A self-administration device includes a cylindrical casing opened at one end but closed at the opposite end. The closed opposite end is provided with a drug inflow port and a drug outflow port. An easily deformable and restorable reservoir is housed in the casing and is held by the closed end of the casing. The inflow port and outflow port are opened to the interior of the reservoir while a pushing device is provided at the open end of the casing and is movable along an inner wall of the casing to exert a pressure on the reservoir. A control device is provided for adjusting a moving distance of the pushing device to control a dosage of a liquid drug.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a self-administration device and, more particularly, to a device for administrating a liquid drug to a patient's body by himself, used solely or in combination with a system for continuous administration of a microdose of a liquid drug such as analgetic or anesthetic agent, to allay pains such as postoperative pain, cancerous pain or the like.
2. Description of the Background Art
In the recent anesthetic field, there has been used continuous epidural anesthesia or epidural catheterization with a continuous microinjector to allay the pain of a patient such as postoperative pain, cancerous pain or the like. However, patient sometimes has unique symptoms and occasionally complains of a sudden pain even in the middle of continuous administration of a microdose of analgesics. In order to cope with such a critical moment, there have been developed devices for administering a dose of an analgesic by a patient. One example of such devices is a patient-controlled analgesic delivery device disclosed in Japanese national publication 63-501195 corresponding to international publication No. WO 87/00758.
The patient's controlled analgesic delivery device of the above prior art comprises a dose reservoir 90 defined by a raised plateau 98 of a back plate 86 and a circular flexible sheet 96 as illustrated in FIG. 5. The dose reservoir 90 is connected to first and second conduits each being communicated with a medical container or a catheter. The above device further comprises a floating plate 100 rested on the flexible sheet 96, and a push button 84 arranged above the floating plate 100. The push button 84 is pivoted at its base on a pin 116 and biased by a coil spring 124 mounted around the pin 116.
If the push button 84 is pushed downward by a finger of a patient, the dose reservoir 90 is pressed by the floating plate 100 and the liquid drug in the dose reservoir 90 is delivered to the body of the patient through the conduit as illustrated in FIGS. 5B and 5C. If the finger is released from the push button 84, the button 84 is returned to its original state by the coil spring 124 as illustrated in FIG. 5D.
In the above device, however, the flexible sheet 96 is scarcely restored to its original state by itself because of its poor restoring force even when the push button 84 is released from the pushing force and returned to its original state as shown in FIG. 5D. Thus, the dose reservoir 90 can be restored to its original state only when the flexible sheet 96 is filled out by a fresh liquid drug introduced into the dose reservoir 90 from a medical container. However, the medical container is so designed as to send out a microdosage of the liquid drug by a restoring force of a balloon. Thus, it takes a long time to fill up the dose reservoir 90 because of a low pumping rate of the medical container for microdose administration. For this reason, it is difficult with the self-administration device of the prior art to administer an additional dose of the liquid drug in short order because of a long refilling time.
Further, the self-administration device of the prior art is limited in dosage by the predetermined fixed volume of the dose reservoir, thus making it impossible to administer any desired dosage of the liquid drug in the critical moment. Another problem is that, as can be seen from FIG. 5, the self-administration device of the prior art is very complex in structure and high in production cost. Further, there is a fear of leakage of the liquid drug from the circumference of the flexible sheet 96.

Self-administration device for liquid drugs


A method and apparatus is provided which enables users to communicate in a perceived real time environment. In one embodiment a number of musical parts are contributed one each from a number of client terminals. Each terminal generates and sends to a server a short sequence or sequence of sequences, for example a few bars of music. The server echoes the sequences out to each of the other clients' terminals where they are synchronised to a local clock and repeated a plurality of times, with the generated sequence being repeated at the sending client a similar number of times. The local synchronisacion overcomes the problems of propagation delay between clients and server and the repetition of sequences allows a continuous stream of data to be output at each client.. A solo, or non-repetitive line may be added by commencing sending the solo line to the server before the remaining lines. The solo line is buffered at each of the clients and then synchronized to the local clock. The non-solo lines arrive at the solo client after the solo data stream has commenced. However, as they are repetitive they are synchronised by the local clock to the next sequence repeat.

A client-server paradigm is a computer system in which distributed clients use a common server for data transfer and manipulation. A schematic example is shown in FIG. 1 in which a server 10 communicates with three distributed client computers 12. The server can run programs as well as act as a simple `dumb` data transfer hub. Each client can send data to any other client connected to the server by sending the data through the server allowing exchange of information with each of the other clients through a common data transfer system such as a computer network.
Client server technology is well established and widely used, for example in financial fields where brokers use real-time data services to keep up to date with movements in stock prices. The information received in these systems is perceived to be real-time as any delay is minimal and unimportant. However, if the client server paradigm is being exploited to enable a plurality of distributed clients, say in a number of different countries, to communicate their time delays can become important. This is especially the case where the clients collaborate and interact with one another in real-time where the actions of each client will determine or affect the reactions of other clients and these actions are highly time dependent, for example, when playing music in an ensemble. In such systems the inherent time delays which are imposed makes an immediate, instantaneous response impossible. This is particularly true in modern computer networks where delays may occur of up to several seconds. This length of delay would make real-time music performances between distributed musicians impossible. Delays of even a few milliseconds can be aeschetically, displeasing.
It is desirable for musicians to be able to interact over computer networks to enable them to play together in real-time in distributed locations. However, there is no way to have a plurality of clients send and receive data simultaneously. Even with the fastest networks which transmit data at the speed of light, trans-continental data transfer has a lag which is both noticeable and unacceptable for many musical situations.

Distributed real-time communications system


A tapping pipe is provided for a melt vessel having a predetermined melt maximum bath level X.sub.m. The tapping pipe defines a flow passage therethrough which has a discharge zone having flow cross-sections approximately the same as the cross-sections of the flow profile of a free flowing stream of the melt from a melt bath level X.sub.0 between 30% and 70% of the maximum melt bath level X.sub.m. The discharge zone can be provided by a brick defining the discharge zone, together with additional bricks defining a feed zone and a transition zone between the feed zone and the discharge zone. In making a number of replacements of the tapping pipe in a converter, the length of the brick defining the transition zone can be gradually reduced so as to compensate for the wear of the converter lining.

1 Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tapping pipe for a melt vessel such as a converter or an electric arc furnace. A tapping pipe has flow cross-sections, or cross-sectional flow areas, that, at the level of a discharge zone of the tapping pipe, are less than at levels closer to the inside of the converter or electric arc furnace.
2 State of the Prior Art
The type of tapping pipe mentioned above is described in EP 0 057 946 B1. In this tapping pipe, the flow cross-sections of the tapping pipe taper in steps from a feed zone closer to the inside of the converter toward the discharge zone of the tapping pipe. In this manner, the tapping channel of the tapping pipe is adjusted to the flow conditions of the tapping stream.
When a tapping pipe wears, the flow resistance of the tapping pipe decreases. Consequently, the tapping period, and thus the period of time in which the converter empties, starting from its maximum bath level down to its minimum bath level, changes accordingly. This is a disadvantage, because the tapping time affects the temperature of the melt in the next, downstream, vessel. Thus a prolonged tapping period will result in lower melting temperatures in the following vessel than with shorter tapping periods. To avoid the resulting metallurgical irregularities, the melt then has to be reheated. This requires a considerable amount of energy.

Tapping pipe and system for a converter or electric arc furnace


A life detector adapted to be used to determine whether an organism or part thereof suits a life condition predefined by a set of ranges, each for a physiological parameter and each characterizing this life condition. The detector comprises a sensor unit adapted to sense at least two of the physiological parameters and to generate signals indicative of their values, a processor for receiving and processing the signals to arrive at these values, the processor further being adapted to disregard any value falling outside the range of the respective parameter and to produce a qualitative diagnosis based on values falling within its range. This diagnosis is indicative of whether the organism or part thereof suits the life condition. The detector further comprises indication means adapted to indicate the diagnosis. The detector may be assembled using a general-purpose programmable communication device, a standard medical sensor and a special cable adapter.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,528 teaches an apparatus for permitting medical personnel to attend to an injured individual situated in a hazardous area from a remote location. One end of the apparatus is adapted to be located at a position adjacent the injured individual and includes sensors for sensing at least one physiological condition of the victim, as well as means for delivering medical aid to him. The other end of the apparatus is adapted to be located at a position remote from the individual and includes means for receiving signals from the sensors to monitor the individual's state of health.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,853,005 discloses a acoustic sensor for monitoring the heartbeat or breathing of a victim. The sensor includes a fluid-filled pad adapted to be held in close contact against a sound or movement source, such as a living human body, and to monitor acoustic signals transferred into the fluid thereby. The signals are monitored aurally and/or compared to predetermined reference patterns, and optional control and stimulation means can be activated in response to the comparison results. The signals can be transmitted to a remote receiver or processed locally.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,198,394 discloses a system for remotely monitoring the status of a plurality of soldiers comprising a soldier unit and a plurality of sensors disposable on each soldier for developing signals used to determine his physiological status. The sensors communicate with the soldier unit, which processes the information to ensure that the sensor data falls within acceptable ranges. The soldier unit also includes a global positioning system and is capable of communicating with remote monitors. By using the sensor data and the global positioning system, leaders and medics can quickly and accurately track and treat casualties in battle. The system enables remote triage/initial diagnosis, thereby assuring that those who are most in need of treatment are attended to first. The system monitors body surface and ambient temperature, heart rate, shivering, motion status and body condition. Additional sensors can be provided to supply information on other physiological parameters that may be desired for more thorough diagnosis.
US 2001/0055544 teaches a portable electromechanical device for locating humans, either living or dead, who are trapped in a structure such as a building that has collapsed or has been badly damaged in an earthquake, mudslide, bombing, or other disaster. This device includes an extendible mechanical detector arm with a handle, and is equipped with a gas inlet device, a miniature video lens and light source, and preferably at least one microphone, all mounted at or near the distal end of the detector arm. The latter components are connected to supporting devices, such as a video display, audio amplifier, and multi-component gas detector, which are either affixed to the handle at the proximal end of the detector arm or carried/worn by a user, allowing him to maneuver the device during a rescue or recovery operation inside a collapsed building or similar environment.


This invention comprises two electrode plates 1a and 1c which are arranged in parallel to each other, and a middle electrode plate 1b. One end of an electrostatic capacity member 2 serves as a fixed portion 3 while the other end thereof serves as a movable portion 4, and both end portions of each of these electrode plates 1,1 are provided with hinges so that the movable portion 4 is movable in parallel relative to the fixed portion 3. Additive capacity is further provided by the insulating plate 6 to improve the linearity of the detection output.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a capacitance type displacement sensor which is used to detect a displacement of an object, such as tilt angle, acceleration, position etc., for example.
2. Related Background Art
Displacement gauges of the prior art include contact-type and non-contact type devices.
The contact-type displacement gauge has a construction that a brush 61 secured to the tip of a pendulum 60 is slid in contact with a resistor 62 which is supplied with a constant voltage as shown in FIG. 1, and voltages into which the constant voltage is divided by the brush 61 are output as a detection output to detect a tilt angle.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the non-contact type displacement gauge has a construction that a magnet 71 secured to the tip of a pendulum 60 is swung along side magnetic resistant elements 72 and 73 without contacting with the magnetic resistant elements 72, 73, and a tilt angle is differentially detected on the basis of the variation in resistant values of the magnetic resistant elements 72 and 73.
The contact-type displacement gauge as described above is a displacement gauge in which a contact portion such as a brush is displaced along a resistor while contacting the resistor to thereby output a voltage obtained by split resistance, and it has a limited life time because it is operated in a contact mode. A rotational torque is increased due to friction of the contact portion, so that an output has large hysteresis. Conversely, in order to reduce the hysteresis, a larger deadweight or a longer arm is required, so that the displacement gauge becomes more enormous and weighty. Therefore, the contact-type displacement gauge has problems in its durability and detection accuracy for displacement amount.
In the non-contact type displacement gauge, the problem as described above does not occur. However, the magnetic characteristic of the magnet is liable to be deteriorated with time lapse, so that there are problems in detection accuracy and durability. In addition, the magnetic resistant element is formed of a semiconductor and thus its temperature characteristic is degraded, so that an appropriate temperature compensation must be considered for use over a broad temperature range.


The present invention refers to a process for the production of an additive composition intended to be mixed into a bituminous conglomerate for road paving. The process includes grinding a mixed waste material containing a mixture of plastic materials, which includes at least one plastic material based on a polyolefin thermoplastic material, washing the ground mixed waste material and separating a portion of low-density material which contains the plastic material based on a polyolefin thermoplastic polymer from the mixed waste material. This portion of low-density material is then ground to a particle size between 10 mm and 20 mm; and then mixed with a material based on polyvinyl butyral. The resultant mixture is further ground to produce an additive composition having a particle size between 4 mm and 6 mm.

The need to develop technologies and products as much environmentally friendly as possible is still actual, especially in the field of asphalt and bituminous conglomerates production, in particular by using renewable or eco-friendly raw materials.
In such branch of the art has also become very important the need to optimize production processes both of bituminous conglomerates and of the necessary components for the formulation thereof, reducing the overall exploitation of raw materials, thus of the carbon footprint attributable to such processes.
It is further well known in the art the use of additives for improving the performances of bituminous conglomerates, and of asphalts in general, for example such additives may be compositions comprising thermoplastic polymers or elastomers used for improving the mechanical properties of the bituminous conglomerate containing such additives, such as the breaking strength, and for reducing deterioration in bituminous conglomerate, typically used as covering surface for roads.
A composition of asphalt, comprising aggregates, granular or powder material deriving from rubber scrap, for example tire scrap, and a mixture of thermoplastic polymers and co-polymers, as well as additional additives and filling materials, is described in the international patent application WO2015179553.
The application US 2009/016325 relates to a high-performance bituminous mixture comprising mineral aggregates covered with a composition of thermoplastic polymers, mainly comprising polyvinyl butyral.
Specifically, such composition may comprise a recovery or recycle thermoplastic polymer, including recycled polyvinyl butyral from recycling of glass panels used in the field of construction industry and automotive windscreens.
In any case, although the additives for improving the chemical and mechanical properties of the commercially available asphalts, as well as the asphalts which may be made therewith, are in general produced keeping in mind the environmental impact, for example using scrap materials from other industrial processes or recycle materials, the processes to obtain such materials are still not capable to best combine the need to considerably reduce the environmental impact in the production of said additives with the mechanical properties of road paving made using bituminous conglomerates formulated by adding said additives.
Indeed, the need of finding a virtuous way to dispose and reuse scrap or waste plastic material, both recyclable and not, is becoming of the utmost importance.
In particular, in Europe, and not only there, the need to find an alternative destination for waste of the above-mentioned type is of the highest importance, since on the one hand in many areas of the continent there is not a sufficient number of plants for the recovery of said waste and/or waste-to-energy plants for said waste, while on the other one a reuse of the same is searched, which has a lower environmental impact compared to the incineration or disposal in landfill.
In addition, it has to be considered that the percent amount of recycle plastic compared to virgin plastic used for making mass-consumption items is not proportional to the increase of volumes of plastic recycled and selected thanks to an increasingly efficient collection system based on waste sorting.
Accordingly, plastic remaining from these recovery processes or the like, as well as the quantity of non-recycled plastic, is necessarily disposed by means of waste-to-energy processes, delivery to landfill or, less frequently, for the production of alternative fuels.
In the light of the above presented prior art, the problem underlying the present invention was to develop a process for producing an additive composition for bituminous conglomerates starting from waste plastic material, which provides for the reuse of a wide variety of waste materials, thereby being more environmentally sustainable, as well as it allows to produce a composition having high added value, especially suitable for the use as an additive for the formulation of high performance bituminous conglomerate mixtures.

Process for the production of an additive for bituminous conglomerates with high mechanical performances


A check valve (10) and method of assembling semicircular valve discs (38, 40) within blind openings (28, 30) in the valve body (12). A hinge pin (46) for the semicircular valve discs (38, 40) is of a length less than the diameter of the flow passage through the valve body (12) and has sleeves (52) mounted thereon for relative movement between a retracted position for insertion within the valve body (12) and a projected position within the blind openings (28, 30) for supporting the hinge pin (46) and discs (38, 40). A subassembly comprising the hinge pin (46), the semicircular valve discs (38, 40), spring (48), snap rings (60), and sleeves (52) is first formed and then inserted within the valve body (12).

Check valves of the general type illustrated herein comprise a pair of generally semicircular valve discs or flaps which are mounted on a shaft or hinge pin for pivotal movement between open and closed positions relative to the flow passage through the valve body. In many instances heretofore, the hinge pin has been mounted in opposed openings in the valve body which extend through the valve body. Normally, removable plugs have been positioned in the openings after the assembly of the valve. At times, particularly after prolonged use, a possible leak path may occur through the openings about the plugs. Thus, it is highly desirable that the hinge pin be supported by the valve body without the use of any openings through the valve body thereby to eliminate any possible leakage through the valve body from openings for the support of the hinge pin. Also, certain specifications and standards require that no through openings be provided in the valve body.
Check valves have been provided heretofore in which the hinge pin is supported by means not extending through the valve body. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,695 dated Jan. 30, 1990 shows a check valve in which the hinge pin is supported by opposed lugs secured to the valve seat on the valve body. However, such an arrangement requires that the check valve discs must be contoured to receive the lugs since the valve discs do not seat about a complete circle on the valve seat.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,977,926 dated Dec. 18, 1990 likewise shows a check valve in which the hinge pin is supported on opposed clips which are mounted within recesses or slotted areas in the valve body which do not extend through the valve body. The clips include resilient fingers and the slotted areas are machined in the valve body bore to form the recesses for the clips.


A power MOSFET includes a pair of electrically isolated gates having different gate widths. The MOSFET is connected in a switching mode DC-DC converter, with the gates being driven by a pulse width modulation (PWM) control to vary the duty cycle of the gate drive signal and thereby regulate the output voltage of the DC-DC converter. In light load conditions, the larger gate is disconnected from the PWM control to reduce the gate capacitance which must be driven by the PWM control. In normal load conditions, the larger gate is connected to the PWM control to reduce the on-resistance of the MOSFET. Both of these operations increase the efficiency of the DC-DC converter.

DC-DC converters are used to convert an input DC voltage to an output DC voltage. In one class of DC-DC converters, known as switching mode converters, the output voltage is determined by the duty cycle of a switch to which the input voltage is applied.
An example of a switching mode DC-DC converter is the complementary synchronous buck converter 10 shown in FIG. 1. A complementary pair of MOSFETs M1 and M2 are connected in series between the input voltage V.sub.in and ground, P-channel MOSFET M1 serving as a series switch and N-channel MOSFET M2 serving as a shunt switch. The common node between MOSFETs M1 and M2 is connected through a low-pass filter including an inductor L1 and a capacitor C1 which deliver the output voltage V.sub.out to the load. V.sub.out is fed back to a pulse width modulation (PWM) control 12, which supplies a PWM signal to the gates of MOSFETs M1 and M2. V.sub.out is determined by the duty cycle of the PWM signal, i.e., in this case the percentage of the time during each cycle that the PWM signal is low, thereby turning P-channel MOSFET M1 on. PWM control 12 is controlled by the feedback path to maintain V.sub.out at a desired level.
DC-DC converters are available in a wide variety of topologies. FIG. 2 shows a totem pole N-channel synchronous buck converter 20, in which V.sub.out is determined by the duty cycle of high segment of the PWM signal applied to the gate of N-channel MOSFET M3. PWM control 22 supplies time delayed signals to the respective gates of MOSFETs M3 and M4 so as to prevent current "shoot through" from V.sub.in to ground. FIG. 3 shows a boost converter 30 which includes an N-channel MOSFET M5 and a Schottky diode 32.
A common feature of the converters shown in FIGS. 1-3, as well as numerous other converter topologies, is that one or more power MOSFET switches are used to control the transfer of energy from an energy source, here represented by V.sub.in, into at least two reactive energy storage elements, namely an inductor and a capacitor. These energy storage elements then retransfer the stored energy, when required, into the load. By monitoring V.sub.out and by either controlling the pulse width of the signal which controls the MOSFET switches (assuming that the converter is operating at a fixed frequency), or adjusting the switching frequency (while holding the on-time of the switches constant), a constant V.sub.out can be maintained, despite changes in V.sub.in or the current demands of the load.
Of the various switching mode converter topologies and control schemes, fixed frequency converters provide a predictable noise spectrum. A predictable noise spectrum is particularly advantageous in communication products, such as cellular phones, since shifting noise spectra can interfere with information transfer in the broadcast band. With a fixed clock period, the energy transfer is a function of the switch on-time (or pulse width), which is modulated to compensate for an energy drain or a voltage build-up at the output of the converter.
Most converters, in their essential configuration, include a PWM control circuit, an inductor, a capacitor, and two MOSFET switches (or one MOSFET switch and a Schottky diode). Ideally, every element transfers power without loss. In reality, of course, some power is lost in every element. The IC control circuit, for example, draws power to operate internal amplifier, voltage reference, comparator, and clock circuits. The inductor loses power to the resistance of its coil and to the material used as its magnetic core. Even the capacitor has a series resistance component which absorbs energy.
In practice, however, most of the power in a converter is lost in the power MOSFET that is used as the series switch and in the power MOSFET or Schottky diode that is used as the shunt switch or rectifier. These losses can be divided into four categories:
1. Conduction losses which arise from the MOSFETs' internal resistance, represented as I.sup.2 R.multidot.D, where I is the current through the switch, R is the on-resistance of the switch, and D is the percentage of the time that the switch is on.
2. Gate drive losses, or the power lost charging and discharging the MOSFETs' gate capacitance, represented as Q.sub.g .multidot.V.sub.gs .multidot.f, where Q.sub.g is the charge which accumulates on the gate, V.sub.gs is the gate-to-source voltage, and f is the frequency at which the switch is opened and closed.
3. Output capacitive losses, or the power lost charging and discharging the drain capacitance of the MOSFET switch, represented as C.sub.o .multidot.V.sub.ds.sup.2 .multidot.f.
4. Crossover losses, or losses which occur during the switching transitions of the MOSFETs, as a result of the simultaneous presence of a current through and a voltage across a MOSFET, represented as I.sub.on .multidot.V.sub.ds .multidot..delta.t, where I.sub.on is the current through the MOSFET during the switching transition and .delta.t is the duration of the switching transition.
The conduction losses are strongly dependent on the current and on-resistance while the gate drive and output capacitive losses are strongly dependent on the switching frequency. At low frequencies, particularly below 100 kHz, only the conduction losses need to be considered when calculating the efficiency of the converter. At higher frequencies, particularly frequencies approaching 1 MHz, the capacitive losses become significant. V.sub.in and V.sub.out affect all of the energy loss terms. In high voltage converters the output capacitance term can be dominant. In low voltage applications such as computers and battery powered circuits, however, particularly those in which V.sub.in is less than 8 volts, the output capacitance term is negligible. The two dominant terms are then the gate drive and conduction losses, and the power loss can be approximated by the following equation. EQU P.sub.loss =Q.sub.g (V.sub.gs).multidot.V.sub.gs .multidot.f+I.sup.2 .multidot.R.sub.ds (V.sub.gs).multidot.(t.sub.on (V.sub.in)/T)
An increase in the gate drive V.sub.gs reduces R.sub.ds and conduction losses but increases gate drive capacitance losses. The frequency f and the load current I are weighting factors which determine which term is dominant. At higher frequencies, the gate drive capacitance loss becomes significant for all light load conditions.
FIGS. 4A-4J are graphs which illustrate how the efficiency and other parameters of a P-channel DMOS switch used in a synchronous buck converter (corresponding to P-channel MOSFET M1 in FIG. 1) vary as a function of the channel size or resistance of the P-channel DMOS switch.
Referring to FIG. 4A, the x-axis represents the die size of the P-channel buck switch normalized such that unity equals the size of a standard S0-8 package (approximately 90 mils.times.190 mils). Curve P1 shows the percentage of the total losses due to the gate capacitance C.sub.g, curve P2 shows the percentage of the losses due to the switching of the MOSFET, and curve P3 shows the percentage of losses due to the on-resistance of the P-channel (R.sub.ds (on)). Curve P4 shows the efficiency of the P-channel switch. The input (battery) voltage V.sub.b was 3.5 V, the output voltage V.sub.o was 2.7 V. the load current I was 0.3 A, and the buck converter was operated at a frequency f of 1 MHz. As is apparent, at low die sizes, the resistance losses (curve P3) dominate, while at large die sizes the capacitance losses (curve P1) dominate. The efficiency of the buck converter (curve P4) reaches a maximum at a normalized die size of about 0.2, which is the optimum die size for this set of parameters.
FIG. 4B shows the same data as a function of the channel resistance of the of the P-channel switch (in .OMEGA.). Curve P5 represents the percentage of losses due to C.sub.g, curve P6 represents the percentage of losses due to switching losses, curve P7 represents the percentage of losses due to R.sub.ds (on), and curve P8 represents the efficiency of the P-channel switch.
FIGS. 4A and 4B indicate that the efficiency of the switch reaches a maximum. If the die size is either too large or too small the efficiency will suffer. Another factor which affects efficiency is the input voltage V.sub.b.
FIG. 4C shows the efficiency as a function of die size (normalized as in FIG. 4A) at three levels of V.sub.b. Curve P9 represents V.sub.b =3.0 V, curve P10 represents V.sub.b =3.5 V, and curve P11 represents V.sub.b =4.2 V. FIG. 4D shows the same data as a function of channel resistance. V.sub.o, I and f are at the same levels as in FIGS. 4A and 4B. FIGS. 4C and 4D indicate that different die sizes and channel resistances are optimal depending on the level of the battery voltage that is being fed into the converter. The range of V.sub.b shown in FIGS. 4C and 4D corresponds roughly to the variation that occurs normally in a lithium ion battery as it fluctuates between a charged and discharged condition. When the battery is discharged (low V.sub.b), the buck switch must be turned on a larger percentage of the time in order to keep the output voltage; thus, because R.sub.ds (on) is more important in determining efficiency, it is preferable to have a larger die. Conversely, when the battery is fully charged (high V.sub.b), the gate capacitance C.sub.g becomes more significant, and it is therefore preferable to have a smaller die.
While the actual maximum efficiency also varies with the battery voltage as shown in FIG. 4C, this is not the major problem. The main problem is that optimal size of the die for the buck switch varies from about 0.18 for a fully charged battery to about 0.25 for a medium battery to about 0.32 for a discharged battery.
Another factor which affects the efficiency of the PMOS switch is the load current I. FIG. 4E shows efficiency as a function of normalized die size for load currents of 0.9 A (curve P15), 0.3 A (curve P16) and 0.1 A (curve P17). The range from 0.9 A to 0.1 A corresponds, for example, to the load current used in a cellular phone as it goes from the transmit mode to the receive mode. Again, the efficiency of the switch varies greatly, as would be expected from the I.sup.2 .multidot.R.sub.ds term in the above equation for P.sub.loss. As I.sup.2 becomes greater, the value of R.sub.ds becomes more significant as a weighting factor, and a larger die becomes advantageous. To appreciate the importance of the load current, note that at I=0.9 A the peak efficiency occurs at die size of about 0.5, while at I=0.1 A the peak efficiency occurs at a die size of about 0.1. In other words, the size of the die would have to vary by a factor of about five in order to obtain maximum efficiency at both high and low load currents. Looking at the matter another way, if a die size of 0.25 were selected to maximize the efficiency (95%) at I=0.3 A, the efficiency of the switch would fall to about 92% in the high current condition and to about 90% in the low current condition. This in itself might be acceptable, but recall that the efficiency of the switch also varies with the battery voltage. The two effects are additive. The combined effects could create unacceptably low levels of efficiency.
FIG. 4F shows the same data as FIG. 4E as a function of channel resistance.
FIGS. 4G and 4H show the same data as FIGS. 4E and 4F, respectively, except that the low current has been reduced from 0.1 A to 0.05 A and, in FIG. 4G, the horizontal axis has been limited to a normalized die size ranging from 0.05 to 0.4, which is the interval of interest. The peak efficiency at the low current occurs at a die size that is well under 0.1. At that die size, if the current suddenly went to 0.9 A the efficiency would drop all the way down to around 77%. Clearly, a die size of less than 0.1 is completely incompatible with the high current condition.
FIGS. 4I and 4J show the same data as FIGS. 4G and 4H, respectively, plotted on semilog paper.
The main point is that all of these figures show significant variations in the optimum die size for different levels of current. At light current conditions, one way to improve efficiency is to reduce the gate drive losses (the Q.sub.g V.sub.gs f term in the above equation). Once V.sub.gs (which is the same as the battery voltage V.sub.b) has been set, the amount of charge Q.sub.g is determined by the die size. That leaves the frequency f is the only remaining variable, and in fact one way to solve the problem is to switch to a lower frequency at light load conditions. For example, if the converter is normally operating at 1 Mhz, the frequency could be reduced by an order of magnitude to 100 kHz, or even two orders of magnitude to 10 kHz. As a result the Q.sub.g V.sub.gs f term becomes insignificant and only conduction losses are present at light load conditions. The problem with this solution is that switching the frequency takes a finite amount of time. For example, if the current suddenly increases and the efficiency falls to 65% or 70%, it takes some time to increase the frequency back up to the normal level. During the time interval while the converter is trying to speed up to the high frequency, the output voltage sags. Conversely, when the converter attempts to reduce the frequency, the output voltage may overshoot. In either case, voltage regulation is momentarily lost. Moreover, frequency shifting produces a range of harmonics which cannot readily be filtered out. This can present serious problems, particularly for converters that are used in communications equipment.
There is therefore a need for a MOSFET and a DC-DC converter design which provide low gate capacitive losses during light load conditions while providing low conduction losses during normal load conditions, without relying on frequency shifting or burst mode techniques.

Multiple gated MOSFET for use in DC-DC converter


A Light-Emitting Diode (LED) apparatus has a power source outputting a source DC power at a source DC voltage, a plurality of LEDs drivable at a driving DC voltage lower than the source DC voltage, and an electrical path connecting the power source to each LED for powering the LED by the power source. Each electrical path comprises a first portion connected to the power source at the source DC voltage and a second portion connected to the LED at the driving DC voltage, and the length of the first portion is longer than that of the second portion.

Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs) are known and have been widely used in industries, mostly as low-power light indicators. In recent years, LEDs with increased power output or increased luminous intensity have been developed and used for illumination. LED lights provide improved energy efficiency, safety, and reliability, and are replacing other types of lights in the market such as incandescent lights, Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs), and the like. As everyday lighting significantly contributes to the burden on power grids and greatly increases the overall requirements for electricity generation, the energy efficiency of LEDs will play a crucial role in future energy savings. It is likely that LEDs will dominate the lighting markets because of their superior energy efficiency.
LEDs with increased power output or increased luminous intensity have also been used for image/video displays such as digital signage and the like. Digital LED signage is a fast-growing industry due to the increasing demand for marketing, advertising, and the like.
Prior-art digital LED signage displays utilize separate power conversion units along with LED drivers to provide electrical power to the LEDs from an external power source such as a power grid. While external power sources usually output alternate-current (AC) power, LEDs generally require direct-current (DC) power. Consequently, the power conversion unit of a digital LED signage requires both an AC-to-DC (AC/DC) converter and a DC-to-DC (DC/DC) converter to convert the AC input power from the external power source into DC power suitable for LEDs. Such converters, however, are usually bulky and heavy. Moreover, they usually produce significant amounts of heat and thus need suitable cooling means such as fans or large heat-sinks for heat dissipation. A well-designed thermal management system is essential to a power conversion unit for LEDs.
FIG. 1 shows an example of a prior-art LED signage display 10. As shown, the LED signage display 10 comprises one or more LED display modules 12 having a plurality of LEDs for display, and a cabinet 14 for accommodating various electrical components of the LED signage display 10 such a power converter, a central controller, and the like. The LED display modules 12 are connected to the electrical components in the cabinet 14 via one or more cables (not shown). In this example, the LED display module 12 is physically coupled to the cabinet 14. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that, in some prior-art LED signage displays 10, the LED display modules 12 may be physically separated from the cabinet 14.
FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of the commonly available LED signage 10. As shown, the LED display module 12 of the LED signage 10 is electrically connected to a power converter 18 and a central controller 20 in the cabinet 14 via one or more cables 16A and 16B. In other words, the power converter 18 and a central controller 20 are physically separated from the LED display module 12 and are electrically connected thereto via the cables 16A and 16B.
The LED display module 12 comprises one or more LED drivers 22 driving a plurality of LEDs 24 which are usually arranged in a matrix form having one or more rows and one or more columns. Each LED 24 may be a single-color LED that only emits a single-color light such as a red, green, or blue light, or a multi-color LED such as a tri-color LED that can selectively emit multiple colored lights such as red, green, and blue lights. If single-color LEDs are used, the single-color LEDs may be grouped into one or more LED sets with each LED set comprising a red, green, and blue LEDs arranged in close proximity with each other, thereby forming a pixel of the LED display module 12. On the other hand, if tri-color LEDs are used, each tri-color LED forms a pixel of the LED display module 12.
The LED drivers 22 receive electrical power from the power converter 18 via one or more power wires or cables 16A for powering the LEDs 24. The LED drivers 22 also receive control signals from the central controller 20 via one or more signal wires or cables 16B for regulating the power delivered to the LEDs 24, thereby controlling the lighting of each LED 24 (for example, off, on, lighting intensity, color, and/or the like) for controlling the display of the LED signage 10. Depending on the driving capacity of the LED drivers 22, each LED driver 22 may be electrically connected to and may regulate a subset of the LEDs 24 for example 4, 8, or 16 LEDs 24.
As described before, the power converter 18 is located in the cabinet 14, and is physically separated from the LED display module 14 but electrically connected thereto via the electrical cables 16A and 16B. The power converter 18 comprises an AC/DC converter 26 and a DC/DC converter 28. The AC/DC converter 26 converts the AC electrical power from an external power source 30 into high-voltage DC power and outputs the converted high-voltage DC power to the DC/DC converter 28. The DC/DC converter 28 converts the high-voltage DC power received from the AC/DC converter 26 into low-voltage DC power (for example, at about 5V, 7.5V, or the like) suitable for powering the LEDs 24 in the LED display module 12, and outputs the low-voltage DC power to the LED display module 12 via the cable 16A. Therefore, existing LED signage displays 10 have a low-voltage power distribution (for example, 5V) to their LED display modules 12.
As described above, each LED driver 22 is electrically connected to the central controller 20 via the cable 16B. The central controller 20 is functionally connected to one or more computing devices 32 such as a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a smartphone, a tablet, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and the like, via suitable wired or wireless connection for receiving instructions therefrom. In response to the received instructions, the central controller 20 sends control signals to the LED drivers 22 to regulates the power delivered to the LEDs 24 of the LED display module 12, thereby controlling the lighting (for example, off, on, the lighting intensity, color, and the like) of each LED 24 thereof for controlling the display of the LED signage 10.
FIG. 2B is a circuit diagram showing an LED driver 22 driving a plurality of LEDs 24 in the LED display module 12. For ease of illustration, FIG. 2B only shows three LEDs 24 emitting red, green, and blue lights, respectively, and forming a pixel of the LED display module 12.
As shown, each LED 24 is electrically connected in series to a resister R and a switch 34 such as a semiconductor switch and, for example, a metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) switch. The LED driver 22 receives control signals from the central controller (not shown in FIG. 2B) via a wired data bus 38, and individually controls each switch 34 via an electrical wire 40 to: (i) turn the respective LED 24 on and off, and (ii) control the luminous intensity thereof.
The LED driver 22 uses a Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) scheme to turn the respective switch 34 on and off at a sufficiently high frequency for controlling the electrical current flowing through each LED 24. In particular, the LED driver 22 adjusts the duty cycle of the pulse-width modulated current to control the luminous intensity of each LED 24 thereby controlling the luminous intensity thereof. By increasing the duration of the duty cycle, the duration of time that the switch 34 is turned on is increased and thus the current flowing therethrough becomes larger, thereby making the LED 24 brighter. By controlling the luminous intensity of the light emitted from each of the red, green, and blue LED 24 in a pixel in response to a set of control signals sent to the LED driver 22 via the data bus 38, the color of the pixel may be dynamically adjusted for displaying an image on the LED display module 12. FIG. 2C shows a prior-art LED driver 22 disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,586,890 to Min, et al.
There are several challenges and difficulties associated with the prior-art digital LED signage displays. For example, due to the fact that a low DC voltage is distributed from the power converter 18 to the LED display module 12, the electrical current in the power cable 16A (see FIG. 2A) and in other wiring of the LED signage display 10 is significantly large (as the power consumption of the LED signage display 10 is constant), thereby causing substantial amounts of energy losses in the form of heat. Therefore, a prior-art digital LED signage display usually requires multiple fans and/or large heat-sinks for heat dissipation, and consequently requires an effective thermal management system. The large amount of generated heat is also a risk to safety and reliable operation of digital LED signage displays.
Moreover, using fans or rotational parts for the digital LED signage display significantly reduces its reliability since the rotational parts are usually the points of failure in these products.
As each LED driver 22 is connected to the central controller 20 via the cable 16B (for example, a ribbon cable), a large digital LED signage display 10 generally requires one or more ribbon cables 16B having a large number of wires therein, which makes the digital LED signage display 10 expensive and unreliable since there is a high risk that the wires in ribbon cables may get disconnected and/or damaged over time, particularly in outdoor applications.
In addition, prior-art LED drivers are not able to smoothly modulate the current flowing through the LEDs thereby decreasing the quality of images displayed on the LED signage during color transitions.

LED apparatus with integrated power supply and a method of employing same


To measure the channel quality of the own cell accurately in a condition where there is no interference from a neighbor cell. A wireless communication terminal according to the invention is a wireless communication terminal to be connected to a base station for transmitting and receiving data to/from the base station, the wireless communication terminal including: a receiver that receives a signal which includes control information provided for measuring a channel quality of own cell from the base station; an extractor that extracts the control information from the signal received by the receiver; a measurement section that measures, on the basis of the control information, the channel quality of the own cell in a domain where a neighbor cell does not transmit a signal; and a transmitter that transmits a measurement result of the channel quality of the own cell measured by the measurement section, to the base station.

The 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) which is an international mobile communication standardization group has started the standardization of LTE-Advanced (Long Term Evolution-Advanced, LTE-A) as a fourth generation mobile communication system. As in Non-patent Literature 1, in LTE-A, a relay technology of relaying radio signals by using a relay node is being studied with the goals of coverage expansion and capacity improvement.
Now, referring to FIG. 20, the relay technology will be described. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a wireless communication system that relays radio signals by using the relay technology. In FIG. 20, eNB represents a base station, RN represents a relay node, and UE represents a wireless communication terminal. Moreover, UE1 represents a wireless communication terminal connected to eNB, and UE2 represents a wireless communication terminal connected to RN.
In LTE-A, it is being studied that RN has an individual cell ID as in eNB, and thereby, when viewed from UE, RN can be regarded as one cell like eNB. eNB is connected to a network by wired communication, whereas RN is connected to eNB by wireless communication. A communication channel connecting between RN and eNB is called a backhaul channel. On the other hand, a communication channel connecting between eNB or RN and UE is called an access channel.
On the downlink channel, for example as shown in FIG. 20, RN receives signals from eNB on the backhaul channel (an arrow A in the figure), and transmits the signals to UE2 on the access channel of RN (an arrow B in the figure). When the backhaul channel and the access channel are allocated in the same frequency bandwidth, if RN performs transmission and reception at the same time, an interference due to feedback occurs. For this reason, RN cannot perform transmission and reception at the same time. Consequently, in LTE-A, a relay method is being studied in which the backhaul channel and the access channel of RN are allocated while being divided by the time domain (in units of subframes).
Referring to FIG. 21, the above-mentioned relay method will be described. FIG. 21 is a diagram showing the subframe structure on the downlink channel in the relay method. Reference designations [n, n+1, . . . ] in the figure represent subframe numbers, and boxes in the figure represent subframes on the downlink channel. Moreover, the following are shown: transmission subframes of eNB (crosshatched parts in the figure), reception subframes of UE1 (blank parts in the figure), transmission subframes of RN (rightward hatched parts in the figure), and reception subframes of UE2 (leftward hatched parts in the figure).
As shown by the arrows (thick lines) in FIG. 21, signals are transmitted from eNB in all the subframes [n, n+1, n+6]. Moreover, as shown by the arrows (thick lines) or the arrows (broken lines) in FIG. 21, UE1 is capable of performing reception in all the subframes. On the other hand, as shown by the arrows (broken lines) or the arrows (thin lines) in FIG. 21, at RN, signals are transmitted in the subframes except for the subframe numbers [n+2, n+6]. Moreover, as shown by the arrows (thin lines) of FIG. 21, UE2 is capable of receiving signals in the subframes except for the subframe numbers [n+2, n+6]. And RN receives signals from eNB in the subframes of the subframe numbers [n+2, n+6]. That is, at RN, the subframes of the subframe numbers [n+2, n+6] serve as the backhaul channel, and the other subframes serve as the access channel of RN.
However, if RN transmits no signal from eNB in the subframes [n+2, n+6] where RN serves as the backhaul, a problem arises in that a measurement operation to measure the quality of RN does not function at an LTE wireless communication terminal that does not know the presence of RN. As a method of solving this problem, in LTE-A, it is considered to use an MBSFN (Multicast/Broadcast over Single Frequency Network) subframe defined in LTE.
The MBSFN subframe is a subframe prepared to realize an MBMS (Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Service) service in the future. The MBSFN subframe is designed to transmit cell-specific control information at the first two symbols and transmit signals for the MBMS in the domains of the third and subsequent symbols. Consequently, LTE wireless communication terminals are capable of performing measurement by using the first two symbols in the MBSFN subframe.
The MBSFN subframe can be spuriously used in RN cells. That is, in the RN cell, at the first two symbols of the MBSFN subframe, the control information specific to the RN cell is transmitted, and in the domains of the third and subsequent symbols, signals from eNB are received without the data for the MBMS being transmitted. Consequently, in RN cells, the MBSFN subframe can be used as the reception subframe on the backhaul channel. Hereinafter, the MBSFN subframe spuriously used in the RN cell as mentioned above will be called "MBSFN subframe that RN uses as the backhaul".
Here, in the subframes [n+2, n+6] of RN in FIG. 21, since no signal is transmitted from RN, for UE1, the interference from RN is eliminated, so that SIR (signal to interference power ratio) improves. eNB positively allocates UE where SIR improves in the subframes [n+2, n+6], so that the user throughput at UE improves and this improves the throughput of the whole cells. Therefore, to improve the throughput of the whole cells, it is necessary for eNB to know the channel quality at UE.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Communication apparatus and communication method for measuring a channel quality indicator (CQI)


The invention relates to a method for propelling a vehicle comprising a first power source being an internal combustion engine and a second power source comprising at least one electrical machine. The vehicle is configured to be selectively driven according to a first mode and a second mode, wherein said second mode is prioritized more in relation to fuel efficiency of said vehicle than said first mode. When a maximum power for propelling said vehicle is requested, power delivered by said first power source and said second power source is controlled such that the total power delivered by said first and said second power source exceeds the maximum deliverable power of said first power source. The total power delivered by said first and said second power source is allowed to exceed the maximum deliverable power of said first power source when said vehicle is driven according to said second mode.

With regard to vehicles in general, and at least to some extent heavy/commercial vehicles, such as trucks, buses and the like, there is an ongoing research and development with regard to increasing fuel efficiency and reducing exhaust emissions.
This is often at least partly due to growing governmental concerns in pollution and air quality, e.g. in urban areas, which has also led to the adoption of various emission standards and rules in many jurisdictions.
Apart from governmental concerns, one of the main expenses associated with vehicle operation is consumption of fuel for propulsion of the vehicle. The degree of utilization of heavy vehicles is often high, and with its associated fuel consumption, the cost of fuel can affect the profitability of the owner of the vehicle to a great extent.
In view of this, alternatives to the sole use of conventional combustion engine technology in a vehicle are increasingly being considered.
For example, hybrid-electric vehicles are undergoing extensive research and development. These vehicles include an electrical machine, which may be utilized to provide power for propelling the vehicle.
Commercial vehicles are often used for transportation of goods from one location to another, and, in general, spend a lot of time travelling on roads, for which reason a lot of effort in research and development with regard to such vehicles is spent on methods for reducing fuel consumption. However, in addition to reducing fuel consumption, efforts are also made to make driving of the vehicle comfortable to the driver, since in general in particular commercial vehicles sell at least partly on aspects being considered important from a driver point of view.

Method and system for propelling a vehicle


A method for the operation of a brake system having two brake circuits, with a recuperative brake, in particular an electrical generator, a master brake cylinder and a brake pedal simultaneously achieve optimized use of the regenerative braking and a constant braking experience for the driver with the highest safety requirements. When there is a braking demand by the driver with an associated desired braking torque and a first condition is met, at least one outlet valve is opened and brake fluid is conducted with an associated volume of brake fluid into at least one reservoir and the at least one outlet valve is then closed if a second condition is met. The first condition is met if a braking variable corresponding to the braking demand is not less than a specified minimum value. The second condition is met if the volume of brake fluid has flowed into the reservoirs.

The electric motor is gaining increasing importance as a replacement for or as a complement to internal combustion engines for driving motor vehicles. This is happening inter alia because of the environmental compatibility and the energy efficiency. The electric motor has still further advantages compared to the internal combustion engine, e.g. the full availability of the torque at low revolution rates and the lower noise generation.
The electrical energy that is required during operation of the motor vehicle is usually stored in batteries or accumulators. Said accumulators can e.g. be charged at charging stations provided especially for this purpose through a connection to the power supply system. A disadvantage with purely electrically powered vehicles is reduced range in comparison to motor vehicles that are powered by internal combustion engine. Mechanisms are usually therefore provided, with which the motor vehicle can be supplied with electrical energy or with which the batteries can be recharged even while in running operation. This is e.g. possible by means of the partial recovery of the kinetic energy during deceleration of the vehicle. The electric motor is operated as a generator during this. In this way the net traveling time, during which the motor vehicle can be operated purely electrically, increases. However, even in systems, e.g. hybrid systems, in which the electric motor is acting as a complement to an internal combustion engine, this type of energy regeneration can be usefully employed.
In addition to the recuperative energy generation and the resulting braking of the motor vehicle, conventional operating brakes are also provided for such vehicles, which have two separate associated brake circuits. Said operating brakes can e.g. be of hydraulic, electrohydraulic or electromechanical design. Their presence is on the one hand important in driving situations or operating situations in which the target braking torque intended by the driver exceeds the braking torque actually available from the generator. On the other hand, even if the generator fails or in situations in which the generator cannot supply any significant braking torque, safe and timely braking of the motor vehicle must be guaranteed.
Regenerative brake systems for recuperative regeneration of energy can be implemented in technically different ways. For example, such a brake system can be designed as an electrohydraulic brake system having two brake circuits and respectively associated hydraulic operating brakes, wherein the brake pedal is connected to an actuating unit and wherein a hydraulic control and regulating unit is provided, which conducts brake fluid into the operating brakes in the event of a braking demand by the driver.
Modern brake systems contain further extended functionalities, e.g. such as an anti-lock brake system (ABS) and/or an electronic stability program (ESP), by means of which pressure can be built up and reduced in a controlled manner in the individual brakes, whereby the vehicle can be stabilized during braking or if there is a danger of skidding.
In order to implement such functionalities, the brake system usually comprises at least one volume reservoir for brake fluid, which is normally in the form of a low pressure reservoir. Furthermore, valves are provided, by means of which brake fluid can be drawn from the brakes into the corresponding low pressure reservoir in a controlled manner, whereby the brake pressure is reduced. Hydraulic pumps are usually used for the active recovery of said volume of brake fluid.
In order to utilize the maximum available generator braking torque with such a brake system and hence also the maximum possible energy yield, the operation of the brake pedal must be decoupled from direct control of the wheel brakes. This relates to vehicles with a full or partial electric drive, which is designed for energy generation by means of regenerative brakes. Design solutions for this purpose are already known, whose disadvantage however consists in that mechanical free travel is provided in the transmission between brake pedal and wheel brakes, which cannot be adapted to the actual generator braking effect and in particular is to be taken into account as a missing volume in the event of a fault in the brake system. Depending on the situation, i.e. depending on the vehicle speed, the desired braking torque and the currently available generator braking torque, this means inter alia that for the driver of the vehicle a different pedal displacement results for the desired braking torque. The driver can be confused by this, because depending on the driving situation the same operation of the brake pedal leads to different braking behavior of the vehicle.

Method for operating a brake system, brake systems in which the method is carried out and motor vehicles comprising said brakes systems


A universal joint includes a pair of yokes and a joint cross. The pair of yokes have mutually identical shapes. Each of the yokes has a proximal portion and a pair of arm portions at which the joint cross is mounted. The proximal portion has an insertion hole for mounting a shaft, a slit formed along the insertion hole and a bolt insertion hole for fastening the slit. A positional relationship between the proximal portion and the pair of arm portions is set such that a line segment that connects the pair of arm portions to each other and an insertion direction in which a bolt is inserted in the bolt insertion hole intersect with each other at 45°. The bolt insertion holes of the pair of yokes coupled by the joint cross face the same side.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a universal joint that is used in, for example, a steering system of an automobile and a yoke that constitutes the universal joint.
2. Description of Related Art
For example, a steering system of an automobile, which is described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-299706 (JP 2009-299706 A), includes a steering wheel, a steering shaft coupled to the steering wheel, an intermediate shaft coupled to the steering shaft, and a steering gear unit coupled to the intermediate shaft. As the steering wheel is steered, the steering torque (the rotational force of the steering wheel) is transmitted to the steering gear unit via the steering shaft and the intermediate shaft sequentially, and the steering gear unit turns wheels on the basis of the steering torque. The steering shaft and the intermediate shaft are generally not aligned along the same straight line. In the steering system described in JP 2009-299706 A, the steering shaft and the intermediate shaft are coupled to each other by a universal joint.
The universal joint includes a yoke coupled to an end portion of the steering shaft, a yoke coupled to an end portion of the intermediate shaft, and a joint cross. Each of the yokes has a proximal portion and a pair of arm portions that extend from an axial distal end periphery of the proximal portion. The proximal portion has a cylindrical shape having an insertion hole through which the end portion of the steering shaft or the end portion of the intermediate shaft is inserted. A slit is formed at one portion in the circumference of the proximal portion, and extends in the axial direction of the proximal portion to split the one portion in the circumference. A pair of flanges are respectively formed integrally at the proximal portion on both sides of the slit. A bolt insertion hole is formed in each of the flanges, and extends in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the proximal portion.
In the yoke, when the end portion of the steering shaft or intermediate shaft is inserted through the insertion hole of the proximal portion and then a bolt is assembled into the bolt insertion holes of the flanges, the flanges deform in mutually approaching directions such that the width of the slit is reduced. Accordingly, the insertion hole is narrowed. Therefore, the end portion of the steering shaft or intermediate shaft, which is inserted in the insertion hole, closely contacts the proximal portion, so the yoke and the steering shaft or intermediate shaft are firmly coupled to each other.
A circular hole is formed in each arm portion of the yoke. Among four shaft portions of the joint cross, a pair of the shaft portions arranged along the same straight line are respectively inserted through the circular holes of the arm portions of the steering shaft-side yoke via bearings, and a remaining pair of the shaft portions are respectively inserted through the circular holes of the arm portions of the intermediate shaft-side yoke via bearings. By so doing, the joint cross is rotatably supported by the arm portions of the steering shaft-side yoke and the arm portions of the intermediate shaft-side yoke. Thus, as the steering wheel is steered, steering torque of the steering wheel is initially transmitted to the steering shaft to cause the steering shaft to rotate and is subsequently transmitted from the steering shaft to the intermediate shaft via the joint cross to cause the intermediate shaft to rotate.
In JP 2009-299706 A, there are types of yoke, that is, a type in which bolt insertion holes extend parallel to a direction in which a pair of arm portions face each other (referred to as type 1, and see FIG. 1 of JP 2009-299706 A) and a type in which bolt insertion holes extend perpendicular to a direction in which a pair of arm portions face each other (referred to as type 2, and see FIG. 13 of JP 2009-299706 A). In the case where a pair of yokes in a universal joint are formed of only one of type 1 and type 2, in a finished universal joint, a direction in which bolt insertion holes extend in one of yokes and a direction in which bolt insertion holes extend in the other one of the yokes deviate by 90° and do not coincide with each other. Therefore, in the case where a universal joint is coupled between two shafts, that is, a steering shaft and an intermediate shaft, when the corresponding shafts are inserted through the insertion holes of the yokes and bolts are assembled into the bolt insertion holes of the yokes, the bolt insertion holes of each yoke are not seen from the same side, and the bolt insertion holes of only one of the yokes are seen. Then, it is required to, after the bolt is assembled into the bolt insertion holes of the one of the yokes, shift the universal joint by 90° around its axis as a whole to allow the bolt insertion holes of the other one of the yokes to be seen, and then assemble the bolt into the bolt insertion holes of the other one of the yokes. That is, it is not possible to assemble the bolt into the bolt insertion holes of each yoke at a time, so it is inconvenient.
On the other hand, in the case where a universal joint is formed using a yoke of type 1 and a yoke of type 2 one by one, in a finished universal joint, a direction in which bolt insertion holes extend in one of the yokes and a direction in which bolt insertion holes extend in the other one of the yokes coincide with each other. Therefore, in the case where the universal joint is coupled between two shafts, when the bolt is assembled into the bolt insertion holes of each yoke, the bolt insertion holes of each yoke face the same side, so it is possible to assemble the bolt into the bolt insertion holes of each yoke at a time. However, in this case, it is necessary to prepare yokes of two types, that is, type 1 and type 2, so cost increases in manufacturing and control of yokes.


Transitioning a data file in an archive system from read-write to write-once-read-many (“WORM”) is triggered by a control file rather than using a timeout approach or a overload approach. A storage manager may receive a series of archive instructions to write a data file to an archive. During this time, the archive file may be in a read-write state. The storage manager may receive a control file, which may be structured, such as an XML file. Receipt of the control file signals to an storage manager archive system that the data file has been written to the archive and triggers the storage manager to make the data file immutable by switching it from read-write state to WORM state.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to computer archive software. Particularly, this invention relates to computer archive software that stores immutable data objects such as Write-Once-Read-Many ("WORM") files.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer archive software stores data objects, such as files, in order to preserve them for a period of time. The files in the archive are required to be immutable—after the file is completely written, it is not allowed to be changed. Determining when a file has been completely written is problematic. Protocols for sending data to the archive system (such as NFS) do not provide an open/close semantic, making it impossible to simply declare the object to be immutable at close.
Prior archive systems rely on timeout approaches or overload approaches to determine when a file is completely written and can therefore be changed to be immutable. Using a timeout approach, an archive system waits a certain period of time (such as 30 or 60 seconds) following the last write to the object before declaring the object immutable. Such a timeout approach works but is subject to failures. For example, a network outage or application pause may cause the timeout period to pass without the application having finished writing the file. When the timeout period passes, an archive system using the timeout approach will transition the file to immutable. A failure will occur when the application sends a subsequent write. Such an error forces the archive system to create a new object and to start over.
Other archive systems use an overload approach. With this technique, following completion of the writing of an object to the archive, an update to a file attribute signals the archive system to treat the file as immutable. U.S. Pat. No. 7,155,460 by McGovern et al. discloses an overload approach in which "the client calls up the file properties dialog and sets the read-only attribute for the WORM file on drive W. The file server's file system recognizes the transition of the file from not-read-only to read-only state and thenceforth designates the file as WORM and all the above restrictions or modification, changes in attribute, etc. are enforced. Significantly, any subsequent attempt by the client to modify the read-only state of the file is denied, and a permission denied message is returned to the client from the file server" (col. 13, lines 29-40). The overload approach requires modification to the application to enable it to overload the file attribute in the agreed-upon fashion to indicate that the file should be transitioned to WORM.

Transitioning an archived file to write-once-read-many

International Business Machines Corporation


A solid state waveguide laser system is comprised of a cavity resonator formed of a solid state gain medium extending between input and output surfaces and having a reflectivity medium laterally bounding the gain medium and wherein the index of refraction of the reflectivity medium is greater than that of the gain medium.

Many experiments have been carried out that demonstrate the feasibility of lasers in solid state gain material which use a single mode waveguide structure (D. C. Hanna in "Tunable Solid State Lasers" edited by M. L. Shand and H. P. Jenssen, published by the Optical Society of America, Washington, D.C., 1989, pages 340 and 350). The waveguides in these cases are either made in the form of a glass fiber or are produced by diffusion of ions into a gain medium, such as, lithium niobate. Both the pump radiation and the laser radiation are confined to propagate in these single-mode guides with little loss in energy except for the absorption of the pump laser radiation. In addition to these single mode waveguide lasers, multimode waveguide lasers have been demonstrated for the case of gas lasers ("High Pressure Waveguide Gas Lasers" P. W. Smith, in Laser Spectroscopy, edited by R. G. Brewer and A. Mooradian, Plenum Press, New York, 1974, pg. 247. "Wideband Waveguide CO2 Laser", R. L. Abrams, ibid). In a usual single mode fiber optical waveguide, the refractive index of the core is greater than the cladding region in order to confine the wave. In the case of multimode waveguide, this need not be the case. The reflectivity of the surface of the interface is a strong function of the angle of incidence and becomes nearly 100% for grazing incidence. The fundamental spatial mode will propagate with the lowest loss in such a structure. Propagation of modes in such waveguides has been described in "Optical Waveguides" by N. S. Kapany and J. J. Burke, Academic Press, New York, 1972, pages 301-319.
Typical dimensions for such a cavity structure are such that D.sup.2 /.lambda.1.ltoreq.1, where D is the width of the cavity resonator, 1 is its length, and .lambda. is the wavelength in the resonator medium. In the case of the carbon dioxide gas laser, the guiding structure has been made from beryllium oxide, aluminum oxide, or copper. For these waveguide gas lasers, the refractive index of the gain medium is near unity.


Provided is an optical pulse-generator and an optical pulse-generating method which are capable of generating an optical pulse train with an arbitrary pattern. An optical pulse-generator 1 includes a first optical modulator 21 configured to modulate input light using a first modulation signal SIG1 to generate optical pulses, a second optical modulator 41 configured to perform a modulation operation using a second modulation signal SIG2 synchronizing with the first modulation signal SIG1 and having a signal pattern that is set to output only specific part of the optical pulses, and a dispersion compensator 30 configured to compensate a chirp of the optical pulse output from the first optical modulator 21.

In the past, as a technique that generates an optical pulse, a method is known in which a light is modulated to produce an optical frequency comb made up of a number of high-order frequency components, thereby turns the light into pulses, and furthermore, the optical pulse is compressed by using a dispersion compensator (for example, refer to PTL 1).
However, in the method of the related art, while it is possible to change the repetition frequency of an optical pulse, it is not possible to generate an optical pulse train with an arbitrary pattern.

Optical pulse-generator and optical pulse-generating method


A compressor (1) with at least one piston (9) movable in a cylinder (10), a drive shaft (2) and a wobble plate arrangement (4, 5) between piston (9) and drive shaft (2), having an inclined plate (4) with variable inclination angle, and with a spring arrangement (17; 41 to 43), acting on the wobble plate arrangement in the direction of a minimum displacement. Such a compressor should also be able to operate at higher pressures without increasing its size, e.g. to enable the use of CO.sub.2 as refrigerant. For this purpose the spring arrangement (17; 41 to 43) acts on the wobble plate arrangement (4, 5) in the area of the radial edge.

The invention concerns a compressor with at least one piston movable in a cylinder, a drive shaft, and a wobble plate arrangement between piston and drive shaft, having an inclined plate with variable inclination angle, and with a spring arrangement acting on the wobble plate arrangement in the direction of a minimum displacement.
Such a compressor is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,387,091.
Compressors of this kind are e.g. applied in vehicle air-conditioning systems. In view of the increasing attention on environmental loads, attempts have been made in recent years to find replacements for the environmentally harmful refrigerants used till now. Particularly in the field of vehicles there is a risk that an accident may cause such refrigerants to emerge and escape into the environment. E.g. carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) may be considered as new refrigerant. However, this refrigerant requires relatively high pressures, so the force to be applied by the spring must be correspondingly high. On the other hand, however, an increase in the size of the compressor is not wanted. Particularly in the vehicle field, where such compressors must be placed in the engine compartment, the space available is limited.


A spray device includes an opening gap between a needle-shaped needle tip and a first nozzle hole. The gap is adjusted by a very tiny amount by a needle movement amount adjustment device, and liquid oozes from the first nozzle hole along the needle tip part. The liquid is formed into tiny particles by a first atomization compressed gas flowing through the first atomization compressed gas passage and is exhausted from a second nozzle hole. The exhaust flow passes through a third nozzle hole and is exhausted. The third nozzle's second atomization/eddy flow formation compressed gas collides with this exhaust flow, so the exhaust flow is made into even smaller particles, and swirls and disperses, and is applied to the coated object.

When forming a film of a photoresist agent or functional film whose dry film thickness is 10 μm or less on a semiconductor silicon wafer or glass substrate, application technologies such as spin coaters or bar coaters, etc. have generally been used. This works well with a semiconductor silicon wafer or glass substrate which is flat, or when the surface to which the resist agent is applied is planar, but when the surface is uneven, and not flat, and application is made with a spin coater, the coating material may fly off when performing the necessary rotation of the coated object. Also, it is difficult to form a film with a spin coater or bar coater, etc., on a spherical object or a cylindrical object, which have shapes that cannot be rotated. Also, if the coated surface is uneven (i.e., the surface has a large aspect ratio) or has depressions or holes, it is not possible to coat the uneven part or the sides and bottoms of depressions or the sides of holes, etc.
Therefore, methods have been studied for forming a film of a coating material using a spray gun, but to obtain a film whose dry thickness is 10 μm or less the particle diameter of the atomized liquid is generally about 10 μm to 20 μm, so there are undulations in the coating film, variation in film thickness, bubbles, etc. are attached, considerable time is required to determine the coating condition settings, and it is difficult to obtain a film thickness with good precision. When spraying is performed using an ordinary air spray gun, the particle diameter of the coating material is generally about 10 μm to 15 μm even if viscosity is reduced to 20 CPS or lower.
In that case, when adhering and accumulating coating particles at the uneven part of a 20 μm stepped area, the particle diameter is large, so the coating material sags at the corner of the recessed part and becomes too thin. If one attempts to make the particle diameter finer, such as 10 μm or smaller, a film cannot be formed unless the atomization air pressure increases to 0.4 MPa or higher and the amount dispensed is reduced. In this case, the atomization air pressure is too strong, and the particles that are 10 μm or smaller adhere to the coated object unevenly, and the coating efficiency falls to 30% or less, and it is not successful as an application device. If the usual dry film thickness is 10 μm in an ordinary flat-surface coating, the film thickness precision of a spray is ±10% or more.
When forming a film as thin as 10 μm or less, an air atomization spray is generally the most inexpensive spray system. There are also spray guns which can perform atomization using an ultrasonic atomization system, but the spray speed is too slow, and in practice adhesion to the coated object is uneven, so they are generally used in humidifiers, etc. Also, in airless spray systems and centrifugal atomization systems the viscosity of the liquid is reduced to 20 CPS or lower to form particles of 10 μm and smaller, but they have the defect that at a location 300 mm or farther from the spray exhaust exit only about 20% of the entire dispensed amount is formed, and in addition they are not suitable for low dispensing amounts in which 30 cc or less is applied to the coated object each minute. Therefore, it is customary to consider a two-fluid spray system using air atomization when forming a film as thin as 10 μm or less. However, as described above, the biggest disadvantage is that the coating efficiency is extremely low—about 20-30%—and it has not been possible to achieve a coating film thickness precision of ±5% or less, as with a spin coater, in the film thickness region of 10 μm or less.
Accordingly, using a spray system known as an air brush, which is a special spray system, has also been considered as an air spray. An air brush is a system which utilizes a small hand-held spray gun that is often used when coating plastic components or small products. Its nozzle aperture is 0.5 mm φ or less, and the needle used in coating material exhaust control has a needle shape. When a coating material adheres to and flows out along the needle-shaped needle, the surrounding compressed air atomizes the coating material by the ejector effect. The dispensed amount can be limited to 5 cc or less each minute, and it is possible to form tiny particles of 10 μm or smaller even when the spray nozzle is as close as about 10 mm, so it is possible to coat the coated object with a high efficiency of 80% or higher because the spray nozzle is close.
On the other hand, a liquid two-stage atomization system like that disclosed in Japanese Patent Document JP 2004-89976A, for example, is known as a system for making tiny particles and applying them using an air spray system. In this atomization method, in the first stage a liquid is atomized by compressed air, and in the second stage swirling air acts on the liquid exhaust flow and additionally promotes atomization, and coating is performed as a swirling exhaust flow.
A spray system using the above-described air brush has difficulty controlling small amounts or very small amounts dispensed. That is, adjusting the amount dispensed is a system in which the needle's stroke is increased or decreased by a manual operation, and so it has the problem that quantitative control and adjustment require considerable skill, and therefore automated coating is difficult. In addition, this spray system has the problem that the applied pattern width is narrow: about 5 mm.
Also, the particle-making/application device disclosed in Japanese Patent Document JP 2004-89976A has the advantage that the atomized pattern is wider than in an air brush system, but it has the problem that performing an adjustment to supply tiny amounts of liquid is difficult.
The present invention seeks to solve the problems of the conventional liquid spray devices described above. Its object is to provide a spray device for a small amount of liquid that forms tiny particles of liquid or molten material at the same level or higher than the ultra-tiny particles formed by ultrasonic atomization or an air brush spray system, and that can easily and reliably adjust the supply of liquid to a desired small amount or a very small amount, and that can perform coating of and adhesion to a coated object efficiently, and that can form a uniform and thin film of a liquid such as a liquid photoresist agent, surface protection film, functional coating agent, etc., on a coated object such as a semiconductor silicon wafer, glass substrate, various transparent members, etc., by spray coating.


The present invention provides a method for induction hardening of a steel member having an outer ring portion and, more specifically, for induction hardening of an outer circumferential surface of the outer ring portion. The method uses two pressing members, each of which includes a flat basal surface and a projecting portion projecting therefrom. Each of the projecting portions has a cross-section in the shape of a perfect circle. Also, the projecting portions have, on the outer circumferences thereof, respective pressing surfaces. While gaps are maintained between axial end faces of the outer ring portion and the basal surfaces of the pressing members, the pressing members are pressed against the outer ring portion so that the pressing surfaces each abut against the inner circumference side of the outer ring portion. While a biasing force is applied to the pressing members, the induction hardening process is applied to the outer circumferential surface. During the induction hardening process, the pressing members are moved toward each other until the basal surfaces abut against respective axial end faces of the outer ring portion.

Ring-shaped steel members such as gears having teeth on their outer circumferential surface are popularly used as parts in various types of mechanical apparatus. For example, a large number of gears including differential ring gears and counter gears are used in automatic transmissions in automobiles.
Generally, such ring-shaped steel members are required to have high-strength characteristics. An example of a method for imparting high-strength characteristics is an induction hardening process applied to the outer circumferential surfaces of the steel members.
The induction hardening process works extremely well as a method for enhancing the strength of the steel members, but also has a possibility of lowering the degree of precision in the dimensions. For example, after an induction hardening process is performed, the roundness of a ring-shaped part may be inferior to the roundness before the process is performed. If the part is of such a type that a loss of roundness does not lower its performance level, there is no problem. However, if the part is of such a type that a loss of roundness lowers its level of performance, it is necessary to add a correction process, after the induction hardening process is performed, in order to improve the roundness of the part.
For this reason, development of a method for preventing loss of roundness during an induction hardening process has been in demand. However, a satisfactory solution had not yet been found.
For example, Japanese Kokai 11-131133 discloses a jig for improving roundness of a circular-tube-shaped member after an induction hardening process has been performed on the inner circumferential surface of the circular-tube-shaped member. It is, however, not possible to use the disclosed jig to improve the roundness when an induction hardening process is performed on the outer circumferential surface of a part.

Induction hardening method and jig used in induction hardening process


A buried thin film resistor having end caps defined by a dielectric mask is disclosed. A thin film resistor is formed on an integrated circuit substrate. A resistor protect layer is formed over the thin film resistor. First and second portions of a first dielectric material are formed over the resistor protect layer over the first and second ends of the thin film resistor. The resistor protect layer is then wet etched using the first and second portions of the first dielectric material as a hard mask. Then a second dielectric layer is deposited. A first via mask and etch process is used to etch vias down to the underlying portions of the resistor protect layer over the ends of the thin film resistor. A second via mask and etch process is used to etch substrate vias to an underlying conductor layer.

In recent years, there have been great advancements in the speed, power, and complexity of integrated circuits. Some types of integrated circuits comprise thin film resistors. When integrated circuit devices that contain thin film resistors are manufactured, different methods may be employed for manufacturing the thin film resistors.
In some prior art methods for manufacturing a thin film resistor the thin film resistor is located at the same level as a conductor interconnect layer. A major disadvantage of this design is that a resistor protect layer (e.g., titanium tungsten (TiW)) that covers the thin film resistor has a topography from which the conductor interconnect layer must be etched away. The resistor protect layer etches in the same dry etch chemistry as the interconnect conductor. This presents a dilemma in that in order to reduce the step height, a thinner resistor protect metal layer is needed. But a layer that is thin enough that will not leave conductive stringers is too thin to survive the conductor dry etch process.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,645,821 a method is disclosed for manufacturing a buried thin film resistor having end caps defined by a resist mask. A major disadvantage of this design is that a resist mask is incompatible with many of the etchants that are used to remove the resistor protect layer. For example, the thin film resistor in U.S. Pat. No. 6,645,821 states that a resistor protect layer of titanium tungsten can be etched with hydrogen peroxide in a resist pattern. This is a problem because the resist material etches in hydrogen peroxide. This makes the resist material unsuitable as a masking material.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an efficient system and method for efficiently providing a resistor protect layer that is able to protect a thin film resistor during the steps of a manufacturing process.

System and method for providing a dual via architecture for thin film resistors


An oxygen concentration detection system including an oxygen sensor which outputs a plurality of types of measurement signals and anomaly detection means and modification means. The anomaly detection means detects a sensor anomaly by determining whether the respective levels of the plurality of types of measurement signals fall within predetermined ranges. When a sensor anomaly is not detected, the modification means outputs the plurality of types of measurement signals as is. When a sensor anomaly is detected, the modification means outputs at least one of the plurality of types of measurement signals at a level outside the corresponding range within which the level of the measurement signal varies in a normal state.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an oxygen concentration detection system and to a vehicle control system which includes the same so as to detect the air-fuel ratio of an internal combustion engine such as a gasoline engine or a diesel engine. More particularly, the present invention relates to an oxygen concentration detection system which can report anomalous conditions of a plurality of types without an increase in the number of signal lines, as well as to a vehicle control system including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a known vehicle control system for an internal combustion engine such as a gasoline engine or a diesel engine, an oxygen sensor is disposed in an exhaust system, and the quantity of fuel supplied to the engine is feedback-controlled in accordance with the sensor output such that the air fuel ratio approaches a target value, whereby CO, NOx, HC, etc. in exhaust gas are reduced.
Know oxygen sensors used in such feedback control include a λ sensor whose output abruptly changes in the vicinity of the theoretical air fuel ratio, and a full range air-fuel-ratio sensor whose output continuously changes from a lean region to a rich region. The full range air-fuel-ratio sensor is advantageous in that it can improve the accuracy of the feedback control as compared with that of the λ sensor.
The full range air-fuel-ratio sensor includes two opposed cells formed of an oxygen-ion conductive solid electrolyte. One of the cells is a pump cell which pumps oxygen out of a clearance (measurement chamber) between the cells and pumps oxygen into the clearance. The other cell is an oxygen-partial-pressure detection cell which produces a voltage corresponding to the difference between a reference oxygen concentration and the oxygen concentration in the measurement chamber. These cells are controlled by means of a control circuit. In the full range air-fuel-ratio sensor, the pump cell is operated such that the output of the oxygen-partial-pressure detection cell is maintained constant, and the oxygen concentration is detected on the basis of the magnitude of current flowing though the pump cell. The operation principle of the full range air-fuel-ratio sensor is described in detail in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. 62-148849 of the present inventors.
Meanwhile, an anomaly detection method for an air-fuel-ratio sensor adapted to detect whether or not the air-fuel-ratio sensor operates normally is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. 3-272452, also of the present inventors, entitled "Anomaly Diagnosis Method for Air-Fuel-Ratio Sensor".
3. Problems Solved by the Invention:
However, in JPA No. 3-272452, since an anomaly is judged on the basis of a variation range of voltage of an oxygen detection cell, the cell is judged to be anomalous even when the voltage temporarily exceeds the range as a result of, for example, noise in the control circuit. Therefore, the anomaly judgment may be erroneous. In order to eliminate the noise problem, a signal line for reporting the occurrence of an anomaly may be added. In this case, the wiring becomes complex, and an input port or the like must be added on the side where a report of occurrence of anomaly is received, leading to increased cost. Moreover, when only one signal line is provided for reporting the occurrence of an anomaly, only simple information can be provided.

Oxygen concentration detection system and vehicle control system having the same


This invention pertains generally to antibacterial compounds of Formula I,

Over the past several decades, the frequency of antimicrobial resistance and its association with serious infectious diseases have increased at alarming rates. The increasing prevalence of resistance among nosocomial pathogens is particularly disconcerting. Of the over 2 million nosocomial infections occuring each year in the United States, 50 to 60% are caused by antimicrobial-resistant strains of bacteria. The high rate of resistance to commonly used antibacterial agents increases the morbidity, mortality, and costs associated with nosocomial infections. In the United States, nosocomial infections are thought to contribute to or cause more than 77,000 deaths per year and cost approximately $5 to $10 billion annually.
Important causes of Gram-negative resistance include extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs), serine carbapenemases (KPCs) and metallo-β-lactamases (for example NDM-1) in Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, and Proteus mirabilis, high-level third-generation cephalosporin (AmpC) β-lactamase resistance among Enterobacter species and Citrobacter freundii, and multidrug-resistance genes observed in Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter, and Stenotrophomonas. The problem of antibacterial resistance is compounded by the existence of bacterial strains resistant to multiple antibacterials. For example, Klebsiella pneumonia harboring NDM-1 metallo-β-lactamase carries frequently additional serine-β-lactamases on the same plasmid that carries the NDM-1.
Thus there is a need for new antibacterials, particularly antibacterial compounds that are effective against existing drug-resistant microbes, or are less susceptible to development of new bacterial resistance. The current invention provides such compounds.

Monobactam organic compounds for the treatment of bacterial infections

Abstract: as further described herein, and pharmaceutically acceptable salts and formulations thereof. In certain aspects, the invention pertains to methods of using such compounds to treat infections such as those caused by Gram-negative bacteria.