An open frame rack assembly is provided which is modular and includes open frame load receiving components formed of vertically disposed loading rods which are connected with a plurlaity of regularly vertically spaced receiving connector assemblies fashioned as parallelogramic paired loops. These paired loops provide receptor gaps for receiving corresponding tab assemblies of interconnecting modules including front connectors, corner links, and open frame connector panels. Assembly of the rack is carried out without tools.

The retail merchandising of a broad variety of products involve the use of rack or shelf-based display structures. Very often, the products supported for display, collectively, are relatively heavy. For instance, caulking gun refills, paints, and the like can require customer "reachable" feed forward shelving capable of retaining about 400 pounds worth of merchandise.
In achieving requisite supporting strength, the shelving must be sufficiently "open" to permit the customer to identify varieties of the product, for example, caulking types and paint types, colors and the like. However, requisite strength and openness also must be achieved with a high level of aesthetic quality contributing to a desired ambiance within the retail environment.
Because consumer demands for products generally vary with time and the products displayed by merchants change, merchandising display shelving layouts change periodically. Thus, it is helpful for display component fabricators to have a capability for easily expanding, contracting, or geometrically varying a given display line. Heretofore, typical display shelving for heavier, more robust products have been fabricated of conventional sheet metal configurations connected to uprights. This connection may be carried out, for example, with coupling schemes such as the ubiquitous hook and slot or by bolting. To achieve modularity of sorts, stand alone versions of such shelves are available wherein an "L-shaped" back and foot structure is provided for shelf support. When loaded with goods, resultant forward leaning moment is derived to stabilize the loaded assembly. This form of shelving as well as conventional metal shelving has led to some concern, inasmuch as the customer and children of customers may, from time to time, grasp the forward portion of the display and pull it to tend to tip it over. With conventional steel shelving, however, modularity or fabrication flexibility to meet the changing needs of merchandising with ease has not been effectively realized.
Movable shelving or merchandising racks typically are assembled out of a shipping carton by retail clerks. Such assembly usually involves interconnection of a significant number of components with nuts and bolts in accordance with printed instructions. Very often, such assembly poses an unwanted burden upon the clerks in view of the detail necessarily required of instructions describing bolted assembly. As a consequence, the shelving may not be assembled properly leading to potential hazards at the retail floor.
Sheet metal shelving also exhibits the attributes of weight and bulk. Thus, the costs of its shipment becomes a recognizable component of their overall cost to the retailer. By meeting the bulk and weight criteria of certain shipping entities, substantial reductions in landed delivered cost savings may be provided for the retailer. Tooling also becomes a cost aspect for sheet metal shelving, the tooling costs required for fabrication of sheet components being somewhat elevated.


An arrangement for discharging hard material from the grinding head of a meat grinder. The hard material is passed through openings formed in the meat grinder orifice plate, and collected in a collection cavity defined by a cup member. A hard material discharge auger is located within the collection cavity, and is rotatable with the feed screw of the grinder. A restricting arrangement is provided for building up back pressure within the collection cavity, which minimizes the amount of usable soft material which passes into the collection cavity. In one form, the discharge auger extends through the collection cavity and into a discharge passage defined by a discharge tube. The auger has an outside diameter only slightly smaller than the diameter of the passage, so that the auger essentially defines a rotating flow path through which the hard material is discharged. In another form, the restricting arrangement includes a tapered passageway and a resilient diaphragm having an aperture therethrough. The diaphragm flexes to allow the aperture to expand and to discharge particles of hard material when a sufficient amount of back pressure has been built up within the cavity. A flow-controlling nozzle arrangement is provided for controlling the back pressure within the discharge tube, to further regulate the back pressure in the hard material discharge system and minimize the amount of soft material discharged along with the hard material.

This invention relates to a grinder such as for use in grinding meat, and more particularly to features for use with a meat grinder which facilitate removal of hard material such as bone, sinew or gristle so that such materials are not ground along with the meat.
In high volume production of ground meat, it is common for the meat being ground to contain hard materials such as bone, sinew, gristle or the like. It is desirable to remove such material prior to or during grinding of the meat, to ensure that the hard material is not ground along with the meat.
A meat grinder typically includes an orifice plate located at the open end of a tubular housing, and a rotating knife assembly provides a series of knives disposed against a surface of the orifice plate. The knives are mounted to a knife holder, which typically comprises a series of radial arms extending outwardly from a central hub. To remove hard material during grinding, it has been known to provide a series of collection orifices toward the central portion of the orifice plate. With a system of this type, rotation of the knife assembly moves the hard material around the orifice plate, with the hard material eventually making its way toward the center of the orifice plate, where it is received into one of the collection orifices.
A system such as that summarized above generally works satisfactorily to remove hard material from meat during grinding of the meat. However, it has been found that with a lower grade of meat being ground, which contains a greater amount of hard material than higher grade meat, it is nearly impossible for such a system to remove substantially all of the hard material during grinding of the meat.
Accordingly, the present invention has as its object to provide a hard material collection system for use with a meat grinder, which enhances the ability of the grinder to collect hard material during grinding of the meat. It is a further object of the invention to provide a hard material collection system which is used in connection with a conventional grinding system, in which a feed screw advances the meat through a housing toward an orifice plate, and in which a rotating knife assembly is disposed toward the end of the feed screw against the inner surface of the orifice plate. It is further an object of the invention to provide a hard material collection system which is relatively simple in design and in installation, yet which provides a greatly increased ability to collect hard material prior to passing of the hard material through the meat grinding orifices of the orifice plate.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a series of spaced collection openings or passages are located toward the center of the orifice plate for collecting hard material such as bone, gristle, sinew or the like. Each collection opening includes a ramped entryway opening onto the surface of the orifice plate facing the knife assembly. The collection openings are relatively large openings, and are located inwardly of relatively small outer openings through which the soft material passes. The ramped entryway to each collection opening extends outwardly toward the outer openings. The collection openings are preferably oval or kidney shaped in plan, and the ramped entryways extend outwardly along one of the long sides of each collection opening. The ramped entryways assist in feeding hard material into the collection openings, and also cooperate with the ends of the collection openings to define shearing edges. When a piece of hard material which is larger than the collection opening is directed into one of the collection openings by the ramped entryway associated therewith, the hard material lodges in the collection opening. Movement of the knife assembly over the collection opening shears off the hard material against the shearing edge defined by the ramped entryway in combination with the end of the collection opening. The portion of the piece of the hard material within the collection opening thereafter passes through the collection opening, and the portion which is sheared off is directed into another collection opening for repeated shearing until it is of a size small enough to pass through a collection opening.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the rotating knife assembly includes a central hub and a plurality of knife holding arms extending outwardly from the hub, with a knife mounted to each knife holding arm. The arms are arranged so as to be non-radial relative to the hub, thereby providing non-radial mounting of the knives. This arrangement facilitates movement of the hard material inwardly toward the hub during rotation of the knife assembly. In a preferred embodiment, the hub is provided with a collection pocket forwardly of each knife holding arm for receiving hard material moved inwardly toward the hub during rotation of the knife assembly. The collection pockets on the hub are preferably located in alignment with the collection openings in the orifice plate. The collection openings preferably include ramped entryways as described above for facilitating entry of hard material into the collection openings. Each collection pocket preferably includes an outwardly facing ramped area provided on the hub forwardly of each knife holding arm. In a preferred arrangement, each arm includes a base connected to the hub and an outer end spaced outwardly from the base. Each arm is arranged such that its longitudinal axis is non-parallel to a line extending through its base and through the center of the hub. In this manner, the longitudinal axis of each arm is tangential to a circle concentric with the center of the hub. In a particularly preferred arrangement, the longitudinal axis of each arm is tangential to a common circle concentric with the center of the hub. In one embodiment, the arms are arranged such that the longitudinal axis of each arm is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of its adjacent arms.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, the knife holder includes a hub and a plurality of knife holding arms extending outwardly therefrom, with a substantially central passage formed in the hub and adapted to receive a centering shaft therethrough. Each knife holding arm has a forwardly opening knife mounting slot formed therein, with each slot opening into the central passage in the hub. A knife mounting pin extends transversely through each knife mounting slot, and is located toward the outer end of each knife holding arm. Each knife is provided with an outwardly opening pin-receiving slot adapted to receive the knife mounting pin therein, wherein the centering shaft and the knife mounting pins cooperate to maintain the knives in position within the slots. This mounting structure acts to positively retain the knives in the knife holder once the centering shaft is inserted through the central passage formed in the hub.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, a collection cup, defining an internal collection cavity, is mounted downstream of the orifice plate for receiving hard material discharged through the orifice plate collection openings. A secondary discharge auger is mounted to and rotatable with the rotating knife assembly, to move the hard material through the collection cavity. A discharge tube is located downstream of the collection cavity for receiving discharged hard material therefrom, and the discharge auger extends into the discharge tube. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the auger has an outside diameter in very close tolerance with the inside diameter of the discharge tube, defining a rotating flow path for moving the hard material downstream through the discharge tube. The discharge auger and the discharge tube cooperate to maintain high pressure within the collection cavity, which insures that primarily hard material passes through the orifice plate collection openings and into the collection cavity. A set of longitudinally extending flutes are preferably located between the discharge tube and the collection cavity, for assisting in reducing the hard material particles in size and to provide a passage for the hard material particles into the discharge tube.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, a recovery grinding arrangement is provided downstream of the orifice plate. The recovery grinding arrangement recovers and grinds any soft material which may have passed through the collection openings along with the hard material. The recovery grinding arrangement includes a housing having a rotating recovery knife assembly located within its interior. Material passing through the collection openings is routed to the interior of the housing. In one embodiment, a secondary orifice plate is mounted to the end of the housing, and the soft material is forced by the rotating knife assembly through orifices formed therein. The recovered soft material is then mixed with the ground soft material discharged from the primary orifice plate. In another embodiment, a series of orifices are formed in an upper side wall of the housing. The rotating knife assembly forces the recovered soft material upwardly through the orifices, where it mixes with the soft material discharged from the primary orifice plate. In both embodiments, a discharge tube is connected at the outer end of the housing, and includes an internal passage in communication with the interior of the housing. The hard material is routed by the rotating knife assembly to the internal passage of the discharge tube. The secondary discharge auger is connected to the rotating knife assembly, and is disposed within the internal passage of the discharge tube for passing the hard material therethrough. In another embodiment, the recovery grinding arrangement comprises an extended portion of the secondary discharge auger, in combination with an adaptor, which is connected to the collection cup and which receives the inner end of a discharge conduit. The adaptor defines an internal passage having an inside diameter only slightly larger than the outside diameter of the discharge auger, so that the discharge auger defines a rotating flow path for moving hard material through the adaptor passage and into the discharge conduit. The adaptor includes a series of openings along the portion of the adaptor passage within which the discharge auger is located. Any soft material which may be present with the hard material being conveyed through the adaptor passage is squeezed out through the openings formed in the adaptor. The discharged soft material is typically fat, and can either be mixed with the ground product discharged through the orifice plate, or it can be collected for regrinding or for some other use.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, a flexible member is located adjacent the outlet of the collection cavity, and is provided with an aperture therethrough for discharging particles of hard material through the aperture from the collection cavity. The secondary discharge auger advances hard material toward the collection cavity outlet. The collection cavity includes a tapered portion defined by structure including one or more inner walls which taper inwardly toward the collection cavity outlet, to define a decreasing transverse dimension to the collection cavity in a direction toward its outlet. An axial passage extends outwardly from the outer end of the tapered portion, and defines the collection cavity outlet. The axial passage is interposed between the collection cavity tapered portion and the flexible member, and the discharge auger extends into the axial passage to force hard material through the axial passage toward the flexible member. The axial passage includes a series of spaced longitudinal flutes through which the hard material passes. A tapered passage is interposed between the collection cavity outlet and the flexible member, to provide a restriction in the flow of hard material toward the flexible member. The tapered passage is defined by a removable insert placed within a sleeve, with the flexible member also being located within the sleeve. A removable mounting arrangement secures the insert and the flexible member within the sleeve. A hard material conduit defines a discharge passage located downstream of the collection cavity outlet, with the flexible member being interposed between the discharge passage and the collection cavity outlet. Particles of hard material are discharged through the flexible member aperture into the discharge passage.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, a flow-controlling nozzle is mounted to the end of the discharge conduit, to control the pressure within the collection cavity. The nozzle includes an arrangement for variably controlling the flow rate of hard material through the discharge passage, and thereby the pressure of material therewithin. The nozzle consists of a valve body connected to the end of the discharge conduit and including an internal passage having an inlet end for receiving hard material from the conduit, and an outlet end terminating in a nozzle discharge opening. A movable valve member is mounted to the valve body over the discharge opening. The valve member is movable between an open position and a closed position, and is normally in its closed position. Flow of hard material through the valve body passage toward its outlet end results in engagement of the hard material with the valve member, to move the valve member away from its closed position and to allow the hard material to be discharged through the nozzle discharge opening. The valve member is preferably biased toward its closed position, and is mounted to the valve body by means of an arrangement which provides adjustability in the amount of force required to move the valve member away from its closed position. In one form, the valve body is constructed so as to define a valve seat oriented at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the valve body internal passage, with the nozzle discharge opening being formed in the valve seat. The movable valve member comprises a valve plate engagable with the valve seat so as to normally close the nozzle discharge opening. Adjustability in the biasing of the valve plate toward its closed position is provided by a clamping arrangement which mounts the valve plate to the valve body. The valve plate includes an elongated mounting portion engaged by the clamping arrangement to maintain the valve plate in position relative to the valve body. The clamping arrangement is movable to varying positions on the valve body, such that the degree of resistance provided by the valve plate to flow of hard material through the nozzle discharge opening can be varied. The output of hard material through the nozzle discharge opening is thereby controlled, to control the pressure within the passage defined by the discharge conduit. This aspect of the invention provides a low cost and efficient means to regulate pressure in the hard material discharge passage, and thereby the amount of soft material which is collected along with the hard material, to minimize waste of soft material.
In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the various aspects and features as summarized above are combined into a single structure for facilitating advancing of hard material toward the center of the orifice plate during grinding and passage of the hard material into the collection openings formed in the orifice plate, and for recovering soft material which may pass through the collection openings along with the hard material.
Various other features, advantages and objects of the invention will be made apparent from the following description taken together with the drawings.

Hard material collecting system for a meat grinder


A well tool with a housing has an actuator sleeve in the housing. The actuator sleeve has an internal shifting tool engaging profile. An actuator is in the housing. The actuator is responsive to a remote signal to move the actuator sleeve from a first position to a second position. A dog is in the housing, supported to couple the actuator sleeve to the actuator when the actuator sleeve is in the first position and unsupported to allow the actuator sleeve to uncouple from the actuator when the actuator sleeve is in the second position.

This disclosure relates to remotely and mechanically actuated tools for use in subterranean well systems.
There are numerous tools for use in a subterranean well that can be remotely actuated by a hydraulic, electric, and/or other type of signal generated remote from the tool. Some of these tools further include provisions for mechanical actuation, for example, by a shifting tool manipulated from the surface. The mechanical actuation provides an alternative or contingency mode of actuation apart from actuation in response to the remote signal. In actuating the tool manually, however, the shifting tool must overcome the remote actuator mechanism or the remote actuator mechanism must be uncoupled from the actuated element of the tool.

Decoupling a remote actuator of a well tool


A bone plate sized and shaped for fixation to a metacarpal includes a head extending from a first end to a second end and having first and second fixation element holes extending therethrough along first and second fixation element hole axes, wherein the first hole axis diverges from the second hole axis on a bone facing side of the plate, the head having a first notch on the first end centered on the central longitudinal axis, the first notch formed as a indentation on an outer wall of the bone plate sized and shaped to accommodate a collateral ligament when the plate is fixed to a metacarpal in a desired position and a shaft extending from the second end of the head to a third end along the central longitudinal axis, the shaft including an elongated fixation element hole elongated in a direction parallel to the central longitudinal axis.

Current systems and methods for the fixation of certain fractures are limited in the placement and orientation of bone fixation plates over the bone. For example, plates for the fixation of fractures of the fifth metacarpal are confined to a limited placement of the plate dictated heavily by the construction of the plate and not by the location/type of the fracture or an optimized position that might be selected by a surgeon absent these limitations imposed by the plate construction. More specifically, plates for fixation of fractures of the fifth metacarpal, also known as boxer's fractures, are generally limited to a placement over only predetermined portion of a lateral surface of the bone with a first portion of the plate being dorsal and a second portion of the plate being lateral. Depending on the type of fracture, this placement may not be optimal and limiting placement to this arrangement does not provide the surgeon with the freedom to select an optimal placement for many fracture types.


A new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant named ‘Jolly Yocheryl’, characterized by its compact, upright and outwardly spreading plant habit; freely branching habit; dense and full plant habit; uniform and freely flowering habit; decorative-type inflorescences with elongated oblong to obovate-shaped ray florets; red-colored ray florets; and natural flowering about October 8th in the Northern Hemisphere.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant, botanically known as Chrysanthemum×morifolium, commercially grown as a garden Chrysanthemum and hereinafter referred to by the name 'Jolly Yocheryl'.
The objective of the breeding program is to create new garden-type Chrysanthemum cultivars having inflorescences with desirable inflorescence forms, attractive floret colors and good garden performance.
The new Chrysanthemum is a naturally-occurring whole plant mutation of unnamed proprietary selection of Chrysanthemum×morifolium, not patented. The new Chrysanthemum was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within a population of plants of the parent selection in December, 2003, in Alva, Fla. The selection of this plant was based on its desirable inflorescence color and good form and substance.
Asexual reproduction of the new Chrysanthemum by vegetative cuttings was first conducted in Alva, Fla. in February, 2004. Asexual reproduction by cuttings has shown that the unique features of this new Chrysanthemum are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.


The present invention adds a plurality of substrate barriers for reducing substrate noise. The barriers, consisting of a plurality of equally sized n-well regions formed within the p-substrate, are formed between the analog and digital portions and on at least one side of sensitive analog circuits. A MOSFET transistor configured as a capacitor is formed within each of the n-well regions and is coupled between supply and circuit common to filter supply noise. A metal layer capacitor is formed above each MOSFET capacitor and is coupled between supply and circuit common. The present inventive circuit adds metallization to satisfy metal percentage requirements and to improve noise filtering. Each barrier region includes a plurality of coupled (shorted) n-wells with MOSFET transistors configured as capacitors. Additionally, in the described embodiment, the metallization layer is formed to create metal capacitors on top layers of the n-well regions to create additional noise filtering between supply and ground.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to wireless communications and, more particularly, wideband wireless communication systems.
2. Related Art
Communication systems are known to support wireless and wire lined communications between wireless and/or wire lined communication devices. Such communication systems range from national and/or international cellular telephone systems to the Internet to point-to-point in-home wireless networks. Each type of communication system is constructed, and hence operates, in accordance with one or more communication standards. For instance, wireless communication systems may operate in accordance with one or more standards, including, but not limited to, IEEE 802.11, Bluetooth, Advanced Mobile Phone Services (AMPS), digital AMPS, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Local Multipoint distribution systems (LMDS), Multipoint Multichannel Distribution Services (MMDS), and/or variations thereof.
Depending on the type of wireless communication system, a wireless communication device, such as a cellular telephone, two-way radio, personal digital assistant (PDA), personal computer (PC), laptop computer, home entertainment equipment, etc., communicates directly or indirectly with other wireless communication devices. For direct communications (also known as point-to-point communications), the participating wireless communication devices tune their receivers and transmitters to the same channel or channels (e.g., one of a plurality of radio frequency (RF) carriers of the wireless communication system) and communicate over that channel(s). For indirect wireless communications, each wireless communication device communicates directly with an associated base station (e.g., for cellular services) and/or an associated access point (e.g., for an in-home or in-building wireless network) via an assigned channel. To complete a communication connection between the wireless communication devices, the associated base stations and/or associated access points communicate with each other directly, via a system controller, via a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), via the Internet, and/or via some other wide area network.
Each wireless communication device includes a built-in radio transceiver (i.e., receiver and transmitter) or is coupled to an associated radio transceiver (e.g., a station for in-home and/or in-building wireless communication networks, RF modem, etc.). As is known, the transmitter includes a data modulation stage, one or more intermediate frequency stages, and a power amplifier. The data modulation stage converts raw data into baseband signals in accordance with the particular wireless communication standard. The one or more intermediate frequency stages mix the baseband signals with one or more local oscillations to produce RF signals. The power amplifier amplifies the RF signals prior to transmission via an antenna.
As is also known, the receiver is coupled to the antenna and includes a low noise amplifier, one or more intermediate frequency stages, a filtering stage, and a data recovery stage. The low noise amplifier receives an inbound RF signal via the antenna and amplifies it. The one or more intermediate frequency stages mix the amplified RF signal with one or more local oscillations to convert the amplified RF signal into a baseband signal or an intermediate frequency (IF) signal. As used herein, the term "low IF" refers to both baseband and intermediate frequency signals. A filtering stage filters the low IF signals to attenuate unwanted out of band signals to produce a filtered signal. The data recovery stage recovers raw data from the filtered signal in accordance with the particular wireless communication standard. Alternate designs being pursued at this time further include direct conversion radios that produce a direct frequency conversion often in a plurality of mixing steps or stages.
Active mixers used in direct conversion radios, as well as radios that employ an intermediate conversion step, typically comprise input transconductance elements, switches and an output load. These active mixers often have varying output signal characteristics due to environmental conditions, such as temperature, and process and manufacturing variations. These varying output signal characteristics can, for example, result in a mixer producing an errant local oscillation signal that affects the accuracy of an output signal's frequency. Having inaccurate output frequencies can result in many undesirable outcomes, including unwanted signal filtering by a downstream filter. Accordingly, using active mixers that can compensate for the effects of frequency drift that is often present is beneficial. Some current mixers being designed have multiple stages for these and other reasons. Mixers that are designed to have multiple stages, however, utilize significant IC real estate. As the pressure to reduce device sizes continues to drive design, a continuing need exists for multiple mixer stage designs that are more efficient in terms of design and power consumption.
As described above, the trend is to integrate increasing levels of functionality on a single chip. As such, analog circuits, including, for example, analog-to-digital converter circuits, are integrated on the same silicon substrate as digital signal processing circuits to create so-called mix-signal circuits. The integration of analog and digital circuits on one silicon substrate causes substrate noise coupling problems. More specifically, the performance of analog circuits degrades due to substrate noise generated by the digital circuits. For example, clocks utilized on the digital portions of the integrated circuit often produce harmonic tones that propagate through the silicon substrate which cause interference in those analog circuits that perform clock related functions. For example, the harmonic signals from a digital clock may readily interfere with VCO circuits and, more generally, with phase-locked loop circuits.
Substrate noise coupling originates from several sources in addition to harmonic spurs from digital clock related functions. Substrate noise may be generated by the digital circuits propagated through the substrate and impact the analog circuits as well as from capacitive and inductive coupling from any device or block within an integrated circuit. One suspected circuit element that is susceptible to such substrate noise, more specifically, is long interconnect lines that drive high frequency switching clocks. Without a proper solution, such noise can degrade performance dramatically and, in some cases, even destroy a particular functionality. Several techniques have been used to address the problems that arise from substrate noise. Analog circuits are often designed to be adequately robust to withstand the digital noise. Types of techniques that may be utilized include physical separation, using differential architectures, and simulation to develop specific counter measures against detected sources of substrate noise. Another approach is to form deep N-wells. This approach, however, is not always available due to design constraints and has its own costs associated therewith. What is needed, therefore, are integrated circuit designs that reduce substrate noise without creating undue inefficiency and without wasting IC real estate.


A system and method are provided for processing a document. The method comprises: marking an area of a document, using at least one predetermined markup symbol; identifying a markup symbol; using the identified markup symbol to locate the document area; determining characters in the document area; and, processing the determined characters. Fields that can be processed include title, keywords, author, signature, document name, category, subject, or document status, to name but a few examples. In some aspects, marking an area of a document, using at least one predetermined markup symbol includes: electronically marking using a medium such as a touchscreen, pressure pad, or a mouse. Alternately, the paper document can be physically marked (with a pen or pencil) before scanning. Typically, marking an area of a document includes forming a markup character proximate to an enclosing figure. A wide range of markup characters can be defined cross-referenced to document processes.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to document processing and, more particularly, to a system and method of using markup symbols to automatically identify and process selected areas of a document.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are many conventional means of identifying specialized text zones that involve the use of form recognition software. These means rely on pre-defined forms. This technique requires the user to select, and/or to create a form prior to running the application. Obviously, this form recognition process is limited to the number of pre-defined forms. Further, the data must be submitted on one of the pre-defined forms. Other applications require the user to view the scanned image on a PC and perform some kind of drawing operation to identify document zones. This two-step process can be cumbersome.
Other convention solutions involve the application of bar-code labels, and/or the use separator sheets with meta-data.
It would be advantageous if areas of a form could directly be identified without an intervening user-driven action.
It would be advantageous if the identified document areas could be processed with an intervening step to correlate processes to identified areas.

System and method for locating document areas using markup symbols


In a process for the production of a transdermal therapeutic system for the administration of active substances to the skin in the form of a plane multichamber or multichamber-channel system an active substance-containing layer is introduced between top layer and bottom layer; subsequently top and bottom layer are squeezed at individual and/or coherent sites under displacement of the intermediary sites of the active substance-containing layer and formation of active substance-containing chambers or channels, and at the same time or after that top layer and bottom layer are bonded permanently at the squeezed places.

Transdermal therapeutic systems having chambers filled with active substances have been known for some time. In particular the transdermal systems initially placed on the market comprise chambers all filled with active substances. However, production of these systems is very expensive. In particular, the "membrane bags" which are filled with active substance must be produced individually in complicated process steps, and then be applied on suitable supporting sheets as a whole.
DE-OS 37 22 775 discloses a transdermal therapeutic system for the administration of active substances to the skin. It comprises a backing layer averted from the skin, an active substance depot, a control unit controlling the release of active substance by the system, and a pressure-sensitive adhesive device fixing the therapeutic system on the skin, the active substance depot being a multichamber system wherein discrete chambers comprise one or several active substances.
Special shaping of these systems, as is described in the above document, has not been possible as yet in an economically efficient manner. Another disadvantage lies in the fact that insufficiently subdivided chamber systems, when applied to vertical surfaces, tend to have an active substance mass accumulated at the lower edge resulting in a particularly intense supply into the skin at this point, whereas delivery in the upper part takes place to a considerably lesser extent. This can only be avoided--although imperfectly--by extremely thickening the active substance mass; however, this involves difficulties in the production of transdermal systems and limits the possibilities of design.

Process and a device for producing a transdermal therapeutic system for the administration of active substances to the skin in the form of a plane multichamber or multichamber-channel system


The present invention provides a catheter balloon having an advantageous cone design. In particular, the catheter balloon has at least one cone section with a volume in mm3 such that, when the ratio of one cone volume to the transverse cross-sectional area in mm2 of the inflated median section is at least about 2.1 mm. In certain applications, the advantageous cone design can assist in the preferential expansion of the cone sections prior to any significant expansion of the median section. The balloon can thus advantageously be utilized as a component of a balloon catheter or prosthesis delivery system, also provided via the present invention. When so utilized, the inventive balloon can assist in reducing any shifting of the balloon and/or prosthesis during inflation or delivery, respectively. Methods of utilizing the balloon catheters in dilation procedures, as well as the prosthesis delivery systems to deliver prosthesis, are also provided.

Angioplasty is a widely utilized therapeutic treatment in which obstructed intraluminal passages are reopened or dilated. In a typical procedure, a catheter comprising an inflatable member, such as a balloon, is inserted percutaneously into a luminal passage of a patient, such as an artery, vein, airway, etc. Once inserted, the balloon is advanced to the desired treatment site, where the balloon may be inflated to dilate the luminal passage. In certain applications, the balloon catheter may be used to place an intravascular prosthesis, such as a stent, within the luminal passage, which prosthesis could then operate to maintain the patency of the luminal passage.
Although vascular angioplasty and stenting are widely utilized and largely successful procedures, improvements to the same could yet be made. In dilation procedures, for example, it would be desirable for the inflatable member to controllably inflate, and at times preferentially inflate, to better control the position of the inflatable member. In procedures wherein an intravascular prosthesis is to be delivered, it would be desirable to enhance the robustness of the delivery of the prosthetic device.

Catheter balloon with advantageous cone design


The invention relates to a high strength pipe of ethylene polymer having a bimodal molecular weight distribution. Such pipe has a stress cracking resistance of .gtoreq.1400 h, a fracture toughness of .gtoreq.7 mJ/mm.sup.2 and a modulus of creep in flexure, measured according to DIN 54852-Z4, of .gtoreq.1100 N/mm.sup.2. The pipe according to the invention is produced from an ethylene polymer in which the ratio of weight of the low molecular weight fraction to the weight of the higher molecular weight fraction is in the range from 0.5 to 2.0 and which has a melt flow index MFI.sub.5/190.degree. C. of .ltoreq.0.35 g/10 min. It is particularly suitable for the transportation of gases and water.

The present invention relates to a high strength pipe of ethylene polymer having a bimodal molecular weight distribution.
Polyethylene is used in large amounts for the production of pipes, for example for gas and water transport systems, because a material having high mechanical strength, high corrosion resistance and good long-term stability is required for such pipes. Many publications describe materials having a very wide range of properties and processes for their preparation.
EP-A-603,935 has already described a molding material which is based on polyethylene, has a bimodal molecular weight distribution and is suitable, inter alia, also for the production of pipes. However, pipes produced from the molding materials according to this publication are still unsatisfactory with regard to their continuous load capacity under internal pressure, their stress cracking resistance, their low-temperature notched impact strength and their resistance to rapid crack growth.
In order to obtain pipes having balanced mechanical properties and hence an optimum combination of properties, it is necessary to use a raw material which has an even broader molecular weight distribution. Such a raw material is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,338,589 and is prepared using a highly active catalyst which is disclosed in WO 91/18934 and in which the magnesium alcoholate is used as a gel-like suspension. It has surprisingly been found that the use of this material in shaped articles, in particular in pipes, permits a simultaneous improvement in the properties of rigidity and tendency to creep on the one hand and stress cracking resistance and toughness on the other hand, which are usually opposed in semicrystalline thermoplastics.

Pipe of polyethylene having improved mechanical properties


A blade drive device includes: a board having a shutter opening; a blade for adjusting an amount of light entering the shutter opening; and a transmitting member for transmitting a drive force to the blade. The transmitting member includes a drive pin swinging about a given support point. The blade has a first cam slot engaged with the drive pin and swinging about a given support point in conjunction with a swinging of the drive pin. The first cam slot includes a first permitting area and a first restricting area. The blade is permitted to swing when the drive pin is located in the first permitting area. The blade is restricted from swinging when the drive pin is located in the first restricting area.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to blade drive devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is known a blade drive device, which is installed in a camera, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-352153. Such a blade drive device generally includes a board having an opening, a blade for adjusting the amount of light entering the opening, and a transmitting member for transmitting a drive force to the blade.
When an impact is applied to and an external force is affected to such a blade drive device, the blade may be displaced with respect to a desired position. Such a displacement may obtain no desired amount of entering light and may adversely affect a shooting image.


The subject matter relates to a two-in-one tooth brush unit, comprising a tooth brush and tooth paste, featuring an accommodating hole on the handle of the tooth brush, so the tooth paste can be accommodated in the accommodating hole on the brush handle, while the accommodating hole on the handle and the tooth paste can be wrapped by an adhesive paper label; so configured to achieve functions such as; more convenient packaging process, precludes the unit from being recovered for reuse, disposal of the tooth paste and the tooth brush as one unit, adheres to environmental protection requirements, etc.

The subject matter relates to a two-in-one tooth brush unit, particularly to a disposable tooth brush unit that is conveniently packaged to avoid it from being recovered for reuse, while the tooth paste and the tooth brush can be disposed of as one unit, in order to satisfy environmental protection requirements.
Conventionally, prior art of disposable tooth brush has been widely used in hotels, inns, and other organizations, since it can be disposed of after one use, it requires no consideration in terms of sanitary and health problems. A conventional disposable tooth brush is normally packed in a packaging bag, and since said type of tooth brush needs tooth paste in actual use, normally a tooth paste and a tooth brush are jointly packed in a packaging bag. But since the tooth paste and the tooth brush are two separate articles, they have to be put inside the packaging bag separately and the one article first put inside the bag will often interfere with the packaging process for the other article. This will cause much inconvenience in the packaging process, is time and labor consuming, and results in the production speed slowing down; but if the tooth paste and the tooth brush are packed separately, it will cost more in terms of working hours and costs. Furthermore, in case a dishonest hotel serviceperson tries to recover the used brush for reuse, there are sanitary concerns raised. And since a conventional disposable type of tooth brush and tooth paste are two separate articles which are disposed of separately after use, disposal does not satisfy environmental protection requirements.
Therefore, the conventional type of disposable tooth brush involves inconvenience and shortcomings that need improvement.
In order to seek possible improvement on the above shortcomings, the subject inventor has devoted time on research, with technical applications, and has finally presented a reasonably designed subject matter with effective improvement on the above shortcomings.


A stamped knitting tool, such as a latch needle, has, on its shank, a lubricant distributing arrangement formed on at least one of the opposite broad shank faces for collecting a lubricant therein during operation of the knitting tool. The lubricant distributing arrangement is constituted by a region of reduced shank thickness extending transversely to the shank length from a distance from the upper shank edge at least substantially to the lower shank edge. The region of reduced shank thickness may be a chamfer, a recess or a depression.

This invention relates to a stamped knitting tool, such as a hook or latch needle, but may also find application in compound needles, latchless needles such as plush hooks for making plush products, sinkers, buttless needles and the like.
Knitting tools of the above-outlined type have a shank by means of which they are guided for reciprocating motion in an associated guide groove of a needle holder forming part of, for example, a needle bed, a knitting machine dial or a needle cylinder. Since, dependent upon operational conditions, during such a reciprocating motion the needle shank is pressed against the bottom and against at least one of the side walls of the guide groove with a certain force, during operation a significant friction is generated between the needle shank and the contacting wall regions of the guide groove. Such a friction leads not only to a heat-up of the machine components, but also to an increase of the resistance to the needle motion. For this reason, the knitting tools have to be lubricated for which, as a rule, low-viscosity oil is used which is applied as a mist or in drops to discrete lubricating locations in the guide groove. Particularly in rapidly operating knitting machines the thus-obtainable lubricating conditions are often unsatisfactory, and thus, for example, an impermissible heat-up of the machine and the knitting tool may occur, together with an undesired, adverse effect on the service life of the knitting tool or other machine components.
In an effort to remedy the above-discussed disadvantages, Japanese patent document JP-A-5-195394 discloses a latch needle whose shank has two vertical guide pieces extending from the upper shank edge to the lower shank edge and a bridge formed of a narrow web interconnecting the guide pieces. Between the bridge and the needle butt a depression is provided in the needle shank. Such a depression is bordered by the frontal edge of the butt, a narrow connecting web along the lower shank edge and an adjoining guide piece of the bridge. The depression which is open towards the upper shank edge is, during operation, maintained filled with lubricating oil by means of an oil supplying device. During the reciprocating motion of the needle shank, the oil is to be applied to the regions of the guide groove wall over which the oil-containing depression passes. It has been found in practice, however, that particularly in case of small-tolerance guide grooves, the lubricating oil introduced into the depression is compressed during the motion of the needle shank similarly to a piston/cylinder operation. As a result, an increased liquid friction is generated which leads to an appreciable heating of the needle and the needle bed.
Further, according to U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,527, the needle shank is provided at least on one of its two opposite broad sides with a longitudinal groove which extends throughout the entire shank length and which is parallel to the upper and lower shank edges. Such an arrangement is used in particular in latch needles whose shank has at least one bridge of the above-outlined type, that is, the shank has a meandering shape. The longitudinal groove is intended to contribute to an improved lubricant distribution and retention of the lubricant in the guide groove. The effect of such a longitudinal groove for such a purpose is, however, limited because the oil distribution achieved by the longitudinal groove does not result in a sufficient lubrication. Also, the longitudinal groove has the particular purpose of reducing the weight and thus the inert mass of the needle shank to counteract in this manner any tendency to hook breakage which may be caused by shock waves generated as the needle butt strikes the adjoining lock components.
A similar purpose is served by the measure disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,036,036, according to which at least one throughgoing aperture is provided in the needle shank. The aperture which is so arranged that it does not extend up to the upper or lower shank edge serves the purpose to dampen the effect of the shock waves.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,572 discloses measures for a circular knitting machine to counteract the impact stresses exerted on the needle by the thread and/or by the inert needle mass. According to this patent a recess is provided in each lateral wall of the guide groove in the region of the needle butt. Such recesses result in an increased play between the needle shank and the butt on the one hand and the facing lateral walls of the guide groove, on the other hand. By virtue of the fact that in the entire butt region of the needle--in which the lateral operational pressing forces with which the needle shank is dressed against the adjoining lateral walls of the guide groove reach their maximum value--no large-surface contact between the needle shank and the side wall of the guide groove takes place, the friction between the needle and the side wall of the guide groove should be reduced. To achieve such a result, because of the length of the needle stroke, relatively long recesses have to be provided in the side walls of the guide grooves, while according to another alternative, the needle shank, including the needle butt, is reduced in its thickness throughout a relatively long throughgoing region which includes a significant part of the needle shank (formed as a full shank) in front of and behind the needle butt. If, however, the butt thickness is reduced, the stability of the butt is adversely affected while, at the same time, the surface stresses appearing at the butt increase at the engagement edges with the locking components. The above-noted U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,572 does not address the problem of lubricating the needle in the guide channel.


A surgical attachment device. The device has an elastomeric member which may be bioabsorbable. A tissue engagement means such as a hook is mounted to the elastomeric member. The tissue engagement means may also be bioabsorbable. The device provides tensioned fastening.

Tissue attachment or fastening devices are well known in the medical and surgical arts. The devices may consist of staples, surgical tacks, sutures, and the like. The attachment devices may be made of conventional non-absorbable materials such as stainless steel and titanium. The devices may also be made from conventional non-absorbable polymeric materials. For many surgical procedures the fastening device of choice is one made from absorbable materials which are absorbed by the body over time.
Absorbable fastening devices have been found to be advantageous for several reasons. Absorbable fastening devices absorb as the patient heals; accordingly, it is not necessary to perform a second operation to remove the devices. In addition, after the fasteners absorb, they are not present to cause pain or other known complications. It is known that conventional fasteners made from non-absorbable materials are associated with residual pain and may migrate and cause a variety of complications.
Although conventional fastening devices are widely used and function adequately in surgical procedures, it is known that there are many surgical procedures where conventional tissue fastening devices or surgical fastening devices are deficient. For example, when affixing a surgical mesh or membrane to a tissue site as in the case of a repair of an inguinal hernia, it is often difficult to fasten the mesh so that it adequately conforms to the contours of the tissue or organ. Conventional tissue attachment devices tend to work adequately on flat tissue surfaces, however, it is difficult to achieve optimal tensioning when working with tissue or organs having contours. This is particularly evident when attempting to cover a tissue site or organ with a surgical mesh or other membrane. The conventional fasteners available to the surgeon may affix the mesh or membrane to the tissue or organ, however the surgeon must manipulate and support while fastening to properly tension the membrane or mesh. This is a difficult procedure and may possibly result in over-tensioning, tissue damage, or a poorly supported implant.
There is a need in this art for surgical or tissue fastening devices having the capability of providing tensioned fastening.

Tissue attachment device having elastomeric section


A gain stage in a sense amplifier receives an input signal representing a stored value and senses if the input signal is less than or not less than a reference signal and generates an output signal indicative of a first state when the input signal is less than the reference signal and an output signal indicative of a second state when the input signal is not less than the reference signal. The gain stage further comprises an integrated latch configured to latch the output signal in either the first or second state. Additionally, a controller operates a sense amplifier having multiple operating modes. Sample mode switch logic causes the sense amplifier to sample a first voltage applied to the sense amplifier's input and hold and compare mode switch logic causes the sense amplifier to hold the first voltage for comparison with a second voltage applied to the sense amplifier's input.

The present invention relates to magnetic random access memories (MRAMs). Electronic appliances such as personal computers use electronic memory for data and program storage. Information is represented as bit patterns in the memory. Each bit can have two states, often referred to as a logical 0 and a logical 1 or just simply as 0 and 1.
Electronic memory often takes the physical form of a small silicon die contained within a plastic or ceramic package for physical protection. The silicon die contains the electronic circuitry of the memory and is a small piece of a larger silicon wafer, which allows a large number of memory "chips" to be manufactured together. Desirable characteristics for computer memory chips are random access, low cost, low power, high density, high speed, and writability. Often one characteristic is obtained at the expense of another. For example, extremely high-speed memory might not be low-cost, high-density, or low-power. Two types of electronic memory are frequently used in personal computers. One is dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and the other is static random access memory (SRAM).
DRAM has the characteristics of random access, low cost, moderate power, high density, moderate speed, and writability. The high density and low cost of DRAM are achieved by using tiny capacitors to store electrical charges representing the states of the bits in the memory. Unfortunately, this technique requires complex control circuitry to continually refresh the stored charges on the capacitors. If the charges are not refreshed, they leak away and the data they represent are lost. Continual refreshing of the stored charges results in increased power dissipation even when the memory is not being used, which is problematic for portable computing devices like laptop computers.
SRAM on the other hand, uses latching circuitry to store the states of the bits in the memory. Latching circuitry eliminates the need for complex refresh circuitry and allows SRAM to have very high speed. Unfortunately, the high speed is obtained at the expense of high density due to the increased amount of chip area required by the latching circuitry to store each bit. The lower density also leads to higher cost for SRAM. The extra circuitry used to store each bit also dissipates a large amount of power.
Another shortcoming of DRAM and SRAM is that they are both volatile memory technologies and so lose their stored data when power is removed. Volatile memory is problematic for portable electronic devices like laptop computers. To overcome the problem of volatility, a laptop computer writes the state of its memory to a magnetic storage disk before turning off the power. When the power is turned back on, the operating system and the programs that were previously in use must be restored to the electronic memory. This "boot up" delay is frustrating to many users and could be essentially eliminated if the electronic memory were non-volatile.
Flash memory mitigates the volatility problem for some portable electronic devices like cell phones and digital cameras. Flash memory is a type of EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read only memory) where a bit of information is stored as a charge on an electrically isolate gate of a field effect transistor. The electrical isolation of the gate prevents the charge from leaking away and effectively makes the memory non-volatile. However, there are characteristics of flash memory that are problematic for its use as the memory of a personal computer. The first characteristic is that the memory has a limited number write/erase cycles. Secondly, to erase bits, a large section of memory is erased in a "flash," which leads to its name.
MRAM is a non-volatile memory technology that relies on the relative magnetic orientations of two magnetic layers sandwiched on either side of a magnetoresistive layer to store data. When the magnetic orientations are parallel, the magnetoresistive layer has a low resistance and when they opposite (often termed anti-parallel), the magnetoresistive layer has a higher resistance. Circuitry on the chip can sense the resistance of a single bit cell and interpret the high or low resistance as either a binary 1 or 0. Since power is not required to maintain the magnetizations, data are retained in the bit cells when power is removed. This yields the non-volatile characteristic of MRAM technology as well reducing its power consumption.
MRAM technology also has other desirable characteristics. It has potential for high density due to the simplicity of the bit cell. Unlike DRAM, which also has a simple bit cell, MRAM does not require complex refresh circuitry. This leads to simpler memory system design and lower system cost. MRAM is also inherently high-speed due to the simplicity of the bit cell.
As previously described, the state of an MRAM memory cell is read by sensing its resistance. High-density memory chips necessitate small feature sizes. These feature sizes include the area of the memory cell and the thickness of its magnetoresistive layer as well as the width and thickness of the lines reading data from the cells. Unfortunately, extremely small feature sizes engender a higher sensitivity to manufacturing variation. This manufacturing variation causes variation in the resistance of different memory cells on the same chip. Furthermore, extremely thin lines have high resistance that leads to significant resistance variations between lines of different lengths. These characteristics are problematic to accurately sensing the resistance of an individual memory cell where the absolute resistance change of the cell between the logical 1 state and the logical 0 state is small compared to resistance variation due to the aforementioned manufacturing variation and line length variation.
Accordingly, there is a need for sensing the resistance of an MRAM memory cell with a minimal amount of circuitry that is not sensitive to manufacturing variations and line resistance variations that are commonly associated with high-density memory chips.
Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements.

Method and apparatus for a sense amplifier

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A glass-substrate manufacturing method which includes a forming step and a cooling step. In the forming step, a molten glass is formed into a sheet glass by a down-draw process. In the cooling step, the sheet glass is cooled. The cooling step includes first, second and third coating steps as defined herein.

Various methods for manufacturing TFT-type displays by employing down-draw processing have been conventionally proposed, as disclosed in Patent Literature 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication JP-A-2009-196879). In down-draw processing, molten glass is first poured into a forming member, and then the molten glass is made to overflow from the top sections of the forming member. The molten glass that has overflowed then flows downward along the opposite side surfaces of the forming member, and the streams of molten glass merge at the lower end of the forming member, thus being made into a sheet-form glass (sheet glass). The sheet glass is then cooled while being drawn downward by drawing rollers. The cooled sheet glass is then cut into predetermined lengths and made into glass substrates.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method of identifying an epileptogenic zone of a subject's brain includes receiving a plurality of electrical signals from a corresponding plurality of surgically implanted electrodes, calculating a first plurality of connectivities between each pair of electrodes based on a portion of each of the plurality of electrical signals corresponding to a first time period, assigning a rank corresponding to each electrode for the first period of time based on the first plurality of connectivities to provide a first plurality of ranks, calculating a second plurality of connectivities between each pair of electrodes based on a portion of each of the plurality of electrical signals corresponding to a second time period, assigning a rank corresponding to each electrode for the second period of time based on the second plurality of connectivities to provide a second plurality of ranks, identifying a cluster of electrodes among the plurality of electrodes based on relative changes between the first plurality of ranks from the first time period and the second plurality of ranks at the second time period, and identifying the epileptogenic zone based on the cluster of electrodes.

1. Field of Invention
The field of the currently claimed embodiments of this invention relates to methods and systems for evaluating epileptic zones of a subject's brain.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Epilepsy is one of the most common brain disorders, characterized by chronically recurrent seizures resulting from excessive electrical discharges from groups of neurons [1]. Epilepsy affects about 50 million people worldwide and approximately 40% of all individuals with epilepsy have intractable seizures, which cannot completely be controlled by medical therapy [2-4]. That is, seizures continue to occur despite treatment with a maximally tolerated dose of at least two anti-epilepsy drugs (AEDs). The direct cost of assessing and treating patients with medically refractory epilepsy (MRE) ranges from $3-4 billion annually ($16 billion in direct and indirect costs) in the US (based on a 1996 publication) [5]. 80% of these costs are accounted by patients whose seizures are not adequately controlled by AEDs [6]. The burden of MRE, however, is much greater than heavy financial costs. MRE is a debilitating illness where individuals lose their independence, causing profound behavioral, psychological, social, financial and legal issues [7-11]. Recurrent seizures impair socialization and psychological development during formative years and may lead to an inability to obtain an education, gainful employment, or driving privileges. The development of a learned helplessness and low self-esteem can worsen as long as epilepsy is intractable. Cognitive performance may be impaired by MRE as well as by side effects of AED therapy [7-11].
Surgical Treatment of MRE
Despite the heavy sequelae from MRE, there is a potentially curative procedure—surgical resection of the epileptogenic zone (EZ), which is the minimal area of brain tissue responsible for generating the recurrent seizure activity [12]. However, to be effective, this procedure depends on correct identification of the EZ, which is often unclear. A comprehensive pre-surgical evaluation is necessary to pinpoint the EZ as well as to identify the risk of neurologic morbidity such as visual impairment. Various non-invasive and invasive methods are used. Non-invasive techniques include scalp EEG, video-EEG, neuropsychological tests, speech-language studies, and brain imaging (MRI, PET, Ictal SPECT). Of these methods, the highest predictor of surgical success is identification of a single visible MRI lesion [13], yet despite the advances in imaging technologies, a significant number of surgical patients with focal epilepsy (˜25%) continue to have normal MRIs [14-17].
When the less invasive methods fail to identify the EZ, the method of last resort is an invasive evaluation, comprising placement of subdural grid electrodes (SDE) or stereotactically placed depth electrodes (stereoelectroencephalography, a.k.a. SEEG) and subsequent prolonged extra-operative monitoring in a dedicated Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU) [41]. Subdural grids and strips are the most common invasive method used in the United States [18, 41-43, 46]. Despite the high spatial resolution provided by the subdural methodology, which allows for accurate mapping of superficial cortical areas, relatively deep epileptic foci cannot be sampled with adequate spatial and temporal resolution. In addition, subdural grids require relative large craniotomies and are, in general, limited to exploration of one hemisphere. There thus remains a need for improved systems and methods for evaluating epileptic zones of a subject's brain.

Computatonal tool for pre-surgical evaluation of patients with medically refractory epilepsy


A superscalar microprocessor configured to speculatively generate register values associated with a particular register is provided. Multiple register values are generated in parallel, wherein each speculatively generated register value accounts for modifications of the register value by each of the instructions prior to the instruction for which the register value is generated. Instructions which are dependent upon each other for the register values thus generated may be executed concurrently. In one specific embodiment, the present microprocessor generates register values for the ESP register. The speculatively generated register value resulting from the modifications performed by the instructions decoded during a clock cycle is stored in a speculative register file along with constants used to generate the register value associated with each individual instruction. When a mispredicted branch instruction is detected, the register value generated during the decode of the mispredicted branch instruction may be adjusted using the stored constants. The adjustment performed reflects the value of the register at the execution of the mispredicted branch instruction.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to the field of superscalar microprocessors and, more particular, to the speculative generation of registers states and the storing thereof prior to retirement of the instructions.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Superscalar microprocessors achieve high performance by executing multiple instructions concurrently and by specifying the shortest possible clock cycle consistent with the design. As used herein, a "clock cycle" is an interval of time accorded to various stages of an instruction processing pipeline within the microprocessor to complete their various functions. Memory elements (such as registers and arrays) capture their values according to a clock signal defining the clock cycle.
The number of instructions which may be executed concurrently in many ways defines the performance of a superscalar microprocessor. A superscalar microprocessor is configured to execute up to a maximum number of instructions during each clock cycle. However, the maximum number of instructions may not be executed during a particular clock cycle due to a variety of reasons. For example, the number of instructions available for execution may be a limiting factor. Subsequent instructions may be in the process of being transferred from main memory. Alternatively, a branch instruction may be detected within the instructions fetched, causing some of the instructions which were fetched to be discarded. Maximizing the number of instructions executed during each clock cycle is often a high priority in designing a superscalar microprocessor.
Many techniques have been developed to increase the number of instructions executed per clock cycle. For example, result forwarding is often employed in which the result of executing an instruction is directly forwarded to instructions awaiting that result (i.e. the instructions awaiting the result are "dependent" upon the instruction producing the result). Result forwarding is used as opposed to storing the result in a specified destination and then transferring the stored result to a subsequent instruction. The clock cycle saved by directly forwarding the result reduces the time penalty for the dependency between the instructions. Unfortunately, the dependency between the two instructions prevents them from executing simultaneously.
Out of order execution is often employed by superscalar microprocessors to increase the number of instructions executed concurrently in the presence of instruction dependencies. If a microprocessor employs out of order execution, a second instruction subsequent to a first instruction within a particular instruction sequence may be executed prior to the first instruction. For example, if the first instruction may not be executed due to a dependency upon another instruction which has not yet executed, then the first instruction may not execute. However, if the second instruction is not dependent on any instructions which have not yet executed, the second instruction may execute. Unfortunately, a maximum number of instructions executed per cycle is often not achieved even with the implementation of out of order execution. For example, the number of instructions which may be fetched and dispatched to execution units per clock cycle may limit the number of instructions which may be executed out of order. Additionally, the number of dependencies within a given instruction sequence may limit the number of instructions which may execute out of order.
For microprocessors employing the x86 microprocessor architecture, the problem of instruction dependencies is magnified. The x86 microprocessor architecture specifies a relatively small number of registers (eight registers as opposed to as many as 32 registers in other microprocessor architectures). Additionally, several of the registers have defined interpretations which prevent their use for storing an arbitrary operand. Because the number of registers available for storing operands is small, many instructions utilize a value stored in memory as an operand. For example, a stack data structure may store many of the operands used by a particular instruction sequence. The x86 microprocessor architecture specifies a pair of registers, the ESP and EBP, which reference the stack data structure.
As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, a stack is a data storage structure implementing a last-in, first-out storage mechanism. Data is "pushed" onto a stack (i.e. the data is stored into the stack data structure) and "popped" from the stack (i.e. the data is removed from the stack data structure). When the stack is popped, the data removed is the data that was most recently pushed. The ESP register defines the "top" of the stack, upon which the next value is pushed and from which the next value is popped. The EBP register specifies the base of the stack for a particular instruction sequence (e.g. a subroutine or a computer program). Operand values for instructions within the instruction sequence lie between the addresses in memory defined by the values in the ESP and EBP registers.
Instructions which use a value in the stack as an operand or use the stack as a destination may modify the ESP register. In particular, an instruction which pushes a value onto the stack or pops a value from the stack modifies the ESP register since the top of the stack is changed. Exemplary x86 instructions which push values onto the stack may include the PUSH instruction and the CALL instruction. Exemplary x86 instructions which pop values from the stack may include the POP and RET instructions. Because push and pop instructions modify the ESP register, instructions which use the ESP register to locate an operand within the stack as well as subsequent push and pop instructions are dependent upon a particular push or pop instruction for the value stored in the ESP register. A mechanism is desired for removing these dependencies such that multiple instructions which reference the ESP register may be executed concurrently.
In addition to the above mentioned techniques, superscalar microprocessors often employ speculative execution of instructions to further increase performance. As used herein, the term "speculative" refers to execution of an instruction prior to that instruction being required according to the sequential execution of instructions. Speculatively executed instruction results may be discarded if the instruction execution is not needed. For example, if a branch instruction is mispredicted, instruction subsequent to the branch were incorrectly executed. The results of these subsequent instructions are therefore discarded. It is desirable that the dependency removal mechanism be capable of recovering from branch mispredictions.

Speculative register file for storing speculative register states and removing dependencies between instructions utilizing the register


A control apparatus for an engine includes an engine, a state quantity setting device, a spark plug, and a controller. The spark plug ignites air-fuel mixture at predetermined ignition timing so that unburned air-fuel mixture combusts by autoignition after start of combustion of the air-fuel mixture by the ignition, and the controller adjusts a heat amount ratio in accordance with an operation state of the engine through change of the ignition timing, the heat amount ratio representing an index associated with a ratio of an amount of heat generated when the air-fuel mixture combusts by flame propagation with respect to a total amount of heat generated when the air-fuel mixture combusts in the combustion chamber.

Patent Document 1 discloses a compression autoignition type engine in which, by compression operation of a piston, air-fuel mixture in a combustion chamber is caused to undergo autoignition so as to be combusted. In this engine, auxiliary ignition is performed by a spark plug, whereby the combustion speed of air-fuel mixture is controlled. In this engine, as the load on the engine decreases, as the number of revolutions of the engine increases, or as the oil water temperature decreases, air-fuel mixture becomes less likely to undergo autoignition. Therefore, ignition timing by the spark plug is made earlier, whereby autoignition of the air-fuel mixture is promoted so that time of combustion by autoignition is advanced.
Patent Document 2 discloses an engine which combusts air-fuel mixture in a combustion chamber by autoignition in a partial load region. This engine promotes autoignition of air-fuel mixture by leaving hot burned gas in the combustion chamber in an operation region on a low load side in the partial load region. Furthermore, in the engine, in an operation region on a high load side in the partial load region, cooled burned gas is introduced into the combustion chamber such that autoignition is less likely to occur, and a spark plug performs ignition immediately before the compression top dead center.


Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are mounted in an array to an upper structure overlying a lower structure with a plurality of light detectors thereon. Each LED is configured to overlie a separate detector. Each LED emits light at a frequency relevant for measuring optical density of a specimen. LEDs having different frequencies are included within the LED array. A corresponding array of detectors is also provided, mounted to the lower structure. Spacing between adjacent LEDs and between adjacent detectors match a spacing between wells in a microtiter plate. Spacing between the lower structure and the upper structure supporting the LEDs is sufficient for the microtiter plate to fit between. Circuitry sequentially fires individual LEDs and gathers optical density data through the detectors for specimens in the wells of the microtiter plate. The structures are then moved to a next adjacent well position on the microtiter plate and the process repeated.

Densitometry is a field where the optical density of a fluid specimen is measured by providing a light source and a detector with the detector detecting the amount of light transmitted through the specimen. In more advanced forms of densitometry, the light is limited to a narrow band of light frequencies. Multiple densitometer readings are obtained at different light frequencies to learn more about the specimen being examined.
To efficiently analyze multiple specimens as quickly and reliably as possible, a microtiter plate is often utilized with a plurality of wells therein arranged in rows and columns. The microtiter plate is substantially planar and is typically oriented substantially horizontally to keep the specimens within the wells of the microtiter plate MTP. One such arrangement of microtiter plate is shown in FIG. 2.
Furthermore, to efficiently analyze specimens within separate wells of the microtiter plate, a single light source can be divided through known prior art equipment into separate light sources, such as through the use of fiber optic light conductors each feeding a single light source to multiple separate wells. Using known prior art equipment, such as that depicted in FIG. 1, a single light source such as a halogen lamp 2 is provided. An infrared filter 4 can be utilized to remove infrared portions of the spectrum, to remove heat containing portions of the spectrum from the light being emitted from the lamp 2. An interference filter 6 is utilized to absorb all light frequencies other than those particularly desired for a measurement being conducted by the densitometer. In some more advanced systems, multiple interference filters 6 are provided which can be selectively positioned in line with the lamp 2 so that different frequencies of light are allowed to pass onto the light conductors 8.
Detectors 9 are provided below the wells in the microtiter plate MTP so that the liquid L contained within the wells W is separately measured by the detectors 9. Typically, the interference filter 6 limits the wavelength to −5 to +5 nanometers of the desired wavelength. Depending on the nature of the liquid L, more or less of the light is absorbed. Under the well W, the non-absorbed light is captured and conducted to the detector 9. The luminous intensity is measured and the absorption can be calculated. Multiple wells W are measured simultaneously with such prior art densitometers, so that the densitometer can act multiple times faster depending on the number of light conductors 8 utilized and the size of the microtiter plate MTP.
While generally effective, one problem with such densitometers is the potential for light from adjacent light conductors to have some influence on the luminous intensity read by each detector, such that otherwise properly calibrated detectors might detect a greater intensity than is actually passing through the specimen because it is hitting the detector at least partially from one of the other light conductors. Furthermore, with the prior art multiple interference filters are required and mechanisms for adjusting the interference filters so that proper frequency light is utilized for the particular densitometer test being conducted. These details add complexity to the densitometer and slow down the process Accordingly, a need exists for further enhancement of the efficiency and reliability of densitometer systems and methods.


An omnidirectional LED filament holder and lighting device comprising the same comprises a filament tree supporting a plurality of LED filaments having a twisted orientation relative to a central support stalk of the filament tree. When arranged within a globe of a lighting device, the omnidirectional LED filament holder provides a lighting device providing omnidirectional light emission usable for general lighting applications while providing a desirable aesthetic for the lighting device.

Decorative light bulbs having elongated and coiled filaments (sometimes referred to as "Edison"-style lightbulbs) have been used as accent lighting and/or as primary sources of light in dimly-lit atmospheres. Incandescent versions of these decorative light bulbs were widely recognized as being inefficient light sources that emitted low-levels of light and were prone to early burn-out due at least in part to the length of the elongated filament. However, these noted inefficiencies were balanced by the bulbs' unique and sometimes desirable aesthetic properties of the glowing, elongated filament within the bulb globe.
Recently, Light Emitting Diode (LED) filament decorative light bulbs have been created that have a higher power efficiency than prior incandescent bulbs while mimicking the same desirable aesthetic properties of these decorative light bulbs. Although the LED bulbs are not subject to the same material-specific brightness limitations as incandescent-style bulbs, many of these decorative LED bulbs are still created to emit relatively low levels of light to enable users to appreciate the intricacies of the glowing elongated filament within the bulb globe.
However, the intricate patterning of the elongated filament has historically prevented omnidirectional light emission from these decorative bulbs, regardless of whether the bulbs utilize incandescent or LED-based filaments for light emission. The decorative and intricate patterning of the filaments themselves require substantial support structures within the bulb, and those support structures block portions of the light emitted from the filaments, thereby preventing the formation of a fully omnidirectional bulb having desirable aesthetic qualities. Accordingly, a need exists for omnidirectional decorative LED light bulbs and methods of manufacturing the same.

Omnidirectional light emitting diode filament holder


A combination wallet and real-time account management system for monitoring a user's spending habits includes monolithically formed first and second sections adaptable between open and closed positions. The system further includes a mechanism for detecting the presence of a credit card and an audible mechanism for notifying a user when a credit card is removed from the wallet and not replaced within a predetermined time interval. An electronic mechanism for performing mathematical calculations is integrally situated within the wallet and non-removable therefrom. The first section includes a plurality of pockets sized and shaped for receiving and storing credit cards. Such pockets are spaced along the first section of the wallet. The second section includes a plurality of pockets sized and shaped for receiving and storing paper money and a personal checkbook.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to money management systems and, more particularly, to a combination wallet and data management system for updating a user's debit/credit/cash accounts in real-time.
2. Prior Art
In today's world of financing and personal money management, convenience and time are extremely valuable commodities. Contemporary financial communication systems significantly improve accessibility to financial information and substantially facilitate financial transactions. However, a number of unfortunate limitations reduce the potential convenience and time efficiency for a user of these financial communication systems.
For example, an individual desiring to withdraw a sum of money from a bank account is usually required to physically commute to a banking facility or to an ATM to perform the financial transaction. Also, the individual is typically required to present a corresponding ATM financial card for identification. Consequently, a financial card for each financial institution must normally be carried on one's person at all times. Lastly, after the transaction is consummated, the information is typically maintained electronically at the banking facility and only a paper receipt is provided to the individual. Hence, at least one additional step is required for the individual to manually transfer the financial information (i.e., an update to a balance) to a financial log or diary (e.g., one normally included with a check book).
In a second example, to execute a purchase the individual normally surrenders some form of money (e.g., cash, check, or financial card) in exchange for goods or service. At the point of sale, the individual may present cash in exchange for a merchandise and receive a paper receipt for the transaction. In the case of a check transaction, an establishment may honor a check, usually after collecting the individual's personal information (e.g., a driver's license number, and a financial card number and expiration date), and complete the check purchase transaction as discussed earlier for the cash purchase transaction. Alternatively, by using a financial card (e.g., a credit card) a financial card transaction is substantially more complicated, as will be discussed below.
In the financial card transaction, the individual must usually select and present one of many financial cards that are necessarily carried on one's person. A point of sale (POS) terminal usually reads the financial card for financial information and additionally receives keyboard entry of a purchase price and associated information. The POS terminal then normally auto-dials a central financial computer to verify an identification code and an allowable credit limit. Upon approval, a balance at the central financial computer is updated accordingly, and the individual must normally confirm the transaction with a signature on a paper receipt, copies of which are divided among the individual, the establishment, and a central financial institution (e.g., MasterCard or Visa). A financial card transaction, therefore, allows the convenience of carrying minimal amounts of cash, however at the expense of a more complicated financial transaction and an additional processing fee for the financial service provided.
In the cash transaction, the individual normally receives a paper receipt and must perform additional steps to collect and record the financial information associated with the transaction. Usually, the individual manually transfers the financial information from the paper receipt to a financial log or diary.
Unfortunately, the check transaction additionally requires maintaining a paper trail for an extended time period. Typically, the check is honored by the establishment with little or no verification of the funds actually being available at a financial institution (e.g., a bank). Consequently, a paper trail must be maintained both by the individual and the establishment for at least until the financial institution honors the check (i.e., a check float period). This float period tends to be confusing, and with multiple checks written increases the probability of an error by the individual (i.e., typically in not maintaining proper account of a checkbook balance) leading to a check not honored by the financial institution (i.e., a check written on an overdrawn bank account). In such a case, the establishment must find the individual and retrieve the cash due (i.e., usually including a penalty fee).
In the case of the financial card transaction, the consummation of the financial transaction is normally more complicated and requires additional parties (e.g., the central financial institution) immediately in the transaction. The communication of financial information between the establishment, the individual, and the financial institution typically requires a number of steps to close the financial card transaction. Additionally, the financial information is only maintained electronically at the financial institution. Hence, a redundant paper trail is required to record and maintain the financial information with all parties to the financial card transaction.
Lastly, the individual making the purchase must manually transfer the financial information to a financial log or diary, thereby maintaining a personal account (i.e., a balance) of all transpired financial card transactions. Similar to the check transaction, previously discussed, an error by the individual while manually maintaining a balance in a financial log or diary for each financial card may result in exceeding a credit limit for a financial card, thereby including all associated consequences.
Moreover, this situation is particularly problematic when multiple financial cards or multiple checkbooks (i.e., with the same account identification information) are distributed between two or more individuals (e.g., between husband and wife, or between partners in a business). The concurrent use of the same financial card or checkbook account by many individuals may typically result in lost or untimely financial information maintained by at least one of the individuals, and consequently result in an exceeded financial card credit limit or a bounced check.
In a third example, an individual purchasing groceries at a supermarket is currently required to push a cart through many aisles stocked with grocery items. Selection of items and comparison of alternatives is performed manually, and usually while standing at a shelf in the supermarket. If a product is not present at the shelf, possibly due to stocking space limitations, the product is not considered. Additionally, the comparison of product attributes in executing a selection to initiate a purchase transaction (e.g., prices, nutritional content, etc.) must normally be performed manually by reading the product labels, the supermarket labels, and mentally calculating the differences between alternative products. Very little assistance is provided the individual in performing the purchase transaction, other than stocking the items on the supermarket shelves.
Lastly, the loaded shopping cart must usually be pushed around the entire supermarket and subsequently stand in line waiting for a cashier to tally up the total bill. After the cashier provides a total due, the individual consummates the purchase transaction by providing the proper monetary exchange for the groceries (e.g., cash, check, or financial card). The individual then faces all the similar limitations and hindrances presented in the second example above.
Accordingly, a need remains for a system that overcomes the above noted shortcomings. The present invention satisfies such a need by providing a combination wallet and real-time account management system for monitoring a user's spending habits. Such a wallet includes a personal finance and real-time account management system for monitoring a user's spending habits and an audible signal emitter to remind a user to replace a credit card and record a transaction. Such a wallet advantageously includes a plurality of pockets sized and shaped to hold credit cards, cash and a personal checkbook.

Combination wallet and multi-account ledger balancing system for monitoring a user's spending habits in real-time


In a power transmission device for a vehicle, a boss portion of a clutch guide, which is an input-side rotation member of a clutch unit, includes: a spline portion spline-connected to a small-diameter portion at one end of a center shaft which is an input shaft; and a fitting portion that extends further from the spline portion in an axial direction to contact the outer circumference of a medium-diameter portion of the center shaft. A recess functioning as a torque fuse is formed in the medium-diameter portion of the center shaft corresponding to the fitting portion. When the center shaft is severed or disconnected at the recess, the medium-diameter portion of the severed cut center shaft can still remain within the fitting portion, so that appropriate centering can be secured and stable self-propulsion of the vehicle can be secured without unwanted misalignment of the axis of rotation of the clutch.

Patent Literatures 1, 2 and 3 identified below disclose torque-distribution type power transmission devices in four-wheel drive vehicles. More specifically, Patent Literature 1 discloses that a clutch for connecting and disconnecting drive power transmission is provided between a center drive shaft for transmitting rotary motion of a drive source (engine) to rear wheels and a differential unit for the rear wheels, and that switching is made between two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive through connection and disconnection, by the clutch, of the drive power transmission. Further, Patent Literatures 2 and 3 disclose that clutches are provided in corresponding relation to left and right wheels in a differential unit for the rear wheels, and that drive power is distributed to the left and right wheels through connection and disconnection, by the individual clutches, of the drive power transmission. If abnormality, such as galling or a spike (i.e., sharp rise) in clutch-pressing hydraulic pressure, has occurred in any of the clutches taking part in drive power distribution between the front and rear wheels in such a four-wheel drive vehicle, the front wheels and the rear wheels would be undesirably interconnected directly (namely, undesired drive force would be transmitted to both or either of the left and right wheels by the clutch being locked in an ON or engaged state), so that torque may undesirably increase sharply. In such a situation, cases and gears may get broken, and oil leakage, fire, etc. may occur. As a fail-safe function to obviate such risks, it has been conventional to provide a torque fuse (i.e., most torsionally-frangible portion or fracturing portion for emergency) in a suitable portion of a power transmission shaft. Namely, the most torsionally-frangible portion or fracturing portion for emergency in the form of a notch (recess) or the like is formed in the suitable portion of the power transmission shaft, so that, when torque exceeding a predetermined critical value has been applied to the power transmission shaft, the power transmission shaft is broken or fractured at the notch (recess) so as to free the rotation of the shaft. Such a portion (i.e., most torsionally-frangible portion or fracturing portion for emergency), formed in the power transmission shaft in such a manner that it has a reduced strength as a design approach and thus can be fractured when torque exceeding an acceptable range has been applied, is called a torque fuse.
With the conventionally-known technique, however, the torque fuse is provided in a desired portion without appropriate consideration being made about the position where the torque fuse should be provided. Particularly, with the conventionally-known technique, such a torque fuse is not provided in a shaft portion that is to be connected with a rotation member (e.g., input-side rotation member) of the clutch; that is, it has been common to form the torque fuse in a shaft portion avoiding the connecting portion with the clutch. But, if the conventional torque-fuse-formed portion is disconnected or severed, the axis of the rotation member of the clutch would get misaligned, so that the clutch may irregularly whirling (move around violently) to prevent stable self-propelled rotation.