A single-wall ball bat is made up of a series of layers or plies of unidirectional, two-dimensional, structural fibers having high strain energy properties. The plies are optionally layered upon each other in a lamina structure in which the fibers in one ply are oriented at opposing angles to the fibers in one or more neighboring plies. High purity quartz (SiO2) fibers, which have very high strain energy properties, may be used to construct substantial portions of the barrel or other regions of the ball bat.

Hollow baseball and softball bats typically exhibit a "trampoline effect" when striking a baseball or softball. This trampoline effect is a direct result of the transfer of potential energy, which is stored in the local bat hoop mode as deformation, back to the ball in the form of kinetic energy. The trampoline effect is substantially optimized when the transfer of energy incurs minimal losses. This occurs when the ball is struck such that the strain recovery of the hoop mode barrel wall is in phase with the strain recovery of the ball. Under such conditions, maximum kinetic energy transfer to the ball may be realized.
The efficiency of this energy transfer to the ball can be measured as a coefficient of restitution (COR). The COR is determined by dividing the post impact ball velocity by the incident ball velocity, which represents the efficiency of energy transfer between the bat and the ball.
It is commonly believed that as the structural thickness or stiffness of the barrel wall is increased, in an effort to increase bat durability, the efficiency of kinetic energy transfer to the ball decreases. Thus, there is a direct relationship between barrel energy losses, due to stiffness, and performance. Barrel walls that are extremely thin typically perform well since they exhibit extremely high deformation (which is favorable for energy transfer), but they typically do not have good strength characteristics or durability. Barrel walls that are very thick, conversely, are typically very durable but do not efficiently transfer energy to the ball.
Double-wall or multi-wall bat barrels have been developed in an effort to increase barrel performance, while maintaining an overall wall thickness that provides sufficient barrel durability. Multi-walled bats expand the amount of deflection possible relative to a single-walled design by increasing the barrel compliance, specifically by reducing the hoop (radial) stiffness of the bat barrel. While multi-wall bats have generally been successful, they are typically more expensive to manufacture than single-wall bats. Thus, when budget or selling price is a controlling factor, single-wall bats may be desirable.
It was previously believed that single-wall composite bats would not perform well or be durable enough to justify investing significant time in their development. Single-wall bats have recently been developed, however, that include one or more polymer composite materials reinforced by three-dimensional fibers, such as woven or braided glass fibers. An example of a single-wall ball bat 5 including three-dimensional fibers 8 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 1A.
These three-dimensional fibers provide improved durability, relative to conventional polymer composite bats, without appreciably sacrificing performance. Single-wall composite ball bats including three-dimensional reinforcement fibers are, however, relatively complicated and expensive to manufacture. Thus, a need exists for single-wall composite ball bats that can be constructed using inexpensive, high volume process methods.

Single wall ball bat including quartz structural fiber


A two-cycle internal combustion engine configuration and control strategy in which the unburned hydrocarbon emissions in the exhaust gas are measured by a sensor in the exhaust manifold. The information from the sensor is used to control the outflow of air from a blower mixed with the fuel to vary the total volume of fuel and air to thus reduce unburned hydrocarbons in the exhaust gas.

The two-stroke engine, also referred to as the two-cycle engine, has long been the power plant of choice for applications where power to weight ratio and mechanical simplicity are critical parameters for the operator. This is evident by their wide spread use as outboard motors, motorcross motorcycle racing engines and as the power plants for small, hand held tools such as chain saws and weed cutters. Although the large power to weight ratio of these engines is a desirable characteristic for automobile power plants, their high unburned hydrocarbon emissions (from short circuited air fuel mixture during the scavenging process) and the attendant fuel economy penalty has precluded their widespread acceptance into these markets.
Typical in these engines is a simple exhaust gas scavenging system established mainly by ports in the cylinder head that are covered and uncovered by movement of the piston. Thus, numerous complicated and expensive seals, valves and related components required in four cycle engines are omitted and not required.
As the CAFE standards for the automobile fleets have increased, the industry has placed even more of a premium on the power to weight ratio of the engine. A small engine of the same power as a larger one lowers the weight of the vehicle and enables designs of smaller frontal area (less wind resistance). Both of these design factors have beneficial effects on fuel economy.
Interest in two-stroke engines is very high in the automotive industry yet the problems of unburned hydrocarbon emissions remains unsolved. Also, legislation on exhaust emission for off-highway vehicles, lawn and garden equipment and marine craft has brought the emission problems of the two-stroke engine to the forefront of those industries. The industries, both recreational and automotive, are anxious for an economical way to control the emissions, in particular the unburned hydrocarbon emissions, and improve the fuel efficiency from two-stroke engines.
Numerous U.S. patents and other publications discuss the operation and characteristics of these engines, examples including U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,995,354; 4,960,097; 4,936,277; 4,903,648; 4,556,030; 4,576,126; 4,399,778; and a description on pages 9-78 through 9-114 from Marks' Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers, Eighth Edition published by McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1978; and pages 299 through 356 of Chapter 7 of The Basic Design of Two-Stroke Engines by Gordon P. Blair, published by The Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc., 1990, all of these references including the complete text of the latter reference being incorporated by reference into this specification. In Marks', for example, on page 9-111 it is stated "in carbureted engines where intake pressure exceeds exhaust (as in two-cycle engines) raw-mixture loss to the exhaust during the valve-overlap period creates very high hydrocarbon emissions. Emissions from two-cycle carbureted engines may be 10 times higher than four-cycle engine emissions."
The massive quantity of unburned hydrocarbons discharged by the exhaust contribute greatly to inefficiency, waste of fuel, and to pollution of the atmosphere, all of these problems being matters of great concern at all levels of society including individual, manufacturer, governmental and international. To some extent these problems have been ignored by continuing the old technology or by choosing alternative power sources with their own inherent disadvantages such as higher cost, higher complexity and lower power-to-weight ratio.
In addressing the above-mentioned problems and operational characteristics in two-cycle engines engineers and mechanics have dealt with a variety of structural components, seeking improvements and solutions. Typical carburetor and throttle devices vary the air/fuel ratio or the rate or directional path of air/fuel flow, or timing, ignition, fuel composition, etc.
A principal focus herein is the high degree of unburned hydrocarbons in the exhaust gas of two-cycle engines due to short circuiting of fuel in the scavenging process. Typically, the carburetor is adjusted to a selected air/fuel ratio, and then the flow of this mixture is throttled by an appropriate valve. In an outboard two-cycle engine the up-stroke of the piston creates a suction which draws in the mixture the flow of which being throttled by partial blockage of flow into the crankcase.
One alternative control technique used in an engine under the commercial name Orbital, is to use fuel injection directly into the cylinder. Inlet air is pumped into the cylinder to scavenge or clean out exhaust gas. Later, as the piston rises and closes the inlet air port, fuel injection follows. In theory this should substantially eliminate unburned fuel from short circuiting since the scavenging air passing through the cylinder head is not carrying the new charge of fuel with it. On the negative side is the added work input of high pressure fuel injection directly into a closed cylinder head, as compared to the Roots blower low pressure air flow (1 to 11/2 atmospheres) which carries the fuel into the cylinder via a typical simple and inexpensive carburetor. The air/fuel mixture is varied by varying the high pressure fuel injection within the cylinder after the port is closed. To control such adjustments over a wide range is difficult, costly, and has not been proven satisfactory.

Two-cycle internal combustion engine with reduced unburned hydrocarbons in the exhaust gas


A display unit including pixels which display an image according to an image data signal transferred corresponding to each of the pixels, and a controller to receive and convert an external input video signal to transfer a luminance conversion data signal corresponding to the respective pixels. The controller includes: an input image data to receive the external input video signal; a scale factor calculation unit to determine at least one control factor for luminance conversion with respect to an input video signal corresponding to the pixels received from the input image data receiving unit; and a luminance data conversion unit to convert luminance data with respect to the respective pixels using the at least one determined control factor and to output the luminance conversion data signal.

1. Field
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a display device and a method of driving the same and, more particularly, to a method of implementing a low power consumption drive and a display device thereof.
2. Discussion of the Background
In recent years, various types of flat panel displays having reduced weight and is volume have been developed.
For example, flat panel displays include a liquid crystal display (LCD), a field emission display (FED), a plasma display panel (PDP), and an organic light emitting diode (OLED).
Among flat panel displays, the organic light emitting diode (OLED) display refers to a flat display using electro-luminescence of an organic material. Electrons and holes are injected from electrodes, and light emitting is achieved when an excitation generated by coupling of holes and electrons falls from an exited state.
Because the OLED display does not require an additional light source, the thickness and weight thereof may be reduced. Since the OLED display has a fast response speed, low power consumption, superior luminous efficiency, superior luminance, and a wide viewing angle, portable OLED displays are used for electronic products, such as a portable terminal or a large television.
The OLED display displays an image using an organic light emitting element, which is an emissive device, and emits light according to a variation in a current amount depending on an image data signal. Accordingly, if bright light of a high grayscale is displayed, current consumption is increased, so low power driving is needed for various displays.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Display device and method of driving the same


An X-radiator has a housing containing an X-ray tube and a radiation protective cladding containing at least one protective substance. The radiation protection cladding is formed by a jacket that surrounds the housing at its exterior and can be completely removed from the housing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an X-radiator of the type having a protective housing with an X-ray tube accommodated therein and having a radiation protection layer containing at least one protective substance, i.e., substance which substantially impeded X-ray propagation through the protective layer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Manufacturers of X-radiators are required to protect the personnel operating radiological systems as well as patients who are examined with radiological systems against excessive radiation exposure during the operation of the radiological system. The protective housing of X-radiators is therefore-provided with a radiation protection lining composed of a protective substance. Protective substances should effect an optimally high attenuation of the X-radiation given an optimally low layer thickness. Baryta stone, concrete, tiles and lead (in the form of metallic lead or lead alloys, lead rubber and lead glass) are standard as protective substances for radiation protection linings in radiology.
In an X-radiator disclosed in German OS 44 29 910, this radiation protection lining is formed by a lead layer arranged in the inside of the protective housing, i.e. a lead lining firmly joined to the inside of the protective housing.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,049,275 discloses that a lead layer be firmly joined to the outside of the protective housing of an X-radiator.
A multi-layer structure of radiation protection layers is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,654.
The application of such lead layers is time-consuming since the lead layer must first be applied to the protective housing and then be soldered or, respectively, welded thereto or connected in some other suitable way.
When, as in the case of German OS 44 29 910, the lead layer is arranged in the inside of the protective housing, there is also the problem that the lead chemically reacts in an undesirable way with the insulating oil that is generally present in the inside of the protective housing. The lead layer must therefore be provided with a protective coat in order to suppress or at least retard the chemical reaction with the insulating oil. Complicated degreasing and coating steps are required in order to assure an adequate adhesion and durability of the protective coating.
Restoration of the protective coat of the lead layer as well as restoration of the outside of the protective housing given recycling of a protective housing returned from a customer is especially problematical given a lead layer arranged in the inside of the protective housing, as in the case of German OS 44 29 910, since the housing and the lead layer must be absolutely de-oiled and degreased for the renewal of the coats.
Although the problem of the reaction of the lead with the insulating oil does not exist given a lead layer applied to the outside of the protective housing, as in the case of U.S. Pat. No. 2,049,275, the risk of mechanical damage to the lead layer, with the consequence or impermissible emergence of radiation, does pose a problem.
Given recycling of protective housings having a lead layer arranged outside the protective housing, as in the case of U.S. Pat. No. 2,049,275, particular care must be exercised to detect damage to the lead layer and to permanently repair it.

X-ray radiator with an exterior, fully removable, radiation protective cladding


Embodiments of the present invention relate to a thermoplastic polyurethane (“TPU”) infused mesh material that is molded to form at least a portion of a shoe. The TPU infused mesh may be formed as an upper, a portion of sole or other components of a shoe. The TPU infused mesh is formed, in an exemplary embodiment, through the application of liquid TPU to a surface of a spacer mesh. The liquid TPU infused spacer mesh is then cured, cut to a pattern, and heat molded to form a desired portion of the shoe. The heat molded TPU mesh is coupled to other portions of the shoe (e.g., sole) to form an article footwear in an exemplary embodiment.

A shoe is typically constructed with a sole and an upper. The sole is traditionally formed from a resilient material, such as foam and/or rubber. The upper is traditionally formed with leather, canvas, or a polymer-based sheet material. A portion of spacer mesh may also be used in the upper of a traditional shoe to provide padding or support. A spacer mesh is a knitted synthetic product that is typically flexible and soft. However, spacer mesh has traditionally only been a supplemental material in the construction of the upper. A traditional shoe's upper exterior and main structure is typically provided by the traditional materials (e.g., leather, canvas) used to form the upper.


A method and system for optimizing channel quality indicator (CQI) transmissions by mobile devices in a cellular network allows transmission of CQIs at a slower rate and with fewer bits during voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) sessions than during non-real-time (NRT) data transmissions. A VoIP transmission typically includes “talkspurt” periods, during which VoIP packets are transmitted, and silence periods, which start with a silence indication (SID) packet and continue with periodic SID packets until a VoIP packet is received. When the base station is transmitting NRT data, the mobile device transmits CQIs to the base station at a first rate, with each CQI having a first fixed number of bits. When the base station is transmitting VoIP to the mobile device, then during a talkspurt period, the mobile device may transmit CQIs to the base station at a second rate slower than the first rate, and each CQI may have a second fixed number of bits less than the first fixed number of bits. However, during a silence period, the mobile device does not transmit CQIs to the base station, and uplink channel resources allocated for the CQIs can be reallocated to other mobile devices.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a wireless communications network, like a cellular network, and more particularly to a method and system for optimizing channel quality indicator (CQI) transmissions by mobile devices during voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) transmissions.
2. Description of the Related Art
A cellular network is a wireless communications system made up of a number of cells, each served by a fixed transmitter, known as a cell site or base station. Each cell site in the network typically overlaps other cell sites. The most common form of cellular network is a mobile phone (cell phone) system. The base stations are connected to cellular telephone exchanges or "switches", which in turn connect to the public telephone network or another switch of the cellular company.
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is a worldwide consortium to create a specification for a globally applicable third generation (3G) mobile phone system. 3GPP's plans are currently in development under the title Long Term Evolution (LTE). The 3GPP LTE project is to improve the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) terrestrial radio access mobile phone standard to cope with future requirements. Goals of 3GPP LTE include improving efficiency, lowering costs, improving services, making use of new spectrum opportunities, and better integration with other open standards. The 3GPP LTE technical specification is described in a set of reference documents including 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Physical Channels and Modulation (Release 8), 3GPP TS 36.211 V0.4.0 (2007-02); and 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) and Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN); Overall description; Stage 2 (Release 8), 3GPP TS 36.300 V8.1.0 (2007-06). In 3GPP LTE (E-UTRA and E-UTRAN) terminology, a base station is called an "eNode-B" (eNB) and a mobile terminal or device is called a "user equipment" (UE).
In 3GPP LTE, the eNB regularly transmits a downlink reference symbol (DLRS) that is used by the UEs for channel measurement, such as signal-to-interference ratio (SINR), which may be represented by a channel quality indicator (CQI). Each UE regularly transmits CQIs back to the eNB to enable the eNB to perform resource scheduling. Resource scheduling means the eNB allocates the modulation schemes, coding rates and subcarrier frequencies to optimize the downlink and uplink transmissions for each UE.
The data transmitted over the wireless network is often categorized as either non-real-time (NRT) data or real-time (RT) data. Examples of NRT data include data transmitted during web browsing by a UE or text-messaging to a UE, while an example of RT data is voice communication between UEs. The typical manner of resource scheduling for NRT data is "dynamic" scheduling by the eNB to each UE at each transmission time interval (TTI). During dynamic scheduling, the UE regularly transmits CQIs back to the eNB.
However, in 3GPP LTE the UEs are also required to transmit and receive RT data, specifically voice data, which is considered the most important application in LTE and will be carried as voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) transmissions. A typical VoIP session has periodic small data packets at fixed intervals and periodic silence indication (SID) packets at fixed intervals. Unlike NRT data transmission, VoIP transmission is handled using "semi-persistent" scheduling. In contrast to dynamic scheduling, in "semi-persistent" scheduling when a UE's downlink reception is enabled, if the UE cannot find its resource allocation, a downlink transmission according to a predefined resource allocation is assumed. VoIP transmission and its associated semi-persistent method of resource allocation presents special issues regarding the transmission of CQIs by the UEs. What is needed is a method and system for optimizing CQI transmissions during VoIP sessions.

Method and system for transmission of channel quality indicators (CQIs) by mobile devices in a wireless communications network


The present disclosure generally relates to streaming of media and, more specifically, to live streaming of media. The present disclosure relates, in particular, to live streaming of media for low-latency applications such as gaming applications (e.g., live casino gaming applications). The disclosure, among other things, describes a method of live streaming of media for low-latency applications, wherein the media streams are broadcasted (220) from a first device (e.g., a Media Streaming Provider Server System (140)) to one or several second devices (e.g., user game devices (110) for use in a live casino gaming application) over a WebRTC data channel.

Gaming is an increasingly popular activity and is growing in number of participants globally. In particular, games available at casinos are receiving increased attention. Casino games typically involve a game leader, such as a dealer or croupier, a gaming device and game users, or players.
In order to facilitate the opportunity to participate in casino games for game users unable or unwilling to travel to a casino, network based non-live casinos have been introduced. In a network based non-live casino the game user interacts with a system where the casino environment is animated and oriented towards game user versus system gaming.
In order to further enhance the player experience, live casino gaming has also been introduced in recent years. In live casino gaming, part of the content or all of the content presented to the game user is live. If not all of the content is live, part of the content presented to the game user may be animated. The live part of the content typically comprises physical persons interacting with physical gaming devices and the recording of the interaction e.g. in a micro studio located in a larger studio. To facilitate multiple players, multiple micro studios may hence be located within a larger studio. The environment of a network based live casino differs significantly from the setting of a normal casino. The players at a live network based casino use a player client to communicate with the network based live casino and could be located anywhere where they can access a communications network, e.g. the Internet. The live content may be produced in a studio that comprises multiple instances of a game leader, a gaming device and recording equipment for recording game play. The live network based live casino may also comprise control logic to handle game users, predefined content and live content. In addition, the system may comprise at least a node for each casino operator hosting game user accounts and winnings and/or earnings information.
The international patent application PCT/EP2013/072541, published under WO2014/067911A1 on May 8, 2014, presents an example architecture for live casino gaming. WO2014/067911A1 is incorporated herein in its entirety to give context to the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.
In the technical field of network based gaming and particularly network based live casino gaming, low latency is typically desired. Low latency may, for example, be desired in order to:                enable good user experience;        enable shorter game rounds, which, in turn, may result in better revenue generation for the live casino operators; and/or        fulfill jurisdiction regulations (e.g., games must be live according to some jurisdiction regulations).

Live streaming of media for low-latency applications such as live casino gaming applications


A method of photolithography including coupling a first aperture to a lithography system, then performing a first illumination process to form a first pattern on a layer of a substrate using the first aperture, thereafter coupling a second aperture to the lithography system, and performing a second illumination process to form a second pattern on the layer of the substrate using the second aperture. The first aperture includes a first pair and a second pair of radiation-transmitting regions. The second aperture includes a second plate having a third pair and a fourth pair of radiation-transmitting regions.

Semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) technology has experienced rapid progress including the continued minimization of feature sizes and the maximization of packing density. The minimization of feature size relies on improvement in photolithography and its ability to print smaller features or critical dimensions (CD). Various techniques have been developed to enhance the resolution of optical lithography. An example of such a technique is off-axis illumination (OAI). OAI illumination may include any radiation that reduces and/or eliminates the "on-axis" (on the optical axis) component of the radiation. For OAI however, the shape and size of the illumination must be optimized for the specific pattern that is to be printed on a substrate. Another RET technique used is double dipole lithography (DDL) or double patterning which can use a strong OAI. DDL requires decomposition of patterns into a vertical pattern and a horizontal pattern, which in turn requires two (double) exposure processes. However, the process window to perform DDL may be limited. Therefore, improvement of one or more of these disadvantages is needed.

Cross quadrupole double lithography method using two complementary apertures

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


A memory cell of memory device, comprises an active region of a memory cell defined in a semiconductor substrate, and a conductive gate electrode in a trench of the active region. The gate electrode is isolated from the semiconductor substrate. An insulation layer is on the active region and on the conductive gate electrode. A conductive contact is in the insulation layer on the active region at a side of the gate electrode and isolated from the gate electrode. The contact has a first width at a top portion thereof and a second width at a bottom portion thereof, the first width being greater than the second width. The contact is formed of a single-crystal material.

Contemporary semiconductor memory devices commonly employ trench transistors in both memory cell regions and peripheral regions of a device. In a Buried Channel Array Transistor (BCAT) device, for example, a transistor gate is buried in a trench formed in a semiconductor substrate. The buried gate operates to extend the channel length of the resulting transistor structure, resulting in increased integration and greater reliability. Such trench transistors are disclosed, for example, in United States Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0127437, the contents of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety
In a conventional trench transistor, a trench is formed in the substrate and the inner walls and base of the trench are coated with an insulative oxide film. A polycrystalline metal fill layer is then provided to fill the trench, and upper regions of the substrate at sides of the trench are doped with impurities to form source and drain regions for the transistor. A relatively thin silicon nitride layer is formed over the resulting structure as an etch stop layer, and an interlayer insulator silicon oxide layer is formed over the etch stop layer. Direct contact holes are then formed in the silicon oxide layer, to expose the source and/or drain regions at sides of the trench gate, using the underlying etch stop layer as an etch stop. Optionally, the source/drain regions can be formed following formation of the contact holes. The side walls and bottoms of the contact holes are then lined with a barrier metal to prevent diffusion during subsequent processes, and the contact holes thus lined are filled with a conductive metal, for example tungsten W, to form the direct contacts.
The resulting direct contacts suffer from a number of limitations that become more problematic as devices are further integrated and operate at higher speeds and at lower voltage levels. For example, the resulting junction between the tungsten contact and the underlying source/drain region formed in the substrate creates a relatively narrow p-n junction, and is therefore highly resistive. In addition, with increased integration, the distance between the gate and source/drain region is reduced, and therefore, leakage current between the gate and source/drain region can be increased. Also, with increased integration, photolithographic alignment is more critical. Under these conditions, the resulting transistor is more likely to fail, or otherwise will operate with reduced reliability. Also, fabrication of such devices can result in reduced yield, and therefore fabrication costs can be increased.

Semiconductor integrated circuit devices having contacts formed of single-crystal materials


Disclosed is a clathrate compound comprising an organic peroxide as a guest compound and at least one of natural and derived cyclodextrins as a host compound.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a clathrate compound comprising an organic peroxide as a guest compound and at least one of natural and derived cyclodextrins as a host compound.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Organic peroxides such as dicumyl peroxide, tert-butylcumyl peroxide, benzoyl peroxide and the like have widely been used as a crosslinking agent, free-radical reaction initiator, catalyst, curing agent, drying promotor, etc.
However, the organic peroxide is chemically unstable and incapable of being safely kept for a long period of time, and may cause explosion on receiving an impact, resulting in producing problems in its handling. The above organic peroxides are decomposed at very high speeds at high temperatures that a temperature range, in which effects are expectable, was limited.
On the other hand, it is known that cyclodextrin has a doughnut-like stereostructure, into a hollow space of which are taken in various guest compounds by clathration, or from the hollow space of which are taken out the various guest compounds.
Clathration between cyclodextrin as the host compound and known guest compounds generally provides various effects such as stabilization of volatile matter, antioxidating, deodorizing, relief from bitterness in bitter substances, emulsification of hardly soluble substances, etc.
Further, uses of the known clathrate compounds comprising cyclodextrin as the host compound and known guest compounds cover various fields such as foods, medicines, agricultural chemicals, cosmetics, toiletries, plastics, and the like.
For example, M. L. Bender and M. Kimiyama, Cyclodextrin Chemistry, Springer-Verlay, Berlin, 1978, discloses clathrate compounds comprising cyclodextrin as the host compound and a guest compound such as diphenyl carbonate, diphenyl pyrophosphate, methylphosphonic acid diphenyl ester or the like, and further discloses that the above guest compounds are very stable in a neutral and alkaline solution, but formation of clathrate compounds therefrom remarkably accelerates hydrolysis thereof.
However, no clathrate compounds comprising organic peroxide as the guest compound and cyclodextrin as the host compound are known.


A double-drive transmission washing machine and method comprising: fixedly connecting an input part of a speed reduction mechanism to a power part for providing rotational driving power; fixedly connecting a spinning output part of the speed reduction mechanism to a spin tube of the washing machine; connecting a agitating output part of the speed reduction mechanism to a wash shaft of the washing machine; by means of connecting the agitating output part to the input part, the agitating output part revolves around an axis of the power part; and by means of meshing connection between the spinning output part and the agitating output part, the spinning output part and the agitating output part are interacting with each other, but rotate separately drive the wash shaft and the spin tube to rotate individually. This washing machine has the rotation speed of the wash shaft vary according to the washing load.

Washing machine is a machine that can wash clean the clothes by chemical decomposition and mechanical impact function. It mainly uses driving device to drive impeller to rotate for agitating water and clothes, thereby achieving the function of washing clothes clean. The conventional driving device as power source is motor, the output shaft of motor transfers the torque from motor rotation to the reduction device. It connects the output shaft of reduction device to impeller, thereby achieving to make impeller to rotate.
As the speed of normal motor is quite high, in order to have suitable output speed, the speed of motor needs to be slow down in actual application. Now the normal method is to reduce the speed of motor by the level one pulley of the reducer. In reducer, it can setup one level or more levels gear reduction mechanism to achieve the reduction in certain ratio. This structure is not only complicated, but also occupied large space. To address the above technical issue, some current applied solution is to remove pulley and connect the motor and reducer directly, but due to that the motor itself and the reducer still in individual position, so they occupies mounting space separately. Therefore, the structure is not compact enough, and the volume is quite large.
To address the abovementioned technical issue, one type of external rotor motor assembly is provided according to the disclosed No. CN102142734A of China invention, which includes motor body, driving shaft, and transmission device. The driving shaft is fixed on the transmission device, motor itself directly drives the driving shaft, the motor body has inner diameter space, and the transmission device is mounted within the inner diameter space. Although the structure has already reduced the occupied space in certain extent, its principle is to use the inner circumference space of the stator of the outer rotor motor for mounting the transmission device to the inner diameter space of stator by mounting parts. So it cannot be applied to the inner rotor motor without the inner space, so it has certain limitation. Meanwhile, its motor itself directly drives the driving shaft, and then to reduce the speed of driving shaft by the transmission device mounting within the inner diameter space of motor. so it only reduces the occupied space in certain extent, but the structure is not compact enough. Further, when the transmission device needs to achieve higher gear ratio and needs to increase the volume, it certainly needs to make the inner diameter of the outer rotor motor to increase the volume to realize this application. Therefore, it obviously does not solve the real technical problem.
In addition, the current washing machines all carry out washing in a certain fixed speed, no matter the washing load is big or small, the wash shaft still rotates at the same speed to wash, this kind of washing method not only can easily damage the washing clothes, but also it can damage the motor of washing machine if overloaded.

Double drive transmission method, mechanism, washing machine and washing method


A work flow system is disclosed in which, when a manager server unit of a work flow system divides a work effort into a plurality of tasks and execute the tasks, the manager server unit allocates tasks to client units of task execution persons fitted for the tasks. The work flow system includes a personal data file that stores personal data of each task execution person and an ability to perform each executable task, and a function for allocating tasks to client units of task execution persons. The function for allocating tasks to client units of task execution persons. The function for allocating tasks to client units of task execution persons allocates tasks based on the personal data file. The personal data file is renewed based on results of completed tasks.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a work flow system for controlling a flow of work by using computers and more particularly to a work flow system which automatically modifies a task flow once created and a task execution person allocated, when necessary.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is a common practice of companies and government offices to divide each created work into a plurality of tasks common to each task and to allocate each task to a specific task execution person who specializes in that task to improve the efficiency of the work as a whole.
The same applies to various works using computers. As shown in FIG. 13, one work effort is divided into five tasks 33 (T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5) for example. A different task execution person 34 (A, B, C, D and E) is assigned to the tasks (T1 through T5) and an execution sequence among the tasks (T1 through T5) is defined by a flow as shown by arrows in the figure for example.
Then, a task flow of the pertinent work in FIG. 13 is defined by the plurality of tasks (T1 through T5) composing one work effort, the task execution person (A through E) and the flow representing the execution sequence among the tasks (T1 through T5).
A computer system for controlling such a flow of tasks is called a work flow system. In the work flow system, a client unit of task execution person such as a workstation is provided to each task execution person 34 belonging to one unit group such as one department or section and is connected with other client units of task execution person through a network such as a LAN. A workflow manager server unit operated by a manager of the group is also connected to the network.
The work flow manager server unit creates each task flow described above for each created work effort and allocates each task 33 composing the task flow to each client unit of task execution person who takes charge of the pertinent task.
In the task flow shown in FIG. 13 for example, the work flow manager server unit sends the first task 33 (T1) to the client unit of task execution person A 34 who takes charge of that task 33 and urges the task execution person A of the client unit of task execution person to execute the allocated task 33. When the processing of the task (T1) is completed with that client unit of execution person, a storage container called a folder for storing results such as a document and drawings created in the task (T1) is transferred to the client unit of a task execution person B 34 to which the next task 33 (T2) is allocated.
Then, the work flow manager server unit 18 instructs the task execution person B 34 of the client unit of task execution person to which the folder has been transferred to execute the allocated the task (T2). When the processing of the task (T2) is completed, the folder is transferred to the client unit of task execution person of the next task 33 (T3) to execute the next task 33 (T3).
The folder, having the results, is moved sequentially by advancing the task 33 sequentially in accordance to the flow set in advance. It should be noted that the movement of the folder is performed by copying it to a specified directory of the client unit of the task execution person 34 assigned to the task 33 to which the folder is moved.
In such a workflow system for controlling an execution of a task flow, however, the manager of the group who controls the work flow system used to design the task flow composed of a plurality of tasks, a plurality of task execution persons and a flow pertinent to that work effort based on his long experience and perception when a necessary work effort is created.
For example, when one work effort is created, the manager divides the work effort into a plurality of tasks and assigns a task execution person who is most versed in each task to the pertinent task. However, even if the task execution person excels in the ability in performing the task, there is a case when the task execution person can complete the task within a predetermined time when a plurality of tasks are created in the same period of time and are incorporated to each task flow and when a large amount of tasks are assigned to that task execution person for example.
Further, when one task could not be executed in the process of executing a task in accordance to a flow by some reason, it becomes necessary to recreate the task flow including reassignment of a task execution person to the pertinent task.
Further, because the group manager who creates the task flow does not necessarily know well about the ability of all task execution persons belonging to his own group in performing each task, the best task flow may not be always created for the inputted task.
Still more, even in each client unit of task execution person to which each task is transferred directly from the work flow manager server unit or indirectly from the preceding client unit of execution person in accordance to the flow, the task execution person of the client unit may not be able to execute the task within an allowable time even if he/she is instructed to do so when a large number of tasks are transferred to that client unit of task execution person in a short time.
In this case, there may be a task which can be executed by another task execution person in lieu of the pertinent task execution person among the large number of tasks allocated to the pertinent task execution person.
Further, when a large number of tasks are transferred in a short time and when the tasks are executed in a received order for example, there is a fear that an execution of an urgent work or an important task is put behind that of tasks of less important tasks.

Work flow system for task allocation and reallocation


A retaining strip arranged to impede the rotation of a stop screw is disclosed. The retaining strip connects with the stop screw on both sides of an attachment bracket. The retaining strip is stretched over the bracket and applies a pressure to the screw that serves to maintain screw rotational position during vehicle operation. The retaining strip does not hamper the adjustment of the screw during adjustment.

The present invention relates to an adjustment to match the speed of rotation of drive wheels on opposite sides of a skid steer vehicle or loader when the conventional steering levers are in full forward speed drive positions. An adjustable stop for adjusting the maximum forward speed position for the drive control for the drive motor for one side of the vehicle is accessible from the interior of the loader cab to permit manual, easy adjustments. When both drive controls are in the maximum forward speed position the speed of the drive on each side of the skid steer loader is matched, and the loader will go straight forwardly.
The conventional hydrostatic drive systems on skid steer loaders have long been operated by a pair of levers in the cab that move forward and back from a neutral position. The levers rotate bellcranks over a mounted shaft. These bellcranks connect to links leading to separate pump controls for pumps/motors on opposite sides of the loader.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,090,411 illustrates such a drive system, utilizing a self centering control. The steering levers are individually mounted and movable, and one lever controls the drive motor direction and speed on the right hand side of the vehicle, and the other lever controls the drive motor direction and speed on the left hand side of the vehicle. At present, the conventional skid steer lever arrangement does not permit quickly accessible adjustment for setting and matching the speeds of the motors on opposite sides of the loader at a full forward speed position of both of the steering levers.


The image processing apparatus processes an image signal obtained from an image pickup element using an image pickup optical system arranged to obtain directional traveling information of object image light corresponding to a pupil division area of a photographing lens. The apparatus includes: a unit of setting a focal position at which the refocused image is generated; and a unit of correcting an image signal of a defect pixel of the image pickup element using an image signal of other pixel. The apparatus determines the other pixel to be used for correcting the image signal of the defect pixel on the basis of the set focal position and the directional traveling information of the object image light.

In recent years, cameras have been proposed that can reconstruct an image at any focal position designated by users from an imaged data obtained so as to include directional traveling information of light in addition to a light intensity distribution. For instance, NPL 1 proposes a light field camera realizing the above-described function using a method called "light field photography". NPL 1 adopts an optical system having a configuration where a microlens array is arranged between a photographing lens and an image pickup element to allow light having passed through different pupil areas of the photographing lens to be converged on respective microlenses. A pixel block including a plurality of pixels is assigned to one microlens. Light converged by the microlens is photoelectrically converted by different pixels included in a corresponding block depending on an incoming direction. An image signal corresponding to a ray of light focused on a synthetic image plane (a refocus plane) and arriving at each microlens is extracted from a thus obtained image signal, thereby allowing an image at any focal position to be reconstructed.
In solid-state image pickup elements, such as a CCD image sensor and CMOS image sensor, a defect pixel may be caused by a crystal defect locally existing in the semiconductor substrate. No correct photoelectric conversion output can be obtained from such a defect pixel. Accordingly, the image pickup signal from the defect pixel is required to be corrected.
Conventional methods for correcting an image pickup signal from a defect pixel are, for example, a method of replacing the pixel value of the defect pixel with the pixel value of a pixel adjacent to the defect pixel, and a method of replacing the pixel value of the detect pixel with the average value of pixels adjacent to the defect pixel.

Image processing apparatus, image processing method and program, and image pickup apparatus including image processing apparatus


Devices and methods for delivering fluid to tissue during ablation therapy are described herein. An exemplary device can include an elongate body having an inner lumen, outlet ports, and an ablation element configured to heat tissue. A flow resistance of the elongate body can increase along a length of the elongate body containing the outlet ports in a proximal to distal direction. This can be accomplished by, for example, varying outlet port size or relative spacing, decreasing a cross-sectional area of the inner lumen through which fluid can flow using a flow diverter or tapered inner lumen sidewalls, or limiting a ratio between a total area of the outlet ports and a cross-sectional area of the inner lumen. Adjusting flow resistance of the elongate body can provide more uniform fluid distribution or a desired non-uniform distribution.

Fluid enhanced ablation therapy involves the introduction of a fluid into a volume of tissue to deliver a therapeutic dose of energy in order to destroy tissue. The fluid can act as a therapeutic agent delivering thermal energy into the tissue volume—thermal energy supplied from the fluid itself (e.g., a heated fluid) or from an ablation element that provides thermal energy using, e.g., radio frequency (RF) electrical energy, microwave or light wave electromagnetic energy, ultrasonic vibrational energy, etc. This therapy can be applied to a variety of procedures, including the destruction of tumors.
One example of fluid enhanced ablation therapy is the ablation technique described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,328,735, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Using the ablation technique described therein, saline is passed through a needle and heated, and the heated fluid is delivered into a target volume of tissue surrounding the needle. In addition, RF electrical current is simultaneously passed through the tissue between an emitter electrode positioned on the needle and a remotely located return electrode. The saline acts as a therapeutic agent to transport thermal energy to the target volume of tissue via convection, and the RF electrical energy can act to supplement and/or replenish the thermal energy of the fluid that is lost as it moves through the tissue. The delivery of thermal energy via the movement of fluid through tissue can allow a greater volume of tissue to be treated with a therapeutic dose of ablative energy than is possible with other known techniques. The therapy is usually completed once the target volume of tissue reaches a desired therapeutic temperature, or otherwise receives a therapeutic dose of energy.
Fluid enhanced ablation therapy can have a number of advantages over, e.g., conventional RF ablation techniques. For example, the delivery of fluid in combination with RF energy can more effectively convect the heat developed near the RF electrode into the surrounding tissue. This can prevent tissue adjacent to the RF electrode from charring and desiccating due to the accumulation of too much thermal energy near the electrode. In conventional RF ablation, this charring can occur in tissue near the electrode even after only a short amount of time. Tissue charring can be problematic because it is accompanied by an increase in tissue impedance that can prevent the transmission of RF energy through the tissue, thereby effectively ending the therapy. Localized overheating of tissue can also cause so-called "steam pops," which are explosive phase changes of liquid contained in tissue. If the fluid has a higher conductivity than the surrounding tissue, the volume rate of deposition of RF energy immediately adjacent to the RF electrode can be reduced somewhat, further decreasing the risks of charring and desiccation adjacent to the RF electrode.
As a result, it is desirable that fluid be delivered into tissue wherever RF or other ablative energy is being delivered. References such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,328,735 contemplate delivering fluid throughout an RF energy field, however, it has been discovered that the devices described therein do not actually produce the desired uniform fluid distribution field. Rather, as explained in more detail below and illustrated in FIG. 3, fluid is delivered only from a distal end portion of the device. Moreover, in other devices fluid is intentionally delivered only from a distal-most end of the device via, for example, a single opening at a distal end of the device or a plurality of openings positioned at or adjacent to a distal end of the device. In such devices, an electrode or other energy delivery element often extends proximally from the one or more openings and there can be a misalignment between the RF or other energy field and the fluid distribution field. Regardless of the particular configuration of a device, a lack of fluid delivery along an entire length of, for example, an ablation electrode or other portion of a device intended to deliver thermal energy and fluid can reduce the effectiveness of the therapy and lead to potential complications for a patient.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved devices and methods for delivering fluid to tissue during ablation therapy. More particularly, there is a need for new devices and methods for ensuring that fluid is delivered in a desired distribution from a plurality of outlet ports during an ablation procedure, such as fluid enhanced ablation therapy.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A one-way proxy system is provided that supports one-way analysis of a transport control protocol (TCP) data stream. The one-way proxy system is used to intercept a TCP data link between two respective TCP endpoints. A one-way analyzer such as a one-way content filter, virus scanner, or firewall may be used to analyze a TCP data stream that is intercepted by the one-way proxy system. The one way proxy system preserves TCP options and TCP properties associated with the TCP packets in the TCP data stream, so that an existing TCP session between the TCP endpoints can survive in the event of a hardware bypass operation. The one-way proxy has a low overhead because significant TCP processing of the TCP data stream is only required in one direction.

This invention relates to proxy systems, and more particularly, to one-way proxy systems that allow an analyzer application to perform operations on data traffic flowing in one direction between transport control protocol endpoints in a network.
Transport control protocol (TCP) is a protocol used to support data communications. TCP supports two unidirectional data traffic streams. A TCP session involves transmission and reception of data traffic between two respective TCP endpoints. At each TCP endpoint an application is run on top of the TCP session. These applications provide TCP data to be sent and consume TCP data that is received. As an example, there may be an internet browser application at a TCP endpoint that communicates with a web server application at another TCP endpoint.
The TCP protocol is a reliable connection-oriented transport protocol that supports features such as in-order delivery of bytes and flow control. Each TCP endpoint in a session provides these properties.
Sometimes there is a need to insert software such as a stateful firewall, a content filtering package, or a virus scanner in a TCP stream. For example, an organization may desire to scan traffic for computer viruses. Traditionally, a proxy server solution is used in these situations. A network element is placed in the path of the TCP session (e.g., at the edge of the organization's network). The network element is used to implement a proxy server system that has two proxy points. The virus scanner or other software is run as an application between the two proxy points.
Conventional proxy server arrangements such as these break the original TCP session into two independent TCP sessions. A first TCP session runs between the first original TCP endpoint and the first proxy point. A second TCP session runs between the second proxy point and the second original TCP endpoint. With this architecture, complete TCP processing is required for each of the two TCP sessions, even when it is only desired to process traffic in one direction.
The need to perform complete TCP processing for both TCP sessions adversely affects the performance of the network element, as reflected in performance metrics such as overall throughput and the number of sessions that can be created per unit time. Conventional proxy server arrangements are also not able to provide fail close support. When a conventional network element switches into hardware bypass mode upon detecting a failure, the existing TCP sessions cannot survive.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a one-way proxy architecture that processes TCP traffic between TCP endpoints more efficiently and reliably than conventional two-way proxy server architectures.


Polymer nanocomposites including: a) a polylactic polymer; and b) a modified phyllosilicate composition including a modifying agent which includes hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium cations which are intercalated between the layers of the phyllosilicate, and preparation processes therefor, as well as the modified phyllosilicate composition. The polymer nanocomposites are particularly useful for packaging, particularly food and drink packaging.

Preparation of modified phyllosilicates are known. Thus, under appropriate conditions an organic compound containing a cation can react by ion exchange with a phyllosilicate containing a negative layer lattice and exchangeable cations to form the modified phyllosilicate.
The modified materials are used at relatively high temperature in different applications, for example the production of food packaging. These materials at high temperatures can be unstable.
The effect of a mixture of modifying agents can result in thermal stability of the modified phyllosilicate.
Accordingly, the patent application EP1787918 describes a biodegradable polyester resin reinforced by a modified phyllosilicate. The phyllosilicate is substituted with ammonium, pyridinium, imidazolium, or phosphonium ions. Examples of ammonium ions include tetraethylammonium, octadecyltrimethylammonium, and dimethyldioctadecylammonium among other ions. The modified phyllosilicate described in this EP patent application presents one type of modifying agent.
Thus, from what is known, it can be derived that the development of modified phyllosilicates including a mixture of modifying agents with improved thermal properties may be of great interest.

INSTITUTO TECHNOLOGICO DEL EMBALAJE, TRANSPORTE Y LOGISTICA (ITENE)


A machining apparatus has a machine frame having a vertical front wall and a pair of vertical side walls extending generally perpendicularly rearwardly from the front wall and a cross slide vertically displaceable on the front wall. A first holder is horizontally displaceable on the cross slide, and respective carriages horizontally displaceable generally perpendicular to the front wall on the side walls carry a mount between and pivotal in the carriages about a horizontal axis generally parallel to the front wall. A second holder is carried on the mount. One of the holders is adapted to hold and rotate a workpiece and the other of the holders to hold a tool. A drive is connected to both of the carriages for synchronously displacing same and thereby aligning the workpiece in the one holder with the tool in the other holder.

As disclosed in German patent document 10 2005 039 818, an apparatus for machining rotates the workpiece about a normally vertical axis, the A-axis, and a tool holder that can pivot about a normally horizontal X-axis while being moveable along a vertical Y-axis toward and away from the rotating workpiece. The holder can interact with a magazine of tools to switch out the tool is using. This holder is typically mounted at one end in the machine frame and has a free end carrying a chuck adapted to hold the tool.


The present invention relates to a voice recognition apparatus capable of easily registering a word which has not been registered. The registering of an unregistered word into a dictionary can be easily performed without causing a significant increase in the size of the dictionary. The clustering unit detects a cluster (detected cluster) to which a new unregistered word is to be added as a new member, from existing clusters obtained by clustering unregistered words. The unregistered word is added as a new member to the detected cluster, and the cluster is divided depending on the members of the cluster such that unregistered words which are acoustically similar to each other belong to the same cluster. The maintenance unit updates the word dictionary on the basis of the result of the clustering. The present invention may be applied to a robot including a voice recognition apparatus.

In conventional voice recognition apparatuses, recognition of a voice uttered by a user is performed by referring to a dictionary in which words to be recognized are registered.
Therefore, in the voice recognition apparatus, only words which are registered in the dictionary (hereinafter, such words will be referred to simply as registered words) can be recognized, and words which are not registered in the dictionary cannot be recognized. Herein, words which are not registered in the dictionary are referred to as unregistered words. In the conventional voice recognition apparatus, if an utterance made by a user includes an unregistered word, the unregistered word is recognized as one of words (registered words) registered in the dictionary, and thus the result of recognition of the unregistered word becomes wrong. If an unregistered word is recognized incorrectly, the incorrect recognition can influence recognition of a word prior to or subsequent to the unregistered word, that is, can cause such a word to be recognized incorrectly.
Therefore, it is required to properly deal with unregistered words so as to avoid the above problem. To this end, various techniques have been proposed.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 9-81181 discloses a voice recognition apparatus in which a garbage model for detecting an unregistered word and an HMM (Hidden Markov Model) associated with phonemes such as vowels are simultaneously used so as to limit phoneme sequences associated with the unregistered word thereby making it possible to detect the unregistered word without needing complicated calculations.
As another example, Japanese Patent Application No. 11-245461 discloses an information processing apparatus in which when a word set including an unregistered word is given, the similarity between the unregistered word which is not included in a database and a word included in the database is calculated on the basis of the concepts of words, and a sequence of properly arranged words is produced and output.
As still another example, "Dictionary Learning: Performance Through Consistency" (Tilo Sloboda, Proceedings of ICASSP 95, vol. 1, pp. 453–456, 1995) discloses a technique in which phoneme sequences corresponding to voice periods of words are detected and phoneme sequences which are acoustically similar to each other are deleted using a confusion matrix thereby effectively constructing a dictionary including variants.
As still another example, "Estimation of Transcription of Unknown Word from Speech Samples in Word Recognition" (Katsunobu Ito, et at., The Transactions of the Institute of Electronics, Information, and Communication Engineers, Vol. J83-D-II, No. 11, pp. 2152–2159, November, 2000) discloses a technique of improving estimation accuracy of a phoneme sequence when the phoneme sequence is estimated from a plurality of speech samples and an unknown (unregistered) word is registered in a dictionary.
One typical method for dealing with an unregistered word is to, if an unregistered word is detected in an input voice, register the unregistered word into a dictionary and treat it as an registered word thereafter.
In order to register an unregistered word into a dictionary, it is required to first detect a voice period of that unregistered word and then recognize the phoneme sequence of the voice in the voice period. The recognition of the phoneme sequence of a voice can be accomplished, for example, by a method known as a phoneme typewriter. In the phoneme typewriter, a phoneme sequence corresponding to an input voice is basically output using a garbage model which accepts any phonemic change.
When an unregistered word is registered into a dictionary, it is required to cluster the phoneme sequence of the unregistered word. That is, in the dictionary, the phoneme sequence of each word is registered in the form of a cluster corresponding to the word, and thus, to register an unregistered word into the dictionary, it is required to cluster the phoneme sequence of the unregistered word.
One method of clustering the phoneme sequence of an unregistered word is to input, by a user, an entry (for example, a pronunciation of the unregistered word) indicating the unregistered word and then cluster the phoneme sequence of the unregistered word into a cluster indicated by the that entry. However, in this method, the user has to do a troublesome task to input the entry.
Another method is to produce a new cluster each time an unregistered word is detected such that the phoneme sequence of the unregistered word is clustered into the newly produced cluster. However, in this method, an entry corresponding to the new cluster is registered into a dictionary each time an unregistered word is detected, and thus the size of the dictionary increases as unregistered words are registered. As a result, a greater time and a greater amount of process are necessary in voice recognition performed thereafter.

Sound processing registering a word in a dictionary


Methods and devices are described for monitoring reservoir fluid in an implantable infusion pump. Such methods and devices can be used when the infusion pump has a temperature-dependent component. For example, a method of monitoring reservoir fluid can include obtaining measurements from the reservoir that include corresponding data related to the amount of fluid and temperature in the reservoir. A pair of measurements can be used to monitor the fluid level, or flow rate out of, the reservoir when the corresponding temperatures of the measurements are within a temperature tolerance value. In such an instance, a measured amount difference can be calculated based on the fluid amounts corresponding to the pair of measurements. Other variations of fluid monitoring methods, and implantable infusion pump systems that can perform fluid monitoring, are also described.

Various implantable medical devices, often referred to as implantable infusion pumps, are used for dispensing controlled volumes of a drug within a patient's body. Such devices can provide a convenient vehicle for delivering the drug over an extended period of months to years. Such drugs can treat a number of indications including cancer, chronic pain, anti-coagulation, and spasticity.
For infusion pumps that utilize an internal reservoir to hold a supply of drug to be delivered to a patient, periodic refilling of the drug reservoir may be necessary to replenish a depleted drug supply. For example, a syringe needle can be used to inject an additional volume of drug through a septum-covered port connected to the reservoir. Accordingly, timely information regarding the quantity of drug in the reservoir can be a useful feature. Control units associated with regulated operation of an infusion pump can provide data regarding the amount of drug in a reservoir based on the programmed, and expected, operation of the pump by the control unit. Such indirect information, however, can be misleading due to a number potential operating errors (e.g., obstructions or leakages in the drug delivery system).
Though sensors can also be used to determine the quantity of drug remaining in a drug reservoir, sensing devices suitable for use with an implantable infusion pump are still subject to operational constraints that limit their accuracy. For example, measurements from some sensors have a temperature-dependent component that affects the absolute reading provided by the sensor—typically, such sensors are only accurate where the temperature is controlled to within about ±0.1° C. A normal patient's temperature can vary on the order of ±0.4° C., and a patient who is ill can have their temperature vary generally from about 36° C. to about 42° C.—too much for conventional sensors to be accurate. Thus, raw data from such sensors may provide misleading information regarding the quantity of drug remaining in an implantable infusion pump reservoir when the temperature of a patient fluctuates.
Accordingly, a need exists for devices and methods of accurately determining the amount of fluid in a reservoir and/or the fluid flow from a reservoir to help maintain proper operation of an implantable infusion pump.

Methods and devices for monitoring fluid of an implantable infusion pump


A apparatus for removing surface coverings, includes a shaft having a first end and a second end; a sleeve slidably mounted on the first end of the shaft; a clevis pivotably mounted on a first end of the sleeve; a drive mechanism for shifting a rod between a first rod position and a second rod position relative to the shaft; and a blade mounted on the clevis and extending away from the shaft. The clevis is secured to the rod, such that as the rod moves between the first rod position and the second rod position, the clevis pivots on the sleeve, and the sleeve slides on the shaft to shift a leading edge of the blade between a first edge position and a second edge position.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus for removing surface coverings and methods for using such apparatus. More particularly, it relates to powered apparatus for removing surface coverings from roofs, including inclined or flat roofs, or from the sides of buildings, or both. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to apparatus having a double-acting cylinder powered by compressed air for removing surface coverings from roofs or from the sides of buildings, or both.
2. Description of Related Art
The exterior surfaces of buildings may be covered with a plurality of overlapping, horizontally aligned rows of shingles. The first row of shingles generally is laid across the lowermost edge of the surface to be covered and fastened, e.g., nailed or stapled, in place at the upper portion of the shingle. Some building surfaces are covered with roll roofing, in which successive sheets of roofing material are overlapped in a similar manner. Roofs for frame houses, particularly roofs which have a wooden roof surface, may be covered with a plurality of layers of roofing materials, such as asphalt shingle or artificial slate. The outer layers are formed by roofing shingles which are somewhat flexible and are formed with projecting, separated flaps, which overlie and are horizontally staggered with respect to a lower course of shingles. Thus, each portion of the roofing surface is covered by a plurality of layers, for example, formed by roofing felt or roofing paper, and then by a first layer of shingles.
Over time, roofing shingles wear out, deteriorate, or suffer damage and lose their effectiveness. Such shingles require periodic removal and replacement. When the shingles wear out or deteriorate, that is, when the surface granulation thereof has worn off, or if the roof becomes damaged due to storms, a second layer of shingles may be laid over the existing shingles. When a shingle roof is replaced, the old shingles may be removed and discarded and replaced by new shingles. Normally, before a new roof is installed on a building, the damaged roofing material is removed. Thus, at some point in the buildings lifetime, it is likely to be necessary to remove a layer or layers of shingles which are already on the roof.
Generally, shingles are fastened, e.g., nailed or stapled, to the roof surface. Roofing nails which have wide flat heads may be used, so that the nails may securely hold the shingle material to the roof surface. The fasteners, e.g., nails, staples, or the like, may not be visible or exposed to weather. As noted above, the fasteners may be placed along the upper edge portion of the shingles of any one course, so that, when the next course of shingles is laid thereover, the fasteners are hidden under the flaps of the succeeding shingles. Because these succeeding shingles are fastened, e.g., nailed or stapled, and held down in the same manner, it may not be possible to merely raise any one flap of a shingle in order to gain access to the fasteners. The flaps frequently hide the fasteners and the succeeding layer of flaps, ascending toward the crown of the roof, tend to hold down the preceding ones. This hold-down effect is a significant reliability feature, maintaining the integrity of the roof under windy or stormy conditions.
To remove the shingles, problems arise in obtaining access to the fasteners. To obtain access to the fasteners and to pry the fasteners up on a fastener-by-fastener, especially, if two layers of shingles are on the roof surface, may be extremely time consuming. During removal the shingles often split or rip, littering the shingled surface with debris which must be removed before a new protective surface may be applied. The roofing fasteners employed to hold down the shingles may tear through the shingles during the lifting process and remain imbedded in the underlying roof surface. After the shingles have been stripped, the remaining fasteners protrude from the roof surface and are either withdrawn from the roof surface or driven down into the roof surface to allow for the application of the new roofing materials. Withdrawing the old roofing fasteners or driving them into the roof surface increases the total required time for removal of the old roofing materials and installation of the new roofing materials, thereby increasing the total cost of the roofing replacement operation.
Proper preparation of an existing roof for replacement shingle installation may be a difficult and time consuming job. Except where only small patches of the roof are to be repaired, a more common practice is to remove very large sections of the old shingles prior to installation of replacements. At present, shingles may be removed manually through a variety of known hand tools. Such tools are often cumbersome to operate, and their use may result in wasted man hours. The steep and often dangerous pitch of known roofs further aggravates the problems encountered in removing shingles with known hand tools.
Pry bars with extending blades exist, which are configured to fit beneath a layer or layers of shingles, or between the roof surface and a layer or layers of shingles, so that a plurality of fasteners may be pried up from the roof surface at one time. Such pry bars, however, tend to deform or break. Moreover, such manual removal processes are tedious, repetitive, laborious, and exhaustive. One or more roofers manually and repeatedly insert the tool beneath a free edge of a shingle layer or layers and pry upwardly to withdraw the fasteners from the roof surface and free the shingles for removal.
In addition, such roofing material removal tools may include a leading flat portion which is intended to be oriented substantially parallel to the surface on which the roofing materials are connected. However, the orientation of the leading edge of the head of the tool may be a function of a number of factors. Such factors include the angular orientation between the handle and the leading edge of the tool, the length of the handle and the height at which the roofer holds the handle in relation to the surface on which the tiles are mounted. The latter factor also tends to be a function of the roofer's height, and whether the roofer holds the handle in a position that is comfortable for the roofer during use, or whether the roofer is compelled to artificially raise or lower the tool, or both, during use.
Back injuries may not result from a single incident or trauma. Repetitive bending or lifting and remaining in awkward postures for prolonged periods, however, may tire back muscles and result in ligament sprains. Sprains occur when back muscles are no longer able to respond to repetitive movements. See Joel Martin, Professional Roofing, www.professionalroofing.net (October 1999). Removing roofing materials by means of such known hand tools may increase significantly the likelihood of back injury.
Various power tools have been developed in an effort to overcome the disadvantages of manual removal processes. While powered, shingle removing tools have been proposed, such tools have suffered from various drawbacks in actual practice. Thus, for example, some such removal tools have not provided appropriate leverage or mechanical advantage at the tip edge of the blade to quickly and conveniently remove shingles.

Apparatus for removing surface coverings and methods for using such apparatus


An optical imprinting apparatus, and a method for producing a two-dimensional pattern, have line widths less than the wavelength of an exposure light. The evanescent (proximity) field effect is adopted to realize the apparatus and method. An optical imprinting apparatus comprises a container in which light is enclosed, an exposure-mask having a proximity field exposure pattern firmly fixed to a section of the container for exposing the exposure pattern on a photo-sensitive material through an evanescent field by the light enclosed therein; and a light source for supplying the light in the container.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods for imprinting micro-patterns, and relates in particular to a technique of evanescent (proximity)-field-assisted fabrication of two-dimensional micro-patterns of smaller dimensions than the wavelength of light.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical example of fabrication techniques for making micro-circuit patterns on a semiconductor substrate is photolithography. In this technique, a photo-sensitive material (photo-resist) is coated on a substrate base, and a reduced image of a masking pattern containing micro-circuit patterns is projected on the base by optical means to expose the photo-resist material. The degree of resolution achievable by photolithography is limited by light diffraction effects, and the minimum line width is ultimately limited by the wavelength with respect to light. For this reason, it is necessary to use shorter wavelengths for fabrication of finer patterns. Currently, this is being achieved by using the g-line (436 nm wavelength) or the i-line (365 nm wavelength) of a mercury lamp, or a KrF excimer laser (248 nm wavelength) or a ArF excimer laser (193 nm wavelength), and the trend is towards the use of shorter wavelengths to meet the demand for finer line width.
In recent years, active research has been conducted on the use of evanescent fields (proximity fields) for fabrication of micro-patterns. An evanescent field is an electro-magnetic field produced when light is transmitted through a transmissive object placed at a sub-wavelength distance from a light source. If an object having a micro-pattern surface structure, comprised by high and low structures, is placed within a sub-wavelength distance of a light source, light is transmitted through high structures, and evanescent fields are generated at these locations. The evanescent field diminishes exponentially as the separation distance increases beyond the wavelength of transmitting light. Therefore, if a micro-pattern with a height difference on the order of several tens of nanometers is coated with a photo-sensitive material and is placed at a sub-wavelength distance to an exposure light source, light is transmitted only through the high structures, thereby exposing only the coating on the high structures of the micro-pattern to the exposure light. In this technique, the line width of the exposed material is governed only by the fineness of the pattern placed in proximity of the light source, not by the exposure wavelength. Therefore, it is possible to produce micro-patterns exceeding the limit imposed by the exposure wavelength.
A known example of micro-pattern fabrication based on the evanescent field effect uses an optical fiber having one end sharpened to a sub-wavelength dimension, and a laser light is injected from the opposite end of the fiber. The sharpened end is placed in contact with or in proximity to (at a sub-wavelength distance) a surface of a substrate base coated with a photo-resist film, then a proximity field is produced in the vicinity of the exposed region, and the light is transmitted through the proximity field and the photo-resist film is exposed to the light. Therefore, by sharpening the tip to a sub-wavelength dimension, it is possible to expose a pattern scribed by a line width of a sub-wavelength dimension on the photo-resist film. The photo-resist film is developed by photo-lithographical technology, then, using the exposed sections of the photo-resist film as etch-masking, a patterned surface of the substrate base is etched to remove the unprotected regions, thereby leaving behind micro-patterns of a sub-wavelength line width.
However, in this technique, the proximity field can only be produced at the tip of the optical fiber opposite to the base, therefore, the exposed pattern is a point. To apply this technique to the production of a two-dimensional pattern of some integrated circuit device, it is necessary to scan the tip in a pattern of the circuit, so that it not only consumes a vast amount pattern-making time but also leads to the need for a complex tip-driving apparatus. Therefore, this technique is considered impractical.
For these reasons, there have been attempts to produce micro-patterns using a mask that has a proximity field exposure pattern and transferring the two-dimensional pattern to a substrate base. For example, a prism made of a light transmissive material such as glass and the like is prepared and a photo-mask, having a proximity field exposure pattern of sub-wavelength dimensions, is attached to the bottom surface of the prism. Light is injected into the prism at such an angle that it is totally reflected at the bottom surface of the prism. Next, a substrate base coated with a photo-resist film is placed at a sub-wavelength distance of a proximity exposure pattern so that an evanescent field is produced and a two-dimensional pattern, conforming to the proximity exposure pattern, is exposed on the photo-resist film. In this process, an optical system for injecting a laser beam from an inclined surface of a prism is used, and the incident laser beam is totally reflected at a plane having a proximity field exposure pattern; and then it is transmitted to the outside through another inclined surface. A photo-resist film surface of a substrate base is made to contact closely with the proximity field exposure pattern so as to generate an evanescent field to propagate exposure light along the exposure pattern, and thereby producing micro-patterns having line widths of sub-wavelength dimensions.
The method utilizing the evanescent field described above enables one to produce a two-dimensional micro-pattern having line widths less than the wavelength of the exposure light on a photo-resist film of a substrate. However, the method requires that the incident beam be aligned with the inclination angle of a prism, and the optical system is necessarily complex. Also, the exposure pattern section can only accept a small exposure area. And, because the incident light is at an angle to the proximity field exposure pattern, the depth of imprinting is shallow, and because the exposed area increases quickly along the beam line, it is difficult to expose a structure having high aspect ratios on the photo-resist film.


A self-contained monitor including a volatile memory circuit having an armed and a disarmed state, a nonvolatile memory circuit, a responder and an intrusion detector is disposed in a predetermined space to sense and report an intrusion therein. A primary power source having momentary and sustained power interruptions associated therewith energizes the self-contained monitor. A short term energy storage circuit provides secondary power to the volatile memory circuit communicating therewith and with the primary power source so that momentary power interruptions do not result in the volatile memory circuit sensing a loss of power. The volatile memory circuit is switched from the armed to the disarmed state by either the sensing of the intrusion or by the sensing of at least one sustained power interruption. A user employs a remote controller to transmit an RF test signal to remotely test the state of the volatile memory circuit. A tuning code relating to the RF test signal is stored in the nonvolatile memory circuit which makes the monitor responsive to the RF test signal. A test response is generated by the responder prompted by the RF test signal when the volatile memory circuit is in the armed state.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to burglar alarm systems and more particularly to a self-contained monitor surveiling a predetermined space in a premises for an occurrence of an intrusion. The self-contained monitor includes a memory circuit which may be remotely tested by a returning occupant to determine if an intrusion has occurred in the predetermined space.
2. Description of Related Art
Burglar alarm systems comprising a self-contained intrusion monitor used to surveil a predetermined space and a remote controller employed to control the self-contained monitor are well known in the art. In such systems, the monitor typically includes a motion sensor and a memory circuit. The motion sensor detects an unauthorized entry into the predetermined space in a premises such as an apartment or a house and the memory circuit records the occurrence of the intrusion. Before reentering the premises, a returning occupant manipulates the remote controller to prompt a response from the self-contained monitor to determine if an intrusion has occurred and whether it is safe to enter the premises.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,621,385, issued to William P. Carney on Apr. 15, 1997, teaches an alarm system comprising a self-contained monitor and a hand held remote controller. The monitor, powered by either batteries or by an AC power line transformed and rectified to supply a DC potential, surveils a predetermined space, initiates an alarm as a result of an intrusion into the space and records the occurrence of the intrusion. Carney""s system provides a reliable RF signalling protocol which enables an authorized user to remotely arm, disarm or test the monitor for the intrusion without causing a false test report through misuse of the remote controller. Should the monitor sense either an intrusion or a power interruption, it does not respond to an RF test signal thereby warning the occupant not to reenter the premises to avoid the possibility of encountering a remaining intruder. Carney""s system reports all sensed power interruptions as having been caused by an intrusion. His disclosure does not teach a self-contained monitor that minimizes the number of intrusion reports caused by faults which frequently occur on an AC power line that are not a result of an intrusion. False intrusion reports are a significant problem and inconvenience for a returning occupant who needlessly seeks help based on the lack of a monitor response which was caused by a power line fault rather than by an actual intrusion.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,808,547 which issued to William P. Carney on Sep. 15, 1998 as a Continuation-in-Part (CIP) of the above referenced U.S. Pat. No. 5,621,385 teaches an alarm system comprising a battery powered hand held remote controller and a self-contained monitor energized by either batteries or an AC adaptor cord. The self-contained monitor includes an intrusion detector for sensing an intrusion and a memory circuit being switched from an armed state to a disarmed state by a sensing of either an intrusion or a power interruption to the monitor. The CIP teaches a remote controller which employs a unique RF signaling protocol to arm, disarm and test the monitor for an occurrence of either an intrusion or a power interruption. If the monitor senses either the intrusion or the power interruption it does not respond to an RF test signal. The CIP teaches that all sensed power interruptions are reported as having been caused by an intrusion. The lack of a response to the RF test signal warns a returning occupant that an intrusion may have occurred and there exists the possibility of confronting a remaining intruder should he or she enter the premises. Carney""s signalling protocol enables the returning occupant to repeatedly test the monitor to be sure of its response before engaging in what may be a time consuming and stressful effort to seek help. Carney does not address the problem of false intrusion reports being produced by the monitor because AC power line faults occurring on the AC line supplying power to the monitor switched the memory to the disarmed state.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/372,836, filed by William P. Carney on Aug. 12, 1999, teaches an intrusion alarm and detection system. The system defines a self-contained monitor for sensing and recording an intrusion and a remote controller employed by a user to arm, disarm and test the monitor by transmitting a coded RF signal thereto. The monitor includes a primary power source comprising either an AC power line or batteries, a nonvolatile memory circuit for secreting a binary code associated with the RF signal, a motion detector for sensing the intrusion and a volatile memory for recording the occurrence of either the intrusion or an interruption of power to the monitor. As taught by Carney, the volatile memory circuit is switched from an armed state to a disarmed state by either the sensing of an intrusion or by an interruption of the primary power. The code stored in the nonvolatile memory is not effected by either a momentary or a sustained power interruption. When the volatile memory circuit is in the armed state, the monitor produces a response to an RF test signal transmitted by the remote controller. If the monitor has sensed an intrusion or a power failure and the volatile memory circuit has been switched to the disarmed state, the monitor does not respond, thus warning the returning occupant not to reenter his or her premises. However, Carney does not teach a means by which to prevent momentary power interruptions that may occur on the AC power line from prompting the volatile memory to falsely record the same as a power interruption caused as a result of an intrusion.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/547,053 filed by William P. Carney on Apr. 10, 2000 teaches a remotely accessed intrusion detection system. The system includes a self-contained monitor energized by a primary power source comprising a battery pack and/or a power jack for receiving an AC adaptor cord. In one aspect of the disclosure, Carney teaches a remote controller for arming, disarming and testing the monitor. The self-contained monitor transmits an RF monitor signal to an interface module communicating with a telephone answering machine recording the occurrence of the alarm condition thereon. A user calls the answering machine from a telephone at a distant location to receive a recorded report from the answering machine regarding the alarm condition. Carney does not address the problems associated with momentary power interruptions associated with the AC power line energizing the self-contained monitor and the possibility of such interruptions resulting in the reporting of erroneous alarm conditions by the self-contained monitor.
As can be seen from the foregoing, remotely controlled self-contained monitors offer a cost effective and reliable means by which to surveil a predetermined space and report the occurrence of an intrusion therein. Nevertheless, to optimize the reliability of the test reports produced by such self-contained monitors, there is a need in the industry to provide a self-contained monitor which does not mistakenly record momentary power line faults on an AC line energizing the monitor as power interruptions of the type which typically occur as a result of an intrusion.
The present invention is directed to a system that solves the problem of providing a cost effective and reliable means by which a user can employ a self-contained monitor powered by a primary power source to surveil a predetermined space and report the occurrence of an intrusion therein. The self-contained monitor may be remotely tested for the occurrence without concern that an erroneous intrusion report was generated as a result of a momentary power interruption associated with the primary power source.
The present invention is an improved intrusion detection system of the type a self-contained monitor surveiling a predetermined space for detecting an occurrence of an intrusion in the space. The intrusion detection system employs a primary power source energizing the self-contained monitor including a volatile memory circuit having an armed state and a disarmed state communicating with a nonvolatile memory circuit having a tuning code stored therein. The volatile memory circuit is switched from the disarmed state to the armed state by an arming signal which is qualified by the tuning code and is switched from the armed state to the disarmed state by a sensing of an interruption of primary power thereto. The improvement comprises the volatile memory circuit sensing only the interruption of primary power having a duration longer than a preset period of time and a short term energy storage circuit communicating with the primary power source and the volatile memory circuit supplying secondary power thereto such that the volatile memory circuit does not sense the interruption of primary power during the preset period of time.


A display apparatus includes a display unit, a control unit, and a compensation unit. The compensation unit may compensate the display data when a sensing operation is performed on a target pixel circuit, the compensation unit compensating display data by setting a light emission amount of light emitting element of a target pixel circuit to be an amount obtained by subtracting a sensing light emission amount, which is a light emission amount of the light emitting element of the target pixel circuit during a sensing interval, from a display light emission amount, which is a light emission amount of the light emitting element of the target pixel circuit before the compensation.

1. Field
Embodiments relate to a display apparatus and a method for controlling the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a display apparatus, the quality of an image may vary if voltage-current (VI) characteristics of a light emitting element forming the image vary. Accordingly, control of image variation is desirable.

Display apparatus and controlling method thereof