain in the cooker by means of properly controlling the stewing time. For example, when boiling herbal medicines, a certain amount of water is added to herbal medicines and boiled until the water is vaporized into a thick liquid herbal medicine. In such boiling procedure, the boiling time is very hard to control. In case the amount of the liquid medicine left in the cooker is different from the expected amount, the curing effect of the herbal medicine will be greatly deteriorated. In addition, when heated, it is necessary for a user to stay by the cooker and frequently open the cooker cover to check the amount of water. Otherwise, the water will be exhausted and a fire may take place.
An improved timing cooker has been developed. Such timing cooker enables a user to set the heating time. However, the time must be set in accordance with the amount of added water and only an experienced user can properly set the heating time. Otherwise, the foods still will be under-done or over-done.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a quantitative cooking device which compares a preset value with the measured actual weight of the cooked foods so as to control and determine whether the heating should be continued. Therefore, the cooking will be stopped in accordance with the preset value and a quantitative cooking effect is achieved.
According to the above object, the quantitative cooking device of the present invention includes a container, a heater and an electronic scale.
The container is placed on the heater to be heated and foods to be cooked are placed in the container.
The heater is placed on a scale pan of the electronic scale for heating the container. The heater is electrically connected with the electronic scale which controls powering on/off of the heater.
The electronic scale via the pressure of the scale pan measures the corresponding actual weight. By means of a controlling panel of the electronic scale, a weight value is preset for cutting off the power as necessary in cooking foods. When the measured actual weight is larger the preset value, the heater is continuously powered on, while when the measured actual weight is equal to the preset value, the heater is powered off to stop heating the container. Therefore, a quantitative cooking effect is achieved in accordance with the preset value.
The present invention can be best understood through the following description and accompanying drawings wherein:

2 Floor, No. 15, Lane 81, Kwuang-Fu S. Rd.


Embodiments of the disclosure concern compositions and methods of use related to particular c-kit+ mesenchymal cells, including cardiac stem cells, obtained from a pediatric or neonatal individual. In specific embodiments, the cells, or conditioned medium or partial or total secretomes thereof, are provided in an effective amount to an individual in need thereof.

Heart disease in adults is a leading cause of death and there is an increasing number of children with heart failure owing to advances in surgical techniques for congenital heart defects and post-operative ICU care (Go, et al., 2014; Go, et al., 2014). It has been recently shown that in clinical studies transplantation of resident cardiac stem cells can regenerate/remodel human myocardium, leading to improvements in cardiac function as indicated by improvements in ejection fraction, reduced scar size, reduced end diastolic and systolic volumes and improvements in quality of life and NYHA class (Garbern, et al., 2013). These and other preclinical in vivo data indicate that a particular population of resident human cardiac stem cells (hCSCs), distinguished by their c-kit+ phenotype, provides substantial benefit in repairing the failing heart following intracoronary infusion (Bolli, et al., 2011; Bolli, et al., 2013; Tang, et al., 2010).
It was originally thought that hCSCs differentiate into cardiomyocytes and repopulate the damaged myocardium with new cardiomyocytes able to replenish lost cells (Bolli, et al., 2011; Tang, et al., 2010; Beltrami, et al., 2003; Chugh, et al., 2012). However, it is now recognized that differentiation of the hCSCs into mature cardiac lineage cells occurs at very low frequency, which was tested in a well-established rodent myocardial infarction (MI) model in which the left anterior descending artery is permanently ligated (Pagani, et al., 2003). Therefore, other mechanisms seem responsible for the regenerative/remodeling capacity of hCSCs (Bergmann, et al., 2009; Kajstura, et al., 2012).
There is need for compositions and methods for regenerating functional myocardium in adults and children with cardiac medical conditions, such as heart failure caused by damaged myocardial tissue, for example.


The present invention is a method and apparatus for applying magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) technology to enable the embedding of coded information within text characters of a document.

The present invention is based upon well-known magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) technology, but employs the technology in a manner so as to enable the encoding of data using the magnetic marking material within text characters, or portions thereof, and similar symbols or aspects of a document. The advantages of the present invention is that it provides a method to produce an encoded document, where the encoding or "watermark" is visually undetectable, but adequate to indicate authenticity of the document.
Heretofore, a number of patents and publications have disclosed magnetic ink character recognition devices and technology. The following patents are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety, and the relevant portions may be briefly summarized as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,114 to Parker et al., for "TRI LEVEL XEROGRAPHY USING A MICR TONER IN COMBINATION WITH A NON-MICR TONER," issued Feb. 13, 1990, teaches single-pass tri-level xerography employed in an electronic printer to superimpose, with perfect registration, two images, one of which is printed with magnetic (MICR) toner, and the other of which is printed with non-magnetic toner. This permits the MICR toner to be used to print only those parts of the image that are necessary for the magnetic ink character recognition system to read the encoded information;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,147,744 to Sacripante et al. for "MICR PROCESSES WITH COLORED ENCAPSULATED COMPOSITIONS," issued Sep. 15, 1992 discloses colored magnetic encapsulated (MICR) toner compositions, including those comprised of a core of polymer binder, a color pigment or dye, metal magnetic material, and a whitener, and thereover a polymeric shell prepared, for example, by interfacial polymerization and wherein the shell can have incorporated therein, thereon, or combinations thereof certain conductive metal oxide powders; and
U.S. Pat. No. 5,414,783 to Bov, Jr. et al. for a "WRITE HEAD FOR A MICR READER HAVING AN ADJUSTABLE FIELD PROFILE," issued May 9, 1995, teaches improvements in apparatus and methods for recognizing characters printed in magnetic ink on documents.
Conventional watermarking methods typically work on grayscale or color images; they modify the grayscale or color of the image in some fashion. Such methods, besides lacking robustness when the document is printed, are awkward in dealing with black and white text documents where the pixel value is either 1 or 0. Other methods, such as shifting the characters are not robust and may carry very little load. Printing yellow dots has been applied in color hardcopies. Such methods rely on the assumption that the paper used is white, if a colored paper is used, or the paper has colored texture or colored designs, the small yellow dots can no longer be detected. Although the yellow dots are easily duplicated using regular inkjet printers, and easily detected using a blue filter, it is, nonetheless, useful in some applications.
In order to provide traceability or the ability to authenticate black and white text documents, the present invention "hides" or encodes information in the printed image. Hiding information may also be useful for other applications, such as usage rights control. Conventional digital watermarking methods are awkward in dealing with this kind of documents. We propose a method and a complete system to put magnetic watermarks in black symbols.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a text document authentication method, comprising the steps of: creating a document, where said document has text thereon; creating at least a portion of the text thereon with a combination of marking materials, including a first, visually perceptible marking material and a second, visually perceptible material, wherein the second marking material further includes a detectable, yet not visually perceptible, characteristic so as to be distinguishable from the first marking material with an aid, and where placement of the second marking material is indistinguishable to the unaided eye, yet is in a predefined pattern signifying the authenticity of the document containing such a pattern; and reading the second marking material pattern, with the aid, so as to verify the authenticity of the document, said reading step being sensitive to the presence of the detectable characteristic of the second marking material so as to identify the predefined pattern.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for text document authentication, comprising the steps of: encoding a text image by analyzing the image to identify regions thereof suitable for rendering with a magnetic marking material, and indicating such areas in a digital document; writing the digital document using at least two different marking materials, one of which is a magnetic material, to render text on a marking medium; subsequently reading, from the marking medium, regions having magnetic material therein and sensing the relative strength of such regions so as to determine if such regions exhibit high or low magnetic fields; and based upon the strength of the fields, and the sequence thereof, decoding the signals so as to extract digital data represented by the magnetic marking material.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for magnetically watermarking a text document for authentication, comprising: an encoder, operating on a digital text document to analyze the document to identify text regions thereof suitable for rendering with a magnetic marking material, and indicating such areas in the digital document; an image output device suitable for writing the digital document using at least two marking materials, one of which exhibits magnetic characteristics, so as to render the document on a marking medium, wherein regions of the text on said document are rendered with magnetic marking material and exhibit one of at least two levels of magnetic fields so as to provide an encoded magnetic mark within the text; a reader for sensing, on the marking medium, those text regions having magnetic material therein and sensing the relative strength of such regions so as to determine if such regions exhibit at least a high and a low magnetic field strength; and a decoder, for receiving a sequence of high and low magnet field strength signals from the reader and decoding the sequence of signals so as to extract digital data represented by the magnetic marking material.
One aspect of the invention is based on the discovery of a technique to enable the traceability or verification of the authenticity of text documents. Often, such documents are in traditional black and white, or at least the text therein is black and white. The techniques of the present invention utilize the text image areas to "hide" or embed information in the printed document through the use of magnetic inks, toners or similar marking materials. Such materials may be employed to print particular portions of certain characters so as to provide a magnetic mark on the characters, where the sequence of the marks, or the presence of marks may indicate further information relative to the document. In other words, the magnetic marks may provide "hidden" data serving to authenticate the document. A system implementing the invention would include an encoder and writer or printer on the one hand, and a scanner or similar reader and decoder on the other hand. The technique described above is advantageous because it is efficient and less detectable compared to other approaches of document authentication. The techniques can be adapted to any of a number of document types. As a result of the invention, it is possible to employ known technology to produce watermarked or self-authenticating documents.
The present invention will be described in connection with a preferred embodiment, however, it will be understood that there is no intent to limit the invention to the embodiment described. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.


It is an object of the present invention to simultaneously perform input or output of picture signals for a plurality of components. An image data input interface (310) is capable of input of picture signals (Pm) of three components at its maximum. For example, when picture signals (Pm) of three components are inputted, a clock divider (410) supplies a 1/3 divided signal of a clock signal (CLK) to the image data input interface (310) on the basis of a selection signal (SEL). In the image date input interface (310), the picture signals (Pm) of three components are simultaneously inputted in synchronization with the 1/3 divided signal and they are sent out to a discrete cosine transform unit (4) in synchronization with the clock signal (CLK). The component to which the sent picture signals (Pxy) belong sequentially changes for every 8.times.8 picture elements. It has the effect of simultaneously performing input or output of picture signals for a plurality of components while matching with operation of a coding device unit is maintained.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to image conversion devices such as image compression devices, image expansion devices, or combinations thereof.
2. Description of the Background Art
FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing the structure of a conventional image compression device. This image compression device is made to realize image compression based on the so-called "JPEG algorithm" which is proposed by the JPEG (Joint Photographic Expert Group) aiming for normalization of the color still image coding system.
For each of picture elements arranged in a matrix along two directions perpendicular to each other on an image, picture signals Pm (m=0, 1, . . . ) which represent its density, luminance, etc. are sequentially provided as inputs to an image data input interface 3 of this device. A single picture signal Pm is comprised of 8 bits to represent density of a single picture element at 256 gradations. This picture signal Pm is sequentially inputted for every 8 bits to the image date input interface 3 from an external device through an image data input terminal 13 of 8-bit width in synchronization with clock signal CLK which is a periodic pulse train inputted from a clock input terminal 1.
The image data input interface 3 divides the train of the inputted picture signals Pm (m=0, 1, . . . ) for each block where 8.times.8 (=64) picture elements are arranged in a matrix along the two perpendicular scanning directions on the image and outputs them to a discrete cosine transform unit 4 on the next stage. That is to say, for each block, picture signals Pxy (x, y=0 to 7) representing density of each picture element in that block are sequentially sent from the image data input interface 3 to the discrete cosine transform unit 4 in synchronization with the clock signal CLK.
In the discrete cosine transform unit 4, two-dimensional discrete cosine transform is applied to 64 Pxy (x, y=0 to 7) in synchronization with the clock signal CLK. The 64 discrete cosine transform coefficients (referred to as "DCT coefficient" hereinafter) Suv (u, v=0 to 7) obtained by the discrete cosine transform are sequentially sent from the discrete cosine transform unit 4 to a zig-zag conversion unit 5 on the next stage in synchronization with the clock signal CLK.
In the zig-zag conversion unit 5, the DCT coefficients Suv (u, v=0 to 7) are rearranged from the order along rows and columns of matrix with the arranged DCT coefficients Suv (u, v=0 to 7) into the so-called zig-zag order. The DCT coefficients Sij (i, j=0 to 7) rearranged into the zig-zag order are then sequentially sent to a quantization unit 6 from the zig-zag conversion unit 5 in synchronization with the clock signal CLK.
In the quantization unit 6, the 64 DCT coefficients Sij (i, j=0 to 7) are quantized with step sizes which differ for each coefficient position (values of i, j) using a quantization table 7. That is to say, 64 coefficients Qij (i, j=0 to 7) defining step size of each coefficient position are previously stored in the quantization table 7, and the quantization unit 6 performs division of the DCT coefficient Sij with the coefficient Qij and makes a quotient thereof integer to obtain quantization coefficients Rij (i, j=0 to 7). This processing is performed in synchronization with the clock signal CLK. As a result, the obtained quantization coefficients Rij (i, j=0 to 7) are sent from the quantization unit 6 to a Huffman coding unit 8 on the next stage in synchronization with the clock signal CLK.
In the Huffman coding unit 8, referring to a code table 9, coding based on the Huffman coding system is applied to each of the quantization coefficients Rij (i, j=0 to 7). Information for performing the Huffman coding is previously stored in the code table 9, on the basis of which information the Huffman coding unit 8 converts the quantization coefficients Rij (i, j=0 to 7) into a train of coded signals Hn (n=0, 1. . . ) based on the Huffman coding system. This processing is performed in synchronization with the clock signal CLK. As a result, the coded signals Hn (n=0, 1, . . . ) are sent in synchronization with the clock signal CLK from the Huffman coding unit 8 to an external device such as a storage device for storing the coded signals.
The clock signal CLK is sent to an external device for inputting the picture signals Pm (m=0, 1, . . . ) to the image data input terminal 13 thorough a clock output terminal 11. This synchronizes operation of the external device with the clock signal CLK to enable input of picture signals Pm (m=0, 1, . . . ) to the image date input terminal 13 in synchronization with the clock signal CLK.
In comparison for each block, the signal size of the coded signals Hn (n=0, 1, . . . ) is made smaller than the signal size of the 64 picture signals Pxy (x, y=0 to 7). That is, this device realizes compression of the picture signals.
To reproduce the image, the picture signals must be reversely reconstructed from the coded signals Hn which are compressed picture signals. For this aim, a conventional image expansion device making a pair with the device shown in FIG. 16 is used. FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing structure of this image expansion device.
As shown in FIG.17, the coded signals Hn (n=0, 1, . . . ) are sent in the order of a Huffman decoding unit 28, a non-quantization unit 26, an inverse zig-zag conversion unit 25, an inverse discrete cosine transform unit 24 and an image data output interface 23 in synchronization with the clock signal CLK inputted from the clock input terminal 1. The image date output interface 23--the Huffman decoding unit 28 constituting the image expansion device respectively perform processings reverse to the processings in the image data input interface 3--the Huffman coding unit 8 constituting the image compression device. The code table 9 in the image compression device is referred to in the Huffman decoding unit 28 and the quantization table 7 is referred to in the non-quantization unit 26.
Accordingly, inputted coded signals Hn (n=0, 1, . . . ) are sequentially subjected to processings reverse to those in the image compression device. As a result, reconstructed picture signals Pm (m=0, 1, . . . ) are provided as outputs from the image date output interface 23. However, due to the processing made in the quantization unit 6 of the image compression device, the reconstructed picture signals Pm (m=0, 1, . . . ) are not necessarily completely the same as the picture signals Pm (m=0, 1, . . . ) before compressed, but they have been changed in the range where effective image quality is not degraded. That is to say, the system of image compression and image expansion based on the JPEG algorithm belongs to the category of non-reversible system.
The clock signal CLK is sent out to an external device to which the picture signals Pm (m=0, 1, . . . ) are inputted through the clock output terminal 11. The external device is sequentially supplied with the picture signals Pm (m=0, 1, . . . ) from the image data output interface 23 in synchronization with the clock signal CLK.
As the conventional image compression device and the image expansion device are constituted as described above, both of the input of the picture signals Pm from the external device and the output thereof to the external device must be made in synchronization with the clock signal CLK. Accordingly, if the frequency of the clock signal CLK is high and the speed of processings in the device is high, input and output of the picture signals Pm in the external device must be performed at high speed, too. That is to say, it has been a problem that input interface or output interface of the picture signals Pm provided in the external device must operate at high speed in synchronization with the clock signal CLK.
Furthermore, when simultaneously compressing or expanding picture signals Pm of a plurality of components corresponding to a plurality of color components represented by trichromatic components of the RGB (Red, Green, Blue) calorimetric system, for example, input must be made for each component unit, resulting in a problem that a buffer or the like must be additionally provided outside of the device.

Mitsubishi Electric Semiconductor Software Corporation


A sample analyzer includes a first measurement unit, a second measurement unit, a detection section which detects information about an amount of a sample in a sample container before the first measurement unit aspirates the sample in the sample container, and a control section. Based on a detection result by the detection section and based on information about a predetermined sample amount necessary for performing both in the first measurement unit and the second measurement unit, when the control section has determined that the amount of the sample in the sample container is insufficient for the predetermined sample amount, the control section controls the first measurement unit and the second measurement unit so as not to aspirate the sample in the sample container.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to sample analyzers in which a plurality of measurement units of different types are connected to each other by means of a transporting apparatus.
2. Disclosure of Related Art
There are known analyzers which detect the liquid amount of a sample by using a sensor before the sample is aspirated, and in which when the detected liquid amount is not sufficient for a liquid amount necessary for analysis of the sample, aspiration of the sample is stopped.
Further, in recent years, analyzers in which a plurality of measurement units of different types are connected to each other by means of a transporting apparatus are commercially available. Each measurement unit of such an analyzer is provided with an aspiration tube, and in the analyzer, a sample container is sequentially transported from an upstream measurement unit to a downstream measurement unit, and the sample is aspirated by each aspiration tube.
However, in a case where an analyzer having a liquid amount confirming function is applied to each of the plurality of measurement units connected to each other as mentioned above, when the liquid amount of the sample is sufficient for measurement performed by the most-upstream measurement unit but is not sufficient for measurement performed by a downstream measurement unit, the sample is aspirated by the most-upstream measurement unit and the sample having a remaining very small amount is transported to a downstream measurement unit. In such a case, there is a possibility that measurement by the downstream measurement unit cannot be performed, resulting in requirement of obtaining the sample again.

Sample analyzer and method of analyzing a sample


The device for firing a diabolo form bullet from a firearm with a rifled barrel consists of a cartridge having a housing, a detonation cap connected to one end of the housing in a gas-tight manner and containing a gas-forming propellant, the housing having an expansion compartment for expansion of a gas produced on ignition of the gas-forming propellant and an outer surface tapered toward another end of the housing remote from the detonation cap, the tapered outer surface aligning the diabolo form bullet loaded coaxially in the rifled barrel by engaging a tapered recess provided in the diabolo form bullet, whereby the diabolo form bullet is forced into the rifled barrel so as to calibrate the diabolo form bullet; and a membrane covering the other end of the housing remote from the detonation cap. The housing is provided with at least one breakthrough region, which ruptures when a gas pressure on ignition exceeds a predetermined maximum value.

The present invention relates to a device for firing a diabolo form bullet from a firearm with which the bullet is propelled from the barrel of the firearm after ignition of a gas-producing propellant means in a detonator cap.
In practice in some instances the inertia of the bullet is not overcome by the high pressure due to the gas generation from the gas-producing propellant means after ignition so that the bullet is damaged or destroyed on firing the firearm.

Device for firing a diabolo form bullet from a firearm

Wilhelm Brenneke KG Fabrikation von Jagdgeschossen


A stent for implantation in a body lumen for protecting from rupture a fibrous cap in order to treat vulnerable plaque. One embodiment of the stent achieves staged expansion through stronger and weaker circumferential regions, and includes optional anchors positioned at the circumferential transition between the stronger and weaker regions. During the first stage expansion, the weaker region expands moving the anchors laterally apart. The anchors straddle the fibrous cap and embed into the vessel wall. The second stage expansion of the stent exerts gentler stresses by the weaker region against the fibrous cap while the stronger region exerts greater stresses on the remainder of the vessel wall to open the vessel.

The present invention relates to vascular repair devices, and in particular to intravascular stents, which are adapted to be implanted into a patient's body lumen, such as a blood vessel or coronary artery, for the treatment of unstable or vulnerable, human atherosclerotic plaque.
Currently, the treatment of unstable or vulnerable plaque presents a significant therapeutic challenge to medical investigators. Vulnerable plaque is characterized by a basic lesion which is a raised plaque beneath the innermost arterial layer, the intima. Atherosclerotic plaques are primarily composed of varying amounts of long chain extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins that are synthesized by smooth muscle cells. The other primary lesion component of atherosclerotic plaque includes lipoproteins, existing both extracellularly and within foam cells derived primarily from lipid-laden macrophages. In a more advanced lesion, a necrotic core may develop, consisting of lipids, foam cells, cell debris, and cholesterol crystals, and myxomatous configurations with crystalline lipid forms. The necrotic core is rich in tissue factor and quite thrombogenic, but in the stable plaque it is protected from the luminal blood flow by a robust fibrous cap composed primarily of long chain ECM proteins, such as elastin and collagen, which maintain the strength of the fibrous cap. The aforementioned plaque represents the most common form of vulnerable plaque, known as a fibroatheroma. Histology studies from autopsy suggest this form constitutes the majority of vulnerable plaques in humans. A second form of vulnerable plaque represents a smaller fraction of the total, and these are known as erosive plaques. Erosive plaques generally have a smaller content of lipid, a larger fibrous tissue content, and varying concentrations of proteoglycans. Various morphologic features that have been associated with vulnerable plaque, include thinned or eroded fibrous caps or luminal surfaces, lesion eccentricity, proximity of constituents having very different structural moduli, and the consistency and distribution of lipid accumulations. With the rupture of fibroatheroma forms of vulnerable plaque, the luminal blood becomes exposed to tissue factor, a highly thrombogenic core material, which can result in total thrombotic occlusion of the artery. In the erosive form of vulnerable plaque, mechanisms of thrombosis are less understood but may still yield total thrombotic occlusion.
Although rupture of the fibrous cap in a fibroatheroma is a major cause of myocardial infarction (MI) related deaths, there are currently no therapeutic strategies in place to treat these lesions that could lead to acute MI. The ability to detect vulnerable plaques and to treat them successfully with interventional techniques before acute MI occurs has long been an elusive goal. Numerous finite element analysis (FEA) studies have proved that, in the presence of a soft lipid core, the fibrous cap shows regions of high stresses. Representative of these studies include the following research articles, each of which are incorporated in their entirety by reference herein: Richardson et al. (1989), Influence of Plaque Configuration and Stress Distribution on Fissuring of Coronary Atherosclerotic Plaques, Lancet, 2(8669), 941-944; Loree et al. (1992), Effects of Fibrous Cap Thickness on Circumferential Stress in Model Atherosclerotic Vessels, Circulation Research, 71, 850-858; Cheng et al. (1992), Distribution of Circumferential Stress in Ruptured and Stable Atherosclerotic Lesions: A Structural Analysis With Histopathological Correlation, Circulation, 87, 1179-1187; Veress et al. (1993), Finite Element Modeling of Atherosclerotic Plaque, Proceedings of IEEE Computers in Cardiology, 791-794; Lee et al. (1996), Circumferential Stress and Matrix Metalloproteinase 1 in Human Coronary Atherosclerosis: Implications for Plaque Rupture, Atherosclerosis Thrombosis Vascular Biology, 16, 1070-1073; Vonesh et al. (1997), Regional Vascular Mechanical Properties by 3-D Intravascular Ultrasound Finite-Element Analysis, American Journal of Physiology, 272, 425-437; Beattie et al. (1999), Mechanical Modeling: Assessing Atherosclerotic Plaque Behavior and Stability in Humans, International Journal of Cardiovascular Medical Science, 2(2), 69-81; C. Feezor et al. (2001), Integration of Animal and Human Coronary Tissue Testing with Finite Element Techniques for Assessing Differences in Arterial Behavior, BED-Vol. 50, 2001 Bioengineering Conference, ASME 2001; and C. Feezor et al: (2003), Acute Mechanical Response Of Human Coronary Fibroatheromas To Stenting, 2003 Summer Bioengineering Conference, Key Biscayne, Fla., 167-168. Further, these studies have indicated that such high stress regions correlate with the observed prevalence of locations of cap fracture. Moreover, it has been shown that subintimal structural features such as the thickness of the fibrous cap and the extent of the lipid core, rather than stenosis severity are critical in determining the vulnerability of the plaque. The rupture of a highly stressed fibrous cap can be prevented by using novel, interventional, therapeutic techniques such as specially designed stents that redistribute and lower the stresses in the fibrous cap.
Stents are generally tubular-shaped devices which function to hold open a segment of a blood vessel, coronary artery, or other body lumen. They are also suitable for use to support and hold back a dissected arterial lining which can occlude the fluid passageway therethrough.
Various means have been described to deliver and implant stents. One method frequently described for delivering a stent to a desired intraluminal location includes mounting the expandable stent on an expandable member, such as a balloon, provided on the distal end of an intravascular catheter, advancing the catheter to the desired location within the patient's body lumen, inflating the balloon on the catheter to expand the stent into a permanent expanded condition and then deflating the balloon and removing the catheter.
Generally speaking, most prior art intravascular stents are formed from a metal such as stainless steel, which is balloon expandable and plastically deforms upon expansion to hold open a vessel. The component parts of these types of stents typically are all formed of the same type of metal, i.e., stainless steel. One of the advantages of the metallic stents is their high radial strength once expanded and implanted in the vessel. When a metallic stent is expanded and implanted in a coronary artery, for example, the stent typically uniformly expands forming a near perfect cylindrical shape which provides a cylindrical lumen for blood flow. The amount of strain imparted to the vessel wall from the prior art metallic stents typically is uniform at all points along the vessel wall, and in particular along the fibrous cap which retains the vulnerable plaque. Since the strains are uniform, the fibrous cap may have a tendency to rupture because it is typically quite thin and is susceptible to the expansion forces of the stent. Thus, one disadvantage of presently designed intravascular stents is the possibility of the stent, which expands uniformly, imparting expansion forces on the fibrous cap to the degree of rupturing the cap, and inadvertently releasing the lipid pool comprising vulnerable plaque.
What has been needed and heretofore unavailable is a stent that can be used to treat a vulnerable plaque by reducing the cap stresses. The present invention satisfies this need and others.

Stent with anchors to prevent vulnerable plaque rupture during deployment


The invention features a business method that takes advantage of the ability to convert unorganized information in the form of paper documents, document images, and electronic documents and converts the information to an organized electronic form referred to as Knowledge Objects. The invention further encompasses forming electronic Business Objects, such as documents and data sets, useful for business decision making and information exchange. The methods of the invention may utilize computerized storage and computerized decision-making systems to enable making more rapid critical business decisions.

The mortgage banking industry is faced with the daunting task of organizing, inputting and accessing a vast number and array of divergent types of documents and manually entering several hundred fields of information from a subset of these documents in order to make a loan to a borrower. Although many attempts have been made to streamline the process, most recently by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) which established standards for representing information in a mortgage transaction, the problem of identifying and capturing information from paper documents, image files, native PDF files, and other electronic files in the loan origination process has yet to be solved in order to take advantage of these standards. In the United States alone, mortgage bankers are faced with the idiosyncratic documents from a minimum of fifty states where some mortgage documents differ from state to state and may have further individual variations within each state. In addition, once the loan is made to the borrower, there is a huge secondary market for mortgages, where existing mortgage loans are bundled and sold to large investment firms. These investment entities, in order to pursue a rational risk management policy presentable to their owners and/or shareholders, must organize and analyze these mortgage documents for asset risk and compliance with local, state and federal laws. Values necessary to compare and analyze these loans must be extracted from paper documents or images of the document, then tabulated, analyzed and the resultant data and documents made readily available in order for informed decision-making to occur. In January 2000, the MBA formed the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO). This group has driven the development of industry specifications that allow seamless data exchange using standard electronic mortgage documents called SMART DOcS™. The SMART Doc XML specification is the foundation of the eMortgage efforts of lenders, vendors, and investors, as it provides for the electronic versions of key mortgage documents. This specification enables electronic mortgage loan package creation by providing a standard for creating and processing uniform electronic transactions for use in electronic mortgage commerce.
Nor is this dilemma restricted to the mortgage industry. In other industries, including the finance industry, the hospitality industry, the health care field and the insurance industry, there is a constant need to collate documents into logically related groups, and capture key information to enable information exchange. These documents must be further collated in order to identify and store multiple revisions of the same type of document, along with extracting data and inferred information from the documents, together with making the resultant transaction data and underlying documents available in an electronically accessible manner.
Unfortunately, the manual organization, collation of paper documents, and extraction of information is very time consuming and slows the process of making business decisions. Additionally, there is an increased possibility of error due to manual processing. Validation of these decisions is very difficult since the paper documents are stored separately from the electronic databases maintained by the processing organizations. Thus, there is a clear need for process automation and well organized and easily searchable electronic storage of the documents as well as extraction of relevant information contained within the documents.
In other methods or processes known in the art, automated document identification or classification methods fall into one of three categories: (1) they are either completely dependant on image based techniques for classification; (2) they use simple keyword search techniques, Bayesian and/or Support Vector Machine ("SVM") algorithms for text classification; or (3) they rely on document boundary detection methods using image and text based classification techniques. These methods are inadequate to deal with the wide variation in documents typically seen in the business environment and are not capable of separating multiple revisions of the same document type to enable information to be captured from the most current version of the document, hence limiting the utility of such systems.
Although it is known in the art to view paper documents by conversion into simpler electronic forms such as PDF files, these files, in general, do not allow extracting information beyond Optical Character Recognition (OCR). The OCR quality is highly dependant on image quality and the extraction is frequently of very poor quality. Finally, these methods or apparatuses do not offer a complete solution to the dilemma of analyzing and manipulating large paper document sets. Thus, the automated systems currently available generally have at least the following problems:
(1) such systems are limited to document boundary detection, document classification and text extraction and do not offer advanced document collation with separation of very similar documents, and domain-sensitive scrubbing of extracted information into usable data;
(2) techniques based on the current methods of out-of-context extraction and keyword-based classification cannot offer the consistent extraction of information from documents for automated decision making, or formation of Business Objects such as SMART DocS™ for information exchange between two organizations using industry standard taxonomy;
(3) similarity among documents may lead to misclassification when using pattern-based classification, especially in cases where the optical character recognition quality of the document is poor;
(4) extraction processes that handle structured data using a template-based matching generally fail even with a slight shifting of images, and those with rules-based templates can return false results if there are significant variations of the document;
(5) such systems cannot handle both structured and unstructured documents equally efficiently and reliably to serve an entire business process;
(6) such systems frequently are wed to the strengths and weaknesses of a particular algorithm and are thus not able to handle wide variations in analyzed documents with acceptable accuracy without manual rule creation;
(7) such systems cannot locate the information across the documents and variations;
(8) neither do such systems provide a complete solution to a business problem; and
(9) such systems do not have intelligent scrubbing of extracted information to enable the creation of electronic transaction sets such as MISMO SMART Doc™ XML files.
To analyze complicated documents, workers in several industries, for example, mortgage banking, currently analyze documents using a manual collation process; a manual stacking process; a wide variety of manual classification methods; and manual extraction methods, in particular a manual search and transcription. These methods suffer from the disadvantages of requiring substantial investment of human capital and not being automated sufficiently to handle bulk processing of documents and the information contained in those documents.
The number and kind of documents accompanying a mortgage loan are very specific to the mortgage loan industry, and as mentioned above, vary from state to state, and may vary in the jurisdictions within a particular state. However, the documents related to a given loan for the purchase of a property or properties in any jurisdiction may be assembled into electronic images by scanning (or direct entry, if already in an electronic form) before, during and after funding of the loan to form a partially, or preferably, complete document set, referred to herein as the "Dox Package." These documents originate from a number of sources, including banks and/or credit unions. Moreover, the order of these documents are assembled and filed depends very much on the individuals involved, their timeliness and their preferences, organization, or disorganization in sorting the various forms and other documents containing the required information. Further, even though some standardization of documents has occurred, such as Form 1003 published by FNMA, certain data essential for further analysis may still be found at disparate locations in idiosyncratic documents. For example, each bank and credit union formats an individual's bank statement in a different manner, yet the data from each format must be extracted for income verification. Additionally, depending on the stage of loan processing, not all of the documents may be present in a Dox Package at a given point in time.
As mentioned above, following the funding of the loan, loans are frequently bundled with many other similar loans and sold on the secondary market. At this stage, entire lots of mortgage-secured loans are bundled and sold with minimal quality control. In current usage in the secondary mortgage market, a randomly selected ten percent sample of mortgage documents (Dox Packages) are analyzed in detail (largely by manual means) and taken as representative for the lot. Obviously, if more loans, or substantially all the loans in a bundle, could be evaluated, better decisions could be made regarding the marketing of mortgage-backed loans on the secondary market. Hence, pricing of these loans in the market would be more efficient. Thus, there is a clear need for the automated analysis, collation of documents, and extraction of information in the mortgage loan industry, as well as other industries with no automated or standardized data input in place.
The following patents and applications may also be relevant in describing the background of the instant invention: U.S. Patent Application No. 2005 0134935 and U.S. Pat. Nos.: 6,754,389, 6,751,614, 6,742,003, 6,735,347, 6,732,090, 6,728,690, 6,728,689, 6,718,333, 6,704,449, 6,701,305, 6,691,108, 6,675,159, 6,668,256, 6,658,151, 6,647,534, 6,640,224, 6,625,312, 6,622,134, 6,618,717, 6,611,825, 6,606,623, 6,606,620, 6,604,875, 6,604,099, 6,592,627, 6,585,163, 6,556,987, 6,556,982, 6,553,365, 6,553,358, 6,542,635, 6,519,362, 6,512,850, 6,505,195, 6,502,081, 6,499,665, 6,487,545, 6,477,528, 6,473,757, 6,473,730, 6,470,362, 6,470,307, 6,470,095, 6,460,034, 6,457,026, 6,442,555, 6,411,974, 6,397,215, 6,362,837, 6,353,827, 6,298,351, 6,289,337, 6,266,656, 6,259,812, 6,243,723, 6,233,575, 6,216,134, 6,212,517, 6,199,034, 6,185,576, 6,185,550, 6,178,417, 6,175,844, 6,157,738, 6,128,613, 6,125,362, 6,101,515, 6,094,653, 6,088,692, 6,061,675, 6,055,540, 6,044,375, 6,038,560, 5,999,893, 5,999,647, 5,995,659, 5,991,709, 5,983,246, 5,966,652, 5,960,383, 5,943,669, 5,940,821, 5,937,084, 5,930,788, 5,918,236, 5,909,510, 5,907,821, 5,905,991, 5,873,056, 5,867,799, 5,854,855, 5,848,186, 5,835,638, 5,832,470, 5,819,295, 5,812,995, 5,794,236, 5,768,580, 5,717,913, 5,706,497, 5,696,841, 5,694,523, 5,689,342, 5,598,557, 5,588,149, 5,579,519, 5,574,802, 5,568,640, 5,535,382, 5,519,608, 5,500,796, 5,479,574, 5,463,773, 5,428,778, 5,426,700, 5,423,032, 5,418,946, 5,414,781, 5,323,311, 5,297,042, 5,287,278, 5,204,812, 5,181,259, 5,168,565, 5,159,667, 5,107,419, 5,091,964, 5,051,891, 5,048,099, 5,021,989, 5,020,019, 4,899,299, 4,860,203, and 4,856,074.

Business method using the automated processing of paper and unstructured electronic documents


A flushable tool for cleaning a toilet bowl has an elongated water soluble handle, one end of which carries a water soluble cleaning agent.

Cleaning is a task that has been with people for many centuries and it seems probable that people have searched for new and improved cleaning tools just about as long as they have been involved in cleaning processes. However, there remains a need for a new and improved cleaning tool particularly well adapted to cleaning toilets.
One cleaning task which is important for maintaining a healthy environment but nevertheless is disliked by many people is the task of cleaning a toilet. Even flushable toilets often require that someone clean urine and/or fecal matter from the toilet bowl, rim or seat. Of course, numerous toilet cleaning tools already exist for this purpose, Most tools consist of a durable handle with a brush or sponge part. Some tools include a durable handle with a flushable cleaning surface. The tools are usually used in conjunction with a cleaning chemical provided separately from the tool or incorporated into a sponge part of the tool. Chemical products are also available to help maintain a clean toilet between manual cleanings by incorporating chemicals into the toilet water.
Common cleaning tools are intended for use to thoroughly and completely clean the toilet. However, many times there is a need only for a spot cleaning of urine or fecal matter between thorough cleanings. Thus, there is a need for a toilet cleaning tool especially designed for use to quickly spot clean a toilet bowl, rim or seat. Just such a tool is provided in accordance with the present invention which provides a small, fully flushable cleaning unit which has been designed for use between complete toilet cleanings. The spot cleaning device or tool of this invention can be used to remove soiled spots as they are discovered on an otherwise clean toilet without the need to use the full accompaniment of the usual devices and chemicals. The tool of this invention can be made inexpensively and is inexpensive to use, thus facilitating its use as a spot cleaning device. Furthermore, the tool of the present invention is intended to be disposed immediately after use to eliminate any need to store a contaminated durable cleaning implement near the toilet.
Further understanding of the present invention will be had from the following disclosure and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


A closed loop, optical feedback synchronization system provides real time feedback and control of a light emitting fiber when scanning or displaying an image. The light emitting fiber is driven by an actuator in an angular pattern to scan the image. Light reflected from a lens assembly is received by an optical synchronizer integrated circuit that includes a slot located between walls of the circuit. The reflected light is directed toward a multi-mode fiber in optical communication with the circuit. A radial position of the reflected light as it passes the slot may be used to compensate for a drift in angular velocity of the light emitting fiber.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,294,775 describes a minimally invasive, medical, image acquisition having a flexible optical fiber serving as an illuminating wave guide. In one resonance mode, the distal end of the fiber is a stationary node. The fiber includes a lens at the distal tip which collimates emitted light. A scan lens is positioned off the end of the fiber. The relative magnifications and relative positions of the lenses determine the pixel resolution. By way of example, the illumination fiber outputs a light beam or pulse which illuminates a precise spot size. A photon detector detects reflected photons from the object, including the spot. Pixel resolution is determined by the area of the illumination spot (and thus the lens configuration), rather than an area sensed by the detector.

Closed loop, optical feedback synchronization system for imaging applications


Mirror support means having a metal block machined with a first pair of slots shaped to receive a first pair of curved mirrors and a second pair of slots shaped to receive a second pair of curved mirrors. The block is sufficiently resiliently deformable to enable the slots to be widened to receive the mirrors and then for the mirrors to be clamped in position, the slots being accurately machined so that the mirrors are bent into their required forms of curvature. The use of a unitary block simplifies the construction and setting up of the support means for the mirrors.

In the field of focusing X-rays it is known to employ mirrors curved in one plane and flat in the orthogonal plane to produce focusing by reflection of the X-rays at glancing angles of incidence less than the critical angle of total external reflection. An example is shown in FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings where M is the mirror, S the source and F the focus. These mirrors may have appropriate curvatures to produce convergent, divergent or parallel beams of X-rays. The curvatures may be produced by elastically bending plane plates or by appropriately grinding or otherwise shaping the mirror surface to the appropriate shape. It is also known to employ two such mirrors in tandem, each of which is curved in one plane only, the planes of curvature of the successive mirrors being perpendicular to one another so as to achieve the desired focusing in both planes by successive reflection at the two mirrors. In a known variant of this method two pairs of mirrors are used to produce a single point-focus, as shown in FIG. 2 of the accompanying drawing where M1 is a first pair of mirrors and M2 is the second pair of mirrors.
In most cases of interest the reflection only takes place at glancing angles of incidence below 1.degree.. The mirror surface must be extremely flat, surface irregularities being less than 1 nm in order to achieve a high reflectivity. The reflecting mirror surface usually consists of a dense metal such as gold or iridium deposited on a smooth mirror substrate. Alternatively, the substrate may be coated with many alternating layers of a dense and a less dense material to provide a multi-layer structure which acts as an artificial crystal and reflects X-rays within the wavelength range of interest for structural studies with a high efficiency.
The machining of mirror surfaces to achieve at the same time the desired shape and the necessary smoothness is a very expensive process. It is easier to polish flat surfaces of glass, silicon or other materials to the required smoothness but the means then used to bend the plates elastically to the correct shape occupy a considerable amount of space and often preclude the mirrors from being mounted close to one another or to the source of X-rays. Additional space is needed for the separate alignment adjustments required for each mirror. Typically these consist of at least one translational and one tilting adjustment per mirror. The invention aims to provide an improved way of supporting mirrors.

Slotted support for x-ray focusing mirrors


A substrate-related-operation performing system improves its operation efficiency by preventing an error in replacing, for a substrate-related-operation performing apparatus thereof, an operation performing program with another operation performing program. A circuit-component mounting system includes a plurality of component mounting apparatuses are arranged in an array that perform cooperative operations to mount a plurality of circuit components on a substrate. One of the component mounting apparatuses implements a judging program, carrying out, in a judging mode, a judging operation when a mounting program is replaced with another mounting program, or when an operator inputs a command to carry out the judging operation. An operation-object code corresponding to a mounting program selected for a component mounting apparatus as a judgment-object operation performing apparatus is compared with a substrate code corresponding to the most downstream circuit substrate, whereby whether the mounting program is appropriate is judged.

An electronic circuit is produced by mounting a circuit component such as an electronic component, on a circuit substrate such as a printed wiring board, and soldering the circuit component to the circuit substrate. A substrate-related-operation performing system performs at least a portion of the electronic-circuit producing process. A substrate-related operation performed by the substrate-related-operation performing system is, e.g., a solder-cream printing operation, a component mounting operation, or an adhesive applying operation. Thus, the substrate-related-operation performing system may employ various sorts of substrate-related-operation performing apparatuses that perform the above-indicated various sorts of operations. More specifically described, the substrate-related-operation performing system may employ a solder printing apparatus that applies, in advance, solder cream to portions of a circuit substrate where electronic components are to be mounted; a highly viscous fluid applying apparatus that applies an adhesive to fix electronic components to a circuit substrate, or the above-indicated solder cream; a component mounting apparatus that mounts electronic components at predetermined positions on a circuit substrate; or a re-flowing furnace that thermally treats solder cream provided between a circuit substrate and electronic components and thereby finishes soldering the components to the substrate. Generally, a desirable substrate-related-operation performing system is constituted by selecting, from the above-indicated various sorts of substrate-related-operation performing apparatuses, one or more necessary sorts and numbers of substrate-related-operation performing apparatuses, and combining the selected apparatuses such that the combined apparatuses are arranged along a line. For example, a substrate-related-operation performing system is constituted by a solder printing apparatus located in an upstream portion of the system, a plurality of component mounting apparatuses located on a downstream side of the solder printing apparatus, and a re-flowing furnace located on a downstream side of the component mounting apparatuses. In addition, a highly viscous fluid applying apparatus may be provided between the solder printing apparatus and the component mounting apparatuses.
Many substrate-related-operation performing apparatuses perform respective substrate-related operations according to respective operation performing programs. In those operation performing apparatuses, therefore, if a current sort of circuit substrates each as an operation object is changed to another sort of circuit substrates, then a current operation performing program needs to be replaced with another operation performing program. For example, a component mounting apparatus is such an operation performing apparatus that repeats a step of mounting a predetermined sort of electronic component at a predetermined position on a circuit substrate, and an operation performing program implemented by the component mounting apparatus describes contents of an operation to be performed, e.g., sorts of electronic components to be mounted on a circuit substrate, component-supply positions where those components are to be supplied, and component-mount positions where those components are to be mounted, and an order of mounting of those components. Likewise, an operation performing program implemented by a solder printing apparatus or a highly viscous fluid applying apparatus each as a substrate-related-operation performing apparatus other than the component mounting apparatus describes contents of an operation corresponding to a circuit substrate as an operation object. Since contents of an operation performed by a substrate-related-operation performing apparatus correspond to a sort of circuit substrates, the current operation performing program implemented by the substrate-related-operation performing apparatus needs to be replaced with a new operation performing program, when the current sort of circuit substrates as the operation objects are changed to a new sort of circuit substrates.
A single substrate-related-operation performing system can be operated for a plurality of sorts of circuit substrates each as an operation object. Generally, when a current sort of circuit substrates as operation objects are changed to another sort of circuit substrates, each substrate-related-operation performing apparatus is subjected to a re-setting procedure including replacing the current operation performing program with another operation performing program. Since the re-setting procedure includes various sorts of complicated operations, it is required, from the viewpoint of production efficiency, that those complicated operations be carried out reliably and quickly. Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-308596 proposes, as a technique of carrying out efficiently the re-setting of substrate-related-operation performing system, to indicate guidelines to an operator who carries out the re-setting procedure.

Substrate-related-operation performing system including operation-performing-program judging device, and operation-performing-program judging program


A method of deploying a collapsible table by sliding both a top hub and a bottom hub in a first direction along the central post toward the hub stop, expanding the collapsible table into the expanded position by forcing one of the top hub and the bottom hub against a hub stop while continuing to slide the other of the top hub and the bottom hub in the first direction along the central post, sliding the adjustable stop along the central post to a first height of the plurality of selectable heights, and affixing the adjustable stop at the first height.

Outdoor enthusiasts, such as beach goers, enjoy the advantages of various ancillary items to enhance their beach going experience, such as beach umbrellas, beach towels, pails, shovels, floatation devices, surf-riding instruments, radios, coolers, etc. One item to enhance their experience even greater is a portable, compact table, designed specifically for beach goers to place various items at an elevated position, away from the beach's sandy surface. Beach tables are a vital beach product. However, because of the numerous other items a beach goer already must trek to the beach, and the bulk and added expense of standalone beach tables, the beach goer may decide not to bring a table. Instead, beach goers will merely place their items on a towel, precariously in the sand, or rely on other items not designed for use as a "table." For example, beach goers may rely on a cooler's surface to place items away from the sand's surface, but this inhibits the ability to regularly access the cooler, i.e. everything must be removed from atop the cooler.

Umbrella support post with rotatable table