A Pipe Overpack Container for transuranic waste storage and shipment. The system consists of a vented pipe component which is positioned in a vented, insulated 55 gallon steel drum. Both the vented pipe component and the insulated drum are capable of being secured to prevent the contents from leaving the vessel. The vented pipe component is constructed of 1/4 inch stainless steel to provide radiation shielding. Thus, allowing shipment having high Americium-241 content. Several Pipe Overpack Containers are then positioned in a type B, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved, container. In the current embodiment, a TRUPACT-II container was employed and a maximum of fourteen Pipe Overpack Containers were placed in the TRUPACT-II. The combination received NRC approval for the shipment and storage of transuranic waste.

This invention relates an improved apparatus for the transportation and storage of high plutonium content transuranic waste. In particular, Applicants' apparatus allows for the shipment and storage of transuranic waste at a rate 8.6 times greater than is available using currently available technology. Employing a TRUPACT-II, type B external container, in conjunction with currently available interior containers only 325 Fissile Grams Equivalent(FGE) can be shipped to an approved tranuranic waste repository in a single TRUPACT-II container. Using Applicants' inner container in conjunction with the TRUPACT-II, 2800 FGE can be shipped to an approved nuclear waste storage site per TRUPACT-II container. In addition, Applicants' container provides additional radiation shielding for the handling of wastes with high Americium-241 (Am241) content.
Applicants' container was approved for use in the TRUPACT-II shipping container by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 1997 for the handling of wastes. The container was subsequently evaluated and approved for storage of highly dispersible TRU wastes and residues.
The initial accident testing of the TRUPACT-II shipping container showed that the lids of the drums contained in the container could come off during a hypothetical accident and allow the contents of the drum to lose spacing control from a criticality standpoint. Based on this possibility, and the appropriate worst case assumptions, a TRUPACT-II criticality limit of 325 FGE was calculated. The Pipe Component, contained in Applicants' Pipe Overpack Container was designed and tested to maintain containment of its contents during normal transport and hypothetical accident conditions. The criticality calculations crediting the Pipe Component showed that the criticality requirements were met, thus, increasing the limits of the TRUPACT-II to 2800 FGE.
The Pipe Overpack Container system, which includes the Pipe Component as its central feature, was designed, tested, and qualified as a Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved, enhanced TRUPACT-II payload container. Applicants' apparatus in conjunction with the TRUPACT-II system allows for more efficient transport and disposal of certain residues and wastes at an appropriate waste disposal sites.
The following benefits occur from the use of the Pipe Overpack Container:
Increased criticality limits for the TRUPACT-II Type B shipping container. Up to fourteen Pipe Overpack Containers can be shipped in a TRUPACT-II. Each container may have a maximum fissile gram equivalent loading of 200 grams, for a total TRUPACT-II load of 2800 FGE. For shipments of waste packaged in payload containers other than the Pipe Overpack Container, the limit is 325 FGE per TRUPACT-II. PA1 The Pipe Overpack Container provides for radiation shielding for high Americium-241 content transuranic wastes. PA1 Use as a structurally enhanced system for the storage of highly dispersible materials containing plutonium. PA1 Three top-impact drop tests were performed. In each test, two drums were strapped end-to-end as if positioned for transport within a TRUPACT-II. Top impact tests were performed for the following configurations of overpacks: PA1 Two 55 gallon drums containing 6 in diameter pipe components; PA1 Two 55 gallon drums containing 12 in diameter pipe components; PA1 Two 55 gallon drums: one containing a 6 inch diameter pipe component and one containing a 12 inch diameter pipe component. PA1 One side impact test was performed by dropping an uncertified but functional TRUPACT-II Inner Containment Vessel (ICV) with a payload assembly. The payload assembly consisted of a top layer of seven Pipe Overpack Containers containing 6 inch diameter pipe components and a bottom layer of seven Pipe Overpack Containers containing 12 inch diameter pipe components. This drop demonstrated a worst case, as damage to the Pipe Overpack Containers would be less severe within the entire TRUPACT-II package, which includes ten inches of impact-absorbing foam. PA1 A dynamic crush test of the Pipe Overpack Container was performed where the container was placed on an unyielding target, and a 500 kg steel plate 1 m square was dropped from 30 ft height onto the package. The test was performed with the container in an upright orientation as it is the orientation they will be in during storage, and the test was designed to simulate loading on the container if the roof of the storage building were to collapse onto the package. PA1 A bare Pipe Component drop test was performed. This test consisted of dropping bare inner Pipe Components onto an essentially unyielding target from a height of 10 ft. The tests were performed with the bolted closure of the pipe impacting the target first. The tests were performed to simulate a handling accident in which the pipe is dropped prior to being placed within the overpack. The test also demonstrated safety for a scenario where the interim storage of the pipes in racks without the protective overpack. PA1 The final test was an engulfing pool fire test. In this test four Pipe Overpack Containers were placed on an open support stand with 1 m spacing between them in a square array. The bottom of the units were 1 m above the surface of a 10 square meter pool of jet fuel floating on top of a layer of water. The fuel was ignited and allowed to burn for 30 minutes. This type of fire test generally results in a flame temperature between 1073 K and 1373 K. The test was performed to simulate a fire in a storage building. Two designs of drum filters were tested in the fire: A stainless steel housing--carbon media filter, and a polyethylene housing--carbon filter media filters. PA1 Elimination of the 55 gallon drums, packing material, and any cans used inside the Pipe Components as migration barriers; PA1 Uniform distribution of water moderator in the waste; PA1 Closely packed geometry of fourteen Pipe Components without the presence of any other material; PA1 Flooding of the TRUPACT-II with the moderation medium; PA1 Reflection of escaping neutrons into the system.
A test program was developed and implemented to demonstrate the integrity of the Pipe Overpack Container under hypothetical transportation accident conditions. Normal conditions of transport were bounded by the test program. Additional testing was performed for safe interim storage.
Transportation tests of 30 ft top and side impact drops of loaded Pipe Overpack Containers, were performed. The drop tests simulated the interaction effects of other fully loaded Pipe Overpack Containers within a TRUPACT-II.
The transportation testing consisted of:
The site storage testing consisted of:
A helium leak test was one of the methods used to determine if the Pipe Component passed or failed the tests. The Pipe Components used in the tests were fitted with leak test ports to allow connection to the leak detector. To facilitate this test, the outlet ports of the filters were sealed with vacuum putty or a clamping fixture, which allowed the gasket between the filter and the Pipe Component to be tested. After the tests, the filters were removed, and an evaluation of the filter performance was conducted by the filter manufacturer.
There was no loss of containment in any drop or crush tests. All Pipe Components had a leakage rate of less than 1.times.10.sup.-7 cm.sup.3 /s. The filters showed no damage from the drop and crush tests. They were verified to have met flow and filtering requirements.
The engulfing pool fire test had mixed results. With one exception, all Pipe Components were found to be leak tight after the fire test. One Pipe Component was found to have a helium leak rate of approximately 24 cm.sup.3 /s after the fire test where leakage was detected between the lid and the weld neck flange and between the filter and the lid. The drum which contained this unit had the stainless steel-housed filter rather than the polyethylene filter. During the fire test, this drum became sufficiently pressurized to blow off the drum lid. At this point, the Pipe Component was exposed directly to the heat from the fire, and the elastomeric O-ring and filter gasket were both destroyed. The polyethylene-housed drum filters installed in the lids of the other three drums melted and were blown out of the drum lid. This provided a pressure relief pathway sufficient enough to prevent the lids from blowing off. Although the containment provided by the drum was compromised, the Pipe Components contained therein retained their integrity and did not leak.
A series of criticality analyses modeled TRUPACT-II payload assemblies of Pipe Overpack Containers to evaluate the highest system "k-effective" value possible. The analyses constructed potential configurations of postulated accident geometries for a payload of Pipe Overpack Containers. The model evaluated a loading of 200 grams of Pu239 per Pipe Overpack Container in both dry and water-saturated forms. The following conservative assumptions were used in the analyses under normal transport conditions and hypothetical accidents:
These assumptions are comparable to those used in the criticality analyses performed for other authorized payload containers with one exception. One key assumption used to analyze the criticality potential and to establish control limits for other payload containers was that all fissile material within the payload containers would breach the packaging to come together under hypothetical accident conditions. The Pipe Component impact testing results demonstrate that the structural integrity of the Pipe Component prevents the release of its contents under hypothetical accident conditions. Thus, the criticality analyses assume no loss of containment by the Pipe Component despite the elimination of the drum, packing material, and any layers of confinement used inside the Pipe Component.
The results of the analysis show that no simulation of TRUPACT-II payload assemblies of Pipe Overpack Containers exceeded an average k-effective value of 0.9. This demonstrates that the system was subcritical in all cases. Therefore, a TRUPACT-II shipment of fourteen Pipe Overpack Containers with 200 FGE each is safe for transportation and meets criticality requirements for transport during normal and hypothetical accident conditions.
The Pipe Overpack Container has been assessed for its radiation shielding. Effective radiation shielding depends on a continuous barrier of dense material (i.e., steel) without openings that would allow radiation "streaming" or leakage. Both Pipe Component designs provide a nominal 1/4 inch of steel for shielding of 60 Kev gamma radiation from Americium (Am241). The Pipe Component has a design feature to prevent radiation streaming through the relatively low density filter media of the filter vents. Puncture protection is also provided to the filter media via the same design.
The Pipe Overpack Container must meet the TRUPACT-II Safety Analysis Report for Packaging (SARP) requirements for dose rate limits. The measured radiation dose rates of each Pipe Overpack Container must comply with the 200 millirem/hour at the container surface and 10 millirem/hour at two meters requirement. It is estimated that the worst case loading using the Pipe Overpack Container will produce no more than 10 millirem/hour combined gamma and neutron at the surface of the container.
Finite element modeling was used to support analysis of the Pipe Overpack Container to resolve storage accident scenarios where physical testing of the container could not be easily performed. Two scenarios were evaluated. One risk to the integrity of the Pipe Overpack Container during handling and storage is an accident where the Pipe Overpack Container drum is punctured by the tine of a forklift. The other accident scenario analyzed involves the collapse of the roof of a storage building.
The forklift accident scenario assumed a 4920 kg forklift traveling at 4.5 m/s pinning the Pipe Overpack Container against a rigid wall. The impacting position of the tine was chosen to maximize damage of the Pipe Component. Both the 6 and 12 inch diameter Pipe Components were capable of stopping the forklift without a total failure of the component. The pipes were bent significantly but remained relatively intact. The strain concentrations caused when the outside tip of the tine impacted the pipe were high enough to assume that localized tearing of the pipe wall would occur at this location. The design of the tine used in the analyses had a squared off end which greatly contributed to the strain concentration.
A slightly off-center impact was analyzed to determine whether it was a more severe impact than the symmetrical impact conditions. The ability of the Pipe Component to move away from the tine was effective at keeping the strains in the Pipe Component to below the failure strain limits.
The building collapse scenario evaluated the collapse of the roof structure of the storage building onto the Pipe Overpack Container. Three possible impact orientations were selected for the analysis: a flat section of roof impacting the top of the Pipe Overpack Container, a flat section of roof impacting the side of the container, and the edge of a roof section impacting the side of the container. In all of these analyses, the roof section was assumed to be rigid and traveling at constant velocity. The amount of energy absorbed by the package at its failure point was calculated which allowed the risk assessment to determine the weight of a roof section necessary to cause the package to fail.
In a real accident, it is possible that more than one container will be impacted by the collapsing roof structure. Under these conditions, the total energy absorbed will be equal to energy absorbed by each package times the number of packages impacted by the falling roof structure. The amount of energy absorbed by a single package gives an indication of how massive a roof section can fall from a given height without causing package failure. From the analysis, a single 6 inch Pipe Overpack Container in an end impact orientation implies that this package would not fail if impacted by a 2950 kg roof section falling from 6.1 m. For a 10.2 cm thick reinforced concrete slab, this equates to a section more than 3.65 meter square. For the impact of an edge of a roof section onto the side of the 12 in. Pipe Overpack Container, the absorbed energy is equal to a 232 kg roof section falling from 6.1 m. For a 10.2 cm thick roof slab, this weight is equal to a 1.06 meter square section. The edge of a roof section falling on the side of a 12 inch Pipe Overpack Container in its most vulnerable location is the most damaging case.
The development, testing, and approval of the Pipe Overpack Container have resulted in its approval for use. Utilization of the Pipe Overpack Container results in substantial optimization of packaging transuranic wastes and their shipment to an approved disposal site. It further reduces the risks to the workers and the public.
Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide an inner container for use with a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved type B outer container, in the current enablement a TRUPACT-II, to transport transuranic waste.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an inner container for use with an NRC approved type B outer container for the transport of transuranic waste material where the inner container provides radiation shielding to allow for the transportation of waste material having a high Americium-241 content.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an inner container for use with an NRC approved type B outer container for the storage of transuranic waste material where the inner container provides radiation shielding.
Finally, it is an object of this invention to provide for an inner container for use with an NRC approved type B outer container for the transportation and storage of highly dispersible materials containing plutonium.
Additional advantages, objects and novel features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following and by practice of the invention.

Pipe overpack container for trasuranic waste storage and shipment

The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy


A method of transmitting an MIMO (multiple input multiple output) feedback information, which is transmitted by a mobile station in a wireless communication system, is disclosed. The present invention includes sending a ranging request message to a base station and receiving a ranging response message from the base station in response to the ranging request message, wherein the mobile station comprises a fixed M2M (machine to machine) device and wherein the ranging request message contains the MIMO feedback information.

Generally, MIMO (multiple input multiple output) scheme means the scheme of increasing system capacity in a manner that a base station or a mobile station simultaneously transmits several data streams (or layers) spatially using at least two transmitting/receiving antennas. The MIMO scheme includes transmit diversity, spatial multiplexing or beamforming.
In the transmit diversity scheme, the same data information is transmitted via several transmitting antennas, thereby implementing highly reliable data transmission advantageously without channel related feedback information from a receiver. The beamforming is used to increase a reception SINR (signal to interference plus noise ratio) of a receiver in a manner of multiplying each transmitting antenna by an appropriate weight. In the beamforming, since uplink/downlink channel is generally independent in FDD (frequency division duplexing) system, highly reliable channel information necessary to acquire an appropriate beamforming gain. Hence, the beamforming receives a separate feedback from a receiver and then uses the received separate feedback.
The spatial multiplexing scheme may be categorized into a single user spatial multiplexing scheme and a multi-user spatial multiplexing scheme. The single user spatial multiplexing scheme is called SM (spatial multiplexing) or SU-MIMO (single user MIMO). According to the spatial multiplexing scheme, a plurality of antenna resources of a base station are entirely allocated to a single user (or mobile station) and capacity of MIMO channel increases in proportion to the number of antennas. Meanwhile, the multi-user spatial multiplexing scheme is called SDMA (spatial divisional multiple access) or MU-MIMO (multi-user MIMO). According to the multi-user spatial multiplexing scheme, a plurality of antenna resources or radio space resources of a base station are distributed to multiple users (mobile stations).
In case of using the MIMO scheme, there are a single codeword (SCW) method of transmitting N simultaneously-transmitted data streams (or layers) using a single channel encoding block and a multiple codeword (MCW) method of transmitting N data streams using M channel encoding blocks (M≦N). In this case, each of the channel encoding blocks creates an independent codeword (CW) and each codeword is designed to enable independent error detection.
Machine-to-machine (hereinafter abbreviated M2M) communication literally means a communication between one electronic device and another electronic device. In a broad sense, M2M communication may mean a wire/wireless communication between electronic devices or a communication between a human-controllable device and a machine. Recently, the M2M communication generally indicates a communication between electronic devices, i.e., a device-to-device wireless communication performed without human involvement.
In the early 1990's, in which the concept of the M2M communication has been initially introduced, the M2M communication has been recognized as remote control or telematics or the like and derivative markets of the M2M communication were very limitative. Yet, the M2M communication has grown rapidly for past few years and has become the globally noteworthy markets. Specifically, in POS (point of sales) and security related application markets, the M2M communication has considerably influence on such field as fleet management, remote monitoring of machinery and equipment, smart meter for auto-measurement of operating time, consumed heat or electricity quantity on construction machinery equipment and the like. M2M communication in the future will be further utilized for various usages in connection with a small-scale output communication solution such as conventional mobile communication, wireless high-speed interne, Wi-Fi, ZigBee and the like and may lay the foundation of expansion to B2C (business to consumer) markets instead of being confined to B2B (business to business) markets.
In the era of M2M communication, every machine equipped with SIM (subscriber identify module) card enables data transmission and reception and is capable of remote management and control. For instance, as M2M communication technology is usable for numerous devices and equipment including vehicles, trucks, containers, autovending machines, gas tanks and the like, its application fields may reach far and wide.
According to a related art, since mobile stations are managed by individual unit in general, a communication between a base station and a mobile station is usually performed by a one-to-one communication scheme. Assuming that numerous M2M devices communicate with a base station by the one-to-one communication scheme, network may be overloaded due to the occurrence of signaling between the base station and each of the numerous M2M devices.

Method of transmitting and receiving MIMO feedback information in wireless communication system, mobile station and base station


A robotic arm compensator includes a housing, a lock mandrel, a first lock slide, a second lock slide and an instrument attached to the lock mandrel. A method of using the robotic arm compensator includes moving the first and second lock slides in a direction toward each other to engage the lock mandrel in a first state and moving the lock slides apart from each other to disengage the lock mandrel in a second state for providing exceptional radial movement, large lateral travel relative to overall size, zero force to utilize the compensation travel and no axial compressibility.

Centering or alignment devices are known, which compensate for positioning errors due to machine inaccuracy, misaligned components, vibration or tolerance. For instance, ATI Industrial Automation offers a "Remote Center Compliance" (RCC) device that uses a plurality of spring-loaded shear pads that align a part in a receiving hole. The RCC device is reliant on low lateral stiffness of the shear pads.
Another alignment device is offered by Robotic Accessories Division (RAD), which also provides a centralizing movement that is based on a series of ball bearings being driven into seats. The RAD device has limited lateral and radial allowances.
DE-STA-CO offers a variety of centering devices that have various limitations. For instance, DE-STA-CO's "Cylindrical Horizontal Compliance Device" is a horizontal compensator only. While it will allow for a radial movement, it will not return to its original radial position. The angular repeatability is only ±10°. Another DE-STA-CO device entitled "Lateral Compliance Device—Pneumatic Centering" only compensates in a lateral direction. This device allows no radial movement. Another device by DE-STA-CO entitled "Compliance Wrist" allows for both lateral and radial movement, but this device is akin to the ATI device noted above. The Compliance Wrist basically is a pair of plates connected by springs oriented at slight angles. The springs allow the plates to shift and/or rotate, and then urge the plates to return to their original position. This device offers no positive return for radial movement. Also, the limited range of movement (at most ±⅛″ lateral and ±2° radial) plagues this design. Another shortfall with this design is the amount of force required to shift the plates. Its springs must be strong enough to support a load, which therefore require substantial force to utilize its misalignment capability. Stated another way, this arrangement can require several hundred inch pounds for deflection.
The industry is in need of a compensator for a robotic arm that has a relatively large size to lateral travel ratio, exceptional radial movement allowance, essentially zero force to utilize compensation travel, and no axial compressibility to permit use in applications requiring axial force.


A method and system for testing a semiconductor device is disclosed. The method provides an integrated test program defined by a plurality of test items, and a test program defined by a sub-set of the test items. Test data is derived by batch sample testing of the semiconductor device, and an error rate for a test item is computed and then compared to a reference data value. On the basis of the comparison between the error rate and the reference data value, the test program may be modified in real-time.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a testing protocol for a semiconductor device. More particularly, the invention relates to a testing protocol implemented by real-time optimized test program(s) for a semiconductor device and an automated test method using same.
This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2006-0060662, filed on Jun. 30, 2006, the subject matter of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
Contemporary semiconductor devices are fabricated using an extremely complex sequence of processes. The proper application of these processes as well as the functionality provided by the circuitry formed on semiconductor devices must be systematically verified by numerous sophisticated testing protocols. Functional testing is performed on semiconductor devices on the wafer level, the module level, and package level. In order to provide the necessary efficiency, much of this testing is performed by automatic testing systems using a group of specialized equipment platforms, each generically referred to hereafter as "a tester."
Despite considerable efforts to detect and address problems with semiconductor devices at the wafer level, some latent problems with the functionality of semiconductor devices are only detected once the individual semiconductor dies are packaged by downstream manufacturers. Further, despite testing the additional testing performed by packaging manufacturers some latent quality problems are only detected by consumers of the semiconductor devices, such as end users, retailers, and electronic system or consumer products manufacturers.
Quality problems noted by consumers are highly undesirable for the manufacturer of semiconductor devices and can lead to expensive replacement or repair programs. As a result, semiconductor device manufacturers have expanded and enhanced electrical test programs for semiconductor devices in order to eliminate the possibility of quality programs impacting consumers. Unfortunately, the expansion and enhancement of the electrical test programs lengthens test periods for semiconductor devices.
Indeed, a testing overkill phenomenon may occur. Testing overkill may actually result in the disqualification of acceptable semiconductor devices. Production yields may be unnecessarily impacted and profit margins eroded. Thus, a difficult balance must be struck between adequate testing of semiconductor devices—which is sufficient to identify quality problems, and over-testing of semiconductor devices—which unjustifiably extends testing time and unnecessarily reduces production yields.
Achieving this testing balance requires an iterative engineering approach of running certain tests, analyzing the test results, and modifying the tests in view of the testing results. However, this iterative test development is a lengthy and resource intensive process as engineers must manually edit the automated tests, edit the software programs implementing the tests, compile the edited test programs to implement the programs in execution files, and install the execution files into the automated testing equipment. This conventional approach to the refinement of testing protocols is slow and not well adapted to quickly addressing newly identified quality problems.

Real-time optimized testing of semiconductor device


An isolation system with analog communication across an isolation barrier includes an isolation barrier circuit having at least one isolation element; a digital to analog circuit having an analog output connected to the isolation barrier and an input for receiving an input digital signal to be communicated across the isolation barrier; and an analog to digital circuit having an input coupled to the analog output of the isolation barrier circuit for providing a digital output signal.

With the increasing demand for integration of asymmetrical digital subscriber lines (ADSL's) and V90 modems or plain old telephone systems (POT's) the barrier isolation transformer has been split so that one part responds to the tip and ring lines to communicate with the ADSL modem and another part communicates with the POTS or V90 modem. There are a number of problems with this approach. Transformers are lossy, introduce distortion and have limited as well as non-linear response and are relatively large and expensive. Presently, there is no suitable transformer to handle both the POTS and ADSL bandwidth with the required performance level. In another approach the isolation barrier was moved back to the digital portion of the circuit and was implemented with capacitors but this was for V90 or POTS modems only and did not encompass the ADSL circuits.

Isolation system with analog communication across an isolation barrier


An EVA insole manufacturing process includes a step of mixing an EVA resin with a foaming agent for producing a molding through squeezing and cutting procedures, and a step of heating the molding thus obtained in a mold so that it forms into a predetermined shape. Two or more moldings which respectively contain a different concentration of foaming agent or a different pigment color may be molded together so as to produce an insole which has different hardness and color at different parts thereof.

The present invention relates to an EVA insole manufacturing process for making EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer resin) insoles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,578 issued to the inventor of the present invention, discloses an EVA insole manufacturing process which includes a step of mixing an EVA resin with a foaming agent for producing a molding through an injection molding process, and a step of heating the molding thus obtained in a mold so that it foams into a predetermined shape. Two or more moldings which respectively contain a different concentration of foaming agent or a different pigment color may be put together in a common mold and subjected to integral foaming and form setting process, so as to produce an insole which has different hardness and color at different parts thereof. This EVA insole manufacturing process eliminates the disadvantages of a conventional EVA insole manufacturing process, which includes a first step to mix an EVA resin with a foaming agent and then squeezing the mixture into strips, a second step to place the EVA material strips in a hot press and letting it be subjected to a foaming process, a third step to place the foamed EVA strip in a water cooling trough for cooling and then cutting or trimming the foamed EVA strips, a fourth step to grind the EVA strips and then put them in a hydraulic machine for form setting. The EVA insole manufacturing process according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,578 consumes less human power, can fully utilize EVA material and greatly increase production capacity. However, it is still time consuming in forming a first molding and a second molding and form setting the integral molding obtained from putting the second molding within an opening on the first molding and heat foaming both the first and second moldings together in a mold. Further, this process needs much equipment including at least a crusher, an injection molding machine, a heat press, a hydraulic machine. Because of the use of the aforesaid necessary equipment, the hardware equipment cost and regular hardware equipment maintenance cost become inevitably high.

No. 1, Alley 104, Lane 270, Hsueh Shih Rd.


In a client/server computer architecture, a message signal appearing on a server computer is assigned a further message signal and the latter is written to a pipe and transmitted to a servlet on the server computer via the pipe. The further message signal is then transferred to a client computer via a transfer channel by way of the servlet. Here, the message signal is decoupled from the corresponding further message signal, with the fate of the message signal after it has appeared no longer directly influencing the fate of the associated message signal.

On account of Internet technology, which has been progressing further and further particularly in recent times, and all the associated communication and application solutions, it is possible even in command systems for controlling and observing a technical installation to spot the trend for developing such command systems by incorporating methods and solutions from the field of Internet technology.
The particular effect which is intended to be achieved by this is that the control stations (operator terminals) in the command system become largely locally independent of the site of the technical installation. In addition, the intention is for it no longer to be necessary to install special control and observation software on the control stations in order to be able to control the technical installation. A client computer with an installed web browser will be sufficient for this.
Such a command system allows a technical installation to be controlled remotely, and in many cases the control room within the technical installation no longer needs to be occupied or no longer needs to be occupied all the time.
In many known command systems, alarms within the technical installation are often reported not only by way of visual display, for example on a screen or a large screen, but also audibly, for example by way of a signal horn or a claxon. This, at least when an alarm message requiring rapid action appears, emits a loud tone at a particular frequency in order to give a clear indication to personnel present in the technical installation that there is an urgent need for action.
In an unmanned or only intermittently occupied control room, an audible alarm is inevitably often unnoticed.
In command systems which make use of Internet technology, a connection from a control station to a server computer in the command system is set up usually only when needed, for example in order to perform a control action or to assure oneself of the current operating state of the technical installation.
Such command systems usually have no provision for asynchronous transfer of messages from the server computer to a client computer (control station in the command system). Thus, in such command systems, it is essentially possible to transfer only such messages/signals to a control station (client computer) as are waiting on the server computer at the time of a connection existing between the control station and the server computer.

Method and apparatus for asynchronously transferring at least one message signal


A circuit arrangement for automatically recognizing the line number of a video sync signal in accordance with the 525 or 625 line standard, this circuit arrangement automatically generating a control signal corresponding to one of the relevant line numbers. To recognize the line number, a line counter (14) clocked with horizontal frequency pulses is provided, this line counter receiving the frame-frequency sync pulse signal as a reset signal. Moreover, a decoding stage (15) is arranged at the output of the line counter (14), which supplies a signal for changing the line standard hitherto used and a signal characterizing the corresponding line standard. In a subsequent signal evaluation circuit (16), these two signals are checked and a control signal either corresponding to the current line standard or to the new line standard is applied to the output (17).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a circuit arrangement for automatically recognizing the line number of a video sync signal in accordance with the 525 or 625 line standard, and for automatically generating a control signal corresponding to one of the relevant line numbers, a sync pulse signal of the horizontal frequency being derived from a main sync pulse generator via a phase-locked loop with a programmable divider arranged in the feedback path of the phase-locked loop.
2. Description Of The Related Art
The currently conventional color television systems make worldwide use of mainly two different line standards, namely, 525 lines at 30 (or 29.97) Hz frame frequency and 625 lines at 25 Hz frame frequency. Post-production television studios generally use the same television equipment, such as telecine scanners, video recorders, color correction apparatus, video mixers, etc., in the different color television standards, i.e., both 525 and 625 lines. To prevent that all television apparatuses connected to the main sync pulse generator of the television studio must be individually switched over when changing the line number, it is desirable to change only the line number when the sync pulses are generated, thus to switch the main sync pulse generator so that all television apparatuses synchronized therewith are simultaneously and automatically adapted to the new line number. To avoid picture drop-outs, a high degree of freedom from interference is required.
A circuit for automatically recognizing different line standards (525/625 lines) is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,011, which circuit is, however, particularly intended for television receivers for domestic use. In this case, only a simple horizontal frequency oscillator having a fixed setting is provided as a sync generator for a line counter.

Circuit arrangement for automatically recognizing the line standard of a video sync signal


Disclosed are a monitoring method and system and an integrated monitoring device for an antenna oscillator of a base station, which are used to monitor whether an anomaly occurs in the antenna oscillator of the base station. The monitoring method for an antenna oscillator of a base station in the present invention comprises: performing wave detection and analog-to-digital conversion on an obtained transmission signal of the antenna oscillator of the base station, to acquire a digital signal of a direct-current signal of the transmission signal; determining the amplitude of changes of the digital signal in a set time length, and when the amplitude of the changes is greater than a preset amplitude change threshold, determining that an anomaly occurs in the antenna oscillator; otherwise, determining that the antenna element is normal.

A base station antenna usually adopts a form in which elements form an array, to form electromagnetic wave beams having a higher gain and meeting a certain shape requirement to transfer a wireless communication signal. Presently, the base station antenna equipped with more elements becomes the mainstream gradually, particularly the intelligence antenna of Time Division Synchronized Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA) and the Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) antenna of the Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, in which not only an array is formed in the vertical surface of the antenna, but also multiple columns of antenna arrays are needed to be formed in the horizontal surface.
The base station array antenna has many elements therein, when a certain antenna element can not work normally due to certain reason (such as short circuit or open circuit of feed), a reflection coefficient of the main port of the array will not generally deteriorate seriously, therefore, the base station will not send a standing wave alarm. However, the array pattern will be influenced obviously, for example a lobe pattern is not enough symmetrical, the side lobe suppression is poor, and the gain reduces and so on.
The prior art provides a standing wave monitoring circuit for monitoring a standing wave ratio of a base station antenna-feeder system and outputting different levels of alarm signals and a standing wave monitoring method based on the circuit. However, the circuit design for the monitoring method is complicated, the object to be monitored is a radio frequency signal at the junction between an antenna-feeder and a radio frequency terminal device, and the standing wave situation of the elements within the base station antenna can not be detected.
In summary, in the prior art, only the radio frequency signal between the radio frequency front-end circuit and the antenna-feeder port is monitored, different levels of alarm signals are sent when the standing wave of the radio frequency signal is abnormal. However, for a large antenna array, when an individual element within the antenna has abnormal situation, such as rosin joint, short circuit, or the mechanical structure of the element being broken, the standing wave of the radio frequency signal at the junction between the antenna-feeder and the radio frequency front-end circuit will not appear to be abnormal obviously, hence the abnormal situation of the element within the antenna array can not be detected.

Monitoring method and system and integrated monitoring device for antenna oscillator of base station

CHINA MOBILE GROUP DESIGN INSTITUTE CO., LTD.


A semiconductor including a leadframe having a die attach paddle and a number of leads is provided. The die attach paddle has a recess to provide a number of mold dams around the periphery of the die attach paddle. An integrated circuit is positioned in the recess. Electrical connections between the integrated circuit and the number of leads are made, and an encapsulant is formed over the integrated circuit and around the number of mold dams.

In the electronics industry, the continuing goal has been to reduce the size of electronic devices such as camcorders and portable telephones while increasing performance and speed. Integrated circuit packages for complex systems typically are comprised of a multiplicity of interconnected integrated circuit chips. The integrated circuit chips usually are made from a semiconductor material such as silicon or gallium arsenide. Semiconductor devices are formed in the various layers of the integrated circuit chips using photolithographic techniques. The integrated circuit chips may be mounted in packages that are then mounted on printed wiring boards.
Packages including integrated circuit chips typically have numerous external pins that are mechanically attached by solder or a variety of other known techniques to conductor patterns on the printed wiring board.
Typically, the packages on which these integrated semiconductor chips are mounted include a substrate or other chip mounting device. One example of such a substrate is a leadframe. High performance leadframes typically are multi-layer structures including power, ground, and signal planes.
Leadframes also typically include at least an area on which an integrated circuit chip is mounted and a plurality of power, ground, and/or signal leads to which power, ground, and/or signal sites of the integrated semiconductor chip are electronically attached. Semiconductor integrated chips may be attached to the leadframe using adhesive or any other techniques for attaching such chips to a leadframe which are commonly known to those skilled in the art, such as soldering. The power, ground and signal sites on the chip may then be electrically connected to selected power, ground and signal plane or individual leads of the leadframe.
Leadframes have been used extensively in the integrated circuit (IC) packaging industry mainly because of their low manufacturing cost and high reliability. Leadframe packages remain a cost-effective solution for packaging integrated circuits despite the introduction of various leadless packages in recent years.
Typical leadframe packages include a die attach paddle, or pad, surrounded by a number of leads. An integrated circuit chip, is attached to the die attach paddle using a conductive adhesive such as silver epoxy. The conductive adhesive is cured after die attach. After the die is attached to the die paddle, a wire-bonding process is used to make electrical interconnections between the integrated circuit and the leads of the leadframe. After wire bonding, the leadframe with the integrated circuit attached is encapsulated using a molding compound.
Such enclosures may include encapsulation in a plastic or a multi-part housing made of plastic ceramic, or metal. The enclosure protects the leadframe and the attached chip from physical, electrical, and/or chemical damage.
Finally, post mold curing and singulation steps are conducted to complete the packaging process.
The leadframe and attached chip(s) may then be mounted on, for example, a circuit board, or card along with other leadframes or devices. The circuit board or card may then be incorporated into a wide variety of devices such as computers, automobiles, or appliances, among others.
One problem that persists with leadframes is that the integrated circuits mounted on these leadframes are subject to failure due to moisture penetration of the integrated circuit package. If the molding compound is not securely attached to the leadframe, moisture or other contaminants can contact the integrated circuit thereby causing failures.
Another problem is that the molding compound does not flow evenly over the entire leadframe resulting in areas where moisture or other contaminants may contact the integrated circuit thereby contributing to the failure of the integrated circuit.
Solutions to these problems have been long sought but prior developments have not taught or suggested any solutions and, thus, solutions to these problems have long eluded those skilled in the art.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Integrated circuit package with leadframe locked encapsulation and method of manufacture therefor


The present invention relates to a backing film for a resilient floor covering comprising (a) a first layer and (b) a second layer, wherein the first layer contains a first filler in an amount of from 10 to 80% by weight and the second layer contains a second filler in an amount of from 10 to 80% by weight and wherein the first filler is a platelet type filler.

Resilient floor coverings, which include for example vinyl tiles and vinyl sheet, are well known. There are described for example in an article entitled "Flooring Materials" in Encyclopaedia of Polymer Science and Engineering, Wiley-Interscience, Volume 7 (1987), pages 233-247.
Such floor coverings, as described in the above article, are composite materials. The uppermost film, which is commonly called the wear layer, is formulated for good resistance to abrasion and wear. The undermost film of the composite is commonly referred to as the backing film and may comprise one or more backing layers. A printed patterned film is generally interposed between the wear layer and a first backing layer.
The backing layer is generally a highly filled thermoplastic material. The compositions of all of the layers in the composite must be balanced to ensure that the floor covering has the correct properties, for example insulating and sound absorbing properties, and in particular freedom from a tendency to curl. Economic factors must also be borne in mind.
In the manufacture of resilient floor coverings, films, including the backing layers, are commonly made by techniques such as calendaring, extrusion and spread coating.
In the field of resilient floor coverings, as in all consumer led fields, there is a constant drive to provide high quality products at ever lower prices. Manufacturers can reduce costs as far as possible by negotiations with suppliers and looking carefully at their production processes but there may also be changes to products that can be made to reduce the cost of the product itself.
In the field of resilient floor coverings increasing the level of filler in one or more of the films of the product can greatly reduce the cost of producing the product. However, increasing levels of filler has associated problems that must be considered, for example high filler levels can introduce curl into the final product and can affect the dimensional stability of the film and the end product. There can also be problems in actual manufacture of the film as high filler levels can result in processing problems, whether calendaring, extruding or spread coating.
In the field of floor coverings manufactured using plastisol processes it is simpler to insert a fibrous scrim between the printed patterned film and a highly filled backing film. The scrim allows the use of a highly filled, and therefore cheaper, backing film without any adverse effect on the curl and dimensional stability of the end product.
However, the use of a scrim in a calendaring, extrusion or spread coating process would add further steps and cost to the production of the product and gives fewer advantages in this particular production method. There therefore remains a need for a way to both reduce the cost and negate curl in resilient floor coverings, particularly those manufactured by a calendaring, extrusion or spread coating process.


The invention relates to genetic material, and specifically portions of DNA, for identifying the presence or absence of a mutation in the drug metabolism gene CYP2C9 and CYP2A6. Further, the invention comprises a method for determining such mutations and a kit incorporating the genetic material of the invention for performing the said methods so as to determine the presence or absence of mutations in the drug metabolizing gene CYP2C9 and CYP2A6.

It is well known that genetic polymorphisms in drug metabolizing genes give rise to a variety of phenotypes. This information has been used to advantage in the past for developing genetic assays that predict phenotype and thus predict an individual's ability to metabolize a given drug. The information is of particular value in determining the likely side effects and therapeutic failures of various drugs. The availability of this sort of information will result in routine phenotyping being recommended for certain categories of patients.
Drug metabolism is carried out by the cytochrome P450 family of enzymes. For example, the cytochrome P450 isozyme gene, CYP2C9 encodes a high affinity hepatic S!-warfarin 7-hydroxylase which appears to be principally responsible for the metabolic clearance of the most potent enantiomer of warfarin. Similarly, the cytochrome P450 isozyme gene, CYP2A6, encodes a protein that metabolizes nicotine and coumarin and activates the tobacco-specific nitrosamine 4-(methyinitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone) (NNK).
It is of note that the above gene products are also known to metabolize other substrates, for example, the CYP2C9 gene product is also known to metabolize Tolbutamide, Phenytoin, Ibuprofen, Naproxen, Tienilic acid, Diclofenac and Tetrahydrocannabinol.
It follows that genetic polymorphisms or mutations in either of the two aforementioned genes can lead to an impairment in metabolism of at least the aforementioned drugs.
In so far as CYP2C9 is concerned, sequences reported by Yasumori et al (1987 J. Biochem. 102:1075-1082.) and Kimura et al (1987 Nuc. Acids Res. 15:10053-10054) show differences at several positions including a C to T base change that results in a Arginine/Cysteine polymorphism at amino acid 144. This polymorphism has been designated R144C.
In so far as CYP2A6 is concerned, a T to A base change at position 488 of the cDNA sequence described by Yamano et al (1990 Biochemistry 29:1322-1329) results in substitution of Leucine 160 by Histidine. Henceforth this mutant form of the gene will be designated CYP2A6v1.
The variant CYP2A6v1 encodes an enzyme that is unstable and catalytically inactive. It is found in the general population at a frequency of about 1% but does not account for all slow metabolizers of coumarin.
Since the cDNA sequence structure of CYP2C9 and CYP2A6 are known, and since it is also known to perform genetic assays to determine whether a preselected mutation is present within a given gene, it should, in theory, be possible to design assays which specifically determine whether either of the aforementioned mutations are present in each of the respective aforementioned genes.
However, we have found an extraordinarily high degree of exon homology in the cytochrome P450 genes. This has resulted in non-specific binding of assay materials and poor performance of assays. In the instance where primers have been used to hybridize to genetic material, non-specific binding of such primers has taken place, and in the further instance where primers have been used to hybridize to genetic material with a view to performing a polymerase chain reactions we have found that related genes have also been amplified, for example, CYP2A7, CYP2A12 and CYP2C8 have also been amplified.

The United States of America as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services


A device for securing non-magnetic sheet material including a first base inferior planar sheet and a second superior planar sheet. Each of the planar sheets include a longitudinally oriented magnetic material, wherein at least one of the planar sheets has permanently magnetized longitudinally oriented magnetic material. The first and second planar sheets are connected by at least one integral hinge passing through a plurality of holes in each of them proximate their respective longitudinal edges such that at least the second planar sheet can be rotated on about a longitudinal axis passing through the hinge so that the second planar sheet can be rotated toward the first planar sheet so that the magnetic materials are attracted to each other to trap the non-magnetic sheet material between them. The longitudinally oriented magnetic material of the second planar sheet runs proximate a second edge of the second planar sheet.

This invention relates to a device for securing a non-magnetic sheet material and more particularly relates to securing of materials such as paper and thin card stock of a thickness less than about one millimeter.
Numerous devices and methods for securing sheets of material are well known including tapes, adhesives, clipping devices such as found on clip boards, tacks, rings such as found in ring binders, and magnetic holders such as "refrigerator magnets". All of these devices have disadvantages including one or more of difficulty and time required for use, destruction or modification of the sheet material surface or even the integrity of the material itself, injury to the substrate to which the sheet is held, inability of reuse, complexity and expense, requirement for special, e.g. bulletin board or magnetic, substrates, insufficient holding power, inability to simultaneously organize a plurality of sheets on a surface and loss of integrity or breakage over a short sequence of uses even when reuse is possible.
Use of Bingo cards is one particular example needing low expense, simplicity, speed of use, holding power, ability to organize a plurality of sheets, requirement for non-injury to the substrate or sheet, and frequent repetitive use without breakage. Historically, Bingo cards were taped to a table requiring time, wasting tape, and causing injury to the card and often to the table.
U.S. Patent Publication US 2004/0135315 A1 published Jul. 15, 2004, provides an example of an improved device for securing and organizing Bingo cards. The device is made from a single plastic sheet to which is attached a ferromagnetic strip and a magnetic strip such that when the plastic sheet is folded, a non-magnetic sheet material can be held or clamped between the ferromagnetic strip and magnetic strip. The device, nevertheless has serious disadvantages. In particular, after repeated use, the plastic material will crack at the fold to permit the ferromagnetic strip and magnetic strip to approach each other. Furthermore, the magnetic strip is not at the edge of the plastic sheet thus causing both the magnetic strip and a portion of the plastic sheet to obscure a significant portion of a retained non-magnetic sheet. To overcome this serious disadvantage, the device of US 2004/0135315 A1 prints the "BINGO" bingo card top line designations on the device. Unfortunately, this requires time consuming and annoying precise alignment with the card and since all cards are not of exactly the same size, such alignment is not always possible. Furthermore, such printed designations prevent the device from being practically used when sheet material other than bingo cards are to be secured.

Device for securing non-magnetic sheet material


An expendable container of the present invention includes a memory circuit. The memory circuit has a memory, an antenna being capable of establishing non-contact communication with an external receiver transmitter, and a controller controlling the non-contact communication and an access to the memory. The memory circuit has a plurality of modes including ID information confirmation mode and low power consumption mode. The memory circuit is capable of shifting to the low power consumption mode in response to a completion of confirmation of the ID information of the expendable container.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique of non-contact communication between a device like a printing device and its expendable container.
2. Description of the Related Art
The application of non-contact tags to a data carrier has been proposed recently. Such a non-contact tag may be attached to, for example, an ink cartridge for inkjet printers. Some pieces of useful information, for example, the expiration date of ink, are stored in the non-contact tag. The printer main body acquires these pieces of information from an ink cartridge attached to the printer main body through electromagnetic-inducing communication. The electromagnetic-inducing communication may adopt the anti-collision function that allows for communication with multiple non-contact tags without collisions (interference).
The anti-collision function causes each command sent from the printer main body to include corresponding one among respective ID informations separately held by the multiple non-contact tags. Only a non-contact tag with the corresponding ID information responds to the command. The anti-collision function is on the premise that the printer main body has the respective ID informations on the multiple non-contact tags. The mapping of the ID information to the attachment position of each ink cartridge is also required for adequate user of the ink cartridge in the printer.
One proposed technique of the electromagnetic-inducing communication regulates the relative position of a non-contact tag attached to each ink cartridge to an antenna of the printer and the transmission output of the antenna, which cause sufficient electromagnetic induction only in a target non-contact tag, so as to acquire ID information of the ink cartridge with the target non-contact tag at each attachment position.
There is, however, a manufacturing variation in resonance frequency among multiple different resonance circuits included in non-contact tags. It is accordingly possible that a non-contact tag having a resonance frequency extremely close to the frequency of the transmission output of the antenna is located adjacent to a non-contact tag having a resonance frequency relatively apart from the frequency of the transmission output of the antenna.
In such cases, excess induced current flows in the antenna of the former non-contact tag and undesirably weakens the surrounding AC magnetic field. This may cause a potential problem that only an insufficient induced voltage is generated in the antenna of the non-contact tag adjoining to the former non-contact tag.
The enhanced transmission output of the antenna in the printer, on the other hand, causes another problem that the antenna of the printer may establish an unexpected communication with another non-contact tag that is not adjacent to the former non-contact tag. These problems are not restricted to the ink cartridges but are commonly found in any expendable containers that utilize non-contact tags for storage of information on expendables.

Non-contact communication between a device and its expendable container


The invention provides a monitoring device mainly for sensing ground displacement, including the fiber Bragg grating sensored deflectometer and the signal interrogator/computer system. The device uses a segmented design that consists of a flexible tube (referred to as the flexible segment) and two rigid segments and thus referred to as the double hinged FBG segmented deflectometer (DH-FBG-SD). For field installation, multiple DH-FBG-SD units are connected together to form a string as it is inserted into a grouted-in-place inclinometer casing. The distortion of the inclinometer casing induced by ground movement causes relative rotation of the inserted DH-FBG-SD. All of the DH-FBG-SD units are connected to an FBG interrogator/computer system situated on ground surface. The FBG signals are recorded and analyzed by the interrogator/computer system.

1. Field of the Invention
Generally, this invention relates to a device for monitoring deformation of natural or man-made slopes, supporting structures of ground excavation, or of long structures such as the pipeline for transferring oil, gases or water, or beams and columns of buildings, bridges or ships; wherein, the deformation is monitored by means of an automated displacement monitoring probe with high sensitivity, durability and stability. To achieve optimum performance, the diameter of the monitoring probe and its distributed density subject to the characteristics of the target can be adjusted.
2. Description of the Prior Art
According to Green, G. E., and Mickkelsen, P. E., "Deformation Measurements with Inclinometers", Transportation Research Record 1169, TRB, National Research Council, Washington, D.C. (1988), S. D. Wilson of Harvard University developed the concept of a probe inclinometer system in 1952. Today, the inclinometer system is probably the most widely used technique in the detection of ground movements. An inclinometer casing made of plastic or aluminum is installed in a near vertical position in the ground. For monitoring the stability of an earth slope, an inclinometer probe (IP) equipped with wheels that fit tightly with the grooves in the inclinometer casing is typically used to serve as the sensor unit. An electric cable raises and lowers the IP in the casing and transmits electric signals to the ground surface. The IP measures the inclination of the inclinometer casing in reference to verticality. Readings from the sensor unit are taken typically at a fixed interval of 500 mm as the probe is raised or lowered in the casing. The displacement at any depth of the casing is determined according to the IP inclination measurements. The aforementioned method is usually carried out manually which is time consuming. An in-place-inclinometer (IPI) probe is available that places the sensor probes in the ground on a long term basis and allows automated data logging. The above-described ground displacement monitoring devices use an electrical system for sensing and signal transmission. The electrical systems are prone to short circuit when exposed in a humid environment such as underground and below ground water. Most of the electrical sensors are non-distributive in nature where one transmission line is dedicated to a specific sensor. When a large number of sensors are used, the equally large number of transmission lines can make the system impractical. The electrical signals are subject to electromagnetic interference. These drawbacks make the electrical ground movement monitoring systems complicated or expensive to use.
The pipe strain gauge, which has been disclosed in Annual Report of Study for Hazard Prevention in Tokyo, the papers of Takada, Y.; Kyodai B. and Kenkyu N., "Measurement of international strain on landslide occurring ground" No. 8, P. 586 (1965) and Nakamura, H.; Landslides, "A study of finding landslide surface by the use of buried strain meters" Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 1˜8 (1969), respectively, use the principle of flexural strain caused by bending of a flexible pipe. The pipe strain gauge consists of a series of strain gauges attached to the surface of a flexible pipe. By sensing the flexural strain, the deformation distribution perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (as shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b)) can be monitored. The pipe strain gauge may be used to determine the direction of ground movement 01 and location of the sliding surface 02 in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b). The strain gauge is a non-distributive, electric sensor and thus shares similar drawbacks as the IPI.
Shiang et al., "Optical Fiber Sensing Technology, and Introduction of Implanted optical Fiber Bend Meter and Test Application", Proceedings of 12th Non-destructive Detection Technology Symposium (2004), pp. 273˜279, described a device (called the optical fiber bend meter (as shown in FIG. 1 (c)) that uses a pair of stretched fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) 03 to measure ground displacement in combination with the inclinometer casing. The design of the bend meter was based on the concept reported by Yoshida, Y., Kashiwai, Y., Murakami, E., Ishida, S., and Hashiguchi, N., 2002, "Development of the monitoring system for slope deformations", Proceedings, SPIE Vol. 4694, pp. 296˜302. The bearing 04 shown in FIG. 1 (c) allows rotation of the rigid column 05. The bend meter can be inserted inside an inclinometer casing. The ground movement causes bending of the inclinometer casing and that bending forces rotation of the rigid column 05 and simultaneous extension/compression of the two fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) 03. The amount of relative rotation or rotation of the bottom piece around the hinge 04, is determined by the differential elongation between the two pre-stressed optic fibers inscribed with FBG's. Because of the flexible nature of the optic fiber, the measurement mechanism is effective only if the optic fibers remain tensioned. For this reason, the FBG optic fibers in the bend meter are pre-stressed. Furthermore, the extension/compression sensed by the FBG's are not resulted only from the deflection of the bend meter. All longitudinal forces including the weight of the bend meter units and friction between the bend meter support and the grooves in the inclinometer casing can all affect the readings for such design of FIG. 1 (c). It is possible therefore, that non-repeatable and/or unpredictable errors can occur while using the bend meter to monitor ground displacement.
Though there have been many types of optic fiber sensors available commercially, these sensors are not always dedicated for ground displacement monitoring. They lack the necessary sensitivity and/or compatibility with the currently available ground displacement monitoring systems.

Fiber Bragg grating sensored segmented deflectometer for ground displacement monitoring


Systems and methods are provided for projecting a virtual image of an object. A projector mounted on the object for projecting a light beam. A photographic plate is provided that includes an interference pattern imprinted onto at least one surface, wherein the interference pattern manipulates the light to form a hologram beam such that a detector detecting the hologram beam detects a virtual image of the object that has a light signature at a greater intensity than a light signature of the object.

Holography is a technique for recording and later reconstructing the amplitude and phase distribution of a coherent wave disturbance. Generally, the technique utilized for producing a holographic element is accomplished by imprinting a pattern of interference between two optical beams or waves. Holography was developed for displaying three-dimensional images. The beams, one reflected from an object, called the object beam and a second beam that bypasses the object is called the reference beam, are used to record the information in light sensitive recording medium, such as a holographic film or plate.


Embodiments of devices and methods for evaluating tissue are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method for measuring a characteristic of a tissue may include passing a current through the tissue, measuring a signal corresponding to the voltage resulting from passing the current through the tissue, analyzing current passed through the tissue and resulting voltage to determine the electrical characteristics of the tissue; and analyzing the electrical characteristics of the tissue to determine a status of the tissue. Disposable sensors are disclosed.

Embodiments of this disclosure will describe devices and methods for conducting measurements to determine status and/or health of tissue. One area of the disclosure will address neuromuscular diseases, which are very common. In 2009, there were over 18 million outpatient physician encounters with patients diagnosed with a range of neuromuscular diseases, from ALS to myoneural disorders like myasthenia gravis. These episodes generated nearly $7B in physician charges and can only be expected to grow as the episode volume is expected to reach over 20 million by 2014 (+8.25%).
Another area our disclosure will address common medical complaints, such as, e.g., lower back and neck pain. These common medical complaints are sometimes the primary causes of disability, lost productivity, and medical costs. For example, 60-80% of adults experience at least one significant episode of back pain in their lifetime. In a single year, about 15% will have debilitating back pain, and a substantial proportion will seek medical attention. Lower back pain has been estimated as the fifth or higher leading cause of all medical visits, and the first or second leading cause for patients seeking evaluation and treatment of a condition. Stated another way, about 4-5% of all medical encounters are related to back pain. In two major health surveys (National Health Interview Survey and National Health and Nutrition Survey), from 2004-2008, 28-40% of the U.S. population experienced neck or back pain in a three-month period, with 14-21% experiencing neck pain. Of the total group, 26-33% experienced associated radicular pain in a limb. Remarkably, lumbosacral and cervical pain together caused 5% of all U.S. health care visits in the in 2006.
Costs associated with care of individuals with low back and neck pain are huge. For example, in 2006, 44.4 million patients sought medical attention for low back pain, which was the chief complaint in 45.1 million encounters; an additional 13.2 million medical encounters were for neck pain. Annual cost of back pain in the US is $20-50 billion. Direct medical costs in 2002-2004 for spine problems were $193.9 billion, with $30.3 billion attributed specifically to spine pain. Indirect costs of lost wages are estimated at $14 billion annually, and in 2008, 385 million work days were lost due to back pain. The subgroup of patients with pain radiating to the limb, as occurs with disc herniation or spinal stenosis, had the highest numbers of bedridden and lost work days. Non-physician health care visits, e.g., physical therapy and other services, numbered 173.5 million from 2002-2004.2 Utilization is increasing, with ambulatory physician visits up 2.5% and non-physician visits up 10.2% from 1996-1998 to 2002-2004, with total increase in health care costs for spine of 24.5% (mean) and 48.9% (aggregate) in the same time period.
Another area our disclosure will address is the muscular health of older adults, which is the fastest growing segment of the population. Health care cost are exceptionally high for older adults with declining function, accounting for a disproportionate fraction of national health care expenditures. Muscle weakness is an independent risk factor for disability and mortality among older adults. Age associated loss of muscle mass, known as sarcopenia, is an important factor identified as relevant to mortality and disability.
In a recent and important editorial on sarcopenia and muscle function, Ferrucci et. al. (L. Ferrucci, R. de Cabo, N. D. Knuth, S. Studenski "Of Greek heroes, wiggling worms, mighty mice and old body builders", J. Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2012; 67:13-6, [Ferrucci 2012] which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference) advocated for a clinical approach in evaluating age associated muscle impairments, stating that after an initial mobility assessment to stratify patient risk for adverse outcomes (e.g., disability and mortality), muscle strength should be measured and a decision tree assessment used to evaluate muscle quality and function.
Both the general research community and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recognize the importance of improved biomarkers for neuromuscular disease research to assist with early diagnosis and track disease progression over time and response to therapy. Even more fundamentally, the concept of biomarker has expanded beyond its earlier definition that was restricted to molecular indices and now includes, but it not limited to, imaging and other methodologies. In fact, the FDA defines a biomarker as any objective test of disease status that cannot be influenced by the state of mind of the patient or examiner. The FDA recently developed biomarker definitions including diagnostic biomarkers for disease identification, response predictive biomarkers for assessing subgroups of individuals more likely to respond to a specific therapy, and prognostic biomarkers, for evaluating likelihood of disease onset or progression without any form of intervention. The FDA definitions provided herein are for discussions and references purposes only, and are not intended to limit any term contained herein. Two categories of biomarkers include response identification biomarkers (also called pharmacodynamic biomarkers) and biomarkers as surrogate endpoints in clinical trials. As a result, the FDA is revamping its approach to drug approval based on such surrogate endpoints. Previously, approval demanded evidence of change in a clinical outcome measure, such as, e.g., improved physical function or activity. In the future, however, it may be possible for a biomarker, which is established as a surrogate endpoint in a clinical trial, to obtain "qualification" status through the FDA as a surrogate endpoint, helping speed study and approval of effective therapies.
One technique for evaluating muscles is intramuscular electromyography (EMG.) EMG includes, but is not limited to, a technique for evaluating and recording the electrical activity produced by muscles, including, e.g., skeletal muscles. EMG may be performed using an instrument called an electromyograph, to produce a record called an electromyogram. An electromyograph may detect, among other things, the electrical potential generated by muscle cells when the cells are electrically or neurologically activated. The detected signals may be analyzed to detect, among other things, medical abnormalities, activation level, recruitment order or to analyze the biomechanics of human or animal movement. EMG is exceedingly intrusive in that it uses the insertion of needles through the skin and into the muscles and the use of these needles to measure electrical potential.
Electrical impedance myography (EIM) is a novel technological approach to effectively address these limitations. Unlike standard electrophysiological approaches, EIM is less directly dependent upon inherent electrical potential of muscle or nerve tissue. EIM is based on electrical bioimpedance. It measures the effect of tissue structure and properties on flow of extremely small, non-intrusive amounts of electrical current. Unlike standard bioimpedance approaches, however, measurements can be performed over small areas of muscle and incorporate sophisticated analytic tools. In EIM, electrical current, such as, e.g., high-frequency alternating current, may be applied to localized areas of muscle via electrodes (e.g., surface electrodes) and the consequent surface voltage patterns may be analyzed. Although data can be obtained with off-the-shelf bioimpedance devices, these devices are far from ideal in terms of providing useful data reliably, as discussed in more detail below.
FIG. 62A illustrates the concepts underlying EIM. Electrical current (sinusoid "a") is applied via two or more outer surface electrodes generating a voltage difference measured by the two or more inner electrodes (sinusoid "b"). The voltage may be proportional to tissue resistance (R). Myocyte membrane lipid bilayers are capacitive in nature (e.g., they briefly store and then release some or all of the stored charge) and so exhibit reactance (X), making the voltage sine wave out of phase with applied current wave. Reactance and resistance values may be combined to obtain the summary phase angle (θ) via the relationship θ=arctan(X/R). FIG. 62B shows changes seen in diseased or less than ideal muscle tissue. Here, presence of connective tissue, fat and reduced muscle mass, among other things, may increase measured resistance; muscle fiber atrophy and loss also results in reduced reactance (e.g., timing of voltage sinusoid is now only slightly shifted relative to current). Thus, phase angle, as well as the resistance and reactance may be used to measure, e.g., disease progression. As disease advances, reactance and phase angle may decrease whereas resistance may increase.
Two additional aspects to EIM may include:                a) strong frequency dependence of EIM data. Thus, performing EIM measurements across a range of frequencies may help to characterize tissue. FIG. 63 shows multifrequency data "d" from a normal subject and from a patient with advanced ALS (Emory U. stem cell study), which is denoted by "e". Note major alteration in impedance parameters across the frequency spectrum.        b) electrical anisotropy—directional dependence of current flow. Typically, electrical current flows relatively easily along muscle fibers than across them conferring a readily detectable anisotropy. Alteration in electrical anisotropy can also be used as a measure to evaluate muscle tissue to, e.g., determine a disease state, and early data show that anisotropy increases in, among other things, ALS.
Although much previous EIM work was done with off-the-shelf whole-body bioimpedance systems, for example, using these systems for localized impedance measurements may be problematic for a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to, the systems: 1) may not be calibrated for the very different impedances found in localized areas of tissue, such as, e.g., muscle tissue; 2) may be unable to effectively measure and account for muscle anisotropy; 3) rely on multiple, clumsy adhesive electrodes that may be slow to apply and result in spacing variability; and 4) may operate over a limited frequency range that may miss certain clinical information. Thus, there is a need for a handheld, rapidly applied, broadly capable, robust EIM system for bedside use.
There are some reports of the use of electrical impedance for biometric purposes. Examples of such uses may be found in: U.S. Pat. No. 6,122,544 to L. W. Orgon "Electrical Impedance Method and Apparatus for Detecting and Diagnosing Diseases" (Orgon 544); U.S. Pat. No. 6,768,921 to Leslie W. Organ, K. C. Smith, Reza Safaee-Rad, M. Graovac, G. P. Darmos, and I. Gavrilov, "Electrical impedance method and apparatus for detecting and diagnosing diseases" (Organ 921); U.S. Pat. No. 6,845,264 and PCT Application Publication No. WO 00/19894, Skladnev; Victor, Thompson; Richard L., Bath; Andrew R., "Apparatus for recognizing tissue types", (Skladnev 264); U.S. Pat. No. 6,723,049 and Australian Application No. PR5718, Skladnev; Victor Nickolaevich, Blunsden; Christopher Kingsley, Stella; Rita "Apparatus for tissue type recognition using multiple measurement techniques" (Skladev 049); U.S. Pat. No. 7,212,852 to K. C. Smith, J. S. Ironstone, F. Zhang, "Bioimpedance measurement using controller-switched current injection and multiplexer selected electrode connection", (Smith 852); U.S. Pat. No. 7,457,660 to K. C. Smith and J. I. Ironstone "Eliminating interface artifact errors in bioimpedance measurements" (Smith 660); U.S. Pat. No. 7,136,697 to Michael G. Singer "Methods for determining illness, progression to death, and/or timing of death of biological entity" (Singer 697); U.S. Pat. No. 7,003,346 to Michael G. Singer, "Method for illness and disease determination and management" (Singer 346); U.S. Pat. No. 8,103,337 to M. Gravovac, J I Marteus, Z. Pavlovic and J. Ironstone "Weighted Gradient Method and System for Diagnosing Disease" (Gravovac 337); U.S. Pat. No. 6,631,292 to R. J. Liedtke, (Liedtke 292) "Bio-electrical Impedance Analyzer"; U.S. Pat. No. 8,004,291 to Naosumi Waki, "Bioelectric impedance measuring circuit", (Waki 291); U.S. Pat. No. 7,869,866 to Giannicola Loriga; Andrea Scozzari, "Device for the monitoring of physiologic variables through measurement of body electrical impedance", (Loriga 866); U.S. Pat. No. 7,148,701 to Sin-Chong Park; In-Duk Hwang; "Apparatus for measuring electrical impedance" (Park); U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0292603 and PCT Application Publication No. WO/2007/035887 to C. A. Shiffman, R. Aaron and S. Rutkove, "Electrical Impedance Myography" (Shiffman 887); PCT Application No. WO 2011/022068 to Seward Rutkove "A Hand-held Device for Electrical Impedance Myography" (Rutkove 068); U.S. Pat. No. 5,919,142 and PCT Application No. PCT/GB96/01499 to Boone, Kevin Graham; Holder David Simon "Electrical impedance tomography method and apparatus (Boone 142); U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0004490 A1 to L. W. Organ, K. C. Smith, R Safaee-Rad, M. Granvac, P. Darmos and I Gavrilov, "Electrical Impedance Method and Apparatus for Detecting and Diagnosing Diseases" (Organ 490); U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0197591 to Z. Pavlovic, M Graovuc, J. S. Ironstone, "System and Method for Prebalancing Electrical Properties to Diagnose Disease" (Pavlovic 591); U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0073131 to L. W. Organ, K. C. Smith, R Sufaee-Rad, M. Graovac, G. P. Darmos and I. Gavrilov, "Electrical Impedance Method and Apparatus for Detecting and Diagnosing Diseases" (Organ 131); U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0167422 to L. W. Organ, R Sufaee-Rad, M. Graovac, K. C. Smith, J. S. Ironstone, "Breast Electrode Array and Method of Analysis for Detecting and Diagnosing Diseases", (Organ 422); U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0210157 L. W. Organ, K. C. Smith, R. Safaee-Rad, M. Graovac, G. P. Darmos and I. Gavrilov "Electrical Impedance Method and Apparatus for Detecting and Diagnosing Diseases" (Organ 157); U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0210158 to L. W. Organ, K. C. Smith, R. Safaee-Rad, M. Graovac, G. P. Darmos and I. Gavrilov "Electrical Impedance Method and Apparatus for Detecting and Diagnosing Diseases" (Organ 158); U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0243018 to L. W. Organ, K. C. Smith and J. S. Ironstone, "Apparatus and Method for Determining Adequacy of Electrode-So-Skin Contact and Electrode Quality for Bioelectrical measurements" (Organ 018); U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0243019 to M. Graovac and Z. Pavlovic, "Weighted Gradient Method and System for Diagnosing Disease" (Graovac 019); U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0064979 to Z. Pavlovic, M. Graovac and J. S. Ironstone, "System and Method for Prebalancing Electrical Properties to Diagnose Disease" (Pavlovic 979); U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0076889 to L. W. Organ, R. Safaee-Rad, M. Graovac, K. C. Smith, J. S. Ironstone, "Breast Electrode Array and Method of Analysis for Detecting and Diagnosing Diseases", (Organ 889); and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0249432 and PCT Application No. PCT/CA04/00458 A to Semlyen and M. Graovac "Diagnosis of Disease by Determination of Electrical Network Properties of a Body Part", (Semiyen 432). All of these patents and patent applications are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.

High performance sensors for electrical impedance myography


Gas analyzer systems and methods for measuring concentrations of gases and in particular dry mole fraction of components of a gas. The systems and methods allow for rapid measurement of the gas density and/or dry mole fraction of gases for a number of environmental monitoring applications, including high speed flux measurements. A novel coupling design allows for tool-free removal of a cell enclosing a flow path to enable infield cleaning of optical components and to enable re-configuration between open- and closed-path analyzer configurations. In closed path configurations, the sample flow path is thermally isolated from the remainder of the gas analyzer to provide more accurate temperature measurements. Composite plastic/metal sample cells are presented with achieve this thermal isolation without compromising analyzer performance.

The present invention relates generally to gas analysis, and more particularly to systems and methods for measuring gas concentrations.
Increasing carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere and the resulting greenhouse effect and climate change have become important topics of scientific research. In order to understand the global carbon balance, it is necessary to determine the exchange rates of carbon dioxide and energy between the atmosphere and terrestrial and oceanic ecosystems. The "eddy covariance" technique has been widely used to determine these exchange rates. The air within a few hundred meters above the earth's surface is mostly turbulent, so that turbulent structures (vortices of variable sizes) called "eddies" are responsible for the vertical transport of most gases, including carbon dioxide and water vapor, as well as heat and momentum. The transport rates can be calculated from simultaneous, high-frequency measurements of the vertical component of wind speed, the concentrations of carbon dioxide and water vapor, and the air temperature.
A gas analyzer can be used to measure concentrations of carbon dioxide and water vapor. In certain gas analyzers, a sample gas containing unknown concentrations of carbon dioxide and water vapor is placed in a sample cell, and a reference gas with zero or known concentrations of carbon dioxide and water vapor is placed in a reference cell. The analyzer measures the unknown gas concentrations in the sample cell from calibrated signals that are proportional to the difference between light transmitted through the sample cell and light transmitted through the reference cell at selected wavelengths. This is most often configured as a closed-path analyzer.
In eddy covariance applications, ambient air potentially full of dust and pollen must be moved through the analyzer at high flow rates to achieve necessary frequency response. Even when the air is filtered, contamination of the sample cells is expected during long deployments, requiring the analyzer to be periodically cleaned. This is an expensive and time-consuming process, especially when the analyzer is used in a remote location such as the Amazon basin, the north slope of Alaska, or the deserts of Africa.
There are benefits in using an open-path gas analyzer in certain environments or applications, while a closed-path analyzer has advantages in other environments or applications. However, purchase of both a closed-path analyzer and an open-path analyzer may be quite expensive.
Additionally, cells defining flow paths used in gas analysis measurements may include, intentionally or unintentionally, mechanisms and components that act as heat sources or sinks to/from the sample gas. For example, heat transfer to and from the sample cell may occur through either radiative or convective heat transfer, either between internal electronic components and chamber cell walls or between the chamber cell walls and the internal environment of the flow path, or both. Inevitably, parasitic heat transfer occurs between the internal components and the chamber walls and the internal cell environment, thereby compromising the accuracy of gas temperature measurements within the cell. It is also therefore desirable to provide solutions that allow for more efficient insulation resulting in more accurate sample gas temperature measurement.
There is a need, therefore, for improved and adaptable gas analyzers. In particular, there is a need for gas analyzers that are easy to clean, provide robust measurement capabilities, and that can be used for different assays in different environments.

Hybrid gas analyzer with thermally insulated flow cell


An integrated circuit preferably to be connected to a motor vehicle battery is selectively switchable between sleep and normal operating modes. The IC may include a useful control logic circuit, a wake-up circuit evaluating an input signal and responsively outputting a wake-up signal dependent on the input signal, and an input control and supply circuit connected between the wake-up circuit and the control logic circuit. The wake-up circuit includes at least one recognition circuit having an amplifier arrangement to selectively amplify the input signal, and an evaluation circuit having a switch arrangement controlled by the amplified signal and an amplifier producing the output signal. The wake-up circuit has a very low current consumption while monitoring the input signal, and produces the wake-up signal only if the input signal suitably exceeds or falls below a specified voltage threshold. The wake-up signal may activate the control circuit, which may activate the logic circuit.

Circuit arrangements of the above mentioned general type are especially used in the field of automobile electronics. In that field of application, the integrated circuits (ICs) that are increasingly used in the vehicle electronics are supplied with power directly from the vehicle battery. In this regard, the problem typically arises, that the ICs may draw or consume no current or only a very limited current (e.g. I<10 μA) when the vehicle ignition is switched off, to avoid unnecessarily loading the battery, or especially to avoid excessively discharging or draining the battery. For this reason, the ICs are typically set into a so-called "sleep mode" or "standby mode" when their operation is not required and the ignition is switched off, and must then be "woken up" into the normal operating mode by an externally applied "wake-up" signal, for example by means of a remote control, for the respective ICs to become operational.

Circuit arrangement for recognizing and outputting control signals, integrated circuit including the same, and use thereof


A spark plug including a center electrode; an insulator; a metal shell; a ground electrode; and an annular packing, all as defined herein, wherein the packing has a hardness greater than or equal to a hardness of the stepped portion of the metal shell or has a Vickers hardness of not less than 300 Hv. Preferably, a difference between the hardness of the packing and the hardness of the stepped portion of the metal shell is from 120 Hv to 160 Hv, and the packing has a Vickers hardness of not more than 500 Hv.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spark plug for use in igniting an internal combustion engine, and more particularly to a spark plug in which a packing is interposed between an insulator and a metal shell.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, in a spark plug for use in igniting an internal combustion engine such as an automobile engine, a cylindrical insulator is inserted and held in a cylindrical metal shell. A center electrode for forming a spark discharge gap in opposition to a ground electrode is welded to a leading end side of the metal shell, as well as a terminal electrode for applying a high voltage across the center and ground electrodes, are inserted in an axial hole formed in the insulator. The spark plug is mounted in an internal combustion engine such that a leading end (spark discharge gap) of the spark plug faces the interior of the combustion chamber.
The aforementioned insulator is inserted from a rear end side of the metal shell toward a leading end side thereof. The insulator is fixedly crimped between a rear end of the metal shell and a stepped portion formed on an inner peripheral portion of the metal shell such that a shoulder portion formed on an outer peripheral portion of the insulator is retained by the stepped portion. An annular plate packing is interposed between the stepped portion of the metal shell and the shoulder portion of the insulator so as to maintain airtightness therebetween (e.g., refer to JP-A-2005-190762).
A metallic material whose hardness is lower than that of the metal shell is generally used as the material of the plate packing. When the metal shell is crimped as described above, the plate packing undergoes crush deformation and assumes a state in which it is in close contact with both the metal shell and the insulator. For example, in a case where the hardness of the metal shell is 200 Hv to 300 Hv, a plate packing whose hardness is 180 Hv or thereabouts is used. As a result, the gap between the metal shell and the insulator is set in a closed state, thereby ensuring airtightness of the combustion chamber.
In recent years, in conjunction with trends toward higher power and fuel savings in internal combustion engines, miniaturization and development of smaller diameter spark plugs is underway. In the case where a small-diameter spark plug is fabricated, the wall thickness of the metal shell also becomes thin, so that if the crimping load is large, the strength of the metal shell declines. Hence, there is a possibility that the stepped portion formed on the inner peripheral portion of the metal shell and oriented toward the rear end becomes excessively deformed, to thereby impart a large eccentricity. On the other hand, if the load is made small to prevent the occurrence of this problem, it frequently becomes difficult to ensure airtightness. For this reason, a plate packing having a relatively low hardness is used so that the plate packing is deformed even by a small crimping load, to thereby allow the plate packing to be brought into close contact with the metal shell and the insulator.