The functional forefoot orthotic of this invention comprises a shell plate that is conformed to the sole of the foot replica, a forefoot posting shim is applied to the upper surface of the shell plate. A stabilizing heel platform may also be applied to the bottom of the shell plate. The forefoot posting shim is applied at the level of the first to third metatarsals for a varum prescription. The shape, size and thickness of the posting shim is determined by the prescription. The forefoot posting shim will have a width that will be determined by the degree of deformity in the patient's forefoot. It will be wide enough to support at least the first metatarsal and may be wide enough to support two or all three of the first-to-third metatarsals. The forefoot posting shim will accommodate the patient's varum forefoot deformity so as to provide, in combination with the shell plate replica of the patient's foot, a stable forefoot platform for the patient's foot.

Functional control orthotics and accommodative devices known as "arch supports" are both worn in shoes, but there the similarity ends. Functional foot orthotics are distinctly different from those accommodative devices known as "arch supports." Arch supports are designed to cushion the foot. They are effective in reducing symptoms associated with flexible or fallen arches such as heel pain, plantar calluses, hammertoes and bunion deformities.
Functional control orthotics, in contrast, are prescribed orthoses that are form-fitted to a person's foot. They are designed to change the weight-bearing position of the subtalar joint of the foot. They are a medical device employed to support and align the foot and to improve the functions of the foot. They are designed to provide maximal and even distribution of the weight-bearing stresses over the entire sole of the foot.
The effect that poor foot mechanics has on the human body is now becoming better understood. As the foundation of a building supports the superstructure, the foot and ankle supports the body. If the building is unstable, it collapses. If the foot or ankle is unstable (overpronates), the joints above the foot are adversely effected. It has been said that walking is a unique activity during which the body, step-by-step, teeters on the edge of catastrophe. Man's bipedal mode of locomotion appears potentially catastrophic because only the rhythmic forward movement of the limbs keeps him from falling. The foot, being the base of support of the skeletal framework, plays an important role in gait. During early stance phase, the foot must be flexible so it can adapt to uneven ground surfaces. During late stance phase, it must be rigid to withstand the propulsive force generated by the big toe pushing off against the ground. Pronation and supination of the subtalar joint (see FIG. 10), the joint immediately below the ankle joint, gives the foot this dual capability. Pronation (FIG. 10C) of the subtalar join unlocks the foot (preparing it for heel contact), while supination (FIG. 10A) of the subtalar joint locks the foot (preparing it for toe-off).
Subtalar joint pronation has two important effects on the biomechanics of the foot: (a) it acts as a directional torque transmitter, absorbing the axial rotation of the leg and thus preventing it from entering the foot; and (b) it unlocks and prepares the forefoot for heel contact by diverging the axes of the midtarsal joint. One can easily demonstrate this shank to foot relationship by rotating the hips in a standing position. counter-clockwise rotation of the hips internally rotates the right leg and pronates the right foot (i.e. the foot rolls inward as the arch prolapses). From a causal point of view, pronation is a function of the pelvis, not the foot. The foregoing discussion presumes a normal functional relationship in which the range of pronation within the subtalar joint is dictated by pelvic rotation. However, an excessive range of foot pronation can result from structural weaknesses within the foot or shank. In such cases, the foot no longer follows the pronation pattern generated by the pelvis. This can lead to symptoms within the ankle, knee, hip and low back. A mechanical analogy is a bridge (the back) with an unstable foundation (pronated foot). In time everything above the unsound foundation shifts (soft tissue changes) and eventually collapses (joint changes). There appears to be a high correlation between excessive pronation and low back pain.
Functional orthotics are devices that control the range of subtalar joint motions and prevent excessive internal shank rotation (i.e. more that about 8 degrees of stance phase pronation). A functionally efficient orthotic must be fabricated around a neutral position foot replica (i.e. a positive foot cast). A neutral position foot replica is obtained by casting the patient in a nonweight-bearing position, holding the foot where the subtalar joint is neither supinated nor pronated, while the cast material hardens to produce a negative cast (i.e. a foot mold). Then the "positive" foot replica is cast from the "negative" mold. Using the foot replica, an orthotic is manufactured to make whatever adjustments the physician prescribes to accommodate the structural deficit.
For example, the topography presented in a forefoot varum deformity is illustrated in FIG. 11A, displaying that when the subtalar joint is held in its neutral position and the midtarsal joint is maximally dorsiflexed, the bottom (sole) of the forefoot is twisted inward (varum) relative to the posterior bisection of the heel bone (calcaneus). At midstance, forefoot varum introduces limb instability by decreasing the amount of foot-to-ground contact. In order for the medial plantar margin of the forefoot to reach the ground (a functionally stable relationship), the foot must roll excessively inward (e.g., excessively pronate).
This can be contrasted with the topography of a stable foot structure illustrated in FIG. 11B, (one which does not generate excessive foot pronation), displaying that when the subtalar joint is held in its neutral position and the midtarsal joint is maximally dorsiflexed, the bottom (sole) of the forefoot is perpendicular to the posterior bisection of the calcaneus (heel bone). This heel-to-forefoot relationship provides limb stability at midstance because the entire plantar surface of the foot contacts the ground.
An appropriate orthotic in this example as displayed in FIG. 11C eliminates medial instability of the FIG. 11A forefoot varum, by medially posting (wedging) the forefoot. This wedging increases the surface contact area between the forefoot and transverse plane by "building" the ground up to the foot; the pedal structure is now stable against the pull of gravity and excessive pronation does not occur.
Heretofore, the techniques available for manufacturing forefoot orthotics to stabilize varum and valgum deformities have been inadequate to the need. These techniques have not been capable of producing precise orthotics to meet physician's prescriptions. One could not predict whether a particular orthotic would be over, under, or exactly as prescribed. Moreover, as the effects of varum deformities are better understood, it is becoming increasingly necessary that orthotic manufacturing techniques permit incremental corrections so that the effects of the patient's varum or valgum deformities are gradually accommodated over time until a finally-prescribed orthotic structure is attained; thereby enabling the patient's body mechanics to be adjusted over a period of time.
Heretofore, orthotists have typically manufactured forefoot functional orthotics by taking a plaster cast foot replica (a "positive" cast) and modifying the bottom (sole) portion in an attempt to tailor that cast's sole portion to the prescribed forefoot posting. Then, the orthotic is grossly manufactured and then shaped to approximate the modified cast's sole portion to attain a final orthotic product that, when used by the patient, will properly align his/her subtalar joint. At best, the end product is artful inasmuch as the cast's sole-portion modification is inexact and the shaping done on the gross orthotic is also inexact. Once the foot replica's sole portion is modified, the orthotist no longer has an exact replica to use to check the accuracy of the orthotic that he is making. Consequently, the "posting", as rendered by the orthotist employing such a technique, can in actuality range, unpredictably, from several degrees too great to several degrees too little in relation to that actually prescribed by the physician. As a result, the exactness required to achieve incremental posting has not been achieved prior to the present invention.

Postural control foot orthotic with a forefoot posting shim


A method for analyzing blood enables one to isolate, detect, enumerate and confirm under magnification the presence of target cells which have expressed surface epitopes that indicate intracellular infection by various viruses or other infectious agents, and also cells which have expressed surface epitopes that indicate the presence of non-infectious medical conditions. The analysis involves the examination of cells in the blood sample for the presence or absence of particular surface epitopes while the blood sample is disposed in a centrifuged blood sampling container. The epitopic analysis for the presence or absence of infected cells, or cells which indicate the presence of non-infectious medical conditions relies on the detection of known target expressed epitopes. The target epitopes on the target cell types are epitopes which are also known to be absent on normal circulating cells in the blood. Fluorophores or other labels with distinct wavelength emissions are coupled with specific binding agents such as lectins, antibodies, aptamers, or the like, which are directed against the target expressed epitopes. The epitopic analyses may be performed in or near the expanded buffy coat layer in the centrifuged blood sample. The epitopic analysis may be performed under magnification either visually and/or photometrically. The blood sampling container is sized to hold between about 1 and about 20 ml, preferably about 10 ml of blood, and contains an insert that occupies about 90–98% of the volume of the container bore in the area of the container where the target cells will, if present, be detected. The insert forces the target cells in question to reside in an annular space in the container which is adjacent to the circumference of the container bore. The entire analysis can be performed in a relatively short period of time which is typically a matter of minutes to single digit hours.

A number of viruses are clinically important to be able to accurately detect in blood. Specifically, HIV, CMV (cytomegalovirus), HCV (hepatitis C virus) and EBV (Epstein-Barr virus), are all currently detected using PCR-based or serologic tests. The market for these tests, especially HIV viral load, is immense. PCR is sensitive and quantitative, but is very expensive and imprecise in that it may detect contaminants or other cross-reacting sequences in the sample, if not done correctly. Serology does not provide quantitative information, i.e., how much of the virus is present?
There exists a compelling need for a simple procedure and a system for performing such a procedure whereby a sample of blood could be quickly and accurately analyzed for the number of infected cells, or other medical condition-indicative cells, which cells are distinguished by expressed proteins (epitopes) which result from the infection or other medical condition, and are not found on other cells. Additionally, the procedure should enable one to differentiate such cells from other cells, all in situ, in the blood sampling paraphernalia in a relatively short period of time.

Method for the detection, identification, enumeration and confirmation of virally infected cells and other epitopically defined cells in whole blood


An improved device for collecting refuse by using a fixed holding member and moveable expander to releasably hold a bag open by virtue of tension forces exerted across the mouth of the bag. A paddle, spring-loaded to a closed position across the mouth, can also be hingedly rotated to an open position and held in the open position by a trigger. When an animal owner desires to have the paddle scoop refuse into the bag, he can manually move the trigger. This action releases the spring-biased paddle which then rotates under spring bias, scooping refuse before it, to the closed position. The scooped refuse, because of the propelling movement of the paddle's rotation, is thrown on into the bag. A moving mechanism, which is also spring-biased, can both cock the paddle in the open position and also release the bag. As the moving mechanism pulls the paddle toward the open position, a latch pin connected through a cable to the paddle is caught and held by the trigger. The moving mechanism can then return to its normal resting position under the action of spring bias, while the paddle remains in the caught, cocked position. When it is desired to release the paddle, the trigger is manually depressed and the paddle returns under spring-bias to its normally closed position.

This invention relates to an improved disposal device for animal droppings and more specifically to a device for the sanitary release of animal droppings scooped into a bag.
Many municipalities have laws and ordinances requiring animal owners to remove the feces left by their animals from public and private property. In carrying out this task, an animal owner is concerned about how he or she can accomplish this task in a sanitary manner.
There are numerous devices which can be used to collect animal droppings and place them in a bag. U.S. Pat. No. 4,210,351 to Orofino and U.S. Pat. No. 4,225,174 to Hennessy et al., for instance, illustrate pickup devices having bags which can be placed over the refuse and the refuse collected by pinching together other members of the devices to enclose the refuse within the respective bags. Since these bags open from the bottom and are closed with a pincher movement, these devices become awkward to use when more than one body of droppings needs to be picked up. Any refuse already in the bag will fall out when the bag is opened a second time, thus requiring a combined pile of refuse to be picked up in a second gathering.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,757,737 to Drum et al. avoids the problem of having the bag opening from the bottom by placing the bag so that feces can be scooped sideways into the bag. But this device has no mechanism to remove the bag without an animal owner touching the bag since the bag is held by hooks attached to a handle of the device.
In addition to overcoming the problem of having the bag oriented so as to scoop refuse into the bag, it is highly desirable for an animal owner to be able to cock a paddle in an open position for subsequent closing at his or her convenience. Then when refuse is found in an awkward, or barely reachable position, such as under bushes or beneath parked cars or trucks, an animal owner can usually position the device easily, and correctly oriented, to pick up the refuse. Then by just releasing a trigger, the refuse can be scooped into the bag. Later, the animal owner should be able to dispose of the bag and its contents in a sanitary way without touching the bag.


A cleaning tool for cleaning vinyl or acrylic type items, such as swimming pools or hot tubs. An aggregate and a binder are mixed together to provide an improved cleaning device. The binder and the aggregates are matched so as to wear at substantially identical rates.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to cleaning devices for cleaning vinyl, acrylic and similar surfaces. The cleaning devices are especially well suited for cleaning vinyl or acrylic swimming pools, hot tubs or spas.
2. Description of the Related Art
Swimming pools or spas are sometimes formed of vinyl or vinyl type materials, or acrylic or acrylic type materials, such as fiberglass or gel-coat. In general, swimming pool that have walls formed of non-rigid materials are referred to as vinyl pools; in contrast to concrete, gunite, plaster, etc. Algae stains, metal stains, and calcium scale often build up on the walls of swimming pools. Often at the "water line" particularly difficult stains often form. Some stains may be removed with a brush or rag, but persistent stains are more difficult to remove. Unlike concrete swimming pools, vinyl pools can not be easily drained and "acid washed" because the vinyl walls will lose their shape.
Accordingly, there is a long-felt need in the art for a cleaning device for cleaning vinyl and acrylic type surfaces, and especially as applied to swimming pools and spas.


In the process for preparing an aromatic carbonate from an aromatic hydroxy compound, CO and O.sub.2 in the presence of a quaternary salt and a base, use is advantageously made of supported catalysts which, in the reaction-ready state, contain a platinum metal, a platinum metal compound or a complex containing a platinum metal compound on a support comprising a metal oxide whose metal can occur in a plurality of oxidation states.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to supported catalysts containing a platinum metal and their use in processes for preparing diaryl carbonates by reaction of aromatic hydroxy compounds with carbon monoxide and oxygen, which are characterized in that pulverulent or shaped supports which can act as redox catalysts under reaction conditions are used.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known that organic carbonates can be prepared by oxidative reaction of aromatic hydroxy compounds with carbon monoxide in the presence of a noble metal catalyst (German Offenlegungsschrift 28 15 512). The noble metal preferably used is palladium. In addition, a cocatalyst (e.g. manganese or cobalt salts), a base, a quaternary salt, various quinones or hydroquinones and desiccants can be used. The reaction can be carried out in a solvent, preferably methylene chloride.
For economically carrying out this process, not only the activity and the selectivity but also the effective recovery of the noble metal catalyst are of decisive importance: for one thing, the noble metal catalyst represents a considerable cost factor. Losses of noble metal catalyst have to be replaced at high cost. Furthermore, no residues of noble metal catalyst may remain in the product. For the process of oxidative carbonylation of aromatic hydroxy compounds to give diaryl carbonates, the economical and efficient recovery of homogeneous catalysts has hitherto not been described. A noble metal catalyst can be separated from a liquid reaction mixture with less effort, e.g. by filtration or centrifugation, if heterogeneous catalysts, e.g. supported catalysts, are used.
For preparing supported catalysts, generally suitable materials are known. Depending on the type of process, use is made of supports having a high internal surface area, for example alumina, magnesia, activated carbon or silica having more than 50 m.sup.2 of surface area per gram, or supports having surface areas around 5 m.sup.2 /g and correspondingly larger pore radii, for example carbon black, titanium dioxide, iron oxide or zinc oxide, or coarse-grained supports, for example silicon carbide and corundum (Ullmanns Enzyklopadie der technischen Chemie, 3rd edition, Berlin/Munich 1957, Volume 9, p. 263 ff.). Essentially, it is possible to use both synthetic materials such as activated aluminas, silica gels, silicates, titanium dioxides or activated carbons and also materials from natural sources, for example pumice, kaolin, bleaching earths, bauxites, bentonites, kieselguhr, asbestos or zeolites.
In EP 572 980, EP 503 581 and EP 614 876, use is made of supported noble metal catalysts containing 5% of palladium on carbon supports. However, according to our own studies, such supported catalysts give only very unsatisfactory conversions, if any, so that these too are not suitable for an economical process.
In JP 01/165 551 (cited according to C.A. 112 (1990), 76618j) it is mentioned that, for the preparation of aromatic carbonates, palladium or palladium compounds such as palladium acetylacetonate can be used in combination with alkali metal (alkaline earth metal) iodides or onium iodides such as tetrabutylammonium iodide and at least one zeolite.
JP 04/257 546 and JP 04/261 142 describe, in one example each, a supported catalyst for preparing aromatic carbonates in which granulated silicon carbide is used as support material for a supported catalyst in a distillation column. Although the relevant examples are carried out under drastic conditions (high pressure, high temperature), this catalyst makes possible only very low space-time yields. These low space-time yields make economical preparation of aromatic carbonates using such supported catalysts impossible.
Up to now, there has therefore been no supported catalyst available by means of which diaryl carbonates can be prepared economically and efficiently by reaction of an aromatic hydroxy compound with carbon monoxide and oxygen.
It was therefore an object of the invention to find a supported catalyst having high activity and selectivity which allows the economically efficient preparation of diaryl carbonates by reaction of an aromatic hydroxy compound with carbon monoxide and oxygen.

Supported catalysts containing a platinum metal and process for preparing diaryl carbonates


A display timing control circuit is capable of rapidly adjusting display timing to achieve frame synchronization. The display timing control circuit includes an output pixel clock generator, a display timing generator, and a clock adjusting unit. The output pixel clock generator generates an output pixel clock signal according to a reference clock signal and a clock divisor. The display timing generator generates a display timing signal and an output vertical reference signal having an output frame rate according to the output pixel clock signal. The clock adjusting unit adjusts the clock divisor according to the output pixel clock signal, the output vertical reference signal, and an input vertical reference signal having an input frame rate.

A conventional display apparatus needs to convert image data, e.g., input frames, received from a video signal source to output frames that may have a different resolution compared to the input frames, consistent with display timing determined by an internal display controller so as to display the output frames on a panel or screen. In order to achieve frame synchronization where output frame rate is synchronized with input frame rate, the conventional display apparatus adjusts an output vertical synchronous (output v-sync) signal needed for displaying the output frame according to an input vertical synchronous (input v-sync) signal provided by the video signal source. When a pulse of the input v-sync rises, a pulse of the output v-sync is synchronously generated which means the output v-sync is reset to force the output v-sync to be synchronized with the input v-sync. However, such an approach to display timing control may cause problems. For example, the output v-sync signal is forced to change in order to start the next cycle even though the present output cycle is not complete. As a result, the last few scan lines of the present output frame are not updated before the new cycle starts. For some low timing tolerance display devices, incomplete scan lines of frames can cause undesirable display effects.

Display timing control circuit with adjustable clock divisor and method thereof


Systems and processes for integrating a digital assistant with telephony are provided. For example, an incoming call may be received, from a caller, at an electronic device. A communication session may be established between the caller and the digital assistant of the electronic device. In accordance with a determination that the identification of the caller is unknown, determination is made whether the caller corresponds to an automated calling system. In accordance with a determination that the identification of the caller is known, a response is provided by the digital assistant to the caller. An output including information corresponding to the communication is provided at the electronic device.

Intelligent automated assistants (or digital assistants) can provide a beneficial interface between human users and electronic devices. Such assistants can allow users to interact with devices or systems using natural language in spoken and/or text forms. For example, a user can provide a speech input containing a user request to a digital assistant operating on an electronic device. The digital assistant can interpret the user's intent from the speech input and operationalize the user's intent into tasks. The tasks can then be performed by executing one or more services of the electronic device, and a relevant output responsive to the user request can be returned to the user.
Telephony has long been a fundamental technological feature for facilitating communication. Recent advancements in digital assistant technology has also improved interactions between humans and devices. However, the full potential of integrating telephony and digital assistant technology has not been fully realized. For example, conventional digital assistants are not capable of managing incoming and outgoing calls on behalf of users, much less facilitating ongoing calls. Traditional devices are also not well equipped to handle digital assistant requests from the user while the user is also engaged in a phone call. Given the speech-based nature of both digital assistant technology and telephony, an improved system for integrating digital assistants with telephony is desired.

Digital assistant integration with telephony


A miniaturized camera includes a cartridge chamber and a spool chamber positioned on either side of a lens barrel, thereby creating a gap above said lens barrel and a gap below said lens barrel. A battery is positioned in one of said gaps and at least one motor member, such as a lens barrel drive motor, is positioned in one of said gaps. Accordingly, the camera is not enlarged in size and miniaturization can be achieved.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a camera in which improvements have been added to the positional arrangement of the battery, and to the positional arrangement of the motor members for camera operation, such as a lens barrel drive motor.
2. Description of Related Art
In order to make camera operation easier, there are cameras generally known that automatically perform operations used during photographing, such as adjustment of exposure, adjustment of shutter speed, focusing, and the like, as well as automatically performing operations such as film feeding or rewinding, and the like. The number of various kinds of electrical parts increases in this type of camera, so that the camera easily expands in size.
Generally, a lens barrel is installed between a cartridge chamber that accommodates the film, and a spool chamber that rewinds the film. A gap is formed between the cartridge chamber and the spool chamber, and above and below the lens barrel. Through effective utilization of the limited space within the gap, cameras have been proposed that are designed for miniaturization in the positional arrangement of the camera operation battery or autofocus (AF) unit.
Cameras are generally known in which the lens barrel retracts into the camera when the camera is not being used and projects when the camera is being used, as well as cameras provided with an electric zoom lens barrel. However, in these cameras, a lens barrel drive motor is needed in order to drive the lens barrel; this is one of the factors hindering camera miniaturization.

Miniaturized camera employing motor members


An inflatable spa having improved strength includes a water cavity that receives massaging air bubbles and/or jetted water.

Inflatable spas are generally constructed of material having high flexibility and low rigidity. Although such inflatable spas are generally more affordable than permanent spas, inflatable spas generally lack the strength, comfort, clean appearance, and useful life of permanent spas. Also, inflatable spas may be difficult to assemble, disassemble, store, and transport.
The present disclosure relates to an inflatable spa having improved strength. A water cavity of the inflatable spa may receive massaging air bubbles and/or jetted water.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an inflatable product is provided including a porous sheet coupled to a wall of the inflatable product.
According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, an inflatable product is provided including a porous sheet coupled to a wall of the inflatable product via an attachment sheet.
According to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, an inflatable product is provided including a porous tensioning structure in an air chamber of the inflatable product.
According to still yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, an inflatable product is provided including a first wall, a second wall, an inflatable air chamber defined by the first wall and the second wall, and a plurality of tensioning structures located in the air chamber and coupled to the first wall and the second wall. Each tensioning structure includes at least one attachment sheet having an outer perimeter and a porous sheet coupled to the at least one attachment sheet, the porous sheet including a plurality of enclosed pores located entirely within the outer perimeter of the at least one attachment sheet.
In certain embodiments, the porous sheet includes a plurality of frame members that intersect to define the plurality of enclosed pores.
In certain embodiments, the plurality of frame members of the porous sheet are interwoven.
In certain embodiments, the plurality of frame members of the porous sheet are arranged in a grid pattern.
In certain embodiments, the porous sheet includes a plurality of open spaces that are partially surrounded by the frame members.
In certain embodiments, the at least one attachment sheet has a lower melting point than the porous sheet.
In certain embodiments, the at least one attachment sheet, the first wall, and the second wall have similar melting points.
In certain embodiments, the porous sheet includes a second plurality of enclosed pores located beyond the outer perimeter of the at least one attachment sheet.
In certain embodiments, the porous sheet has an outer perimeter that substantially overlaps the outer perimeter of the at least one attachment sheet.
In certain embodiments, the product is a spa. In other embodiments, the product is a mattress. In other embodiments, the product is a pool.
In certain embodiments, the first wall is an internal wall of the spa, and the second wall is an external wall of the spa, the spa further including a bottom wall that cooperates with the internal wall to define a water cavity.
In certain embodiments, the spa includes a water cavity, the product further including a heating unit in fluid communication with the water cavity, the heating unit including a heating element and a U-shaped water cavity around the heating element.
In certain embodiments, the product further includes a control system with a controller that maintains a current of the control system below a predetermined level by limiting a power supply to the heating unit.
According to still yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, an inflatable product is provided including a first wall, a second wall, an inflatable air chamber defined by the first wall and the second wall, and a plurality of tensioning structures located in the air chamber. Each tensioning structure is coupled to the first wall along a first seam that extends along a first line and to the second wall along a second seam that extends along a second line. Each tensioning structure includes a porous sheet with a plurality of pores, wherein any line parallel to the first line intersects the plurality of pores in the porous sheet.
In certain embodiments, the porous sheet includes a plurality of frame members that cooperate to define the plurality of pores, wherein the plurality of frame members are oriented transverse to the first line.
In certain embodiments, the plurality of frame members are oriented transverse to a third line that is perpendicular to the first line.
In certain embodiments, the first line is parallel to the second line.
According to still yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, an inflatable spa is provided including a top wall, a bottom wall, an internal wall, an external wall, an inflatable air chamber defined by the top wall, the bottom wall, the internal wall, and the external wall, a water cavity defined by the bottom wall and the internal wall, and a control system including an air pump operable in an inflation mode that supplies air to the air chamber to inflate the air chamber, a deflation mode that removes air from the air chamber to deflate the air chamber, and an aeration mode that supplies air to the water cavity to aerate the water cavity.
In certain embodiments, the spa further includes an air passageway between the air pump and the spa that extends above the water cavity of the spa.
In certain embodiments, the control system further includes a control panel assembly that receives a user input, wherein the control panel assembly is mounted to the air passageway at a location above the water cavity of the spa.
In certain embodiments, the air passageway includes a first check valve and a second check valve positioned in series to prevent a backflow of water from the water cavity of the spa to the air pump.
In certain embodiments, at least one of the first check valve and the second check valve becomes progressively tighter as water pressure from the water cavity of the spa increases.
According to still yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, an inflatable spa is provided including a top wall, a bottom wall, an internal wall, an external wall, an inflatable air chamber defined by the top wall, the bottom wall, the internal wall, and the external wall, a water cavity defined by the bottom wall and the internal wall, and a jetted water pipe network that delivers jetted water to the water cavity, wherein the jetted water pipe network is substantially concealed within the inflatable air chamber.
In certain embodiments, the spa further includes a control system and a single water inlet pipe between the water cavity and the control system, wherein the water inlet pipe includes a filtered water inlet portion and a jetted water inlet portion.
In certain embodiments, the control system includes a drain assembly having a filtered water drain passageway in fluid communication with the filtered water inlet portion of the water inlet pipe, a jetted water drain passageway in fluid communication with the jetted water inlet portion of the water inlet pipe, and an outlet in fluid communication with both the filtered water drain passageway and the jetted water drain passageway.
In certain embodiments, the spa further includes a filtering cover that covers both the filtered water inlet portion and the jetted water inlet portion of the water inlet pipe.
In certain embodiments, the jetted water pipe network includes a plurality of spray nozzles, a first connecting pipe that delivers water to the plurality of spray nozzles, and a second connecting pipe that delivers air to the plurality of spray nozzles, wherein the plurality of spray nozzles, the first connecting pipe, and the second connecting pipe are substantially concealed within the inflatable air chamber.
In certain embodiments, the first and second connecting pipes are flexible.
In certain embodiments, the plurality of spray nozzles are spaced apart annularly about the internal wall of the spa.
According to still yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method is provided for erecting an inflatable spa having an inflatable air chamber and a water cavity. The method includes inflating the air chamber of the inflatable spa to a pressure greater than about 0.8 psi. In certain embodiments, the pressure is about 1.5 psi.
According to still yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method is provided for manufacturing an inflatable product having an air chamber defined by a plurality of walls. The method includes providing a porous sheet of a first material, at least a portion of the first material surrounding a plurality of pores in the porous sheet, placing the porous sheet between a second sheet of a second material and a third sheet of a third material, the second material and the third material covering the portion of the first material that surrounds the plurality of pores in the porous sheet, attaching the second sheet to the third sheet, and placing the porous sheet in the air chamber of the inflatable product.
In certain embodiments, the second sheet includes an attachment layer located between one of the plurality of walls of the inflatable product and the porous layer.
In certain embodiments, the second sheet includes one of the plurality of walls of the inflatable product.
In certain embodiments, the attaching step includes attaching the second material of the second sheet to the third material of the third sheet through the plurality of pores in the porous sheet.
In certain embodiments, the attaching step includes melting the second material of the second sheet and the third material of the third sheet.
In certain embodiments, the second material of the second sheet is the same as the third material of the third sheet.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The exemplifications set out herein illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention and such exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner.


It is known from the prior art that holes in a workpiece are filled completely with a solder powder, which leads especially in the case of large holes to the formation of cracks within the solder due to the large volume filled in once the solder cools off after soldering. The invention provides a method for closing a recess of a workpiece, which allows closing an opening of a recess without the risk of crack formation, by using only a solder film for closing the recess. The solder film has a content of non-melting material and therefore is substantially less prone to form cracks.

Soldering foils are used, for example, to cohesively join components, as is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,557,837. In this case, the soldering foil, which consists of a soldering material whose melting point is significantly below the melting point of the components to be joined to one another, is melted and joins a non-melting insert part which is fitted into a recess in another component.
It is also known to fill cracks or openings with solder powder, with the solder powder being piled up above the crack or opening and being melted by the supply of heat so that it runs into the crack or opening, as is known, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 4,098,450. In particular if large recesses are to be filled, the shrinkage involved in solidification often gives rise to cracks during cooling of the solder. The solder may undesirably penetrate into the interior of hollow bodies (e.g. a hollow turbine blade or vane) which are provided with a hole which is to be closed up.
It is also known to use soldering foils to coat materials, for example from U.S. Pat. No. 5,968,299.
In particular in the case of castings, such as for example turbine blades or vanes (cast, directionally solidified, single-crystalline), for manufacturing reasons there are in many cases blind bores or through-holes which need to be closed up since, for example, cooling air would otherwise escape in an undesired way from the interior of the turbine blade or vane through these holes, which reduces the efficiency of the turbine.

Workpiece with a recess which is closed from the exterior by means of a solder film and method for closing a recess by means of a solder film


The invention is an equipment support bracket that can be secured to a vehicle frame without drilling holes. The top bracket has a top tang that fits over the top web of the frame. A bottom bracket has a bottom tang that secures against the bottom web. Once installed on the frame, tensioning bolts tighten the top tang against the top web. In one embodiment, the equipment can be first attached to the support bracket and then the support bracket with equipment attached is positioned between the top bracket and the rail of the frame. In another embodiment, the equipment bracket can be attached to an I beam frame.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to equipment mounting brackets, and more particularly to equipment brackets that mount to a truck frame.
2. Description of Related Art
Utility vehicles are manufactured with a frame designed to support equipment and objects such as motors, pumps, tanks, controls, hose trays, storage boxes, fire extinguishers and hangars for pipes, hoses, cable and wire. Typically, these vehicle frames have a C shaped profile with horizontal top and bottom web members and a vertical rail member.
In order to mount heavy equipment, support brackets adapted to the desired equipment are attached directly to the vehicle frame. Holes are drilled in the frame and bolts are used to attach the support bracket. Drilling holes is permanent and can weaken a vehicle frame. If the holes are initially misaligned, redrilling can cause further damage to the frame. If equipment needs to be shifted on the frame, new holes must be drilled. When the equipment is removed, the holes remain in the frame. These existing holes may limit the ability to reuse the vehicle with different equipment.
Another problem is there may be a variation in the dimensions of the truck frames due to different manufacturers and the manufacturing process. As a result, pre manufactured clamp brackets may not always fit tightly causing rattle or unnecessary vibration.
One example where a no drill bracket is valuable is on vehicles used for fluid transport such as petroleum where several pieces of equipment such as pumps, valves, compressors, pipe brackets and controls are mounted to the truck frame or trailer frame under the tank. Aligning the equipment to permanent holes in the frame can be difficult due to the shape, weight and alignment of the equipment. Any misalignment or excess vibration due to loose brackets can cause premature failure or a fitting to leak or break.
What is needed is an equipment support bracket that can be mounted securely to a vehicle frame without the need for drilling holes. A support bracket that can be tightened against the vehicle frame to prevent rattling is desired. A bracket that can be attached to the equipment first and then coupled to the vehicle frame is also desired.


A sensor module includes a window structure configured to permit the passage of transmitted light and received light between an inside of the sensor module and a field-of-view; a transmitter configured to transmit a transmit light beam; a scanning structure configured to rotate about at least one scanning axis, the scanning structure configured to receive the transmit light beam from the transmitter and direct the transmit light beam towards the window structure and the field-of-view; a light detector configured to detect a reflected light beam that corresponds to the transmit light beam; and at least one processor configured to measure a time-of-flight of a round trip light beam comprising of the transmit light beam and the reflected light beam, compare the time-of-flight to a threshold time, and detect a dirt formation on the window structure on a condition that the time-of-flight is less than the threshold time.

Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR), is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges (variable distances) to one or more objects in a field of view. In particular, light is transmitted towards the object. Single photodetectors or arrays of photodetectors receive reflections from objects illuminated by the light, and the time it takes for the reflections to arrive at various sensors in the photodetector array is determined. This is also referred to as measuring time-of-flight (ToF). LIDAR systems form depth measurements and make distance measurements by mapping the distance to objects based on the time-of-flight computations. Thus, the time-of-flight computations can create distance and depth maps, which may be used to generate images.
LIDAR sensors may fire light as a narrow laser beam at different horizontal or vertical positions in a field of view. The light is transmitted and received through a window of the sensor module that provides an interface between the sensor module and the environment. This window may accumulate dirt over time, which may obscure the transmission and/or reception of the light. Cleaning of the window can be costly, as it may require wipers, compressed air, and/or cleaning fluids, as well as delivery systems for the cleaning mechanisms.
Therefore, an improved cleaning mechanism that mitigates cost may be desirable.


A retractable pet leash includes a leash housing, a gear element located within the leash housing, a channel extending along a length of the leash housing, a bag container integrated into either a first side panel or a second side panel of the leash housing, and a pull trigger in communication with the gear element. The leash housing includes the first side panel secured to the second side panel, a back portion including a handle, and a front portion including an opening through which a string portion of the leash extends and retracts. The gear element is configured for extending and retracting the string portion of the leash. The channel is configured for receiving a removable coupling member of a flashlight. The pull trigger is alterable between a retracted position and a pulled position. In the retracted position, the gear element is locked. In the pulled position, the gear element is unlocked.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a pet leash, and in particular, a pet leash having an integrated bag container and a removable flashlight.
2. Related Art
Many different types of leash devices are utilized by pet owners in conjunction with collars and/or harnesses for constraining various types of pets, including cats and dogs, for example. Many pet owners utilize leash devices while walking there pets, whether during the night or during the day. When pet owners walk their pets at night, many times it is useful for the owner to have a flashlight available for use. Pet owners are often times required to appropriately discard their pets' refuse, thus creating a need for many owners to carry pet refuse bags with them while taking their leashed pets on walks.
Existing pet leashes may include string portions that are retractable to provide more flexibility for the owner in controlling the distance leashed pets may travel. To better control leashed pets, it is desirable that the leash device have effective and efficient means for controlling when and in what manner the string portion retracts and/or extends.
In view of the foregoing, an ongoing need exists for effective and efficient retractable pet leashes that include control mechanisms that are easy to use. A need for retractable pet leashes also still exists that includes flashlights and pet refuse bag containers.

Retractable pet leash with bag container and removable flashlight


For each printhead nozzle, nozzle circuitry includes a warming transistor, drive transistor and heating resistor. To maintain a threshold temperature at the printhead, a warming pulse is sent from the warming transistor to the heating resistor of one or more nozzles when the temperature falls below a prescribed temperature. To fire a nozzle a firing pulse is output from the drive transistor to the heating resistor. The warming transistor is laid out as a segmented portion of the drive transistor layout area. No layout penalty is incurred by including the warming transistor for each nozzle. The source of a warming transistor is coupled in common to the source of a drive transistor. The drain of the warming transistor is coupled in common to the drain of the drive transistor. The gates are separate. The gates receive respective warming or firing control signals. The drains are coupled to the heating resistor.

This invention relates generally to thermal inkjet pen drive circuitry, and more particularly, to a circuit for actively warming the inkjet pen printhead to maintain a desired temperature during printing.
A conventional thermal inkjet pen includes multiple inkjet nozzles formed on a common die. Associated with each nozzle is a heating resistor and a drive transistor. The nozzle includes a nozzle chamber within which the heating resistor is located. To fire ink from the nozzle chamber the drive transistor outputs a firing pulse to the heating resistor. The firing pulse is a current pulse of sufficient magnitude to heat up the resistor enough to heat the ink to a firing temperature. The ink ejects from the chamber toward a print media sheet. The signals from respective drive transistors cause corresponding nozzles to fire. A controller circuit determines when any given nozzle is to fire. To minimize the time for the ink to heat up sufficiently to eject from the nozzle, it is known to preheat the heating resistors. The ejection temperature then is achieved a shorter time after the drive signal originates at the drive transistor.
According to a known preheating method, the temperature of the printhead is monitored during a print job. Whenever the detected temperature falls below a threshold temperature level, the controller signals the drive transistors to output a warming pulse to corresponding heating resistors. Such pulse is a current pulse having a lower magnitude than the current for a firing pulse. Specifically, the current magnitude is insufficient to raise the ink temperature enough for the ink to eject from the nozzle. One shortcoming of such approach is that the drive transistors can not perform warming operations during active printing of printhead nozzles. This becomes a shortcoming in for example a case of low density printing. When printing at a lower print density, the printhead may not stay at the desired warming temperature. Firing pulse bandwidth limitations, however, prevent sending warming pulses to the heating resistors.
Another known preheating method is to include passive resistor elements on the printhead apart from the nozzles. Signals to the passive resistors maintain the printhead at a desired threshold temperature. Such an approach, however, adds area and interconnect requirements to the printhead. Specifically more area is needed to include the passive resistor elements at frequent locations, and to provide interconnects to feed a signal to the resistor elements from the controller. In addition, the use of passive resistor elements is limited by current density limits for the printhead die. Accordingly there is need for an alternative preheating method.

Thermal inkjet printhead warming circuit


An asymmetric snubber resistor in accordance with the present invention includes a cathode, an N+ region, an N- region, a plurality of P+ regions, and an anode. The N+ region is disposed over the cathode, the N- region is disposed over the N+ region, the plurality of P+ regions are disposed over the N- region, and the anode is disposed over the plurality of P+ regions and exposed portions of the N- region. The asymmetric snubber may also include N regions between the P+ regions. The asymmetric snubber resistor replaces the snubber diode and the snubber resistor in a typical snubber circuit.

When a switch opens and stops the flow of current from an inductive load, the voltage across the inductor load suddenly rises and keeps rising, trying to force current through the open switch. Eventually, the voltage may become high enough to force current through and destroy the switch. The above-described problem often occurs in high current and high voltage applications. Accordingly, to protect the switch a snubber circuit is coupled across the switch.
Referring to FIG. 1, one example of a circuit 10 with a transistor 12, an inductive load 14, and a snubber circuit 16 is illustrated. In the circuit, the collector C of transistor 12 is connected to a -V source and the emitter E of the transistor is connected to a +V source. An inductive load is connected to the emitter of transistor 12. The snubber circuit 16 is connected in parallel with transistor 12 to the emitter E and collector C. A first load 18 and a first diode 20 are connected in series between the emitter E and a +V source, a second diode 22 is also connected in parallel with transistor 12, and a second load 24 is connected between the snubber circuit 16 and the emitter E.
The snubber circuit 16 consists of a snubber capacitor, a snubber resistor 28, and a snubber diode 30. The snubber capacitor 26 has first and second capacitor terminals 32 and 34 with the first capacitor terminal 32 coupled to the emitter E of transistor 12 and the second capacitor terminal 34 connected to one terminal of the snubber resistor 28. The other terminal of the snubber resistor 28 is connected to the collector C of transistor 12. The snubber diode 30 is connected in parallel with the snubber resistor 28.
When transistor 12 is off and thus open, the full load current is blocked from flowing through transistor 12. Instead, the full load current I.sub.load is transferred to the snubber circuit 16 which charges the snubber capacitor 26 and turns the snubber diode 30 on. The snubber diode 30 must be able to temporarily conduct the full load current I.sub.load and must be able to block the system voltage.
When transistor 12 is on and thus closed, the full load current I.sub.load flows through transistor 12. Meanwhile, snubber capacitor 26 discharges through snubber resistor 28 and snubber diode 30 is turned off. Snubber resistor 28 must be able to handle high peak current dissipation and must be small enough to discharge snubber capacitor 26 before the next turn off event.
Although the above-described snubber circuit 16 works, the snubber circuit 16 has some problems and limitations. For example, in high current and high power voltage applications, snubber resistor 28 is not able to withstand some commonly occurring high peak currents and wattage. The size requirement for the current surge and wattage creates layout problems which result in high stray inductance and reduces the effectiveness of the snubber circuit 16.


A watch is delimited by a case formed of a back cover and of a middle part. A timepiece movement is disposed in a casing ring housed inside the watch case. The watch also includes a dial disposed on top of the casing ring and held by a fixing ring. The fixing ring has an S-shaped cross-section. An upper branch of the fixing ring is supported on the dial and a lower branch of the fixing ring is supported on the casing ring. The lower branch of the fixing ring is clamped between the middle part and the casing ring, so as to grip the dial between the upper branch of the fixing ring and the casing ring.

It is known, in the field of watches, to use dials in the lower surface of which, i.e. on the movement side, are machined holes into which metal feet are driven. These metal feet serve, in particular, to hold the dials in place relative to the watch movement during assembly of the watch. This state of the art technique is disclosed, for example, in EP Patent No 0465988.
The making of such dials involves relatively complex machining operations, since the dials have to be pierced precisely several times before the metal feet are mounted. Further, the use of such dials in skeleton watches is unattractive.
Other devices for holding a watch dial exist and can at least partly overcome the aforementioned drawbacks.
U.S. Pat. No. 857,516, for example, discloses, in a particular embodiment, a polygonal-shaped mount into which the dial is forcibly inserted, under the effect of which the mount is deformed and the edges thereof hold the dial in place. The assembly formed by the dial and the mount is then disposed above the movement which includes a circular projecting wall for assembling the dial/mount assembly by snap fit.
This type of device for holding the dial on the watch movement is, however, unreliable over time. Indeed, the dial is held in place only by friction forces, so that shocks applied to the watch can cause a movement of the dial with respect to its reference position.
The device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,966,344 makes it possible to overcome this drawback. According to a first embodiment described in that patent document, a circular mount, fixed to the movement, includes, on the periphery thereof, recesses intended to receive, by force fit, corresponding portions of the dial. The force fit of the dial ensures that the latter cannot move, even as a result of shocks. However, this type of embodiment is unattractive in skeleton watches, since an opening can be seen between the dial and the mount. According to another embodiment disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,966,344, the watch movement includes several holes arranged at the periphery thereof, the holes being intended to cooperate with feet integral with the dial. Such a device also involves complex machining operations, as the movement has to be pierced and the dial feet have to be made in one-piece with the dial.


This invention relates to a method for enhancing a fuel additive package so as to improve the shelf-life of the package comprising forming a fuel additive package containing (i) a major amount of detergent/dispersant and (ii) a minor amount of demulsifier; and admixing a solvent stabilizer composition with said additive package in an amount sufficient to improve the shelf-life of the fuel additive package.

This invention relates to a method and composition for hydrocarbonaceous fluid additive concentrates which provide enhanced shelf-life stability.
Detergent/dispersant compositions are typically a major component of many hydrocarbonaceous fluid additive packages and are used commercially to reduce the amount of deposits in automotive and diesel engines and engine components. By hydrocarbonaceous fluids is meant any one or more of fuels, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, marine fuels, and the like; or lubricants, either natural or synthetic. Detergent/dispersant compositions may be added to such hydrocarbonaceous fluids separately, however, they are generally added as part of an additive package, which package may contain other components such as demulsifiers, corrosion inhibitors, cold starting aids, dyes, metal deactivators, octane improvers, cetane improvers, emission control additives, antioxidants, and the like.
Typically, fuel additive packages containing detergent/dispersant compositions are prepared as concentrates in bulk and are added to fuels in amounts ranging from about 25 to about 500 pounds per thousand barrels of fuel or more as detergent/dispersant. These bulk concentrates, however, do not always remain clear. Components of the additive concentrates tend to separate from the package giving the package a hazy appearance. In order to assure uniform addition of all components of the package to hydrocarbonaceous fluids, it is desirable that the components remain in a substantially homogeneous solution. Thus it is an object of this invention to provide a stable hydrocarbonaceous fluid additive package. It is another object of this invention to provide a means for stabilizing a hydrocarbonaceous fluid additive package for long term storage. Other objects of this invention will be evident from the ensuing description and appended claims.


A biological fluid sample analysis cartridge is provided. The cartridge includes a housing, a fluid module, and an analysis chamber. The fluid module includes a sample acquisition port and an initial channel, and is connected to the housing. The initial channel is sized to draw fluid sample by capillary force, and is in fluid communication with the acquisition port. The initial channel is fixedly positioned relative to the acquisition port such that at least a portion of a fluid sample disposed within the acquisition port will draw into the initial channel. The analysis chamber is connected to the housing, and is in fluid communication with the initial channel.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to apparatus for biologic fluid analyses in general, and to cartridges for acquiring, processing, and containing biologic fluid samples for analysis in particular.
2. Background Information
Historically, biologic fluid samples such as whole blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, body cavity fluids, etc. have had their particulate or cellular contents evaluated by smearing a small undiluted amount of the fluid on a slide and evaluating that smear under a microscope. Reasonable results can be gained from such a smear, but the cell integrity, accuracy and reliability of the data depends largely on the technician's experience and technique.
Another known method for evaluating a biologic fluid sample involves diluting a volume of the sample, placing it within a chamber, and manually evaluating and enumerating the constituents within the diluted sample. Dilution is necessary if there is a high concentration of constituents within the sample, and for routine blood counts several different dilutions may be required because it is impractical to have counting chambers or apparatus which can examine variable volumes as a means to compensate for the disparities in constituent populations within the sample. In a sample of whole blood from a typical individual, for example, there are about 4.5×106 red blood cells (RBCs) per microliter (μl) of blood sample, but only about 0.25×106 of platelets and 0.007×106 white blood cells (WBCs) per μl of blood sample. To determine a WBC count, the whole blood sample must be diluted within a range of about one part blood to twenty parts diluent (1:20) up to a dilution of approximately 1:256 depending upon the exact dilution technique used, and it is also generally necessary to selectively lyse the RBCs with one or more reagents. Lysing the RBCs effectively removes them from view so that the WBCs can be seen. To determine a platelet count, the blood sample must be diluted within a range of 1:100 to about 1:50,000. Platelet counts do not, however, require a lysis of the RBCs in the sample. Disadvantages of evaluating a whole blood sample in this manner include the dilution process is time consuming and expensive, increased error probability due to the diluents within the sample data, etc.
Another method for evaluating a biologic fluid sample is impedance or optical flow cytometry, which involves circulating a diluted fluid sample through one or more small diameter orifices, each employing an impedance measurement or an optical system that senses the different constituents in the form of scattered light as they pass through the hydrodynamically focused flow cell in single file. In the case of whole blood, the sample must be diluted to mitigate the overwhelming number of the RBCs relative to the WBCs and platelets, and to provide adequate cell-to-cell spacing and minimize coincidence so that individual cells may be analyzed. Disadvantages associated with flow cytometry include the fluid handling and control of a number of different reagents required to analyze the sample which can be expensive and maintenance intensive.
Another modern method for evaluating biologic fluid samples is one that focuses on evaluating specific subtypes of WBCs to obtain a total WBC count. This method utilizes a cuvette having an internal chamber about 25 microns thick with one transparent panel. Light passing through the transparent panel scans the cuvette for WBCs. Reagents inside the cuvette cause WBCs to fluoresce when excited by the light. The fluorescing of the particular WBCs provides an indication that particular types of WBCs are present. Because the red blood cells form a partly obscuring layer in this method, they cannot themselves be enumerated or otherwise evaluated, nor can the platelets.
What is needed is a method and an apparatus for evaluating a sample of substantially undiluted biologic fluid, one capable of providing accurate results, one that does not use a significant volume of reagent(s), one that does not require sample fluid flow during evaluation, one that can perform particulate component analyses, and one that is cost-effective.


Design and control of well systems with multiple tubing strings is described. An example system models multiple tubing strings in wellbores as segments, with multiple control points selectively located among the segments. Each segment is modeled as one or more equations that describe characteristics of a fluid resource associated with the segment. The system can predict flow of fluids and energy in a wellbore by solving physical conservation equations subject to specified conditions. The system models multiple control points, and solves the equations to convergence to satisfy injection and production targets and specified constraints. Results may be used to improve production of the resource. The system can apply a variety of strategies to model wells via multiple control points, including conservation of mass and energy models, a global phase-component partitioning model, a conductive heat transfer model, a pseudo-pressure model, a non-Darcy flow model, a phase separation model, and so forth.

Well operators around the world are increasingly using wells with multiple tubing strings to improve both injection and production of fluids in a reservoir. Some operators are now using this technology for designing and optimizing thermal, heavy oil recovery. Wells with multiple tubing strings are also being used for isothermal and other operations.
Injection and production control can be based on user-specification of a set of flow rate and pressure constraints at a point in a well where the most constraining limit is determined by a model. Injection and production at a point within the wellbore and not just at the wellhead (the well's output to the surface) is increasingly being employed for (i) recirculation of fluids, for example in steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) processes, (ii) for artificial gas lift, (iii) for placement of injection fluids, e.g., steam placement in thermal operations, (iv) for control of production along a wellbore, e.g., in a long horizontal well utilizing sliding tubing strings. Additionally Inflow Control Device (ICD) and Flow Control Valve (FCV) constraint devices are being used to improve production from layers or compartments in a reservoir.
Multiple tubing strings in a well present the dual problem of both design and control. There is need for a rigorous, accurate, and robust method to model these multi-tubing string wells as part of the reservoir simulation stage of "field planning and development" in order to properly design the wells, and in order to improve resource production (i.e., optimal control of the optimal design). In particular, there is a need to control the individual tubing strings with ICD and FCV devices and allow injection and production at various control points along the tubing strings in addition to the single, overall well control.

Control of multiple tubing string well systems


The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a right- and left-hand screw having a first external right-handed thread and a second external left-handed thread formed by an inexpensive rolling process using a rolling die with a first thread-cutting die for the first thread and a second thread-cutting die for the second thread.

The right-and-left screw is known as a screw type that prevents from loosening. The right-and-left screw forms both external right- and left-hand threads overlapping on the same screw surface. The right-and-left screw is equipped with two nuts, a right screw nut corresponding to the right-hand thread and a left screw nut corresponding to the left-hand thread. The right-and-left screw fastens the object to be joined by rotating the two screw nuts in opposite directions and jamming them tight.
It is impossible for vibration to rotate two nuts to its opposite direction. The two jam nuts can only rotate to the same direction which causes them tighten. Therefore any vibration will not loosen from the original fastening condition.


A system and method for performing IGMP at an router, GMQ on homes serviced by the IGMP router or channels. Each channel has a corresponding broadcast group characterized in that a plurality of the counters are provided at the IGMP router. Each counter is associated with the unique host and channel combination and is incremented after a response time interval, which begins when the IGMP router sends a GMQ message to the host, has elapsed and the IGMP router has failed to receive a Join report for the host and channel combination associated with that counter and responsive to a counter being equal to a selected robustness parameter, the host and channel combination associated with the counter is dropped from the broadcast group corresponding to the channel of that host and channel combination.

The invention relates to the problem of efficiently performing Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) General Membership Queries (GMQs) on a large number of DSL (digital subscriber line) subscribers, particularly to enforcing requirements on the timeliness of responses to the queries by the subscribers' CPE (customer premise equipment). This CPE would normally be a Set-top Box (STB), and is also referred to as a host in the IGMP nomenclature. The equipment at the network side that services a group of hosts is known as an IGMP router. A host can receive several channels at one time through a router.
FIG. 1 (prior art) shows the timing of GMQ procedure specified in the IGMP RFC (rfc2236—Internet Group Management Protocol, Version 2). According to the GMQ procedure in the RFC, once every GMQ Interval an IGMP router broadcasts a GMQ message to the hosts that it services. Each host should then respond with a Join Report for every channel that it is receiving. The timeliness of the response is globally selectable for each router. The parameter providing the selectability is known as the robustness parameter, which specifies the maximum amount of time, in terms of an integer multiple GMQ cycles, within which a host must respond.
In the case of the Alcatel 7300 ASAM, the default value of the robustness parameter is two and the GMQ Interval cycle is 125 seconds long. Hence the default time limit for the response is two GMQ Intervals plus a 10 second response window (i.e. 2×125 s+10 s=260 s). If a router fails to receive a response for a particular host and channel within this time limit the host is removed from the broadcast group for that channel.
A problem with this procedure is that it requires a timer for each host and channel combination so that the router can measure and enforce the time limit allowed for each response. Since a router supports a large number of hosts and each host can carry a large number of channels, the number of timers required could be very large, typically in the thousands. This is problematic because each timer requires processing resources; hence the cumulative processing resources required for all of the timers can be quite significant. In fact, experience has shown that the processing resources required for the timers can encroach upon the processing resources needed for other functions. Therefore, a more processing-efficient way of enforcing the time limit for responding to GMQ messages is desired.


A wall mounted cover plate conceals an electrical circuit capable of sensing the field provided by a covered switch or electrical socket circuit. When power is lost at the wall circuit the electrical circuit senses the loss of power and activates one or more LEDs to provide emergency illumination. The electrical circuit is self contained and does not require stand-by energy so that the batteries are long lasting.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to emergency lighting devices such as standby automatic lamps, and more particularly to such an emergency lighting device assembled into a common switch cover plate and providing an illumination source and a sensor for determining when AC power has been lost to the electrical switch covered by the plate.
2. Description of Related Art
The following art defines the present state of this field: Nicholl et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,177,500 describes a power failure light for monitoring a power line and for illumination upon the interruption of power. This invention includes a light bulb, a rechargeable battery, a power supply providing charging current for the battery, a pair of diodes connecting the battery across the power supply, a pair of cascaded transistors connecting the bulb across the battery with base-emitter junctions
Chiu, U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,974 describes a multiple lamp system for use with fiber optic light guide for automatically switching from a main lamp to a standby lamp, upon failure of the former. A solenoid is employed with the inductor in the circuit of the main lamp to overcome the bias of the switch in the standby lamp circuit to keep the former open. When the main lamp fails causing the interruption of current flow, the switch closes thereby permitting energization of the standby lamp. An indicator is provided to show which lamp is functioning.
Jester, U.S. Pat. No. 4,514,789 describes a light switch plate having a rearwardly opening housing for removably holding an AA battery. This invention is detachably mountable over a conventional wall mounted 110 volt AC light switch. An LED mounted on the front of the housing is connected to the battery through an integrated circuit oscillator, which flashes the LED.
McCue et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,631,649 describes an emergency light fixture that is permanently mountable in a conventional power outlet box having, in fixed relation, a threaded bore for accommodating a screw for a face plate and slots for accommodating an electric plug. The emergency light fixture includes a housing, an electric plug extending from the rear wall of the housing, a battery, a battery charger, and a lamp mounted in the housing and wired to provide illumination during a power outage.
Bavaro et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,977,351 describes an emergency lighting system which permits at least one gas discharge lamp to be operated from an AC power source when AC current is present and form a battery when AC signal is not present. The circuit also provides the capability for turning the lamp on under other selected emergency conditions such as in response to an intruder detection, or in response to detection of smoke, heat, water, or some other emergency.
Walters et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,132,596 describes an outdoor lighting control that includes a photosensor responsive to ambient outdoor light and an alternating current relay with a pair of contacts movable between make and break positions. The relay includes a contact actuating arrangement that responds to the photosensor and alternating current bias the contact into a make position and move the contacts electromagnetically into a break position. The contact actuating arrangement is sufficiently stiff and responsive to the alternating current to limit chatter in the contact during passage from make to break to fifteen milliseconds when the photosensor senses a transition between dark and daylight. Preferably, the chatter is limited between 1 and 10 mill-seconds.
Li, U.S. Pat. No. 5,336,977 describes an emergency lighting device that includes a hollow casing, a magnetic field detecting unit, a lamp unit and a driving unit. The casing is positioned adjacent to an electric outlet. The magnetic field detecting unit is disposed inside the casing and detects the absence of a magnetic field from the electric outlet. The lamp unit is mounted operatively on the casing. The driving unit is disposed inside the casing and is connected electrically to the lamp unit and to the detecting unit. The driving unit includes a light-sensitive switch unit and is responsive to the detecting unit so as to activated the lamp unit only when the magnetic field from the electric outlet is absent and there is weak surrounding light.
Blackman, U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,517 describes a housing for an emergency light source, which is electrically connectable to a conventional light switch. The housing replaces a conventional switch plate and has at least one opening for receiving the switch plate and has at least one opening for receiving the switch actuator of the light switch. The replacement housing includes wires for electrical connection to the light switch and is divided into upper and lower housing section, wherein the upper section includes a battery compartment, a printed circuit board compartment, and an opening to receive the switch actuator. The lower housing section includes a compartment for receiving a compact fluorescent lamp, reflectors, and a diffuser cover.
The prior art teaches a variety of safety and emergency lighting devices. Blackman teaches a replacement switchplate with wired connection to a light switch. This switch plate contains a lighting means. Walters teaches a lighting control having photosensor responsive means. Jester teaches a lighted switch plate. Li teaches a magnetic field sensor responsive to an absence of power at a nearby AC outlet, such a sensor being unable to operate in conjunction with a switch since without current flow a magnetic field is not produced. However, the prior art does not teach a switch plate of compact size and proportions having field sensing capability so as to avoid the necessity of hard wiring and which provides an exit marker and illumination. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages as described in the following summary.

Switch cover plate providing automatic emergency lighting


Anandamide analogues useful for the treatment of intraocular hypertension, as well as ophthalmic compositions comprising the same and a cyclodextrin, and methods of use of these compounds to treat intraocular hypertension.

Subjects who smoke marijuana have reduced intraocular pressure (Helper et al, J. Am. Med. Assoc., 217:1392 (1971)). The primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana is known to be delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol ("THC"). Human experiments involving intravenous administration of pure THC have confirmed the intraocular pressure reduction phenomenon seen with subjects who smoke marijuana (Cooler et al, South. Med. J., 70:954 (1977)). As a result, cannabinoids have been investigated as anti-glaucoma agents.
However, use of systemic cannabinoids, such as THC, as anti-glaucoma agents is disadvantageous since they can cause significant adverse psychological and physiological side-effects. In addition, cannabinoids are lipophilic compounds that are very insoluble in water, thus hindering their application as topical ophthalmic pharmaceutical products.
Anandamides are structurally different from cannabinoids, such as THC. The first anandamide discovered (Devane et al, Science, 258:1946 (1992)) is represented by the following formula, and is known as arachidonyl ethanolamide: ##STR1## Two other endogenous anandamides were subsequently discovered (Hanus et al, J. Med. Chem., 36:3032 (1993)). Several synthetic analogues have also been made (Felder et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 90:7656 (1993); Abadji et al, J. Med. Chem., 37: 1889 (1994); Pinto et al, Pharm. Exp. Therap., 46:516 (1994); and Adams et al, Life Sciences, 56:2041 (1995)).
Arachidonyl ethanolamide is an endogenous porcine ligand reported to bind to the cannabinoid receptor in the brain (Devane et al, supra). Like THC, anandamides are useful in reducing intraocular pressure (PCT Patent Publication Wo 94/12466). However, it has been discovered in the present invention that many anandamides, when used as a hypotensive agent, have a disadvantage in that a hypertensive effect is induced during the initial phase of action.
Aqueous eyedrops are the most commonly used dosage form for ophthalmic drug delivery. This is because eyedrops are easy to use, relatively inexpensive and do not impair vision. However, the aqueous solubility of anandamides is very poor. Thus, ophthalmic delivery of anandamides in aqueous eyedrops is difficult.
Anandamides are soluble in oil solutions (e.g., castor oil, sesame oil, mineral oil, etc.) and organic solvents (e.g., ethanol, chloroform, etc.). However, these solvents cause harmful side-effects when administered to the eyes. Thus, they are generally not used for ophthalmic drug delivery.
Cyclodextrins ("CDs") are a group of homologous cyclic oligosaccharides consisting of six, seven or eight glucopyranose units, and are respectively called .alpha.-, .beta.- or .gamma.-cyclodextrin. It is generally known that CDs can form inclusion complexes with various hydrophobic organic or inorganic compounds, and as a result, increase the solubility or stability of these compounds (Bekers et al, Drug Dev. Ind. Pharm., 17:1503-1549 (1991); and Duchene et al, Drug Dev. Ind. Pharm., 16:2487-2499 (1990)). CDs have also been used to increase the dissolution rate, as well as the bioavailability of various drugs, and to decrease the toxicity of topically applied drugs (Bekers et al, Drug Dev. Ind. Pharm., 17:1503-1549 (1991)).
CDs can be regarded as cone-shaped molecules, where the polar hydroxyl groups of the glucose unit are oriented towards the outside of the structure (Bekers et al, Drug Dev. Ind. Pharm., 17:1503-1549 (1991)). Therefore, the outside of CDs is hydrophilic, whereas the inside of the cavity is hydrophobic in character. The minimum requirement for inclusion complex formation is that the guest molecule must fit, entirely or at least partially, into the CD cavity (Bekers et al, Drug Dev. Ind. Pharm., 17:1503-1549 (1991)).
However, little attention had been paid to the suitability of CDs for use with drugs having ophthalmic activity or for use in ophthalmic compositions. Co-administered CD has increased the ocular absorption of dexamethasone (Loftsson et al, Int. J. Pharm., 104:181-184 (1994), dexamethasone acetate (Usayapant et al, Pharm. Res., 8:1495-1499 (1991) and pilocarpine (Freedman et al, Curr. Eve Res., 12:641-647 (1993), and the intraocular pressure lowering effect of carbonic anhydrase inhibitors (Loftsson et al, Eur. J. Pharm. Sci., 1:175-180 (1994) (see also EP 326196B1, EP 400637A3, EP 435682A2 and EP 472327A1).

Anandamide analog compositions and method of treating intraocular hypertension using same


Various implementations described herein are directed to an integrated circuit having first devices arranged to operate as a latch. The first devices may include inner devices and outer devices. The integrated circuit may include second devices coupled to the first devices and arranged to operate as a level shifter. The second devices may include upper devices and lower devices. The lower devices may be cross-coupled to gates of the inner devices and the upper devices. The integrated circuit may include input signals applied to gates of the outer devices and the lower devices to thereby generate output signals from the outputs of the lower devices that are applied to the gates of the inner devices and the upper devices to activate latching of the output signals.

This section is intended to provide information relevant to understanding various technologies described herein. As the section's title implies, this is a discussion of related art that should in no way imply that it is prior art. Generally, related art may or may not be considered prior art. It should therefore be understood that any statement in this section should be read in this light, and not as any admission of prior art.
In conventional circuit designs, memory typically has a power-up sequence that designers must follow to avoid direct-current (DC) paths. For instance, some core voltage related memory must be powered on first and then powered down later so as to avoid excessive leakage. Also, in some instances, the core voltage and periphery voltage must be on during normal operation for both power-gating (PG) and non-PG instances. If PG pins are in the core voltage range, then the periphery voltage can be powered down, and sometimes, the core voltage can be lowered for operating in a retention mode. Also, in some instances, retention voltage level can be determined by a technology node and its bitcells. However, conventional circuit designs related to the retention mode can be inefficient and consume a large area.


A vehicle seat having a vehicle seat base comprising a generally concave seat pan (4) and side plates (16) fixed to the seat pan for mounting the seat pan to the vehicle wherein the seat pan has, all relative to the direction of movement of the vehicle, a front face, a rear face, two lateral side faces and a bottom face, and wherein the side plates extend from the front towards the rear of the seat pan and are bonded to the lateral side faces along at least part of the length of each of the side plates. This produces a lightweight yet rigid seat base which enables a low block height.

Some form of seating is essential for the driver and passengers in a car or other vehicle, to support them in comfort during the journey and restrain them in the event of a collision. There are many different designs for vehicle seats, but they generally consist of a seat base with a seat back mounted thereto. The seat base supports the buttocks and thighs of a person occupying the seat, and the seat back supports the person's back, from the buttocks to the shoulders, or to the back of the head. The seat back can be fixedly mounted to the seat base, in a generally upright position, or it may be pivotally mounted to the seat base, so as to be movable between an upright position and a less upright, or reclined, position. In vehicle seat design and especially automotive seat design, there are often quite demanding constraints on the size and weight of a seat; this is typically a greater challenge in the design of small urban vehicles, such as compact or city cars, as these suffer from a lack of internal space vertically and/or horizontally around the occupants. In addition, vehicle seats have to meet quite exacting regulatory requirements to resist point and impact loads for crash testing, whiplash, luggage strike, etc., which means that a seat must have appropriate characteristics of strength, rigidity and so on.
Nowadays the design of most compact cars deliberately seats a passenger relatively high (compared to saloon or hatchback cars, for example) to ensure that a seated passenger's lower legs are inclined closer to the vertical, thus taking up a shorter horizontal distance and enabling the overall length of the vehicle to be reduced. Such a high seating arrangement can offer advantages in passenger comfort and also better visibility of traffic outside the vehicle, but it also obviously has an effect on the overall height of the vehicle. In order to maximise available space to package vehicle componentry e.g. a battery or fuel tank it is important to minimise the 'block height'. Block height relates to the height or thickness of the passenger seat base; more particularly block height means the height of the 'H-point' (or hip-point, the centre of rotation of a person's hip viewed from the side), which is the vertical location of an occupant's hip, specifically the pivot point between the torso and upper leg portions of the body, relative to the fixed vehicle surface to which the seat base is mounted (some define the block height differently, such as relative to the vehicle floor, or to the height above the level of the road, but in this application we use the definition specifically recited above). Many different seat designs have been produced which attempt to reduce block height, but there is a continuing need for a seat which allows block height to be reduced further, whilst still offering the passenger the seat comfort and adjustability (i.e. ability to slide the seat forwards and rearwards, to recline the seat and to raise or lower the seat so as to optimise passenger comfort) which he/she expects, and whilst still meeting all regulatory requirements. In addition, vehicle seats should be as light in weight and as easy and inexpensive to manufacture with a low capital expenditure as possible, and should preferably be capable of being recycled at the end of their useful life.
JP 2014100941A and JP-0317931 disclose metal seat pans with side plates that can be welded to the pan.


A progressive die for shaping a consecutive series of discs from a strip of relatively stiff material, comprising a series of adjacent die stations including a slot cutting station, a plurality of intermediate stations, and a cut off station, the slot cutting station including cutting means for forming at least one laterally extending slot between adjacent discs while leaving at least one narrow deformable bridge connecting the adjacent discs, the intermediate stations including cutting means for shaping the discs, and the cut off station including cutting means for severing the bridge. A strip of relatively stiff material includes a series of consecutive discs formed along the length thereof, at least two adjacent discs having at least one laterally extending slot therebetween and at least one narrow deformable bridge connecting the adjacent discs. A process for die punching a series of shaped discs from a strip of relatively stiff material comprises the steps of cutting at least one slot through the strip between each pair of adjacent sections and forming at least one narrow deformable bridge connecting each pair of adjacent discs, shaping the discs between the bridges, and severing the bridges.

This invention relates to a process for die punching (stamping) a strip of material such as metal, to a machine for performing the process, and to a product produced by the process. While the process and apparatus described and claimed herein have utility in other fields, the specific example described and claimed herein relates to the production of steel laminations for an electromotive device such as a motor.
The conventional manner of producing laminations is by feeding a long strip of lamination steel through a progressive die. The die has a series of stations and at each station a cut is made in the steel strip, thereby progressing from strip material to finished laminations.
In one process, a strip of straight slit steel is fed into a progressive die which progressively shapes the straight strip into finished laminations. In another process, a wide sheet of metal is cut by a scroll die into a plurality of scroll or zigzag strips, each scroll strip including a series of connected precut sections or discs. Each disc is then shaped by a progressive die into a finished lamination. Further, the discs have pilot holes in them, and each station of the progressive die has pilot pins which engage the pilot holes of the discs for the purpose of orienting the discs properly in the die stations during the punching operations.
There has been a problem with the foregoing prior art procedure which has resulted in a substantial downtime and loss of lamination steel. The problem arises because the between-center spacing between the successive die stations of the progressive die is fixed but the between-center spacing, or distance, between lamination discs may vary. As a specific example, a progressive die may have a feed length of 5.787″; a spacing of 5.787″±0.0002″ between stations one and two; and, because the tolerance is nonaccumulative, a spacing of 17.361″±0.0002″ between stations one and four. The center-to-center distance between lamination discs, on the other hand, are variable and the variations are accumulative.
An attempt to solve the foregoing problem has been to make the between-center spacing of successive lamination discs slightly longer than the theoretical feed length. For example, the between-center dimension between the discs has been made up to 0.0020″ longer than the feed length. This extra length can cause the metal strip to bow or buckle as it moves through the die; on the other hand, if the between-center spacing of the discs is not long enough, the discs cannot be fed through the die because the pilot pins of the dies cannot match the pilot holes of the discs. The result has been a disruption of the punching operation and a loss of strip metal.
It is a general object of this invention to provide improved process and apparatus for avoiding the aforementioned problems.

Die-shaping apparatus and process and product formed thereby


A pattern for linearizing an electric field and a touch sensor incorporating same are disclosed. The touch sensor includes an electrically resistive film that covers a touch sensitive area. The touch sensor further includes two or more substantially parallel polygonal rows of electrically conductive segments disposed on the resistive film and surrounding the touch sensitive area. Each edge of each row has one or more middle electrically conductive segments disposed between two end electrically conductive segments. Gaps separate adjacent conductive segments in a row. A middle conductive segment in a row fully overlaps a middle conductive segment in an adjacent row. The overlap defines a full overlap region. The touch sensor further includes a discrete electrically insulative segment disposed in the resistive film in the full overlap region. The insulative segment increases the electrical resistance between the two middle conductive segments.

Touch screens allow a user to conveniently interface with an electronic display system. For example, a user can carry out a complicated sequence of instructions by simply touching the screen at a location identified by a pre-programmed icon. The on-screen menu may be changed by re-programming the supporting software according to the application.
Resistive and capacitive are two common touch sensing methods employed to detect the location of a touch input. A touch location is generally determined by applying an electric field to a resistive film in the touch sensitive area. For an electrically continuous resistive film, the accuracy of detecting the location of an applied touch typically depends on the linearity of the electric field in the resistive film. The electric field linearity is typically improved by forming an electrode pattern around the touch sensitive area.


The disclosed concept maintains that Qp=Qc−Qleak, where, Qp is the estimated patient flow, Qleak is the estimated leak and Qc is the measured total circuit flow. Qleak is given by a transfer function φ(χ) where x is a set of independent measured or fixed variables. The transfer function is thus Qleak=φ(χ). The transfer function (φ(χ) is adjusted given the constraint that, Qp shall be zero. The transfer function converges over time to accurately estimate the leak because over an extended time the mean patient flow will always be zero. In one example, φ(χ)=gorfPγ and the coefficient gorf is adapted until Qp is zero.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present invention relates to positive gas delivery systems, such as pressure support systems and other ventilator (e.g., invasive) systems, and, more particularly, to a method for estimating leak in a gas delivery system, and a gas delivery system employing such a method.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are numerous situations where it is necessary or desirable to deliver a flow of breathing gas non-invasively to the airway of a patient, i.e., without intubating the patient or surgically inserting a tracheal tube in his or her esophagus. Such therapies are commonly referred to as non-invasive ventilation (NIV) therapies. For example, it is known to non-invasively deliver continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or variable airway pressure, which varies with the patient's respiratory cycle, to treat a medical disorder, such as sleep apnea syndrome, in particular, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), or congestive heart failure.
NIV therapies involve the placement of a patient interface device including a mask component on the face of a patient. The mask component may be, without limitation, a nasal mask that covers the patient's nose, a nasal pillow/cushion having nasal prongs that are received within the patient's nares, a nasal/oral mask that covers the nose and mouth, or a full face mask that covers the patient's face. The patient interface device interfaces the ventilator or pressure support device with the airway of the patient through one or more delivery conduits (together commonly referred to as a patient circuit) so that a flow of breathing gas can be delivered from the pressure/flow generating device to the airway of the patient.
NIV using a single limb patient circuit has safely ventilated patients with respiratory insufficiency for over ten years and those with severe sleep apnea for over twenty years. In NIV, an accurate estimate of the patient flow is required for consistent and accurate volume delivery and for the ventilator to sense the patient's respiratory drive. The accuracy of the estimated patient flow is dependent on two things: (i) the accuracy and precision of the total flow signal (which is measured at the ventilator outlet and which is the composite of the patient flow and the flow caused by leaks (both intentional and unintentional) about the patient interface) and, (ii) the ability to model the leak flow as a function of one or more parameters such as pressure. Thus, one of the key technologies for effective NIV is the estimation of leak flow.

Leak estimation using function estimation