An apparatus for preparing the femur of a patient to receive a prosthesis is disclosed. A support is mountable in the recess and is shaped for mounting the first insert on the support. The insert is shaped for guiding pivoting of a post in a direction for reaming the recess.

When installing a prosthesis for replacing a joint within the body, a portion of a bone is generally resected and a cavity is formed for receiving a prosthesis having a portion for forming a joint. A resection may be performed using a tool with a cutting edge, such as a chisel that is forced across an end of the bone to form a flat surface on which the prosthesis can transfer loads to the bone, or to remove a portion of bone that is damaged or deficient. A cavity is formed by a tool with a cutting edge driven longitudinally into the bone, such as a chisel, reamer or rasp. The cavity extends down the medulary canal and receives the stem of the prosthesis, which is used to provide some stability for the joint. In the implantation of a hip joint prosthesis, the head at the proximal end of the femur is removed and a hole is formed in the medullary canal of the femur. The cavity is then shaped so as to conform to the shape of the prosthesis selected by the surgeon according to the patient's indications.
Tools for shaping a cavity in a bone are known. A support having a guide arm for guiding a reamer in shaping a cavity in the femur is known. This apparatus requires a number of parts, including at least one guide arm which must be connected to an upper end of the guide body. A guide arm for the anterior side, as well as another guide arm for the posterior side must be attached to the upper end of the guide body, in order to shape both the anterior and posterior sides of the cavity. This apparatus complicates the method for shaping the cavity in the femur and includes many parts. Further, the guide arm allows the reamer to deviate from the path that produces the desired shape for the cavity. Another support has a guide bar that guides pivoting of a reamer. This system requires a plurality of supports and a multitude of reamers that correspond to different sized prostheses. Thus, the inventory of instruments is large and complicates preparation for, as well as the conduct of, the surgical procedure.
A plurality of different guide arms which can be selected according to the size of the prosthesis to be installed has also been proposed. However, this apparatus suffers from the drawbacks mentioned above.
A guide for shaping a cavity within an end of a bone for receiving a prosthesis, which simplifies the method of shaping the bone, is desirable. In addition, an apparatus that is adaptable according to the size of the prosthesis to be installed is also desired.


The present invention enables assembly of drive boxes that stack drives more than one drive deep without requiring large numbers of PC boards or that the drive box to be pulled out of a rack to remove/replace the drives. A shielded multiple drive plug-in cable connects a single PC board to a plurality of drives in the drive box. The multiple drive plug-in cable provides power from the PC board to the drives and/or passes signal between the PC board and the drives. The multiple drive plug-in cable is configured to occupy a minimal cross-sectional area in order to maximize air flow within the drive box. The present invention reduces the cost of manufacturing the drive box, reduces EMI (electromagnetic interference), and prevents drops in signal integrity by reducing the number of PC boards required for a drive box.

Drive boxes for information handling systems that stack drives more than one drive deep typically require large numbers of PC boards (printed circuit boards) and connections to PC boards. PC boards are not shielded as well as shielded cables (electrical cable of one or more insulated conductors enclosed by a common conductive layer) and signal integrity drops much faster than in cables.
A PC board which reaches drives in both front and back of each other causes the costs of manufacturing to greatly increase. A way to fix this problem is to change how drives are assembled into a drive box. Often the drives are assembled in a drive box which is mounted on a rack of an information handling system where the whole drive box must be pulled out to remove or replace the drives. If the drive box has to be pulled out of the rack to remove the drives, slides have to be added as well as structure to support a large drive box full of drives handing out like a drawer in front of the rack. This can also cause cabling problems in the back of the box as the cables are pulled forward when the box is pulled out of the rack. Another solution is to utilize a large number of PC boards to connect all the drives together. However, by connecting the drives with a large number of PC boards, signal integrity is reduced and costs are increased. Further, electromagnetic interferences (EMI) are created by the PC boards, which are not shielded as well as shielded cables.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a solution which addresses the above-referenced problems and limitations of the current solutions.


Methods and apparatus for generating a report template for generation of a spreadsheet report are disclosed. First, a grid including a plurality of cells is displayed. One or more database fields for which data is to be obtained from a database are identified, where each of the database fields is associated with a separate group with which one or more rows in the grid can be associated. One or more groups as defined by the one or more database fields are then associated with a corresponding set of one or more rows in the grid, thereby associating cells within the set of rows with the corresponding group. A user may then enter information within one or more of the plurality of cells of the displayed grid, where the received information indicates at least one of a format of the spreadsheet report to be created and information to be displayed in one or more cells of the spreadsheet report. The report template is then generated from the received information such that the groups are associated with the received information corresponding to placement of the received information within the grid. The received information may, for instance, include a formula or formatting commands.

The present invention relates to computer-implemented systems and methods for generating a report template. More specifically, the invention relates to systems and methods for editing, generating and storing such report templates for generating a spreadsheet report.
Business professionals often deal with large amounts of data in the form of reports. Such reports may be generated from much larger collections of data stored in business databases. A typical report accesses dozens to thousands of records (or more) and requires a few seconds to many hours to generate. Typically, the records appearing in a report are organized by one or more level breaks after which totals or subtotals of numerical data are provided. In addition, most reports are highly formatted to provide relevant background information and facilitate understanding. A single report may be related to other reports, and a whole group of reports may be used by many people associated with an enterprise all of whom need to see the same consistent set of information. Examples of such reports include reports containing records of open orders, sales forecasts, customer statements, and balance sheets.
One type of report that is commonly used is the spreadsheet. A spreadsheet is a grid including a plurality of cells in which formulas may be applied to contents of one or more of the cells within the spreadsheet. Specifically, formulas within a spreadsheet typically refer to cells in the spreadsheet by row and column (e.g., A4). Typically, the contents of the cells of a spreadsheet include values obtained from a data source such as a database. Thus, once the values are obtained from the database, the formulas may be applied.
Typically, when a spreadsheet is used, the information in the spreadsheet is primarily numeric. This numeric information, as well as higher-level information such as sub-totals, is often manually entered into the spreadsheet. However, in order to generate a useful report, additional textual information such as headers are also manually pasted into the spreadsheet. Even once the textual and numeric information is entered into the spreadsheet, this information must often be manually formatted to achieve the desired appearance of the spreadsheet report. Unfortunately, this is a time-consuming, error-prone and tedious process.
Various products have been developed which enable a report to be generated more efficiently. For instance, the XSL (Extensible Stylesheet Language) style sheet enables a text-based language to be used to generate computer code to filter and format data that is entered into a spreadsheet. Unfortunately, this process is similar to computer programming, and is therefore a tedious process that is error-prone. Moreover, since the language is text-based, it is difficult to generate a report in a format that is desired since the end result cannot be viewed until the code is completed and run.
Other products provide translation tools that enable a report to be generated from another document. For instance, Crystal report software, available from Crystal Decisions, located in Palo Alto, Calif., provides translation capabilities. However, this requires that a useable report already exist in another format. Moreover, such products do not enable a report to be generated from an interface that enables the user to view the report format in a graphical interface such as a spreadsheet.
In view of the above, it would be desirable if an automated process for generating a report from a spreadsheet could be developed. Moreover, it would be beneficial if such a report could be formatted and generated from within a graphical user interface such as a spreadsheet.

Methods and apparatus for generating a spreadsheet report template


A system and method for controlling an internal combustion engine having an EGR valve determine a base valve position to deliver a target flow using a stored map and adjust the base position in response to differential pressure across an orifice in the EGR flow to move the valve to a position different from the base position to provide the target flow.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to adaptive control of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) for internal combustion engines.
2. Background Art
Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is a well known technique used in various types of internal combustion engines to reduce NOx generation during combustion. To control EGR flow, external EGR systems typically use either a linear solenoid or DC motor to change the EGR valve position with feedback provided by a position sensor for closed loop control. To provide a desired EGR mass flow rate into the engine intake system, the valve position is changed with the corresponding position sensor voltage stored in a look-up table or map over a range of engine speed/load or torque during vehicle system development. However, as the EGR flow degrades during actual operation due to deposit build-up in the EGR valve, EGR cooler, and/or associated piping, the previously stored map or look-up table representing the relationship between the position sensor voltage and EGR mass flow rate becomes less accurate. While various strategies have been developed to measure or estimate actual EGR flow, many require additional sensors that increase cost and complexity and may present challenges for reliability and durability due to the harsh operating environment within the EGR passages. In addition, many EGR control strategies are difficult to incorporate or retrofit into existing systems.

Adaptive EGR control for internal combustion engines


A surgical instrument, guide, and method capable of being used for closure of peritoneum fascia, occlusion of bleeding vessels such as inferior epigastric, and for all uses related to accurately passing suture material through a guide into tissue. A tip of a surgical instrument in a standard suture-/needle-driving position with a sharp tip that opens and closes with the surgeon grasping suture material with the sharp tip is provided. Insertion of the tip/suture through tissue until the tip is seen through the peritoneum by direct vision begins the wound-closing procedure. The suture is released by opening and withdrawing the tip from the guide. The suture is recovered by using the guide to redirect the tip and puncturing the tissue opposite the first point of insertion. The tip grasps the suture and pulls the suture through the guide. The suture is pulled outside the wound, providing for rapid closure of the surgical incision. The guide is insertable within the wound to be closed and guides the surgical instrument at a predetermined angle from the longitudinal axis of the guide for optimum wound closure. The surgical instrument and method may be used to advantageously shorten and strengthen ligaments. For example, by gathering and reinforcing the round ligament that supports a woman's uterus with suture materials, surgeons can reposition and stabilize a retroverted uterus.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improvements in the procedure for suturing tissue during endoscopic/laparoscopic surgery, and to a method of suturing which utilizes a modified laparoscopic grasper and a guide. More particularly, the improved method relates to suturing of ligaments using a needle-point suture passer to retract and reinforce the ligaments, applications including uterine suspension and positioning.
2. Description of the Related Art
An endoscopic/laparoscopy procedure involves making small surgical incisions in a patient's body for the insertion of trocar tubes thereby creating access ports into the patient's body. Thereafter, various types of endoscopic/laparoscopic instruments are passed through these access ports and the appropriate surgical procedures are carried out.
After the surgical procedure is performed, the trocar tubes are removed and the incisions sutured closed by using both a needle and grasper for penetrating the tissue and handling the suture. This procedure for closure is frequently a time-consuming procedure requiring the identification of the fascia and closure of each fascial site with suture from an external point.
The necessity for closing these port sites in laparoscopic surgery is critical since suturing the incisions improperly can lead to bowel herniation through the port sites as well as the possibility of mental trapping if the fascial sites are not properly closed. Incisional hernias have occurred in both laparoscopic-assisted vaginal hysterectomies and laparoscopic cholecystectomies as well as other advanced laparoscopic procedures.
Thus there is a need for an endoscopic/laparoscopic instrument and method which will significantly reduce the operating time and is better able to give the surgeon direct visualization of the fascial and peritoneal closing. Additionally, there is a need for a surgical instrument which allows the surgeon to control bleeding sites by rapidly putting sutures around blood vessels of the abdominal wall.
Furthermore, there is a need to accurately and consistently guide and orient an endoscopic/laparoscopic instrument into proper position to accurately and easily provide for placement and retrieval of suture materials within an open wound to be closed.
The subject invention herein solves all of these problems in a new and unique manner which has not been part of the art previously. General types of surgical forceps and laparoscopic graspers are known in the art, and some related patents directed to surgical instruments or guides are described below:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,192,298 issued to W. Smith et al. on Mar. 9, 1993
This patent is directed to a disposable laparoscopic surgical instrument. The laparoscopic surgical instrument comprises a tube surrounded by a peripheral insulating shrink-wrap layer, a clevis means, effectors pivotally engaged to the clevis at a pivot pin, and activating means. The effectors are provided with blades or graspers which taper to a point and are rotatably mounted on the pivot pin.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,201,743 issued to T. Habeir et al. on Apr. 13, 1993
This patent is directed to an axially extendable endoscopic surgical instrument. The endoscopic surgical instrument includes an elongate body, a tip carrier tube, a tip assembly removably mounted to the distal end of the carrier tube and having a pair of movable jaws, a driver assembly which causes jaws to move between open and closed positions, and a jaw-rotating assembly which causes the tip assembly and jaws therewith to rotate about an axis. The jaws taper substantially at their distal ends, and the interior surface of the jaws are serrated.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,950,273 issued to J. M. Briggs on Aug. 21, 1990
This patent is directed to a cable-action instrument. The instrument comprises a controller, a reaction end, and an angle adjustment section which connects the controller to the reaction end, and a flexible control cable assembly extending between the controller and the reaction end. The reaction end consists of a scissors tip having a stationary blade and a cable-activated blade, both of which have pointed distal ends. A forceps instrument tip having a stationary plant arm and a cable-activated arm may be substituted for the scissors tip.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,938,214 issued to P. Specht et al. on Jul. 3, 1990
This patent is directed to a hand-held surgical tool. The surgical tool includes an operating end having first and second blade tips which are movable between open and closed positions. When the blade tips are closed, the surgical tool has a needle-sharp point having a diameter of only about 50 microns to 2 mm.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,577,991 issued to G. R. Wilkinson on May 11, 1971
This patent is directed to a tissue-sewing instrument, the forceps are pivoted together with the outer jaws and a spring set between the members. The thread slides to the end of the forceps, and the free end of the thread is pulled through the loops to make a knot.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,196,023 issued to W. Martin on Mar. 23, 1993
This patent is directed to a surgical needle holder and cutter wherein the cutter forming the upper part of the blade has a concave shape. When the forceps jaw is opened, an approximately elliptical opening is formed between the ridge, or cutter, and the depression into which a thread may be brought from the direction of the opening of the forceps jaw and then can be cut off by closing the jaw.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,508 issued to O. Contarini on Jun. 29, 1993
This patent is directed to methods for closing punctures and small wounds of the human body, allowing such punctures to be sutured and closed with an internal seal. Before the trocar is removed, a suture insertion means, a needle preferably of stainless steel, having an eyelet or a slot or barb to retain the suture material, is pushed completely through the skin and subcutaneous layer. A retrieval means is inserted adjacent the puncture so its barbed portion grasps or snares the free end of the suture material. The insertion needle, retrieval needle, and trocar are withdrawn and the suture drawn tight.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,053,043 issued to J. Gottesman et al. on Oct. 1, 1991
This patent is directed to a suture guide with interchangeable tips for placing sutures in the severed end of a body duct. Various tips having one or more apertures and channels for placing sutures are provided to screw into an elongate member. The elongate member has a handle at the opposite end. This guide is particularly useful for the placement of sutures into the urethral stump.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,201,744 issued to M. W. Jones on Apr. 13, 1993
This patent is directed to a method and device for suturing using a rod with a needle holder. This device, a knot-tier instrument, has a rod with an end having notches for guiding suturing threads, and a slot for holding a needle. The end may be magnetized to aid in magnetically holding the needle in the slot. A hollow cannula, or access tube, can be inserted through the skin, and the knot tier inserted into the cannula for suturing the wound closed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,691 issued to J. Pierce on Jan. 5, 1993
The patent is directed to a plurality of embodiments of knot pushers formed from elongated rods. The pusher with an elongated rod has various configurations to guide suture ends and push the knot. The end of the rod has a face shaped to push the knot, and near the edges of the rod are eyelets or grooves or the like to guide the sutures as the knot is being pushed. The purpose of the device is to advance the knot of a suture through an endoscope portal or a cannula or the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,621,640 issued to J. S. Mulhollan on Nov. 11, 1986
This patent is directed to a mechanical needle carrier which can grasp and carry a surgical needle through a cannula, position the needle, and set a stitch at a remote location, then release the needle for withdrawal from the cannula. The mechanical needle carrier is inserted through the cannula, and a pivotal needle-carrying head is positioned by adjusting knurled knobs so as to position the needle as required. Once the needle is set, it can be released and then retrieved by forceps or the like. This mechanical needle carrier provides the structure for suturing in a restricted field with the manipulation remote from the location of the needle.
Intra-abdominal suturing is a time-consuming process for surgeons in part because a lot of manipulation and "fiddling" is associated with the needle attached to the suture material. For instance, the needle and suture material must be aligned so they can pass through a trocar sleeve. As curved needles will only fit through large trocar sleeves, larger wounds must be made for the trocars in order to pass the curved needles into the body cavity. Once inside the abdominal cavity, the needle has to be grasped, regrasped, aligned, and realigned in the needle driver. After each stitch, the needle has be to be grasped and realigned in the needle driver.
With the present invention, the needle driver and the needle are one and the same. Therefore, the disadvantages presented by having an independent needle are avoided. Suturing can start immediately without the frustration of continually realigning the needle when it is regrasped. The surgeon simply passes the suture through the tissue then, by either using the same instrument or a standard grasper, picks up the suture for tying or passing through the tissue to create another stitch for wound closure. The present invention allows introduction of suture directly through tissue or through small trocar sites, as the diameter of the shaft and its tip for the probe is generally much smaller than the average trocar. Additionally, the technique for using the present invention is easily learned; and the several embodiments set forth herein generally reduce the time and frustration associated with intra-abdominal suturing. These advantages are enhanced by use of the guide disclosed herein.
Laparoscopic surgical procedures have been used in attempts to correct misalignment of a woman's uterus. This misalignment is most often seen as a retroverted, backward-bending uterus, but can also be an anterior misalignment where the uterus is situated more towards the front than is desired. Symptoms reported as a result include chronic pelvic pain, pain on intercourse, debilitating pain during menstrual cycles, urinary problems, bowel problems, infertility and back pain.
It has been found that repositioning the uterus to a more midline position in the pelvis relieves symptoms in a great percentage of these patients. To that end a number of surgical procedures have been attempted to perform the correction.
The corrections revolve around surgeon's observations that ligaments, or tough bands of tissue which normally function to hold the uterus in a neutral position, are or have become stretched, thinned or loosened from their attachment points. Procedures designed to shorten and/or reattach these ineffective ligaments include the following:
Gilliams Procedure
The Gilliams procedure was designed to remove a section of the ligament and suture the ends back together. The resulting shortened ligaments provide more tension to hold the uterus in a neutral position. Among the drawbacks to Gilliams procedure is that it does nothing to improve the strength of thinned ligaments and they may again stretch so that the correction would be short lived. Additionally, Gilliams procedure can change the geometry of the lower pelvis when ligaments are reattached to the anterior abdominal wall, creating a pouch that may entrap the bowel which is a serious complication.
Webster-Baldy Procedure
The Webster-Baldy procedure creates a new attachment point for one ligament by passing it through another and suturing it to the wall of the lower uterine corpus.
This stretching of the ligament to a second attachment point on the uterus creates more tension with which to hold the uterus. This correction does not take advantage of the thickest part of the ligament which is the part already attached to the uterus. Changing the attachment point does nothing to improve the strength of these thinned ligaments and they may be prone to restretch.
Mann-Stenger Uterine Suspension, Candy's Modified Gilliam Uterine Suspension, Pereyra Needle Uterine Suspension, Doleris's Procedure
The above procedures rely on passing suture one or more times around or through the ligament and then directly attaching the loose ends of suture to the abdominal wall for the purpose of putting more tension on the ligaments that support the uterus. The procedures do not reinforce thinned ligaments which may stretch and loosen from the fixation. They also create a cavity-like space in the anterior cul-de-sac where bowel intussusception will be most likely to occur. This may lead to a slipping of a length of intestine into an adjacent portion, which may produce an obstruction.
In contrast, the present invention uses a needle-point suture passer to carry and withdraw suture longitudinally into the ligament from a point at or near the ligament's original fixation point. Using this method, the thinned part of the ligament is reinforced with permanent suture, thus significantly reducing the risk of additional stretching. By tunneling into the ligament from the area near the natural attachment point, the natural geometry of the lower pelvis is preserved which reduces the risk of complications.

Method of using needle-point suture passer to retract and reinforce ligaments


Attendees or viewers of a presentation provide input marking specific points corresponding to a high level of interest. Received bookmarks are aggregated to generate overall level-of-interest values for various points in the presentation. A graphical depiction of these level-of-interest values is provided; users can navigate using this graphical depiction to find specific parts of the presentation having the highest level of interest or importance. User interface elements provide access to various filtering, display, and configuration options for the graphical depiction.

Technology exists for recording meetings, presentations, television shows, sporting events, and the like. In many situations, a viewer of such a recording, or media item, would like to identify and navigate to specific sections that are of interest, without having to watch the entire recording.
When viewing or listening to a video or audio recording of a presentation or other stored, temporally linear media item, it is often difficult and time-consuming to find those portions of the recording that are of particular interest. Unlike text-based or image-based media, such recordings are difficult to parse effectively so as to skip unimportant sections and identify important sections.
Viewers can speed-search when watching a recording, in order to view the video portion at increased speed; typically, however, the audio portion is silenced during speed-search operations (and in any case would generally be undecipherable if it weren't silenced). For presentations consisting primarily of one or more individuals talking, the subject matter being discussed is not readily discernable from the visual component of the recording. In such situations, speed-searching is of little use in quickly navigating to interesting sections.
In addition, even when the visual component does reveal something about the subject matter being discussed (for example if a presentation includes overhead projection of slides), it can still be rather time-consuming for a viewer to speed-search through a lengthy recording, or several recordings, at a speed that is slow enough to be able to interpret the visual component and ascertain the subject matter being discussed. Furthermore, speed-searching in such a manner requires undivided concentration on the part of the viewer, so as not to miss a slide or other visual component in the fleeting moment it appears on the screen.
Manual generation of an index is possible. For example, conventional DVDs usually provide a chapter index that allows a viewer to skip to a particular section that is of interest. An on-screen menu and/or printed insert accompanying the disc provide chapter titles, still frames, and/or other information about each indexed chapter, so as to assist the viewer in determining which section to watch. However, such indexes are manually, not automatically, generated.
Transcription of a recording yields a scannable text representation that can be associated, for example via real-time counter values, with the original recording. A user can skim the transcription, identify the section of interest, and then navigate to that section in the recording. In some cases, the transcription itself may provide sufficient information that the user need not even consult the original recording. However, such transcriptions often omit important information (such as visual components accompanying the dialogue, including gestures, demonstrations, and the like); furthermore, creating and indexing a transcription often must be done manually.
Some prior art systems attempt to deduce which sections of a recording are of interest by analyzing noise levels, sound localizations, scene changes, and the like. Some systems detect events such as silences, applause, slide transitions, and the like. Systems employing such technology are described, for example, in Girgensohn et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,366,296, entitled "Media Browser Using Multimodal Analysis" and Girgensohn et al., U.S. patent application Publication No. 2002/0054083A1, entitled "Media Browser Using Multimodal Analysis."
Often, however, such measurable characteristics of the recording are unreliable and inaccurate in terms of their ability to successfully identify sections of importance or interest. For example, an increase in noise level can result from the laughter following a joke told by the speaker, or it can indicate applause at the introduction of a new speaker, or shuffling during a break, or a heated discussion, or any of a number of other events, some of which are of interest and some of which are not. Interesting sections of the presentation may be relatively quiet, as the audience watches raptly. Indexing based on noise levels or similar measurable metrics thus fails to accurately reflect the level of interest of any given section of the recording.
Generally, existing methods of identifying sections of interest are either inaccurate or too time-consuming and impractical to be employed for large quantities of recordings of routine presentations, meetings, and the like. As a result, useful information that is buried within video and audio recordings often goes unwatched and is effectively irretrievable.
Interclipper, available from DocuMat LLC of Newark, N.J., allows users to bookmark significant sections of a video recording by clicking a button. Several individuals can bookmark highlights of the same event and then retrieve their own highlights separately using specially coded markers. There is no indication, however, that Interclipper performs any type of collating of bookmarks, so as to generate an overall level-of-interest metric for various sections of the recording. See also L. He et al., "Auto-Summarization of Audio-Video Presentations," in Proc. Multimedia '99, 1999.
Minneman, S. L. and Harrison, S. R., "Where Were We: Making and Using Near-Synchronous Pre-Narrative Video," Proc. ACM Multimedia (MM'93), August 1993, Anaheim, USA, pp. 207-214, describes a system that allows an attendee to add annotations in real time during a presentation, but does not process or collate the annotations.
K. Weber and A. Poon, "Marquee: A Tool for RealTime Video Logging," Proc. CHI 94, ACM Press, New York, 1994, pp. 58-64, describes a pen-based video logging tool that allows users to take notes in real time during a presentation and associate the notes with a video stream recording of the presentation. However, Marquee does not provide functionality for collating or combining annotations made by multiple users to generate a level-of-interest metric.
Chiu et al., U.S. patent application Publication No. US2002/0161804A1, entitled "Internet-Based System for Multimedia Meeting Minutes" describes a note-taking system that is capable of synchronizing entered notes with a multimedia stream, by automatically associating received notations with appropriate portions of the multimedia stream. However, Chiu et al. does not describe techniques for collating or combining annotations made by multiple users to generate a level-of-interest metric.
R. C. Davis et al., "NotePals: Lightweight Note Taking by the Group, for the Group," UC Berkeley Computer Science Division Technical Report UCB//CSD-98-997, describes a collaborative note-taking system that allows multiple users to share their notes. There is no description, however, of any techniques for collating or combining annotations made by multiple users to generate a level-of-interest metric for a presentation.
What is needed is an effective and reliable technique for automatically determining and presenting level-of-interest indicators for a video or audio recording, without requiring manual effort. What is further needed is a technique that allows a viewer to determine what sections of such a recording are of interest, and to easily navigate to such sections. What is further needed is a technique that avoids the limitations of the prior art, as discussed above.

Generating and displaying level-of-interest values


An online system determines whether a request for creating a session with the online system is suspicious. The online system associates a user account with a mobile key of a mobile device and geographical locations of the mobile device. The mobile key comprises unique identifier of the mobile device that is permanently stored on the mobile device. Upon receiving a request to create a session for the user account, the online system compares information associated with the user request with information describing the mobile device. For example, information associated with the user request can be a location determined by mapping internet protocol addresses obtained from the request. The online system determines whether the request is suspicious based on the comparison. If the online system determines that the request is suspicious, the online system may require enhanced authentication before granting the request.

This invention in general relates to authenticating sessions for interacting with online systems and more specifically to authenticating sessions based on mobile devices used for interacting with the online system.
User accounts of online systems get compromised when user credentials are stolen by unauthorized users. For example, illegitimate users resort to phishing to obtain confidential information from users, such as user names, passwords, account numbers and the like, by pretending to be legitimate online entities. A fraudulent website presents a look and feel that is almost identical to a legitimate website that may be a popular and trusted website. Unsuspecting users who are unaware that they are interacting with a fraudulent website provide sensitive information to the fraudulent website. The fraudulent website obtains the user name and password of the user and can subsequently use it for unauthorized access to the online system.
Once a user account is compromised, the unauthorized user has access to the account and can misuse the account for illegitimate purposes. The unauthorized user may be able to post messages using the account, get access to sensitive user information such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, or date or birth and even execute financial transactions, if allowed by the online system. Damages from these unauthorized account access can include stealing of information as well as substantial financial losses.
Online systems attempt to prevent credentials from being stolen and user accounts from getting compromised. For example, online systems can require users to use passwords that cannot be guessed easily and also require users to change passwords on a regular basis. Some online systems require enhanced authentication procedures, for example, by requesting the user to identify an image preselected by the user. Once a user's account has become compromised, however, online systems must try to prevent or limit the damage caused by unauthorized account access by determining whether a user session is legitimate or is from an unauthorized person who obtained a user's account information unlawfully. It is preferred that the online system detect early if a session is created by an unauthorized person in order to limit the damage that can be caused by the person.

Authenticating user sessions based on information obtained from mobile devices


A connector for interlocking components of scaffolding or other supporting structures for building forms. The connector includes a body having an internal chamber bounded laterally by planar first and second surfaces. A lever is seated in the chamber laterally intermediate and in close fit with the planar first and second surfaces for inhibiting lateral movement of the lever. The lever is movable between a lock position and a release position. A spring is seated in the chamber laterally intermediate and in close fit with the planar first and second surfaces for inhibiting lateral movement of the spring, the spring for biasing the lever into the lock position.

The following paragraphs are not an admission that anything discussed in them is prior art or part of the knowledge of persons skilled in the art.
Canadian Application Nos. 650,749 and 700,184 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,091,485 disclose locking brackets for scaffolding brace bars.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,470,574 discloses a support structure for building forms, including a fast acting connector for securing ends of braces to tower legs.
Canadian Application No. 2,122,736 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,112,155 disclose a connector for assembling components of scaffolding.


The present invention relates to a system comprising glasses (101), a communication unit (103) and a cable (102), whereby the cable comprises two galvanic connections adapted for transporting power and bidirectional data traffic, whereby the glasses and the communication unit are arranged for multiplexing a plurality of outgoing data streams into a multiplexed data stream to be transmitted over said cable and arranged for receiving an incoming data stream and demultiplexing said incoming data stream into separate data streams, and whereby said communication unit (103) is arranged for being connected wired or wirelessly to an external processing device (201), preferably the external processing device being a smartphone.

An electronic system as illustrated in FIG. 1 is considered. The electronic system comprises a modular headset (101) and a modular communication unit (103), connected together via a link (102). The link can be used to provide communication between both devices and/or share power between them. It can be a wireless or wired connection.
The link (102) connects the headset to the communication unit and can transfer power and data in either direction. Typically power is transferred from the communication unit towards the headset. Data traffic is typically bidirectional and in at least one direction high-speed (i.e. multi-Megabit/s or even multi-Gigabit/s).
The modular communication unit (103) controls the communication at the other end of the link. It can process the data sent to or received from the link. It can act as a bridge to other communication devices or networks, as an example it can send raw or processed data retrieved from the headset to other devices over a network, or receive data from the network and use this, either to forward to the headset or for processing of its own data.
Various such electronic systems have been proposed in the art. Reference is made for example to patent applications US2015/185483 and WO2013/85854. These prior art mechanisms rely on one or more thick, and therefore heavy, cables connecting the headset to the processing unit. Some of the proposed systems embed multiple cables (one for power and one for data, for example) into one cable assembly, but the result remains thick and sturdy.
Some of the proposed systems implement electronics on both the left and right side of the headset, sometimes resulting in cables coming out of both sides of the headset. Other systems, such as disclosed in US2015/186728, combine a multitude of cables into one thick main cable at a convergence point.
Some system designers have noticed this thick cable can be very annoying for the operator, for example when moving the head. As a solution they propose, e.g. in WO2012/117886 A1, to fold the cable into a curled spiral, which obviously increases the weight of the cable even more.
Some systems propose an exit for the cable next to the eye of the operator, while it is more comfortable to have the cable exit the headset behind the ear; at the end of the ear leg.
Hence, there is a need for a system comprising a headset and a communication unit which are linked with a cable capable of transferring power and high-speed data, wherein the above-mentioned problems encountered in the prior art solutions are avoided or overcome.

System comprising glasses and a communication unit


A die, having multiple discharge orifices arrayed in a generally straight line for applying an application fluid to an object of application, and an internal application fluid reservoir, wherein braces are provided in the application fluid reservoir and extending in a direction generally orthogonal to the direction of the array of the discharge orifices. Also, an application apparatus and method for application fluid, for relatively moving a base material wherein stripe-shaped vertical barrier ribs are formed on the surface of the base material and horizontal barrier ribs having a height equal to or lower than the vertical barrier ribs are formed in a direction generally orthogonal to the vertical barrier ribs, and a die provided facing the base material, while discharging application fluid from multiple discharge orifices provided on the die, thereby applying application fluid to selected grooves between the vertical barrier ribs of the base material.

In recent years, displays have come to be widely varied in the principles thereof. One which is currently being given much attention is the plasma display, which enables larger sizes that are thin and with reduced weight, as compared to conventional cathode-ray tubes. With this, electric discharge is generated in a discharge space formed between a front plate and a rear plate, and ultraviolet light primarily around 147 nm is generated from xenon gas due to this discharge, thereby enabling display by the ultraviolet light causing excitation of fluorescent substance. Full-color display can be handled by a driving circuit causing light emission of discharge cells wherein fluorescent substances have been separately applied for red (R), green (G), and blue (B).
Also, with AC type plasma displays regarding which development is recently being actively pursued, a front glass plate having formed thereupon display electrodes/dielectric layer/protective layer, and a rear glass plate having formed thereupon address electrodes/dielectric layer/barrier rib layer/fluorescent substance layer, are applied one to another, and a mixed gas of He-Xe or Ne-Xe is sealed in the discharge space sectioned off by stripe-shaped barrier ribs.
Each of the R, G, and B, fluorescent substance layers have recesses of rough portions formed by barrier ribs extending in one direction for each color, formed on the rear plate, being filled in a stripe-like manner with a fluorescent substance paste having powder-like fluorescent substance particles as the primary component thereof.
Striped black matrix color picture tube panels also have the structure wherein the fluorescent substance is configured in stripes.
Manufacturing such configurations with high productivity and high quality requires technology for separately applying fluorescent substance in constant patterns.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-27543 (U.S. Pat. No. 5,921,836) discloses a method for applying between barrier ribs on a plasma display panel with an application die.
With this die, multiple discharge orifices are bored in a generally straight line with constant spacing therebetween, and an application fluid reservoir is provided within the die.
Also, an application fluid supplying opening for supplying application fluid to the application fluid reservoir is provided at the upper part of the die.
With such a die, the internal pressure of the application fluid reservoir rises upon application fluid being supplied from the application fluid supplying opening, whereby a predetermined amount of application fluid is discharged from the discharge orifices, and application fluid is applied onto the surface of the base material.
However, with a die such as described above, in the event that application fluid is supplied to the application fluid reservoir and the internal pressure of the application fluid reservoir repeatedly rises, there is the risk of the die being pressed open and deformed. Particularly, with dies of a long and narrow shape wherein a great number of discharge orifices are arrayed, the area receiving pressure is great, and accordingly deformation readily occurs. In the event that the die is deformed, there is the possibility that the discharge orifices may also be deformed, causing irregularities in the amount of application fluid discharged and so forth, so there is the risk that application fluid may not be applied to the surface of the base material uniformly. Also, there is another form of the die wherein the member forming the discharge orifices and the member forming the application fluid reservoir are separate members, which are connected by tightening with bolts, by welding, or by adhesion, but in this case, shearing force acts on the connecting face due to the deformation of the die, so there is the possibility that both members peel away, and the die is destroyed. Incidentally, making the components of the die thicker in order to improve pressure-resistant strength within the die contradicts the direction of reduction in weight and reduction in costs of the die and also the application apparatus.
Also, this die has an application fluid reservoir and space above the application fluid within, and a structure is necessary wherein pressurized air is injected to this upper space so as to press the application fluid out from the die by this pressure. The reason is that with a structure wherein application fluid is filled in the die and a constant amount is pumped with a pump or the like, the amount of pressure loss in the piping of the application fluid is great in the event that the viscosity of the fluorescent substance paste which is the application fluid is great, and delay in starting application becomes marked.
Also, with a die having space at the upper part of the application fluid, there is the need to supply the same amount of fluorescent substance paste that has been applied to within the die again, following application of the fluorescent substance paste to the base material which is the object of application.
However, with the application of application fluid such as disclosed in the aforementioned Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-27543, there are the following problems.
That is, at the time of supplying the fluorescent substance paste to within the die, applying a method wherein the fluorescent substance paste is simply allowed to free-fall from above the die risks bubbles being mixed into the fluorescent substance paste. In the event that bubbles are mixed in, there is a break in the paste discharged at the point that the bubble emerges from the discharge orifice of the die, resulting in faulty application.
Also, at the time of supplying the fluorescent substance paste to within the die, supplying from one place requires too much time. Also, in the event that the fluorescent substance paste has high viscosity, time is required for the fluid level within the die to become flat.
Also, the amount of fluorescent substance paste discharged from the die is determined by the sum of the head of the fluorescent substance paste pooled within the die and the pressure of the pressurized air supplied to the space above the fluorescent substance paste, so there is the need to maintain the fluid level of the fluorescent substance paste constant, in order to maintain the amount of discharge constant.
Particularly, in the event of using a die having multiple discharge orifices, irregularities in the amount of discharge from the discharge orifices occurs unless the fluid level of the fluorescent substance paste is maintained constant and flat, thereby resulting in irregularities in application, and so forth. Accordingly, application fluid is preferably supplied to within the die from multiple application fluid supplying openings.
However, it has been found that supplying application fluid from multiple application fluid supplying openings risks occurrence of application irregularities. According to studies made by the Inventor of the present Application, it has been found that fluorescent substance paste supplied from multiple application fluid supplying openings always merge and pool at a certain position within the die, and that fluorescent substance paste discharged from the discharge orifices near this merging point cause the application irregularities.
That is to say, at the time of supplying fluorescent substance paste to the die, shearing stress such as that which acts while flowing through tubes and the like acts upon the fluorescent substance paste. High-viscosity paste such as the fluorescent substance paste is subject to change in viscosity due to the magnitude and time of the shearing stress. Part of the fluorescent substance paste supplied into the die having been subjected to shearing always reaches the merging position and pools.
The fluorescent substance paste at the merging point differs from the fluorescent substance paste at other parts with regard to the magnitude of the shearing stress and the time of acting thereof, and accordingly, the viscosity is markedly changed as to fluorescent substance paste at other parts. At the time of pressurizing the fluorescent substance paste for discharging from the discharge orifices, there is a correlation between the amount of discharge and the paste viscosity under the same pressure, and consequently, the amount of fluorescent substance paste discharged from the discharge orifices near the merging position differs from that at other parts, thus causing faulty application such as irregularities in application.
Also, in the field of plasma displays in recent years, in order to answer the demand for improved brightness and contrast and conservation in electric power consumed, a base material 100 is being employed wherein horizontal barrier ribs 102 which generally orthogonally intersect vertical barrier ribs 101 extending in the direction of application of application fluid as shown in FIG. 1 (in the direction of the arrows in FIG. 1) and which are lower than the vertical barrier ribs 101, are formed (e.g., Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-213896, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-123747, etc.). With such a base material 100, horizontal barrier ribs 102 are disposed between the vertical barrier ribs 101, so the grooves 110 of the barrier ribs 101 are formed with a lattice-like shape, having recesses 103 and 104.
Also, with the above-described application method for application fluid, the application fluid 108 containing fluorescent substance is applied to the grooves 110 and then dried and hardened to form the fluorescent substance layer, but with light-emitting substrates for plasma displays, the discharge generated between the barrier ribs 101 must be allowed to efficiently act and the light emitted at the fluorescent substance must be efficiently extracted in order to perform suitable light emission between the barrier ribs 101. As a form of the fluorescent substance layer to that end, the fluorescent substance layer preferably exists over a wide range on the entire face of the wall faces of the barrier ribs 101 and the base of the grooves. Accordingly, the application fluid 108 is preferably applied so as to fill up the grooves 110.
However, using the application apparatus and the method thereof for applying application fluid to conventional base material having striped grooves, for applying application fluid to base material having lattice-shaped grooves, without any change, risks the following problems. That is to say, as shown in FIG. 2, in the event of applying the paste-state application fluid to the grooves 110 formed between each of the vertical barrier ribs, the application fluid discharged from the discharge orifice 106 of the die 105 must cross over the horizontal barrier rib 102, but the clearance between the apex of the horizontal barrier rib 102 and the face 109 of the discharge orifice formation plate 107 which has the discharge orifice 106 of the die 105 becomes small, so there is the risk of the application fluid (paste) 108 coming into contact of the face 109 of the discharge orifice formation plate 107, as indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 2. Once the application fluid becomes adhered near the discharge orifice 106 of the discharge orifice formation plate 107 during application, the application fluid discharged from the discharge orifice 106 is drawn to that point, so discharging actions are disturbed, and there is the risk of skipped application portions wherein the application fluid is not applied to the groove 110, which are so-called isolated spots.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a die with improved pressure-resistance while dealing with requests for reduced weight and reduced costs, and to provide an application apparatus and application method for application fluid and a manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method for a base material for a plasma display, wherein application fluid can be uniformly applied to the surface of the base material by employing this die.
Also, in light of the various problems as described above, it is an object thereof to provide a die wherein application fluid is discharged from multiple discharge orifices and no discharge irregularities occur thereby, and an application apparatus and application method using the die, and particularly an application apparatus and application method enabling application in a desired uniform manner at the time of applying fluorescent substance paste of a high viscosity from the application die to multiple recesses of a base material wherein a constant uneven pattern is formed such as with barrier ribs of plasma display panels.
Also, it is an object thereof to provide an application apparatus and application method for application fluid and a manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method for a base material for a plasma display panel, wherein application skipping (isolated spots) is prevented even upon application of application fluid to the base material with lattice-like grooves formed on the surface thereof, so as to allow desired paste patterns to be drawn and formed on the surface of the base material in a sure manner.

Mouthpiece and device and method for applying coating fluid


Disclosed is a method and apparatus for determining a position of a pupil. The method includes: acquiring an image to be detected including a pupil; acquiring a binary image of a preset area based on a preset model of semi-supervised learning, where the preset area is an area where the pupil is located in the image to be detected; acquiring a centroid of the binary image; and determining a central position of the pupil according to the centroid of the binary image.

The virtual reality (VR) technology is a computer technology capable of creating and experiencing the virtual world, which has wide applications in the field of gaze tracking.
In practical applications, a VR device may perform gaze estimation for a remote device at a gaze point according to a center coordinate of the pupil and conical reflex in an eyeball-based 3D sphere-approximate model. Currently, an unsupervised learning method is adopted for positioning the center of the pupil, that is, the model is trained using unlabeled data. However, the method can only roughly determine the position of the center of the pupil with low accuracy. No effective solution has been provided to solve the problem in the existing art of inaccurate positioning of the central position of the pupil.

Method and apparatus for determining position of pupil


Extravasation of a fluid applied to a patient is determined by monitoring light transmitted through the tissue of the patient in proximity to a site at which the fluid is being injected. Light is radiated from a plurality of light sources in an encoded manner into the body part at the site at which the fluid is injected and the light that is reflected, scattered, diffused or otherwise emitted from the body part is detected individually by a plurality of light detectors. Signals representative of the detected light are developed and, prior to injection of the fluid, references are developed against which measurements made during injection of the fluid are compared. New light signals having an improved signal-to-noise ratio are developed from the comparisons of the detected light signals with the associated reference signals. Prior to injection of the fluid into the body part, a model, dependent on the arrangement of the light sources and the light detectors on the support pad is developed for calculating extravasation volume from the new light signals having an is improved signal-to-noise ratio. The new light signals having an improved signal-to-noise ratio are combined according to the model to determine the volume of extravasation and the volume of extravasation is compared with a prescribed level of extravasation.

The present invention relates, in general, to the detection of extravasation (i.e. leakage) of infusions and the like and, in particular, to optically detecting extravasation at an infusion site.
Various beneficial substances are intravascularily administered to hospital patients. Examples of these substances are fluids such as contrast media, medicinal fluids, water, electrolytes, sugar, blood, and pharmaceuticals. These substances typically are administered with a needle that is adapted to be inserted into an appropriate vein or artery.
Extravasation occurs when, during the infusion of such a substance, the substance being applied infiltrates the area around the vein or artery. For example, improper insertion of a needle or movement of the patient can cause the needle to pierce the far vascular wall so that the substance is administered into the perivascular tissue or the needle can simply withdraw from the vein or artery and inadvertently inject fluid into the surrounding tissue.
Extravasation can occur while using a variety of units that are used to inject fluids into a patient. Such units include, for example, syringes, power injectors, intravascular drips, intravascular pumps and the like.
Among the various injected substances are diagnostic contrast agents and chemotherapy substances that can be toxic or irritating to body tissue. The extravasation of such substances and others can cause serious harm to patients. Consequently, immediate and accurate detection of extravasation can be very important with such toxic substances, as well as with other injected substances. There is a particularly high risk of injury when high speed bolus injections are used with various medical imaging contrast agents.
A variety of methods for extravasation detection are known in the art.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,647,281 describes and illustrates and infiltration detection apparatus that utilizes microwave antenna means positioned over an area of infusion and a microwave radiometer for detecting sub-cutaneous temperature. Extravasation is detected by temperature differentials between injected fluids and surrounding tissues.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,334,141 describes and illustrates another system for extravasation detection that also monitors electromagnetic microwave emissions from the patient. This patent shows an antenna assembly having a reusable antenna element connected to processing apparatus and a disposable attachment element for adhering to the skin of a patient.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,034 describes and illustrates yet another non-invasive system that allows detection of tissue infiltration during the administration of fluids. Tissue surrounding the site of intravenous injection is exposed to a plurality of wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation when no infiltration is occurring to determine a baseline reading. Changes in the relative levels of detected radiation at each wavelength as compared to the baseline reading indicate tissue infiltration.
Another technique previously suggested involves use of an optical device that detects extravavsation and subsequently controls the injector to stop further supply of the of the contrast agent. The basic idea underlying this technique requires that, when a light emitter-detector pair is placed proximal to a catheterized vessel, the detected signal dynamics will differentiate extravasations from in vessel injections.
Extravasation detection apparatus, constructed in accordance with the present invention, includes a support pad adapted for attachment to a body part of a patient in proximity to a site at which a fluid is to be injected into the patient and a plurality of light sources, mounted to the support pad, for radiating light into the body part. Also included in this extravasation detection apparatus are means for energizing the light sources in an encoded manner to radiate light into the body part in an encoded manner. Extravasation detection apparatus, constructed in accordance with the present invention, also includes a plurality of light detectors, mounted to the support pad, for individually detecting light transmitted from the light sources that is reflected, scattered, diffused or otherwise emitted from the body part and individually developing light source/light detector pair signals representative of the light detected by the light detectors. Extravasation detection apparatus, constructed in accordance with the present invention, further includes means for developing, prior to injection of the fluid into the body part, a plurality if individual light source/light detector pair baseline signals associated with each light source/light detector pair and against which measurements made during injection of the fluid into the body part are compared and means for comparing the light source/light detector pair signals with the associated light source/light detector pair baseline signals. This extravasation detection apparatus also includes means for developing from the comparisons of the light source/light detector pair signals with the associated light source/light detector pair baseline signals new light source/light detector pair signals having an improved signal-to-noise ratio. Also included in extravasation detection apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention are means for developing, prior to injection of the fluid into the body part, a model, dependent on the arrangement of the light sources and the light detectors on the support pad, for calculating extravasation volume from the new light source/light detector pair signals having an improved signal-to-noise ratio and means for combining, according to the extravasation model, the new light source/light detector signals having an improved signal-to-noise ratio to determine the volume of extravasation. This extravasation apparatus further includes means for comparing the volume of extravasation with a prescribed level of extravasation.
A method for detecting extravasation of a fluid applied to a patient in accordance with the present invention includes the steps of attaching a support pad to a body part of a patient in proximity to a site at which a fluid is to be injected into the patient, radiating, in an encoded manner into the body part at the site at which the fluid is injected into the patient, light from a plurality of light sources mounted to the support pad; and detecting light transmitted from the light sources that is reflected, scattered, diffused or otherwise emitted from the body part individually by a plurality of light detectors mounted to the support pad. This method also includes developing a plurality of light source/light detector pair signals representative of the light detected individually by the light detectors for each of the light sources and developing, prior to injection of the fluid into the body part, a plurality of individual light source/light detector pair baseline signals associated with each light source/ light detector pair and against which measurements made during injection of the fluid into the body part are compared. This method further includes developing from comparisons of the light source/light detector pair signals with the light source/light detector pair baseline signals new light source/light detector pair signals having an improved signal-to-noise ratio. Prior to injection of the fluid into the body part, an extravasation model, dependent on the arrangement of the light sources and the light detectors on said support pad, is developed for calculating extravasation volume from the new light source/light detector pair signals having an improved signal-to-noise ratio. This method further includes combining, according to the extravasation model, the new light source/light detector pair signals having an improved signal-to-noise ratio to determine the volume of extravasation and comparing the determined volume of extravasation with a prescribed level of extravasation.

Extravasation detection apparatus and method based on optical sensing

Trustees of The University of Pennsylvania


Method for transferring an electronic sum of money from a credit memory associated with a money sender to an account or to a credit memory associated with a money receiver via a telecommunications and data network in real time, the necessary connections being set up via a transaction server.

The present invention relates to a method and to a system for transferring an electronic sum of money from a credit memory to an account or to another credit memory via a telecommunications and data network.
Besides for use as a communication vehicle and a source of information for what has now become hundreds of millions of people, the Internet is becoming increasingly important as a source of shopping. Particularly trade in software, books and travel is already being carried out on the Internet in a significant proportion today, but also a broad spectrum of other goods and services is increasingly being ordered and paid for over the Internet. Paying for the relevant services on the Internet in the manner which was established originally and is still generally widespread today requires the relevant data records to be input separately in each case, at least by each party to the transaction, if not even for the individual transaction. This mode of payment thus allows the party to the transaction to see sensitive personal data and even to store them permanently.
The Internet now also has become considerably important for handling other payment operations in the business and private sectors. Virtually all banks in industrial states offer electronic handling of account management and of payment operations in the form of "electronic banking".
Nevertheless, the majority of payment operations in day-to-day life are, even today, still performed using cash or by providing transfer or direct debit orders or the like in writing, or by credit card or check card. In specific areas, such as in mobile radio technology, electronic credits ("prepaid cards") have also become significant, but considerable obstacles prevent this way of paying from being introduced on a widespread basis.
Altogether, it can be stated that, in the current state of development, there are an extremely confusing large number of options for paying for goods or services, and using these options in day-to-day life requires considerable alertness and a wide variety of media and modes of entry to be dealt with. This is demanding and is also associated with diverse security risks (losing data media or credit media, forgetting account data and authentication codes etc.).
Besides the Internet, telecommunications (particularly, mobile telecommunications) today represents an area of rapid technical and economic development and a significant source of economic growth and new social developments. For many of the people in industrial states, the mobile telephone ("mobile") is increasingly becoming a universal communication and information instrument and is also increasingly being used to access goods and services. This development is also still hindered by insufficient opportunities for reliable and, at the same time, simple payment for information, goods and services ordered using a mobile.
Although solutions exist which allow the user of a mobile, with or without a prepaid card, to authorize payments, which are then processed in a conventional manner by debit procedures or credit card debiting, these methods presuppose, as do payment processing procedures which now have been introduced on the Internet, that the purchaser is creditworthy and has authority to use a credit card or a current account with an overdraft facility. In addition, these procedures have inherent time lags which have an adverse effect on the transparency and reliability of the overall processing.
The present invention is, therefore, directed toward specifying a method and a system for simplified processing of payment transactions using a data network.

Method and system for tranferring an electronic sum of money from a credit memory


A control system for an internal combustion engine (ICE) is provided including a control unit configured for operating an electrically controlled valve for supplying compressed air to at least one cylinder depending on an operational mode for the ICE. A method for controlling such an ICE (200), and a computer are also provided.

The invention relates to a control system for an internal combustion engine (ICE). The invention also relates to a corresponding method for controlling an ICE, and to a thereto related computer program.
In connection with combustion engines, turbo chargers are often utilized which comprise a turbine which is driven by the flow of exhaust gases. The energy which is thus absorbed by the turbine is then transferred via a shaft to a compressor which is arranged to compress the air on the intake side of the combustion engine and thus increase the amount of air in the combustion chamber. This means that a larger amount of fuel can be fed to a combustion chamber in an engine, thus increasing the torque and power of the engine.
In turbocharged diesel engines intended for, for example, commercial vehicles the available torque from the engine during take-off is often somewhat inadequate. The reason for this is that an engine equipped with a turbocharger performs worse than a normally aspirated engine at low rpm's due to that the turbo charger is a hindrance of the aspiration. The fact that the engine has a take-off performance which is worse than a normally aspirated engine means that the amount of air which is typical for a turbocharged diesel engine is not supplied. This in turn means that the amount of fuel which is injected in the engine must be limited at low rpm's, in order to minimize the amount of smoke from incomplete combustion due to lack of air. The turbo charger will with increased exhaust energy supply an additional amount of air which will permit an increased amount of fuel and by that increased engine torque and engine power.
The above-mentioned sequence of events is furthermore unfavorable since it contributes to reduced performance during the take-off phase of the engine. The engine will furthermore be perceived by users as "insufficient" during the take-off phase, since it has been necessary to limit the amount of fuel supplied during the initial "aspirating engine" phase, also known as turbo-lag.
One way of eliminating the above mentioned turbo lag, is to feed an amount of compressed air to the engine during this take-off phase where engine response is required. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,616 discloses a device in a combustion engine which is preferably equipped with a turbo unit, where the turbo function can be initiated earlier than in previously known devices and which adds to the starting torque of the engine. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,616 discloses an apparatus for supplying air to an internal engine where a secondary valve arrangement is used to supply additional air to the cylinder after the ordinary air supply from the main valve.
However, even though the disclosed apparatus provides a great improvement over prior art engines, there is still further room for improvement of the apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,616.
It is desirable to provide a control system and method for improving the performance of a turbocharged combustion engine.
According to an aspect of the invention, a control system is provided for controlling air supply to an internal combustion engine (ICE), the ICE including at least one cylinder comprising an inlet for supplying the air to the at least one cylinder, the system comprising a container for compressed air storage, a conduit for supplying the compressed air from the container to the inlet of the at least one cylinder, a mechanically controlled valve arrangement for supplying the compressed air to the at least one cylinder from the conduit, the mechanically controlled valve arrangement comprising a first valve for supplying ordinary air to the at least one cylinder, the first valve being movable between a closed position in which the ordinary air cannot be supplied to the at least one cylinder and an open position in which the ordinary air is supplied to the at least one cylinder, the first valve including a passage connected to the conduit for supplying the compressed air to the at least one cylinder therethrough, an electrically controlled valve arranged with the conduit and provided for controlling the supply of the compressed air to the at least one cylinder, and a control unit connected to and configured for operating the electrically controlled valve, wherein the control unit is configured for operating the electrically controlled valve for supplying the compressed air to the at least one cylinder depending on an operational mode for the ICE.
During operation of the ICE, air and fuel is allowed into the cylinder. According to the disclosure, the air provided to the ICE is a combination of an amount of ordinary air (e.g. provided by means of a turbo charger through a normal air inlet channel into the cylinder) and an amount of compressed air. The compressed air is supplied to the cylinder from a container for compressed air storage when the amount of ordinary air provided to the cylinder is not sufficient for allowing a desired operation of the ICE. Such a situation may for example arise when the turbocharger is not (yet) fully operational.
By means of the inclusion of an electrically controlled valve being operated by a control unit and working together with the mechanically controlled valve arrangement, it may be possible to carefully adjust an amount of additional fuel that is supplied to the cylinder based on a current operational mode for the ICE, thereby improving the general operation of the ICE. As indicated, the control system may for example be used for overcoming turbo-lag. This in turn eliminates the perception of the ICE as being insufficient with regard to the take-off torque.
In an embodiment, the operational mode for the ICE may be dependent on a current torque demand for the ICE. The control level of an accelerator pedal or other torque demander may for example be used for determining a desired torque level. The control unit may also be arranged in operational connection with e.g. a further control element for controlling the ICE and having knowledge of the current torque demand. The electrically controlled valve may thereby be open and additional fuel added in line with the maximized torque demand vs. pre-defined smoke level.
In another embodiment, the operational mode for the ICE is dependent on a maximum emission level for the ICE. In such an embodiment it is typically a desire to minimize the emissions emitted by the ICE during the start-up operation where the control system is active.
Preferably, the control unit is configured to determine the amount of compressed air that is injected into the cylinder through the mechanically controlled valve arrangement. Such an implementation allows for a high level of controllability in regards to an air/fuel ratio in the cylinder. Preferably, the container for compressed air storage is thus provided with a sensor for measuring a current pressure within the container. Such a sensor is arranged in communication with the control unit controlling the electrically controlled valve. The control unit may for example be an ECU/ECM (Electronic Control Unit/Engine Control Module) comprised with the ICE.
In addition to the above, the pressure level determined using the sensor/control unit is preferably also used for determining if the compressed air pressure is sufficient in the container (typically following a determination of air mass within the container, performed by the control unit). In case it is determined that the pressure level (and/or air mass) is below a predetermined threshold, for example where there could be problems as to other uses for compressed air, the control system may be configured to refrain from providing the compressed air to the cylinder. One possible scenario may for example be when the container for compressed air storage is also connected to e.g. air brakes of a vehicle comprising the ICE.
Furthermore, it is preferred to not initiate supply of the compressed air before the ICE reaches its operational temperature, for example approximately 80 deg. C. Thus, the control unit is preferably arranged to also have knowledge as to the operational temperature of the ICE.
In a preferred embodiment the ICE is comprised with a vehicle. The vehicle could for example be a truck or a car. However, the ICE could also be comprised with construction equipment, etc. It should however be understood that the ICE in an alternative embodiment could be provided in a stationary arrangement, such as for example an electrical power station (e.g. Genset). The disclosed control system may in such an embodiment shorten the startup period for the Genset.
The ICE could for example be a diesel engine or an Otto engine, or a hybrid in between. The ICE could also be arranged as a component of a hybrid system, such as a hybrid vehicle. It should be noted that a vehicle is not necessary limited to a land based vehicle, rather also marine applications (e.g. a boat) are possible and within the scope of the invention.
In a preferred embodiment, the operational mode for the ICE is dependent on an operational mode for the vehicle. In particular, when the ICE is comprised with a vehicle, the disclosed control system allows to overcome an unwanted turbo-lag prior to a boost pressure of an adequate level has been built. In a specific implementation, the duration for when applying the compressed air may be around 1-2 seconds, before the turbocharger is fully operational, that is, typically before a sufficient boost pressure may be provided by the turbocharger, and/or alternatively when a predetermined time limit has been reached. Furthermore, over 1000 rpm (for the ICE) an activation period for the electrically controlled valve is from 0.8-0.5 second, depending on engine speed and engine load. In addition, there is a desire to closely monitor the boost pressure to ensure that there is a suitable hand-off between the application of the compressed air and the ordinary air provided by means of the turbocharger.
Thus, the disclosed control system is preferably only active when a boost pressure is below a set threshold. Exemplary related operational modes include for example a stop-and-go implementation for a vehicle. Advantages resulting from the inventive concept include the possibility of reducing the size of the ICE, thereby reducing the weight of the vehicle, resulting in reduction of fuel consumption for the vehicle.
Furthermore, it may in some implementations be desirable to arrange the control unit to receive information relating to gear shifting for the vehicle. Such information may then be used in operating the electrically controlled valve. Specifically, in some embodiments the electrically controlled valve may be activated prior to a gear change. In another embodiment the electrically controlled valve is not activated when a clutch is disengaged, or gearbox is in neutral, or during gear shifting. Such control of when to activate the electrically controlled valve inhibit the injection of extra air when it is not beneficial, reduces wasteful compressed air consumption and may also prevent from running low on compressed air in the mentioned container. The control unit is thus preferably arranged to have knowledge of how the vehicle is shifted between gears.
In a preferred embodiment, the disclosed control system further comprises an electrically controlled fuel injection arrangement for injection of the additional fuel to the at least one cylinder, wherein the electrically controlled fuel injection arrangement is in electrical communication with the control unit, and the control unit is further configured to control the operation of the electrically controlled fuel injection arrangement. The electrically controlled fuel injection arrangement and the electrically controlled valve are preferably activated together for boosting the operation of the ICE, thereby allowing for an increased (even further) amount of torque to be provided by the ICE, also when a turbocharger of the ICE, is at least partly inactive. This implementation should be seen as an alternative to the embodiment focusing on emission reduction (e.g. the mentioned stop-and-go scenario).
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for controlling a supply of compressed air to a cylinder of an internal combustion engine (ICE) in addition to an ordinary supply of air comprising the steps of determining an operational mode for the ICE, activating an electrically controlled valve for supplying the compressed air to the cylinder depending on the determined operational mode for the ICE. This aspect provides similar advantages as discussed above in relation to the previous aspect of the invention.
The method may for example be performed by a control unit or as a computer program comprising program code means for performing the method steps when the program is run on a computer. The computer program may be provided on a computer readable medium, being any type of memory device, including one of a removable nonvolatile random access memory, a hard disk drive, a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a USB memory, an SD memory card, or a similar computer readable medium known in the art.
Further advantages and advantageous features of the invention are disclosed in the following description and in the dependent claims.

Control system and control method for an internal combustion engine


Compounds of formula I, wherein R1-R9 and n are defined herein, and pharmaceutical compositions and kits containing these compounds are provided.

This invention relates to agonists and antagonists of the progesterone receptor, their preparation and utility.
Intracellular receptors (IR) form a class of structurally related gene regulators known as "ligand dependent transcription factors" (Mangelsdorf, D. J. etc. Cell, 83, 835, 1995). The steroid receptor family is a subset of the IR family, including progesterone receptor (PR), estrogen receptor (ER), androgen receptor (AR), glucocorticoid receptor (GR), and mineralocorticoid receptor (MR).
The natural hormone, or ligand, for the PR is the steroid progesterone, but synthetic compounds, such as medroxyprogesterone acetate or levonorgestrel, have been made which also serve as PR ligands. Once a ligand is present in the fluid surrounding a cell, it passes through the membrane via passive diffusion, and binds to the IR to create a receptor/ligand complex. This complex binds to specific gene promoters present in the cell's DNA. Once bound to the DNA the complex modulates the production of mRNA and the protein encoded by that gene.
A compound that binds to an IR and mimics the action of the natural hormone is termed an agonist, whilst a compound which inhibits the effect of the hormone is an antagonist.
PR agonists (natural and synthetic) are known to play an important role in the health of women. PR agonists are used in birth control formulations, either along or in the presence of an ER agonist. ER agonists are used to treat the symptoms of menopause, but have been associated with a proliferative effect on the uterus which can lead to an increased risk of uterine cancers. Co-administration of a PR agonist reduces/ablates that risk.
PR antagonists may also be used in contraception. In this context they may be administered alone (Ulmann, et al., Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., 261, 248, 1995), in combination with a PR agonist (Kekkonen, et al, Fertility and Sterility, 60, 610, 1993) or in combination with a partial ER antagonist such as tamoxifen (U.S. Pat. No. 5,719,136).
PR antagonists may also be useful for the treatment of hormone dependent breast cancers (Horwitz, et al, Horm. Cancer, 283, 1996, pub: Birkhaeuser, Boston, Mass., ed. Vedeckis) as well as uterine and ovarian cancers. PR antagonists may also be useful for the treatment of non-malignant chronic conditions such as uterine fibroids (Murphy, et al, J. Clin. Endo. Metab., 76, 513, 1993) and endometriosis (Kettel, et al., Fertility and Sterility, 56, 402, 1991).
PR antagonists may also be useful in hormone replacement therapy for post menopausal patients in combination with a partial ER antagonist such as tamoxifen (U.S. Pat. No. 5,719,136).
PR antagonists, such as mifepristone and onapristone, have been shown to be effective in a model of hormone dependent prostate cancer, which may indicate their utility in the treatment of this condition in men (Michna, et al, Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., 761, 224, 1995).

5-aryl-indan-1-one oximes and analogs useful as progesterone receptor modulators

Abstract: Also provided are methods of inducing contraception, providing hormone replacement therapy, treating cycle-related symptoms, or treating or preventing benign or malignant neoplastic disease using the compounds of formula I or formula II, wherein R3-R5, R10, and R11 are defined herein.


A method and a processor may include storing a first set of data in a data array in a cache unit substantially concurrently to reading a second set of data from the data array, and using the second set of data to generate error correction data corresponding to the first set of data. A method or processor may include reading an entry from a cache in a processor and executing two or more error detection mechanisms on the entry substantially concurrently.

Recent technological trends support decreasing the physical dimensions and applied voltage of storage devices, which may increase the probability of errors in such devices, such as cache arrays or memory devices. A need exists for efficient error correction mechanisms for such devices.
Various methods and systems to integrate error correction mechanisms into processor caches such as L1 caches are known. Error correction (EC) bit generation, and error correction and detection mechanisms often overlap with main processor pipelines. For example, data storage and error correction update may occur in a single pipeline that is expensive and inefficient. Many current EC integration schemes involve a read-modify-write (RMW) mechanism. EC integration schemes that involve a RMW mechanism may stall or interrupt writing a set of data from the cache unit if there is a substantially concurrently read request for the data before the data is fully written. Such schemes may add extra time or computational cycles to execute a write operation. The L1 cache array is highly sensitive to timing and extra computational cycles may degrade performance. A need exists for integrating an efficient error detection and/or correction mechanism into cache units.

System and method for error correction in cache units


A coiled embolizing material which can surely embolize an application site or dilatation without extending either end portion thereof out of the dilatation. The distal end portion and/or the proximal end portion of the coiled embolizing material are curved inward in a radial direction of a coil thereof. A push-out means for the embolizing material is detachably connected to the coiled embolizing material.

1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coiled embolizing material to be deposited at an intended site in a vasculature of, for example, a human body.
2) Description of the Background Art
As a method for treating an aneurysm or the like, which causes little invasion, attention has been recently attracted to vascular embolization in which an embolizing material is deposited within a dilatation. Reference may be made to, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,884,579 and 4,739,768. In this vascular embolization, the embolizing material deposited within the aneurysm serves as a physical obstacle to a blood stream and can facilitate the formation of thrombus to reduce the risk of aneurysmal rupture.
As the embolizing material to be deposited at an intended site in the vasculature, coiled embolizing materials have been known.
Such a coiled embolizing material is introduced into an aneurysm through a suitable catheter by means of a wire-made push-out device or a guide detachably connected to an end thereof. Reference may be made to, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (KOHYO) Nos. 500322/1993, 501015/1996 and 502674/1995 (through PCT route)
More specifically, the coiled embolizing material, to which the push-out device has been connected, is inserted into the catheter, which has been inserted into the vital body in advance in such a manner that its distal opening is sited within the aneurysm, with the coiled embolizing material in the lead. As a result, the embolizing material is transferred through the catheter while being pushed by the push-out device, whereby it is pushed out of the distal opening of the catheter into the dilatation. At the time the whole length of the embolizing material has been pushed out of the distal opening, namely, its joint with the push-out device has reached the distal opening, the push-out device is detached from the embolizing material making good use of a mechanical means, electrolysis or the like, whereby only the embolizing material is deposited within the aneurysm.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional coiled body making up a coiled embolizing material.
This coiled body 1 is a helical double-coiled body having deformability. A semi-spherical tip 2 is formed at one end thereof.
Since the coiled body 1 has deformability, it shows a state that it is stretched in a substantially straight line along a catheter when it is pushed by a push-out device to move through the catheter, and returns to the original double-coiled body (the shape illustrated in FIG. 1) when it is pushed out of the catheter into an aneurysm, and the push-out device is detached from the coiled body.
By the way, in order to surely embolize the interior of an aneurysm, it is important to deposit the coiled embolizing material within the aneurysm so as to fit it to the inner wall of the aneurysm.
Therefore, the outer diameter of the coiled body making up the embolizing material (for example, the outer diameter of the double-coiled body illustrated in FIG. 1) must be generally made somewhat greater than the inner diameter (the inner diameter when an internal space of the aneurysm is regarded as a sphere) of the aneurysm in which the coiled body should be deposited.
When the outer diameter of the coiled body making up the embolizing material is greater than the inner diameter of the aneurysm, however, there is a problem that an end portion of the coiled body is extended out of the dilatation.
More specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 2A, in some cases, a distal end portion 5A of a coiled body 5, which has been pushed out of a distal opening of a catheter 3 into an aneurysm 4, may extend out of the opening of the aneurysm 4 into a parental blood vessel 6 outside the dilatation.
Besides, as illustrated in FIG. 2B, in some cases, a proximal end portion 5B of the coiled body 5 deposited within the aneurysm 4 after a push-out device (not illustrated) is detached, may extend out of the opening of the aneurysm 4 into the parental blood vessel 6 outside the dilatation.
Such a state as described above particularly tends to occur when an aneurysm to be embolized has a slender form. When the distal or proximal end portion of the coiled body extends out of the dilatation, a thrombus is formed on the end portion of the coiled body extended out of the dilatation, and so the parental blood vessel is occluded by the thrombus, or the thrombus transmigrates to a peripheral vessel, thereby occluding such a peripheral vessel.