Current source for generating a constant reference current having an amplifier circuit, which outputs a negative feedback voltage, present across a first resistor, in inverted amplified fashion as amplification output voltage; a first voltage/current converter, which generates a current in a manner dependent on the amplifier output voltage; a first current mirror circuit, which mirrors the current generated by the voltage/current converter to form a mirrored current which flows through the first resistor in order to generate the negative feedback voltage; and having a second current mirror circuit, which mirrors the current generated by the voltage/current converter to form the reference current.

The invention relates to a current source for generating a constant reference current, in particular for application specific integrated circuits in CMOS technology.
Constant-current sources are provided for supplying a current which, besides being largely independent of operating voltage changes, temperature changes and long-term changes, is independent of the output voltage. Constant-current sources therefore have a very high internal resistance.
In integrated circuits analogue reference current sources are: frequently used for generating bias currents. Current sources of highly diverse designs are known. A constant-current source may be realized as an active two-terminal network having an internal resistance of Ri=∞ by means of negative current feedback or as an active two-terminal network with a regulated clamping current. Constant-current sources also include what are known as current mirror circuits. Current mirrors are an electronic circuit having transistors which serve to generate constant currents from a reference current. Current mirror circuits can be constructed from bipolar transistors or from MOS field-effect transistors, the base or GATE terminals of the two transistors in each case being connected to one another.
In many technical applications, it is important to generate a bias current IBIAS which is independent of fluctuations in the supply voltage. It is important, therefore, that the current source for generating the reference currents or bias currents has a relatively low sensitivity toward fluctuations in the supply voltage VDD. A low supply voltage sensitivity of the reference current source is an important prerequisite for many applications, for example for amplifiers, comparators or oscillators which receive the generated reference current. The oscillator of a phase locked loop PLL generates a signal frequency that is as far as possible independent of the supply voltage. The frequency changes of the phase locked loop brought about by supply voltage fluctuations lead to undesirable jitter of the output signal.
Application specific integrated circuits ASICs in many cases have both a digital circuit section and an analogue circuit section. In this case, the reference current source is integrated within the analogue circuit and generates reference or constant currents for various analogue circuit components, such as, for example, amplifiers, comparators or oscillators. The digital circuit section of the application specific integrated circuit ASIC is clocked with a synchronous clock signal. Both the analogue circuit section and the digital circuit section receive an external supply voltage and are coupled to one another via common power supply lines. What is more, both the analogue circuit section and the digital circuit section are integrated on the same substrate. Supply voltage fluctuations brought about by switching operations in the digital circuit section (spikes) are transmitted to the analogue circuit section via the supply voltage lines. Furthermore, noise brought about by the switching operations within the digital circuit section is transmitted via the common substrate to the analogue circuits, in particular the analogue constant-current source. Therefore, a high PSRR (power supply rejection ratio) of the constant-current source is necessary as the degree of integration increases.
                    PSS        =                                                            Δ                                                                                I                  OUT                                                            I                OUT                                                    Δ                                                                                V                DD                                                                                [                      %            /            volts                    ]                                    (        1        )            where PSS denotes the power supply sensitivity,                IOUT denotes the output current of the current source and        VDD denotes the supply voltage of the current source.
The lower the power supply sensitivity PSS, the less sensitive the current source is toward fluctuations in the supply voltage VDD.
The sensitivity PSS of the current source toward fluctuations in the supply voltage is determined by the circuitry construction of the current source.
FIG. 1 shows a current source which is also referred to as a bootstrapped current source. This current source is described for example in R. L. Geiger, P. E. Allen, N. R. Strader: "VLSI design techniques for analog and digital circuits", McGraw-Hill, International Edition 1990, pages 363–365. The bootstrapped current source BSQ according to the prior art as is shown in FIG. 1 generates a constant reference current (IBIAS) It has two supply voltage terminals VDD and VSS. The negative supply voltage terminal VSS is connected to ground GND, for example. The current source BSQ contains an amplifier circuit AMP having two complementary MOSFET transistors (P1, N1). The GATE of the MOSFET transistor N1 is connected to an input E of the amplifier circuit AMP. The amplifier circuit AMP has an output A, which is connected to the GATE of a MOSFET field-effect transistor N2. The MOSFET transistor N2 forms a voltage/current converter which generates a current I2 in a manner dependent on the amplifier output voltage. The current I2 flows away through a resistor R1 to the negative supply voltage terminal VSS. As a result, a negative feedback voltage VR1 is dropped across the resistor R1. Said negative feedback voltage VG is applied to the input E of the amplifier circuit AMP. The current I2 flowing through the voltage/current converter N2 flows through a complementary PMOS field-effect transistor P2, which mirrors the current I2 on the one hand via the PMOS transistor P1 and on the other hand via the PMOS transistor POUT. The mirroring has the effect that the currents I1, I2 and the generated reference current IOUT are equal:I1=I2=IOUT  (2)
The current source illustrated in FIG. 1 operates with a negative feedback voltage V6 across the resistor R1, via which the operating point of the current source is adjustable. The rise in the negative feedback voltage V6 decreases the output voltage VA (present at the output A) of the amplifier AMP in amplified fashion on account of the inverting of the amplifier AMP.VA=−K*VG,  (3)
The field-effect transistor N2 forms a SOURCE follower, so that the voltage present across the resistor R1 decreases to the same extent as the output voltage of the amplifier AMP.V6=−K′*VA(K′≈1)  (4)
The two MOSFET transistors N1, N2 in each case operate in the saturation region, the currents I1, I2 flowing through being equal in magnitude on account of the current mirroring.
The output voltage of the amplifier circuit AMP results from the sum of the two GATE-SOURCE voltages of the MOSFET transistors N1, N2:VA=VGS N1+VGS N2  (5)
The output voltage of the amplifier circuit VA thus results as:VA=VT1+ΔV1+VT2+ΔV2  (6)where                VT1 denotes the threshold voltage of the MOS transistor N1,            VT2 denotes the threshold voltage of the MOS transistor N2,    ΔV1 denotes the overdrive voltage of the transistor N1 and    ΔV2 denotes the overdrive voltage of the transistor N2.
In the saturation region, it furthermore holds true that:
                              Δ                                                              V1                =                              I1                          K1                                            W1                L1                                                                        (        7        )                                          Δ                                                              V2                =                              I2                          K2                                            W2                L2                                                                        (        8        )            where I1, I2 denote the currents flowing through the transistors N1, N2,    K1, K2 denote the transconductance of the transistors N1, N2,    W1, W2 denote the channel widths of the transistors N1, N2, and    L1, L2 denote the channel lengths of the transistors N1, N2.
The DRAIN-SOURCE voltage at the PMOS field-effect transistor P1 results from the difference between the applied supply voltage VDD and the output voltage at the output A of the amplifier circuit.VDS=VDD−VA  (9)
The output voltage at the output A of the amplifier circuit amounts to approximately 1.1 V in the case of the conventional circuit illustrated in FIG. 1. For a sufficient precise current mirroring, the DRAIN-SOURCE voltage at the current mirror transistor P1 must not fall below a certain voltage, for example a voltage of 0.4 V.
FIG. 2 shows the principle of a current source coupled through by means of a negative feedback voltage from the prior art as is illustrated in FIG. 1. The mirrored current I1 is, on the one hand, a function of the current I2 which flows through the current converter N2 and which brings about a voltage drop VR1 across the resistor R1 and controls the MOSFET transistor N1. The condition that the two currents I1, I2 are identical furthermore holds true by virtue of the current mirroring at the two PMOS transistors P1, P2. The two operating points ARB1, ARB2 lie at the point of intersection of the two characteristic curves. The operating point 2 is a non-desired operating point at which the two currents I1=I2=zero. The desired operating point is the operating point ARB1, which is adjustable by means of the resistor R1.
The relationship between the two currents I1, I2 is given by the following equation:
                              I          2                =                                                            V                T1                            +                              Δ                                                                                V                  1                                                                    R              1                                =                                                    V                T1                                            R                1                                      +                                          1                                  R                  1                                                                                I                    1                                                                              K                      1                                        *                                                                  W                        1                                                                    L                        1                                                                                (        10        )
One disadvantage of the conventional current source BSQ illustrated in FIG. 1 is that, on account of the relatively high output voltage VA required at the output A of the amplifier circuit, the required supply voltage VDD is likewise relatively high and of an order of magnitude of approximately 1.5 V.
A further disadvantage of the current source illustrated in FIG. 1 is that the sensitivity PSS toward the supply voltage fluctuations ΔVDD is relatively high and cannot be increased by additional cascading of the current mirror circuit P1, P2 and P3, Pout because this would lead to an even higher supply voltage VDD.


A device and method for transporting blanks is provided. The blanks are made from an initially plastic, subsequently dried and finally fired material. A transport tray transports the blanks through both a dryer and a kiln. The blanks can be stacked on a drying trolley or a firing trolley. A first transfer device transfers the blanks onto the drying trolley when the blanks are stacked on the transport tray and are plastic. The drying trolley transports the blanks and the transport tray in the dryer for drying the blanks. A second transfer device transfers the blanks and the transport tray onto the firing trolley after the blanks have been dried. The firing trolley transports the blanks and the transport tray in the kiln for firing the blanks.

The invention relates to a device and a method for transporting blanks made from an initially plastic, especially ceramic, material to and from a dryer and a kiln.
In the manufacture of blanks made from a plastic, especially ceramic, material, in particular, with blanks used in the building industry, for the manufacture of buildings, for example, for bricks or roof tiles, the blanks are transported forward in the extrusion-moist condition, having been formed through extruders or other presses, and deposited on dryer trolleys of a dryer and/or on firing trolleys of the kiln, in order to be dried and then fired, dependent upon the consistency of the material, especially the moisture, or to be fired directly. In the first case named above, a transfer of the blanks from the dryer trolley to the kiln trolley is required in every case. In the second case named above, it is necessary to unload the kiln trolleys by means of an appropriate loading device, for example, with a gripping or suction system. Accordingly, in order either first to dry and then to fire the blanks, or to fire them directly, the prior art is relatively transport- and time-intensive.

Device and a method for transporting blanks made from an initially plastic, especially ceramic, material to and from a dryer and a kiln

HANS LINGL ANLAGENBAU UND VERFAHRENSTECHNIK GMBH & CO. KG


An intake valve for a combustion engine having an intake port is disclosed. The intake includes a valve guide having an end proximate the intake port, a valve shield extending from the end of the valve guide and into the intake port, and a valve stem arranged proximate the valve guide and valve shield. The valve guide and valve stem define a first clearance dimension therebetween, and the valve shield and value stem define a second clearance dimension therebetween, wherein the second clearance dimension is equal to or greater than the first clearance dimension.

The present disclosure relates generally to an apparatus and method for lessening the accumulation of high boiling fraction from fuel in combustion engines, and particularly to an intake valve arrangement for lessening the accumulation of high boiling fraction at the intake valve.
A gasoline-fueled spark-ignition combustion engine traditionally has the fuel introduced into the intake system either through a carburetor or a port fuel injector. Some fuels contain high boiling materials, or fractions, such as polymer fuel additives or gum, and some of the high boiling fractions have a high viscosity, which generally increases exponentially with a decrease in temperature. Consequently, after an engine cools down, an accumulation of high viscosity high boiling fraction on the intake valve surfaces may result. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an intake system in a combustion engine that may lessen the accumulation of high boiling fraction on intake valve surfaces.

Apparatus and method for lessening the accumulation of high boiling fraction from fuel in intake valves of combustion engines


The present invention is directed to compounds of Formula I:

The migration and transport of leukocytes from blood vessels into diseased tissues is involved in the initiation of normal disease-fighting inflammatory responses. The process, also known as leukocyte recruitment, is also related to the onset and progression of life-threatening inflammatory, as well as debilitating autoimmune diseases. The resulting pathology of these diseases derives from the attack of the body's immune system defenses on normal tissues. Accordingly, preventing and blocking leukocyte recruitment to target tissues in inflammatory, autoimmune disease and cancer would be a highly effective approach to therapeutic intervention.
The different classes of leukocyte cells that are involved in cellular immune responses include monocytes, lymphocytes, neutrophils, eosinophils and basophils. In most cases, lymphocytes are the leukocyte class that initiates, coordinates, and maintains chronic inflammatory responses, and blockage of these cells from entering inflammatory sites is desirable. Lymphocytes attract monocytes to the tissue sites, which, collectively with lymphocytes, are responsible for most of the actual tissue damage that occurs in inflammatory disease. Infiltration of the lymphocytes and/or monocytes is known to lead to a wide range of chronic, autoimmune diseases, and also organ transplant rejection. These diseases include, but are not limited to, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic contact dermatitis, inflammatory bowel disease, lupus, systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, atherosclerosis, psoriasis, sarcoidosis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, dermatomyositis, skin pemphigoid and related diseases, (e.g., Pemphigus vulgaris, P. foliacious, P. erythematosis), glomerulonephritides, vasculitides, hepatitis, diabetes, allograft rejection, and graft-versus-host disease.
The process by which leukocytes leave the bloodstream, accumulate at inflammatory sites, and start disease is believed to have at least three steps which have been described as (1) rolling, (2) activation/firm adhesion and (3) transendothelial migration [Springer, T. A., Nature 346:425-433 (1990); Lawrence and Springer, Cell 65:859-873 (1991); Butcher, E. C., Cell 67:1033-1036 (1991)]. The second step is mediated at the molecular level by chemoattractant receptors. Chemoattractant receptors on the surface of leukocytes then bind chemoattractant chemokines which are secreted by cells at the site of damage or infection. Receptor binding activates leukocytes, increases the adhesiveness of the adhesion molecules that mediate transendothelial migration, and promotes directed migration of the cells toward the source of the chemoattractant chemokine.
Chemotactic chemokines (leukocyte chemoattractant/activating factors) also known as chemokines, also known as intercrines and SIS chemokines, are a group of inflammatory/immunomodulatory polypeptide factors of molecular weight 6-15 kDa that are released by a wide variety of cells such as macrophages, monocytes, eosinophils, neutrophils, fibroblasts, vascular endotherial cells, smooth muscle cells, and mast cells, at inflammatory sites (reviewed in Luster, New Eng. J Med., 338, 436-445 (1998) and Rollins, Blood, 90, 909-928 (1997)). Also, chemokines have been described in Oppenheim, J. J. et al., Annu. Rev. Immunol., 9:617-648 (1991); Schall and Bacon, Curr. Opin. Immunol., 6:865-873 (1994); Baggiolini, M., et al., and Adv. Immunol., 55:97-179 (1994). Chemokines have the ability to stimulate directed cell migration, a process known as chemotaxis. Each chemokine contains four cysteine residues (C) and two internal disulfide bonds. Chemokines can be grouped into two subfamilies, based on whether the two amino terminal cysteine residues are immediately adjacent (CC family) or separated by one amino acid (CXC family). These differences correlate with the organization of the two subfamilies into separate gene clusters. Within each gene cluster, the chemokines typically show sequence similarities between 25 to 60%. The CXC chemokines, such as interleukin-8 (IL-8), neutrophil-activating protein-2 (NAP-2) and melanoma growth stimulatory activity protein (MGSA) are chemotactic primarily for neutrophils and T lymphocytes, whereas the CC chemokines, such as RANTES, MIP-1α, MIP-1, the monocyte chemotactic proteins (MCP-1, MCP-2, MCP-3, MCP-4, and MCP-5) and the eotaxins (-1 and -2) are chemotactic for, among other cell types, macrophages, T lymphocytes, eosinophils, dendritic cells, and basophils. There also exist the chemokines lymphotactin-1, lymphotactin-2 (both C chemokines), and fractalkine (a CXXXC chemokine) that do not fall into either of the major chemokine subfamilies.
MCP-1 (also known as MCAF (abbreviation for macrophage chemotactic and activating factor) or JE) is a CC chemokine produced by monocytes/macrophages, smooth muscle cells, fibroblasts, and vascular endothelial cells and causes cell migration and cell adhesion of monocytes (see for example Valente, A. J., et al., Biochemistry, 1988, 27, 4162; Matsushima, K., et al., J. Exp. Med., 1989, 169, 1485; Yoshimura, T., et al., J. Immunol., 1989, 142, 1956; Rollins, B. J., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 1988, 85, 3738; Rollins, B. J., et al., Blood, 1991, 78, 1112; Jiang, Y., et al., J. Immunol., 1992, 148, 2423; Vaddi, K., et al., J. Immunol., 1994, 153, 4721), memory T lymphocytes (see for example Carr, M. W., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 1994, 91, 3652), T lymphocytes (see for example Loetscher, P., et al., FASEB J., 1994, 8, 1055) and natural killer cells (see for example Loetscher, P., et al., J. Immunol., 1996, 156, 322; Allavena, P., et al., Eur. J. Immunol., 1994, 24, 3233), as well as mediating histamine release by basophils (see for example Alam, R., et al., J. Clin. Invest., 1992, 89, 723; Bischoff, S. C., et al., J. Exp. Med., 1992, 175, 1271; Kuna, P., et al., J. Exp. Med., 1992, 175, 489). In addition, high expression of MCP-1 has been reported in diseases where accumulation of monocyte/macrophage and/or T cells is thought to be important in the initiation or progression of diseases, such as atherosclerosis (see for example Hayes, I. M., et al., Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol., 1998, 18, 397; Takeya, M. et al., Hum. Pathol., 1993, 24, 534; Yla-Herttuala, S., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 1991, 88, 5252; Nelken, N. A., J. Clin. Invest., 1991, 88, 1121), rheumatoid arthritis (see for example Koch, A. E., et al., J. Clin. Invest., 1992, 90, 772; Akahoshi, T., et al., Arthritis Rheum., 1993, 36, 762; Robinson, E., et al., Clin. Exp. Immunol., 101, 398), nephritis (see for example Noris, M., et al., Lab. Invest., 1995, 73, 804; Wada, T., at al., Kidney Int., 1996, 49, 761; Gesualdo, L., et al., Kidney Int., 1997, 51, 155), nephropathy (see for example Saitoh, A., et al., J. Clin. Lab. Anal., 1998, 12, 1; Yokoyama, H., et al., J. Leukoc. Biol., 1998, 63, 493), pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary sarcoidosis (see for example Sugiyama, Y., et al., Internal Medicine, 1997, 36, 856), asthma (see for example Karina, M., et al., J. Invest. Allergol. Clin. Immunol., 1997, 7, 254; Stephene, T. H., Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., 1997, 156, 1377; Sousa, A. R., et al., Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol., 1994, 10, 142), multiple sclerosis (see for example McManus, C., et al., J. Neuroimmunol., 1998, 86, 20), psoriasis (see for example Gillitzer, R., et al., J. Invest. Dermatol., 1993, 101, 127), inflammatory bowel disease (see for example Grimm, M. C., et al., J. Leukoc. Biol., 1996, 59, 804; Reinecker, H. C., et al., Gastroenterology, 1995, 106, 40), myocarditis (see for example Seino, Y., et al., Chemokine, 1995, 7, 301), endometriosis (see for example Jolicoeur, C., et al., Am. J. Pathol., 1998, 152, 125), intraperitoneal adhesion (see for example Zeyneloglu, H. B., et al., Human Reproduction, 1998, 13, 1194), congestive heart failure (see for example Aurust, P., et al., Circulation, 1998, 97, 1136), chronic liver disease (see for example Marra, F., et al., Am. J. Pathol., 1998, 152, 423), viral meningitis (see for example Lahrtz, F., et al., Eur. J. Immunol., 1997, 27, 2484), Kawasaki disease (see for example Wong, M.; et al., J. Rheumatol., 1997, 24, 1179) and sepsis (see for example Salkowski, C. A.; et al., Infect. Immun., 1998, 66, 3569). Furthermore, anti-MCP-1 antibody has been reported to show an inhibitory effect or a therapeutic effect in animal models of rheumatoid arthritis (see for example Schimmer, R. C., et al., J. Immunol., 1998, 160, 1466; Schrier, D. J., J. Leukoc. Biol., 1998, 63, 359; Ogata, H., et al., J. Pathol., 1997, 182, 106), multiple sclerosis (see for example Karpus, W. J., et al., J. Leukoc. Biol., 1997, 62, 681), nephritis (see for example Lloyd, C. M., et al., J. Exp. Med., 1997, 185, 1371; Wada, T., et al., FASEB J., 1996, 10, 1418), asthma (see for example Gonzalo, J.-A., et al., J. Exp. Med., 1998, 188, 157; Lukacs, N. W., J. Immunol., 1997, 158, 4398), atherosclerosis (see for example Guzman, L. A., et al., Circulation, 1993, 88 (suppl.), I-371), delayed type hypersensitivity (see for example Rand, M. L., et al., Am. J. Pathol., 1996, 148, 855), pulmonary hypertension (see for example Kimura, H., et al., Lab. Invest., 1998, 78, 571), and intraperitoneal adhesion (see for example Zeyneloglu, H. B., et al., Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol., 1998, 179, 438). A peptide antagonist of MCP-1, MCP-1 (9-76), has been also reported to inhibit arthritis in the mouse model (see Gong, J.-H., J. Exp., 4ed., 1997, 186, 131), as well as studies in MCP-1-deficient mice have shown that MCP-1 is essential for monocyte recruitment in vivo (see Lu, B., et al., J. Exp. Med., 1998, 187, 601; Gu, L., et al., Moll. Cell, 1998, 2, 275).
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) ranks among the most common causes of death in Western societies. It is defined by a progressive decline in lung function, only partly reversible by bronchodilator drugs. COPD is characterized by chronic inflammation in the airways or alveoli that differs from that seen in asthma, involving increased numbers of neutrophils, macrophages, CD8+ T cells, and/or mast cells in the airway walls, alveolar compartments, and vascular smooth muscle. Cytokines associated with COPD are believed to include tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interferon (IFN)-gamma, interleukin (IL)-1 beta, IL-6, IL-8 and MCP-1. CCR2 is known to be a receptor for MCP-1, and recent data support a role for MCP-1 and CCR2 in airway remodeling and inflammation directly or via macrophages. Thus, antagonists of CCR2 are an attractive approach to therapeutic treatment of COPD (De Boer, W. I., Chest, 2002, 121, 209S-218S).
The literature indicates that chemokines such as MCP-1 and MIP-1α attract monocytes and lymphocytes to disease sites and mediate their activation and thus are thought to be intimately involved in the initiation, progression and maintenance of diseases deeply involving monocytes and lymphocytes, such as atherosclerosis, restenosis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, asthma, ulcerative colitis, nephritis (nephropathy), multiple sclerosis, pulmonary fibrosis, myocarditis, hepatitis, pancreatitis, sarcoidosis, Crohn's disease, endometriosis, congestive heart failure, viral meningitis, cerebral infarction, neuropathy, Kawasaki disease, and sepsis (see for example Rovin, B. H., et al., Am. J. Kidney. Dis., 1998, 31, 1065; Lloyd, C., et al., Curr. Opin. Nephrol. Hypertens., 1998, 7, 281; Conti, P., et al., Allergy and Asthma Proc., 1998, 19, 121; Ransohoff, R. M., et al., Trends Neurosci., 1998, 21, 154; MacDermott, R. P., et al., Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, 1998, 4, 54).
The chemokines bind to specific cell-surface receptors belonging to the family of G-protein-coupled seven-transmembrane-domain proteins (reviewed in Horuk, Trends Pharm. Sci., 15, 159-165 (1994)) which are termed "chemokine receptors." On binding their cognate ligands, chemokine receptors transduce an intracellular signal through the associated trimeric G proteins, resulting in, among other responses, a rapid increase in intracellular calcium concentration, changes in cell shape, increased expression of cellular adhesion molecules, degranulation, and promotion of cell migration.
Genes encoding receptors of specific chemokines have been cloned, and it is known that these receptors are G protein-coupled seven-transmembrane receptors present on various leukocyte populations. So far, at least five CXC chemokine receptors (CXCR1-CXCR5) and eight CC chemokine receptors (CCR1-CCR10) have been identified. For example IL-8 is a ligand for CXCR1 and CXCR2, MIP-1α is a ligand for CCR1 and CCR5, and MCP-1 is a ligand for CCR2A and CCR2B (for reference, see for example, Holmes, W. E., et al., Science 1991, 253, 1278-1280; Murphy P. M., et al., Science, 253, 1280-1283; Neote, K. et al, Cell, 1993, 72, 415-425; Charo, I. F., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 1994, 91, 2752-2756; Yamagami, S., et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 1994, 202, 1156-1162; Combadier, C., et al., The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 1995, 270, 16491-16494, Power, C. A., et al., J. Biol. Chem., 1995, 270, 19495-19500; Samson, M., et al., Biochemistry, 1996, 35, 3362-3367; Murphy, P. M., Annual Review of Immunology, 1994, 12, 592-633). It has been reported that lung inflammation and granuroma formation are suppressed in CCR1-deficient mice (see Gao, J.-L., et al., J. Exp. Med., 1997, 185, 1959; Gerard, C., et al., J. Clin. Invest., 1997, 100, 2022), and that recruitment of macrophages and formation of atherosclerotic lesion decreased in CCR2-deficient mice (see Boring, L., et al., Nature, 1998, 394, 894; Kuziel, W. A., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., USA, 1997, 94, 12053; Kurihara, T., et al., J. Exp. Med., 1997, 186, 1757; Boring, L., et al., J. Clin. Invest., 1997, 100, 2552).
Chemokine receptors are also known as coreceptors for viral entry leading to viral infection such as, for example, HIV infection. Reverse transcription and protein processing are the classic steps of the viral life cycle which antiretroviral therapeutic agents are designed to block. Although many new drugs that are believed to block viral entry hold promise, there is currently no agent to which HIV-1 has not been able to acquire resistance. Multiple rounds of viral replication are required to generate the genetic diversity that forms the basis of resistance. Combination therapy in which replication is maximally suppressed remains a cornerstone of treatment with entry inhibitors, as with other agents. The targeting of multiple steps within the viral entry process is believed to have the potential for synergy (Starr-Spires et al., Clin. Lab. Med., 2002, 22(3), 681).
HIV-1 entry into CD4(+) cells requires the sequential interactions of the viral envelope glycoproteins with CD4 and a coreceptor such as the chemokine receptors CCR5 and CXCR4. A plausible approach to blocking this process is to use small molecule antagonists of coreceptor function. The TAK-779 molecule is one such antagonist of CCR5 that acts to prevent HIV-1 infection. TAK-779 inhibits HIV-1 replication at the membrane fusion stage by blocking the interaction of the viral surface glycoprotein gp120 with CCR5. The binding site for TAK-779 on CCR5 is located near the extracellular surface of the receptor, within a cavity formed between transmembrane helices 1, 2, 3, and 7 (Dragic et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 2000, 97(10), 5639).
The chemokine receptors CXCR4 and CCR5 are believed to be used as co-receptors by the T cell-tropic (X4) and macrophage-tropic (R5) HIV-1 strains, respectively, for entering their host cells. Propagation of R5 strains of HIV-1 on CD4 lymphocytes and macrophages requires expression of the CCR5 coreceptor on the cell surface. Individuals lacking CCR5 (CCR5 Delta 32 homozygous genotype) are phenotypically normal and resistant to infection with HIV-1. Viral entry can be inhibited by the natural ligands for CXCR4 (the CXC chemokine SDF-1) and CCR5 (the CC chemokines RANTES, MIP-1alpha and MIP-1beta). The first non-peptidic compound that interacts with CCR5, and not with CXCR4, is a quaternary ammonium derivative, called TAK-779, which also has potent but variable anti-HIV activity (De Clercq et al., Antivir. Chem. Chemother. 2001, 12 Suppl. 1, 19.
SCH-C (SCH 351125) is another small molecule inhibitor of HIV-1 entry via the CCR5 coreceptor. SCH-C, an oxime-piperidine compound, is a specific CCR5 antagonist as determined in multiple receptor binding and signal transduction assays. This compound specifically inhibits HIV-1 infection mediated by CCR5 in U-87 astroglioma cells but has no effect on infection of CXCR4-expressing cells. (Strizki et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 2001, 98(22), 12718 or Tremblay et al., Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 2002, 46(5), 1336).
AD101, chemically related to SCH-C, also inhibits the entry of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) via human CCR5. It has been found that AD101 inhibits HIV-1 entry via rhesus macaque CCR5 while SCH-C does not. Among the eight residues that differ between the human and macaque versions of the coreceptor, only one, methionine-198, accounts for the insensitivity of macaque CCR5 to inhibition by SCH-C. Position 198 is in CCR5 transmembrane (TM) helix 5 and is not located within the previously defined binding site for AD101 and SCH-C, which involves residues in TM helices 1, 2, 3, and 7. Based on studies of amino acid substitutions in CCR5, it has been suggested that the region of CCR5 near residue 198 can influence the conformational state of this receptor. (Billick et al., 2004, J. Virol., 78(8), 4134).
The identification of compounds that modulate the activity of chemokine receptors represents a desirable drug design approach for the needed development of pharmacological agents for the treatment of diseases associated with chemokine receptor activity. The compounds of the present invention help fulfill these and other needs.

3-aminocyclopentanecrboxamides as modulators of chemokine receptors

Abstract: which are modulators of chemokine receptors. The compounds of the invention, and compositions thereof, are useful in the treatment of diseases related to chemokine receptor expression and/or activity.


A semiconductor processing method of forming complementary first conductivity type doped and second conductivity type doped active regions within a semiconductor substrate includes, a) providing a semiconductor substrate; b) masking a desired first conductivity type region of the substrate while conducting second conductivity type doping into a desired second conductivity type active region of the substrate; c) providing an insulating layer over the substrate over the desired first conductivity type region and the second conductivity type doped region; d) patterning the insulating layer to provide a void therethrough to the desired first conductivity type region; e) filling the void with a first conductivity type doped polysilicon plug, the plug having a first conductivity type dopant impurity concentration of at least 1.times.10.sup.20 ions/cm.sup.3, the desired first conductivity type region having a first conductivity type dopant concentration prior to the filling step which is in the range of from 0 ions/cm.sup.3 to 1.times.10.sup.19 ions/cm.sup.3 ; and f) annealing the substrate for a period of time effective to out-diffuse first conductivity type dopant impurity from the first conductivity type doped polysilicon plug into the substrate to form the desired first conductivity type active region having a first conductivity type dopant impurity concentration of at least 1.times.10.sup.20 ions/cm.sup.3 in the substrate. Methods of forming CMOS FET transistors, and SRAM and DRAM CMOS circuitry are also disclosed.

An MOS (metal-oxide-semiconductor) structure in semiconductor processing is created by superimposing several layers of conducting, insulating and transistor-forming materials. After a series of processing steps, a typical structure might comprise levels of diffusion, polysilicon and metal that are separated by insulating layers.
CMOS is so-named because it uses two types of transistors, namely an n-type transistor (NMOS) and a p-type transistor (PMOS). These are fabricated in a semiconductor substrate, typically silicon, by using either negatively doped silicon that is rich in electrons or positively doped silicon that is rich in holes. Different dopant ions are utilized for doping the desired substrate regions with the desired concentration of produced holes or electrons.
NMOS remained the dominant MOS technology as long as the integration level devices on a chip was sufficiently low. It is comparatively inexpensive to fabricate, very functional dense, and faster than PMOS. With the dawning of large scale integration, however, power consumption in NMOS circuits began to exceed tolerable limits. CMOS represented a lower-power technology capable of exploiting large scale integration fabrication techniques.
CMOS fabrication does however provide a number of challenges to the fabricator in compared to using PMOS or NMOS alone. Specifically, typically independent or separate masking steps are utilized for masking one of the p-type regions while the n-type region is being ion implanted. Also, the n-type regions are separately masked when the p-type regions are being ion implanted or diffusion doped. Accordingly, typical transistor flows use one mask each to form the n-channel and p-channel transistor source and drain regions.
It would be desirable to develop methods which facilitate formation of complementary source and drain regions within a semiconductor substrate, and preferably minimize masking steps in the process.

Semiconductor processing method of forming complementary n-type doped and p-type doped active regions within a semiconductor substrate


A toner cartridge with a handle formed centrally in a trailing end of the cartridge. The handle is dished to comfortably accept a hand and is adapted such that a user will recognize that said handle is dedicated to receiving the user's hand. The cartridge is therefore installed and removed without binding since the user's hand is centered as a result of the placement of the user's hand in said handle.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, generally, to toner cartridges. More particularly, it relates to a toner cartridge that fits a large plurality of printers of differing brands and models.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional toner cartridges are difficult to insert into a printer. No dedicated gripping surface is provided so most users simply grasp the trailing end of the waste bin and hopper in a haphazard manner. The plastic on the trailing end of the waste bin has a lattice work or open mesh structure and a user is expected to place his or her fingers through various narrow slots provided by such lattice work when lifting and installing the toner cartridge. The fingers of many people cannot fit between the minimal clearance between the waste bin handle and hopper, thereby making the handling of the toner cartridge difficult. Since the cartridge has no dedicated handle, the user will most likely grasp the cartridge off center and the weight of the hopper and waste bin together will cause the toner cartridge to tilt relative to a horizontal plane as the user attempts to insert the toner cartridge into the printer. The toner cartridge often jams as a result.
Thus, there is a need for a toner cartridge with a dedicated gripping means that centers a user's hands relative to the trailing end of the toner cartridge so that it can be placed into the printer while being held in a horizontal plane. Nor should an improved handle rely on narrow slots as part of the gripping means.
However, in view of the prior art considered as a whole at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in the pertinent art how the identified needs could be fulfilled.


An aluminum alloy thick plate is formed of an aluminum alloy including Mg of 2.0 to 5.0 mass %, and has a plate thickness of 300 to 400 mm. A is 700 pieces/cm2 or less and B is 1.3 times or more as large as A, where (i) A (pieces/cm2) is a maximum value in numbers of crystallized products with a maximum length of 60 μm or more per unit area in each of positions located at a center portion in a thickness direction and at positions of 0.39 Wa to 0.48 Wa in a plate width direction; and (ii) B (pieces/cm2) is a maximum value in numbers of crystallized products with a maximum length of 60 μm or more per unit area in each of positions located at the center portion in the thickness direction and at positions of 0.12 Wa to 0.30 Wa in the plate width direction.

Because repeated stress acts on the frame portions of decompression vessels repeating atmospheric pressure and vacuum, the frame portions are required to have a high fatigue strength property.
Porosities in the material are mentioned as a cause of deterioration in fatigue strength. As another example, porosities and coarse crystallized products in the material are mentioned as a cause of deterioration in fatigue strength. Generally, when a slab is rolled, the porosities inside gradually decrease in size by receiving pressure, and cause no problem in a thin plate. However, in thick plates having a thickness of 300 mm or more with a small reduction, it has been verified that the porosities conversely increase in size in comparison with the porosities in a slab (see Patent Literature 1).
For this reason, in prior art, a 6061 alloy with small porosity quantity is used as the material of frame portions of decompression vessels. For example, Patent Literature 2 discloses using a 6061 alloy as the material of frame portions of decompression vessels.


In the production method of polyamide of the present invention, the mole balance at a set point during melt polymerization is estimated from a pre-established equation for calculating the mole balance during melt polymerization from a melt viscosity. On the basis of the estimated mole balance, the subsequent conditions of melt polymerization of a batch and the polymerization conditions of the next and subsequent batches are determined. In addition, the mole balance, molecular weight and relative viscosity of melt-polymerized polyamide are estimated from pre-established equations each for respectively calculating the mole balance, molecular weight and relative viscosity at the end point of melt polymerization from the melt viscosity. The conditions for solid phase-polymerizing the melt-polymerized polyamide are determined on the basis of estimated values.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a production method of polyamides employing a rapid estimation of the mole balance of polyamides during a melt polymerization process, and more specifically, relates to a production method of polyamides by melt polymerization in a batch polymerization vessel employing a rapid estimation of the mole balance of polyamides under melt polymerization from a melt viscosity during melt polymerization process. The present invention further relates to a production method of polyamides by further solid phase-polymerizing a melt-polymerized polyamide, more specifically, relates to a production method of solid phase-polymerized polyamides by the solid phase polymerization of melt-polymerized polyamides in which properties of the starting melt-polymerized polyamides are rapidly and easily estimated to determine solid phase polymerization conditions (time, temperature, pressure) from the estimated results. The present invention still further relates to a method of easily estimating the melt viscosity, more specifically, relates to a method of calculating the melt viscosity of polyamides from a stirring torque of a melt polymerization system for producing polyamides in a batch polymerization vessel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a melt-polymerized polyamide is produced by the dehydrating polycondensation of a diamine monomer and a dicarboxylic acid monomer, in which the monomers are melt-polymerized at reaction temperatures higher than the melting point of polyamide being produced. In the production of polyamide, it is important to maintain the preset mole balance and the preset polymerization conditions to ensure the production of polyamide with uniform and stable quality. Therefore, various methods have been employed to maintain the preset values of mole balance, polymerization time, polymerization temperature, polymerization pressure, etc.
The mole balance is a particularly important process factor to be precisely controlled, because it has a significant influence on the polymerization degree of melt-polymerized polyamide. In batch polymerization method, however, the escape of diamine out of the reaction system during polymerization is difficult to avoid and it is quite difficult to make the escaped amount always uniform from batch to batch, even if the preset mole balance at the initial charge of monomers is the same in every batch and the polymerization conditions are made uniform from batch to batch. Therefore, the mole balance of polyamide to be produced is out of control and actually depends how the polymerization proceeds.
If the mole balance is not uniform from batch to batch, the polymerization time should be adjusted depending on the batch-to-batch variation of mole balance to make the polymerization degree of resultant polyamide uniform from batch to batch. In other words, if the mole balance varies from batch to batch, the real time observation of polymerization degree, if possible, would enable the discharge of polyamide at a stage where the aimed polymerization degree is reached, thereby making the polymerization degree of the resultant polyamide stable from batch to batch. The batch-to-batch stability of polymerization degree of polyamide would result in the batch-to-batch stability of flow characteristics, such as melt viscosity, molecular weight and relative viscosity of molten polyamide, which affect the moldability and processability.
The mole balance is generally determined by titration analysis which takes several hours because a polyamide which is taken out of a melt polymerization vessel and then solidified is used as the analyzing sample. The sample is dissolved into a specific solvent and subjected to neutralization titration to determine the concentration of terminal carboxyl and the concentration of terminal amino. From the titration results, the mole balance is calculated. Therefore, it is difficult to feed back the measured results of the mole balance in a preceding batch to the next batch before determining the production conditions. If the mole balance can be quickly determined during melt polymerization, a measure quite effective for determining the subsequent melt polymerization conditions of the same batch or the next batch is obtained, thereby providing an industrially significant method.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 48-36957 proposes a real-time measurement of properties by a viscometer in the continuous production of polyamide. In the proposed method, the melt viscosity which is related to the polymerization degree can be quickly determined during melt polymerization without using chemical analysis. However, the document is quite silent as to the measurement of the mole balance. A capillary viscometer is taught to be generally used. In a batch polymerization, however, the use of such a viscometer is expected to cause severe difficulty which is not encountered by a continuous polymerization. The content of reaction liquid changes from the starting monomers to polyamide just before discharge, and its viscosity may change from 0.01 to about 500 Pa·s. If the solubility of the starting material to polyamide is not sufficient, the capillary is clogged to make a stable use of viscometer difficult. In addition, the viscometer is generally an expensive measuring device to increase equipment cost.
Recently, an on-line measurement of polymer properties using a near infrared spectrometer has been proposed. Near infrared ray is quite suitable for non-destructive analysis and real time analysis because of its transmitting properties superior to ultraviolet ray and infrared ray. Problems in stability of light source, spectrometry system, detector, and hard ware and soft ware for computing spectra has prevented it from being put into practical use. Recent development in the technique has solved many of the problems and the near infrared spectrometer has come into the market.
Production methods of polyester in which properties of polyester are measured using a near infrared spectrometer and the reaction conditions are controlled by the measured values are disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2-306937, 10-182802, 11-60711 and 11-315137. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-322054 proposes a production method of phenol resin in which the chemical composition of the system is measured by a near infrared spectrometer and the reaction is continued by estimating the progress of reaction on the basis of measured values. WO 96/05498 discloses a method of controlling the amount of solvent in a reaction solution by measuring the concentration of a solution comprising an amide solvent and an aromatic polyamide using a near infrared spectrometer. WO 96/16107 discloses a production method of polyamide by a continuous melt polymerization employing a near infrared spectrometer. In the proposed method, the concentrations of carboxyl end group (terminal carboxyl) and amino end group (terminal amino) are measured. The feeding amount of diamine is controlled on the basis of the measured results to control the ratio between the concentrations of carboxyl end group and amino end group, thereby attaining the aimed mole balance and preventing the formation of solid matters in the reaction apparatus.
To obtain precise measured results by a near infrared spectrometer, the solution under measurement should be homogeneous, requiring the removal of bubbles in the solution. However, the removal of bubbles are accompanied by a considerable difficulty in the production of polyamide, because it involves the elimination of water. In addition, since the lower limit for the measurement by a near infrared spectrometer is close to the controlling range of mole balance to be required for polyamide, it is questionable whether the measured results are effective information. Further, a near infrared spectrometer is expensive and the installation thereof into a polymerization vessel requires a considerable cost in the conversion of polymerization vessel, etc.
Generally, as a molding polyamide, a polyamide with low viscosity is used because it is molded by injection molding and so required to be highly flowable in molten state. In the applications to bottle, sheet, film and fiber, polyamide is molded also by extrusion in addition to injection molding. Therefore, polyamide with moderate to high viscosity is used in the applications to bottle, sheet, film and fiber because a flowability in molten state lower than that of the molding polyamide is required.
As the low viscosity polyamide for use mainly as molding material, a melt-polymerized polyamide is used as it is or after drying. If the moderate to high viscosity polyamide for use mainly as bottle, sheet, film or fiber is intended to produce by melt polycondensation, a specific polymerization apparatus is required because a stirring device commonly used cannot generate a stirring force enough to maintain the uniform molten state in the polymerization vessel. If the polycondensation is continued from a low viscosity until a moderate to high viscosity is reached, the time for maintaining the molten state (reaction time) is prolonged to cause damage of polyamide molecule (degradation of polymer molecule due to radical generation) and abnormal reaction such as non-linear molecule propagation (formation of three-dimensional polymer), this in turn increasing the formation of gel and fish eye to invite practical disadvantage. Therefore, the moderate to high viscosity polyamide has been produced by a solid phase polymerization in which a low viscosity polyamide is first produced by a melt polycondensation and then heat-treated in solid phase.
The solid phase polymerization of polyamide is generally conducted by calculating the increase of polymerization degree during the solid phase polymerization from solid phase polymerization temperature, time and pressure using a rate equation of amidation reaction while taking the mole balance and properties relating to the polymerization degree such as molecular weight and relative viscosity of the starting polyamide into consideration, by determining the conditions of solid phase polymerization on the basis of the calculated results, and by terminating the solid phase polymerization when the aimed polymerization degree is reached. The mole balance of the starting polyamide is an important property to be surely taken into account because it significantly affects the increasing speed of the polymerization degree. To evaluate the increasing polymerization degree during the solid phase polymerization, the polymerization degree of the starting polyamide is necessary. Thus, the analysis of the properties relating to the polymerization degree such as molecular weight and relative viscosity is required before solid phase polymerization.
A solid phase polymerization without analyzing the starting polyamide is known, in which polyamide under solid phase polymerization is sampled and rapidly measured on its melt viscosity, etc., and the polymerization degree during the solid phase polymerization is estimated from the measured results thereby to determine the end point of the solid phase polymerization. However, since the solid phase polymerization of polyamide is of high reaction rate as compared with polyester, the solid phase polymerization of polyamide has limited time for determining its end point, this making the operation restless.
If the mole balance and polymerization degree of melt-polymerized polyamide to be used as the starting material of the solid phase polymerization are always constant, the analysis is not required for each time. As mentioned, however, the mole balance of melt-polymerized polyamide depends on the progress of the polymerization. The batch-to-batch variation of mole balance results in the batch-to-batch variation of polymerization degree (molecular weight, relative viscosity, etc.) which is significantly affected by the mole balance.
The mole balance, molecular weight and relative viscosity of melt-polymerized polyamide are generally chemically analyzed. The mole balance and number average molecular weight are determined, for example, from the calculation using the measured values which are obtained by the measurement of a carboxyl end concentration and an amino end concentration by neutralization titration of a solution of polyamide in a specific solvent. The relative viscosity is determined by dividing a dropping time (second) of a polyamide solution in concentrated sulfuric acid measured using a viscometer by a dropping time (second) of sulfuric acid itself. These chemical analyses usually require 2 to 4 h until the results are obtained. Therefore, the melt-polymerized polyamide should be stored in a silo, etc. before solid phase polymerization until the results of analyses are obtained, thereby preventing the efficient production.


A wireless electronic stethoscope device is disclosed. The wireless electronic stethoscope device includes a pen-shaped main body; a sensor module for data collection; a processor module to coordinate operation of electronic stethoscope modules; a wireless communication module to transmit and receive digital and analog data; a power module including a battery for storing energy; a control module to communicate information and receive operational commands.

1. Field of Invention
The present disclosure relates to electronic devices, and more particularly, to medical diagnostic devices for auscultation.
2. Description of Related Art
Stethoscopes have long been used for auscultation, which is the process of listening to the internal sounds of the human body, such as those of the heart and lungs. The application of new technologies to the design of stethoscopes can provide healthcare personnel with instruments that support improved patient outcomes. The capture of body sounds and subsequent translation to electrical signals enables amplification, filtering, and other signal processing to improve the diagnostic quality of audio signals presented to a clinician. Reduction of the electrical signals representing body sounds to digital form further facilitates the application of a large complement of widespread computer-related technology for data storage, transmission, and processing. Examples of this application include incorporation of recorded body sounds into patient electronic medical records and replay of body sounds for analysis by one or more clinicians. Moreover, when digital audio files are transmitted over electronic data networks additional benefits may be realized. These include diagnosis at a distance, collaboration by physically distant healthcare personnel, and the use of remotely hosted computational healthcare services including automated expert-system diagnosis and population-level analysis of data from many patients.


In one embodiment, the present invention includes a system having multiple modular transformers each including a primary winding coupled to an input power source and phase-shifted secondary windings each coupled to a power cell. The system further includes different phase output lines coupled to a load. These lines may include first, second and third phase output lines.

Generally, equipment referred to as a power converter, inverter or drive is used to provide power to another piece of equipment such as a motor. Specifically, such a converter (converter is used generally herein to refer to converters, inverters and drives) is coupled to a utility connection to receive incoming input power such as three-phase AC power. The converter conditions the power to provide a conditioned power signal to the equipment to be powered. In this way, incoming power to the equipment may be of improved efficiency, leading to reduced costs to operate the equipment.
Multi-level power converters have been gaining popularity mainly due to improved power quality, lower switching losses, better electromagnetic compatibility, and higher voltage capability. These improvements in power conversion are achieved by using a multiple voltage step strategy. One common multi-level inverter topology is a series H-bridge inverter, in which multiple H-bridge inverters are connected in series. Since this topology consists of series power conversion cells, the voltage and power level may be easily scaled.
However, this topology requires a large number of isolated DC voltage sources to supply each cell. The common practice is to use an isolation transformer to supply a rectifier of a power cell. However, the supply current to the rectifier contains many harmonic current components which are very disturbing for equipment and power systems, and cause electromagnetic interference (EMI).
Some systems use a single-stage transformer with multiple phase-shifted secondary windings. However, harmonics cancellation in a single-stage transformer can not be optimized. The main obstacle to doing this is the manufacturing process and less degree of freedom because of less number of turn, which makes it very difficult to implement the small phase shift angles required for efficient and optimized harmonics cancellation.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Modular multi-pulse transformer rectifier for use in asymmetric multi-level power converter


A second conductor plane (102) is formed in a layer different from a layer in which a first conductor plane (101) is formed, and faces the first conductor plane (101). A first transmission line (104) is formed in a layer different from the layers in which the first conductor plane (101) and the second conductor plane (102) are formed, and faces the second conductor plane (102), and one end thereof is an open end. A conductor via (106) connects the other end of the first transmission line (104) and the first conductor plane (101). An insular conductor (112) is connected to a portion of the first transmission line (104) other than a portion thereof at which the transmission line (104) is attached to the conductor via (106), is located in a layer different from the layer in which the second conductor plane (102) is located, and faces the second conductor plane (102).

In an electric device that includes a plurality of conductor planes, electromagnetic waves are generated. Such electromagnetic waves are generated by a magnetic field induced by a current flowing into a digital circuit when the circuit is switched, or by an electric field induced by a voltage change that occurs when the circuit is switched. Such electromagnetic waves become electromagnetic noise that propagates in a parallel-plate transmission line formed of conductor planes. Such electromagnetic noise results in such problems as destabilized operation of other circuits and deteriorated performance of a wireless function of the device. In other words, establishment of a technique that suppresses electromagnetic noise allows stabilization of circuits and improvement in performance of a wireless function of the device.
Examples of methods that have been used to solve the above problems include: a method in which to insert a decoupling capacitor between conductor planes; and a method in which to avoid production of a large insular conductor plane. These methods, however, involve the following problems. In the method using a decoupling capacitor, unavoidable parasitic inductance of a capacitor makes it difficult to obtain a self-resonant frequency at a high frequency such as several hundred hertz. For this reason, the method using a decoupling capacitor can only be applied to frequencies up to about several hundred megahertz, and is not appropriate for high frequency ranges (for example, the 2.4-GHz range and the 5.2-GHz range), which have recently been used in wireless communication. The method in which to avoid production of a large insular conductor plane is based on the principle that the resonance frequency of conductor planes is shifted to a higher frequency by making conductor planes smaller. In practice, however, conductor planes having the same potential need to be connected in series to each other. For such connection, a connecting part between the insular conductor planes needs to be made thin. If the connecting part is made thin, the self inductance of that part increases, and consequently, a large voltage drop occurs at the time when a current flows when switching is performed. Thus, there is a practical limit in reducing conductor planes in size.
Examples of methods for solving the above problems include a method disclosed in Patent Document 1. Each of the structures disclosed in Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3 is a structure having the electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) property (hereinafter, referred to as the EBG structure), and is intended to suppress propagation of electromagnetic wave noise between power supply planes. The use of an EBG makes it possible to provide an electromagnetic-noise suppressing effect to the GHz ranges. Furthermore, unlike the method in which to provide conductor planes in the form of separate smaller islands, these methods involve no special processes on a power supply plane, and hence do not increase the self-inductance of the power supply plane.


Adaptive system for medical monitoring distributes data processing among computing devices connected to a network to optimize usage of computational resources, network communication speed and user experience. Data processing is distributed into several levels with bi-directional communication between the levels (computing devices) to coordinate and adjust data compression, filtering, and analysis, as well as the size of buffered data available for transmission and/or receiving.

Recent advancements in mobile computing (i.e., smart phone technologies) and physiological sensors have led to the development of miniaturized, wearable and easily attachable sensors, which can collect, process, and transmit data to a smart phone or other mobile devices and if necessary, send the data and/or alarms to healthcare professionals using wireless communication, specialized computer networks or the Internet. The mobile devices can also display the results of testing and send feedback (e.g., diagnosis and/or recommendations) from healthcare providers. Common examples of such systems include mobile (body-worn or attached) systems for monitoring vital signs, including heart rate, respiration, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, glucose and other physiological data, psychophysiological questionnaires and behavioral assessment programs. Such systems have been used by lay public (consumers) for personal health tracking and fitness training (e.g., exercise level, weight, diet, glucose level, etc.), as well as by healthcare providers for remote management of patients with chronic diseases (telemedicine). In the telemedicine applications, patients located at home are monitored by healthcare professionals remotely, from a hospital, clinic or monitoring facility. Some other examples of mobile systems include those utilized by emergency medical services (EMS) for monitoring and transmitting vital-sign data from the patient's home or ambulance to the healthcare professionals located at healthcare clinics, offices, hospitals or monitoring facilities.
Initially, mobile systems described above used computer networks and the Internet primarily for data transmission and storage. However, manual or semi-automatic processing and analyzing large amounts of continuously collected physiological data is time consuming and labor intensive, which creates a significant burden for the healthcare professionals (physicians, nurses, technicians) and leads to the information overload, errors and processing delays. Recently, such data-intensive problems, which are collectively referred to as the "big-data" problem, have been cited by the Office of Science and Technology as one of the most important challenges facing the Nation and its healthcare ("Big Data Research and Development Initiative"; Office of Science and Technology Policy, Mar. 29, 2012). This invention addresses several important types of Big Data; specifically, physiological, psychological, and behavioral data continuously or repeatedly collected over time, also referred to as the serial analysis or time-series analysis. One challenge of such analysis is related to the need to process large amounts of data collected over time (e.g., continuous electrocardiographic data, physical activity, blood pressure, blood glucose level, etc.) in the presence of various confounders, including changing environmental conditions, physical activity, psychological status, sleep/wake cycle, and so on. Another challenge is related to the necessity to combine information obtained from different sources (also referred to as the data fusion). For example, episodes of fainting (syncope) could be detected from the continuous tracking of physical activity and body position, whereas electrocardiogram and blood pressure can be useful for discerning underlying physiological mechanisms and triggers of fainting (e.g., sudden drop in blood pressure or cardiac arrhythmia). The analysis, however, is usually obscured by a number of confounders, including ambient noise, environmental factors, physiological and psychological activity. Combining (fusing) different types of information, such as physiological, behavioral, molecular, genomics and proteomics data, which have different time scales, resolutions and analysis rules, further increases the complexity of this problem.
Clearly, the solution of Big-Data problem lies in the utilization of network-distributed computing/processing (the Internet-cloud or cloud computing) and its resources. In particular, these resources can be used for processing vast amounts of continuously collected physiological data (electrocardiogram, blood pressure, glucose, etc.), as well as genetic, biochemical and molecular data. However, the development and implementation of such mobile, network-distributed systems are not trivial due to multiple requirements and constraints. In particular, 1) the data have to be processed accurately and quickly (either in real time or with minimal delays) on mobile systems with limited computational resources; 2) large amounts of data need to be transmitted to a network cloud or some other remote location over the network (e.g., healthcare institution) using wireless communication, which often has a limited or varying speed, connection quality and may experience delays or connection failures, and 3) the time-sensitive information (e.g., life-threatening abnormalities, vital signs, test responses) or trends (e.g., trends in blood pressure, physical activity, glucose level, cholesterol, weight, etc.) need to be presented in a short, clear and user-specific formats for healthcare professionals and individual consumers.
One commonly used approach is to perform data analysis at a single location (either at the user's location or on the cloud). For example, mobile devices can collect biomedical data (e.g., blood pressure, ECG, glucose level, weight, physical activity, body position, respiration, sleep duration/quality, behavioral and psychological status) and send it to a smart phone for processing and analysis (e.g., calculation of heart rate, calories, number of steps and other parameters). However, processing data locally, using a small processor with limited computational resources, while also performing several other concurrent functions (e.g., real-time data acquisition, formatting and display), usually requires simplified signal and/or image processing and may lead to inaccuracies in data analysis and/or display, as well processing time delays. Although this might be appropriate for some simple data types (e.g., number of steps or calories burned), many biomedical signals require advanced signal processing, pattern recognition and computational algorithms, which cannot be easily simplified. For example, accurate analysis of continuous electrocardiographic (ECG) signals usually requires filtering, advanced classification algorithms and pattern recognition methods. Although small microcontrollers with limited computational resources have been utilized for ECG processing in the implantable cardiac devices and ambulatory loop recorders, the results are usually substantially less accurate (misclassified cardiac beats and arrhythmias) compared to the analysis performed on a powerful computer utilizing advanced signal processing and pattern recognition algorithms.
Another commonly used approach is to collect the data on a mobile device (smart phone) or computer; send it to the Internet cloud (or network server) for analysis, and then forward the results to users' mobile devices or computers. This approach has become more common with the development of high-speed mobile communication. It is often implemented using JAVA programming environment, which makes the programs compatible with different types of mobile devices, computers and operating systems. In this approach, the user only has a simple viewer program, which receives and displays the data (e.g., ECG waveforms) and results of analysis performed on the cloud.
However, this approach also has drawbacks. One problem is related to the limited transmission speed and associated delays when large amounts of continuous, multichannel data are transmitted over a wide-area wireless network or the Internet. This problem becomes even more challenging when continuous data are transmitted from multiple users (e.g., multiple channels of continuous ECG, blood pressure, pulse oximetry and other data sampled at 1 kHz/channel), which can further increase time delays and network traffic overloads. When the data analysis is time sensitive, for example, when vital signs are analyzed by Emergency Medical Personnel in patients with chest pain, any time delay can be dangerous. To obviate this problem, U.S. Pat. No. 8,255,238 to Powell et. al. discloses a system for remote patient monitoring, which includes physiological sensor(s), a healthcare facility data processing/storage system and a remote handheld device. The system operates with the help of two graphical application program interface (API) systems. The 1st API operates in conjunction with the healthcare facility data processing and storage system; it conditions (compresses) data for streaming across a cellular network and for reception and display on a handheld device. The 2nd API operates in conjunction with the handheld device; it conditions (compresses) the data for faster display (rendering) on the handheld device.

Mobile system with network-distributed data processing for biomedical applications


A cook top having a cooking surface includes a number of heating elements. The cook top includes a number of controls for controlling operation of the heating elements and other components of the cook top. A vent is integrally provided with the cook top and in fluid communication with a ventilation system configured to draw air through the vent. The ventilation system includes a plenum defining a cavity, which may include a filter for removing particulate matter from the exhausted air. A blower assembly is coupled to the plenum for drawing the an from the cooking surface through the vent and the plenum. The blower assembly and the plenum are coupled to one another by a coupling element that is configured to enable an operator or installer of the cook top to selectively direct the exhaust of the blower assembly in a plurality of predetermined directions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to cooking appliances and, more particularly, to an appliance with a ventilation system having an adjustable fan or blower assembly that can selectively direct the ventilated air in a number of predetermined directions.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Many different types of cooking appliances produce smoke, steam, or other gaseous contamination during use. Often, it is considered beneficial to utilize some type of ventilation system to evacuate these airborne contaminants either upwardly through a venting hood or downwardly into a draft flue. In kitchens, most known venting arrangements take the form of a hood that is fixed above a cooking surface and that can be selectively activated to evacuate the contaminated air. Downdraft venting arrangements are also widely known in the art wherein a cooking surface will incorporate a vent opening that is positioned between different sections of the cooking surface or extended along a back of the cooking surface. These downdraft vents can either be fixed relative to the cooking surface or can be moved between a stowed, inoperative position and a raised, operative position.
Downdraft blowers are generally multiple speed fans having a low speed and a high speed. Blowers are commonly controlled by a mechanical multi-position switch, potentiometer, or rheostat-type control, which sets the speed of the fan. For removal of normal cooking odors, steam, and other effluents and contaminants, low speed operation suffices. However, when using a cooking system such as a grill or the like, the fan may be required to operate at a higher speed to best withdraw the contaminants from the surrounding air. In these systems, vapors and odors are drawn into an exhaust inlet and are exhausted into the atmosphere, generally, to an exterior location. Usually the exhaust inlet or vent is located immediately adjacent to the cooking surface. The inlet flow path includes a plenum, a blower, an atmospheric exhaust, and interconnecting ductwork. The flow path to the atmosphere normally extends through a wall or floor of the room in which the cooking surface is located but may also be exhausted into a room if the exhaust air is properly filtered.
The plenum may generally be in the form of a rectangular box or the like that extends downwardly from the vent provided in or around the cook top. The blower assembly is typically coupled to the plenum so as to direct airflow at a predetermined angle with an infinitely adjustable joint away from the side of the plenum and through the remainder of the ventilation system for expulsion. In particular, the blower is configured to draw the contaminated air down into the plenum through the vent and then out of the plenum as discussed. Typically, the air is directed out of the plenum at approximately 90 degrees. However, traditional configurations suffer from a number of disadvantages in that such an arrangement may not be necessarily suitable for a given installation site. That is, an installer may want to direct the airflow in any number of alternative directions or may desire to position the blower, and more particularly the blower housing, so as to provide the ventilation system with ample clearance room for a given installation.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a solution to one or more of the foregoing disadvantages.

Cook top with a ventilation system and a blower mount therefor


This invention relates to a process for the purification of phenols in a feedstock containing phenols and neutral oils and/or tar bases. The process includes liquid-liquid extraction of feedstock using a solvent and a counter-solvent, and separating the resulting solvent and counter-solvent layers. Phenols are then recovered from the separated solvent layer, and counter-solvent is recovered form the counter-solvent layer. The process also includes at least one of the following additions steps i) subjecting the separated solvent layer to distillation at atmospheric pressure; ii) subjecting the separated solvent layer to distillation, recovering an organic phase from the overheads product of the distillation step and recycling it to the liquid-liquid extraction step; and iii) recovering solvent from the counter-solvent layer.

Feedstocks containing mixtures of phenols (such as phenol, cresols, ethylphenols, xylenols and C3 phenols) and neutral oils and/or tar bases are obtained from various sources such as petroleum and coal processing facilities.
The separation of phenols from tar bases and especially, neutral oils have always posed a challenge since certain neutral oils have boiling points close to that of the phenols and due to the fact that azeotropes are formed between the neutral oils and phenols. Normal distillation processes are accordingly not suitable to separate phenols from neutral oils and/or tar bases to the required purity.
Liquid-liquid extraction is a known method of separating phenols from neutral oils and/or tar bases. The prior art discloses that both single solvent and dual solvent processes have been employed to achieve such a separation. Dual solvent processes are preferred. In these processes a solvent is used to extract the phenols and a counter-solvent is used to extract the neutral oils. The solvent and counter-solvent are selected to be immiscible and after extraction the solvent and counter-solvent layers are separated and the phenols are recovered from the solvent layer while the neutral oils are recovered from the counter-solvent layer.
The solvent usually is a polar solvent and the counter-solvent usually is a non-polar solvent. The counter-solvent often comprises paraffins such as hexane, heptane, petroleum ether, octane and diesel. The polar solvent often comprises an aqueous solution of methanol, ammonia, acetamide, acetic acid, ethanol and glycols. In this regard see for example U.S. Pat. No. 2,666,796 where aqueous methanol and hexane were used as solvent and counter-solvent respectively. In the Journal of Applied Chemistry, Jun. 21, 1952, p. 314, and the Journal of Applied Chemistry, Mar. 3, 1953, p. 98, aqueous triethylene glycol was used as solvent. In Fuel processing Technology, 28 (1991) p. 287 aqueous solutions of ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol and triethylene glycol were used as solvents. In South African patents 98/11312 and 2001/9287 aqueous solutions of glycols were used as solvents and they were used in combination with counter-solvents.
In cases where the solvent comprises a mixture of water and a solvent compound (e.g. glycols) a solvent layer is obtained which contains the water, the solvent compound (e.g. glycols), phenols, some neutral oils and /or tar bases and some counter-solvent. The first step is usually to subject the mixture to a water recovery distillation process to strip the water from this mixture. The bottoms product consists mainly of the solvent compound (e.g. glycols) and phenols, which bottoms product is then subjected to distillation to separate the phenols from the glycols.
In South African patent 2001/9287 the solvent comprised a mixture of glycol and water and the water recovery distillation process was carried out under vacuum to prevent thermal decomposition of the glycol. The overheads product of the water recovery distillation process (which was now established to consist of water, some counter-solvent, some phenols and some neutral oils and/or tar bases) was condensed and was then mixed with counter-solvent to extract the condensate with the counter-solvent. A decanter was then used to achieve separation of the aqueous and organic layers which formed. It was suggested that the counter-solvent added resulted in extraction of organic material into the counter-solvent layer and it also resulted in better phase separation in the decanter.
One disadvantage of the above system is that the water recovery distillation process is carried out under vacuum. Under such conditions light-boiling valuables such as counter-solvent which enters the water recovery distillation process can be lost to the vacuum system. This is especially problematic where a substantial volume of counter-solvent is present in the water recovery distillation process.
Another disadvantage of this process is that a mixer apparatus is required in order to obtain proper mixing of the condensate of the water recovery distillation process with the introduced counter-solvent to cause proper extraction of the said overheads product.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome or reduce at least some of the above disadvantages.
Furthermore, South African patent 98/11312 discloses a similar water recovery step to that disclosed in South African patent 2001/9287 except that no counter-solvent was added to the overheads product of the water recovery distillation process. In both South African patents 98/11312 and 2001/9287 the separated organic layer from the overheads of the water recovery distillation process was routed to the recovery of the counter-solvent from the counter-solvent layer formed by the liquid-liquid extraction process. In both South African patents 98/11312 and 2001/9287 the counter-solvent recovery was achieved by subjecting the counter-solvent layer to a counter-solvent recovery distillation process to yield recovered counter-solvent (usually as an overheads product) and neutral oils and/or tar bases (usually as a bottoms product). The recovered counter-solvent was then recycled to the liquid-liquid extraction step and the neutral oils and/or tar bases were they routed to a neutral oils and/or tar bases processing facility.
It has now been established that in certain cases the overheads product of the water recovery distillation process contains significant concentration of phenols which form part of the organic layer which is separated from the aqueous layer of the overheads product of the water recovery distillation process (particularly when operating the extract stripper or water recovery distillation under pressure). In the prior art processes of South African patents 98/11312 and 2001/9287 these phenols were lost since they were routed to the counter-solvent recovery process where the phenols ended up with the neutral oils and/or tar bases which were routed to the neutral oils and/or tar bases processing facility.
It is an object of the present invention to at least reduce the above disadvantage.
Furthermore, as stated above in respect of South African patent 2001/19287, after or during the liquid-liquid extraction step the immiscible solvent and counter-solvent layers are separated from each other and the phenols are recovered from the solvent layer (as described above) while the neutral oils and/or nitrogen bases are recovered from the counter-solvent layer. In South African patents 98/11312 and 2001/9287 the counter-solvent layer was subjected to a counter-solvent recovery distillation process to yield recovered counter-solvent (as an overheads product) and neutral oils and/or tar bases (as a bottoms product). The recovered counter-solvent was then recycled to the liquid-liquid extraction step and the neutral oils and/or tar bases were then routed to a neutral oils and/or tar bases processing facility. South African patent 98/4165 describes a similar process for recovering the counter-solvent and in that case the neutral oil (as bottom product) was either used as a feedstock for napthalenes or it was combusted for fuel value.
It has now been established that to obtain optimum conditions for optimum separation of phenols from neutral oils during the liquid-liquid extraction the ratio of solvent to counter-solvent is such that some of the solvent is transferred to the counter-solvent layer. During the counter-solvent recovery distillation process the solvent forms part of the bottom product with the neutral oils and/or tar bases. Since the bottoms product was in the past forwarded to a neutral oils and/or tar base processing facility, or was used as a naphtalenes feedstock, or was combusted as fuel, the solvent contained therein was lost to the process.
It is an object of the present invention to reduce the above disadvantage.


A power and data station rotatably mounted in an opening in a work surface comprising, a base having sloped power and data receptacle panels, a pair of torus hinges rotatably attached to said base, a lock bolt having a lock tooth fixedly attached to said base, a lock button slidably attached to said lock bolt, a first lock strike slot in one of said torus hinges, said lock tooth adapted to engage said lock strike slot to hold said station in an open position.

There is a need for an aesthetically pleasing method of supplying electric, phone and data lines into conference and boardroom tables. Present solutions to this problem generally involve a metal box with or with out a lid, making it difficult for a designer to integrate it into furniture in a pleasing manner. Some designers solve this problem by recessing the box beneath a hinged access door, but this creates the problem of how to open the door, and how to avoid damaging the adjacent surface of the table while doing so.
Other designers offer interfaces that raise and lower the device, but these are all dependent on expensive electric devices to raise and lower the interface, resulting in a very expensive unit prone to failures of opening and closing.


A method can include receiving frequency hop configuration data for a first wireless communication protocol via a second wireless communication protocol in second communication circuits; and configuring first communication circuits to communicate according to the first communication protocol with frequency hopping indicated by the frequency hop configuration data; wherein the first communication circuits and second communication circuits are formed in a same combination device. Related devices and systems are also disclosed.

Conventional short range wireless networks, such as Bluetooth (BT) networks, can enable networks (e.g., piconets) to be interconnected to one another by one or more devices to form a collection of interconnected networks (e.g., a scatternet). FIG. 12 is diagram of a conventional scatternet 1201. Scatternet 1201 can include three piconets 1203-0, 1203-1 and 1203-2, controlled by BT master devices B_M0, B_M1 and B_M2, respectively. Piconet 1203-0 can include slave devices B_S1 and B_S4. Piconet 1203-1 can include slave devices B_S2 and B_S3 and be connected to piconet 1203-0 by master device B_M0. Piconet 1203-2 can include slave devices B_S4, B_S5 and B_S6 and be connected to piconet 1203-0 by slave device B_S4.
Each master device (B_M0, B_S2, B_S2) can dictate communications of its piconet according to the BT protocol, which includes adaptive frequency hopping (AFH). Thus, piconets 1203-0, 1203-1, 1203-2 communicate according to AFH settings AFH0, AFH1 and AFH2, respectively. Because piconets (1203-0, 1203-1, 1203-2) of the scatternet 1201 are within close proximity of one another, transmissions from the various piconets can interfere with one another. This can degrade communications and/or require master devices to cycle through optimization procedures to arrive a best AFH setting for the environment.
It would be desirable to arrive at some way of improving transmissions of networks in proximity to each other, including but not limited to BT scatternets.

Devices, systems and methods for transmitting protocol configuration information between multi-protocol devices


The invention relates to a trimmer head comprising: a body to be coupled to a driving shaft of a vegetation cutting machine for rotating about a rotation axis, at least one rod comprising at least one retaining portion for holding a cutting filament in a determined direction, wherein the body comprises a housing for receiving each end of the rod such that the rod axis is perpendicular to the rotation axis of the body and substantially tangential to the rotational path of the body, the housing and the rod ends having respective shapes allowing at least two relative orientations of the rod relative to the body: a first orientation wherein the determined direction is substantially parallel to the rotation axis of the body, and a second orientation wherein the determined direction is substantially radial and substantially perpendicular to the rotation axis of the body.

Trimmer heads adapted for a modular use are of interest since with one trimmer head different possible uses are allowed. Such uses comprise:
(i) cleaning ground (e.g. pavement)
(ii) cutting vegetation.
For cleaning ground, an orientation of the cutting filament that is substantially perpendicular to the ground (i.e. substantially parallel to the rotation axis of the trimmer head) is sought, whereas for cutting vegetation, an orientation of the cutting filament that is substantially parallel to the ground (i.e. substantially perpendicular to the rotation axis of the trimmer head) is sought.
Document DE 102012016026 describes a trimmer head for a vegetation cutting adapted to hold at least one cutting filament in either of said two orientations, depending on the intended use.
Said trimmer head comprises a body containing a support for holding a plurality of cutting filaments. Said support is a convex part comprising a plurality of slots, disposed in a regular manner along the circumference of the support. The slots are arranged by pairs, each slot forming a pair with a diametrically opposed slot. Each cutting filament is inserted in a pair of slots, such that substantially equal lengths of the filament extend on either side of the support, in a direction substantially perpendicular to the rotation axis of the body.
Said trimmer head further comprises a concave ring that may be coupled to the convex support so as to constrain both lengths of the filament in a direction substantially parallel to the rotation axis of the body.
The structure of said head is complicated and cumbersome.
In addition, switching from an orientation of the cutting filament to the other one requires complex and time-consuming dismantling and reassembling of the trimmer head.

Trimmer head for a vegetation cutting machine


Method and apparatus for outputting data from a memory array having a plurality of non-volatile memory cells arranged into rows and columns. In accordance with various embodiments, charge is stored in a volatile memory cell connected to the memory array, and the stored charge is subsequently discharged from the volatile memory cell through a selected column. In some embodiments, the volatile memory cell is a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) cell from a row of the cells with each DRAM cell along the row coupled to a respective column in the memory array, and each column of non-volatile memory cells comprises Flash memory cells connected in a NAND configuration.

Data storage devices generally operate to store and retrieve user data in a fast and effective manner. Some data storage devices utilize solid-state memory elements (cells) to store the user data, such as in the case of a solid-state drive (SSD). The memory cells can be volatile or non-volatile, and can take a variety of constructions such as but not limited to dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), Flash, electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), spin-torque transfer random access memory (STRAM), and resistive random access memory (RRAM).
The cells can be programmed to store data in relation to a given programmed state. The programmed state can be sensed by a sense amplifier which senses a voltage drop across the cell responsive to application of a read current. Each cell can be used to store a single bit of user data, or can be used to store multiple bits of user data.
The memory cells can be arranged into an array of rows and columns. The cells in each column can be connected in a NAND configuration, such as in the case of certain types of Flash memory arrays. A page read operation can be carried out to read the contents of the memory cells along a selected row by applying a word line voltage to the selected row while applying read currents to bit lines along each column. In this way, the entire contents of the selected row (a page of memory) can be retrieved from the array. While operable, these and other types of read operations can be time and resource intensive.

NAND flash memory with integrated bit line capacitance


An automatic passive interactive tracking device is disclosed which provides for the detection of intruders with a single quadruplex stationary passive infrared sensor covering a relatively wide field of view. Alternatively, two dual sensors may be incorporated. The stationary sensor or sensors provides a signal to a microcontroller, which drives a stepper motor to rotate additional sensors with narrower fields of view to more precisely determine the exact bearing of the intruder. By incorporating appropriate analog to digital conversion and algorithms in the microcontroller, approximate range may also be determined. When the intruder has been verified by all of the sensors, a camera and/or light is activated to record the intruder. A number of the tracking devices may be linked together to cover a larger area, and may provide signals to a remotely located monitor and/or security post. As each device requires only a single camera and no human operator, great savings may be achieved in the costs involved in such security. Alternative embodiments provide for a sonic emitter, directional laser or strobe light to frighten intruders such as animals in agricultural areas, and provision may be made for a portable unit for police surveillance and/or traffic monitoring.

The monitoring of areas for various purposes, such as traffic control, animal or human intrusion deterrence, and/or surveillance for security or other purposes, has become increasingly important with population increases and the pressures of a more complex society. Such concerns are often apparent to the observer, who may readily note remote camera installations and security guards and personnel in banks, shopping malls and other areas, as well as pneumatic or other traffic monitoring devices on the road. Such devices and services can be relatively costly, particularly in the case of monitoring or security personnel. However, in some situations there have been no suitable alternatives to such personnel due to the relatively high power demands of many security systems, such as floodlighting for camera surveillance, etc., as well as the need for human observation.
Additionally, it is well known that an intruder (particularly an animal) may often be frightened away by sudden sounds or noises, and in fact this technique has been used with some success with both human intruders and also in areas such as airports and agricultural areas to keep birds and other animals clear of the area. However, these devices generally operate on a timed basis, whether they are needed at the moment or not. Such systems are wasteful of power and distracting, to say the least, to those working in the vicinity if they are not deactivated.
The need arises for a tracking system which is capable of operating upon demand, i.e., when an intruder or intruders approach the area covered by the system. The system should require relatively low power in normal use, as the additional power required for lights, audio devices, cameras, etc. need only be supplied when required by the primary sensing means. The primary sensing means should be of a passive nature, which renders such sensing means more difficult to detect, as well as further reducing power demands. Moreover, the system should be relatively inexpensive to manufacture and operate in comparison to other systems developed.