A container is formed in a blank having two body halves interconnected by a hinge. The container body is at least partially clear to allow inspection of an article held in the interior. The container optionally includes an integrally formed carrying handle. Empty containers are nested to minimize shipping space. Each container optionally includes stack-stabilizing structure so that plural containers may be stacked into stable stacks, and any selected container may be easily removed from the stack. The inventive container protects articles held therein during shipping and storage, and displays the articles both before and after sale.

Thermoformed containers are used ubiquitously as packaging for innumerable objects. Generally speaking, containers formed by thermoforming processes offer economical packaging options for a variety of consumer goods, and at many different distribution levels. For example, thermoformed containers may be used as competitive replacements for paperboard and cardboard-based packages for many items. The following description of the packaging industry as it relates to footwear is just one example of the demands for packaging.
The market for consumer footwear is notoriously competitive and there are numerous footwear manufacturers competing for a share of that market. The intense level of competition in the footwear industry is found in nearly every market sector, and regardless of the particular type of shoe. However, the competition is perhaps most keenly focused in the market sector pertaining to active shoes and athletic shoes. In this market sector as well as others, competitors are constantly searching for ways to increase sales and market shares. Some of the most successful, and thus commonly used marketing techniques, are very familiar to most consumers. Examples include rapid introduction of new styles, product endorsements by famous athletes, intense brand name marketing and promotion, and advertising directed to specific consumer groups such as consumers falling into specific targeted demographic groups. These techniques along with other marketing activities help give footwear manufacturers a competitive edge in a highly competitive market.
Traditional shoeboxes are sometimes utilized for marketing purposes in addition to their more traditional function. Shoes of all types are usually packaged in traditional rectangular shoeboxes manufactured from some kind of paperboard, often cardboard. However, while such boxes serve an accepted functional role of storing and protecting the shoes, they do little to promote the product itself, other than minimal promotional information printed on the boxes.
While there are many different styles of shoeboxes, nearly all of them are variations on a standard theme: a rectangular box that is usually made of cardboard. Such boxes are useful for many reasons. From a purely functional point of view, rectangular shoeboxes provide a reasonably secure internal compartment for storing the shoes after manufacturing, and all the way from the factory to the consumer sales outlet. And traditional boxes are easily stacked, whether for shipping in containers from an offshore manufacturing location to a warehouse, for storage in a warehouse or a retail outlet, or for storing product for consumer inspection at warehouse-type retail outlets. While the internal compartment of a rectangular box is not custom designed to hold a pair of shoes, most shoes are held reasonably well in a standard box when the shoes are nested in the traditional opposed orientation, and generally with a paper sleeve inserted between the shoes to prevent them from rubbing together and scuffing.
But in addition to their functional benefits, traditional rectangular shoeboxes serve another purpose, and that is as a part of the marketing plan. Nearly all shoe manufacturers try to use their product packaging as part of their overall marketing programs designed to sell the product. Thus, many shoe manufacturers print graphics and other promotional information on their boxes. Even though this marketing information may be visible only on the sides of the boxes since boxes are usually stacked, the space can be used as advertising space. Moreover, the box may be printed with information about the shoes—sizes and the like.
However, there are several problems evident in traditional shoeboxes. First, the standard rectangular box design necessarily takes up more space than is needed to contain the shoes. Even when nested in an opposed orientation, a pair of shoes defines a shape that is seldom a regular rectangle, and as a result, most standard shoeboxes have excess materials and take up more space than is necessary. These factors increase costs of the product. For example, minimizing the amount of raw material used to make the box could reduce material costs tied up in the packaging. Likewise, eliminating excess packaging material that takes up added space can reduce shipping and storage costs.
Second, most shoeboxes are made of some form of paper—usually cardboard or a heavy paperboard. While such materials tend to make a relatively strong container, the can be crushed and are subject to moisture absorption and damage. Moisture damage to cardboard can be a significant problem. And even broken-down cardboard boxes designed for shoes tend to take up a significant amount of space. Further, the boxes must be manufactured in one location as blanks, shipped to another location where they are set up as boxes. Finally, raw material costs for cardboard are increasing at a steady rate, making the economics of using cardboard less and less favorable.
But perhaps the greatest shortcoming of traditional, rectangular shoeboxes is their limited ability to enhance product sales. As noted above, most shoe manufacturers print promotional information of one kind or another on their shoeboxes, including trademarks, logos and the like. This is valuable to a degree in selling the product. But cardboard is inherently opaque, and as such, a consumer must open the box to look at the shoes contained inside. Shoe manufacturers want their consumers to look at their shoes—the appearance of the shoe is an important factor in the consumer's decision on what to buy. It can be difficult to pull a box out of a stack of boxes, open it to look at the shoe, and then replace the shoe in the box in even a relatively neat fashion. Stated in another way, a large part of the consumer's buying decision is based upon the appearance of the shoe. As a result, shoe manufacturers spend a great deal of time and money in making their shoes look attractive to consumers—the manufacturers want consumers to see the product. But for all of this, shoes are almost always hidden in a shoebox.
As noted, the foregoing is but one example of some shortcomings of traditional, paper-based packaging. There is a real need for improved packaging containers.
The present invention provides a see-through display container that overcomes the problems in the prior art, and at the same time provides substantial marketing and product promotion advantages for whatever product might be held in the container. To name a few examples of the advantages that the inventive package provides, the container actually helps promote the product held within the container and increase sales by presenting the product in a container that the consumer can see through. The product includes an integral handle so that the container itself functions as a carrying case for the enclosed product. This allows retailers to stop putting traditional boxes in bags, which of course are an unnecessary and thus wasteful expense. In addition, since the container is see-through, other consumers will be able to see what the purchaser has purchased. This is a further promotional tool.
The invention illustrated and described herein is a container that may be used as a package for many different objects. The structural features of the invention and the manner in which the inventive package is formed make the container useful in numerous industries for innumerable goods. Nonetheless, the package of the present invention is described below with particular reference to its use as a container for footwear. While the description of the invention sometimes focuses on a footwear container, it is to be understood that the principles of the invention apply to the container used for other purposes, and that the invention is not limited to use as a footwear container, but is instead limited only by the appended claims.
In a preferred embodiment the present invention comprises a shoe container formed of a clear or translucent plastic that is formed such that a pair of shoes fits precisely into the interior of the container and is visible through the container. The container may be formed in any size to accommodate any sized shoe. The container of the present invention may be formed to define an interior space that conforms to the size and dimensions of a particular style of shoe, or other items. Thus, little space is wasted on both the interior and exterior and manufacturing, shipping and storage costs are minimized.
The containers are preferably thermoformed in a one-piece clamshell configuration that includes an integral hinge and carrying handle. The package is formed in a manner that results in a strong container that protects items contained therein. Moreover, the package embodies structural features that provide unique storage and stacking capabilities.
In one embodiment the containers are manufactured from transparent polymeric materials that resist cracking and breaking, and which withstand impact. The containers may be nested so that storage space is minimized. When the containers are packaged with shoes, the halves of the clamshell package are closed over the shoes and are securely latched or interconnected to provide a secure package. With particular reference to footwear, the shoes may be oriented within the container in such a manner to ideally display the shoes to consumers. In a preferred embodiment, the shoes are oriented in the traditional toe-to-heel orientation.
The outer dimensions of the containers are configured to optionally include stack stabilization features so that multiple containers may be stacked in stable layers. In one preferred embodiment, the containers include outwardly facing protrusions or rails that nest into a complimentary and cooperative structure in the next adjacent container when stacked. This allows a single container to be easily removed from a large stack of containers.
The container may be formed of many different types of plastics, including plastics containing significant levels of recycled materials. Many kinds of plastics used to make the inventive container may be recycled after use. The plastic may be colored to match the color scheme that the manufacturer has selected for the shoe, and the color of the container may thus be combined into a marketing plan. Written indicia such as brand names and logos may be printed on or formed in the container.


The open end of a cylindrical housing which may be an evacuable housing, for example a tube for storing blood samples, is closed by means of a cap having an annular wall surrounding the open end of the housing and a seal extending into the cap and the housing. For secure sealing of the housing, the cap is connected by means of a coupling device either to the seal or to the housing or both of these.

Such closure means for a cylindrical housing, in particular a blood sample tube, is disclosed in AT-A-379 069. This closure means comprises a cap surrounding an open end face of the cylindrical housing and defining a bore, a seal being provided in the bore and the interior of the housing. In the bore or in a tubular extension adjoining the bore, there are provided projections which protrude over the surface of the cap, the projections being covered by the seal. It cannot always be ensured, however, that the closure means can be opened without allowing the escape of medicaments or body fluids that may be contained in the cylindrical housing, in dependence upon the adhesion between the seal and the housing.
Also, closure means for cylindrical housings, in particular for medicaments or body fluids, are known, which comprise a one piece cap or a cap made up of several pieces, for use with a seal. For example, U.S. application Ser. No. 4 465 200, U.S. application Ser. No. 4 205 754, U.S. application Ser. No. 4 089 432, EP-B-129 029 and EP-A-257 498 concern the closure of an open end face of a cylindrical housing by means of a plug like seal secured in the housing by means of a cap. In such closure means very substantial force must be applied longitudinally of the cylindrical housing, in order to overcome the adhesion between the seal and the housing, so that the contents, for example, medicaments or body fluids stored in the housing, may escape and thus give rise to burns or infection. Such escape is especially disadvantageous in the processing of blood infected with AIDS. Also when the seal is pierced with a needle to remove a sample of the contents of the cylindrical housing, the closure means may be inadvertently opened.

C. A. Greiner & Sohne Gesellschaft m.b.H.


The present invention relates to a non-magnetic mono-component toner composition, which comprises a) a non-magnetic toner particle comprising a binding resin comprising a binder resin and a copolymer of a cyclic olefin and an acyclic olefin polymerized in the presence of a metallocene catalyst and a cocatalyst, a colorant, and a charge-control agent; b) fine powder of an organic compound containing fluorine that is added to the surface of the non-magnetic toner particle; and c) hydrophobic silica having a specific surface area of 100 to 240 m2/g. The toner composition of the present invention has superior transfer efficiency and charging properties and thus can obtain a stable image, does not show deteriorated image density, and does not generate background contamination of non-image areas and off-set due to deterioration of fixing properties, even if copying or printing is conducted therewith for a long time use.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a non-magnetic mono-component toner composition, and more particularly to a non-magnetic mono-component toner composition which has superior transfer efficiency and charging properties, and thus can obtain stable images, does not show deteriorated image density, and does not generate background contamination of non-image areas and off-set due to deterioration of fixing properties, even if copying or printing is conducted therewith for a long time use.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Generally, according to conventional electrophotography methods, an electrostatic latent image forms on the surface of a photosensitive member using photoconductive materials, the latent image is developed using a toner, and the toner image is transferred to a recording medium such as paper to obtain a copy fixed by heat or pressure, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,297,691, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 42-23910, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 43-24748, etc.
Additionally, various development methods for developing electrostatic latent images using a toner are also known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,874,063 discloses a magnetic brush development method, U.S. Pat. No. 2,618,552 discloses a cascade development method, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 41-9475 discloses a development method using a mono-component insulating toner, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,909,258 discloses a development method using a mono-component conductive toner, and among the above, the dual-component magnetic brush development method and the mono-component insulating toner development method are predominantly used.
However, the electrophotography development method wherein a photosensitive member is uniformly charged, an electrostatic latent image forms by light exposure or laser beam, and a toner is supplied to the electrostatic latent image to form a visual image, has a problem in that ozone is generated from a charging apparatus. Particularly, taking environmental aspects into consideration, an organic photosensitive member that is most widely used generally has a negative charge property, and thus prevention of ozone generation during the charging process is difficult.
In order to reduce ozone, a contact charging method has been suggested wherein a conductive member such as a conductive brush, a conductive elastic member roller, etc. is contacted with a photosensitive member and voltage is applied. However, such contact charging method involves a problem in terms of contamination of the conductive members. Since the conductive member is in contact with a photosensitive member, a toner, external additive for a toner, etc. that are attached to the photosensitive member are in turn attached to the conductive member to generate an irregular charging on the surface of the photosensitive member.
In order to solve the above problems, an organic photosensitive member having a positive charge property has been developed. If a positive charge is used, even if a corona charging method is used, ozone generation can be reduced to approximately 1/10 compared to a negative charge.
Meanwhile, a non-magnetic mono-component toner used in the positive charging development method requires high transfer efficiency and high chargeability compared to the negative charging development method. For this, an external additive is attached to a toner particle. However, in the case a toner to which one kind of external additive is attached is used for the non-magnetic mono-component development method, since there is friction between the toner particle and a doctor blade or a developing roller, the external additive attached to the toner particle surface is embedded in the toner particle, and thus the flowability-increasing effect of the external additive deteriorates, and transfer efficiency and charging properties are not sufficient, thereby deteriorating the image after printing and the long term stability of the image.
In order to solve the above problems, a method has been suggested wherein a toner with a positive charge property is developed onto a surface of a positively charged organic photosensitive member, the toner that is developed with high transfer efficiency is transferred to a reporting medium such as paper, and fine powder of an organic compound containing fluorine is used in addition to a single external additive of hydrophobic silica in order to reduce image background contamination. However, this method involves a problem in that off-set is generated in the fixing process.
Accordingly, there are increasing needs for a non-magnetic mono-component toner that has superior transfer efficiency and charging properties, and does not generate background contamination of non-image areas and off-set due to deterioration of fixing properties.

Non-magnetic monocomponent positive toner composition having superior transfer efficiency


The present disclosure provides a multifunctional pet feeding cart, including a body assembly, a feeding assembly, a multifunctional control assembly, a drive assembly, and a camera assembly. The feeding assembly, the multifunctional control assembly, the drive assembly, and the camera assembly are disposed inside the body assembly, and the multifunctional control assembly is respectively and electrically connected with the feeding assembly, the drive assembly, and the camera assembly. The multifunctional control assembly includes a multifunctional module and an identification module. The multifunctional module is electrically connected with the identification module. The multifunctional control module includes a control mainboard, a battery, a power switch, a feeding circuit board, a card slot, and a charging connector. The battery, the power switch, the feeding circuit board, the card slot, and the charging connector are electrically connected with the control mainboard.

As spiritual requirements of people continue to increase, more and more people choose to raise pets. Feeding the pets is necessary for raising the pets, and many people choose to purchase automatic feeders to automatically feed the pets. At present, the automatic feeders in the markets feed the pets by putting pet feed into the feeders at a regular time, thus making it easy to place too much of the pet feed in the feeders, which placing the pet feed in the feeders causes food pollution and waste. Moreover, the automatic feeders are set in a fixed position, which is unable to move and also unable to interact with the pets.


An insulated metal substrate (IMS) for supporting a device comprises a metallic substrate having a ceramic coating formed at least in part by oxidation of a portion of the surface of the metallic substrate. The ceramic coating has a dielectric strength of greater than 50 KV mm−1 and a thermal conductivity of greater than 5 Wm−1K−1.

Electronic, optoelectronic, microwave, RF and electrical devices are typically mounted on substrates that provide support and act to remove heat from the device. The main requirements for such substrates are that they possess sufficient dielectric strength and a good thermal conductivity. A substrate on which such a device can be mounted is known as an insulated metal substrate (IMS).
Insulated metal substrates (IMSs) are typically used for electronic devices that generate high specific heat energy, for example in high power electronics, solid-state lighting, telecommunication and concentrated photovoltaic applications. IMSs usually comprise a metal sheet base covered from one side or two sides by an insulating layer of dielectric material, which may be polymeric, for example resin, fluoropolymer, polyimide and their composites charged with thermally conductive ceramic powders, etc. Such sheet IMS often named as Metal Core Printed Circuit Boards (MC PCB) then are usually attached to a heat think through a layer of thermal interface material.
In order to reduce thermal path a dielectric layer can be formed directly on a heat sink by use of anodising as described in GB 2162694, or Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation (PEO) as described in US Pat. 2008257585A1.
An IMS, which may be a metal board, a heat sink, a device body or supporting frame, requires dielectric material to have a high dielectric strength to secure electric insulation from circuitry of the device, thereby avoiding or preventing the device from short-circuiting. Thermal conductivity of dielectric material is also required to dissipate heat generated by the device, which negatively effects performance, reliability and the lifetime of the device. In general, an increased dielectric strength enables the IMS to have a thinner insulating layer, which is reducing IMS thermal resistance (with the same thermal conductivity of insulating material).
For RF and microwave applications it may be beneficial that an IMS comprises a dielectric material that has a high dielectric constant.
It is an aim of the invention to provide an IMS having improved properties.


An audio warning monitoring device, system and method including an audio detector, one or more audio screens to determine if monitored sound is an alarm, a processor or logic device to potentially analyze sound data and then instruct a transmitter to send a message with the monitoring device identification and signals representing sound detected by the audio detector to a server. The computer server analyzes the message and authenticates the audio detector, looks up user data associated with the detector, and contacts a user from previously stored user data in order to notify of the alert and then relay the audio signals in an audio file. At the user's option, the server may contact a staffed or automated monitoring center. Here a human operator may listen to the signals in the audio file and take appropriate action, such as calling the location of the alarm for verification or contacting a professional first responder(s).

In an emergency it is important to rapidly and accurately alert both authorities and property owner about the existence of the emergency situation. Rapid notification may make the difference between containment of an emergency situation, such as a fire, and total loss of properties or building(s). In extreme cases, this may make the difference between life and death. If the emergency situation is a robbery or other security breach, rapid communication of the emergency situation and information relating to the emergency situation may allow for apprehending a suspect, rather than loss of property or potential injury to inhabitants.
Fire danger provides a substantial risk to property and lives. According to National Fire Protection Association 2005 statistics, in that year 1,600,000 fires were reported nationally resulted in 17,925 civilian injuries, 3,675 civilian deaths, and over 10 billion dollars in damage. More rapid notification could result in mitigation of these losses.                1. If the building does not have any people in it at the time of an emergency, then potentially no one will hear the alarm sound. In the case of a fire, the emergency may only be noted once neighbors see flames or smoke. By the time smoke or flames are spotted, the structure may have experienced considerable damage or total loss and could even pose a danger to surrounding structures. At night, it is much less likely that neighbors will spot a fire until substantial damage has occurred. For remote structures that do not have proximate neighbors or that are only occupied seasonally, the risk of total loss if uninhabited is significantly greater.        2. Certain inhabitants within a structure may not respond to an alarm. Children are known to sleep especially deeply and are difficult to rouse, even if an alarm is sounding. Older adults may have hearing difficulties, may remove hearing aids at night, and may use sleep aids that result in these individuals being more difficult to rouse. In addition, pets, even if they hear an alarm, will not be able to escape a structure during an emergency.        3. Some alarms, such as static motion detectors or sensors on windows or doors, sound an alarm when motion is detected or a window or door is opened. However, for simple and inexpensive systems, such alarms are not otherwise connected to outside parties. If the alarm is tripped, sound and/or lights are used as the primary deterrent of a potential intruder. If a user wishes to upgrade such a system generally requires replacement of the lower cost system, to a much higher cost integrated system.
To address these problems, some devices have been designed to mitigate such problems. One such device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,850,601. This device is a security detection system that includes a detection unit capable of detecting an emergency or warning condition, such as a break in. The unit is in communication with a remote central server. The detection unit may be connected to the server by a dial up modem and connected to a telephone seizure unit. If the emergency condition is detected, the detection unit blocks the telephone from communicating through a telephone line, but does allow this detection unit to send electronic data to the server. The unit may be able to do this even if the line from the phone to the unit is cut, or if the phone line is opened (as by actuating a handset to get a dial tone or lifting a phone from a base on older phones). Once information is sent to the server, a server database may send the information to one or more designated recipients, such as a public or private first responder or to a property owner. The server also monitors whether the designated recipient has responded to the information. If there has been no response, the information is sent to a staffed or automated monitoring station. The designated party may send additional information to the detection unit via the server.
It is an object of the invention to provide a low cost solution to property owners to allow remote monitoring of audio alarms and access to audio information.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Emergency notification device and system


Disclosed is a method for the measurement of a cellular process, or for the measurement of the effect of a test compound on a cellular process, in one or more different populations of cells. The method comprises providing separate samples of one or more different populations of cells adhering to support particles, the support particles comprising a scintillant substance and being adapted for cell growth. In one embodiment, different samples of cells are introduced into separate reaction vessels in a fluid medium, together with a reagent labelled with a radioisotope, in the presence or the absence of the test compound, under conditions so as to cause a portion of said radiolabelled reagent to become associated with the cells. In another embodiment, multiparameter analysis may be performed to determine the effect of a test compound on a cellular process using two or more different cell populations present in the same well. Measurement of the cellular process, or the effect of a test compound on a cellular process may be made by detecting light emission from the scintillant particles caused by radioactive decay of the radioisotope.

The application of high-throughput screening (HTS) technologies for the discovery and development of new therapeutic drugs is now well established within the pharmaceutical industry. In the HTS process, drug candidates are screened for possible effects in biological systems and for the specificity of selected lead compounds towards particular targets. Primary screening has been addressed by the development of HTS assay processes and assay miniaturisation utilising the microtitier well plate format with 384, 864, 1536 or greater miniaturised wells and are capable of allowing throughput levels of over 100,000 tests/day in primary screening. Lead compounds identified during the primary screening process are then required to undergo further refined screening and testing in a variety of assays in order to investigate the biological compatibility of the compound. Such assays may include receptor binding and enzyme activity assays, in addition to bioavailability, metabolism and toxicology. Secondary screening of lead compounds can identify potentially undesirable side effects and/or secondary therapeutic activities not identified in the primary screening process and these assays are carried out predominantly using cultured cell lines. In comparison with assays used in the primary screening process, secondary screening assays have a much higher level of complexity and more stringent requirements, both in the mechanics of the assay and in the information generated.
The detection of in vitro binding events, such as receptor binding assays, enzyme assays and immunoassays using scintillation proximity assays (SPA) is now an established technology and is used in HTS applications (Cook, N. D., Drug Discovery Today, Vol 1 (7), (1996), 287–294). SPA utilises scintillant-containing microspheres to which ligands (eg. antibodies, binding proteins, etc) have been attached. When a radioisotopically labelled molecule is brought into close proximity to the scintillant in the microsphere, energy transfer from the radioisotopic decay takes place, resulting in the emission of light. Any radioisotope remaining free in solution, will dissipate its energy into the aqueous medium and will remain undetected. SPA has also been applied to the study of cellular biochemical processes in situ, using cultured living cells. European Patent No. 650396 discloses a method and an apparatus for studying a cellular process, for example, a microwell plate. Each well of the microwell plate includes a scintillant layer in the base, which is further treated to facilitate the attachment and/or growth of cells. In an alternative format, the device may be a single well or tube which is composed of a non-scintillant containing material, into which is placed a circular, scintillant-containing plastic disc. The method for studying a cellular process includes culturing cells adhering to the scintillant layer, in the presence of a fluid medium, introducing into the fluid medium a reagent labelled with a radioisotope emitting electrons, such that a portion of the labelled reagent becomes associated with or released from the cells adhering to the layer. Scintillation events caused by the proximity of the radiolabelled reagent to the scintillant containing base are detected so as to study the cellular process.
PCT Application No. WO97/40189 relates to a method for quantifying the amount of target nucleic acid such as mRNA in morphologically intact cells, the method comprising the steps of culturing not less than two physically distinct samples of cells on at least one substrate, contacting the cells with a fixative and exposing the fixed cells to a labelled nucleic acid probe to hybridise with the target nucleic acid sequence. This invention is concerned therefore with measurements of hybridisation of nucleic acid probes to fixed cells following processing and washing. The method of the invention does not describe and is not compatible with measurement of dynamic processes in living cells.
PCT Application No. WO 96/19739 describes a solid support for use in radioligand binding assays, the support comprising a plurality of interconnected elements arranged to provide interstitial spaces in which a liquid can flow. The support comprises plastic beads which, in a preferred form may contain a scintillant, and which are fused together to form a solid support for in vitro binding assays. While the solid support may also be used for cell growth, it is stated that the support should preferably not contain a fluorophore.
The use in cell culture of CYTODEX™ Microcarrier support particles (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech) has improved the yields of anchorage dependant cells by increasing the surface area for growth. Properties of these microcarriers include optimised size and density for maximum cell growth, a biologically inert matrix that provides a strong but non-rigid substrate for stirred cultures and transparency for easy microscopic examination of attached cells. Microcarriers can be used in either suspension cultures or monolayer cultures to increase the surface area of the culture vessels and perfusion chambers. The increased surface area allows enables the production of increased densities of cells, viruses and cell products.

Support and method for cell based assays


An apparatus for mixing and dispensing viscous food products is described herein. The apparatus may include a pump device for drawing the viscous food product from a container and distributing over a rotating turntable. The apparatus includes a cassette device with replaceable pliable food containers connected to the pump device through a friction-fit connection. The cassette device includes a sliding roller assembly and a door, with the container installed between the sliding roller assembly and the door such that the roller assembly applies force against the door and container as the sliding roller assembly descends under gravity. The sliding roller assembly includes level indicators visible through the door that provide visual indication of the level of food product remaining within the container.

Pizza preparation systems provide automated pizza sauce dispensing onto pizza dough. Typical systems use a premixed sauce which often needs replacing, for example when the sauce is used up, or when a different sauce thickness is required. Thus, in order to prepare a variety of pizzas, a different dedicated apparatus must exist for each different variety of pizza. Alternatively, one or a few dispensing apparatuses may be used, but must be prepared and initialized for each variety of pizza. In both cases, changing pizza varieties adds in cost, required space, or down time, all of which are undesirable consequences of changing sauce varieties.


A bread stick rack for portable bread ovens fits within the baking well of a home kitchen appliance type portable bread oven. The rack is readily insertable and removable from the bread oven and has a plurality of individual bread stick molds. In use, rolled strips of dough are placed in each of the stick molds and then oven heated through its bake cycle so as to bake the sticks within the mold and conform them to the mold configuration. After baking, the rack is removable from the oven and the individual bread stick molds removable from the rack so as to shake or knock out the bread sticks from their individual molds.

Bread sticks are popular bakery items which have been difficult to bake at home with consistency of shape and ease of baking. Home bread maker devices have become increasingly popular in recent years. These usually consist of a portable oven with an open top and removable glass cover. These ovens are electrically heated and include timer and temperature controls so that the home bread maker may place a body of uncooked dough within the oven, set the timer and the bread maker will turn on automatically and bake the bread on a desired schedule. In this manner, the person can awake or come home to the odor of fresh bread much as he/she awakes to the smell of fresh coffee through timer coffee pots.

Bread stick rack for portable bread ovens


An improved M1911 handgun is disclosed. The improved M1911 handgun contains a handle containing a lower end, and a magazine well formed in the handle and adapted to receive and hold a double stacked magazine, wherein the inner cross-sectional profile of the magazine well is same from the lower end of the handle to a top of a frame of the improved M1911 handgun.

M1911 series semi-automatic pistol was invented by John Browning and, for many years, was the standard-issue sidearm for the United States Armed. Forces.
Since its inception, the basic Browning M1911 design has seen very little change throughout its long production life. It is very expensive and time consuming to manufacture.
Accordingly, there is need for an improved M1911 handgun.
In the following description, like reference numbers are used to identify like elements. Furthermore, the drawings are intended to illustrate major features of exemplary embodiments in a diagrammatic manner. The drawings are not intended to depict every feature of every implementation nor relative dimensions of the depicted elements, and are not drawn to scale.


A hammer device for a keyboard instrument, enabling improvement of efficiency and yield, in manufacturing weights to be attached to each hammer body while suppressing an increase in manufacturing cost. Each hammer includes a hammer body having a weight mounting portion, a common weight attached to one of left and right side surfaces of the weight mounting portion, and an adjustment weight having a length set according to a touch weight required by the associated key and attached to the other of the left and right side surfaces of the weight mounting portion. A chassis has a plurality of partition parts, and on the left and right surfaces of the hammer body, there are formed left and right opposed protrusions, respectively, each of which protrudes outward of the weight and is opposed to a partition part associated therewith via a predetermined clearance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hammer device for a keyboard instrument, which is applied to a keyboard instrument, such as an electronic piano, and is configured to impart touch weight by a hammer pivotally moved in a manner interlocked with key depression.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a hammer device for a keyboard instrument, such as an electronic piano, there have conventionally been known ones disclosed e.g. in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publications (Kokai) No. 2011-22472 and No. 2004-341321, respectively. Each of the keyboard devices to which these hammer devices are applied, respectively, is comprised of a plurality of keys each extending in a front-rear direction, a plurality of hammers provided in association with the respective keys, and a keyboard chassis for pivotally supporting the keys and the hammers thereon in a state arranged side by side in a left-right direction.
The hammer disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2011-22472 is comprised of a hammer body formed as a resin molded article and a metal weight detachably attached to the hammer body. The hammer body is formed in a predetermined shape extending in the front-rear direction, and has a front half thereof pivotally supported on the keyboard chassis and a rear half thereof formed with a weight mounting portion having a predetermined shape. On the other hand, the weight is formed by a metal plate extending in the front-rear direction. The weight has a front half formed with a mounted portion having a shape complementary to the weight mounting portion of the hammer body, and extends from the mounted portion to a location close to the rear end of the keyboard chassis. The weight is configured such that it can be fixed to the hammer body by being slid forward in a state in which the mounted portion is fitted in the weight mounting portion of the hammer body, and can be removed from the hammer body by being slid rearward from the state fixed to the hammer body.
The keyboard chassis is formed as a molded article made of a synthetic resin, such as an ABS resin. The keyboard chassis has a large number of vertical ribs formed so as to ensure strength and rigidity of the keyboard chassis itself while maintaining a space for pivotal motion of each hammer which is performed in a manner interlocked with key depression. Specifically, each of the ribs is formed in a plate shape having a predetermined thickness in the left-right direction and is disposed in a manner separating hammers adjacent to each other in the left-right direction.
On the other hand, the hammer disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2004-341321 has a hammer body comprised of a resin holder and a metal base plate and two weight plates attached to left and right side surfaces of the hammer body, respectively. The hammer body is formed in a general S shape in side view by insert-molding the metal base plate in the resin holder. At predetermined locations on a front end of the metal base plate, there are formed a rivet hole and two positioning holes, respectively, each of which extends through the metal base plate in the left-right direction. On the other hand, the two weight plates are formed by respective metal plates having the same outer shape. Each of the weight plates has two positioning projections and rivet holes formed at respective predetermined locations on a hammer body-side surface. The two weight plates are fixed to the hammer body by sandwiching the metal base plate from both left and right sides and riveting rivets inserted through the rivet holes of the two weight plates and the metal base plate with each of the positioning projections fitted in an associated one of the positioning holes.
In an electronic piano having the hammer device disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2011-22472 or No. 2004-341321, the weight of each of hammers associated with respective keys in a lower-pitch range is made heavier than that of each of hammers associated with respective keys in a higher-pitch range so as to obtain touch weight of a keyboard closely analogous to touch weight of an acoustic piano during musical performance. For this reason, in general, in the hammer device, common hammer bodies are used for respective hammers, whereas a plurality of types of weights or weight plates different in shape from each other are used make the hammers different in weight according to each pitch range.
However, in the hammer device disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2011-22472, the shape of the mounted portion of the weight is common between the hammers, but it is required to form a plurality of protrusions at respective predetermined locations on the periphery of the mounted portion of the weight so as to facilitate removal of the weight from the hammer body, which makes the shape of the mounted portion complicated. Further, it is required to form a portion of the weight continuous with the mounted portion and extending rearward such that the shape of the portion largely differs on a pitch range basis. On the other hand, in the hammer device disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2004-341321, the two weight plates of each hammer are common in outer shape, but it is required to form the two positioning projections such that they project in different directions. In addition, the two weight plates of each hammer are required to be formed such that their shape largely differs on a pitch range basis.
As described above, the weight or the weight plate (hereinafter generically referred to as "the weight) employed in the hammer device disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2011-22472 or No. 2004-341321 has a complicated shape, and multiple types of weights are needed for a whole keyboard instrument. For this reason, multiple types of metal molds which enable a metal plate to be cut into complicated shapes are required so as to manufacture the above-mentioned weights, which results in increases manufacturing costs. In addition, since the shape of the weight is complicated, there is a fear that manufacturing efficiency and yield are lower.
Further, assuming that the electronic piano is stored in a room in an upright position in which the left and right sides thereof are in vertically opposite positions, if the room temperature becomes very high e.g. in summer, the keyboard chassis made of a synthetic resin and the hammer body tend to be bent downward due to the self weight of the keyboard chassis and the weight of the hammers, which can cause deformation of the keyboard chassis and the hammer body. In this case, there is a possibility that noise is generated during musical performance e.g. due to rubbing of the metal weight of a hammer in pivotal motion against an associated one of the synthetic resin-made vertical ribs of the keyboard chassis. To avoid this, during manufacturing of the electronic piano, a guide tape having lubricity is wound around a portion of the weight of each hammer, which can rub against a vertical rib associated therewith, for example, whereby noise generated due to rubbing of the weight of the hammer against the keyboard chassis is largely reduced.
However, in general, the keyboard device of an electronic piano is provided with the same number (e.g. eighty-eight) of hammers as the number of keys. For this reason, when it is required to wind the guide tape around the weight of each of all the hammers, the tape winding work takes much time and labor and necessitates the guide tape, which causes an increase in manufacturing cost.


There is provided an inkjet head printing device, which includes an inkjet head that has an ink flow channel unit including a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink and a plurality of pressure chambers respectively provided for the plurality of nozzles, and has a piezoelectric actuator unit including a plurality of electrodes. The inkjet head further includes a pulse controller that generates a plurality of types of ejection pulse patterns having different phases and drives the plurality of electrodes corresponding to the plurality of nozzles which are to eject the ink using the plurality of types of ejection pulse patterns.

The present invention relates to an inkjet head printing device such as an inkjet printer having an inkjet head for ejecting ink to a recording medium.
The inkjet head printing devices have been widely used. Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. HEI 4-341852 discloses one of conventional inkjet heads employed in the inkjet head printing device. The ink jet head has a fluid channel unit and an actuator unit. The fluid channel unit has a plurality of pressure chambers and a plurality of nozzles provided respectively for the plurality of pressure chambers. Ink introduced into the pressure chambers is ejected from the nozzles by applying pressure to the pressure chambers using the actuator unit. To form an image on a sheet of paper, pressure is selectively applied to the pressure chambers by the actuator unit.
The actuator unit has a laminated structure consisting of a plurality of piezoelectric sheets and a common electrode layer. Further, a plurality of small electrodes are formed respectively for the plurality of the pressure chambers on one of the piezoelectric sheets. The common electrode layer is maintained at a ground level. One of the piezoelectric sheets sandwiched between the common electrode layer and the plurality of small electrodes is used as an active layer that is distorted when voltage is applied thereto to apply presser to the pressure chambers.
If a voltage is applied between the small electrode and the common electrode, the voltage is applied to a portion of the piezoelectric sheet (i.e., the active layer) in a direction of polarization of the piezoelectric sheet. Therefore, the portion of the piezoelectric sheet expands/contracts in the direction of its thickness by a vertical piezoelectric effect, by which the volumetric capacity of the pressure chamber is changed and the ink is ejected from the nozzle.


An image scanning device including: a conveyance path which conveys originals; a first scanning means and a second scanning means which are placed such that they sandwich the conveyance path; and a white reference member used for adjusting the white levels of the scanning means; wherein at least one of the first scanning means, the second scanning means and the white reference member is movable; the first scanning means and the second scanning means can scan the same surface of said white reference member since the first scanning means or the second scanning means is moved or the white reference member is moved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to image scanning devices capable of scanning images on the both surfaces of an original and, more particularly, to image scanning devices capable of reducing the white level difference between the surface and the back surface and correcting the density difference in order to prevent the occurrence of scanning density differences between the both sides.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there have been suggested and provided various types of image scanning devices capable of concurrently scanning images on the both surfaces of an original while conveying the original. Among them, there have been suggested sheet-feeding type image scanning devices including scanning means fixedly provided at the both sides of an original conveyance path and also there have been suggested image scanning devices configured to include a flat-bed type original conveying device which enables scanning non-conveyable originals such as brochures and also include a back-surface scanning means placed within the original conveying device, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open (JP-A) No. 5-83480.
A conventional image scanning device capable of scanning the both surfaces of an original will be described using FIG. 8 and FIG. 9. FIG. 8 is a main part explanation view illustrating the scanning mechanism part of a conventional image scanning device and FIG. 9 is a view illustrating an image-signal processing circuit.
The image scanning device illustrated in FIG. 8 is for scanning the both surfaces of originals 39 and includes optical scanning units 36 and 40 which are placed such that they sandwich an original conveyance path. In the figure, the lower surface of the original 36 is referred to as a surface and the upper surface thereof is referred to as the back surface. A feeding roller 38 for conveying originals 39 is used for successive scanning of originals 39 or double-surface scanning.
The optical scanning unit 36 is a scanning means for scaring the surfaces of originals 39 and is movable within a flat bed part 35. The optical scanning unit 36 can scan an original secured on a platen glass by moving and also can scan an original being conveyed at a standstill state. The optical scanning unit 36 includes a lamp 42 and a CCD 44. Further, on the flat bed part 35, there is provided a white reference plate 37 for the optical scanning unit 36.
The optical scanning unit 40 is a scanning means for scanning the back surface of an original 39 and is fixedly placed within the original conveying device. The optical scanning unit 40 includes a lamp 43 and a CCD 45. At a position facing to the optical scanning unit 40, there is placed a platen roller 41 for the optical scanning unit 40, the platen roller 41 being also used as a white reference.
During double-surface scanning operations, the optical scanning unit 36 for surface scanning moves to the white reference plate 37 and scans the white reference plate 37 for adjusting the white level thereof and then it is moved to a usual scanning position (the illustrated position) and stopped. The optical scanning unit 40 for back-surface scanning scans a white reference on the platen roller 41 for adjusting the white level thereof and then waits an original 39 being conveyed thereto.
The originals 39 are successively fed to the original conveyance path through the feeding roller 38. Then, in the respective optical scanning units 36 and 40, the originals 39 are irradiated with the lamps 42 and 43 at their to-be-scanned regions on the surface and the back surface and are scanned by the CCDs 44 and 45.
As in the image-signal processing circuit illustrated in FIG. 9, the CCDs 44 and 45 are connected to amplifiers 46 and 47, A/D conversion circuits 48 and 49, white-level correction circuits 50 and 51, and memories 52 and 53, respectively. The white levels of the white references which are first scanned by the surface scanning CCD 44 and the back-surface scanning CCD 45 are respectively stored in the white-level correcting circuits 50 and 51 and are corrected according to the ground colors of originals which are subsequently scanned. The corrected white levels are output to the A/D conversion circuits 48 and 49. The A/D conversion circuits 48 and 49 convert analog image signals (video signals) received from the CCDs 44 and 45 through the amplifiers 46 and 47 into image data with corresponding density levels, by setting the white levels supplied from the white level correcting circuits 50 and 51 to the density saturation values. Thus, images on the surface and the back surface of the original are scanned with a proper contrast and then stored in the memories 52 and 53.
As described above, in a conventional double-surface image scanning device, a surface-scanning optical scanning unit and a back-surface-scanning optical scanning unit create white levels using specific white references such as a white reference plate and a platen roller.
However, (1) in the case where the respective white references are made of different materials, there is a reflectivity difference there between. (2) Even when the respective white references are made of the same material, the individual components cause density variations. (3) Along with the conveyance of originals, the difference in the degree of contaminations between the white references is advanced. In this case, the surface white reference plate 37 is not contaminated while the platen roller 41 which is the back-surface white reference is contaminated at its surface along with conveyance of originals.
For these reasons, the white reference levels of the optical scanning units 36 and 40 may not be in agreement with each other, thereby causing density differences among scanned image data. Consequently, there has been a need for performing burdensome level adjustments. Particularly, in the case of color scanning, the reflectivity differences on the respective color constituent basis (RGB) will cause color differences in scanned images and, therefore, it has been necessary to perform, for the respective white reference members, complicated controls, such as measuring the reflectivities of the respective RGB constituents and setting the white reference levels based on the reflectivities, for the respective components.
Further, JP-A No. 4-371072 discloses a configuration which scans images on the surface and the back surface of a prepared white reference test chart and adjusts the levels such that the scanned values obtained from the surface and the back surface are in agreement with each other. However, this configuration can overcome the aforementioned problems (1) and (2), but can not address the problem (3). Further, there is a need for preparing a sheet for adjustment, thereby causing the problems of cost increases and the necessity of adjusting operations.
Further, JP-A No. 2002-290685 and JP-A No. 2002-335380 disclose configurations in which a surface-scanning optical scanning unit and a back-surface-scanning optical scanning unit scan a single white reference member to perform white level correction. However, even though a single white reference member is used for white level correction, the surface-scanning optical scanning unit and the back-surface scanning optical scanning unit scan different regions, thereby causing the problem of impossibility of proper white level correction.

Image scanning device and image forming device


The invention relates to an apparatus including at least one processor and at least one memory including a computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: determine a configuration change at a border of a current radio frame and a following radio frame, schedule during the current radio frame physical downlink shared channel and/or physical uplink shared channel resources having an impact on the following radio frame based on the configuration change, and apply hybrid automatic repeat request and signaling timing according to the physical downlink shared channel and/or physical uplink shared channel resource scheduling from a beginning of the following radio frame, wherein a frame carrying the physical downlink shared channel and/or physical uplink shared channel resource scheduling indicates the timing.

The following description of background art may include insights, discoveries, understandings or disclosures, or associations together with disclosures not known to the relevant art prior to the present invention but provided by the invention. Some such contributions of the invention may be specifically pointed out below, whereas other such contributions of the invention will be apparent from their context.
Dynamic uplink and/or downlink allocations may provide significant throughput gains in certain time division duplex (TDD) deployment cases, such as local area networks. A study item in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) investigating dynamic traffic adaptation and cross-link interference (interference between the uplink (UL) and the downlink (DL) with regard to dynamic traffic adaptation) exists.

Method and apparatus for signalling of HARQ timing at UL/DL subframe reconfiguration


A method for improving the internal surface of a gas-barrier, when required heat-shrinkable, multi-layer plastics film laminate in the form of a seamless tube having the innermost layer of olefin resin, the method including applying corona discharge employing at least two pairs of electrodes to the innermost layer from the outside of the tube having a gas sealed therein and pressed to a flat state avoiding the contact of opposed surface areas of innermost olefin resin layer with each other, the two pairs of electrodes being arranged such that one electrode of each pair is in contact with the outermost layer of the tube and the other of the same pair out of contact therewith while one electrode of one pair is kept in contact with the outermost layer of the tube with which one electrode of another pair is kept out of contact on the same side of the tube, so that the wetting tension of the innermost layer surface is increased to at least 35 dyne/cm by the corona discharge treatment.

Heretofore known are a variety of gas-barrier, multi-layer plastics film laminates useful as packaging materials for enveloping processed meat or like food. Among them are seamless tubes of gas-barrier, preferably heat-shrinkable, multi-layer plastics film laminate having a layer of olefin resin for contact with processed meat or the like to be enclosed therein. However, such seamless tubes of multi-layer plastics film laminate with the innermost polyolefin resin layer have drawbacks. Since the olefin resin layer has a poor property of closely contacting food, particularly ham, sausage or like processed meat, a gap is formed between the processed meat and the packaging material on heat-shrink packaging or after a time interval, followed by occurrence of the so-called release of gravy, water or the like from the processed meat into the gap. In that case, bacteria easily proliferate and the proliferation of bacteria renders the processed meat or the like less preservable.
To cope with the problem, various methods have been conventionally carried out which include, for example, applying to the olefin resin layer a substance capable of closely contacting processed meat or the like, forming the innermost layer capable of closely contacting meat, or treating the innermost layer by corona discharge to improve the degree of close contact with processed meat or the like. However, these methods have both advantages and disadvantages and thus remain to be improved.

Method for improving the internal surface of seamless tube of multi-layer plastics film laminate


An occupant weight-based airbag suppression method utilizes adjustable time constant filtering and dynamic threshold adjustment to reliably determine and indicate airbag suppression status. The filter time constant is ordinarily set to a first value that provides relatively fast tracking of the raw occupant weight, but is set to a second value that provides relatively slow tracking of the raw occupant weight when both the raw and filtered occupant weights are within a specified band about the threshold value. The threshold value and band are dynamically adjusted after the suppression status is initially determined so as to effectively increase the separation between the filtered weight and the threshold.

Vehicle occupant seated weight detection systems are useful in connection with air bags and other pyrotechnically deployed restraints as a means of characterizing the occupant and determining if airbag deployment should be disabled. In particular, the seated weight of the occupant may be used to distinguish between large and small occupants, and between a small occupant and an empty seat. For example, a large occupant is deemed to be present if the measured seated weight (MEAS_WT) is above an "allow" threshold (THR_ALLOW) corresponding to a minimum large occupant seated weight such as 60 lbs; a small occupant is deemed to be present if MEAS_WT is between THR_ALLOW and an "occupied" threshold (THR_OCC) corresponding to a minimum small occupant seated weight such as 12 lbs; and the seat is deemed to be empty if MEAS_WT is less than THR_OCC. Typically, airbag deployment is suppressed in the case of an empty seat or a small occupant, and not suppressed in the case of a large occupant, although in some cases reduced force deployment is allowed for a small occupant.
In most systems, the status of airbag suppression is visually conveyed to the occupants by means of an instrument panel lamp, referred to herein as a Passenger Airbag Disabled (PAD) lamp. A typical requirement is that the PAD lamp should be unlit when the seat is empty, lit when the seat is occupied by a small occupant, and unlit when the seat is occupied by a large occupant, as depicted by the table of FIG. 1. Of course, various other strategies are also possible; for example, the PAD lamp can have a separate state for indicating that the seat is empty, reduced force deployment can be enabled for a small occupant as mentioned above, and so on. In any event, the measured weight of an occupant (or an inanimate object for that matter) tends to vary somewhat due to occupant weight shifting and vehicle movement, resulting in oscillation of the suppression status, particularly if MEAS_WT is close to THR_OCC or THR_ALLOW. Such oscillation is undesired of course, and the accompanying oscillation or toggling of the PAD lamp tends to annoy the occupants and undermine their confidence in the suppression system. While hysteresis can be employed to prevent repeated changes in the occupant status due to minor oscillation of the measured weight, experience has shown that hysteresis alone is inadequate. Accordingly, what is needed is a more robust method of determining and indicating the suppression status of a weight-based airbag suppression system.

Method of determining and indicating airbag suppression status


The invention relates to a sensor and a method for detecting soot, said method comprising the following steps: a first operating temperature is set on the sensor for a measuring phase, such that soot can be deposited on the surface of the substrate, but depositions interfering with the measurement of the soot are prevented; the time between the beginning of the measurement and the increase in conductivity between the electrodes is recorded; and a second operating temperature is set on the sensor for a regeneration phase, such that the deposited soot is burned with the oxygen in the test gas. The inventive product is a soot sensor for using in the automobile industry.

The invention relates to a sensor and an operating method of the sensor for the detection of soot in a measurement gas volume. Both the establishment of whether soot is present in the measurement gas and the concentration thereof are considered.
The accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is being discussed from a variety of standpoints nowadays. This is associated with the fact that the availability of fossil fuels is limited. As a reaction to this, by way of example, combustion processes are being optimized thermodynamically, such that their efficiency is improved. In the motor vehicle sector, this is manifested in the increasing use of diesel vehicles. The disadvantage of this combustion technology however, in comparison with optimized spark ignition engines, is a significantly increased emission of soot. In addition, the formation thereof virtually cannot be prevented by combustion-technological measures. Soot is highly carcinogenic particularly due to the deposition of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAH), and various regulations have already reacted to this. Thus, for example European exhaust gas emission standards are associated with maximum limits for soot emission. Therefore, there is the need to specify an inexpensive sensor technology that measures the soot content in exhaust gases.
The use of such soot sensors can be used both for the measurement of the soot currently being emitted, in order that the engine management in an automobile acquires information in a current driving situation in order to reduce emissions by means of technical control adaptations, and for performing active exhaust gas purification by means of so-called exhaust gas soot filters. In the latter case, use is made of regenerable filters which filter out a substantial part of the soot content from the exhaust gas. Soot sensors are required for the detection of soot in order to monitor the function of the soot filters, or in order to control the regeneration cycles thereof.
There have been various approaches for detecting soot in the prior art. An approach that has been pursued to a great extent in laboratories consists in using the light scattering by the soot particles. This procedure is suitable for complex measuring instruments. Where an attempt is made to use this also as a mobile sensor system in exhaust gas, it must be established that such approaches for realizing a cost-effective sensor in a motor vehicle are associated with high costs owing to the complex optical construction. Furthermore, there are unresolved problems with regard to the contamination of the required optical windows by combustion exhaust gases.
The published German patent application DE 199 59 871 A1 describes a sensor and operating method, both of which are based on thermal considerations. The sensor comprises an openly porous shaped body such as, for example, a honeycomb-shaped ceramic, a heating element and a temperature sensor. If the sensor is brought into contact with a measurement gas volume, then soot deposits on it. For measurement purposes, the soot deposited over a period of time is ignited with the aid of the heating element and burned. The temperature increase that arises during combustion is measured. Although this is a practicable procedure in constant environmental conditions, under the conditions of a motor vehicle exhaust section with greatly fluctuating flows and exhaust gas temperatures the measurement of the relatively small temperature increase proves to be an extremely difficult problem.
In principle, it is possible to use two methods for measuring soot. One is based on an electric field between two electrodes at which the measurement gas volume loaded with soot is present, the soot causing an ionization current. One embodiment of this principle is known from the published German patent application DE 102 44 702 A. In this case, the exhaust gas flow passes two electrodes which are provided with an electrical insulation layer and between which is situated the soot-containing gas to be examined.
The electrodes are operated with an AC voltage of between 1 and 10 kV. Between the electrodes, depending on the soot concentration in the measurement gas, a dielectrically impeded discharge is performed and the currents that occur are measured. For motor vehicle operation, this method is not practicable insofar as its realization requires high voltages and complicated measurement technology. Secondly, the changing gaseous exhaust gas constituents will entail a significant measurement corruption as a result of interfering gas influencing the ionization current.

Sensor and operating method for detecting soot


Embodiments of the invention relate to walking/running braces and to devices for enhancing locomotion, specifically human bipedal locomotion. More particularly, it relates to a controlled mechanical device which provides support of the torso via the hip sockets, reduces the metabolic energy associated with walking/running and reduces the incidence of falls caused by insufficient leg thrust. Embodiments of the invention also relates to reducing the strain and metabolic energy consumption associated with walking/running with a heavy backpack or other significant carried load.

Ground Reaction Force (GRF) is defined as a force vector applied by the ground to a person at a point on a person's footprint called the Center of Pressure (COP). The GRF direction can be modeled by a force vector colinear with a line connecting ankle and hip. Neglecting air friction, the average horizontal component of the GRF must exactly equal zero for a person walking/running at constant average velocity regardless of ground slope. If this were not the case, then a person's torso would increase or decrease its average horizontal velocity. Similarly, the average vertical component of the GRF must be exactly equal to body weight regardless of the ground slope. If this were not the case, then the average distance from the torso to the ground would increase or decrease.
The function of the legs in human bipedal locomotion (hereafter locomotion) is to make periodic ground contact with a foot during each step for the purpose of transferring the GRF to the torso. By making the average horizontal GRF less than or greater than zero, the torso can be accelerated or decelerated. The locomotion process is one whereby the torso weight is supported alternately between one leg and the other. Each step consists of a support epoch during which one leg supports the torso weight while the alternate leg is swinging forward preparing for the next step. Each support epoch is followed by a transition epoch where the torso weight transitions between the current support leg to the new support leg.
Others have created locomotion assist devices throughout recorded history mostly with the intention of mitigating leg dysfunction. Locomotion assist devices are currently in widespread use today in the form of crutches, canes, and a variety of knee braces. Some locomotion assist devices include wheeled devices, such as bicycles, wheelchairs, scooters, and other alternatives to human bipedal locomotion. These devices transfer the GRF to the torso from points on the ground which are constantly moving.
Canes and crutches are devices that allow a user to transfer a portion (up to all) of the GRF to the torso via the arm sockets. These devices are effective in reducing the gait problems caused by one or both dysfunctional legs and are commonly employed. Unfortunately these devices are problematic for long term use, over uneven terrain, or where the arm sockets are not suitable for transferring substantial portions of the GRT to the torso.
Locking knee braces are another class of device commonly used to transfer the GRF to the torso. Unlike canes and crutches, locking knee braces transfer the GRF to the torso via the hip sockets. Since this is the normal mechanism for humans to transfer GRF to the torso, it is a preferred mechanism. Common locking knee braces consist of a shank and thigh frame coupled together with a hinge that can be locked at an explicit knee angle when torso support is required. Knee braces are widely used to reduce knee joint stresses and provide knee immobilization following surgery. In general they are not employed as walking enhancement devices because the fixed knee angle greatly impedes normal action of the leg during walking/running.
There exists several intelligent, electronic knee braces used to control resistive torque or damping about the knee joint. These knee braces are primarily intended to mitigate leg dysfunction caused by amputation. Using sensory information, these active braces can discriminate between early and late support phases thereby allowing amputees to flex their knee just after heel strike. This feature is important for shock absorption and is not possible with prior mechanically passive prosthesis. Electronic knees can also supply different levels of damping during swing and support dependent on walking speeds using adaptive algorithms. Several of these electronically controlled knee braces have been commercialized, such as the Otto Bock's C-leg and Ossur's Rheo Knee.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,500,138, 6,834,752, and U.S. Patent Publication 2003/0062241 disclose a knee brace which provides support while allowing unimpeded knee angle flexion during leg swing. This device, called an auto-locking knee brace, employs a microprocessor controlled one-way clutch at the knee joint of a common knee-ankle-foot-orthotic. This device has two modes of operation. In one mode, the one-way clutch is inactivated thereby allowing free rotation of the foot/shank and thigh frames. One-way clutches have a well known property that when activated they have an easy rotation direction where only a small amount of torque can be coupled from input to output and a hard direction where an arbitrarily large amount of torque can be coupled from input to output. This feature of the one-way clutch is exploited in the auto-locking brace to allow relatively unimpeded leg extension prior to heel strike while providing full support following heel strike. Activation of the one-way clutch utilizes a solenoid. For polio and stroke patients, the auto-locking knee has shown significant improvements including reducing metabolic energy consumption of wearers of the device.
Numerous mobility assist devices have been developed over the years employing mechanisms which incorporate means for temporarily storing and releasing the energy generated and needed during each step. U.S. Pat. Nos. 420,178 and 420,179 disclosed a device employing bow springs attached to a shoulder and a pelvis. The '179 Patent incorporates a foot-lift mechanism to enable swing leg foot clearance, however does not teach a workable mechanism for activating the foot-lift mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,665 discloses a running brace that employs a telescoping gas spring and a swing leg foot clearance mechanism employing a ratchet joint. The disclosure does not discuss practical methods for release of the ratchet joint. The primary problem with the device is there is no mechanism for controlling the natural release of the energy stored in the gas spring phase locked to the gait cycle selected by the wearer. In particular, assuming that an embodiment of the device is possible, a wearer must adjust his gait cycle to the natural frequency dictated by the physical parameters of the device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,869 discloses a running assist device for enhanced mobility and reduced metabolic energy consumption. In this device, the GRF is coupled to the torso mass directly through the legs without any mechanism working in parallel with the legs. Accordingly, the device cannot store energy available during the period of time when the distance between hip socket and ankle is decreasing. In effect, the device acts as a mechanism for transferring GRF to the soles of the wearer's feet, not the torso.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,967,734, 5,011,136, and U.S. Patent Publication 2002/0094919, disclose energy-efficient running braces employing a mechanical spring which temporarily stores the energy during the period when the distance between torso center of mass and the ground is decreasing and releases the energy during the period when that distance is increasing. These devices support the torso via a torso harness and refer to means for generating a constant leg thrust. Measurement of the GRF reveal that the required leg thrust increases substantially as running speed is increased, reaching up to five times body weight during sprinting. Benefits of these devices do not appear to be achievable by a wearer suffering single leg dysfunction. The devices also appear to require extensive periods of time to doff and don. All of the above-mentioned designs couple the GRF to the torso via a torso harness.


The invention relates to a surgical implant that provides an artificial diarthroidal-like D joint, suitable for use in replacing any joint, but particularly suitable for use as an intervertebral disc endoprosthesis. The invention contains two rigid opposing shells, each having an outer surface adapted to engage the surfaces of the bones of a joint in such a way that the shells are immobilized by friction between their outer surfaces and the surfaces of the bone. These outer surfaces are sufficiently rough, while the inner surfaces of the shells are relatively smooth. The central body has a shape that cooperates with the shape of the inner surface of the shell so as to provide a range of motion similar to that provided by a healthy joint.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to implantable prostheses that are suitable for replacement of diarthroidal or arthroidal joints by creating an artificial diarthroidal-like joint at the site of the implant.
In a particular embodiment, the invention relates to implantable prostheses serving as replacements for at least a portion of the intervertebral disc material, i.e., a spinal disc endoprostheses suitable for implantation in vertebrates, including humans.
2. Description of Related Art
Many joints in the human body, such as hips, knees, shoulders, etc., are diarthroidal, meaning that the joints include a joint capsule that is filled with fluid. The capsule fluid lubricates the joint, and allows the surfaces of the joint to move with a low coefficient of friction. The spine, by contrast, can be considered to be a series of joints, some of which (the anterior joint or disc) lack a fluid filled capsule and are therefore arthroidal (the spine also contains facet joints that are diarthroidal). The interior portion of intervertebral discs are not provided by the body with significant blood supply; their homeostasis is enhanced by the diffusion of fluids into the disc tissue, thus supplying them with nutrients. This, to some extent, allows the tissue to grow and repair damage done by stress as the joint moves. Despite this process, in mature adults, spinal disc tissue degrades continuously over time. Sufficiently advanced degeneration can lead to herniation or rupture of the spinal disc.
Herniation of a spinal disc can result in a number of debilitating symptoms, including intractable pain, weakness, and sensory loss. Treatment of these symptoms frequently requires surgical removal of at least a portion of the herniated disc, a procedure known as discectomy. Often discectomy alone cannot stop the progressive degeneration at the level of disc excision. An additional procedure is often performed in conjunction with the discectomy with the objective of fusing together (arthrodesis) the vertebral bodies surrounding the affected disc space. This is accomplished by removing the cartilaginous endplates by scraping the surfaces of the vertebral body and inserting a piece of graft bone, which may be an allograft from a bone bank, or an autograft, typically taken from the iliac crest of the patient, or other suitable material.
The discectomy and arthrodesis procedures can be problematic, however. Discectomy problems have been described above. The grafting or fusion procedure has a variable success rate of about 80%, and even when successful, requires considerable recovery time before fusion is complete. Perhaps of even greater concern, successful fusion eliminates normal spinal biomechanics. Range of motion at the level of the fusion is ideally eliminated, because the affected vertebrae have been effectively joined to form a single bone. Because the patient tries to maintain the same overall range of motion of the entire spine, additional stress is imposed on the intervertebral discs of the adjacent vertebrae. This, in turn, may lead to accelerated degeneration at levels above and below the fusion site, which may require additional treatment, including discectomy and fusion. Grafting procedures carry some risk of tissue rejection and disease, transmission if an allograft is used, and risk of harvest site morbidity when the patient's own tissue is harvested.
As a result of these difficulties with intervertebral fusion, attempts have been made to provide a prosthetic solution to degenerative disc disease that maintains the patient's normal spinal biomechanics, allows for shorter recovery times, and avoids the complications inherent in harvesting and/or grafting bone tissue. Some of these efforts have centered around providing an endoprosthetic intervertebral implant, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,865,846, 5,674,296, 5,989,291, 6,001,130, and 6,022,376, the entire contents of each of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Design and construction of such an implant, however, is not simple. Desirably, the implant should be precisely placed in a prepared intervertebral space, and should contain elements that are immobilized with respect to each of the vertebral bodies, so that the implant does not migrate or shift, potentially contacting, abrading, or otherwise damaging the spinal cord, ligaments, blood vessels, and other soft tissue. At the same time, the implant should allow the vertebral bodies to move relative to each other in a way that provides the equivalent motion afforded by a healthy intervertebral disc, and that allows the affected vertebral joint to participate in the coordinated overall movement of the spine in a way that closely approximates the natural movement of a healthy spinal column. The implant should be biocompatible, and avoid the introduction of toxic or harmful components into the patient, such as release of wear debris. The implant should also restore normal disc height and maintain the patient's vertebral lordosis, and should not allow any significant post-operative subsidence. The implant should be at least partially constrained by soft tissue in and around the intervertebral space, in order to allow a simpler, more efficient design. There remains a need for a device which would decrease patient recovery time, and reduce the occurrence of postoperative degeneration at levels above and below the implant, as compared with fusion techniques. In addition, such an implant would avoid the need for harvesting of autograft bone tissue, thereby eliminating morbidity at the harvesting site. Such an implant should also provide elasticity and damping sufficient to absorb shocks and stresses imposed on it in a manner similar to that of the natural spinal disc.


A method of treating a bone of a patient includes identifying a portion of the patient to be protected. A cannula is provided that includes a shaft extending between opposite first and second end surfaces. The shaft includes an inner surface defining a lumen. The cannula includes a scoop extending from the second end surface. The scoop includes an inner surface that is continuous with the inner surface of the shaft and an opposite outer surface. The cannula is inserted into the bone such that the outer surface of the scoop is positioned adjacent to the portion of the patient to be protected. A balloon is inserted into the cannula such that the balloon is positioned within the scoop. The balloon is inflated such that the balloon expands away from the scoop as the balloon is inflated and creates a void in the bone. Systems are disclosed.

Height loss is commonly associated with spinal fractures, such as, for example, vertebral compression fractures. Spinal fractures affect a large segment of osteoporotic patients. It is estimated that approximately 700,000 spinal fractures occur annually from osteoporosis, for example. Procedures have been developed to treat spinal fractures. One such procedure is kyphoplasty. Kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive procedure that is used to treat spinal fractures, such as, for example, vertebral compression fractures by inserting one or more balloons, such as, for example, compliant balloons inside a fractured vertebral body. The balloon or balloons are inflated within the fractured vertebral body such that the cancellous bone of the vertebral body is pushed towards cortical walls of the vertebral body to form a cavity within the vertebral body. The cavity is then at least partially filled with a material, such as, for example, bone cement.
The balloons may be inserted into the vertebral body using a cannula, for example. Some cannulas include a scoop at the end of the cannula. The balloon engages the scoop to direct inflation of the balloon so that the balloon inflates away from the scoop. However, access to the vertebral body may be too inferior or superior, which creates the potential of breaking through an endplate and/or lateral wall of the vertebral body during the inflation process, which would prevent physicians from achieving the desired procedural outcome. This disclosure describes improvements over these prior art technologies.

Method of performing a balloon kyphoplasty procedure using a scoop cannula


In a method and a computer for generating a schedule for the implementation of examinations with an x-ray apparatus, in particular an x-ray computed tomography apparatus, a particularly exact schedule is generated by calculating an occupation duration for each patient using a load calculator that is present in the x-ray apparatus and to generate a schedule based on the calculated occupation duration, also taking into account a wait time for each examination.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a method for generation of a schedule for the implementation of examinations with an x-ray apparatus, in particular an x-ray computed tomography apparatus. The invention also concerns the use of a load calculator as well as a computer for execution of a program for implementation of the method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
According to the prior art, dates for implementation of examinations using an x-ray apparatus are assigned by medical auxiliary personnel, for example using a computer-aided schedule planner. The name of the patient, the examination to be implemented as well as an anticipated occupation time of the apparatus is entered in the procedure for assignment of a date. The estimation of the occupation time encompasses an estimation of the actual examination duration and a wait time. The wait time is necessary for cooling of the x-ray tube. During the wait time, operation of the x-ray apparatus is not possible. The length of the wait time depends on a number of parameters, for example the selected examination time, the examination duration as well as the number of previously-implemented examinations, and the like. As a consequence, the occupation duration can be different for the same examination, conducted at different times. A precise estimation of the occupation duration for a given examination requires experience. Occupation durations are particularly difficult to precisely estimate for inexperienced personnel. Errors in the estimation of the occupation durations accumulate over the day and either lead to an inadequate utilization of the x-ray apparatus or to bothersome wait times for the patient.
According to the prior art, DE 198 11 041 A1 a load calculator is disclosed that is a component of the x-ray apparatus. The temperature distribution of the anode of the x-ray tube is continuously calculated. After the end of a measurement, a wait time is determined on the basis of the calculated temperature distribution, and operation of the x-ray apparatus is blocked for the duration of the wait time to prevent a thermal overload of the x-ray tube. In this known method, the wait time for the purpose of a sufficient cooling of the x-ray tube is calculated exclusively on the basis of the power consumption up to the time of the examination under consideration.

Computerized method for generating a schedule for implementing examination with an x-ray apparatus


The ink of the invention comprises a vehicle and a colorant. The colorant is a pigment that has been treated to reduce nozzle outs in the inkjet printers. The performance of these pigments is improved by forcing the pigment through an acute pressure valve process wherein the pigment is homogenized to a size of about 0.1 .mu.m.

Inks used in non-impact printing, including thermal ink-jet printing, bubble jet printing, piezoelectric printing, and others (collectively referred to herein at ink-jet), typically comprise a colorant and a vehicle, with the vehicle often containing water and other relatively low surface tension liquids. The colorant is typically a dye or pigment.
Pigment-based ink offers a variety of desirable properties over dye-based ink, viz., waterfastness, lightfastness, durability, etc. However, preparation of pigment-based ink-jet inks has not been a widely commercialized due to stability problems of the water insoluble pigments, the tendency of pigments to agglomerate, precipitation or settling of the colorants, and very short dispersion life. Another problem associated with pigment-based inks is the tendency to clog components of the printers such as the nozzles.
The tight tolerances of the nozzles (typically 50 .mu.m diameter) require that the ink not contain relatively large particles which tend to clog the nozzles, leading to a significant negative impact on the performance of carbon black pigmented inks. Studies have shown that nozzle problems are a potential problem with inks that contain even a very low level of particles ranging is size from about 0.5 to about 2 .mu.m.
It is believed that even part-per-million (ppm) levels of oversize pigment particles in the ink settle out in the nozzle area. Firing the pen then converts this sediment into a hard mass that cannot be dislodged with servicing or wiping. As stated above, evidence suggests that the size of these particles is on the order of 0.5 .mu.m to 2 .mu.m. In theory, a 0.3 micron filtration process should remove these particles. However, the micron rating of filter media can be misleading; filters are typically around 98% efficient, so low concentrations of particles larger than 0.3 .mu.m do slip through and eventually settle out in the nozzle area. Traditionally, industry has relied upon various techniques, such as filtration, microfluidizers, and high shear mixers, to lessen the problem; unfortunately, the results of using these techniques in manufacturing has produced marginal or moderate degrees of success.
Moreover, the amount of larger particles at the ppm level is very difficult to measure using conventional particle sizing techniques, such as microtrec or nicomp instruments. Therefore, it would be advantageous to have an easy method to measure the level of larger particles present and relate this information to ink performance.
Accordingly, investigations continue into developing ink formulations utilizing pigments which have overcome the problems associated with agglomeration, clogging of nozzles and the presence of large particles, and also provide a reliable method to verify that these particles are not present in an amount sufficient to cause these problems.

Homogenization process for ink-jet inks containing fine dispersions of pigments


Applicants have developed a process for inhibiting the polymerization of vinyl aromatic compound during the distillation of the vinyl aromatic compounds. The process involves adding to the vinyl aromatic compound, e.g., styrene, a nitroso compound such as N-nitroso-N, N'-di-3-pentyl-p-phenylenediamine.

Styrene is one of several vinyl aromatic compounds which has considerable commercial utility. Styrene is polymerized into polystyrene which is a clear, readily colored and easily fabricated plastic with many uses. The efficiency of the polymerization process is dependent on the purity of the monomer starting material. Since the processes for producing styrene, and other vinyl aromatic compounds, will contain various reaction products including benzene, toluene, etc., the mixture is distilled to separate these undesirable contaminants. Unfortunately, the temperatures required for distillation, typically 90.degree. C. to about 150.degree. C., leads to the polymerization of the vinyl aromatic compounds. In order to minimize or prevent polymerization of the vinyl aromatic monomer, it is common to add a polymerization inhibitor to the distillation mixture.
The art discloses a variety of compounds which are claimed to inhibit polymerization. These include U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,993 which discloses the use of N,N-nitroso-methylaniline as a polymerization inhibitor. U.S. Pat. No. 3,988,212 which disclose the use of N-nitrosodiphenyl amine in combination with dinitro-o-cresol. U.S. Pat. No. 4,013,580 which discloses the use of N-nitroso aniline derivatives. U.S. Pat. No. 4,341,600 which discloses the use of a mixture of dinitro-p-cresol and N-nitroso-diphenyl amine. U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,451 which discloses alkyl substituted p-nitroso phenol in combination with p-nitroso phenol. U.S. Pat. No. 5,034,156 which discloses N-nitrosophenyl-hydroxylamine plus hydroquinone monomethyl ether. U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,004 which discloses a phenylene-diamine compound plus a hydroxyalkylhydroxyl-amine compound. U.S. Pat. No. 5,254,760 which discloses 1-oxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine plus an aromatic nitro compound. U.S. Pat. No. 4,929,778 which discloses a phenylenediamine compound plus a hindered phenol compound. U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,952 which discloses the use of the reaction product of a C.sub.9 -C.sub.20 alkyl phenol with sulfuric and nitric acid and optionally an aryl or alkyl-substituted phenylenediamine. WO9503263 which discloses 3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyl benzyl amine. EP-697386-A2 which discloses 4-acetylamino-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl piperidine N-oxyl in combination with 4-nitroso phenol. JP0701910-A which discloses phosphite compounds, nitrosoamine compounds or phenol compounds. JP05310815-A which discloses the ammonium salt of N-nitrosophenyl hydroxylamine. JP03149205-A which discloses nitrosophenols plus dicyclohexyl-ammonium nitrate. J01226858-A which discloses the use of substituted nitrosobenzene. U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,027 which discloses p-nitroso phenol plus p-t-butyl catechol. J59029624-A which discloses the use of N-nitroso compound, e.g., N-nitroso-diphenylamine and a catechol, e.g., p-t-butylcatechol.
In contrast to these compounds, applicants have found a series of compounds which are particularly effective in inhibiting the polymerization of vinyl aromatic compounds in general and styrene in particular. These compounds are the N-nitroso derivates of unsubstituted or dialkyl substituted phenylenediamine having the following structure: ##STR1## Both the mono and di-nitroso derivates are useful as inhibitors. The compounds can be used by themselves or in combination with the phenylenediamine.

Process for inhibiting the polymerization of vinyl aromatics