A catheter system comprising of a catheter sheath and a multichamber balloon catheter capable of simultaneous or sequential delivery of substances such as drugs, anesthetics, biologicals or wound modulating agents into an organ or tissue remote from the point of entry of the catheter system. A specific use of such catheter system is for the timed application of wound modulating agents prior to the formation of a fistula in the filtration procedure used for the management of glaucoma. Another use is for the application and subsequent washing of the scar formation with wound modulating agents after an unsuccessful glaucoma filtration procedure. Substances requiring controlled release is applied through one lumen of the balloon catheter whose exit port is covered with a semipermeable or microporous membrane. Other substances not requiring controlled or slow release is applied through a second lumen where the substance can exit freely through a hole at one end of the second lumen. Retrieval of applied substances is also possible through gentle suction from the second lumen or a third lumen if needed.

The present invention relates to a catheter system having several components that is capable of delivering a drug, medication or any desirable substance into a selected site. These substances are usually applied to the desired site prior to making an incision or surgery on the same site. The present delivery systems usually involve a single catheter with an inflatable balloon made up of either a permeable or semipermeable material. Examples of the balloon catheters used for different applications are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,286,254 issued to Shapland et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,299,227 issued to Harvey A. Lincoff, U.S. Pat. No. 4,327,734 issued to Robert I. White, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 3,788,328 issued to Ralph D. Alley and David S. Sheridan and U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,383 issued to Meir Lichtenstein. The present invention is constructed differently from the other balloon catheters and the delivery system is composed of several parts. One specific application of this invention relates to the use of the catheter system in the management of glaucoma.
There are many techniques for delivering drugs and other substances or medication to body tissues and organs. These include among possible others, oral administration, injection directly into body tissue, topical administration, transcutaneous administration and intravenous administration. Direct injection into the tissue, oral administration, or intravenous administration typically delivers the desired substance into the blood stream and therefore tend to be systemic. Topical and transcutaneous administration tend to deliver the drug, medication or desired substance into a localized area. The drug, medication or desired substance is usually absorbed into or across the skin or tissue. Topical and transcutaneous application are suitable delivery systems if the desired site of application is the skin or tissues proximate to the skin and passive absorption of the drug or substance by the surrounding tissue is not critical. Although many medical situation are satisfactorily treated or managed by these various techniques, there is a need for a system that can deliver a drug or other desired substance into a localized area of an internal tissue or organ without appreciably affecting the surrounding tissues. This system would be particularly useful when an incision is subsequently made on the site after the localized application of the drug or substance.
There are several applications for which such system would be desirable. This system can be used to apply substances, medication or drugs such as antibiotics, anesthetics, and wound modulating agents like antimetabolites to a tissue or organ remote to the external parts of the body prior to an incision or surgery at the site of application. One particular application is the application of wound modulating agents to the episcleral space of the eye prior to the fistulizing step in the glaucoma filtering procedure. The filtering procedure is employed to manage glaucoma. Another particular application is for delivering wound modulating agents such as antimetabolites to scars subsequently formed after an unsuccessful glaucoma filtering procedure to enable formation of more permanent escape channels for the aqueous humor. Still another particular application is for delivering wound modulating agents to scars formed on and around implants placed in the fistula during the filtering procedure. The implants are placed to keep the fistula open. The implants consist of a wide variety of foreign materials placed in the fistula such as stripe of hydrogel with parallel capillary channels, tubes and valves made of biocompatible materials.
Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible blindness throughout the world. Glaucoma is characterized by widely diverse clinical and histopathologic manifestation. However, all glaucomas can be generalized as situations in which the intraocular pressure (hereinafter referred to as IOP) is too high for the normal functioning of the optic nerve head. Damage to the optic nerve head is associated with progressive loss and constriction of the visual field, and it is this which, if untreated, can lead to total, irreversible blindness. Blindness from glaucoma is preventable but requires early detection and proper treatment. Once the blindness of glaucoma has occurred, there is no known treatment that will restore the lost vision. Detection depends on the ability to recognize the early clinical manifestations of the various glaucomas, while appropriate treatment requires an understanding of the pathogenic mechanism involved, as well as a detailed knowledge of the drugs and surgical procedures that are used to control the IOP. In the eye, the bulk of aqueous humor which is produced by the ciliary processes flows through the pupil into the anterior chamber and leaves the eye via structures in the anterior chamber angle, primarily through the trabecular meshwork and Schlemm's canal with a small contribution from anterior uveal absorption. From Schlemm's canal, the aqueous humor passes through intrascleral channels to reunite with the blood stream in the episcleral veins. The normal pressure in these vessels is 8 to 11 mm Hg which contribute directly to the IOP. A rise in IOP occurs when the rate at which aqueous humor enters the eye is greater than the rate at which it leaves the eye.
One means for lowering the IOP in glaucoma patients is through the glaucoma filtering procedure. This procedure generally involves providing a limbal fistula through which the aqueous humor can drain into a subconjunctival space and subsequently filter into the conjunctiva. A limbal fistula means an opening at the limbus of the eye. There are two basic types of fistulas, a full thickness and a partial thickness fistula. A full thickness fistula is a direct opening through the full thickness of the limbal tissue. A partial thickness fistula is a fistula having a partial thickness scleral flap over it. There are several means for creating the fistula and there are also several variations for performing the filtering procedure. The present means usually involves formation of a scleral flap prior to the formation of the fistula. A scleral flap is usually formed by making a limbus-based conjunctival flap followed by dissection of a desired area of the sclera. Shields, M. B. (1982) Textbook of Glaucoma, 1st ed. pages 461-497 describes the different fistulizing techniques and filtering procedure. Most successful glaucoma filtering procedure are characterized by a fistula that remains open for the free flow of the aqueous humor. The most common cause of failure in glaucoma filtering surgery is scarring at the fistula and the immediate area around the filtering site. This usually occurs external to the scleral flap at the level of the conjunctiva-Tenon's capsule-episcleral interface. Scarring is characterized by an increased amount of collagen produced by the proliferation of fibroblasts which eventually blocks the fistula thereby preventing the free flow of the aqueous humor and the patient reverts back to the glaucoma condition. Preoperative and postoperative inflammation frequently also contributes to the scarring. A larger incision made prior to the formation of the fistula is expected to cause more inflammation thereby aggravating the scarring situation. Antimetabolites such as 5-fluorouracil, cytosine arabinoside, bleomycin, and doxorubicin had been shown to inhibit fibroblast proliferation. The antimetabolite treatment increases the success rate of the filtering procedure. Presently, the antimetabolite such as 5-fluorouracil (hereinafter referred to as fluorouracil) is usually injected subconjunctivally, several degrees from the operative site, several times after the glaucoma filtering procedure. Alternatively, fluorouracil is also given intraoperatively followed by the postoperative subconjunctival injections. Dose and frequency of injection differ according to the type of glaucoma. These treatment regimens are well documented in the literature. The necessity of multiple subconjunctival injections which inconvenience the patient coupled with the high incidence of conjunctival and corneal epithelial toxic effects manifested by conjunctival wound leaks and corneal epithelial defects have limited the widespread application of fluorouracil. Conjunctival wound leaks usually results from the passing of the aqueous humor from the filtering site directly through the conjunctival needle tracts because fluorouracil also effectively inhibits the conjunctival wound healing of the needle tracts which are formed during the suturing of the scleral flap after the filtering procedure. Wound modulating agents such as the antimetabolite fluorouracil inhibit fibroblast proliferation which affect collagen formation, resulting into inhibition of wound healing. Other wound modulating agents such as alkylating drugs or agents and natural alkaloids may also inhibit fibroblast proliferation. Examples of these wound modulating agents are mechlorethamine, cyclophosphamide, chlorambucil, melphalan, aziridine, alkyl sulfonate, carmustine, lomustine, semustine, triazene, streptozocin, methotrexate, cytarabine, mercaptopurine, thioguanine, vinblastine, vincristine, dactinomycin, daunorubicin, doxorubicin HCl, bleomycin, mitomycin, and plicamycin. Further caution is required on the use of wound modulating agents, in general, due to the reported complications of unexpectedn hypotony observed with its use. Hypotony means an intraocular pressure lower than 5 mm Hg.
Mitomycin-C, an example of a wound modulating agent, is an alkylating agent isolated from Streptomyces caespitosus, which can be used as an alternative to fluorouracil. Because Mitomycin-C (hereinafter referred to as mitomycin) can penetrate the anterior chamber and also cause endothelial damage, mitomycin unlike fluorcuracil, cannot be injected subconjunctivally after the filtering procedure. However, a single intraoperative application of mitomycin at the filtering site has been shown to be sufficient in inhibiting fibroblast proliferation because it is at least one hundred times more potent than fluorouracil. See Ando, Ido, Kawai, Yamamoto and Kitazawa, Inhibition of Corneal Epithelial Wound Healing, Ophthalmology 99:1809, Kitazawa, Kawase, Matsushita and Minobe, Trabeculectomy With Mitomycin, Arch. Ophthalmol. 109:1693, and Zacharia, Deppermann and Schuman, Ocular Hypotony After Trabeculectomy With Mitomycin C, Amer. J. Ophthalmol. 116:314. Intraoperative application of fluorouracil as used in the mitomycin treatment, even at higher concentrations and longer exposure times do not produce the same results as mitomycin. Mitomycin treatment, therefore, has greater success rates in the management of glaucoma compared to fluorouracil especially in patients with complicated glaucomas such as neovascular glaucoma, inflammatory glaucoma and patients whose previous filtration procedure had failed. This feature compared to multiple subconjunctival injection and the reduced incidence of corneal toxic effect brought about by the focal application of mitomycin are the major attractions of the mitomycin treatment. The primary effect of mitomycin appears to be a cytocidal effect on subconjunctival fibroblasts at the filtering site. One disadvantage of using mitomycin is the observed greater incidence of hypotony with mitomycin compared to fluorouracil. Hypotony in mitomycin treatment can generally be prevented by lower concentrations and less exposure times. The recommended time for mitomycin application is less than five minutes. Therefore, a process that results in a focal and timed exposure of mitomycin to the tissue is needed in order to limit its toxic effects. An application system capable of delivering a more concentrated mitomycin at a limited area for a controlled period of time is required as a delivery tool for the development of an application process that will result in a successful filtering procedure for the management of glaucoma.
Several techniques for the intraoperative application of mitomycin in filtering procedures are described in published literature. See Kitazawa, Kawase, Matsushita and Minobe, Trabeculectomy with Mitomycin, Arch. Ophthalmol. 109:1693-1698, Skuta, Beeson, Higginbotham, Lichter, Musch, Bergstrom, Klein, and Falck, Intraoperative Mitomycin versus Postoperative 5-Fluorouracil in High-risk Glaucoma Filtering Surgery, Ophthalmology 99:438-444, Palmer, Mitomycin as Adjunct Chemotherapy with Trabeculectomy, Ophthalmology 98:317-321, Kitazawa, Matsushita, Yamamoto, and Kawase, Low-dose and High-dose Mitomycin Trabeculectomy as an Initial Surgery in Primary Open-angle Glaucoma, Ophthalmology 100:1624-1628, Shields, Scroggs, Sloop and Simmons, Clinical and Histopathologic Observations Concerning Hypotony after Trabeculectomy with Adjunctive Mitomycin C, Amer. J. Ophthalmol. 116:673-683, Khaw, Doyle, Sherwood, Grierson, Schultz, and McGorray prolonged Localized Tissue Effects from 5-Minute Exposures to Fluorouracil and Mitomycin C, Arch. Ophthalmol. 111:263-267, and Wise, Mitomycin-Compatible Suture Technique for Fornix-Based Conjunctival Flaps in Glaucoma Filtration Surgery, Arch. Ophthalmol. 111:992-997. Although these procedures may differ slightly, the intraoperative application of mitomycin generally involves soaking a piece of sponge into a mitomycin solution and contacting the soaked sponge to the exposed scleral surface over the planned filtration site for a controlled period of time, generally less than 5 minutes or sequentially at several one minute exposures for a total of 5 minutes of tissue exposure. This is usually followed by a washing procedure to wash off the mitomycin from the filtration site. The present use of sponge for mitomycin application causes exposure of a wider surface of tissue than is required. As mentioned above, although mitomycin application prevents the scarring of the fistula, it is also more potent and more toxic to the exposed tissues than fluorouracil.
One object of the invention is to provide a catheter system capable of a timed introduction of a desired substance with minimal surgical disturbance resulting in less inflammation compared to the current procedure employed in the formation of the scleral flap. Another object of the invention is to provide a catheter system for introducing a desired but generally toxic substance into a localized area for a given length of time where prolonged exposure to the surrounding areas is not desirable. Examples of these substances are wound modulating agents such as antimetabolites alkylating drugs or agents, natural alkaloids and other fibroblast proliferation inhibiting agents which reduce collagen response to injury. Still another object of this invention is to demonstrate a process using the catheter system for introducing a desired but generally toxic substance like mitomycin prior to the fistulizing step of the filtering procedure used in the management of glaucoma. A further object of the invention is to show the use of the catheter system in correcting conditions where the glaucoma filtration procedure failed due to scar formation.

Multiple chamber catheter delivery system


Compounds of Formula I are provided, in which variables are as described herein:

Melanin concentrating hormone, or MCH, is a cyclic 19 amino acid neuropeptide first identified as a regulator of skin coloration in fish and other vertebrates, and subsequently as a regulator of food intake and energy balance in higher vertebrates. In many species, including humans, MCH is produced in the hypothalamus. MCH is also produced at various peripheral sites, including the gastrointestinal tract and testis.
The postulated role of MCH in feeding behavior and body weight regulation is confirmed by the finding that i.c.v. injection of MCH increases caloric consumption in rats over similarly treated control animals. Furthermore, rats having the ob/ob genotype exhibit a 50-80% increase in MCH mRNA expression as compared to leaner ob/+ genotype mice, and prepro-MCH knockout mice, as well as MCH receptor knockout mice, are leaner than normal mice, due to hypophagia and an increased metabolic rate.
MCH activity is mediated via binding to specific receptors. Like other G protein-coupled receptors (e.g., neuropeptide Y and beta-adrenergic receptors), MCH receptors are membrane-spanning proteins that are generally found on cell surfaces, and consist of a single contiguous amino acid chain comprising an extracellular N-terminal domain, seven membrane-spanning alpha helical domains (connected by three intracellular loop domains alternating with three extracellular loop domains), and an intracellular C-terminal domain. Signal transduction is typically initiated by the binding of extracellular MCH to the receptor, which elicits conformational changes in the extracellular domains. When the receptor is functioning properly, these conformational changes propagate through the transmembrane domains and result in a coordinated change in the intracellular portions of the receptor. This precise alteration in the intracellular domains acts to trigger the associated G-protein complex to modulate intracellular signaling.
Human Melanin Concentrating Hormone Receptor-1 (MCH1R) is a 353 amino acid, 7-transmembrane, alpha-helical, G protein-coupled receptor, initially reported as orphan receptor SLC-1. Immunohistochemistry studies of rat brain sections indicate that MCH1R is widely expressed in brain. MCH1R expression is found in olfactory tubercle, cerebral cortex, substantia nigra, basal forebrain CA1, CA2, and CA3 fields of the hippocampus, amygdala, and in nuclei of the hypothalamus, thalamus, midbrain and hindbrain. Strong signals are observed in the ventromedial and dorsomedial nuclei of the hypothalamus, two areas of the brain involved in feeding behavior. Upon binding MCH, MCH1R recombinantly expressed in HEK 293 cells mediates a dose dependent release of intracellular calcium. Cells expressing MCH1R also exhibit a pertussis toxin sensitive dose-dependent inhibition of forskolin-elevated cyclic AMP, indicating that the receptor couples to a Gi/o G-protein alpha subunit. Certain monkey and human MCH1R sequences, as well as various chimeric MCH1R proteins, have been disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/309,515 (published as 2003/0114644 on Jun. 19, 2003).
A second MCH receptor (designated MCH2R) has also been identified. MCH2R has an overall amino acid identity of more than 30% with MCH1R, and is detected specifically in the same regions of the brain as MCH1R. Monkey and canine MCH2R sequences, as well as various chimeric MCH2R proteins, have been disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/291,990 (which published as 2003/0148457 on Aug. 7, 2003).
Agents capable of modulating MCH receptor activity are highly desirable for the treatment of a variety of diseases and disorders, including obesity, eating disorders (e.g., bulimia and anorexia), sexual disorders (e.g., anorgasmic or psychogenic impotence) and metabolic disorders, such as diabetes. Small molecule, non-peptide antagonists of MCH receptors would be of particular value for such therapies. The present invention fulfills this need, and provides further related advantages.

Substituted 1-benzyl-4-substituted piperazine analogues

Abstract: Such compounds may be used to modulate MCH binding to MCH receptors in vivo or in vitro, and are particularly useful in the treatment of a variety of metabolic, feeding and sexual disorders in humans, domesticated companion animals and livestock animals. Pharmaceutical compositions and methods for treating such disorders are provided, as are methods for using such ligands for detecting MCH receptors (e.g., receptor localization studies).


In one featured embodiment, a sleeve for a valve includes a sleeve body surrounding a center axis and defined by an overall length extending from a first end to a second end. The sleeve body has a central bore extending from the first end to the second end. The central bore has a first surface portion comprising a piston contact surface that is defined by a first inner diameter, wherein the piston contact surface is configured to slide against a piston to be received within the central bore. In one example, a ratio of the overall length to the first inner diameter is between 3.51 and 3.63.

This application relates to a pressure regulating valve which may be utilized in a fuel line for an aircraft engine.
A gas turbine engine is typically used to power an aircraft. A fuel system provides fuel to various portions of the gas turbine engine. Fuel is primarily delivered into a combustor section of the gas turbine engine. Airflow through the gas turbine engine is compressed by one or more compressors, mixed and burned with fuel in the combustor, and then expanded over one or more turbines. The fuel is supplied to the gas turbine engine by a fuel pump from a fuel supply, and passes through a filter on the way to the engine. The fuel system also includes various valves, such as a pressure regulating valve, high pressure relief valve, filter bypass valve, etc., which cooperate with each other to supply fuel to the gas turbine engine in a controlled and accurate manner.
The metering valve supplies a specified amount of fuel to the engine for various operating conditions. The pressure regulating valve sets a predetermined pressure differential across the metering valve. This allows control over flow to the engine based on metering valve position. Under certain conditions, not all of the fuel being supplied by the pump is needed by the engine. The pressure regulating valve also returns excess fuel back to the fuel pump. Existing pressure regulating valves may sometimes result in undesirable pressure setting shifts at different operating conditions.


A 3D projection reconstruction pulse sequence is employed to acquire CEMRA images. In one application of the invention an undersampled, high resolution abdominal CEMRA image is acquired in a single breathhold. In another application of the invention a series of undersampled image frames are acquired during a CEMRA dynamic study Each image is produced by combining peripheral k-space data from adjacent image frames with the central and peripheral k-space data of an acquired image frame.

The field of the invention is magnetic resonance angiography (xe2x80x9cMRAxe2x80x9d), and particularly, studies of the human vasculature using contrast agents which enhance the NMR signals.
Diagnostic studies of the human vasculature have many medical applications. X-ray imaging methods such as digital subtraction angiography (xe2x80x9cDSAxe2x80x9d) have found wide use in the visualization of the cardiovascular system, including the heart and associated blood vessels. Images showing the circulation of blood in the arteries and veins of the kidneys and the carotid arteries and veins of the neck and head have immense diagnostic utility. Unfortunately, however, these x-ray methods subject the patient to potentially harmful ionizing radiation and often require the use of an invasive catheter to inject a contrast agent into the vasculature to be imaged.
One of the advantages of these x-ray techniques is that image data can be acquired at a high rate (i.e. high temporal resolution) so that a sequence of images may be acquired during injection of the contrast agent. Such xe2x80x9cdynamic studiesxe2x80x9d enable one to select the image in which the bolus of contrast agent is flowing through the vasculature of interest. Earlier images in the sequence may not have sufficient contrast in the suspect vasculature, and later images may become difficult to interpret as the contrast agent reaches veins and diffuses into surrounding tissues. Subtractive methods such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,204,225 entitled xe2x80x9cReal-Time Digital X-ray Subtraction Imagingxe2x80x9d may be used to significantly enhance the diagnostic usefulness of such images.
Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) uses the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) phenomenon to produce images of the human vasculature. When a substance such as human tissue is subjected to a uniform magnetic field (polarizing field B0), the individual magnetic moments of the spins in the tissue attempt to align with this polarizing field, but precess about it in random order at their characteristic Larmor frequency. If the substance, or tissue, is subjected to a magnetic field (excitation field B1) which is in the x-y plane and which is near the Larmor frequency, the net aligned moment, Mz, may be rotated, or xe2x80x9ctippedxe2x80x9d, into the x-y plane to produce a net transverse magnetic moment Mt. A signal is emitted by the excited spins, and after the excitation signal B1 is terminated, this signal may be received and processed to form an image.
When utilizing these signals to produce images, magnetic field gradients (Gx Gy and Gz) are employed. Typically, the region to be imaged is scanned by a sequence of measurement cycles in which these gradients vary according to the particular localization method being used. Each measurement is referred to in the art as a xe2x80x9cviewxe2x80x9d and the number of views determines the resolution of the image. The resulting set of received NMR signals, or views, or k-space samples, are digitized and processed to reconstruct the image using one of many well known reconstruction techniques. The total scan time is determined in part by the number of measurement cycles, or views, that are acquired for an image, and therefore, scan time can be reduced at the expense of image resolution by reducing the number of acquired views.
The most prevalent method for acquiring an NMR data set from which an image can be reconstructed is referred to as the xe2x80x9cFourier transformxe2x80x9d imaging technique or xe2x80x9cspin-warpxe2x80x9d technique. This technique is discussed in an article entitled xe2x80x9cSpin-Warp NMR Imaging and Applications to Human Whole-Body Imagingxe2x80x9d, by W. A. Edelstein et al., Physics in Medicine and Biology, Vol. 25, p. 751-756 (1980). It employs a variable amplitude phase encoding magnetic field gradient pulse prior to the acquisition of NMR signals to phase encode spatial information in the direction of this gradient. In a two-dimensional implementation (2DFT), for example, spatial information is encoded in one direction by applying a phase encoding gradient (Gy) along that direction, and then a signal is acquired in the presence of a readout magnetic field gradient (Gx) in a direction orthogonal to the phase encoding direction. The readout gradient present during the spin-echo acquisition encodes spatial information in the orthogonal direction. In a typical 2DFT pulse sequence, the magnitude of the phase encoding gradient pulse Gy is incremented (xcex94Gy) in the sequence of views that are acquired during the scan. In a three-dimensional implementation (3DFT) a third gradient (Gz) is applied before each signal readout to phase encode along the third axis. The magnitude of this second phase encoding gradient pulse Gz is also stepped through values during the scan. These 2DFT and 3DFT methods sample k-space in a rectilinear pattern.
To enhance the diagnostic capability of MRA a contrast agent such as gadolinium can be injected into the patient prior to the MRA scan. As described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,213 the trick with this contrast enhanced (CE) MRA method is to acquire the central k-space views at the moment the bolus of contrast agent is flowing through the vasculature of interest. Collection of the central lines of k-space during peak arterial enhancement is key to the success of a CEMRA exam. If the central lines of k-space are acquired prior to the arrival of contrast, severe image artifacts can limit the diagnostic information in the image. Alternatively, arterial images acquired after the passage of the peak arterial contrast are sometimes obscured by the enhancement of veins. In many anatomic regions, such as the carotid or renal arteries, the separation between arterial and venous enhancement can be as short as 6 seconds.
The short separation time between arterial and venous enhancement dictates the use of acquisition sequences of either low spatial resolution or very short repetition times (TR). Short TR acquisition sequences severely limit the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the acquired images relative to those exams in which longer TRs are possible. The rapid acquisitions required by first pass CEMRA methods thus impose an upper limit on either spatial or temporal resolution.
Successful CEMRA of the abdomen requires that the scan be completed in a single breath-hold to limit respiratory artifacts. In conventional xe2x80x9cFourierxe2x80x9d imaging, images of high resolution and large field-of-view (FOV) can be acquired quickly in the readout gradient direction, but spatial resolution and FOV in the other two dimensions are proportional to the number of phase encoded views acquired. Clinical MRA of the abdomen relies on a scout scan to properly identify a very limited region of interest, which is then acquired with non-isotropic resolution. This method increases the time and skill necessary to perform the exam. In addition, the non-isotropic resolution and the limited FOV of the acquired images can also restrict the possibilities for post-processing the data set.
As indicated above, the acquisition of MRA data is timed such that the central region of k-space is acquired as the bolus of contrast agent arrives in the arteries of interest. The ability to time the arrival of contrast varies considerably and it is helpful in many applications to acquire a series of MRA images in a dynamic study which depicts the separate enhancement of arteries and veins. A temporal series of images is also useful for observing delayed vessel filling patterns caused by disease. This requirement has been partially addressed by acquiring a series of time resolved images using a 3D xe2x80x9cFourierxe2x80x9d acquisition as described by Korosec F., Frayne R, Grist T., Mistretta C., xe2x80x9cTime-Resolved Contrast-Enhanced 3D MR Angiographyxe2x80x9d, Magn. Reson. Med. 1996; 36:345-351 and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,358. However, with this method, the increased sampling rate of the center of k-space reduces the spatial resolution of the individual images in the time resolved series to about 75% of the resolution obtained when a single timed image is acquired during the passage of contrast.
There has been extensive recent work using multiple receiver coil arrays to increase imaging speed. In the SMASH technique described by Griswold, et al., xe2x80x9cSimultaneous Acquisition Of Spatial Harmonics (SMASH)xe2x80x9d Magnetic Resonance In Medicine 1999, Jun; 41(6):1235-45, multiple coils are carefully positioned in one of the Fourier phase encoding directions. Using knowledge of the coil sensitivities non-acquired phase encodings can be synthesized, thus increasing the rate at which images of a given resolution can be acquired, or increasing the resolution of images acquired at the same rate.
Another technique that can utilize arbitrary configurations of receiver coils is the SENSE technique described by Pruessmann et al., xe2x80x9cCoil Sensitivity Encoding For Fast MRIxe2x80x9d, MRM 42:952-962 (1999). This technique can be viewed as a method for exploiting the benefits of small FOV imaging while imaging a large FOV. Basically, large phase encoding steps corresponding to a small FOV are used. This causes aliasing of signals from outside the supported FOV into the small supported FOV. The signal received by each of the receiver coils corresponding to overlapping aliased voxels in the image is a linear sum of the signals emanating from these voxels multiplied by the coil sensitivity for each of the voxels. By solving the linear equations provided by n receiver coils, n overlapping voxels can be separated, providing a maximum gain in speed by a factor of n. In practice the gain in speed is usually limited to a factor of two to three because of limitations set by the coil sensitivity profiles and noise considerations.
The SMASH and SENSE methods are characterized by a factor R representing the speed increase on the order of 2 to 3 for a given resolution and a factor g, on the order of 1-1.2 representing the increase in noise beyond what would be expected for a given imaging time.
There has also been recent work using projection reconstruction methods for acquiring MRA data. Projection reconstruction methods have been known since the inception of magnetic resonance imaging. Rather than sampling k-space in a rectilinear scan pattern as is done in Fourier imaging and shown in FIG. 2, projection reconstruction methods sample k-space with a series of views that sample radial lines extending outward from the center of k-space as shown in FIG. 3. The number of views needed to sample k-space determines the length of the scan and if an insufficient number of views are acquired, streak artifacts are produced in the reconstructed image.
Efforts have been made to acquire CEMRA images in shorter scan times using undersampled projection reconstruction scanning methods. A method for reducing the number of projections in a 3D acquisition by a factor of two has been reported by F. Boada, J. Christensen, J. Gillen, and K. Thulborn, xe2x80x9cThree-Dimensional Projection Imaging With Half The Number Of Projectionsxe2x80x9d, MRM 37:470-477 (1997). In this method the acquisition is considered to occur over the upper and lower halves of a sphere using partial echoes. The projections associated with the lower half of the sphere are situated at angles intermediate between those of the upper half. A half Fourier algorithm is used to synthesize the data from the missing part of each echo, thus filling in the intermediate data in each hemisphere. This technique is not really undersampling, but instead, provides the missing data through a valid synthesis of the missing echo data. However, it does provide a factor of two increase in scanning speed relative to a 3D projection reconstruction sequence employing full echoes at all projection angles.
The present invention is an improved CEMRA method which employs a three-dimensional projection reconstruction method for sampling k-space. It has been discovered that the periphery of k-space can be substantially undersampled when using a 3D projection reconstruction technique for acquiring CEMRA data. Artifacts which are to be expected in the reconstructed images are surprisingly unobtrusive and undersampling by factors far in excess of 2 results in the acquisition of clinically useful images in less scan time.
Another aspect of the invention is the use of a 3D projection reconstruction acquisition method for the acquisition of a series of images in a dynamic CEMRA study. The acquisition of each image frame in the series can be shortened by undersampling the periphery of k-space. This undersampling increases the time resolution of the dynamic study without a loss in image resolution.
Yet another aspect of the present invention is a method for removing artifacts from images acquired in a dynamic CEMRA study using an undersampled, 3D, projection reconstruction acquisition. Successive image frames in the dynamic study are acquired with a different set of projection angles, or views. These are combined to form an image data set that completely samples k-space. Each set of projection views undersamples the peripheral region of k-space, but a complete image data set can be formed by combining peripheral k-space data acquired during adjacent image frames with the central region and peripheral region k-space samples at the desired time during the study.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which there is shown by way of illustration a preferred embodiment of the invention. Such embodiment does not necessarily represent the full scope of the invention, however, and reference is made therefore to the claims herein for interpreting the scope of the invention.

Magnetic resonance angiography using undersampled 3D projection imaging


An antenna apparatus for use in a portable cellular telephone that can avoid deterioration in signal radiation characteristics caused by the adverse influence of a user's head during the use of the telephone. Two sleeves have been fixed to a housing for a portable cellular telephone. A linear radiating conductor having a .lambda./4-electrical length is slidably supported by the housing by way of the two sleeves so that it can be both freely pulled out of or accommodated in the housing. The radiating conductor is extended at one end on the side of the power-feed point by a length equivalent to n.lambda./2. Also, a tubular conductor is coaxially disposed with the extended portion so as to form a power-feed coaxial line. When the radiating conductor is pulled out of the housing to such a degree as to reveal the coaxial line, the monopole antenna projects sufficiently away from a user's head, and a deterioration in signal radiation characteristics can thus be prevented.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an antenna apparatus and a portable radio apparatus suitable for, for example, portable cellular telephones.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a typical conventional portable cellular telephone, as illustrated in FIG. 1, openings 12h and 13h for a receiver (speaker) and a transmitter (microphone), respectively, are provided on the front surface 10f of a telephone housing 10. Also, disposed on the front surface 10f are dial keys 14 and various types of function control keys 15. A liquid crystal display 16 is further located at the central portion of the front surface 10f.
An arcuate projection 10c is formed on the upper left end of the housing 10 so that the housing 10 can be prevented from be dropped during use. A function-controlling operational knob 17 is disposed in the vicinity of the projection 10c. The user holds the housing 10 with his/her left hand and moves the peripheral end of the knob 17 upward or downward with the thumb so as to rotate the knob 17 clockwise or counterclockwise. A flexible monopole antenna, a so called whip antenna 18, having a length equal to one fourth of the wavelength .lambda. of the transmitting and receiving frequency, is mounted on the top surface 10t of the housing 10 in such a manner that it can be accommodated in the housing 10. The whip antenna 18 can be pulled out of the housing 10 to use the cellular telephone.
However, when the whip antenna 18 is accommodated within the housing 10, the input impedance increases, since the whip antenna is located near a ground conductor. It is thus difficult to achieve impedance matching. The increased input impedance seriously decreases the antenna gain due to impedance mismatching.
One of the measures to improve the antenna gain when the movable whip antenna is stored within the housing is to use a top-load whip antenna obtained by directly connecting a helical antenna having an electrical length substantially equivalent to one fourth of the wavelength (.lambda./4) to the forward end of a monopole antenna. In this type of antenna, when the whip antenna is pulled out of the housing, power is supplied to the base end of the whip antenna through a fixed feeder contact point so that it is operable as a single antenna formed of a combination of the helical portion and the monopole portion. When the whip antenna is accommodated within the housing, on the other hand, power is supplied to the forward end of the antenna to principally operate the helical portion, thereby obtaining a satisfactory level of the gain.
When the top-load whip antenna constructed as described above is stored in the housing, the monopole portion, which does not contribute to radiation, disadvantageously serves as an open stub, which produces an adverse influence on the input impedance of the antenna, thereby disturbing the impedance matching. An undesired electrical connection is also caused between the monopole portion and a high-frequency circuit.
To further overcome the drawbacks caused when the above type of top-load whip antenna is stored within the housing, another type of antenna has come into use: that is, a composite antenna in which the helical portion and the monopole portion are mechanically connected but electrically separated from each other when accommodated within the housing.
An example of a conventional complex antenna construction will now be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. A tubular antenna-mounting sleeve 101 is attached to a synthetic-resin-formed housing 10 for a portable radio by such means as insert-molding. A tubular antenna-supporting sleeve 102 is fit into the sleeve 101 by such means as a screw thread. A circuit board (printed board) 21 is arranged within the housing 10. Mounted on the circuit board 21 are the circuits required for this portable telephone, such as a transmitting circuit (receiving circuit) represented by a signal source 22, a matching circuit 23, and the like. A power-feed spring 24 is connected to the matching circuit 23 and is also in contact with the antenna-mounting sleeve 101.
The composite antenna apparatus comprises a helical antenna structure 30 and a monopole (whip) antenna structure 40. The helical antenna structure 30 is largely formed of a helical conductor 31 having a substantially .lambda./4 electrical length. The conductor 31 is wound at one end around the top portion of a support conductor 32 having a T-shaped cross section, and is completely stored in the longitudinal direction in a protective casing 33 formed of a required insulating material. The monopole antenna structure 40 is also primarily formed of a linear conductor 41 having a substantially .lambda./4 electrical length. The overall structure 40 is substantially covered with an appropriate dielectric layer 42 in the longitudinal direction. The conductor 41 is mechanically connected at its top end to a tubular separator 51 formed of a required insulating material. The conductor 41 is connected at its bottom end to a tubular support conductor 43. A larger stopper sleeve 44 is further coupled to the bottom end of the support conductor 43.
The top end of the separator 51 of the monopole antenna structure 40 is mechanically coupled to the bottom end of the support conductor 32 of the helical antenna structure 30, whereby the helical antenna structure 30 and the monopole antenna structure 40 can be mechanically integrated to each other.
The diameters of the support conductors 32 and 43 of the helical antenna structure 30 and the monopole antenna structure 40, respectively, are set to equal the internal diameter of the antenna-supporting sleeve 102. The support conductors 32 and 43 are slidably held by the sleeve 102. With this construction, as illustrated in FIG. 2, when the linear conductor 41 is pulled out of the housing 10, the support conductor 43 of the monopole antenna structure 40 becomes engaged with the supporting sleeve 102 so as to supply power to the conductor 41 from the signal source 22 through the matching circuit 23, the power-feed spring 24 and the sleeve 101 whereby the linear conductor 41 can serve as a radiating conductor.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, when the conductor 41 is stored within the housing 10, the support conductor 32 of the helical antenna structure 30 comes into contact with the supporting sleeve 102 so that power can be supplied to the helical conductor 31 from the signal source 22 in a manner similar to the operation described above. The helical conductor 31 can thus function as a radiating conductor.
An explanation will further be given of another example of conventional composite antenna construction. In this example shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the support conductor 32r of the helical antenna structure 30 is formed in a ring-like shape and mounted on the top ends of the sleeve 101 and the supporting sleeve 102 of the housing 10 across a spacer 103 formed of an insulating material. The helical antenna structure 30 can thus be secured to the housing 10. An opening 33o is provided in the top surface of the protective casing 33. On the other hand, a tubular connecting conductor 52 is coupled to the top end of the separator 51 connected to the top end of the conductor 41 of the monopole antenna structure 40. A member 53 doubling as a stopper and a knob formed of a required insulating material and having a T-shaped cross section is further coupled to the top end of the connecting conductor 52.
The diameters of the support conductor 43 of the monopole antenna structure 40 and the connecting conductor 52 are determined to be equal to the internal diameter of the antenna-supporting sleeve 102. The support conductor 43 and the connecting conductor 52 are slidably held by the sleeve 102.
One end of the monopole antenna structure 40 is inserted into the protective casing 33 of the helical antenna structure 30 through the opening 33o so that it can be disposed coaxially with the helical antenna structure 30 while being mechanically independent. The other elements of the apparatus are constructed in a manner similar to those shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.
Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 4, when the linear conductor 41 is withdrawn from the housing 10, the support conductor 43 of the monopole antenna structure 40 is brought into contact with the support sleeve 102. This allows power to be supplied to the conductor 41 from the signal source 22 through the matching circuit 23, the power-feed spring 24 and the antenna-mounting sleeve 101, whereby the conductor 41 can serve as a radiating conductor. In contrast, as illustrated in FIG. 5, when the conductor 41 is stored within the housing 10, the support conductor 32r of the helical antenna structure 30 becomes engaged with the supporting sleeve 102 across the connecting conductor 52. Thus, power is supplied to the helical conductor 31 from the signal source 22 through the matching circuit 23, the power-feed spring 24 and the sleeves 101 and 102 so that the conductor 31 can function as a radiating conductor.
In the field of mobile communications, the number of available frequencies is decreasing due to improvements in the quality of communications and an increase in the capacity of lines. This necessitates the use of a frequency band exceeding 1 GHz. In response to such a high-frequency band, for example, 1.9 GHz, the length of the above-described monopole antenna having a .lambda./4-electrical length is required to be about 4 cm. Even though it is pulled out of a cellular telephone, such a short monopole antenna is too short to project sufficiently away from a user's body, in particular, the user's head. This adversely affects the radiation characteristics of the antenna, such as a resulting decrease in the antenna gain. Further, the .lambda./4-electrical-length helical antenna has a shorter axial length than the monopole antenna. The above-described adverse influence caused by a user's head is thus accentuated, thereby further reducing antenna radiation characteristics to a greater level.

Antenna apparatus and portable radio apparatus


Embodiments of the invention are used to customize a graphical user interface (GUI) that represents the view in a Model/View/Controller architecture. The model contains an application""s data and one or more structural components that are used to identify the GUI components of the view. A factory builds the GUI using characteristics of the structural components to identify a set of GUI components to create the view.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates graphical user interfaces, and, more specifically to the generation of components of a graphical user interface.
2. Background Art
A software application typically includes a graphical user interface (GUI) for displaying the application""s output and receiving user input that consists of GUI components. Examples of GUI component types include menu, scroll bar, text field, button, check box, list, and label. There are a number of software vendors that have developed GUI libraries that consist of software modules that implement GUI components. Mechanisms are provided to access a GUI library to incorporate the desired GUI component from the library for use with the software application to generate a piece of the application""s GUI. The mechanisms currently available for accessing a vendor""s GUI library limit the application developer to one GUI library. That is, it is impossible to intermingle one vendor""s GUI components with another vendor""s GUI components. Further, it is impossible to customize an application""s GUI by replacing one component of the GUI with another GUI component.
One technique, or mechanism, that has been used in the object-oriented environment for accessing a vendor""s GUI library is referred to as the factory technique. A factory creates or produces objects at runtime. The factory technique is described below with reference to an abstract factory. implementation and a factory method implementation. Neither the abstract factory nor the factory method implementations allow a software application to intermingle GUI components from different vendor""s GUI libraries.
Abstract Factory
An abstract factory is implemented in an object-oriented environment using factory and product abstract classes that define the operations or methods to be implemented by their concrete subclasses. The factory includes methods that are used to create an instance of a product concrete subclass. A product concrete subclass is a specific GUI component and includes the GUI component""s operations.
An abstract factory can be used, for example, to allow an application developer to write a software application that contains references to the GUI components of a generic GUI library. At run time, the GUI library is specified and the GUI component references are resolved to refer to GUI components in the specified GUI library. Using this technique, a software application can be written to use one GUI library""s GUI components (e.g., Motif GUI components) in one runtime environment and another GUI library""s GUI components (e.g., Presentation Manager GUI components) in another runtime environment.
To instantiate Motif""s scroll bar without using the abstract factory technique, the following C++ code can be used:
(1) ScrollBar* sb=new MotifScrollBar;
The above code statement is not advantageous because it hard-codes the Motif standard into the application. Instead, the following code can be used to create a scroll bar GUI component:
(2) ScrollBar* sb=guiFactoryxe2x88x92 greater than CreateScrollBar( );
In this case, guiFactory can be an instance of either the MotifFactory or the PMFactory concrete class both of which are subclasses of a GUIFactory abstract class. FIG. 1 provides an example of the abstract product classes and concrete subclasses used in the abstract factory design pattern. There are three abstract classes, GUIFactory 102, Menu 112 and ScrollBar 122. Since they are abstract classes, they are not instantiated at runtime.
GUIFactory 102 is an abstract class that specifies methods for creating GUI components (e.g. scroll bar, window, and button) such as the CreateMenu and CreateScrollBar methods. GUIFactory 102 is referred to as a factory because it specifies methods for producing objects. Subclasses of GUIFactory 102 define a specific implementation of the methods defined by GUIFactory 102. Two subclasses of GUIFactory 102 which are concrete factories (i.e., create concrete product objects) are MotifFactory 104 and PMFactory 106. MotifFactory 104 provides a Motif-specific implementation of the same method in GUIFactory 102. PMFactory 106 defines a Presentation Manager-specific implementation of the method.
One of the concrete factories is instantiated at runtime based on the look-and-feel standard that is specified (e.g., as a runtime parameter). If, for example, the look-and-feel standard is determined at runtime to be Motif, an instance of MotifFactory is instantiated. The second code statement provided above would have the effect of invoking the CreateScrollBar method or operation of the MotifFactory object which would create a scroll bar having the Motif look-and-feel.
The other two abstract classes, Menu 112 and ScrollBar 122 define the methods that are implemented by a concrete subclass. For example, MotifMenu 114 and PMMenu 116 define specific implementations of the Popup operation defined by Menu 112 based on their respective look-and-feel standards. Similarly, the ScrollTo operation defined in the Scroll Bar 122 abstract class is implemented by MotifScrollBar 124 and PMScrollBar 126. In the above example, the second code statement would invoke the CreateScrollBar method of MotifFactory 104 that would result in the creation of an instance of MotifScrollBar 124.
The abstract factory uses factory and product abstract classes to define the methods that are implemented by their respective concrete classes. An application does not directly instantiate classes. Instead, objects can be instantiated indirectly as illustrated by the second code statement. The application effectively uses a pointer to the object to be instantiated that is resolved at runtime.
The abstract factory mechanism thereby eliminates the situation where the application is forced to use one look-and-feel standard or another. However, the application must select one look-and-feel standard and use only that standard""s GUI components. It is not possible, for example, to have both a scroll bar that has the Motif look-and-feel (i.e., MotifScrollBar 124) and PM scroll bar (i.e., PMScrollBar 126) GUI component in the same application using the abstract factory mechanism. Further, all of the classes are defined for the application prior to runtime. Thus, it is not possible to modify the class architecture by inserting, for example, new subclasses of Menu 112 or ScrollBar 122 at runtime.
Factory Method
In the abstract factory approach, a factory object is instantiated that knows the type of product objects that can be constructed. The product object""s constructor is used to construct the product object. Another factory mechanism that has the same drawbacks as the abstract factory is referred to as a Factory Method. The Factory method is implemented by specifying in the abstract object a call to a method that creates the product instead of calling a constructor. The function that creates the product object is referred to as a factory method because it xe2x80x9cmanufacturesxe2x80x9d (or creates) the product object. The factory method is used instead of a constructor to create a product object. FIG. 2 provides an example of a factory method class architecture.
The architecture in FIG. 2 illustrates a framework that produces GUI components from a vendor""s GUI library of GUI components. There are two abstract classes, an abstract creator class (i.e., GUI 202) and an abstract product class (GUIComponent 212). GUI 202 includes a factory method declaration (i.e., createUI). However, GUI 202 does not know what type of product it should create (i.e., GUI 202 cannot call a constructor method for MotifComponent 214 or PMComponent 216).
The factory method of GUI 202 is redefined in two concrete creator object subclasses of application 202 (i.e., MotifUI 204 and PMUI 206). MotifUI 204 defines a createUIComponent factory method to create an instance of MotifComponent 214. Similarly, PMUI 206 defines a createUIComponent factory method to create an instance of PMComponent 216.
Like the abstract factory, the factory method mechanism requires that the creator and product classes be defined and known prior to runtime. That is, the class architecture is known and defined prior to runtime. It is not possible, for example, to modify the class architecture by inserting a new subclass of the abstract creator or product classes (i.e., GUI 202 and GUIComponent 212).
In both the factory method and abstract factory approaches, a factory produces a GUI from a single vendor""s GUI library. Therefore, a GUI produced by a traditional factory has a single look-and-feel. Therefore, an application that uses the traditional factory approach to generate its GUI is limited to a GUI that has a single look-and-feel. For example, a GUI that is produced by concrete factory 104 has a Motif look-and-feel while concrete factory 106 produces a Presentation Manager look-and-feel. Similarly, in the factory method approach, a concrete creator (e.g., MotifUI 204 or PMUI 206) that is used to create a GUI creates a GUI components from a single look and feel. For example, the createUIComponent method of MotifUI 204 creates a MotifComponent 214. FIG. 3 illustrates the traditional factory approach.
Application environment 306 contains GUI 332 that was created by traditional factory 302. Factory 302 contains a look-and-feel that is generated by view components Va1-Van of GUI library 312. Therefor, GUI 332 offers a single look-and-feel. Similarly, application environment 304 contains GUI 324 created by factory 302. GUI 324 has a single look-and-feel that is generated by view components Vb1-Vbn of GUI library 312. It is not possible for GUI 332 or GUI 324 to contain a scroll bar GUI component having a Motif look-and-feel and a scroll bar GUI component having a PM look-and-feel in the same application using the factory method mechanism.
Further, GUIs 332 and 324 are static implementations that are woven into an application""s program code. Unless the application""s program code is modified, GUIs 332 and 324 provide the same look-and-feel each time the application program is invoked. One example of such an application is the Explorer in Microsoft""s Windows 95 product. A tree control is provided in the Explorer that allows the user to browse files, etc. Each node of the tree is comprised of an icon and a label. The icon and the text of the label can be changed. However, it would be necessary to modify the program code to change the look-and-feel for a node of the tree. For example, without modifying the program code, it is not possible to provide a GUI in which a node can either use the standard look-and-feel (i.e., an icon and a label) or adopt a new look-and-feel (e.g., button that lauches an application, a GUI component that provides a preview of the item to which the tree node is associated by displaying text, or playing a video clip, or displaying a picture).
Model View Control Paradigm
In the Smalltalk-80 programming language, a mechanism is used to implement graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that is referred to as Model/View/Controller or MVC. In MVC, the functions performed in conjunction with a GUI are split into separate programming modules, or objects. FIG. 4 provides an illustration of the objects in the MVC paradigm.
Model 404 is the application object. Model 404 is, for example, a clock application that keeps track of a time by updating an internal record of time every second. View 406 implements the screen representation portion of the GUI. For example, view 406 can be comprised of a digital clock GUI component that displays a digital readout of the time maintained by model 404. Controller 402 provides the mechanism for responding to input received via the GUI. View 406 uses Controller 402 to implement its response strategy.
Controller 402 receives and interprets input such as a mouse click or keyboard input. For example, if controller 402 interprets keyboard input as a value to be used to reset the clock, it calls a method (e.g., setTime) of Model 404 to change the internal record of time stored by Model 404. Controller 402 might send a change message directly to view 406 even though the model hasn""t changed. For example, controller 402 may interpret user input as a request to reorder a list displayed by view 406. In this case, controller 402 sends the reformat message to view 406 to resort the list.
When a change is made to the model such as in the case of the setTime operation, the change must be sent to view 406. A subscribe/notify protocol is implemented between model 404 and view 406. View 406 invokes the attach method of model 404 to register as being xe2x80x9cinterestedxe2x80x9d in the data maintained by model 404. Whenever the data in model 404 changes, model 404 notifies view 406. View 406 invokes the retrieveTime method of model 404 to retrieve the changed data and then displays the modifications. View 406 can send a detach message to model 404 to discontinue notifications from model 404.
In the SmallTalk paradigm, view 406 comprises an integral set of GUI components that includes a specific clock display GUI component (e.g., digital display GUI component). It is not possible to modify the integral set of GUI components to replace the clock display GUI component without modifying the program code that implements view 406. Thus, it is not possible to plug in an analog clock display GUI component to replace the digital display without modifying the program code that implements view 406.
Embodiments of the invention are used to customize a graphical user interface (GUI) that represents the view in a Model/View/Controller architecture. The model contains an application""s data and one or more structural components that are used to identify the GUI components of the view. A factory builds the GUI using characteristics of the structural components to identify a set of GUI components to create the view.
The factory can build a view using GUI components from multiple look-and-feel standards (e.g., Motif, Presentation Manager, Microsoft Windows, or Macintosh). A GUI component can be added to the set of GUI components known to the factory. The factory is instructed to use a GUI component for a given characteristic of a structural component.
In an embodiment of the invention, object-oriented programming is used. The model, view, controller and factory are implemented as software modules known as objects that include methods for performing logical functionality. The model has a document object that includes methods for modifying the application data contained in the model and notifying the view when a modification has occurred. The structural components of the model are implemented as an Element object class that represents a subset of a structural tree defined by the model""s structural components. An element includes methods for traversing the tree and retrieving information about the tree. An attributes object class stores the characteristics associated with a structural element, or the model as a whole.
The view is comprised of a plurality of instances of a view fragment object class that implement GUI components. The factory includes methods for creating a view fragment instance using the attributes of an element of the model. A create method of the factory is invoked for a given element. The factory can query the element to retrieve its attributes. The factory uses the element""s attributes to identify the GUI component object class to instantiate as a view fragment of the view.
The create method of the factory can be invoked by the view. For example, the create method can be invoked by a view fragment of the view to create other view fragments for the view. A view fragment may delegate to a child view fragment. The view fragment can invoke the factory to create the child view fragment. Thus, the view builds a structure comprised of view fragments. Since the view structure is created by the view, its structure can be different than the model structure. Further, the model is unaware of the structure of the view.
A view fragment includes methods for managing its portion of the GUI. In addition, a view fragment can be queried to determine the structural element to which it is mapped and the document associated with the view in which the view fragment is created. A change in the model can cause a change in the GUI. Additional view fragments can be added to the view as a result of a change in the model, for example. The view fragment includes methods for receiving a notification of a change in the model.
Model change notification is performed in embodiments of the invention using a listener object and a documentEvent object. The documentEvent includes information about the change (e.g., the name of the document that changed, the area of the document that changed and the edit history). The notification message that is sent to a view fragment contains the documentEvent.
The listener includes methods for forwarding a change notification that it receives from the model the view fragments contained in the view. To receive a notification from the model, the listener registers with the model. To discontinue receiving notifications, the listener can request the model to remove it from the models set of listeners.
The listener forwards a change notification to a parent view fragment. The parent view fragment determines whether any of its child view fragments are affected by the change. If so, the parent forwards the change notification to the child view fragment. The child view fragment is passed to the factory to use if the child view fragment needs to create a new view fragment.

Method and apparatus for generating a graphical user interface


A correlation interferometric spectroscopy devices are described that detect the spectral characteristics of a sample wherein device consists of an electromagnetic radiation source for exciting a sample with photons; and a detector adapted to detect an arrival time of a photon at the detector and further adapted to detect a delay between the arrival time of different photons. The device may further consist of an autocorrelator adapted to analyze the between the arrival of photons at the detector. The device may also be used together with other spectral detection and characterizing systems, such as Raman spectroscopy and attenuated total reflectance spectroscopy. Also provided herein are methods, systems, and kits incorporating the correlation interferometric spectroscopy device.

Interferometers, as used in spectroscopy, are instruments that require a high degree of precision in manufacture. They must be assembled and maintained with accuracies of a small fraction of a wavelength. While such tolerances are routine in optomechanics today, it is expensive to build an instrument that requires such tight tolerance, especially if one or more components must move while holding this accuracy, as is the case with a scanning Michelson or Fabry-Perot interferometer. In the Michelson interferometer (or any two-beam interferometer) the delay between photons is changed by scanning a moving mirror in one leg of the interferometer. In correlation interferometry, the delay between two correlated photons is measured directly with very fast electronics.
Other concepts relating to correlation interferometer spectroscopy and interferometric spectroscopy in general are disclosed in, U.S. Pat. No. 6,504,614 to Messerschmidt et al. for Interferometer Spectrometer with Reduced Alignment Sensitivity; U.S. Pat. No. 7,324,210 to De Groot for Scanning Interferometry for Thin Film Thickness and Surface Measurements; U.S. Pat. No. 7,321,431 to De Groot for Method and System for Analyzing Low-Coherence Interferometry Signals for Information about Thin Film Structures; U.S. Pat. No. 7,315,382 to De Groot for Interferometry Method for Ellipsometry, Reflectometry, and Scatterometry Measurements, including Characterization of Thin Film; U.S. Pat. No. 7,304,745 to Towers et al. for Phase Measuring Method and Apparatus for Multi-Frequency Interferometry; U.S. Pat. No. 7,280,224 to Hill et al. for Interferometry Systems and Methods of Using Interferometry Systems; U.S. Pat. No. 7,280,223 to Hill et al. for Interferometry Systems and Methods of Using Interferometry Systems; U.S. Pat. No. 7,251,041 to Hill for Spatial Filtering in Interferometry; U.S. Pat. No. 7,139,081 to De Groot et al for Interferometry Method for Ellipsometry, Refectometry, and Scatterometry Measurements, including Characterization of Thin Film Structures; US 2007/0103694 to Kato for Interferometry System; US 2001/0042831 to Wood et al. for Photon Detector; US 2007/0041011 to Hayden et al. for Fast Time-Correlated Multi-Element Photon Detector and Method; US 2004/0178348 to Wainer et al. for Pixelated Photon Detector.
One way to overcome the intricacies of interferometers is to make the precision components "solid state" or "monolithic." If this can be achieved, an instrument with such components will be more rugged. For example, to achieve this, Fabry-Perot interferometers sometimes have novel scanning mechanisms. One scanning or tuning approach is to vary the refractive index of the material in the interferometer cavity. This has been done both with liquid crystal materials, and by changing the pressure of a gas in the cavity. Another way to overcome this dilemma is to eliminate the use of optics entirely. Correlation phenomena happen routinely, as light waves of sufficient coherence interact with each other. No special optical instruments are really needed to detect these effects. In any interference spectroscopy, the delay between two photon paths must be measured or varied. Table 1 lists the measurements that can be made, and how those measurements can be used or applied.
TABLE 1MEASUREDDERIVEDPARAMETERPARAMETERAPPLICATIONSFringe PositionMean phaseLength standardsdifferenceLength comparisonMachine controlRefractometryvelocity of lightPhase variationsMicrotopographyOptical testingFringe VisibilitySpectrum sourceProfile ofsymmetrical linesSpatial distributionStellar diametersat sourceFull IntensitySpectrum of SourceDirect interferenceDistributionspectroscopy(position andFourier spectroscopyvisibility)Spatial distributionOptical transferat sourcefunction hologramGiven this background, there exists a need for a correlation interferometric spectroscopy system that eliminates the need for precision optical components all-together in the attainment of spectra through a process of interference.

Correlation interferometric methods, devices and systems for low cost and rugged spectroscopy


A data marketplace infrastructure allows a data source company or a third party to automate generation of one or more applications in association a data feed. In contrast to custom, manual development of applications, the data marketplace infrastructure constructs applications that suggest applicability to the data feed. Factors suggesting applicability include without limitation similarity of data structures and similarity of subject matter. Based on an applicability determination, patterns of historical visual usage and patterns of historical business logic usage may be used to identify expressions specifying the visuals and business logic that may be copied to and used in a new application in association with the data feed. Furthermore, previewers can provide feedback to help tune which automatically generated applications are maintained in association with the data feed and which are discarded or altered in some way.

Business intelligence (BI) refers to a broad category of applications and technologies for gathering, storing, analyzing, and providing access to data to help information workers (IWs) make better business decisions. BI applications typically address activities such as decision support systems, querying, reporting, online analytical processing (OLAP), statistical analysis, forecasting, and data mining. A variety of data sources may be accessed to provide input data relevant to the objectives of each BI application.
Discovering the data sources capable of providing this relevant input data can be difficult and time-consuming. First, a developer typically visits Web sites of numerous data source companies to determine which of them, if any, offer the relevant data in a package and at a price that meets the developer's needs. Second, upon identifying the appropriate data sources and data offered thereby, the developer purchases the data via separate transactions with each data source company. Third, the companies may deliver the purchased data to the developer in different formats, e.g., via Web service, Microsoft EXCEL® spreadsheet, a DVD of CSV data, XML data, RSS feeds, etc.
Furthermore, the step of determining whether a data source company offers the relevant data is particularly challenging. While a data source company may offer a directory of data feeds and display samples of the data to the developer (e.g., in a chart), such companies do not typically allow a developer to interact with a particular data feed, especially in combination with his or her own data and business logic, until he or she pays for the access. As such, the customer is unable to do a trial run with the data feed to make sure it provides the right data for a desired objective.
Moreover, providing example data-specific applications to attract prospective subscribers to a particular data feed implies a significant development effort by the data source companies. Yet, such companies are typically more skilled in data collection and provisioning than in significant application development efforts.

Automated generation of analytic and visual behavior


A controller updates a partition arrangement table and a backup-disk management table. The controller also creates, in a first disk, a logical memory area for storing a backup directory that has been stored in the first disk and that corresponds to a primary directory stored in a second disk of a processing element in which a failure has occurred.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a technology for backing up and restoring data.
2. Description of the Related Art
A technology for recovering from a failure occurred in a storage device that constitutes an autonomous-distributed storage system has been disclosed. The autonomous-distributed storage system autonomously searches a location to read or write data without using an integrated management server. For example, a technology for recovering from a system failure such as data access failure in an autonomous-distributed storage system is disclosed in, for example, "Implementation of the Fat-Btree on nCUBE3", Ryutaro Hiratsuka, et al., [online], [searched on Sep. 13, 2006], Internet URL: http://yokota-www.cs.titech.ac.jp/˜yokota/papers, dews99-2.PDF. The autonomous-distributed storage system has a directory structure (see FIG. 11) in which a route directory is shared by disks (i.e., disks 1 to 4), while other directories are distributed and held by the respective disks to enable an effective data search.
More specifically, as shown in FIG. 12, if a failure occurs in a storage device 2, a backup directory for the storage device 2 that is stored in a storage device 3 is added to a primary directory of the storage device 3, and a new primary directory is created. A backup directory corresponding to the newly created primary directory of the storage device 3 is stored in a storage device 4, and a backup directory corresponding to a primary directory of a storage device 1 is stored in the storage device 3. Thus, a primary directory of the storage device 2 is restored and data access is enabled.
However, in the conventional technology, if the system is disabled due to a failure, it takes time for the system to be recovered. In other words, the recovery process of the primary directory shown in FIG. 12 requires an amount of time equivalent to that taken to perform a process of actually adding data to the primary directory. Therefore, if a failure such as a storage-device failure occurs in the system, the system requires a considerable amount of time to recover from the disabled state and allow data access.

Storage control apparatus, storage control method, and computer product


A superconducting joint includes a niobium-tin superconducting composite member, a niobium-tin superconducting wire diffusion bonded to the superconducting composite, a spacer diffusion bonded to the superconducting wire, a support diffusion bonded to the spacer and a superconducting member in electrical contact with the superconducting composite. According to the method of the invention, a wire comprising unreacted niobium and tin is machined to form a tapered end having a first tapered surface exposing the wire interior and an opposing surface. A complementary spacer having the taper substantially similar to that of the wire is assembled with the wire so that the tapered wire and the tapered spacer in surface contact with one another such that the spacer occupies the area of the wire removed by machining and the exposed tapered surface remains still exposed. The wire/spacer assembly are positioned between a support plate and a composite member comprising unreacted niobium and tin such that the spacer is in surface contact with the support plate and the wire is in surface contact with the composite member thereby forming an assembled joint. Transverse pressure is applied to the assembled joint and the assembled joint is heated to form a superconducting phase and to diffusion bond the component elements of the assembled joint to one another. Lastly, a superconducting member is brought into electrical contact with an exposed face of the superconducting composite member.

High field superconducting magnets are desired for improved resolution and signal to noise in high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Such high field magnets typically use niobium-tin superconducting material. A niobium-tin wire is wound into a coil in which the component niobium and tin are in the unreacted state. The niobium-tin wire preferably has a rectangular cross section because it provides a higher filling factor for the winding of a superconducting magnet. The coil is heated to approximately 700.degree. C., thereby forming the superconducting intermetallic niobium-tin compound, Nb.sub.3 Sn.
These magnetic coils have two important characteristics: the magnetic field generated in the bore of the magnet has high homogeneity and is highly stable with time. High field stability is achieved by closing the circuit of the magnetic coil so that the current flows in a closed loop without resistance, i.e., is a superconductor. In order that the closed loop of the magnetic coil has no resistance, it is necessary that the joints closing the loop themselves have no resistance. Commonly used methods of preparing superconducting joints in metallic superconductors are inappropriate for use with intermetallic superconductors because the superconducting wire is thereby degraded and resistance is introduced into the loop.
John E. C. Williams et al. in "600 MHz Spectrometer Magnet" (IEEE Trans. Mag. 25(2), 1767 (1989)) have disclosed a superconducting joint as shown in FIG. 1 in which a round end of a niobium-tin wire 10 is diffusion bonded into the interior of a niobium-tin composite 12. The joint is completed by spot welding 13 of a niobium-titanium ribbon 14 to the outer surface of the niobium-tin composite. However, contact between the niobium-tin wire 10 and the niobium-tin composite 12 is not optimal because the area of contact between the wire and the composite is limited to only the perpendicular cross-section of the wire. Furthermore, wire with a rectangular cross-section can not be readily joined using this prior art superconducting joint.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a superconducting joint having superior electrical contact between pairs of superconducting wire in which at least one of the wires contains the superconductor niobium-tin.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a hybrid niobium-tin/niobium-titanium superconducting joint that provides the processing flexibility of niobium titanium alloy with the desired magnetic properties of the niobium tin intermetallic compound.


A cooling water pump for internal combustion engine includes a base and an outer cover forming a water input chamber, an impeller supported on a shaft within said chamber, fed shaft includes a bearing/seal unit mounted within the base and the shaft extended outwardly for connection to the engine. A one-piece, fully enclosed and double shrouded impeller is secured to the shaft. Impeller has a central hub with an outer peripheral concave surface, a bottom convex end wall, vanes are secured to the central portion of the concave wall in the bottom wall and project outwardly therefrom with an outer top shroud. The base has a recess within which the bearing/seal unit is mounted. The recess extends outwardly beyond the outer edge convex wall of the hub from a cooling chamber. The vanes direct a portion of the water flowing through the passageway into the recess for cooling purposes and then back into the radially outer portion of the passageway for discharge with the flowing water into the outlet passageway. The radially inner end of the shroud and outer convex wall overlap each other to form a controlled entrance into the outlet passageway to divert part of the flow into the recess. The invention pertains to a cooling water pump for an internal combustion engine. The pump has a base and a cover that form a water chamber. The chamber includes a one-piece, shrouded impeller secured to a drive shaft driven by the engine. The impeller has a central hub with vanes that project outwardly along with its integral shroud to form a flow passageway to a discharge opening. The base has a recess within which a bearing/seal unit is mounted. The recess extends outwardly beyond the hub to form a cooling passageway to the recess. A portion of the water flowing through the flow passageway is directed into the recess to cool the seal unit, and then back to the flow passageway for discharge. The shroud and hub can overlap to help control the flow to the recess.

This invention relates to a pump impeller for pumping a coolant and particularly for a water pump for cooling an internal combustion engine.
Water pumps for internal combustion engines are well known and are present in the larger internal combustion engines. A widely used water pump generally includes an impeller mounted within a housing. The impeller includes a plurality of spaced vanes secured on a round base. The impeller is secured to a drive shaft and is rotatably mounted within the walls of a pump housing. The housing includes an outer closure wall and a shroud over the outer ends of the impeller vanes. A one-piece fully enclosed and double shrouded impeller has been disclosed. However, the system of manufacture is expensive and involves a complex procedure requiring a special high maintenance die unit with a timed and multiple pull action such as found in a camera shutter. An alternative common impeller is a two-piece assembly in which a separate shroud is attached to the vanes of the impeller by a separate means, such as chemical bonding, sonic welding, or a mechanical connection. A one piece impeller with an integral shroud has been disclosed with a special arrangement and location of the shroud.
The water pumps for internal combustion engines generally operate in a high temperature environment. A seal unit is mounted with a bearing to the shaft at the base of the impeller. Cooling of the seal unit at the connection of the impeller shaft to the pump is significant. This requires special construction of the pump unit to maintain a long life assembly with minimum maintenance.
In summary, the prior art plastic impellers involve costly manufacturing procedures which involve costly equipment and various procedures or the case of forming separate components with separate bonding of the separately bonded areas present areas of possible failure and should provide seal cooling means. The present systems do not therefore provide a structure which permits the manufacture of a relatively simple structure for controlling the volume of water flow and efficient seal cooling.


There is provided an aminoanthryl derivative-substituted pyrene compound represented by the following general formula (1).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an aminoanthryl derivative-substituted pyrene compound, and to an organic light-emitting device using the compound.
2. Related Background Art
An organic light-emitting device is a device which includes a thin film containing a fluorescent organic compound between an anode and a cathode, which generates an exciton from the fluorescent compound by injection of an electron and an electron hole (hole) from each electrode, and which utilizes light to be radiated when the exciton returns to a ground state.
In a study conducted by Eastman Kodak Company in 1987 (Appl. Phys. Lett., 51, 913 (1987)), an anode formed of ITO, a cathode formed of a magnesium-silver alloy, and an electron transport material and a light-emitting material each formed of an aluminum quinolinol complex are used. Further, there is reported light emission of about 1,000 cd/m2 under application of a voltage of about 10 V from a device having a function-separated two-layer structure using a triphenylamine derivative as a hole transport material. Related patent documents include U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,507, U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,432, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,885,211.
Further, light emission in ultraviolet to infrared regions is possible by changing the type of fluorescent organic compound. Recently, various compounds have been studied actively (U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,629, U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,783, U.S. Pat. No. 5,382,477, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H02-247278, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H03-255190, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H05-202356, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H09-202878, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H09-227576).
In addition to the organic light-emitting device using a low molecular weight material as described above, an organic light-emitting device using a conjugated polymer has been reported by a group of Cambridge University (Nature, 347, 539 (1990)). In this report, light emission has been confirmed from a single layer of polyphenylene vinylene (PPV) formed in a coating system. Patents related to an organic light-emitting device using a conjugated polymer include U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,190, U.S. Pat. No. 5,514,878, U.S. Pat. No. 5,672,678, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H04-145192, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H05-247460.
Recently, an organic phosphorescence device using an iridium complex such as Ir(ppy)3 as a light-emitting material has attracted attention and its high luminous efficiency has been reported (Appl. Phys. Lett., 75, 4 (1999)).
Recent advances in organic light-emitting device are remarkable and characteristics of the organic light-emitting device allow formation of a thin and lightweight light-emitting device with high luminance under application of a low voltage, wide range of emission wavelengths, and high-speed response, thereby suggesting the possibility of extensive uses. However, the organic light-emitting device still has many problems in durability such as change over long-term use, and degradation by an atmospheric gas containing oxygen, by moisture, and the like. For application of the organic light-emitting device to a full-color display or the like, blue, green, and red light emissions with extended-life, high conversion efficiency, and high color purity are required under the present circumstances, and various proposals have been made.
An example of a material containing an anthracene ring used for an organic light-emitting device is a phenylanthracene derivative disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H08-012600. In particular, use of a phenylanthracene derivative as a blue light-emitting material or an electron-injection transporting material allows formation of a favorable organic film because of low crystallinity of the phenylanthracene derivative. However, the phenylanthracene derivative has insufficient luminous efficiency and durable life for practical use.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H09-157643 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-072579 disclose an aminoanthracene derivative and a diaminoanthracene derivative, respectively. Those materials are used as light-emitting materials and allow green light emission. However, devices produced by using those materials each have low luminous efficiency and insufficient durable life for practical use.
Japanese Patent No. 3008897 discloses a device using a specific bianthryl compound as a light-emitting material, which allows light emission with high luminance. However, the patent document includes no description of luminous efficiency or durable life.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-008068 discloses a device using a specific anthracene compound containing an olefin site as a light-emitting material, which allows yellow to red light emissions. However, the device has insufficient luminous efficiency for practical use.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-284050 discloses a device containing an anthracene derivative with a specific structure, an electron transport compound, and another fluorescent compound in a light-emitting medium layer, to thereby provide a red light-emitting device with improved reliability. However, the device has insufficient luminous efficiency for practical use, and blue light emission is hardly observed because of a device structure.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-324678 discloses an example of a material containing pyrene substituted into a benzene ring used for an organic light-emitting device, to thereby provide a device with favorable luminous properties and durability. However, the device has low external quantum efficiency, and the patent document includes no specific description of durable life.

Aminoanthryl derivative-substituted pyrene compound and organic light-emitting device

Abstract: The compound is useful as a compound for an organic light-emitting device exhibiting highly pure luminescent color, and an optical output with high efficiency, high luminance, and long life.


A marker assembly adapted for use with an electronic article surveillance (EAS) system, and particularly for use with books to be monitored by an EAS system, includes a flat elongated, marker strip of low coercive force, high permeability ferromagnetic material, adhesive layers carried on both the front and rear surfaces of the marker strip and a release liner which extends along the rear surface of the marker strip, around opposed end margins of the marker, and along the front surface thereof, terminating at the approximate midpoint of the marker strip with opposed, graspable tabs carried clear of the adhesive layer on the front surface. Pulling the opposed tabs away from each other removes the wrapper from the front surface, thereby exposing the adhesive carried on that surface and allowing attachment of the front surface to a selected page of the book. Continued pulling of the tabs detaches the wrapper from the rear surface, exposing the adhesive layer carried by that surface for attachment to the adjacent page of the book.

Theft of books from libraries is an ever increasing problem in terms of expense to the taxpayer and impairment of the information services provided by libraries. In addition, there have been several noted recent instances of theft of relatively rare and valuable books from libraries. With limited resources, libraries cannot afford to lose any books, much less books that are essentially irreplaceable. In the commercial setting, bookstores have an obvious requirement to control shoplifting of expensive inventory, which of necessity is displayed openly and accessibly to both the bona fide patron/customer and the would-be shoplifter.
Electronic article surveillance (EAS) systems for controlling pilferage, especially the unauthorized taking of books from libraries and book stores, are well known. One type of such EAS system employs ferromagnetic markers inserted in the book binding or between two pages of the book. If the article is to be permanently marked to control its passage, such as would be done with a non-circulating reference book, a single-status, non-deactivatable marker will be used. Alternatively, if the article is intended for authorized removal, a deactivatable, dual-status marker will be used. In the latter event, if the marker is not deactivated when the book is properly checked out, the marker will be detected as the book is passed through the interrogation zone of the EAS system. A single status marker would always be so detected. More particularly, the interrogation zone is established by spaced apart detection panels placed across the exits from the library or book store. The panels include field coils for producing an alternating magnetic field across the exits and detector coils for detecting the passage of a marker between the panels.
EAS ferromagnetic markers for use in books typically comprise long, narrow strips that are manually inserted between two pages of the book, close to the binding of the book. Each side of the strip is coated with an adhesive to secure the marker to the book pages. When properly placed in a book, the markers are difficult to visually detect, difficult to remove, and do not detract from the ability of the reader to use and enjoy the book.
The key to proper placement of an EAS marker within a book is proper packaging of the marker such that the marker can be quickly and readily inserted deeply between two pages, as close as possible to the book's binding, for relatively permanent, adhesive retention in such position. As will be appreciated, depending on the stiffness of the book's binding, it can be difficult to locate the EAS marker in the desired position deep between two pages and keep it in that position while exposing the adhesive on the opposing sides of the marker to the two facing pages of the book.
An EAS marker assembly suitable for such book marking has two adhesive release liner strips; one covering the adhesive on each side of the marker. In use, one of the two covering strips is removed, exposing the adhesive on one side of the marker. The other cover strip includes opposed ends that extend beyond the ends of the narrow, elongated marker. The ends can be grasped in opposite hands of the person placing the strip in a book. When properly placed, the adhesive on the exposed side of the marker adheres to a page of the book, close to the book's binding. The second covering strip is then removed, and the adhesive on the second exposed side of the marker adheres to a second page of the book directly opposite the first page.
While use of the marker described above has proven beneficial and has gained wide acceptance, the two-step process of removing the covering strip can prove cumbersome. For instance, removal of the strips generates static electricity, and the strips, once removed from the marker, tend to be attracted to the user's hands and are difficult to dispose of. The disposal nuisance created by the static clinging of the strips to the user's hands is essentially doubled by the use of two separate strips to cover each marker.

Marker assembly for use with an electronic article surveillance system

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


An air compressor has a housing, a battery, a printed circuit board, a switch, an air compressing device and a belt. The housing is composed of a right cover and a left cover. A battery chamber, a printed circuit board chamber and a compressing device chamber are defined between the right and left covers to respectively receive the battery, the printed circuit board and the air compressing device. A baffle is formed in the housing between the printed circuit board chamber and the compressing chamber. The switch is mounted in and exposed from the housing and electrically connected to the printed circuit board. The belt is attached to the housing, such that a user can conveniently and easily carry the air compressor on the user's body to any desired location for use.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air compressor, and more particularly to a portable air compressor that can be conveniently and easily carried to any desired location for use.
2. Description of Related Art
With reference to FIG. 7, an air compressor (60) is used to compress air to a desired high pressure, and the high-pressured air is applied to drive a pneumatic tool. A conventional air compressor (60) substantially comprises a base (not numbered) and a compressing device (not numbered) mounted on the base and for compressing air to a desired high pressure. A hose (62) is attached by one end to a connector of the compressing device and the other end is connected to a pneumatic tool. Accordingly, the high-pressured air is applied to the pneumatic tool through the hose (62).
However, the conventional air compressor (60) has a large volume and a heavy weight, such that to transport the conventional air compressor (60) is very difficult. Therefore, to move the conventional air compressor (60) to another location, such as the second floor or outdoors, is difficult, and the simple though limited solution is a hose (62) with a long length. Therefore, the conventional air compressor (60) is inconvenient in use.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention tends to provide an air compressor to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.