An implantable cardiac device minimizes apnea burden. In one implementation, the device administers a series of cardiac pacing trials using a different value for a pacing parameter in each trial and then measures an apnea burden corresponding to each trial in order to determine a value which reduces apnea burden when used for ongoing cardiac pacing. In one implementation the implantable cardiac device performs series of trials in cycles, during which a first series of trials determines a value for a first pacing parameter for reducing apnea burden while other pacing parameters are held constant. Subsequent series of trials subject the other pacing parameters, in turn, to their own series of pacing trials while holding the non-subjected pacing parameters constant. Through multiple cycles, the device optimizes each parameter in turn based on continually improving values for the other pacing parameters.

Sleep apnea, a prevalent sleep disorder, manifests many undesirable symptoms that range from snoring, cessation of breathing, and headaches to depression, memory loss, and exacerbation of heart disease. "Hypopnea," a related malady that begets some of the same symptoms as apnea, refers to a breathing rate or tidal volume that is less than fifty percent of a patient's normal baseline breathing pattern.
Blood chemistry changes occur when apnea and hypopnea modify normal breathing during sleep. Breathing difficulty can cause blood oxygenation to fall to low levels and carbon dioxide and its derivatives to build up in the blood. When the control centers in the brain sense these chemical changes they often cause an arousal of the apneic patient. Thereafter, regular breathing and normal exchange of oxygen and accumulated carbon dioxide may resume—for a time, until the next episode.
Severe apnea and hypopnea result in hundreds of episodes of low oxygen levels per night. The typical apnea patient may have little awareness of the nightly struggle to breathe until its effects are felt the next day.
Sleep apnea can be classified as "obstructive" if caused by mechanical blockage of airflow, "central" if caused by central nervous system disorder, or "mixed" if a combination of obstructive and central.
Sleep apnea can be life-threatening if it occurs with coronary artery disease (CAD) or congestive heart failure (CHF—sometimes referred to as just "heart failure"). Not only does apnea directly place a load on the heart and cardiopulmonary system, but indirectly affects these organs by circumventing restful sleep. Alteration of sleep cycle phases causes sleep to be partly ineffective. A cycle of sleep debt and daytime weariness worsens CAD, CHF, and also hypertension. Consequently, sleep apneics who have a blood oxygen level lowered by sleep-disordered breathing are at increased risk for hypertension, arrhythmias, heart attack, stroke, and nocturnal sudden death.
Sleep apnea burden ("apnea burden") is a metric that may be defined in several ways. For example, the apnea burden may be proportional to the number of apneic and hypopneic episodes that occur per hour, sometimes called the Apnea Hypopneic Index (AHI). Other metrics of apnea burden are possible—for example, the total time spent in apnea and hypopnea per hour, the total time spent in apnea and hypopnea per night, or the frequency of arousal due to apnea and hypopnea per hour. In general, as used herein, "apnea burden" means the extent, severity, and/or gravity of the sleep apnea/hypopnea that a patient experiences, and is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,741,885 to Park et al., entitled, "Implantable Cardiac Device for Managing the Progression of Heart Disease and Method," which is incorporated by reference herein.
Approximately fifty percent of patients with heart failure suffer concurrent sleep apnea. About ten percent of these heart failure patients suffer from obstructive sleep apnea, while about forty percent suffer from central sleep apnea. A high comorbidity exists between sleep apnea and CHF, which results from a negative synergy between problematic gas exchange during apnea and problematic oxygen distribution caused by weak cardiac pumping and fluid buildup characteristic of CHF.
CHF is a condition in which a weakened heart cannot provide enough pressure to prevent buildup of fluid in bodily tissues. CHF may affect either the right side, left side, or both sides of the heart. The weak pumping action causes fluid to back up into other areas of the body including the liver, gastrointestinal tract, and extremities (right-sided heart failure), or the lungs (left-sided heart failure). Heart failure patients have characteristic pulmonary edema or pitting edema of the lower legs.
Structural and functional causes of heart failure include high blood pressure (hypertension), valvular heart disease, congenital heart disease, cardiomyopathy, heart tumor, and other heart diseases. Precipitating and exacerbating factors include infections with high fever, anemia, irregular heartbeats (arrhythmias), hyperthyroidism, and kidney disease, and of course, sleep apnea. CHF and sleep apnea often occur together in a patient, as mentioned above, and exacerbate each other. Conversely, treating one usually improves the other.
Separately or in addition to the exemplary methods described herein, sleep apnea may be treated by administering continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or by various other treatments, such as surgery and medications. The type of treatment depends in part on the type of sleep apnea and personal preferences. It is generally believed that reducing heart failure symptoms reduces the apnea burden, which in turn further reduces the heart failure symptoms. Cardiac pacing therapy for diagnosing and treating sleep apnea is still relatively unexplored. Hence, there is a continuing need to improve the techniques for applying pacing therapy from implantable cardiac devices in a manner that effectively combats sleep apnea and heart failure.

Apnea burden minimizing cardiac stimulation device


A fluid rotating apparatus includes a casing having gas inhaling inlet and a gas discharge outlet, rotors driven in the casing by a driving mechanism and having fluid-transporting grooves which engage each other in synchronous rotation, and bearing portion for supporting the rotors. A communicating path is formed at one of the rotor and the casing for communicating a gas discharge-side inner space and a space defined by an inner surface of the casing and the fluid-transporting groove of an outer surface of each rotor with each other. The gas discharge-side inner space is defined by an end surface of the rotor opposite to a gas inhaling-side surface thereof, and a sealing portion is formed between the rotor and the casing to prevent fluid from flowing into the gas discharge-side inner space.

The present invention relates to a fluid rotating apparatus to be used to discharge gas from a chamber such as a vacuum chamber of a semiconductor-manufacturing device.
A vacuum pump is used to provide a vacuum environment in a CVD apparatus, a dry etching apparatus, or a sputtering apparatus used in the manufacturing process of a semiconductor. In recent years, there has been a growing demand for the development of a vacuum pump having an advanced function. For example, a vacuum pump which provides a high ultimate vacuum is needed because the process of manufacturing semiconductors has become highly integrated and fine-structured. In addition, vacuum chambers are becoming larger and larger as wafers and liquid crystal bases are becoming larger. Under these circumstances, it is necessary to use a large vacuum pump so as to increase a discharge speed of gas.
A screw/thread groove type rotor twin vacuum pump which generates little vibration and noise is used in semiconductor-manufacturing process. As shown in FIG. 19, a conventional thread groove type rotor twin vacuum pump comprises two rotors 100a and 100b, accommodated in a casing 102, which rotate in opposite directions and have concave and convex grooves meshed with but not contacting each other. Gas is inhaled from an inlet 101 and discharged from an outlet (not numbered). The rotors 100a and 100b are fixed to each of shafts 103a and 103b. Ball bearings 105a and 106a support the shaft 103a. Ball bearings 105b and 106b support the shaft 103b. Timing gears 107a and 107b are disposed at the lower ends of the shafts 103a and 103b to allow the rotors 100a and 100b to rotate synchronously.
It is necessary to consider the capacity of a load to be applied to a bearing portion in designing the bearing portion for use in the twin rotor vacuum pump. The disadvantage of the conventional twin rotor vacuum pump is that a load is applied to the bearing portion is greater than a radial load because the pressure difference between the upper surface and the lower surface of each rotor perpendicular to the shaft of each of the rotors 100a and 100b, namely, between a gas inlet side 111 and a gas outlet side 112, is applied to the rotors 100a and 100b as the thrust load. For example, supposing that the pressure difference between the gas inlet side 111 and the gas outlet side 112 is .DELTA.P=1 kg/cm.sup.2 and the diameter of each rotor is 10 cm, a thrust load of F=5.sup.2 * 3.14 * 1=78.5 kgf is applied to the bearing portion.
In order to eliminate this disadvantage, lubricating oil accommodated in an oil tank (not shown) is fed to the bearing portion. Thus, the lubricating performance of the pump is maintained under the condition in which a high load is applied to the bearing portion and the pump is continuously operated. But due to the increase in the number of rotations of the rotors or the manufacture of a large pump caused by recent demands for an advanced performance vacuum pump requiring increased gas-discharge performance made in recent years, more load is applied to the bearing portion. Under these circumstances, the development of techniques for securing the long life of the bearing portion is required.

Fluid rotating apparatus with rotor communicating path

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


An audio limiting circuit capable of satisfying frequency dependent limits and time domain constraints, is disclosed. In one illustrative embodiment, an input node receives an unattenuated input signal and a system modeling filter predicts the amount, if any, by which the sound pressure level that would be generated by an acoustic transducer in response to the unattenuated input signal, would exceed one or more predetermined limits. In that embodiment, an energy detector separates the excess predicted sound pressure level into one or more frequency bands and calculates the average acoustic energy associated with each band. A gain logic block determines an attenuation factor based on whether one or more of the predetermined limits has been exceeded and the attenuation factor values are smoothed to minimize abrupt changes to the unattenuated input signal. A delay buffer delays the unattenuated input signal values. Finally, in the embodiment described here, the smoothed attenuation factor values are synchronized with and applied to the delayed input signal values and the resulting attenuated signal is transmitted to an output node and ultimately to one or more acoustic transducers.

A. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the fields of acoustic engineering and digital signal processing, and more particularly to techniques for filtering and limiting acoustic signals, so as to maintain the sound pressure levels and acoustic energy associated with such signals within certain predetermined limits.
B. Description of the Related Art
Advanced telecommunication headsets and their related circuitry typically provide some method of limiting the maximum sound level that the speakers can produce. Traditional approaches to implementing these limiting circuits have focused on limiting the peak voltage of very fast transient signals as well as limiting signals sustained above a reference level over longer time periods. These signals are electrical representations of the desired acoustic signal.
Existing products and techniques implement signal limiting using analog circuitry such as diodes to provide instantaneous peak limits on the amplifier output voltage. However, maintaining sound levels below certain predetermined limits by limiting the instantaneous peak voltage using diodes causes significant distortion over a wide range of signal levels. For example, in order to insure that an acoustic signal never exceeds a sound pressure level of 110 dB using diodes to limit the instantaneous peak voltage, non-linear effects begin at a level far below the desired limiting level. The result is a degradation of sound quality of the acoustic signal at a level where linearity is desired.
Additionally, existing analog techniques have utilized gain control circuits that respond to predetermined input signal threshold levels with a predetermined time constant for their gain adjustment. Such gain adjustments limit output voltage to a predetermined level after a time interval referred to as the attack time, once the threshold is exceeded. Threshold limits are usually based on peak value of the input signal. In one prior art example, diodes limit peak levels in less than a microsecond by simple clipping, a gain control circuit reduces peak output to a lower level after a first attack time is exceeded (tuned to the timing of speech peaks) and if the threshold continues to be exceeded after a second longer attack time (tuned to the longer periodicity of continuous tones), output signal is reduced to a still lower level. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,307 as an example of this technique.
Such existing methods of limiting acoustic signals rely on peak or average threshold detection over a broad frequency range. Consequently, the output level of the signal is limited according to the total acoustic energy contained in the signal. However, the level of the input signal that is uncomfortable is dependent on the frequency content of the signal. For example, low frequency signals (below 1000 Hz) can reach a higher level before the discomfort range of a listener is triggered. Normal speech is a wideband signal, with much of the frequency content below 1000 Hz. Broad band limiting of speech peaks can result in a very quiet output level when the speech is within the normal amplitude range.
Other existing sound level limiting methods provide for decreasing the sound level output in the event that a portion of the signal exceeds the average speech level, and many of these other methods provide low distortion limiting. However, these methods can fail to prevent unacceptably loud sounds from being produced by the output acoustic transducers such as speakers for short periods of time (on the order of 1 to 10 milliseconds).
Additionally, in 1999, Telstra Corporation Ltd, an Australian company, released its "TT4" specification. TT4 was developed to satisfy various regulatory agencies' desires to prevent acoustic disturbances resulting from being exposed to loud sounds.
The TT4 specification calls for frequency band specific limits in order to adequately protect users of headsets from sound levels that briefly become loud enough to trigger an acoustic disturbance. Implementing frequency dependent limits to sound pressure levels would be extremely difficult using existing analog techniques, and the TT4 specification does not provide any guidance or instruction as to how the proposed limits are to be achieved, but rather merely describes the desired results.
As an example, FIG. 8 illustrates a combination of frequency dependent limits and time domain constraints. In FIG. 8 there are three curves of sound pressure level (SPL) limits as a function of frequency. The three curves represent different measurement and time dependencies as follows. (1) The top most curve represents the maximum instantaneous SPL limits as measured with an instantaneous peak detector. These limits can never be exceeded. (2) The middle curve represents the maximum SPL levels as measured using an FFT analysis with 62.5 Hz resolution over a 16 ms window. (3) The lowest curve represents the long term or sustained limits. These sustained limits use the same 16 ms measurement technique as curve (2) and must be attained within 32 ms following an acoustic situation where the a signal continues to exceeded the limits of (2).
Thus, there is a need for a method to limit an acoustic signal without causing excessive delay or distortion to the sound produced by the acoustic signal, while ensuring that the sound produced from the signal does not exceed predetermined, frequency and time dependent limits.


A method of fabricating a semiconductor device including forming a pre metal dielectric liner over a semiconductor substrate on which a transistor is formed. The pre metal dielectric liner is sputter etched to form an unstable interface at the surface. The boron is trapped in an interface in an unstable state in a surface of the PMD liner to effectively suppress the boron penetration phenomenon to the semiconductor substrate.

In general, when forming a Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) in which an n channel type MOS transistor and a p channel MOS transistor are integrated on the same substrate, gate patterns and a silicide are formed. Then, to fill a space between the gate patterns, an insulating layer is formed using a Boron Phospho Silicate Glass (BPSG) oxide layer, having excellent flowability.
To suppress the diffusion of boron B in the BPSG oxide layer into a substrate during a subsequent thermal process, a pre metal dielectric (PMD) liner is formed prior to a deposition of the BPSG oxide layer.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a semiconductor device having a general pre metal dielectric liner.
With reference to FIG. 1, a device isolation layer 102 defines an active region of a semiconductor substrate 100 having first region A and second region B.
An n-channel type transistor is arranged in the first region A of the semiconductor device 100, and a p-channel type transistor is arranged in the second region B of the semiconductor device 100.
Further, a nitride layer 110 is arranged over an entire surface of the substrate as the PMD liner, and the BPSG oxide layer 120 is formed over the nitride layer 110.
The nitride layer 110 serves as an etch stop layer during a subsequent etching for a contact. Simultaneously, nitride layer 110 functions to suppress the diffusion of boron B in the BPSG oxide layer 120 into the semiconductor substrate 100 during a subsequent thermal treatment. When an impurity ion such as the boron B penetrates the semiconductor substrate 100, the threshold voltage of a device is locally changed, which degrades the stability of the device. In the related art, in order to suppress the penetration of the boron B to the highest degree, a gas atmosphere is controlled to increase the bonding strength of nitrogen-hydrogen N—H during the formation of the nitride layer 110. However, using only the method according to the related art, the suppression of boron B penetration into the semiconductor substrate 100 is limited. Moreover, it requires a thick nitride layer 110 as the PMD liner.

Method of fabricating a semiconductor device having a pre metal dielectric liner


An apparatus for generating sound includes a user input and a graphical programming engine which the user manipulates to generate and connect graphic symbols into a graphical model representative of a sound generating program on a display. A translation mechanism coupled with the graphical programming engine translates the graphical model into a sound generating program, and a digital signal processor executes the sound generating program in response to user input to generate output data in real time representative of sound. This output data may then be coupled to a converter, amplifier and speaker to produce sounds in real time in response to modifications of the graphical model or in response to real time input data from a MIDI standard instrument.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to music synthesizers, and more particularly to synthesizers based on digital signal processing in response to sound generating programs, and to methods and work stations for creating such sound generating programs.
2. Description Of the Related Art
There is a growing trend in the music synthesizer industry to synthesize sounds using sound generating programs executed by digital signal processors. The sound generating programs are based upon computational models of musical instruments, the human voice, or other sound source. Thus, the developer of a sound generating program typically first defines a computational model of the sound source he/she desires to create, and then writes a computer program to execute the model. Prior art examples of such sound generating programs are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,984,276, invented by Julius O. Smith, entitled "DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING USING WAVE GUIDE NETWORKS".
However, the typical user of a music synthesizer may not be skilled in programming digital signal processors. Thus, the trend towards developing sound generating programs has been hampered by the long learning curve required for musicians who desire to use this technique.
Also, in the development of a computational model of a source of sound, often involves trial and error. The process of trial and error is quite difficult when in order to modify a computational model, one must go to the source code of a computer program and modify it, recompile the modified computer program and execute it, before the developer of the model can listen to the results of the modification.
Finally, the sound generating programs which are developed using the prior art techniques, are unique to a single system. Thus, when the developer of the sound generating program wants to execute his/her model on a different system, a completely new program must be written.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system for creating models of musical instruments or other sources of sound for use with music synthesizers which is powerful, easy to use, and results in models that are portable across a number of systems.

Sound model generator and synthesizer with graphical programming engine


A safety gate for restricting passage of a child through an access way such as a doorway or stairwell. The gate has two barrier panels in a parallel, overlapping arrangement that can be relatively adjusted to different combined widths to fit in different access ways. The gate is mounted on one side by contact pads or hinges, and can also be mounted pivotally on a telescoping pole vertically disposed on one side of the access way. The gate is frictionally secured or closed by extendable and retractable engagement feet adapted to forcibly engage the access way side wall. The engagement feet are controlled by an outwardly motivating extension mechanism connected via a reciprocating linkage with the engagement feet, which provides for reflexive engagement of both feet with approximately equal force, even in access ways having vertically uneven widths.

The present invention relates to security gates to restrict movements of infants and small children through access ways, such as doorways and hallways leading to restricted areas of the home, stairways, or the like.
Child security gates must function as an impassible barrier to exclude passage of an infant or child through the accessway, but it is also necessary to provide for removal of the barrier to permit passage by an attending adult. Accordingly, a number of gate designs have been developed that allow for barrier removal, for example by collapsing the gate, pivoting the gate out of the access way, or removing the gate entirely from the access way.
In addition to providing a removable barrier that permits adult access, it is also desirable to provide a gate that is adaptable for installation in a variety of differently dimensioned access ways, and which may also be transferred from one access way to another to accommodate daily movements of the child and attending adult.
Various designs have been developed that address one or more of the above needs. For example, child safety gates have been designed that can be extended and retracted in a number of ways, to provide a removable barrier function and/or allow adjustable placement of the barrier to block differently dimensioned access ways. One conventional design provides a collapsible lattice gate that can be extended across an access way to provide a barrier or collapsed to allow adult passage. Examples of this type of gate are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,587, issued to Scruggs, Jr. on Feb. 9, 1988, and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,521 issued to Barnes et al. on Jun. 2, 1991.
Another type of gate forms a barrier consisting of two or more partitions that slide relative to one another along tracks, slots or horizontally disposed rods. These gates can be expanded to occupy the entire width of the access way, or retracted to permit adult passage (either by collapsing, pivoting or removing the gate from the access way). One example of this general design is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,831,777 issued to Johnson, Jr. on May 23, 1989.
Most sliding panel gates are installed and disengaged using a friction mounting mechanism, which typically incorporates spring biased telescoping rods or pistons with engagement feet that exert outward pressure to frictionally engage one or both sides of the access way. Such friction mounted barriers are removed by compressing the biasing spring to retract the rods or pistons, either manually or through a lever mechanism. Examples of safety gates employing various aspects of these design features are disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,840 issued to Knoedler et al., on Dec. 28, 1993; 360,191; U.S. Pat. No. 4,492,263 issued to Gebhard; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,367,829 issued to Abrams et al. on Nov. 29, 1994.
While the above described safety gates are generally satisfactory for preventing passage of infants or small children through access ways, a number of shortcomings of such devices have been identified by the inventor. For example, although friction mounted gates permit rapid installation and removal, and avoid undesirable installation of mounting hardware in the access way, these gates are generally less stable than permanently installed gates (i.e. collapsible or pivoting gates mounted by fixed hinges, mounts and/or latches). More specifically, because these gates rely on friction mounting to secure the gate between the sides of the access way, a child may purposefully or accidentally apply sufficient force to knock the engagement feet loose, causing the gate to fall out of place. This problem may be exacerbated with conventional, spring biased mounting designs after long periods of use if biasing springs become fatigued and incapable of exerting sufficient force on the sides of the access way to prevent undesired dislodgement.
At least one existing safety gate partially ameliorates the problem of unreliable friction mounting, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,367,829 issued to Crossley et al. on Nov. 29, 1994. In this two-panel gate design, paired bumpers on each side of the gate are brought into close juxtaposition with opposing sides of the access way by sliding the panels to increase their combined width to approximately fill the access way. The bumpers on one side are then lockably extendable by a camming mechanism rather than a spring, so that the gate is secured in a tighter friction fit within the access way.
This latter design suffers its own disadvantages, however, particularly in terms of its potential instability when used in access ways that feature unequal widths between the sides of the access way at heights corresponding to the upper and lower bumper positions. For example, if the access way is narrower adjacent the lower bumper than adjacent the upper bumper, engagement of the lower bumper with the side of the access way will limit extension of the upper bumper so that it does not tightly engage the access way. Accordingly, when an infant or child pushes or falls against the gate, the gate may become dislodged and allow passage of the child to a restricted area.
In view of the above, there is a need in the art for a child safety gate that more conveniently and reliably excludes passage of infants and small children through restricted access ways.


A compact exhaust gas treating apparatus which is improved in the bag filter performance in order to reduce the amount of dioxin contained in exhaust gas discharged from municipal refuse incineration equipment, industrial waste incineration equipment, etc. An activated carbon filter is disposed along the filter cloth of the bag filter at the purified gas outlet side of the filter cloth so that exhaust gas passes through the activated carbon filter after passing through the filter cloth, thereby being purified.

The present invention relates to an exhaust gas treating apparatus wherein exhaust gas that is discharged from municipal refuse incineration equipment, industrial waste incineration equipment, etc. is passed through a filter to remove dust and reduce the amount of harmful substances, e.g., dioxin and NO.sub.x, contained in the exhaust gas.
Hitherto, a bag filter has been used as an exhaust gas treating device for reducing the amounts of dust and dioxin contained in exhaust gas that is discharged from municipal refuse incineration equipment, industrial waste incineration equipment, etc. This bag filter comprises, for example, a suspended cylindrical filter cloth, which is used in such a way that an exhaust gas stream is passed through the cylindrical filter cloth from either the inner or outer side thereof and the purified exhaust gas is released from the other side.
In general, exhaust gas contains dust at a concentration of several tens of g/Nm.sup.3, but it is purified to a dust concentration of several tens of mg/Nm.sup.3 by passing through a bag filter. The dust collected in this way is discharged by being cleared off the cloth of the bag filter. Examples of methods of clearing the collected dust include pulse jet cleaning, back washing, shaking, etc. Among them, the pulse jet cleaming method is commonly used for exhaust gas treatment from the viewpoint of reliability and cost. The pulse jet cleaning method is carried out in such a manner that compressed air is blown into the bag filter from the purified gas side to strain and relax the filter cloth repeatedly, thereby clearing the dust from the filter cloth.
Exhaust gas from an incinerator is cooled by water spray in an exhaust gas cooler, sprayed with lime, and passed through a bag filter at 100.degree. C. to 200.degree. C., thereby capturing dioxin in the bag filter.
It is also known that dioxin can be removed by passing the exhaust gas through an activated carbon filter. In addition, composite filters comprising a carbon fiber layer and a reinforcing filter medium, which are formed together in an integral structure, are disclosed as filter dust separators for high temperature in Japanese Patent Public Disclosure No. 61-28415 (1986) and Japanese Utility Model Public Disclosure No. 63-46922 (1988). In these filters, however, a high-temperature strength filter medium is provided on the back surface of a carbon fiber layer to reinforce the fiber layer, but no bag filter is employed.
The rate of dioxin removal by bag filters varies widely, i.e., from 80% to 99%, and it is considered possible to lower the dioxin concentration at the bag filter outlet to about 0.5 ng/Nm.sup.3. However, it is necessary in order to lower the dioxin concentration below this level to consider adopting an activated carbon filter or the like.
The activated carbon filter provides a high dioxin removal rate of about 99%, but the SV value (raw gas quantity/activated carbon quantity) is of the order of 400. Accordingly, employment of the activated carbon filter results in a considerable increase in the overall size of the exhaust gas treating apparatus, and a rise in the cost as well as an increase in the installation space.


A cooking oven has a cooking cavity and a steam generating system. The steam generation system includes a water reservoir received and support in a reservoir-receiving space of a reservoir rack inside the cooking cavity. Thermal energy is provided to the water reservoir by a heater inside the cooking cavity. The heater can include thermal block made of a thermally conductive material in thermal communication with a heating element. The heater can be positioned such that it intimately contacts the water reservoir to deliver thermal energy thereto to convert water contained therein to steam, which can be used to cook a food item inside the cooking cavity.

Cooking ovens capable of steam cooking are known in the art. Existing steam ovens typically include a powered steam generator outside of the cooking cavity that delivers steam into the cooking cavity. This requires a system of pipes and valves to conduct the steam into the oven cavity. It would be desirable to generate steam directly in the oven cavity where it will be used.

Cooking oven with steam generator inside cooking cavity


A compound of formula (I):EAG-EDG-EAG   (I)wherein each EAG is an electron accepting group; and EDG is an electron-donating group of formula (IIa):

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate in particular to photoactive compounds for use in organic photodetectors.
A range of organic electronic devices comprising organic semiconductor materials are known, including organic light-emitting devices, organic field effect transistors, organic photovoltaic devices and organic photodetectors (OPDs).
WO2018099492A2 discloses an OPD having a photoactive layer that contains a small molecule acceptor and a conjugated copolymer electron donor having donor and acceptor units.
CN107652304 discloses an organic solar cell that contains a fused-ring non-fullerene acceptor material.
Liu et al, "Ternary Blend Strategy for Achieving High-Efficiency Organic Solar Cells with Nonfullerene Acceptors Involved" Adv. Func. Mat., 2018, 28 (29), 1-20, discloses non-fullerene acceptor COi8DFIC.
He et al, "A-D-A small molecule acceptors with ladder-type arenes for solar cell" J. of Mat. Chem. A, 2018, 6, 8839-8854, discloses COi8DFIC with an ultranarrow bandgap of 1.26V.
Xu et al "The progress and prospects of non-fullerene acceptors in ternary blend organic solar cells" Mat. Horizons, 2018, 5, 206-221, discloses COi8DFIC.
Xiao et al, "26 mA cm-2 Jsc from organic solar cells with a low-bandgap nonfullerene acceptor" Sci. Bull., 2017, 62, 1494, discloses the A-D-A non-fullerene acceptor, COi8DFIC which has a narrow optical bandgap of 1.26 eV.
Xiao et al, "Ternary organic solar cells offer 14% power conversion efficiency" Sci. Bull., 2017, 62, 1562, discloses COi8DFIC in a polyer:fullerene:non-fullerene ternary solar cell.
Li et al, "Thermostable single-junction organic solar cells with a power conversion efficiency of 14.62%" Sci. Bull., 2018, 63, 340, discloses the low-bandgap non-fullerene acceptor COi8DFIC.

Abstract: The compound of formula (I) may be used in a photosensitive layer of an organic photodetector wherein the photosensitive layer comprises the compound of formula (I) and an electron donor. A photosensor may comprise the organic photodetector and a light source, e.g. a near infra-red light source.


A process for the alkylation of an aromatic substrate over a molecular sieve zeolite catalyst involving supplying an aromatic substrate to a reaction zone containing the catalyst. The molecular sieve catalyst is an effective aromatic alkylation catalyst and comprises a modified zeolite beta alkylation catalyst having an intergrowth of a ZSM-12 crystalline framework within the crystalline framework of zeolite beta. An alkylating agent is also supplied to the reaction zone which is operated under temperature and pressure conditions effective to cause alkylation of the aromatic substrate by the alkylating agent. An alkylated substrate is recovered from the reaction zone.

Aromatic conversion processes which are carried out over molecular sieve catalyst are well known in the chemical processing industry. Such aromatic conversion reactions include the alkylation of aromatic substrates such as benzene to produce alkyl aromatics such as ethylbenzene, ethyltoluene, cumene or higher aromatics and the transalkylation of polyalkyl benzenes to monoalkyl benzenes. Typically, an alkylation reactor which produces a mixture of mono- and poly- alkyl benzenes may be coupled through various separation stages to a downstream transalkylation reactor. Such alkylation and transalkylation conversion processes can be carried out in the liquid phase, in the vapor phase or under conditions in which both liquid and vapor phases are present.
An example of vapor phase alkylation is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,107,224 to Dwyer. Here, vapor phase ethylation of benzene over a zeolite catalyst is accomplished in a down flow reactor having four series connected catalyst beds. The output from the reactor is passed to a separation system in which ethylbenzene product is recovered, with the recycle of polyethylbenzenes to the alkylation reactor where they undergo transalkylation reactions with benzene. The Dwyer catalysts are characterized in terms of those having a constraint index within the approximate range of 1-12 and include, with the constraint index in parenthesis, ZSM-5 (8.3), ZSM-11 (8.7), ZSM-12 (2), ZSM-35 (4.5), ZSM-38 (2), and similar materials.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,185,040 to Ward et al discloses an alkylation process employing a molecular sieve catalyst of low sodium content, less than 0.5 wt. % Na.sub.2 O, which is said to be especially useful in the production of ethylbenzene from benzene and ethylene and cumene from benzene and propylene. Examples of suitable zeolites include molecular sieves of the X, Y, L, B, ZSM-5, and omega crystal types, with steam stabilized hydrogen Y zeolite being preferred. Specifically disclosed is a steam stabilized ammonium Y zeolite containing about 0.2% Na.sub.2 O. Various catalyst shapes are disclosed in the Ward et al patent. While cylindrical extrudates may be employed, a particularly preferred catalyst shape is a so-called "trilobal" shape which is configured as something in the nature of a three leaf clover. The surface area/volume ratio of the extrudate should be within the range of 85-160 in..sup.-1. The alkylation process may be carried out with either upward or downward flow, the latter being preferred, and preferably under temperature and pressure conditions so that at least some liquid phase is present, at least until substantially all of the olefin alkylating agent is consumed. Ward et al states that rapid catalyst deactivation occurs under most alkylating conditions when no liquid phase is present.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,774,377 to Barger et al discloses an alkylation/transalkylation process which involves the use of separate alkylation and transalkylation reaction zones, with recycle of the transalkylated product to an intermediate separation zone. In the Barger process, the temperature and pressure conditions are adjusted so that the alkylation and transalkylation reactions take place in essentially the liquid phase. The transalkylation catalyst is an aluminosilicate molecular sieve including X-type, Y-type, ultrastable-Y, L-type, omega type and mordenite type zeolites with the latter being preferred. The catalyst employed in the alkylation reaction zone is a solid phosphoric acid containing material. Aluminosilicate alkylation catalysts may also be employed and water varying from 0.01 to 6 volume percent is supplied to the alkylation reaction zone. The output from the alkylation reaction zone is supplied to first and second separation zones. Water is recovered in the first separation zone. In the second separation zone, intermediate aromatic products and trialkyl aromatic and heavier products are separated to provide an input to the transalkylation reaction zone having only dialkyl aromatic components, or diethylbenzene in the case of an ethylbenzene manufacturing procedure or diisopropylbenzene in the case of cumene production. A benzene substrate is also supplied to the transalkylation zone for the transalkylation reaction and the output from the transalkylation zone is recycled to the first separation zone. The alkylation and transalkylation zones may be operated in downflow, upflow, or horizontal flow configurations.
Another alkylation procedure is disclosed in European Patent Application No. 272,830 to Ratcliffe et al. The Ratcliffe procedure employs molecular sieve alkylation catalysts which have been treated in a manner to improve selectivity to monoalkylation, specifically in the propylation of benzene to produce cumene. Selectivity is said to be increased by at least one percentage point by first depositing a carbonaceous material on the catalyst and then subjecting the resultant carbon containing catalyst particles to combustion. Specific zeolitic crystalline molecular sieves include those selected from the group of Y zeolites, fluorided Y zeolites, X zeolites, zeolite beta, zeolite L, and zeolite omega. The zeolites may be modified to arrive at products of reduced alumina content and reduced sodium content.
EPA publication 467,007 to Butler discloses other processes having separate alkylation and transalkylation zones employing various molecular sieve catalysts and with the output from the transalkylation reactor being recycled to an intermediate separation zone. Here, a benzene separation zone, from which an ethylbenzene/polyethylbenzene fraction is recovered from the bottom with recycling of the overhead benzene fraction to the alkylation reactor is preceded by a prefractionation zone. The prefractionation zone produces an overhead benzene fraction which is recycled along with the overheads from the benzene column and a bottom fraction which comprises benzene, ethylbenzene and polyethylbenzene. Two subsequent separation zones are interposed between the benzene separation zone and the transalkylation reactor to provide for recovery of ethylbenzene as the process product and a heavier residue fraction. The polyethylbenzene fraction from the last separation zone is applied to the transalkylation reactor and the output there is applied directly to the second benzene separation column or indirectly through a separator and then to the second benzene separation column. Butler discloses that the alkylation reactor may be operated in the liquid phase with a catalyst such as zeolite-beta, zeolite-Y or zeolite-omega or in the vapor phase employing a catalyst such as silicalite or ZSM-5.


One silicon MOSFET transistor, which is used as the VThreshold control, and a GaN power HEMT are integrated on a single die to enable a fully integrated depletion-mode power device. GaN area is created on a silicon substrate and GaN FETs are built in the GaN area. Outside of the GaN area, silicon transistors such as switch MOSFETs are built. Front end of line or back end of line metal connections are then made to create interconnections among the GaN FET and the silicon transistor. The short physical proximity of the silicon transistor and GaN HEMT significantly reduces the parasitic resistance and inductance between them. Thus, high speed signals are able to travel from the silicon transistor to the GaN HEMT with a higher frequency and lower distortion, without creating overshoot voltage when there is large parasitic inductance. Therefore, the cascode device can operate at a higher switching frequency.

Gallium nitride (GaN) HEMTs are becoming increasingly useful as high-power devices for power electronics systems and RF systems. GaN HEMTs are used to enable high-power-density operation with low power loss due to high carrier mobility in the channel and high breakdown voltage due to large critical electric field. Since GaN HEMT is a majority carrier device, there is no reverse recovery charge thus GaN HEMTs further save power when the devices are switched on and off.
One technical challenge for GaN HEMTs is the threshold voltage (VTH) is a negative voltage (depletion-mode) and very difficult to adjust. Among all the techniques, cascode connection is a circuit approach that can adjust VTH easily. Cascode connection includes one GaN HEMT and one Si transistor for VTH control. The only down side of cascode connection is most of the parasitic inductance and resistance are contributed by bonding wires between the GaN HEMT and the Si transistor, which degrade the system performance when a high frequency signal is being transferred between the control circuit and GaN devices. With the appearance of parasitic inductance, a pulse waveform will have a slower slope and a larger overshoot when it goes through the parasitic inductance.

Ultra low parasitic inductance integrated cascode GaN devices

International Business Machines Corporation


When information associated with an object distance cannot be acquired, an image capture apparatus sets a condition required to determine a reference area used to determine weighting coefficients for respective photometry areas from a plurality of photometry areas, based on photometric values of the plurality of photometry areas obtained by making preliminary light emission.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image capture apparatus which can capture an image while controlling a light-emitting device to emit light.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various techniques for optimizing flash light emission control at a flash image capture timing of an image capture apparatus such as a camera or mobile phone have been proposed. Especially, many methods of determining a main light emission amount by preliminarily emitting flash light prior to an exposure operation, and measuring reflected light of the preliminarily emitted light from an object for a plurality of photometry areas have been proposed. This is because appropriate light emission amounts can be determined for various scenes by determining a main light emission amount by a predetermined algorithm based on photometry results of the plurality of photometry areas.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-275265 has proposed the following image capture method, so as to stably obtain an appropriate exposure amount. Ratios R(i) between photometric values P(i) of respective photometry areas immediately before preliminary light emission and photometric values H(i) of the respective photometry areas during preliminary light emission are calculated for respective photometry areas. A maximum one of the obtained ratios R(i) is extracted as a reference value baseR, and weighting coefficients W(i) for respective areas are determined by comparing the values R(i) of the respective areas with the reference value baseR. Reflected light amounts of the respective areas at the time of preliminary light emission are weighted and averaged according to the weighting coefficients W(i), and a main light emission amount is calculated based on the obtained weighted averaging result.
With the technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-275265, a value LVL0 corresponding to a maximum reflected light amount and a value LVL1 corresponding to a minimum reflected light amount at the time of preliminary light emission are calculated according to image capture distances to an object. Of photometry areas having luminance values D(i) of only reflected light components at the time of preliminary light emission, which fall within a range between the values LVL0 and LVL1, one having the maximum ratio R(i) is determined as a principal object area, and the ratio R(i) of that area is extracted as the reference value baseR. With this method, stable exposure amounts can be obtained in many normal scenes. In addition, even when an image in an identical scene is captured by slightly changing a composition, an image capture result with a small change in exposure amount can be obtained. As image capture distance information to an object, when an image capture lens has a distance encoder, that information is acquired based on the distance encoder information. However, when an image capture lens does not have any distance encoder, an empirically determined assumed distance is used.
When the image capture lens does not have any distance encoder, and when the assumed distance is largely different from a distance to a principal object, the ratio R(i) calculated from the reflected light amount from the principal object area cannot fall within the range between the values LVL0 and LVL1, and an appropriate exposure amount cannot often be obtained at an image capture timing. More specifically, when an image is captured in a state in which the distance to a principal object is smaller than the assumed distance, since the ratio R(i) of the principal object area becomes larger than the value LVL0, a weighting coefficient W(i) for that area is reduced. For this reason, the calculated main light emission amount of a light-emitting device is excessive for the principal object, and the principal object is overexposed consequently.

Image capture apparatus, light emitting device, and and light emission amount calculation method


The present invention discloses a process for the ammoximation of carbonyl compounds, wherein a reaction in a liquid reaction system comprising a carbonyl compound, ammonia and hydrogen peroxide is carried out in the presence of a sillicon-containing catalyst, characterized in that a liquid silicon-containing assistant is added to the reaction system so that the silicon concentration in the system reaches a range of between 0.1 and 10000 ppm. In the process according to the present invention, the deactivation of catalyst due to dissolution of silicon in the catalyst can be reduced, thus lifetime of the catalyst extended and the stable operation time elongated.

Carbonyl compounds refer to compounds having >C═O function group, such as aldehydes or ketones. The reaction of carbonyl compound with hydroxylamine is a main process for the syntheses of the corresponding oxime compound.
For example, in the case of cyclohexanone oxime, cyclohexanone oxime is a key intermediate for producing ε-caprolactam which is an important raw material in organic chemical industry mainly used as a monomer for synthetic fibers and-engineering plastics (e.g., nylon-6). About 91% of caprolactam are produced industrially via a technique route with cyclohexanone oxime as intermediate product, in which cyclohexanone oxime is produced by the reaction of cyclohexanone with hydroxylamine (used in its sulfate or phosphate form). This process for the production of cyclohexanone oxime has a complex technology with multiple process steps and high investment in equipment, and it also has a problem in corrosion and pollution due to use or production of NOx, SOx and the like.
In the early 1980's, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,410,501, Taramasso (Italy) disclosed a novel type of catalyst material—titanium silicalite having an excellent function for selective oxidation of hydrocarbons, alcohols, phenols and the like (EP 0230949, U.S. Pat. No. 4,480,135, U.S. Pat. No. 4,396,783). It has been commercialized to use it for the preparation of catechol and hydroquinone by the selective oxidation of phenol with hydrogen peroxide.
EP 0208311, EP 0267362, EP 0496385, EP 0564040, etc. sequentially disclose a novel process for preparing cyclohexanone oxime in one step by ammoximation of cyclohexanone with ammonia and hydrogen peroxide catalyzed by titanium silicalite. This novel process features in mild reaction conditions, high yields of desired products, more efficient process, lower investment in equipment, reduced amount of wastes and environmental friend.
Furthermore, EP0347926 discloses that the ammoximation of cyclohexanone is carried out by using a catalyst in which titanium dioxide is dispersed on silica, also exhibiting a relatively good catalytic performance; both J. Le. Bars et al., Appl. Catal. A 136(1996) p. 69 and P. Wu et al., J. Catal. 168 (1997) p. 400 report that other types of Ti-containing crystalline silicate, such as Ti-ZSM-48, Ti-β, Ti-MOR and the like, which all exhibit relatively good catalytic performance for the ammoximation of a variety of aldehyde or ketone compounds.
As the ammoximation of cyclohexanone is investigated intensively in preparing cyclohaxnone oxime, deactivation of various titanium-containing catalysts, mainly titanium silicalites, in this reaction has been increasingly focused.
EP 0496385 discloses that it is necessary to remove off the deactivated catalyst periodically, which is to be replaced by a fresh catalyst make-up in order to maintain the desired catalytic activity during the reaction.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,793 discloses a process for the production of oximes which comprises ammoximation of a carbonylic compound selected from acetophenone and cyclododecanone with hydrogen peroxide and ammonia in the presence of a catalyst based on silicon, titanium and oxygen and a cocatalyst consisting of amorphous silica. The cocatalyst added in the said process can increase the yields and conversions in the ammoximation of acetophenone and cyclododecanone, but does not solve the deactivation of the main catalyst.
CN1345718A discloses a process for preparing oxime from carboxyl compound, hydrogen peroxide and ammonia, involving the addition of cocatalyst containing acidic solid into the reaction system so as to increase the conversion rate of the ammoximation of the carbonyl compound. However, the acidic solid cocatalyst added in the said process does not solve the deactivation of the main catalyst.
G. Petrini et al., Stud. Surf. Sci. Catal. 68(1991) p. 761 identifies the three main deactivation processes of titanium silicalites in the ammoximation of cyclohexanone: (1) slow dissolution of the framework (silicon) with accumulation of Ti on the external surface of the remaining solid, (2) direct removal of Ti from the framework and (3) pore filling by by-products. The first two are due to the basic reaction medium in the presence of ammonia, which results in silicon dissolution away from the titanium silicalite framework. Since only Si is removed from and Ti remains in the catalyst, Ti content of the catalyst relatively increases and the degree of crystallinity of the catalyst tends to decrease. The literature further shows that, although there is only a small amount of silicon (ppm) dissolved in the reaction stream, the silicon dissolution during the long term running will result in a continuous decrease in the amount of the titanium silicalites in the reaction system. The weight of catalyst recovered will be lower than that of the starting one. Under extreme conditions, the recovery of catalyst is 35% only.
In the book Selective Oxidation by Heterogenous Catalysis (2001, p. 112), it is shown that dissolution of silicon in Ti-containing crystalline silicas caused by ammonia is the primary factor leading to deactivation of the catalyst during ammoximation of cyclohexanone. Since ammonia is an indispensable raw material in the ammoximation of cyclohexanone, the problem caused thereby is inevitable. Although this problem has been confirmed, no relevant technical solutions solving the problem have been reported yet. Similar problem is also present in reaction systems of ammoximation of other aldehydes and ketones.
In the ammoximation of carbonyl compounds mentioned above, the dissolution loss of silicon from the catalysts will result in disadvantageous effects, such as reducing the stable operation time of catalyst and decreasing the recovery of catalyst. Nevertheless, although the silicon dissolution in the Ti-containing crystalline silicas caused by ammonia is the primary factor for the deactivation of catalyst, adding into the system the acidic solids, such as solid silica gel, as stated in CN1345718A cannot solve the problem as to the deactivation of catalyst.

Process for ammoximation of carbonyl compounds

Research Institute of Petroleum Processing, Sinopec


A method of promoting healing of a fracture of a human humerus using a proximal humeral fracture plate.

Proximal humeral fractures represent about 4-5% of all fractures and represent the third most common fracture among older patients. In many patients, the proximal humeral fracture most typically results from a fall. The damage to the humerus can be compounded by osteoporosis or an otherwise weakened bone that is found more frequently in older female patients. In younger patients, proximal humeral fractures are more likely to be a result of high-energy trauma; such as an automobile accident or a sporting injury.
The majority of proximal humeral fractures are minimally or non-displaced and are generally treated non-operatively.
However, operative fixation is indicated in displaced, angulated and rotated fracture patterns. Among the operative solutions commonly used for fixation are: (1) osteosuture and tension band technologies; (2) percutaneous fixation using pins and wires; (3) rigid intramedullary nailing (e.g., using a large rod inside the bone); (4) plate osteosynthesis (e.g., using open reduction internal fixation using plate(s) and screws); (5) arthroplasty (e.g. using a prosthesis to replace a broken portion of a humerus); and, other indication-specific techniques.
There are two primary categories for surgical fixation: (1) a device that is within the skin (internal fixation); and (2) a device that extends out of the skin (external fixation). There are two common types of internal fixation approaches for long bone surgery: (a) a plate that is screwed to the outside of the bone; or (b) a rod that goes down the center of the bone.
Current plate technology uses straight, also refered to as linear, plates, as illustrated in FIG. 1B. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,096,040, issued to Esser, on Aug. 1, 2000, claims a linear bone plate. Additional examples of current proximal humeral plates are the Stryker AxSOS Locking Plating System, produced by Stryker Trauma AG at least as early as 2011. The Zimmer Periarticular Locking Plate, produced by Zimmer at least as early as 2006 are both examples of currently available linear plating systems. These straight plates limit the trajectory of the screws within the humeral head, which has been found to be problematic.
As illustrated in FIG. 1A, a humerus H is part of a human skeleton S. FIG. 1B illustrates a current linear bone plate. FIG. 2 illustrates the humerus H separated from skeleton S. The shaft of a long bone, such as the humerus H, is typically classified as the diaphysis. The end of such a bone is typically classified as the epiphysis. Bone that is transitional between the midshaft and the end is typically classified as the metaphysis.
Metaphysis and epiphysis bone are softer and more porous. The bone of the metaphysics and epiphysis is less dense than the diaphysial bone of the shaft. Since metaphysical and epiphyseal bone are cancellous bone, they are more affected by osteoporosis. Repair of metaphysis and epiphysis fractures are often complicated by their proximity to a joint. Due to the bone quality and anatomic shapes of the metaphyseal and epiphyseal bone, fixation of plates and screws in these areas is typically more difficult than fixation of plates and screws in diaphysis shaft. This may be especially true if the patient is elderly and suffers from osteoporosis. Thus, proper placement of screws in epiphysis and metaphysis bone is desirable to obtain appropriate fixation of a plate. Phrased differently, a current linear plate may obtain good fixation to the diaphysis, but fail to obtain appropriate fixation to the epiphysis and metaphysis.
While not every proximal humeral fracture is the same, the Neer system of proximal humeral fractures is based on four parts of the humerus. The four parts are as follows:    (I) fracture of the greater tuberosity;    (II) fracture of the lesser tuberosity;    (III) fracture of the humeral head; and,    (IV) fracture of the neck.
According to Neer, a fracture is displaced when there is more than 1 cm (one centimeter) of displacement and/or 45° of angulation of any one fragment with respect to the others.
Two-part fractures involve any of the 4 parts and include 1 fragment that is displaced. Three-part fractures include a displaced fracture of the surgical neck in addition to either a displaced greater tuberosity or lesser tuberosity fracture. Four-part fractures include displaced fractures of the surgical neck and both tuberosities.
FIG. 3 is a chart of the Neer system of classifying displaced proximal humeral fractures. Fractures of the proximal humerus typically follow these fracture lines. With this said, humerus H can fracture in patterns not illustrated in FIG. 3 and the Neer system is merely a way of classifying fractures. For example, humerus H may suffer complex fractures that extend into the shaft, both above and below the deltoid insertion. The Neer system may be thought of as helping surgeons to identify patients that likely would benefit from surgery. It does not determine the type of surgical intervention that might be medically beneficial.
Currently, surgeons find it problematic to use existing linear proximal plates to resolve these issues. If a surgeon has identifies a fracture that meets the indications for surgery then one of the options noted above could be used. If a surgeon selects Open-Reduction Internal Fixation (ORIF), a surgical plate could be medically beneficial.
FIG. 4 illustrates X-rays of a current linear plate fixed to a patient's humerus. FIG. 4 further illustrates the linearality of the current plates. Use of the current linear plate will produce sub-optimal screw trajectory within the humeral head. If the surgeon attempts to position the distal section of the current linear plate sufficiently anterior to avoid the deltoid tuberosity, the proximal head of the plate will be correspondingly moved anterior. This de-optimizes screw trajectory within the humeral head. Obviously, poor screw placement, likely results in sub-optimal fixation of the current linear plate to the humerus H, and particularly to the head of humerus H. Phrased differently, and as illustrated in FIG. 4, the screws fixing current linear plates to the humeral head obtain less purchase than is optimal. Screw trajectories that pass through more bone are generally thought to obtain better purchase, also referred to as fixation, to the bone, including bone of the humeral head. Generally speaking because of the shape of the humeral head, screw trajectories through the humeral head are preferred to be in the lateral to medial orientation to optimize fixation of the plate and screws. With current plates, to avoid disruption of the deltoid insertion and the deltoid tuberosity, the plate is placed more anterior than is optimal. As the plate is placed more anteriorly, the screws are more in the posterior surface of the humerus. This results in the screws in the humeral head being oblique, and results in screws that don't obtain appropriate fixation in the anterior portion of the humeral head.
Current linear plates have various issues. First, installation of the current linear plates can require significant removal of the deltoid tuberosity and detachment of the deltoid. Second, not all fractures will heal. If the fracture is treated with open reduction internal fixation with a plate, and the bone fails to heal appropriately, then a reverse total shoulder arthroplasty may be the appropriate treatment. A reverse total shoulder arthroplasty employs the intact function of the deltoid. Detachment of the deltoid can preclude use of a reverse total shoulder arthroplasty, in the event of the failure of surgery using the current plate to appropriately resolve the fracture of the humerus because of the fracture failing to heal. Third, and as discussed above, if the surgeon attempts to position the distal section of the current linear plate sufficiently anterior to avoid the deltoid tuberosity, the proximal head of the plate will be correspondingly moved anteriorly. This de-optimizes screw trajectory within the humeral head. Poor screw placement likely results in sub-optimal fixation of the current linear plate to the humerus, and particularly to the head of humerus. Fourth, current plates typically have screw trajectories that run obliquely thought the humeral head from anterolateral to posteromedial, rather than the more optimal true lateral to medial within the head. Current plates have all of the screw trajectories in essentially a single plane. Screw trajectories in more than one plane will provide greater strength and improved plate fixation.
Current plates are linear, and only provide fixation in essentially a single plane. When current plates are placed anterior to the deltoid insertion, the screws have a poor trajectory within the humeral head. With anterior plate positioning, the screw trajectory limits screw fixation in the anterior portion of the humeral head, which is sub-optimal. When the current plates are placed laterally, the plates damage the deltoid insertion, where the deltoid muscle attaches to the humerus.
The plate that is the subject of this patent application curves around the humerus where the proximal portion of the plate is on the lateral surface of the humeral head and the distal portion of the plate is on the anterior surface of the humeral shaft. The screws through the proximal portion have a true lateral to medial direction within the humeral head. This lateral to medial screw trajectory in the humeral head gives more optimal fixation by allowing screws be placed throughout the humeral head. The plate that is the subject of this patent application also has screws through the distal portion that have a trajectory in an anterior to posterior direction in the humeral shaft. The plate that is the subject of this patent application allows for the screws to obtain fixation in multiple planes. The curve of the plate allows the plate to avoid the deltoid tuberosity avoiding damage to the deltoid tendon and the deltoid insertion of the deltoid tuberosity. The curved portion also allows for oblique screws within the humeral metaphysis. The oblique metaphysis screws compliment the lateral to medial screws within the humeral head. The lateral to medial screw trajectory optimizes screw fixation within humeral head, while preserving the attachment of the deltoid muscle. In addition, the configuration allow the plate to extend down the entire length of the humerus allowing the plate to treat more complex fractures that extend into the humeral shaft without compromising the deltoid and avoiding potential damage to nerves, such as the radial nerve.


A transfection device suitable for delivery of various macrostructures (e.g., mitochondria, bacteria, liposomes) is described and uses mechanical force to thereby induce active endocytosis in a target cell. Contemplated devices are able to achieve high throughput of transfected cells that remain viable and are capable of producing colonies.

The background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
All publications identified herein are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
Transfection processes are used to deliver various types of materials into a cell, and there are numerous known methods in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,982 describes a treatment device capable of delivering genetic material or drugs into cells of a patient in vivo using heat to assist with transfection. Unfortunately, such approach often tends to damage the cells. Moreover, since the poration lasts only for a very short time, the amount of material delivered into the cells will in most cases be significantly reduced, especially where the material is relatively large. Finally, such approach also fails to provide a method for culturing cells after transfection.
In another example, as described in US 2009/0081750, magnetic fields are employed to move cells through a channel in which the cells undergo transfection. Actual transfection is then performed via several possible manners, including electroporation, heat, or light. Similar to the '982 reference, effective transfection is typically limited to relatively small molecules and low quantities. Yet another example of poration to transfect cells is described in WO 2013/059343. Here, cells are fed through a microfluidic channel in a buffer that contains a delivery material. The cells pass through a constriction region, which causes the cells to become perturbed with pores through which the delivery material then diffuses. While this approach overcomes to at least some degree issues associated with short pulse time, delivery still requires poration.
A more extreme approach is presented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,858,663 in which a cold gas shockwave is used to accelerate micro projectiles that carry matter into the cells. While such approach guarantees delivery of even relatively large molecules into a cell, it is readily apparent that such approach is also prone to significantly damage a cell.
WO 96/24360 attempts to overcome shockwave damage by providing a time-dependent impulse transient characterized by rise time and magnitude that is thought to increase the overall permeability of a cell membrane, which results in an increase in diffusion of materials into the cell. The impulse is achieved by applying an optical field to a film on which the cells are grown, and the optical field ablates the film thereby delivering the impulse. While such approach will provide for transfection, high throughput production of transfected cells remains problematic. To increase throughput, WO 02/42447 teaches use of leverages shock or other forms of pressure, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,687,267 describes a high throughput cell transfection device for transfer of small nucleic acid molecules (e.g., DNA, siRNA) through electroporation where the device contains an array of cell transfection units. Similarly, US 2012/0244593 teaches a high throughput electroporation transfection device, which requires poration (i.e., electroporation) and diffusion to deliver the material.
Interestingly, the known transfection devices require significant disruption to a cellular membrane to allow for greater diffusion of cargo material, which becomes especially difficult where the cargo material is relatively large. Therefore, there is a need for improved transfection devices and methods suitable for delivery of cargo of various sizes, and especially large cargo of 1 μm or larger, through a cellular membrane that will not or only minimally adversely affect the cell.

Mechanical transfection devices and methods


The present disclosure is directed to a method of making a fracturing fluid and system of fracturing a formation penetrated by a well-bore. The method includes providing a fracturing fluid that is liquefied carbon dioxide (LCO2) and a co-solvent in a quantity of 1-19 wt %, and at least one friction-reducing polymer in a quantity of 0.001-1.0 wt % of the fracturing fluid composition, wherein the friction-reducing polymer is initially disposed in an emulsion, and is at least partially soluble in the co-solvent and LCO2 mixture.

Hydraulic fracturing is a common stimulation technique used to enhance production of oil and gas from hydrocarbon containing reservoirs. In a typical hydraulic fracturing operation, fracturing fluid is pumped at high pressures and high rates through a wellbore penetrating a subterranean formation to initiate and propagate hydraulic fractures in the formation. Subsequent steps typically include adding particulate matter known as proppant to the fracturing fluid (e.g., graded sand, ceramic particles, bauxite, or resin coated sand) which is carried by the fracturing fluid into the fractures. The proppant deposits into the fractures, forming a permeable "proppant pack". Once the fracture treatment is completed, the fracture closes onto the proppant pack allowing for maintenance of the fracture, thereby providing a pathway for hydrocarbons in the formation to flow more easily into the wellbore for recovery.
The use of carbon dioxide (CO2) for production of oil and gas from hydrocarbon containing reservoirs is well known. Utilization of liquid carbon dioxide (LCO2) for the fracture treatment of oil and gas formations has certain advantages in water-sensitive and low pressure formations. In particular, LCO2 enables a significant reduction in the volume of water utilized, and promotes flow-back of water from the formation after fracture treatment. When exposed to aqueous based fluids, formations can trap water for long periods of time, which can result in reduced permeability to hydrocarbons and reduced productivity of the well. Additionally, some clays in the formation can swell in the presence of water or migrate through the formation resulting in closing off or blocking of porosity, again resulting in productivity impairment. Therefore, a reduction in the amount of water introduced into a well can result in decreased formation damage. Moreover, the availability of water for hydraulic fracturing may also be limited in certain geographies of interest for oil and gas production, thereby presenting an economic or regulatory barrier to practical recovery of these resources.
As mentioned above, the fracturing fluid is pumped at high pressures and rates. The pressure generated by the fracturing pumps is known as the "surface treating pressure" and is largely a function of the stress required to create the fracture in the formation, the fracturing fluid frictional pressure losses between the pumps and the formation, and the change in hydrostatic head. The surface treating pressure can be as high as 10,000 psig or more depending on the specific well requirements and pressure capability. The required fracture fluid flow rate is largely a function of the flow required to propagate the fracture and fluid leak-off into the formation. In addition, the flow rate must be sufficient to carry the proppant material (having a tendency to settle out at low flow rates), and is typically in the range 10 to 120 bpm (barrels per minute) depending on the needs of the particular well and fracture design. Well bores commonly can extend from a few thousand feet in shallow vertical wells, to ten or twenty thousand feet or more in long-reach horizontal wells. Common well-bore casing sizes are 4½ inch and 5½ inch, through which the fracturing fluid is pumped. Tubing can also be employed, having a common nominal diameters of 2⅜ inches or 2⅞ inches, inserted through the well casing to carry the fracture fluid. This is performed, for example, when the casing is not strong enough to hold the required fluid pressure. In some cases, fluid may also be carried in the annulus between the casing and tubing.
As can be appreciated there are often scenarios where extremely high frictional pressure drops would be incurred due to high flow rates, small casing or tubing diameters, long well bores, or combinations of these factors. To counteract high pressure drops experienced in conventional fracturing fluids, friction reducers (also commonly referred to as drag reducers) are used. These friction reducers are usually high molecular weight polymers, which are directly added and dissolved in the aqueous fracturing fluid, and have been shown to reduce frictional pressure losses by up to about 70%.
The use of "slickwater" fracturing fluids, which employ a friction reducer in a water carrier fluid is well known in the industry. A common friction reducer used in slickwater is a high molecular weight (typically in the range 5,000,000 to 20,000,000 g/mol) polyacrylamide normally supplied as an inverse or water-in-oil emulsion. Concentrations of friction reducer emulsions employed in slickwater typically range from about 0.25 gpt (gallons per thousand) to 2 gpt. A key consideration in the design of a friction reducer system is the need to quickly dissolve the friction reducer in the fracturing fluid thereby allowing the friction reducer to become effective as soon as possible, as it is usually only a matter of seconds from the time that the friction reducer is added to when the fracturing fluid first enters the well-bore. A hydration unit is typically also used in slickwater systems to hydrate polyacrylamide polymer prior to addition to the slickwater stream.
Limited work has been published on the use of high molecular weight polymers as friction reducers for CO2. U.S. Pat. No. 8,550,165 to Gupta et al. discloses the use of polychloroprenes, vinyl acetate polymers, polyalkylene oxides and polyalphaolefins as friction reducers in a non-aqueous carrier fluid, which may further include CO2. U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,488 A to Carville et al discloses the use of a homopolymer or copolymer of butylene oxide for friction reduction in non-aqueous carrier fluids. U.S. Pat. No. 5,045,220 discloses the use of a polysiloxane and co-solvent for the purposes of thickening CO2, however, this patent states that the polymers used more usually have a molecular weight from 2,000 to 400,000 and that suitable polysiloxanes have a kinematic viscosity of 20,000 centi-Stokes (cSt) to 8,000,000 cSt at 77° F. Applicants co-pending application U.S. Ser. No. 14/136,767, the contents of which are incorporated by reference in its entirety, discloses a fracturing fluid composition that includes a polysiloxane polymer solution, a co-solvent and liquid carbon dioxide.
The present invention provides for the use of polysiloxanes with a weight average molecular weight of 500,000 g/mol or more and a kinematic viscosity greater than 10,000,000 cSt, at 77° F., in combination with a co-solvent, in order to reduce friction in LCO2, wherein the polysiloxane is initially disposed as an emulsion. U.S. Pat. No. 6,013,682 to Dalle et al., describes a method of making silicone in water emulsions that may be used as a feedstock of the present invention. It has been found that by employing the method of making the fracturing fluid with the composition of the present invention, one or more of the following objectives can be realized:
CO2 based fracture treatment fluids with reduced frictional loss characteristics can be formed and the friction reducing agents will reduce the pumping equipment and power required to treat a formation and in other cases the friction reducing agents will enable a higher flow rate of fracturing fluid to be used to treat the formation;
the methods of the present disclosure may provide reduced damage to well formations via the use of non-aqueous fracturing fluids; and
additionally, initial disposition of the polysiloxane in an emulsion renders it readily pumpable with low flammability and toxicity.
Other objects and aspect of the present invention will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the specification, drawings and claims appended hereto.

Method of making a fracturing fluid composition and utilization thereof


A Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) session dialog is established between a first user agent and a second user agent. The SIP server receives an in-dialog message for the SIP session dialog. At this point, the SIP server is no longer aware of the SIP session dialog, for example, because the SIP server was rebooted. In response to receiving the in-dialog message, the SIP server sends a request not found message to the first user agent that comprises a server accessible value. The SIP server receives an out-of-dialog SIP REFER message. The out-of-dialog SIP REFER message comprises call state information for the SIP session dialog and is sent based on the server accessible value. The SIP server sends the out-of-dialog SIP REFER message to the second user agent. The SIP session dialog is reestablished. The SIP server can be a SIP proxy server or a Back-to-Back User Agent.

In the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), a dialog for a communication is setup for different kinds of communications sessions, such as voice, video, text, and the like. The initial signaling to establish the dialog for the communication session is typically setup using a SIP proxy server and/or a Back-to-Back User Agent (B2BUA). Once the communication session is setup using the SIP Proxy server and/or the B2BUA, a media session may be created directly between user agents in SIP devices. For example, a SIP proxy server can setup an initial voice call between two SIP devices. Once the initial voice call is established by the proxy server, the communication session voice call can be setup (e.g., using Real-Time Protocol (RTP)) directly between the two communication devices.
This call setup model creates some problems if the SIP Proxy server in the above example fails during the communication session. For example, if a user of a SIP device involved in the communication session wants to transfer a voice call, the user of the SIP device will be unable to transfer the voice call even if the SIP proxy server has been reinitialized or failed over to a new SIP proxy server. This is because the reinitialized/new SIP proxy server is unaware of the previous voice call.

Reconstruction of session initiation protocol (SIP) dialogs in a SIP network


A load control module suitable for an electrical equipments driven by an operation of a switch is disclosed. The load control module includes an energy storage unit, a signal transforming unit, a first control unit and a second control unit. The energy storage unit still outputs a reserved voltage for a predetermined time during the switch is turned off. The signal transforming unit and the first and the second control unit are driven by the reserved voltage. With a different switching speed of the switch, the second control unit may operate in coordination with the actions of the signal transforming unit and the first control unit to regulate a level of the control voltage, or maintain the level of the control voltage in a current state. The electrical equipments may perform diversified control functions under control of the load control module operated in coordination with an operation of the switch.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a load control module. More particularly, the present invention relates to a load control module allowing an electrical equipment to perform diversified control functions.
2. Description of Related Art
With discovering of electricity by an American Franklin in the 18th century, civilization of human beings advanced a big step. In today's world, application of the electricity not only contributes productions of social materials, but also widely infiltrates human life in all dimensions. For example, the electrical equipments used in our daily life, such as illumination apparatus, air conditioner, electric fans, food heater . . . etc. are all driven by electric power for working normally.
During utilization of the electrical equipments, operation of the electrical equipments is generally controlled by a switch and a load control module, interactively. For example, FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram illustrating an application of a conventional illumination apparatus. Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional illumination apparatus 100 includes a light-emitting diode (LED) 101 and a diode driver 102. Referring to FIG. 1 again, during operation, when the switch 110 is turned on, the conventional illumination apparatus 100 may work normally. Now, a conventional load control module 120 and the LED 101 may receive a supply voltage VS output from the switch 110, and the LED 101 may be driven by the supply voltage VS.
Correspondingly, the conventional load control module 120 converts the supply voltage VS output from the switch 110 into a control voltage VC having a fixed level. Then, the diode driver 102 may adjust a light source generated by the LED 101 to a fixed brightness according to the control voltage VC. On the other hand, when the switch 110 is turned off, the LED 101 and the load control module 120 are cut off from the power supply, and therefore the illumination apparatus 100 maintains a stop working mode, since the illumination apparatus 100 may not provide a light source normally.
According to the above description, operation mode of the conventional illumination apparatus 100 under interactive control of the switch 110 and the conventional load control module 120 can only be switched between a normal working mode and the stop working mode. During the normal working mode, the conventional load control module 120 can only adjust the light source generated by the conventional illumination apparatus 100 to the fixed brightness.
In other words, circuit performance of a general illumination apparatus or a electrical equipment under control of the switch and the conventional load control module is limited and cannot match a requirement of convenience. Therefore, how to operate the load control module in coordination with an operation of the switch so as to control the electrical equipments to perform diversified control functions has become one of the major subjects to various manufacturers during development of the load control module.


A cutting tool insert which can, for example, be used for machining of hardened steel, hot and cold working tool steel, die steel, case hardened steel, high speed steel and ductile grey cast iron and composed of a composite comprising a cBN-phase and a binder phase comprising a titaniumcarbonitride phase and a TiB2 phase is disclosed. In the XRD pattern from the composite using CuKa-radiation, the peak height ratio of the strongest (101) TiB2 peak and the strongest cBN (111) peak is less than about 0.06, the (220) from the titanium carbonitride phase in the XRD-pattern intersects both vertical lines of the PDF-lines of TiC (PDF 32-1383) and TiN (PDF 38-1420) and the lowest intersected point height is at least about 0.15 of the maximum (220) peak height of the ceramic binder phase. The insert is made by powder metallurgical methods milling, pressing and sintering, the sintering being performed at lowest possible temperature for shortest possible time necessary to obtain a dense structure.

The present invention relates to a cutting tool insert including cubic boron nitride with an excellent resistance to chipping and edge fracture when machining hard materials like hardened steel and alike materials.
Cubic boron nitride (cBN)-based ceramics sintered under high pressure and high temperature are known.
Generally, cBN-based materials for hard part machining comprise cBN as the hard dispersed phase and a ceramic binder which forms a sintered hard cutting tool insert. The ceramic binder phase of the cBN cutting tool insert with 40-80% cBN by volume comprises generally a nitride, carbonitride or carbide of titanium with smaller amounts of borides of Ti, W, Co, Al or a solid solution of these, alumina and other unavoidable reaction products. By varying the relative amounts of the ingredients, cBN tools can be designed for optimum performance in different applications, e.g. continuous or interrupted cutting. cBN tools with relatively high cBN content are recommended for interrupted to heavy interrupted cutting applications, whereas a high ceramic binder content gives high wear resistance in continuous cutting. The severe conditions in interrupted cutting usually cause edge failure and thus determine the lifetime for the tool rather than other wear modes such as notch or crater wear. Even in a continuous application, machine instability may cause an intermittent behaviour causing early edge failure. In particular, the above mentioned cBN cutting tool with a cBN content in the range of 40-80% by volume comprising a nitride, carbonitride or carbide of titanium are commonly subjected to a wide range of cutting applications ranging from continuous ones with high demands of wear resistance and interrupted ones with high demands of failure resistance. Thus it is of great interest to gain both edge failure and wear resistance in the abovementioned cBN cutting tool.
In the past, it has been proposed to use an intermediate adhesion phase between the ceramic binder and the hard dispersed phase (EP-A-1498199) in order to increase chipping resistance. A bonding phase surrounding the cBN grains has also been proposed (EP-A-974566) in order to prevent a direct cBN-cBN contact. The bonding phase is formed due to a chemical reaction between cBN or B2O3 residuals coating the cBN grains and the ceramic binder forming TiB2. Furthermore, cBN grains have been pre-coated by a nitride or boride of Ti and Al by a PVD-process in order to enhance the reinforcing rim surrounding the cBN grains (U.S. Pat. No. 6,265,337).
It has now been found that an intermediate phase between the ceramic binder phase and the hard dispersed cBN phase can actually decrease the edge toughness of the insert material because one very important mechanism for toughening, namely crack deflection, is minimized. If the bonding between the different phases in the material is too strong, a formed crack will easily propagate through the material in a very straight manner leading to a low value of fracture toughness. If the bonding is too low, it would mean a significantly reduced wear resistance. If, however, the bonding is balanced, meaning it should be lower than the intrinsic strength of the grains, the crack will preferably propagate along the grain boundaries meaning higher toughness. The desired strength of the bonding of the cBN grains and the ceramic binder can be achieved by carefully controlling the sintering temperature and the reactivity of the raw materials.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,651 disclose a sintered compact having a cBN concentration above 80 wt % wherein the TiB2 can be minimized by the addition of Cu and/or Fe.
There is a need of further improved cBN-based tools since a higher productivity with reduced costs is required from the industry. Generally this implies higher cutting speeds and in particular higher cutting depths and feeds often in combination with interrupted cuts. Consequently both improved wear and edge failure resistance are desired in order to meet the demands from the machining industry.

Cubic boron nitride cutting tool insert with excellent resistance to chipping and edge fracture


A storage device detector system for use with a gripper assembly for handling storage devices in a storage library system is provided. In one example, the system includes a light source for directing light to an expected position of a storage device, a sensor, e.g., a linear scanner, for detecting light, and a controller, wherein the controller and the sensor are adapted to detect the light directed to the expected position of the storage device and determine the presence of the storage device based on frequency components from the sensor. If the frequency is above a predetermined value the system may determine that a storage device is present and if below the predetermined value determine that a storage device is not present.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to automated storage libraries for storing and retrieving computer data, and more particularly to systems and methods for detecting and handling storage devices with an automated gripper and integrated camera in automated storage libraries.
2. Description of the Related Art
A popular device for the handling and storage of large amounts of information in a data processing system includes an automated storage library system. Automated storage library systems generally improve the access speed and reliability of data storage libraries containing large amounts of information. Automated storage library systems typically include a plurality of storage media devices, a transport mechanism, and one or more storage media drives in communication with a computer system or network for inputting and outputting desired information to and from the plurality of storage media devices.
Magnetic tape cartridges, for example, have proven to be an efficient and effective medium for data storage in computer systems and storage libraries. Automated tape cartridge libraries generally have a plurality of storage bins or slots for storing tape cartridges, a robotic picker mechanism (often referred to as a "picker"), and one or more tape drives. The robotic picker may be controlled to select a specific storage tape cartridge from the library and transfer the tape cartridge between a storage slot and a tape drive within seconds. The robotic picker typically includes a gripper or hand mechanism positioned on the robotic picker. The robotic picker may position the gripper near a desired tape cartridge such that the gripper may grip the tape cartridge to remove the tape cartridge from the storage bin and transfer the tape cartridge and load the tape cartridge into a tape drive, load port (for adding or removing tapes from the library), or the like.
An automated storage cartridge library is typically interfaced to a computer system such as a computer network or the like. The storage library or interfaced computer system may index the location of the tape cartridges and their associated stored data within the storage library for later retrieval of the stored information. When desired, the storage library may be activated to retrieve a desired storage tape and load it into a drive to access the stored information and/or write new information. In large storage libraries multiple tape drives are generally employed to improve access and storage performance by operating in parallel as well as providing back-up drives in case of failure, maintenance, and the like.
To quickly locate and retrieve a cartridge from the library an inventory of the storage cartridge tapes located within the storage library system is performed, typically after loading cartridges into the library system. Each cartridge is equipped with a label, such as a barcode label, that may be read by a bar code scanner mechanically coupled to the gripper. The bar code scanner is generally a laser that mechanically scans across the barcode label surface. The bar code label may be used to identify the cartridge, e.g., the contents of stored data (if any) on that particular cartridge.
The ability for the library system to distinguish between unlabeled cartridges and empty storage locations is generally needed so the system may determine an accurate library inventory. One method to achieve this is to place an "empty" barcode label within the storage slot such that when read by a bar code reader it is associated with an empty slot. The "empty" barcode label is blocked from view of the bar code reader when a cartridge is placed within the storage slot. If a barcode label is not detected, however, the system remains uncertain if the storage slot contains a cartridge, e.g., whether the label is missing from the cartridge or the storage slot.
Another typical method for determining if a storage slot is empty includes having the robotically actuated gripper assembly reach into each storage slot and physically sense whether or not a cartridge is present. For example, an actuator current level may be monitored until it rises above a threshold level indicating a cartridge is present. Extending the robotically actuated gripper assembly or other mechanical device into each storage slot for inventory purposes, however, adds significant time to the inventory process and may cause wear or damage to the tape cartridge and/or gripper assembly.
Another method includes an additional sensor (separate from and in addition to a barcode scanner) dedicated to sensing the presence of a cartridge tape in the slot that may be mounted to the gripper assembly in addition to a barcode scanner or the like. Such an example is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,213,705 and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. An additional sensor on the gripper assembly, however, may add significant cost and complexity to the system as well as time to the inventory process.
Therefore, what is needed is a system and method for reading barcode labels or other indicia associated with storage devices in an automated storage library system with increased speed and reliability. Further, a system and method for sensing the presence (with and without a barcode label) or absence of a storage device within a storage slot of the automated storage library without additional cost and complexity to the system are desired.