The present invention relates to a method of controlling a message overload in a program of an electronic switching system having a large capacity controlled by a plurality of processors, and more particularly, to a method of controlling a message overload before a resource is requested to an operating program by the program receiving a plurality of messages. The method receives a function request message after setting a counting value for receiving a message, increases a message counter by one every time the function request message is received and then obtains a counted value by the message counter, compares the counted value with a designated threshold value, performs a corresponding specific function to thereby carry out an added job when the counted value is equal to or less than the designated threshold value, and notifies a processor which requested the specific function of a job result, and informing the corresponding processor which requested the specific function of a process impossibility when the counted value is larger than the designated threshold value, thereby generating an alarm indicating an overload state.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of controlling a message overload on a program in a large capacity electronic switching system controlled by a plurality of processors, and more particularly, to a method of controlling a message overload before a resource is requested for an operating program by the program receiving the plurality of messages.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, functions of an electronic switching system are performed according to plural programs of a multiprocessor. Accordingly, an operating resource may be monopolized by a specific program of the plural programs and therefore, a message overload may be generated.
In a telecommunication system, such as a telephone system, a switching network is connected between plural subscribers through plural subscriber connection processors. The switching network is also connected between plural processors which analyze calls from the subscribers and process the calls or connect the calls to additional service devices. If one of the processors receives a plurality of function requests simultaneously from plural subscribers, a system fault due to an overload on the processor receiving the function requests may be generated.
Overloads are known in the art and have been handled by a number of different methods. One such method contemplates rerouting a call when an overload is detected, such as described by Daniel C. Kerrigan, et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,552 entitled Distribution of Calls Among Automatic Call Distributers of a Single Large Customer, and by Mary R. Otto in U.S. Pat. No. 5,299,259 entitled Distributing Calls Over Serving Centers of a Large Customer. A problem is incurred when a call can not be rerouted and, as such, the call is lost.
Another method is discussed by Robert Stockdale in U.S. Pat. No. 4,511,762 entitled Overload Detection and Control System for a Telecommunications Exchange wherein detection of system overload is based upon the time for a central processor to send a responsive message to a line/trunk group, and management of this overload is accomplished by the line/trunk group changing between operational levels in response to the measured time.
A further method includes a counter counting steps and comparing a counted value with a threshold value. Such a method is disclosed by: Robert H. Tickner, et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,5884 entitled Multiple I/O Processor System; Frans van del Dool in U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,043 entitled Method for Transmitting, Via a Plurality of Asynchronously Time-Divided Transmission Channels, a Flow of Data Cells, the State of a Counter Being Kept Up To Date in Accordance With the Number of Data Cells Per Unit of Time; Georg Daisenberger in U.S. Pat. No. 4,626,625 entitled Telecommunications System, Particularly a Telephone Exchange System, Having Overload Protected Sequential Logic Systems; Gerhafd Wegmann in U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,098 entitled Circuit Arrangement for Telecommunications Switching Systems, Particulaly Telephone Switching systtems, Comprising Information-Processing Central Switch Devices and Sub-Central Switching Facilities Which Supply the Same With Information; and Philip M. Williams in U.S. Pat. No. 5,450,483 entitled Method of Controlling Overloads in a Telecommunications Network.

Method of controlling message overload on a program in a plural processor controlled switching system


An apparatus and method for upending an item from a prone-orientation to an upright orientation. Two interconnected conveyors are employed, a first lower conveyor and a second upending conveyor. The lower conveyor includes a series of slats which may be raised to engage one end of an item to be upended. The second conveyor includes a series of spaced rods located to engage the opposite end of the item to be upended. When an item is engaged between a raised slat and a rod, the distance between the slat and rod is retained essentially constant and the rod is raised relative to the slat to upend the item from the prone orientation to an upright orientation.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for upending an item from a prone orientation to an upright orientation, and in particular to an apparatus for continuously upending items of a similar axial length at extremely high speeds and efficiencies, while being readily adjustable to accommodate a large range of different sizes of items to be upended.
In modern packaging machinery, it is often required to upend items from a prone orientation to an upright orientation during the packaging process. Usually upending occurs prior to collating a group of items for further packaging, such as packaging in a container, wrapping the collated items in a plastic film, or otherwise collecting or collating a group of upended items.
Many different types of apparatus have been used in the past for upending. Perhaps the simplest has been a conveyor belt having two levels, where a package will fall from one level to another, and in doing so, be upended due to a combination of the geometry of the belts and gravity. However, such an apparatus requires a very stable package when upended, and tall bottles, rolls o the like cannot readily be upended at high speeds with consistency.
Another type of upender used has been a powered "water wheel", comprising a rotary wheel having a series of slots, each of which accepts an item in the prone orientation at the top of the wheel, and after rotation of the wheel through approximately 90.degree., sets the now-upended item on a conveyor for downstream handling.
All prior apparatus for upending have suffered common disadvantages. Such apparatus is generally a single purpose apparatus, for only one size of package. In the event that a package size change can be accomplished by the apparatus, such change usually requires either the change of a part (such as a new water wheel), or considerable adjustment of parts. Even when adjustments have been possible, the size range of adjustments has been quite small. Finally, generally only one package at a time can be upended due to the geometry of the upending device.
The present invention provides a significant improvement over all prior art upending devices. Not only is the invention a continuous motion device, but also it is able to accommodate a very wide range of sizes of items, and adjustment is accomplished readily by the adjustment of few parts. Furthermore, more than one item may be upended simultaneously, with the number of items being upended limited only by the size of the items in relation to the width of the apparatus of the invention. The invention also accommodates minor variations in package length effectively and without failure, all at extremely high speeds and efficiencies.


A sensor node for intermittently sensing data in a short cycle includes a control unit for acquiring information by driving the sensor, a radio communication unit for transmitting the information acquired by the control unit and a battery for supplying the control unit. The control unit includes a clock supply unit (RTC) for supplying the control unit with clocks at a predetermined frequency. A sensor control unit starts the supply of power to the sensor when the measurement period has begun, maintains the power supply to the sensor even if the control unit has shifted to the standby state during the measurement period, and shuts down the power supply to the sensor when the measurement period has been completed. A measurement unit is also provided for acquiring information from the sensor every time the latter has shifted to the operational state.

In recent years, we have seen efforts to realize a network system (hereinafter referred to as "sensor net") for bringing in various information of the actual world in real time into an information processing device by adding a small electronic circuit having a radio communication function to the sensor. A wide range of application is considered for the sensor net. For example, a proposal for its medical application is the use of a small electronic circuit integrating a radio communication circuit, a processor, a sensor and a battery to constantly monitor biological information such as pulse and the like. The monitor result is transmitted to a diagnosis device by radio communication and it is used to judge the health condition of the user.
In order to promote extensively the actual use of the sensor net, it is important to make the electronic circuit having a radio communication function, a sensor and a power source such as battery (hereinafter referred to as "sensor node") maintenance-free over a long period of time and capable of transmitting continuously sensor data, and to miniaturize its external dimension. For this reason, efforts have been made to develop a miniature sensor node that can be placed anywhere.
In such a sensor node, in order to reduce the power consumption, it has been considered to operate intermittently the sensor, the CPU and the like to restrict the consumption of the battery. As a sensor node having a sensor and a CPU for sensing intermittently, for example the one described in JP-A No. 2005-3229856 is known. In this example, a sensor for collecting the information of a tire state detecting sensor and the like operating intermittently and for transmitting the same by radio communication is disclosed. Based on signals emitted from a constantly operating low-current oscillator, the CPU is started intermittently to supply the sensor and the radio communication unit with power, to enable the sensor to observe and transmit the observation values. And when the transmission of the sensing data is completed, the power supply to the CPU, the sensor and the radio communication unit is cut off.
As a system for cutting down the power consumption of the CPU controlling the sensor, the one that keeps the sensor constantly in operation and switches the CPU from the standby state to the operational state when any sensing data have developed (for example, JP-A No. 2001-59752) is known.


An adhesive roll cleaner having a single-sided adhesive sheet wound around a core tube into a roll with the adhesive side facing out, wherein the adhesive sheet has a tear strength of 500 mN or higher and is wound in such a manner that the adhesive roll cleaner maintains an outer diameter within a range of 22 to 40 mm from start to end of use, and the roll has a width of 180 to 300 mm.

The present invention relates to a roll type adhesive cleaner used to clean carpeted or non-carpeted floors.
Adhesive roll cleaners generally used to clean floors or carpets usually measure 40 mm in minimum diameter, 50 to 60 mm in maximum diameter, and 160 mm in roll width and have about 90 to 100 turns of an adhesive sheet wound around the core. Reference can be made to, e.g., JP-A-2001-383. Because of their outer diameters, adhesive roll cleaners of these sizes are difficult to insert into the clearance under castered furniture such as an upright piano or furniture with a raised base. Where the furniture is placed on a deep pile carpeted floor, the clearance space under the furniture is even narrower. Thus, a user inserts the roll into the space, it is not easy to move the roll cleaner. Therefore, if a user utilizes the roll cleaner in such a space, the furniture must be moved to clean the floor under the furniture, which makes it difficult to give rooms a thorough cleaning.
A reduction of the diameter of the adhesive roll is a conceivable approach to eliminate the above-mentioned inconveniences. However, a reduction of the diameter means a reduction of the adhesive surface area, i.e., the area of a single turn of the adhesive sheet. It thus naturally follows that the frequency of removing a soiled portion of the adhesive sheet increases to an undesirable degree. Further, an adhesive roll cleaner with a reduced diameter tends to collect hair winding in many turns therearound such that a soiled adhesive sheet is apt to be torn apart by the twining hair as it is peeled.


A substrate support for receiving substrates or wafers to be processed and for transporting said substrates or wafers in or through processing installations has universal application, is easily adaptable for specific tasks and is economical in use of material. Within a frame made of longitudinal and transverse supports, a plurality of longitudinal and transverse members are arranged intersecting in a grid-like manner, such that a base grid for directly or indirectly receiving substrates is formed. Both the longitudinal and transverse supports and the longitudinal and transverse members are positively connected to one another.

The invention relates to a substrate support for holding substrates or wafers to be processed and for transporting them in or through process plants.
Substrate supports, which are also referred to as carriers or boats or plasma boats, are used in the semiconductor or photovoltaic industry for transporting substrates or wafers composed of glass, silicon or other materials in or through process plants. Such substrate supports or carriers are necessary in particular if the substrates or wafers are particularly sensitive or particularly thin with a large surface area, such that direct transport thereof, that is to say without using auxiliary means, is not possible because of the risk of damage.
The substrate supports or carriers are usually made of plates provided with additional means for holding, attaching or placing the substrates or wafers.
For example, WO 02/20871 A1 discloses a wafer support/carrier, which is made of a plate having a plurality of mutually adjacent cutouts each for horizontally holding one substrate, the cutouts having only slightly larger dimensions than the substrates. Inside the cutouts are three placement pins, on which the substrates are to be placed. Owing to this three-point placement, the maximum possible electrical contact stability is achieved, as is necessary for plasma processes, e.g. PECVD processes. The plates themselves are composed of graphite, owing to the temperature stability and the necessary electrical conductivity.
The in this case square substrates are fixed in the plane by at least partially dipping into the cutout and are thus fixed in the x and y directions. The cutouts are milled into a solid plate and permit automatic placement of the substrates or wafers.
However, the manufacture of such solid plasma boats is relatively complex due to the mechanical processing required.
A similar construction is disclosed in WO 02/056338 A2. Here, too, a substrate support with depressions, which have been incorporated with as accurate a fit as possible, is used for transporting the horizontally arranged substrates, which substrate support likewise has quite a high mass. The substrate support including the substrates positioned thereon is transported on rolls through a mass tunnel of a process plant, in which mass tunnel HF/VHF electrodes are arranged.
Other materials can of course also be used for the substrate supports, such as CFC/CFRP (carbon-fiber reinforced plastic) or a CF/ceramic matrix, that is to say a high temperature matrix, or else metal.
The use of whole crude plates results in a significant usage of materials and processing outlay and also a relatively large amount of waste. In addition, solid substrate supports are useable with little flexibility, i.e. the substrate supports are useable mostly only for a specific process. This means that a multiplicity of substrate supports must be stocked.
For this reason, substrate supports which are useable as universally as possible or are easily adaptable for concrete tasks would be desirable.


A compact inductor comprises a coil, a coil-burying body, and a body for a closed magnetic circuit. The coil-burying body is a fired porous ceramic body having a first magnetic permeability, in which the coil is buried. In the coil-burying body, “a through-hole 12a passing through inside of the coil along an axis of the coil” is formed. The body for a closed magnetic circuit is a fired dense ceramic body having a second magnetic permeability greater than the first magnetic permeability. The body for a closed magnetic circuit is arranged closely/densely at an outer circumference portion of the coil-burying body and in the through-hole. A magnetic path is therefore formed mainly within the body for a closed magnetic circuit, and the magnetic flux density is reduced in an area close to the coil. Accordingly, an inductor having the excellent superimposed DC current characteristic is provided.

Conventionally, a compact power inductor has been known. The compact power inductor is used for realizing functions such as suppressing noise in a signal, rectification, smoothing signals, for example, in a power supply circuit for semiconductors, and a power circuit such of a DC-DC convertor, and the like. A wirewound inductor and a layered (multi-layer) inductor are known, as such a compact power inductor.
The compact power inductor needs to be compact, and to have a large inductance, a low resistance, and an excellent superimposed DC current characteristic, and so on. It is said that the superimposed DC current characteristic is excellent, if a magnetic saturation does not occur (magnetic permeability in a magnetic path does not become small), and accordingly, its inductance does not decrease, even when a relatively large DC current signal is applied to a coil in addition to an AC current signal (i.e., even when a large superimposed DC current is flowed in the coil).
As shown in FIG. 27 showing a cross sectional view of a conventional wirewound inductor 100, the conventional wirewound inductor 100 includes a core (magnetic core) 101 and a coil (conductive wire) 102. The coil 102 is helically wound around the core 101. When a current is flowed in the coil 102 of the wirewound inductor 100, the magnetic path is formed as shown by a dashed line in FIG. 27. The magnetic path passes through a space. That is, the wirewound inductor 100 has an open magnetic circuit configuration. Accordingly, since the magnetic flux density is hardly excessive and the magnetic saturation scarcely occurs, the superimposed DC current characteristic of the wirewound inductor 100 is therefore relatively good. However, in order to increase the inductance of the wirewound inductor 100, the fine conductive wire 102 needs to be wound around the core 101 with a large number of turns. This causes a problem that the resistance becomes large. Moreover, manufacturing processes for the wirewound inductor 100 are complicated, and there is a limit to downsizing the wirewound inductor 100.
To the contrary, a conventional layered inductor 110, as shown in FIG. 28 showing a perspective view of the inductor 110 and FIG. 29 showing a cross sectional view of the inductor 110, comprises a magnetic body 111, a coil 112 buried in the magnetic body 111, and a pair of electrode terminals 113. The coil 112 is formed of thin plate-like conductors 112a, each of which is formed to have a predetermined shape in each of layers, and conductors 112b in the via holes electrically connecting between the plate-like conductors 112a of the layers in a vertical direction. The pair of electrode terminals 113 are formed at both end portions of the magnetic body 111.
When a current is flowed in the coil 112 of the layered inductor 110, the magnetic path is formed as shown by a dashed line in FIG. 29. This magnetic path passes through the magnetic body 111 only. That is, the layered inductor 110 has a closed magnetic circuit configuration. Accordingly, since the layered inductor 110 has a high inductance even if a number of turns of the coil 112 is relatively small, the inductor 110 can decrease its resistance and be downsized. However, as schematically shown in FIG. 30, the magnetic flux density becomes extremely large in the neighborhood of the coil 112, when a current is flowed in the coil 112. Accordingly, the superimposed DC current characteristic of the layered inductor 110 is not good, because the magnetic saturation easily occurs.
FIG. 31 shows a cross sectional view of "a conventional layered inductor 120" coping with the problem described above. The layered inductor 120 comprises a first outer body 121 made of ceramic, a resin layer 122, an intermediate body 123, a resin layer 124, a second outer body 125, a core 126, and a helically wound coil conductor 127. The core 126 is formed at a central portion of the intermediate body 123 and of the second outer body 125. The coil conductor 127 is formed so as to surround the core 126. Each of the first outer body 121, the second outer body 125, and the core 126 is composed of a high magnetic permeability material. The intermediate body 123 is composed of a low magnetic permeability material. Accordingly, in the layered inductor 120, a part of the magnetic path is an open magnetic circuit as shown by a dashed line in FIG. 31. As a result, the magnetic flux density hardly becomes excessive, the magnetic saturation therefore scarcely occurs. Consequently, the layered inductor 120 which is compact and shows excellent superimposed DC current characteristic is provided (refer to, for example, a Patent Document 1).

Compact inductor and a method for manufacturing the same


A driving circuit for display and the operating method thereof are provided. The driving circuit uses the data controller with multi-gray scale to make the color driving signal correspond to the related gray of the multi-gray scale, and uses the inverter to output the color output signal to a display to make the color output signal have more levels of color, such that it can achieve the aim of full color. As the invention does not require use of the memory and digital to analog converter, which consume large amounts of power, it can achieve the aim of saving power.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a driving circuit and the operating method thereof, and more particularly, to a driving method for display and the operating method thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
The field of flat panel displays comprises the LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), FED (Field Emission Display), OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode), and PDP (Plasma Display Panel). The LCD is characterized by its slim size, light weight, and capability of being small, medium and large scale, and has become the most notable type in this field. The LCD is also suitable for using in the current and next generation''s mobile wireless communication and network technologies.
The LCD is widely applied in various electronic products now. In mobile electronic products, since the power charging capability of the battery is limited, the power saving design is always a major subject of concern, and the power saving capability for each of the related modules in the LCD is one of the major objects to be improved. The currently used LCD driving circuit consumes a great amount of electric power, since the color driving signal input into the driving circuit needs to be stored in the memory (e.g. SDRAM), and the color driving signal needs to be processed by the D/A (digital to analog) converter after it is processed by the data controller, so as to output an analog color output signal to display. The reason it consumes a great amount of electric power is that the memory and the digital to analog converter are continuously in operation, thus resulting in a great amount of electric power consumption. Therefore, how to reduce the electric power consumed the LCD driving circuit is a problem which urgently needs to be addressed by the developers.
In order to have a better understanding, please refer to FIG. 1. It schematically shows a block diagram of a conventional driving circuit for a display. As shown in the diagram, the driving circuit 10 comprises a timing controller 102, a memory (e.g. SDRAM) 104, a data controller 106, and a digital to analog converter 108. Wherein, the timing controller 102 receives a color driving signal, a clock signal (CLK), a horizontal synchronization signal (HSYNC), a vertical synchronization signal (VSYNC), and a differential enable signal (DE). The operating method for the driving circuit 10 is described hereinafter. At first, the timing controller 102 receives the color driving signal (e.g. a 6-bit color driving signal) that has been processed by a processor (not shown), and then the color driving signal is stored into the memory 104. Then, the color driving signal is sent to the digital to analog converter 108 via the data controller 106. An analog color output signal output from the digital to analog converter 108 is sent to the display 110 (e.g. LCD) for displaying its picture colors. Since the timing controller 102 continuously receives the color driving signal, the memory 104 and the digital to analog converter 108 are continuously operated. Therefore, the driving circuit 10 consumes a great amount of electric power.
The operating method mentioned above is a conventional color driving method for a display. The other color driving method for a display in prior art generates better picture quality by controlling each picture and by using the characteristic of persistence of vision. Similarly, it also consumes a great amount of electric power. Therefore, how to reduce the electric power consumed by the driving circuit for display and also give attention to picture quality has become an important research object.

Driving circuit for display and the operating method thereof


Processes are provided for the formation of an epoxyethyl ether or a glycidyl ether. In one embodiment, a process is provided for the manufacture of an epoxyethyl ether or glycidyl ether including reacting a vinyl ether or an allyl ether with an oxidant in the presence of a water-soluble manganese complex in an aqueous reaction medium, wherein the water-soluble manganese complex comprises an oxidation catalyst, characterized in that the water-soluble manganese complex is a mononuclear complex of the general formula (I): [LMnX3]Y (I), or a binuclear complex of the general formula (II): [LMn(μ-X)3MnL](Y)n (II), wherein Mn is a manganese; L or each L independently is a polydentate ligand, each X independently is a coordinating species and each μ-X independently is a bridging coordinating species, Y is a non-coordinating counter ion, and wherein the epoxidation is carried out at a pH in the range of from 1.0 to 6.0. The invention also relates to epoxyethyl ethers.

Epoxy ethers are an important starting material in the chemical industry. For instance, Heloxy® modifiers are epoxy functionalized alcohols, with originally one or more hydroxyl groups. These modifiers are offered for instance in the form of monofunctional glycidyl ethers, and polyfunctional glycidyl ethers. Modifiers help improve cured system flexibility, increase peel and impact strength, increase the level of filler loading, improve resin wetting action, and reduce viscosity and surface tension. In particular the polyfunctional glycidyl ethers are useful. Of similar relevance are the epoxidation products of vinyl ethers of alcohol, diols and polyols.
The glycidyl ethers may be prepared using epichlorohydrin and alcohols (diols and polyols). From an environmental perspective, finding an alternative route would be rather attractive. In the Journal of Molecular Catalysis A: Chemical 244 (2006) 173-178 by E. Kaczmarczyk et al "Epoxidation of 1,4-bis(allyloxy)butane by Hydrogen Peroxide Under Phase Transfer Catalysis" the preparation of the diglycidylether of 1,4-butanediol was investigated. Both a monoepoxide and a diepoxide were produced. Diallylether was epoxidized by Peng Wu et al, "A Novel Titanosilicate With MWW Structure Catalytic Properties In Selective Epoxidation Of Diallyl Ether With Hydrogen Peroxide" in Journal of Catalysis 228 (2004) 183-191.
In the Journal of Molecular Catalysis A: Chemical 235 (2005) 52-56 "Epoxidation of 1,4-Diallyloxybutane To 1-Allyloxy-4-Glycidyloxybutane By The Method Of Phase Transfer Catalysis" by E. Kaczmarczyk et al the epoxidation of 1,4-diallyloxybutane (DiAB) with 30 wt % hydrogen peroxide in the presence of phosphorotungstic acid (PTA) hydrate or phosphoric(V)-acid-sodium tungsten(VI) dihydrate system (PO43−/WO42−) as the catalysts and an (phosph)onium salt as a phase transfer catalyst was investigated. Again by E. Kaczmarczyk et al the epoxidation of 1,4-bis(allyloxy)butane was investigated in Journal of Molecular Catalysis A: Chemical 265 (2007) 148-152, "Selective Epoxidation Of 1,4-Bis(Allyloxy)Butane To 1-Allyloxy-Glycidoloxybutane In The Presence Of Ionic Liquids".
The inventors set out to find an alternative route to glycidyl ethers that does not rely on epichlorohydrin. Such an alternative route has been found. Moreover, this new route also opens the possibility of preparing epoxyethyl ethers which will find use in the same applications where the glycidyl ethers are used. The present invention provides an attractive route to such products.

Manufacture of an epoxyethyl ethers or glycidyl ethers


A leakage current cut-off device for a ternary content addressable memory is provided. The storage cell of a ternary content addressable memory may be in the active mode, data-retention mode and cut-off mode. This invention applies a multi-mode data retention power gating device to the storage cell of the ternary content addressable memory to reduce the leakage current through the storage cell in the data-retention mode and the cut-off mode, and support the full speed operation in the active mode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a leakage current cut-off device for a ternary content addressable memory.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A Ternary Content Addressable Memory (TCAM) is grouped into several array segments, and each segment contains an array of TCAM cell pairs. Each TCAM cell pair is a bit and contains a storage cell and a don't-care cell. The storage value of each bit may be a "0" state, an "1" state or an "X" state that is also called don't-care state. One terminal of the storage cell connects to an electrical power source for receiving a voltage, and the other terminal connects to the ground for discharging.
A TCAM may be in read operation, write operation and search operation or standby mode. And, it is not necessary to compare the storage data of a bit with the inquiry data when "X" state is set.
The storage cell still connects to between the electrical power source and the ground via a charging terminal and a discharging terminal, respectively, and that will be accompanied by a leakage current. The leakage current consumes the electrical power and furthermore decreases the device reliability, so the leakage current must be reduced to as small as possible.
As shown in FIG. 1 for a conventional technique, n-channel metal oxide semiconductor (NMOS) field effect transistors MA, MB implements the data-retention power gating technique to reduce the leakage current, wherein MB is diode connected and also called a diode-connected NMOS. When the NMOS MA is turned on and the TCAM storage cell is likely connected to the ground to support the full speed operation; and when the NMOS MA is turned off and the TCAM storage cell is connected to the ground through the NMOS MB. The leakage current charges the discharging terminal of the TCAM storage cell, the virtual ground (VGND), to reach a saturated voltage via the NMOS MB. Therefore, the voltage difference between the charging terminal and the discharging terminal will be decreased, and the leakage current is also reduced.
This kind of structure is good enough for the Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), but, for the TCAM, it would not be satisfied, because "X" state is not considered. The technique of reducing the leakage current for TCAM has been developed.

Leakage current cut-off device for ternary content addressable memory


A retractable safety penetrating instrument includes a cannula and a needle disposed within the cannula and supported in a manner to automatically move proximally from an extended position wherein a sharp distal end of the needle protrudes from the cannula to a retracted position wherein the sharp distal end of the needle is protected in response to distal movement of the retractable safety penetrating instrument upon penetration into a cavity in the body. A retracting mechanism moves the needle proximally, is normally locked in a position preventing proximal movement of the needle and is released by distal movement of an operating member to trigger retraction of the needle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to safety penetrating instruments and, more particularly, to safety penetrating instruments having cannulas or sleeves for introduction into anatomical cavities and needles disposed within the cannulas with sharp tips for penetrating cavity walls.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Penetrating instruments are widely used in medical procedures to gain access to anatomical cavities ranging in size from the abdomen to small blood vessels, such as veins and arteries, epidural, pleural and subarachnoid spaces, heart ventricle and spinal and synovial cavities, with access being established via a sleeve or cannula positioned during penetration into the cavity with the penetrating instrument. Such penetrating instruments include a penetrating member having a sharp tip or point to pierce or penetrate the tissue forming the cavity wall, and the force required to penetrate the cavity wall is dependent upon the type and thickness of the tissue of the wall. Once the wall is penetrated, it is desirable to prevent the sharp tip of the penetrating member from inadvertent contact with or injury to tissue or organ structures in or forming the cavity, and a particular problem exists where substantial force is required to penetrate the cavity wall or the cavity is very small in that, once penetration is achieved, the lack of tissue resistance can result in the sharp tip traveling too far into the cavity and injuring adjacent tissue or organ structures.
Safety penetrating instruments including a safety probe biased to extend beyond the sharp tip of a penetrating member have become widely accepted for use in penetrating anatomical cavities. For example, the Verres needle, commonly used to create a pneumoperitoneum, has a spring-loaded inner member disposed within a tubular needle. U.S. Pat. No. 1,527,291 to Zoraquin, U.S. Pat. No. 2,623,521 to Shaw and U.S. Pat. No. 2,630,803 to Baran are exemplary of safety penetrating instruments with a spring-loaded inner member disposed in a needle, while U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,762 to Yoon shows an endoscope spring-biased in a hollow needle. German Offenlegungsschrift 2,544,262 discloses an intrauterine catheter including a tube having a distal sharp point, a spring-biased blunt member in the tube distal end and a hose or catheter slidable over the tube.
Safety trocars having a spring-biased protective shield disposed between an outer sleeve and an inner trocar are marketed by Ethicon, Inc. as the Endopath and by United States Surgical Corp. as the Surgiport. U.S. Pat. No. 4,535,773 to Yoon, U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,710 to Moll and U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,030 to Moll et al are illustrative of such safety trocars. A trocar disposed within a portal sleeve and retractable within the sleeve in response to an electrical signal generated when force from tissue contact is removed from the sharp tip of the trocar is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,535,773 to Yoon.
While prior art safety penetrating instruments are widely used, they suffer from many disadvantages when used in the procedures for which they are presently recommended; and, additionally, prior art safety penetrating instruments cannot be used in many procedures for which safety of penetration is highly desirable along with introduction of an outer sleeve or cannula. One of the disadvantages of prior art safety penetrating instruments is that the safety probes protrude from the sharp tips of the penetrating members to protect the sharp tips upon penetration through tissue of the cavity wall such that tissue and organ structures can be damaged by the safety probe. Accordingly, safe penetration into small or narrow anatomical cavities can not be accomplished for many various procedures. Another disadvantage of prior art safety penetrating instruments is that the safety probes can produce an irregular surface or profile with the sharp tips of the penetrating members during penetration of tissue resulting in increased resistance during penetration of a cavity wall, trauma and damage to tissue and possible jamming and trapping of tissue.
There is a great need for a safety penetrating instrument than can be used to penetrate small cavities, such as veins, while reducing the opportunity for injury to tissue in or forming the cavity and, in particular, for an instrument where the needle or penetrating member is positioned in an enclosed position even when left in place in the cannula introduced with the needle.

Retractable safety penetrating instrument


The invention relates to a device and method for controlling an artificial orthotic or prosthetic joint of a lower extremity, comprising a resistance unit with which at least one actuator is associated, via which the bending and/or stretching resistance is varied depending on sensor data. During the use of the joint, status information is provided via sensors. According to the invention, the resistance is increased in the standing phase or while standing from a starting value depending on the ground reaction force up to a locking point of the joint.

Appropriate prosthetic care for geriatric patients requires that the needs of the patients, respective activities and medical necessities are addressed. The need for safety is often at the forefront, so that while standing a locking of the knee joint is desired. It is intended that the locking can as far as possible be activated both load-dependently and angle-dependently and induce the feeling of stability in every standing situation, since the coordinating capability, mobility and physical strength of such patients may sometimes be limited.
If the patient is mobile, during walking there should be a high flexion resistance in the standing phase in order to avoid unwanted bending, since bending often cannot be compensated quickly enough by a stretching from the hip.
Sitting on the other hand requires a low resistance, both in the direction of extension and in the direction of flexion, in order that the patient can move unhindered.
It may also be necessary to provide a triggering of the swing phase, in order to make walking more comfortable for the patient
Artificial joints, in particular knee joints, for ortheses or prostheses have an upper connection part and a lower connection part, which are connected to each other by way of a joint device. In the case of a knee joint, receptacles for an upper leg stump or an upper leg rail are arranged on the upper connection part, while a lower leg shaft or a lower leg rail is arranged on the lower connection part. In the simplest case, the upper connection part and the lower connection part are connected to each other pivotably by a single-axis joint. Only in exceptional cases is such an arrangement sufficient for ensuring the desired success, for example support in the case of the use of an orthesis or a natural gait pattern in the case of use in a prosthesis
In order to represent as naturally as possible or be conducive to the various requirements during the various phases of a step, or in the case of other tasks, resistance devices which offer a flexion resistance or an extension resistance are provided. The flexion resistance is used to set how easily the lower connection part can be pivoted with respect to the upper connection part in the direction of flexion. In the case of a knee joint, the flexion resistance is therefore used to set how easily the lower leg shaft or the lower leg rail swings backward in relation to the upper leg shaft or the upper leg rail when a force is applied. The extension resistance retards the forward movement of the lower leg shaft or the lower leg rail and may form a stretching stop. In the case of other types of joint, such as the hip joint or the ankle joint, these statements apply in a way corresponding to the kinematic conditions
It is possible by using settable resistance devices to adapt the respective flexion resistance and extension resistance to the user of the prosthetic or orthotic device or to make allowance for different gait or movement situations, in order to be able to offer an adapted resistance under changing conditions
DE 10 2008 008 284 A1 discloses an orthopedic knee joint with an upper part and a lower part arranged pivotably thereon and assigned a number of sensors, for example a bending angle sensor, an acceleration sensor, an inclination sensor and/or a force sensor. The extension stop is set in dependence on the sensor data determined
DE 10 2006 021 802 A1 describes a control of a passive prosthetic knee joint with adjustable damping in the direction of flexion for the adaptation of a prosthetic device with upper connecting means and a connecting element to an artificial foot. The adaptation is for climbing stairs, a low-torque lift of the prosthetic foot being detected and the flexion damping being lowered in a lifting phase to below a level that is suitable for walking on level ground. The flexion damping may be raised in dependence on the changing of the knee angle and in dependence on the axial force acting on the lower leg
DE 10 2007 053 389 A1 describes a method and a device for controlling an orthopedic joint of a lower extremity with at least one degree of freedom, with an adjustable actuator for adapting to walking situations that differ from walking on level ground an orthopedic device which has upper connecting means to a limb and an orthopedic joint arranged in a jointed manner distally in relation to the connecting means. In this case, a number of parameters of the orthopedic device are detected by way of sensors, the detected parameters are compared with criteria that have been produced on the basis of a number of parameters and/or parameter profiles and stored in a computer unit, and a criterion that is suitable on the basis of the parameters or parameter profiles determined is selected. On the basis of the criterion selected, bending resistances, bending extents, driving forces and/or how they vary over time are set in order to control special functions that deviate from walking on level ground. A tilting angle of part of the orthopedic device in space and/or a variation of a change in tilting angle of part of the orthopedic device may be used as parameters
Furthermore, the prior art discloses what are known as brake knee joints, in which the flexion resistance and extension resistance are mechanically increased as axial loading becomes greater. This is achieved in the simplest case by providing two braking surfaces which are pressed onto each other by the ground reaction force. Such a configuration cannot be used on the braking device for modern prosthetic knee joints with controlled resistance devices
It has proven successful for knee joints to offer a high resistance in the standing phase during walking or while standing, the joint not being locked completely. In the case of a fully stretched knee joint, the bending of the joint is prevented by the force vector lying ahead of the joint axis, and consequently the joint being pressed into the stretching stop. As soon as the force vector migrates behind the joint axis, there is the risk of the joint buckling. It is therefore necessary likewise to offer an increased resistance in a slightly bent position. The fact that the joint does not completely lock in a slightly bent position has the advantage that the user of the joint still has possibilities of intervening in the movement of the joint. Should he for example be standing on stairs and lose his balance, a locked joint would cause him to fall in an uncontrolled manner, whereas he can still bend a joint with a high flexion resistance by means of the stump force and thereby mitigate the consequences of falling or prevent falling entirely. Likewise, high damping when standing makes it easier for the joint to be maneuvered in confined spaces or to be set down
If the joint only offers a high resistance and does not completely lock, it is not possible for example for loading to be applied to the prosthesis when standing on inclined surfaces if the ground reaction force vector migrates too far toward the heel, and consequently no longer lies ahead of the knee axis but behind the knee axis and thereby bends the knee. Standing on a bent knee is also not possible, because the knee bending has the effect that the knee joint axis migrates ahead of the ground reaction force vector and, as a result, the knee is bent further
Furthermore, the prior art discloses devices in which a separate mode must be set in order to activate locked standing on a ramp or on a bent knee. In such a mode, the joint cannot be bent any further than up to a settable angle. To walk any further or sit down, it is necessary to change deliberately to another mode.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and device for controlling an artificial orthotic or prosthetic joint


An apparatus for applying coating material to inner surfaces of cans includes a coating material spray gun and a cleaning material spray gun which are mounted in a side-by-side relationship on a manifold block. The coating material spray gun is connected in fluid communication with a coating material supply conduit through the manifold block. The cleaning material spray gun is connected in fluid communication with a cleaning material supply conduit through the manifold block. The cleaning material spray gun is operable to direct a flow of cleaning material toward a nozzle on the coating material spray gun to clean the nozzle. Three point mounting systems are utilized to accurately mount the spray guns on the manifold block. A heater is provided to maintain body of coating material in the coating material spray gun at a desired temperature. A transducer is provided to sense changes in the pressure of the coating material during operation of the coating material spray gun from a closed condition to an open condition. Cleaning material is conducted through the coating material spray gun to clean an interior portion of the coating material spray gun. The operating stroke of valve assemblies in the coating material spray gun and the cleaning spray gun are set by utilizing shims having thicknesses corresponding to the desired operating strokes of the valve assemblies.

An improved apparatus and method are provided to apply coating material to at least portions of the inner surfaces of cans.
The insides of cans have previously been at least partially coated to ensure that material forming the cans is not exposed to the contents of the cans. Various apparatus for use in applying coating material to the insides of cans is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,726,711; 4,378,386; and 4,886,013.
During the operation of a can coating apparatus, particles of coating material tend to build up on the nozzle of a spray gun. Japanese Pat. No. 1,438,108 suggests that a solvent spray may be directed against the nozzle of the spray gun to wash away the coating material which adheres to the nozzle.
During operation of the can coating apparatus, the flow of coating material from the spray gun may be shut off for a period of time. While the spray gun is shut off, the material spray gun prevents cooling of the coating material in the spray gun, by continuously circulating the coating material through the spray gun. It has been suggested that the coating material in a spray gun be heated by also conducting a secondary flow of heated coating material through the spray gun in the manner disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 61-16537.

Apparatus and method for applying coating material


A germination promotor for promoting germination of plants, the germination promotor being adapted to hold seeds within a condition of high moisture percent in order to sprout the seeds promptly and uniformly without need for water irrigation, with the result that a high uniform germination and also a high germination percentage are obtained.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a germination promotor and a sowing method for seeds of a plant, in which the gemination promotor facilitates the germination of the plant and a sowing method for the seeds of the plant is implemented.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is necessary that conditions of sowing seeds, such as water, temperature, and concentration of oxygen are arranged for the purpose of germination of the seeds of the plant. When the seeds are sown in the germination field, if the water in the soil is not enough, or the amount of rainfall after sowing is not enough, only a low percentage of germination in or discontinuous budding results. For this reason, the yield decreases or the harvest disperses, further, with these reasons, the efficiency of the work drops.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-819 discloses a plant-culture sheet to provide effective utilization of irrigated water.
However, such a plant-culture sheet can not hold water by itself. Therefore, no germination promoting effect is expected on the seeds until the next rainfall after sowing. Since some seeds may sprout before the rainfall, the improvement for uniform germination can not be obtained. In order to cure such a defect, water irrigation is performed for promoting germination. However, the use of irrigation is inconvenient. When water irrigation is adopted for a large germination field, numerous plant-culture sheets become necessary. It is of no practical use.
In a plant-culture sheet, since oxygen which is required for the germination of a plant or growth of the roots and is not included within the gel, the sheet should be thin and water retention is low.

Germination promoter and sowing method for seeds of plant


Methods are provided for identifying degradation in components of a compressor recirculation valve (CRV). One method may include inferring degradation of the CRV based on adaptation of a compressor surge line outside an expected range.

Engine systems may be configured with boosting devices, such as turbochargers or superchargers, for providing a boosted air charge and improving peak power outputs. The use of a compressor allows a smaller displacement engine to provide as much power as a larger displacement engine, but with additional fuel economy benefits. However, when the compressor operates under low air flow and/or high pressure ratio conditions, the compressor is prone to surge. For example, when an operator tips-out of an accelerator pedal, an engine intake throttle closes, leading to reduced forward flow through the compressor, and a potential for surge. Surge may lead to noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) issues such as undesirable noise from the engine intake system. In extreme cases, surge may result in compressor damage.
To address compressor surge, engine systems may include a compressor recirculation valve (CRV) coupled across the compressor to recirculate compressed air from the compressor outlet to the compressor inlet allowing a decrease in pressure at the compressor outlet. As such, the CRV may degrade with use over time. For example, the CRV may be stuck at a given position and may not move when commanded. If the CRV is stuck open, it would constantly bleed off boosted air. As a result torque delivery and drivability may be reduced. If the CRV is stuck closed, compressor may surge more frequently resulting in increased NVH issues, and in severe cases, the compressor may be damaged.
In one example, some of the above issues may be at least partly addressed by a method for an engine, comprising: indicating degradation of a compressor recirculation valve based on a surge line adaptation of a surge line on a compressor map stored in a controller of the engine. By monitoring the adaptation of the surge line, degradation of the CRV may be detected.
As an example, the surge line may be learnt in real-time during one or more drive cycles by utilizing an adaptation algorithm. Specifically, the adaptation algorithm may advance the surge line when no surge is detected during aggressive tip-out conditions, and may retard the surge line when a threshold number of surge events are exceeded. As such, compressor surge may be determined based on a signal from a throttle inlet position sensor located downstream of the compressor. For example, during surge conditions, a frequency of the throttle inlet pressure sensor signal may be greater than a threshold.
If the CRV is stuck open, compressor flow may be greater than nominal. Consequently, compressor surge may be less likely to occur. In response to not detecting surge (during aggressive tip-outs, for example), the adaptation algorithm may continuously advance the surge line. That is, the algorithm may adjust the surge line to the left. When the surge line is advanced beyond an advance limit, it may be determined that the CRV is more open than desired.
If the CRV throttle is stuck closed, compressor surge events may increase. In response to increased compressor surge events, the adaptation algorithm may continuously retard the surge line. When the surge line is retarded beyond a retard limit, it may be determined that the CRV is more closed than desired.
In this way, by monitoring the adapted surge line, an engine control system may identify faults in the CRV when the adapted surge line is located beyond an expected range of surge lines. By detecting CRV throttle faults, and taking necessary remedial action, NVH issues may be reduced. Further, torque delivery and drivability may be improved.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.

Methods and systems for detecting compressor recirculation valve faults


The present invention is a device for adding delay and compensating for dispersion in an optical signal. In a first embodiment, the present invention is made up of a waveguide, preferably an optical fiber, having two or more forward-reflecting gratings for separating an optical signal into user-selected wavelength portions to be propagated in different propagation modes and then recombining them to achieve the desired result. In another embodiment, the present invention is a waveguide, preferably an optical fiber, having three or more gratings where the gratings may be forward-diffracting or backward-reflecting for extending the capability of the first embodiment.

Optics is the science of light transmission through media. One of the most important examples of optics is the transmission of light through a waveguide which may be made from different materials such as glass, plastic, semiconductor material, or other light transparent material. Some of these materials may be made into fibers called optical fibers. An optical fiber is one type of waveguide.
Modulated light, such as a short optical pulse, is made up of different wavelengths of light. These different wavelengths may be affected differently by the medium through which the light passes. Dispersion is the process by which radiation (e.g., light) is separated in accordance with some characteristic (e.g., wavelength, polarization, etc.) into components which have different propagating characteristics. For example, an optical signal may be composed of three different wavelengths of light (e.g., A, B, and C). At any point in time, the order of these waveforms may be ABC. The medium through which the optical signal travels may cause the three waveforms to travel at different speeds and, therefore, cause the ordering of its components to be different when seen by a receiver. For example, a signal with the original waveform order ABC may be changed by the medium through which the signal travels to a signal of waveform order BAC by the time the signal reaches the receiver. For example, dispersion may cause a short optical pulse, composed of simultaneously launched wavelength components, to spread into a longer pulse because the components travel at different speeds and, therefore, arrive at the destination at different times. Such pulse spreading can be very harmful to the operation of optical systems (e.g., optical communications, high-speed switching, etc.). To reverse this process, dispersion compensation may be accomplished by properly delaying each component of the optical signal in order to restore the desired temporal alignment.
An optical fiber is a transparent, dielectric cylinder surrounded by a second transparent dielectric cylinder. The fiber is one type of waveguide used to transmit energy at optical wavelengths. The light travels along the length of the fiber and is kept within the fiber by a series of grazing-angle reflections from wall to wall of an interface between the inner dielectric cylinder (i.e., the core) and the outer dielectric cylinder (i.e., the cladding). The reflections are made possible by a high refractive index of the core and a lower refractive index of the cladding. As the light travels along the fiber, the differences in the refractive indices cause the light wave to bounce from the core/cladding interface on one side of the optical fiber back through the core to the opposite core/cladding interface. The core/cladding interface acts as a mirror to reflect without power loss and keep the light in the channel determined by the core.
There are two classes of optical fiber (i.e., single mode fiber and multi-mode fiber). A single mode fiber has a much smaller core than does a multi-mode fiber. With a wider core, a multi-mode fiber may transmits signals having a wider angle of incidence with respect to the axis of the fiber than does a single-mode fiber. Signals of different angles of incidence travel along the fiber with different angles of reflection and are said to be of different modes. Having a smaller core, a single-mode fiber only transmits optical signals that have an angle of incidence with respect to the fiber in a narrow range (effectively parallel with the core). Therefore, a single-mode fiber is thought of as accepting optical signals having a single angle of incidence with respect to the fiber (i.e., a single mode) while a multi-mode fiber transmits optical signals having many different angles of incidence with respect to the fiber (i.e., multiple modes). The speed with which an optical signal travels along an optical fiber depends on the signal's angle of incidence with respect to the fiber. For example, an optical signal that has an angle of incidence with respect to the fiber of zero degrees (i.e., parallel to the core) will take the least time to travel a distance along the fiber because the path through the fiber is the shortest (i.e., straight through). An optical signal having the greatest allowable angle of incidence with respect to the fiber will take the longest time to travel along the same length of fiber because the signal bounces back and forth from cladding interface to cladding interface, as it travels. Such a path is the longest path possible through the fiber and, therefore, takes the longest time to travel the length of the fiber.
The various modes of propagation that a light wave may take through an optical fiber may be designated by "LP.sub.1m," where "LP" stands for linearly polarized, where "1" is one-half the number of minima (or maxima) that occur around the circumference of the core in an intensity pattern of the particular light wave in question, and where "m" is the number of maxima in the intensity pattern that occur along a radial line between the core center and the outer surface of the fiber. A light wave may be transmitted in any one of a number of modes, where each mode is linearly polarized in one direction.
Various devices may be used to modulate a signal. Some of these devices include the term "chirp." A chirped grating is one where the spacing between each grating structure varies from structure to structure in some smooth fashion. Dispersion may be added to an optical signal by applying the signal to a chirped grating.
A prior art method of imposing time delay is to switch light into selectable fiber, or non-fiber waveguide, delay loops. The disadvantage of this approach is that the selection of delay is, necessarily, discrete (i.e., light is sent to a selected loop or not), and the method is not useful for imposing a gradiently changing delay (e.g., for dispersion compensation in an input with a broad, continuous spectrum). Dispersion compensation has been done by passing the signal through a medium with an opposing dispersion. For example, a length of dispersion compensating fiber (DCF) is spliced into a transmission fiber so that the optical dispersion of the DCF is of opposite sign to the optical dispersion of the transmission fiber. The disadvantage of this approach is that the obtainable delay functions are limited to those possible with dispersion compensating fiber, or non-fiber waveguide, and are either monotonically increasing or decreasing rather than user-definable. These ideas are disclosed in the following articles and patents: 1) "A compact device for highly efficient dispersion in fiber transmission," by Peschel et al., published in "Appl. Phys. Lett." 67 (15), Oct. 9, 1995, pp. 2111-2113; 2) U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,048, entitled "OPTICAL EQUALIZER"; and 3) U.S. Pat. No. 5,367,582, entitled "VERTTCALLY-COUPLED ARROW MODULATORS OR SWITCHES ON SILICON." U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,259,048 and 5,367,582 are hereby incorporated by reference into the specification of the present invention. These prior art articles and patents do not disclose the use of multiple gratings in a single fiber or non-fiber waveguide as does the present invention. Also, these prior art articles require the use of at least one additional fiber or non-fiber waveguide coupled to the original fiber or waveguide, while the present invention does not.
Another prior art method of adding delay or doing dispersion compensation is to transmit a signal over a fiber (or non-fiber waveguide), reflect the signal off of a first discrete grating element situated in free space for introducing delay or negative group velocity dispersion, and further reflecting the reflected signal off of a second discrete grating element situated in free space. The second reflection of the signal is delayed or compensated as desired. The drawbacks to this approach include 1) requiring at least three discrete elements, 2) having two of these elements located in free space which may be difficult to control, 3) inducing large signal power loss through grating diffraction inefficiency as well as coupling between the fiber or other waveguide and free-space, and 4) the available dispersion functions are limited to monotonically increasing or decreasing delay rather than user definable as in the present invention. This approach has been disclosed in the following book, articles, and patent: 1) "Fundamentals of optical fibers," by Buck, pp. 227-228, 1995, John Wiley & Sons, New York, N.Y.; 2) "New Diffraction Grating Pair With Very Linear Dispersion For Laser Pulse Compression," by Tournois, published in "Electronics Letters," Aug. 5, 1993, Vol. 29, No. 16, pp. 1414-1415; 3) "Grating Compensation of Third-Order Fiber Dispersion," by Stern et al., published in "IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics," Vol. 28, No. 12, December 1992, pp. 2742-2748; 4) U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,226, entitled "APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DISPERSION COMPENSATION FOR A GRATING COUPLER USING A SURFACE RELIEF REFLECTION GRATING." U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,226 is hereby incorporated by reference into the specification of the present invention. These prior art articles, book, and patent do not disclose the use of multiple gratings in a single fiber, or nonfiber waveguide, as does the present invention.
Prior art articles disclose the use of a single, chirped grating in a waveguide for dispersion compensation. These articles include: 1) "Dispersion cancellation using linearly chirped Bragg grating filters in optical waveguides," by Ouellette, published in "Optics Letters," Vol. 12, No. 10, October 1987, pp. 847-849; and 2) "Waveguide Grating Filters for Dispersion Compensation and Pulse Compression," by Roman et al., published in "IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics," Vol. 29, No. 3, March 1993, pp. 975-982. These articles do not disclose the device of the present invention. Additionally, these articles disclose, ultimately, sending the compensated signal backward in the fiber toward the source, while the present invention does not.
The use of a single grating to transfer the signal from one fiber mode to another is disclosed in the prior art in the following articles: 1) "Mode-coupling characteristics of UV-written Bragg gratings in depressed-cladding fibre," by Morey et al., published in "Electronics Letters," Apr. 28, 1994, Vol. 30, No. 9, pp. 730-732; 2) "Long-Period Fiber Gratings as Band-Rejection Filters," by Vengsarkar et al., published in "Journal of Lightwave Technology, Vol. 14, No. 1, January 1996, pp.58-65; and 3) "Efficient Mode Conversion In Telecommunication Fibre Using Externally Written Gratings," by Hill et al., published in "Electronics Letters," Aug. 2, 1990, Vol. 26, No. 16, pp. 1270-1272. These prior art articles do not disclose the device of the present invention.
Other prior art articles and patents disclose the use of multiple gratings but with additional, and sometimes expensive, components (e.g., a circulator) not required by the present invention or use the multiple gratings for devices that do not add delay or compensate for dispersion using a single fiber, or non-fiber waveguide, as does the present invention. These articles and patents include: 1) "Chirped in-fiber Bragg gratings for compensation of optical-fiber dispersion," by Hill et al., published in "Optics letters," Vol. 19, No. 17, Sep. 1, 1994, pp. 1314-1316; 2) "Fiber Gratings As Demultiplexing Filters For WDMA Networks," by Pastor et al., published by The Institution of Electrical Engineers, 1995, pp. 13/1-13/6; 3) U.S. Pat. No. 5,404,413, entitled "OPTICAL CIRCULATOR FOR DISPERSION COMPENSATION"; 4) U.S. Pat. No. 5,434,702, entitled "OPTICAL REPEATERS"; and 5) U.S. Pat. No. 5,093,876, entitled "WDM SYSTEMS INCORPORATING ADIABATIC REFLECTION FILTERS." U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,404,413; 5,434,702; and 5,093,876 are hereby incorporated by reference into the specification of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,028, entitled "CONTROL OF DISPERSION IN AN OPTICAL WAVEGUIDE," discloses a device for and method of compensating for dispersion by keeping the signal in a single propagating mode, constructing the waveguide having alternating sections of positive mode dispersion and negative mode dispersion. The present invention discloses a device for compensating for dispersion that does not keep the signal in a single propagating mode and does not employ a waveguide having alternating sections of positive mode dispersion and negative mode dispersion. U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,028 is hereby incorporated by reference into the specification of the present invention.

Device for modulating an optical signal using a single wave guide

The United States of America as represented by the National Security Agency


Method for performing segmentation of an interior vessel within the body of a patient, the method including obtaining a sequence of intravascular ultrasound images of an interior vessel and dividing the sequence into batches, detecting uninformative regions in each of the batches, the uninformative regions arising from an acoustic shadow cast by guide wire and by calcified plaque within the interior vessel, extracting a preliminary outer boundary of the interior vessel, tracking images in each of the batches to counter various distortions, performing statistical analysis and spatial integration on each of the batches to obtain a classification of blood and tissue regions, extracting a secondary outer boundary of the interior vessel utilizing the classification of blood and tissue regions and refining result, and extracting the inner boundary of the interior vessel based on the classification of blood and tissue regions.

Techniques for obtaining intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) images of an interior vessel in the body, such as a coronary artery, are known in the art. Generally, a catheter including an ultrasound apparatus is introduced into the vessel. As the catheter is gradually moved along the vessel, the ultrasound apparatus transmits ultrasonic signals and detects the reflected signals. A processing device derives an image based on the detected ultrasound signals. In this manner, a sequence of images of the interior structure of the vessel is obtained. However the image sequence by itself does not reveal or identify the exact position of different features of the vessel. For example, with such images of a coronary artery, it is difficult to distinguish between areas of blood and tissue, and regions of calcium deposits. This information can assist and enhance the performance of medical operations, including various types of diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventative procedures.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,771,895 to Slager entitled "Catheter for obtaining three-dimensional reconstruction of a vascular lumen and wall", is directed to a catheter system and method for obtaining three-dimensional reconstruction of a vessel by X-ray angiography and intravascular ultrasound. A catheter is pulled back through a blood vessel at a certain speed. The catheter system includes an elongated sheath having proximal and distal regions. The distal region houses an ultrasound transducer and permits rotation and longitudinal translation. The transducer captures a stack of cross-sectional ultrasound images during pull-back. A sequence of radiopaque markers is disposed along the sheath, equally spaced. The markers speed up the three-dimensional reconstruction of the catheter centerline, and may also provide positional feedback during pull-back.
A computer program detects the contours of the luminal and wall-adventitia boundaries at fixed intervals, based on end diastolic samples of the IVUS images. Biplane fluoroscopy records the start and end of the pull-back, and biplane angiography is performed without changes in geometrical X-ray settings. The geometry of the longitudinal centerline, representing the path of the IVUS transducer, is determined using the biplane fluoroscopy image data. A three-dimensional reconstruction of the vessel is made using the IVUS data stack, the catheter path, and the lumen contours. In particular, the contours are combined with the centerline using features of the angiograms, such as the position of the centerline relative to the lumen border, to establish the rotational position of the contours around the spatial curve.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,878 to Nachtomy et al entitled "Intravascular ultrasound enhanced image and signal processing", is directed to a device and method for processing intravascular ultrasound image information to remove distortions and inaccuracies caused by various types of motion in the catheter and the bodily lumen. A transducer attached to a catheter emits and receives ultrasonic signals. The catheter is inserted into a blood vessel. An ultrasound beam from the transducer is continuously rotated within the vessel, forming a 360° internal cross-sectional image in a transverse plane of the vessel. The catheter is gradually moved along the blood vessel, and images of various segments of the vessel are obtained.
The detected ultrasound signal is processed to form a set of vectors comprising digitized data. Each vector represents the ultrasonic response of a different angular sector of the vessel. The digitized vectors are initially stored in a matrix in polar coordinate form. The polar matrix is converted into a matrix in Cartesian coordinate form, in which the axes correspond to the Cartesian representation of the cross-section of the vessel. The image is then further processed and transferred to a display.
The images are stabilized in order to compensate for different types of relative motion experienced by the catheter and the vessel. These types of motion include: rotation in the plane of the image, Cartesian displacement, global vasomotion or a radial contraction and expansion of the entire vessel, local vasomotion or a radial contraction and expansion of different parts of the vessel with different magnitudes and directions, local motion by different tissue, and through plane motion or movements perpendicular to the plane of the image.
The first three types of motion are stabilized using global stabilization, which compare whole parts of the image to one another. The next two types of motions in the list are stabilized by applying closeness operations on a localized basis. The last type of motion is stabilized using cardiovascular periodicity detection.
In global stabilization, shift evaluation is performed using a closeness operation. A first image is transformed and its closeness to its predecessor second image is measured. The transformation is performed by shifting the entire first image along a combination of axes. The images are then compared using a predefined function. The transformation is repeated until all shifts are measured and the global extremum of the comparisons indicates the direction and magnitude of the movement between the two images.
"A State-Space Model for a Sequence of Image Characterisitics" by Dethlefsen, Hansen, and Lundbye-Christensen, discusses an automated method for determining the evolution of the cross-sectional area of a coronary artery. A sequence of images of the coronary artery is obtained through ultrasound imaging. The artery wall is modeled as a pulsating disc parameterized by a center and a radius. The center and radius may both exhibit fluctuations due to random factors. The cross-sectional area of the artery can be calculated at a given time from estimates of the center and the radius. The vector of image characteristics is estimated at any given time by utilizing the series of images previously observed and calculating the posterior mean and variance matrices. In order to obtain the series of posterior means, the recursive structure of the Kalman filter is combined with a Markov chain Monte Carlo method, such as the Metropolis-Hasting's algorithm.
"Near-Infrared Raman Spectroscopy for In Vitro Human Coronary Artery Tissue Identification" by Silveira Jr, Zângaro, Pacheco, Sathaiah, Chavantes, and Pasqualucci, discusses the use of Near-infrared Raman Spectroscopy for in vitro diagnosis of atheromatous plaque. An algorithm is presented that classifies the human coronary artery segments into two segments: non-pathologic (NP) or atherosclerotic (AT) plaque, based on spectral features extracted from Raman data. The classification is done using Mahalanobis distance using histopathological results as a gold standard.
A collection of coronary artery fragments are extracted and prepared. The samples are placed before the spectrograph of the NIRS and spectral data is obtained. The fragments are classified in four main tissue types by a pathologist. The spectra are separated according to histopathology, plotted, and spectral features obtained. The atheromatous plaque exhibited distinct Raman features, such as main bands at specific wavelengths, and a higher relative intensity. Different features of the spectra are used in classifying the spectra into two categories. For a clear separation into groups, separation surfaces are drawn based on the Mahalanobis distances, which takes into account the relative distance between the sample to the mean of a group as well as the covariance matrix of the data.

Method for segmentation of IVUS image sequences


A cylinder head assembly for an internal combustion engine. The cylinder head assembly has a deck surface for engaging an opposed deck surface on an engine block. A combustion chamber is recessed in the cylinder head assembly for each cylinder, and the combustion chambers each have first and second wedge portions. A first valve port penetrates the first wedge portion, and a valve seat is provided in the first valve port. The first valve seat is disposed at a first angle relative to the deck surface. A second valve port penetrates the second wedge portion, and a valve seat is provided in the second valve port. The second valve seat is disposed at a second angle relative to the mounting surface. The second angle is less than the first angle. Each valve seat has a valve element for controlling the ingress and egress of gas flowing to and from the chamber. The wedge portions permit a more erect valve orientation for the intake valve such that less scavenging of the fresh fuel/air charge will occur. The wedge portions also permit the exhaust valve and intake valve to moved to more advantageous locations relative to the combustion chamber. The relocation of the valves allows a more efficient placement of the spark plug, resulting in more even loading of the piston during the power stroke. The inlet passage which directs the fuel/air mixture to the combustion chamber has an independently unique configuration that improves atomization of the fuel/air mixture to achieve improved fuel economy and/or increased brake horsepower output.

High performance engines, supported by engine manufacturers, are much in demand by auto racing enthusiasts as well as by individuals who simply desire higher performance than available from original equipment manufacturer (O.E.M.) engines. However, high performance engines are generally not available to those race teams, or individual car owners, who are not directly associated with major manufacturers of automotive engines, auto components or lubricant makers. Thus, low budget race teams, and individuals, must depend on standard production engines that can be modified, preferably at low cost.
Engine manufacturers do not, as a general rule, mass produce high performance race engines. The high performance engines that are manufactured require specialized tooling and are, therefore, relatively expensive. As a result, auto racing enthusiasts will generally modify production engines with components that are available from specialized dealers, or manufacturers, at a reasonable cost. Engine components which are most commonly modified are the head, the valve train components (e.g., the cam shafts), the pistons and the throw rods, and those components are readily available from smaller specialty manufacturers. However, the cylinder head, and its components, are the most popular performance increasing products.
High performance cylinder head designs generally incorporate specially shaped chambers that serve to facilitate, or increase: fuel/air mass flow; fuel/air mixing; and, compression. As such, the head chambers have utilized hemispherical, or wedge, shapes, in order to provide sufficient room for the operation of the valves which must move linearly into and out of the combustion chamber at an angle relative to the piston head. The valve size, as well as the degree and the rapidity with which they open and close, have a definite effect on the amount of air which can be taken into the cylinders. Because the quantity of the fuel/air mixture which can be ingested into the cylinder to be available within the cylinder during combustion can have a significant affect on the power development and the maximum operating speed of the engine, the valve opening and closing characteristics are given careful attention.
One particularly successful improvement in high performance heads is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,686,948, which issued to Smith et al on Aug. 18, 1987. The '948 patent is owned by the assignee of the present invention and describes an engine head as having a wedge-shaped combustion chamber with a flat quenching surface. The wedge-shaped combustion chamber described therein results in improved fuel consumption and simultaneous high brake horsepower.
The intake passage of the head described in the '948 patent has a velocity increasing restriction adjacent the inlet valve which improves the flow of atomized fuel and directs it in an even fashion around the inlet valve. The result of this structural arrangement increases the velocity of the incoming fuel charge without deleteriously effecting the volume of incoming air. This patent and others have directed the improvements mainly to the wedge-shaped configuration of the combustion chamber.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,092 which issued to Smith et al on Apr. 24, 1990--and which is also owned by the assignee of the present invention--utilizes a metal mass buildup positioned about the inlet valve, in conjunction with an improved intake passage, to draw the fuel/air charge into the chamber in a helical flow pattern. The intake passageway described in the '092 patent is useful in drawing a rich fuel/air mixture through the inlet valve at a location remote from the exhaust valve while introducing a lean fuel/air mixture through that portion of the inlet port that is located in closer proximity to the exhaust valve. This arrangement, of course, is intended to limit the amount of scavenging--i.e.: the fuel passing directly between the inlet and exhaust valve during valve overlap (that period of time during which both the intake and the exhaust valves are simultaneously open).
It is well known that fuel/air mixtures often contain some droplets of fuel which are not properly atomized and which, if delivered to the chamber, will generally be scavenged prior to the compression stroke, thereby limiting the energy available. Another prior art teaching is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,224 which issued to Smith et al on Dec. 31, 1991, and which is also owned by the assignee of the present invention. The '224 patent discloses a high performance head wherein the inlet passage upstream of the intake valve has an arcuate-shaped, rounded boss that is positioned to direct the heavier droplets of fuel toward a heated wall, or floor, of the inlet passage. The fuel droplets will be atomized as they impact the heated wall. The operation of the '224 structure depends on the heat conduction through the walls of the inlet manifold, and to assist with the desired heat transfer, passages are provided through which the exhaust gas may circulate.
The prior art, including the specific patents discussed in the preceding paragraphs, all have the intake and exhaust valves disposed in a coplanar relation. In addition, the center of the valve heads are aligned with a longitudinal plane along the reciprocating axis of the piston when the valves are closed. The valves are disposed at a common angle, generally on the order of about twenty-three degrees ( 23.degree.), relative to the longitudinal plane. This valve angle provides the space necessary to permit the added material that aids in directing the fuel/air mixture during ingress and egress from the combustion chamber.

High performance head assembly for an internal combustion engine


According to the invention, a method for automatically processing a recurring transfer request from a stored value fund with an online system is disclosed. A handler associated with a payor is determined and money is transferred from that handler to the stored value fund. In one step, the payor is informed that a payee accepts payment from the online system. Subscription type information is received, which includes at least two of a per-request payment cap, a fixed payment amount, a limit on payment per time period, a limit on the number of payments in the time period, and a time period. Pay-out instructions are also received and include at least two of a payor identifier, a payee identifier, a transfer amount, a payment description. The transfer amount is automatically sent from the stored value fund to the payee.

The invention relates generally to stored value fund transactions, and more particularly relates to transferring money with a network-accessible system.
One party may wish to transfer money to herself, a counter party, or vice versa, for any of a variety of reasons. Frequently, a payor party owes a debt to a payee party. The debt may be an informal IOU or a more formal transaction. Other times, the payor may wish to give the money to the payee as a gift. For example, the payee may have sold an auction item to the payor. In some cases, the payee expects payment at a future date that may reoccur, for example, a utility payee may expect monthly payment of the electricity bill.
On-line services provide electronic transfers using a credit card or bank account. Money passes from a credit card or bank account of a first party to the on-line service where it is distributed to a credit card or bank account of a second party. Money may be held in the system during this process in a stored value fund. Manual interaction with the on-line service allows transfers of money to and from this stored value fund.
In the appended figures, similar components and/or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label.


A convolutional deinterleaving apparatus includes a memory and a control module. The control module stores a plurality of sets of data into the memory according to a deinterleaving rule. The plurality of sets of data are of a same group. After determining a representative channel state indicator according to an N number of channel state indicators corresponding to an N number of sets of data in the group, the control module stores the representative channel state indicator into the memory. The N number of sets of data of the same group correspond to a same carrier frequency.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to an integrated services digital broadcasting terrestrial (ISDB-T) reception system, and more particularly to a deinterleaving technique in an ISDB-T reception system.
2. Description of the Related Art
As communication technologies progress, developments of digital television broadcasting have also matured. In addition to cable wires, digital television signals may also be transmitted as wireless signals through equipments such as base stations or satellites. Integrated services digital broadcasting terrestrial (ISDB-T) and digital terrestrial multimedia broadcast (DTMB) are currently two prominent standards in the field of digital television broadcasting. Such standards adopt a transmission technique based on orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation. OFDM modulation is a multi-carrier modulation, which disperses data to many orthogonal sub-carriers in different frequencies in a way that each of the sub-carriers can transmit data at a lower bit transmission rate. A length of inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) that generates OFDM signals can be categorized into various modes, each of which corresponds to different carrier lengths and different numbers of delay frames.
To counteract noise interference and multipath distortion during a transmission process, an ISDB-T transmission end and a DTMB transmission end performs time-interleaving and frequency-interleaving on data to be transmitted. Correspondingly, reception ends of the two systems need to perform a convolutional deinterleaving procedure on received data in order to correctly restore the original data. A convolutional deinterleaver, according to a known deinterleaving rule, respectively stores data transmitted by different carriers to a memory (usually a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) or a static random access memory (SRAM)). By appropriately designating storage positions (i.e., selecting correct data/buffer corresponding relations) and arranging delay time periods, the data later sent out from the memory become data having undergone the deinterleaving procedure.
In current techniques, in one set of data, apart from an in-phase component and a quadrature component, a channel state indicator (CSI) corresponding to the set of data is also stored into the memory by the convolutional deinterleaver. The channel state indicator represents channel quality at the time when the reception end including the deinterleaver receives the set of data, and is critical information for subsequently generating an input signal for a Viterbi decoder.
Taking an ISDB-T system for example, each OFDM symbol transmitted to a reception end includes 27960*13 sets of data. Assuming that each set of data and its channel state indicator require a storage space of 20 bits, the above memory for the convolutional deinterleaver is at least in a size of several megabytes (MB). Therefore, the memory capacity required by a convolutional deinterleaver is formidable, and thus constitutes a considerable part in hardware costs of a reception end.

Convolutional deinterleaving apparatus and associated method


A minutely controlled dermabrasion hand piece includes a main hand piece body for holding the hand piece by a user, a treatment head to provide negative pressure to a treated tissue and a vacuum tube to provide negative pressure to the treatment head through the main hand piece body. The main hand piece body includes at least one opening to control the supply of negative pressure to the treatment head. The opening is blockable by the user holding the hand piece.

Cosmetic skin dermabrasion is a rapidly growing field and many dermabrasion devices are aimed for skin treatments by professionals. Some dermabrasion devices are aimed for use by domestic users. However, since dermabrasion devices for domestic users are usually used without medical observation, more regard to safety, efficiency, and self-use comfort should be paid in their design.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements shown in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity. Further, where considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements.

Minutely controlled dermabrasion hand piece and a method for controlling thereof


The present invention relates generally to intervertebral disc devices and methods and instrumentation for intervertebral disc procedures. Methods include performing procedures such as implant delivery, tissue manipulation, tissue diagnostics, and therapeutic and diagnostic agent delivery at selected locations within intervertebral discs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to devices and instrumentation for intervertebral disc diagnosis and treatment, and methods thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
An intervertebral disc performs the important role of absorbing mechanical loads while allowing for constrained flexibility of the spine. The disc is composed of a soft, central nucleus pulposus surrounded by a tough, woven anulus fibrosus. Herniation is a result of a weakening in the anulus. Symptomatic herniations occur when weakness in the anulus allows the nucleus to bulge or leak posteriorly toward the spinal cord and major nerve roots. The most common symptoms of herniation include pain radiating along a compressed nerve and lower back pain, both of which can be crippling for the patient. Herniation, and the resulting dehabilitating symptoms, are of significant medical concern in the United States because of the low average age of diagnosis. Indeed, over 80% of patients in the United States diagnosed with herniation are under the age of 59.
Information regarding anular thickness, internal dimensions of the disc space normally occupied by the nucleus, and the location of anular apertures and lesions in relation to the vertebral endplates and lateral walls of the anulus facilitates accurate diagnosis and treatment of intervertebral disc conditions. For example, medical procedures involving the implantation of an artificial nucleus or anular augmentation depend on this information for accurate sizing of such implants. Also important are safe, dependable, and minimally invasive methods and devices for the manipulation of anular and nuclear tissue, especially along the inner wall of the posterior anulus. For example, tissues in the anulus and nucleus are commonly removed or manipulated during the implantation of artificial discs either to clear a path for the insertion of other types of prosthetic devices or as part of a discectomy procedure.
Specialized tools have evolved for the surgical treatment of intervertebral discs in the lumbar, cervical, and thoracic spine, which have suffered from tears in the anulus fibrosis or herniation of the nucleus pulposus. These tools are well-known in the prior art. The devices of the prior art, however, are designed for specific procedures, including complete discectomies (as opposed to partial discectomy or minute removal of tissue) and the installation of vertebral fusion implants. Accordingly, these devices cannot be used to manipulate anular and nuclear tissue in a precise and minimally invasive manner. Moreover, such devices are typically designed to access the disc using an anterior approach, i.e., through the abdomen. Although an anterior surgical approach provides direct access to intervertebral discs, it is highly invasive to the abdominal organs. Thus, surgery is typically more complicated and time consuming. A direct posterior approach is not anatomically practicable because the spinal cord and its surrounding bony protective sheath lies directly in front of each vertebral disc. An posterior-lateral aspect approach is the least invasive of these methods but provides limited and oblique access to the disc and its interior. Depending upon the surgical necessities involved, several methods of percutaneous disc tissue manipulation are available, including chemonucleolysis (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,439,423), laser (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,661), manual, focused energy, ultrasonic disruption (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,661), arthroscopy and endoscopy.
Endoscopic instrumentation has evolved over the past 25 years and permits viewing, irrigation, suction, and cutting. Probes that permit automated percutaneous suction such as nucleotomes or cylindrically housed rotating cutting means, such as debriders, provide gross but efficient removal of disc tissue. Varying tip profiles control the amount and direction of tissue resection as well as the likelihood of damage to surrounding tissue. These devices tend to be limited by the size of the cannula which houses the instrumentation and its ability to maneuver around vertebral bodies and delicate tissues of the spine.
Hand tools for use in the spine are also well known and can be inserted through cannulae or freely guided by hand. These tips may be blades, burs, rongeurs, curettes or forcep-like "graspers" that are capable of pinching of small amounts of material. To the extent that these instruments can access the various tissues, these devices provide good tactical feedback and control. However, if used in an antero-lateral spinal approach, these tools are generally limited by the indirect approach necessitated by the laminae and spinous processes of the adjacent vertebrae, and thus, access to tissues is substantially hampered.
Some intervertebral disc devices have been designed with flexible tips that are designed not to perforate or deflect off of the interior surface of the disc. Unfortunately, such tips deflect off of healthy disc tissue only, not the pathological tissue that caused the need for the surgery in the first place. Thus, such instrumentation can exit the anulus and cause considerable damage to the surrounding tissues and spinal cord. Also, the flexible probe tips on some instruments which permit access to remote locations within the disc can only do so by sacrificing direct control because the devices are passively guided or blindly "snaked" within the disc. Accordingly, delicate and precise work within a disc is not possible with such instruments.
Among other disadvantages, the devices and methods of the prior art are typically invasive and destructive to surrounding tissue, frequently causing disc infection and nerve root injury. Moreover, such devices are unable to precisely manipulate disc material along the posterior anulus in a minimally invasive manner. Accordingly, there is a need for an intervertebral disc diagnostic and manipulation device which is capable of performing delicate and precise work within a disc, especially along the posterior anulus and between anular lamella.

Apparatus delivery in an intervertebral disc