Solid waste to be treated is introduced into the interior of a rotary autoclave that is downwardly inclined towards its discharge end and has a door at the discharge end. Steam is injected through said door via a plenum chamber in the door so that water and steam pass through a one-way device and then directly into the interior of the autoclave. The one-way device prevents the solid waste from entering the plenum chamber from the interior of the autoclave. The plenum chamber is defined between a region of the door and a plate secured to the door at a small spacing inwardly of the door. The outlet is defined in the plate and the one one-way device is fitted to the outlet.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,540,495 (Holloway, 1985, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference) is concerned with a process for the treatment of municipal solid waste (MSW). It discloses that the waste comprises inorganic, organic and synthetic fractions. The major portion of the inorganic fraction is said to be metal and glass containers, ceramics, masonry, building materials and the like. The organic fraction which is stated to comprise 80 wt % of MSW consists of lignocellulose e.g. paper products together with yard (garden) waste and food waste. The synthetic fraction comprises plastics containers, plastics film and other synthetic plastics products. The organic fraction is said to represent the industrial world's largest economically accessible source of lignocellulose feedstock for conversion into alcohol and other industrial chemicals. It is further explained that MSW is an environmental concern owing to the dwindling availability of landfill sites. A treatment process is disclosed in which MSW is fed into a pressure vessel, subjected to heat at 132-160° C. (270-320° F.) under a pressure of from 276-517 kPa (40 to 75 psi) for 30-90 minutes with introduction of steam to give a residual moisture content of 60-70%, discharged and classified to give an organic fraction as fines with moisture content 60-70%.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,351 (Holloway) discloses an autoclave for the handling of municipal solid waste which is in the form of a cylindrical vessel inclined at about 15° to the horizontal and having frustoconical ends each closed by a hinged hatch. The hatch at the higher end serves as inlet for the waste to be processed and that at the lower end serves as an outlet for processed waste. The autoclave is supported for rotation about its longitudinal axis and has internal flighting angled at about 30° to its axis by which in a forward rotation mode the fighting directs material to the lower end of the autoclave during filling and/or discharge and in a reverse rotation mode material being processed is conveyed upwardly and axially towards the higher end and is mixed and agitated, reverse rotation being during processing of the material. Heating is by introduction of saturated steam via an inlet on the axis of the vessel and at the upper end thereof, the processing temperature being 48-108° C. (120-228° F.) preferably 88-102° C. (190-215° F.) to rupture bags of plastics film but to leave low density plastics materials substantially intact so that they are easily identifiable and separable from other components of the waste.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,781 (Placzek) is similar and has as its object the re-pulping of re-pulpable waste material, the water content of the waste typically being 50 wt %. Waste and water is added to a rotary autoclave or so-called "trommel" to give a moisture content of at least 30% of the moisture absorptive components of the waste, 65-75% moisture content being considered an optimum. A working temperature of 100-115° C. (212-240° F.) is considered best for plastics recovery and 115-149° C. is considered best for re-pulping. The autoclave which in use is downwardly inclined at an angle of 4° is provided with lifting blades and directional flighting, a waste inlet at its upper end and a waste outlet at its lower end. The inlet and outlet each have a closure device in the form of a sliding gate valve which is movable axially towards or away from the inlet or the outlet. Steam and water can pass into the autoclave from its lower end via injection piping that extends into and rotates with the autoclave, the piping being connected to a rotary seal on the axis of rotation of the autoclave adjacent the discharge end
U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,329 (Anderson) discloses a rotary autoclave mounted to a support frame by trunnions so that the axis of the autoclave can be tilted in either direction so that in one end of its tilting travel its forward end faces downwardly at 45° to the vertical and at the other end of its tilting travel the forward end faces upwardly at 22° to the vertical, these corresponding to loading and discharge states respectively. The vessel is supported in the frame on rotary supports provided with strain gauge based load sensors and by thrust bearings. One end of the autoclave has a door for rotation and discharge of the load, and the other end of the autoclave is provided with an external manifold from which steam can be introduced into the autoclave as it rotates by means of a hollow shaft extending cantilever-wise into the interior of the vessel for a portion of its longitudinal extent, typically 15-25% of the total length of the vessel, the shaft being provided along its length with spaced apart openings or jets through which steam can be introduced into the interior of the autoclave. The strain gauged load sensors are in the form of rollers adjacent opposed ends of the autoclave and are provided for measuring the live load distribution within the vessel. Input from the sensors is used to effect an approximately equal distribution of the material located in the vessel during the treatment operation and to control the angle of inclination of the vessel so that if a sensor associated with a front vessel support detects a load significantly greater than a sensor associated with a rear vessel support, the front end of the vessel is raised so as to cause the material within the vessel to move towards the rear end thereof, this forming part of a so-called "automatic balancing" operation. Nothing is disclosed concerning the use of load sensors in an autoclave having a fixed axis of rotation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,718 (Anderson, divided from U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,329) relates to a method of treating process material, comprising: introducing a first batch of process material to be treated into an interior of a first vessel which has a longitudinal axis; rotating the first vessel about its longitudinal axis; raising the temperature within the interior of the first vessel through the introduction of steam into the interior of the first vessel; introducing a second batch of process material to be treated into an interior of a second vessel; reducing the temperature in the interior of the first vessel while also increasing the temperature in the interior of the second vessel by venting steam from the interior of the first vessel and introducing the vented steam into the interior of the second vessel; continuing rotation of the first vessel after steam in the interior of the first vessel has been vented into the second vessel to facilitate drying of the process material in the first vessel; rotating the second vessel about its longitudinal axis while the first vessel is rotating; and emptying the first batch of process material from the first vessel.
Provision of axial steam inlets at both ends of the vessel is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,347,391 (Michalek), the vessel being supported so that its direction of tilt can be reversed in order to overcome the problem of load compaction.
Sterilizing waste by heat and pressure, separation of organic matter and fermentation followed by distillation to remove alcohol, centrifugation to remove fats and animal feed components and anaerobic digestion of the effluent to recover methane is disclosed in WO 82/01483 (Holloway), see also WO 2004/041733 (Anderson, Comprehensive Resources).
EP-A-2105414 (Anderson, Sterecycle, divided from a European application corresponding to WO 2004/041733) claims a method of treating waste material, including organic and inorganic materials with the organic materials including starches, cellulose and other carbohydrates, the method comprising: (a) subjecting the waste material to increased temperature, pressure and moisture within an apparatus by introducing steam into the apparatus; (b) increasing the temperature and pressure within the apparatus by an effective amount to cause the steam to reach a saturated state within the apparatus; (c) rapidly reducing the pressure within the apparatus to cause the steam to become superheated; (d) removing the material from the apparatus and passing the material through a screen to separate the material by size (e.g. passing material of size <12 mm); and (e) diluting the biomass obtained from the steam autoclaves with water and subjecting at least a portion of the diluted mixture to anaerobic digestion wherein the portion of the mixture is converted to one or more of a biogas suitable for use as fuel, and a residual sludge. In particular the process involves diluting at least a first portion of the material with water while agitating the resulting diluted mixture a sufficient amount and at an effective temperature to cause cellulose fibres that became twisted and tangled during processing within the apparatus to relax and straighten out or untangle. The specification explains that temperatures of between 126 and 132° C. (260-270° F.) reached within steam autoclaves have been found to enhance the characteristics of cellulose fibres separated from the biomass produced by the autoclaves. They further explain that paper fibre generally includes lignin that binds to the cellulose fibre, hemicellulose, which is the soluble portion of the cellulose, and cellulose, which is very difficult to solubilise unless it is treated with acids, etc. Because the softening point of the lignin is approximately 128° C. (262° F.), the temperatures reached within the steam autoclave causes the lignin that binds to the cellulose fibres to be softened, but the lignin is not heated enough to be crystallized. Low melting point plastics within the biomass form into small beads that are easily separated during subsequent density and size separations so as to not be included with the cellulose fibres used by the paper industry. Anaerobic digestion of the cellulosic material and hydrolysis of the cellulose during the autoclaving step in order to facilitate or improve the anaerobic digestion step is neither disclosed nor suggested.
WO 2009/095693 (Reclaim Resources) discloses a process and apparatus for recycling municipal solid waste comprising subjecting the waste to steam at 150-200° C. After steam treatment, the resultant material is separated into constituent parts and biomass and/or plastics subjected to further treatment which preferably produces bioethanol from the biomass and diesel from the plastics. As an alternative, some or all of the biomass may be gasified in order to produce hydrogen which may in turn be fed to a fuel cell to produce an electrical output. The biodiesel or bioalcohol can also be used to produce electricity. Conducting the autoclave steam treatment under a combination of thermal contact, temperature and pressure conditions such that the cellulosic component becomes significantly hydrolysed within the autoclave is neither disclosed nor suggested.
A further aspect of industrial autoclave design relates to a swing-aside locking door which is acknowledged in Wikipedia to be the most costly and important single piece of hardware in an autoclave. For autoclaves of diameter>four feet (1.2 meters) it is conventional to use a rotating locking ring arrangement or so-called "breech-lock door". U.S. Pat. No. 2,841,308 (Weicker) discloses an arrangement of this type. A circular pressure vessel has a rotatable locking ring mounted on the vessel adjacent a circular aperture thereof, the ring having a series of inwardly facing lugs around its circumference. The door also has a series of outwardly facing lugs around its circumference, the ring lugs cooperating with the door lugs so that as the ring is rotated in a closing direction the door is locked by cam surfaces on the lugs, and as the ring is rotated in a reverse direction the ring and closure lugs move to an unlocked relationship in which the door can move axially away from the aperture. A generally similar arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,936,093 (Passalaqua) and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,804,288 (Piegza).

Apparatus and process for treating waste


A locking arrangement for a door system of a transit vehicle includes a combination of a lock mechanism and an electromagnetic brake. The lock mechanism enables positive locking of at least one door but does not require substantial contact between moving and stationary lock elements. The lock mechanism is connected with the manual release means for door opening during an emergency. The electromagnetic brake maintains door seal compression in the closed and locked condition which improves sealing capabilities and provides for reliable lock mechanism operation. Such combination provides locking redundancy and meets various requirements regarding annunciation and manual release operation.

The following background information is provided to assist the reader to understand the environment in which the invention will typically be used. The terms used herein are not intended to be limited to any particular narrow interpretation unless specifically stated otherwise in this document.
Powered door systems have been extensively utilized in various vehicle applications. Specifically, it is well known in the transit vehicle art to employ a door system having a powered door drive means and a lock mechanism for locking at least one door connected to such powered door drive means and driven thereby to at least partially cover and uncover a door portal aperture in the transit vehicle. Door systems, generally used, are of a sliding, pocket sliding, swing, or swing/sliding combination type. Lock mechanisms employed are generally either of a powered type, employing a solenoid or a cylinder as a lock/unlock mover, or of an over center type depending on the specific requirements. During locking movement, a first locking member mounted on the door or on its carrying member engages a second locking member stationaryly disposed within such lock mechanism, to be restrained from movement while the door is in the substantially closed and locked position and, more importantly, prevent such door from movement in the opening direction. Such lock mechanisms are taught, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,139,073; U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,015; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,754; all owned by the assignee of the present invention. The teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 6,139,073; U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,015; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,754 are incorporated herein by reference thereto.
An alternative configuration of the lock mechanism allows the door to be closed and locked in, what is well known, a pushback mode. In the pushback mode, a second locking member disposed within the lock mechanism is adapted with a second locked position and a third locked position. The second and third locked positions are spaced apart by a predetermined distance. The door is considered at least partially closed, in terms that it cannot be manually opened to its full open position, when the first locking member passes such third locked position.
However, the door is enabled to be manually moved in the opening direction between the second and third locked position to enable the riding patron to withdraw an object or a garment trapped between mating door edges. This manual movement does not require an action by a drive element disposed within powered door drive means and generally does not provide a signal to the control system of the transit vehicle. After a predetermined time interval the door is commanded to substantially close and lock, at which point the first locking member passes the second locked position preventing any substantial door movement. Such lock mechanisms are taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,282,970 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,032,416 owned by the assignee of the present invention. The teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 6,282,970 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,032,416 are incorporated herein by reference thereto.
Alternatively, the lock mechanism design may allow the door to be continually in the pushback mode during the transit vehicle movement in which case, the door is allowed to be manually moved in the opening direction until the first locking member reaches the third locked position. A well-known means of achieving continuous pushback is to incorporate a mechanical spring disposed either within the lock mechanism or between the drive nut and the door.
However, the significant disadvantage of the spring pushback is unrestricted and undesirable incremental longitudinal movement of the door during transit vehicle motion, particularly, as the spring fatigues over time. This undesirable movement compromises the sealing capabilities of the door system.
It is of utmost importance to maintain sufficient sealing engagement between adjacent doors disposed within door portal opening or between a single door and the mating edge member of the door portal opening. It is well known that rubber elements, otherwise known as sealing means, which are attached to the mating leading edges of each door, or a door and door portal edge provide the best sealing protection from outside environmental factors, such as moisture, noise and dust, penetrating the interior of the moving transit vehicle. Generally, surfaces of such mating rubber edge elements are in close proximity to each other to minimize the gap between rubber edge elements and, on many installations, such surfaces are in substantial contact with each other. Additional compression of the rubber edge elements is employed to maintain such contact and further to prevent vibration of the door system due to component and assembly tolerances and mechanical wear as the door system ages.
The difficulties of such an arrangement lie in that the lock mechanism must overcome additional frictional forces during locking and unlocking sequences. Tolerances of the rubber edge elements, general door system tolerances and environmental factors affect the engagement between such rubber edge elements resulting in either a frequent need for lock mechanism adjustments and fine tuning, decreased sealing capabilities, or decreased reliability of the lock mechanism operation.
As it can be seen from the above discussion, there is a need to enable sufficient sealing capabilities of the mating rubber edge elements while at least one door is in the closed and locked position without compromising the operation of the lock mechanism.
For passenger safety reasons, some Transit Authorities mandate that during transit vehicle motion the door cannot be manually opened upon actuation of the interior emergency release until the transit vehicle reaches a predetermined speed, typically under 3 miles per hour, generally referred to as zero speed.
The resulting zero speed signal which is produced by a speed sensor within the propulsion system of such transit vehicle is transmitted to the door system via the specially designated trainlines of such transit vehicles. Such mandate is best met with the lock mechanisms of the powered type due to presence of the powered unlock mover and its interface with such trainlines of the transit vehicle enabling positive locking of the first locking member. Yet, the door must be opened regardless of the speed if the exterior emergency release is actuated so that emergency personnel can ingress the vehicle from outside in case of emergency.
Further, as a general requirement related to passenger safety, the door system of the transit vehicle must contain redundancy within the locking arrangement so as to prevent unintentional door opening due to a single point failure within such locking arrangement. Furthermore, it is preferred, that such single point failure must be detectable by the control system of the transit vehicle.
Therefore, there is a need to provide a locking arrangement that meets operational safety requirements and enables sufficient sealing capabilities of the door system.
The U.S. Pat. No. 6,189,285, One- Or Two-Leaf Sliding Door, Swinging Door or Pocket Door, discloses a door system wherein the locking of the door is achieved without the use of the over center or solenoid type lock mechanisms. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the locking arrangement consists of a complex clutch (24-28) or brake in combination with a freewheel (23) which is mounted on the spindle (12) disposed within a powered door drive. The freewheel (23) is disposed at the first end of the spindle (12) and connected to a clutch or a brake via a receptacle (22). The freewheel, essentially, enables rotation of the spindle (12) in the closing direction without disengagement with the clutch (24-28). The clutch (24-28) controls rotation of the spindle (12) in the opening direction.
A drive element (10) enabling spindle (12) rotation and, more importantly enabling door (1, 2) movement, is disposed at the distal end of the spindle (12). The special arrangement of the freewheel (23) and brake results in a final closing position region in which the door (1, 2) is secured against unwanted opening instead of the fixed final closing position determined by the over center or solenoid type lock mechanisms. This results in a substantial simplification in assembly because, for example, there is no longer any need to allow for rubber seals of varying width to achieve required sealing against environmental factors.
The receptacle (22), when held in a stationary condition with respect to spindle (12) rotation, enables rotation of the spindle (12) in the closing direction. In order to open the doors (1, 2), the receptacle (22) must be released and enabled to rotate with the spindle (12). This is achieved by electrical release of the clutch (24-28) enabling the release of the disk (25) from engagement with counter disks (27, 28) which are disposed within the clutch and further enabling rotation of the shaft (24) and the receptacle (22) which is integral with shaft (24) with respect to the rotation of the spindle (12) in the opening direction.
In the emergency condition, manual opening of the door (1, 2) is enabled via a Bowden cable (15) attached to the rod (14) at one end and attached to the manual release handle at the distal end. Actuation of the cable (15) displaces rod (14) enabling release of the clutch (24-28) via a swiveling cam (not shown) so that disk (25) connected to shaft (24) is likewise released.
There are several disadvantages to the prior art design disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,189,285. In the first aspect, the prior art design requires the use of the freewheel (23) and receptacle (22), in addition to clutch (24-28) and brake, as essential elements, to achieve locking and unlocking of the door (1, 2). Such components increase the complexity and cost of the door system and reduce its reliability.
In a second aspect, failure of the clutch mechanism, or failure of the freewheel (23), or failure of the receptacle (22), which are all single point failures, may create a hazardous condition wherein the spindle (12) unintentionally rotates in the opening direction and, more importantly, the door (1, 2) opens unintentionally during transit vehicle movement due to normal vibration, vehicle deceleration and acceleration or the patron leaning against the door (1, 2) thus enabling its movement in the opening direction.
The disclosure does not teach means for detecting and annunciating such failures. Additionally, the adaptation of the roller (18) and a stop surface (17) provides locking redundancy only in the case of a swinging or swinging/sliding combination door type and not in the case of the sliding type, particularly, of the pocket configuration, as those skilled in the art will appreciate that such roller (18) will be disposed within the path of the sliding door (1, 2), thereby preventing its full movement. Adaptation of the prior art design to enable roller (18) to disengage from the door (1, 2) prior to opening movement will result in a presence of the mechanical lock mechanism (or a dead-center mechanism) that the prior art claims to have eliminated. Therefore, the prior art design does not provide locking redundancy in preventing unintentional opening of the door (1, 2) of the sliding or sliding pocket type.
In a third aspect, the described locking arrangement does not provide for combination of locking the door (1, 2) in the pushback mode and enabling claimed sealing advantages due to presence of the freewheel (23) and receptacle (22). A spring loaded link arrangement may be fitted between the drive nut (21) and the door (1, 2) enabling pushback thereof. However, as was aforementioned, such spring loaded link arrangement will negate the adaptation of the clutch (24-28), or brake, to achieve desirable sealing by enabling incremental longitudinal movement of the door (1, 2) which is independent from the action of the clutch (24-28).
As it can be seen from the above discussion, there is a further need to enable sufficient sealing capabilities while at least one door is in the closed and locked position without compromising the safety of the door system operation and providing for a pushback operation.

Door system for transit vehicle utilizing compression lock arrangement


An image quality control system is disclosed. The example system includes an artificial intelligence modeler to process image data and metadata from patient data to generate first feature(s) from the image data and to parse the metadata to identify study information. The example system includes a computer vision processor to identify second feature(s) in the image data. The example system includes a results evaluator to compare the first feature(s) and second feature(s) to generate a comparison and to evaluate the comparison, first feature(s), and second feature(s) with respect to the study information to generate an evaluation. The example system includes a quality controller to compare the evaluation to quality criterion(-ia) to produce an approval or rejection of the patient data, the approval to trigger release of the patient data and the rejection to deny release of the patient data.

A variety of economy, technological, and administrative hurdles challenge healthcare facilities, such as hospitals, clinics, doctors' offices, etc., to provide quality care to patients. Economic drivers, less skilled staff, fewer staff, complicated equipment, and emerging accreditation for controlling and standardizing radiation exposure dose usage across a healthcare enterprise create difficulties for effective management and use of imaging and information systems for examination, diagnosis, and treatment of patients.
Healthcare provider consolidations create geographically distributed hospital networks in which physical contact with systems is too costly. At the same time, referring physicians want more direct access to supporting data in reports along with better channels for collaboration. Physicians have more patients, less time, and are inundated with huge amounts of data, and they are eager for assistance.
Healthcare provider tasks including image processing and analysis, etc., are time consuming and resource intensive tasks that are impractical, if not impossible, for humans to accomplish alone.
In clinical trials, data quality assurance is a cornerstone of good clinical practice (e.g., as defined by the ICH Good Clinical Practice (GCP) international quality standard, European Medicines Agency (EMA) guidance on GCP quality and quality assurance, etc.). For example, a clinical trial sponsor is responsible for implementing and maintaining quality assurance and quality control systems with written standard operating procedures (SOPs) to help ensure that trials are conducted and data are generated, documented (e.g., recorded), and reported in compliance with the protocol, GCP, and the applicable regulatory requirement(s). With good meta-data, the quality control process can be partly automated. However, this does not verify the actual integrity of the medical image because other critical aspects cannot be validated including checking that the whole anatomic field was included, presence of motion, etc. Further, even if an imaging device is operated correctly, obtained images may still be unacceptable, and, thus, the GCP requirements cannot currently be satisfied without some level of human monitoring.
A visual review of collected images is designed to detect inadequacies in the images that could not be characterized by using technical parameters. It is very important that medical images are validated for acceptability of the image and adherence to technical parameters. These images need to be checked by qualified employees, and this manual review adds extra costs to the quality control process. However, technical quality control can be very time consuming, and mistakes can be made.

Automated image quality control apparatus and methods


The present invention includes polymorphisms in nucleic acids encoding the alpha-2B adrenergic receptor and expressed alpha-2B adrenergic receptor molecule. The invention also pertains to methods and molecules for detecting such polymorphisms. The invention further pertains to the use of such molecules and methods in the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of diseases such as cardiovascular and central nervous system diseases.

Alpha adrenergic receptors are plasma membrane receptors which are located in the peripheral and central nervous systems throughout the body. They are members of a diverse family of structurally related receptors which contain seven putative helical domains and transduce signals by coupling to guanine nucleotide binding proteins (G-proteins).
The alpha adrenergic receptor family of adrenergic receptors (AR) consists of two groups: alpha-1 and alpha-2. Of the alpha-2 group, there are three distinct subtypes denoted alpha-2A, alpha-2B and alpha-2C. The subtypes are derived from different genes, have different structures, unique distributions in the body, and specific pharmacologic properties. (Due to localization of the genes to human chromosomes 10, 2 and 4, the alpha-2A, alpha-2B, and alpha-2C receptors have sometimes been referred to as alpha-2C10, alpha-2C2 and alpha-2C4 receptors, respectively). Like other adrenergic receptors, the alpha-2 receptors are activated by endogenous agonists such as epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline), and synthetic agonists, which promote coupling to G-proteins that in turn alter effectors such as enzymes or channels.
The alpha-2 receptors couple to the Gi and Go family of G-proteins. Alpha-2 receptors modulate a number of effector pathways in the cell: inhibition of adenylyl cyclase (decreases cAMP), stimulation of mitogen activated protein (MAP) kinase, stimulation of inositol phosphate accumulation, inhibition of voltage gated calcium channels and opening of potassium channels. (Limbird, L. E. (1988) FASEB J 2, 2686–2695, Luttrell, L. M., van Biesen, T., Hawes, B. E., Della Rocca, G. J., and Luttrell, D. K., and Lefkowitz, R. J. (1998) in Catecholamines: Bridging Basic Science with Clinical Medicine (Goldstein, D. S., Eisenhofer, G., and McCarty, R., eds pp. 466–470, Academic Press). The alpha-2 receptors are expressed on many cell-types in multiple organs in the body including those of the central and peripheral nervous systems.
Alpha-2BAR have a distinct pattern of expression within the brain, liver, lung, and kidney, and recent studies using gene knockouts in mice have shown that disruption of this receptor effects mouse viability, blood pressure responses to alpha-2-AR agonists, and the hypertensive response to salt loading. See Link, R. E., Desai, K., Hein, L., Stevens, M. E., Chruscinski, A., Bernstein, D., Barsh, G. S., and Kobilka, B. K. (1996) Science 273, 803–805; Makaritsis, K. P., Handy, D. E., Johns, C., Kobilka, B., Gavras, I., and Gavras, H. (1999) Hypertension 33, 14–17).
It is known that the alpha-2BAR undergoes short-term agonist promoted desensitization (Eason, M. G. and Liggett, S. B. (1992) J. Biol. Chem. 267, 25473–25479). This desensitization is due to phosphorylation of the receptor, which evokes a partial uncoupling of the receptor from functional interaction with Gi/Go (Jewell-Motz, E. A. and Liggett, S. B. (1995) Biochem 34, 11946–11953; Kurose, H. and Lefkowitz, R. J. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 10093–10099). Such phosphorylation appears to be due to G protein coupled receptor kinases (GRKs), a family of serine/threonine kinases which phosphorylate the agonist-occupied conformations of many G-protein coupled receptors (Pitcher, J. A., Freedman, N. J., and Lefkowitz, R. J. (1998) Annu Rev Biochem 67, 692). The phosphorylation process serves to finely regulate receptor function providing for rapid adaptation of the cell to its environment. Desensitization may also limit the therapeutic effectiveness of administered agonists. For the α2BAR, phosphorylation of serines/threonines in the third intracellular loop of the receptor is dependent on the presence of a stretch of acidic residues in the loop that appears to establish the milieu for GRK function (Jewell-Motz, E. A. and Liggett, S. B. (1995) Biochem 34, 11946–11953).
There has been a considerable research effort to clone and sequence the alpha-2AR. For example, the gene encoding the alpha-2A, alpha-2B, alpha-2C subtypes has been cloned and sequenced. (Kobilka et al. Science 238, 650–656 (1987); Regan et al., Lomasney et al. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 87, 5094–5098 (1994)). These receptors have also been named as alpha-2C10, alpha-2C2 and alpha-2C4, according to their location on chromosomes 10, 4 and 2.
A polymorphism occurring in the gene encoding the alpha-2BAR has been previously reported. This polymorphism has been described as a deletion of three glutamic acid residues in a highly acidic stretch of amino acids in the third intracellular loop of the receptor. (Heinonen, P., Koulu, M., Pesonen, U., Karvonen, M. K., Rissanen, A., Laakso, M., Valve, R., Uusitupa, M., and Scheinin, M. (1999) J Clin Endocrinol Metab 84, 2429–2433; Baldwin, C. T., Schwartz, F., Baima, J., Burzstyn, M., DeStefano, A. L., Gavras, I., Handy, D. E., Joost, O., Martel, T., Manolis, A., Nicolaou, M., Bresnahan, M., Farrer, L., and Gavras, H. (1999) Am J Hypertens 12, 853–857). However, no pharmacologic studies have been carried out to determine if this polymorphism alters receptor function.
Given the importance of the alpha-2BAR in modulating a variety of physiological functions, there is a need in the art for improved methods to identify polymorphisms and to correlate the identity of these polymorphisms with signaling functions of alpha-2BAR. The present invention addresses these needs and more by providing polynucleotide and amino acid polymorphisms, molecules, and methods for detecting, genotyping and haplotyping the polymorphisms in the alpha-2BAR. The present invention is useful for determining an individual's risk for developing a disease, assist the clinician in diagnosing and prognosing the disease. The present invention also provides methods for selecting appropriate drug treatment based on the identity of such polymorphism.


A system and method for finding dents on an automobile is described herein. The system, in one embodiment, can be a booth that has a support structure, a plurality of wall sections, a roof, and interior surface defined at least in part by the wall sections and the roof, and a first geometric repeating pattern on a first region of the interior space. The method in one embodiment, can be receiving an automobile within the booth described above, illuminating the booth to cause the first geometric repeating pattern of the booth to reflect off a surface of said automobile; and identifying presence of defects using a reflected pattern, the reflected pattern a reflected image of the first geometric repeating pattern on the automobile.

This disclosure relates to a system and method for finding dents on an automobile using a booth.
Hail and other impacts can leave dents and creases on the body of an automobile. Such minor damages can ruin the aesthetics of the automobile thus, methods for removing dents on the body of an automobile has evolved over the years. One of the methods for repairing dent is known as paintless dent repair (PDR). In this method, it is significant to be able to locate the position of the dents precisely. As such, technicians need to use a PDR reading instruments such as paintless dent repair light, reflection boards, fluorescent, or light-emitting diode (LED) lighting to properly assess and locate the dents. This method can be effective in locating and assessing the dent but can only do it from one specific area to another. Technicians would need to move the PDR reading instruments in order to locate the dents of an entire car. Thus, using such method of finding a dent can be time-consuming, inconvenient, and expensive.
As such it would be useful to have a system and method for finding dents on an automobile using a booth.

System and method for finding dents on an automobile using a booth


An electrically erasable programmable non-volatile semiconductor memory device. The semiconductor memory device includes a memory cell array comprising a plurality of memory blocks, each memory block comprising a plurality of memory cells, a dummy memory cell, and a select gate transistor. Transfer transistors each having a current path connected between a corresponding wordline enable signal line and a corresponding wordline are controlled by an output of a block selection circuit. The transfer transistors include a dummy transfer transistor electrically coupled to the dummy memory cell, and configured to transmit a dummy wordline enable signal.

FIG. 1 illustrates the pattern of a transfer transistor unit installed in a row decoder of a conventional NAND-type flash memory. A transfer transistor transmits a wordline enable signal corresponding to a wordline address and a selection gate enable signal to a block selected from a memory cell array. To simplify the drawing and explanation, a case where there are 8 transfer transistors will be described.
The transfer transistor unit includes transfer transistors Q0 through Q7 to transmit the wordline enable signal to wordlines WL0 through WL7. Each transfer transistor is an NMOS transistor formed on a p-type substrate and is structured such that a source/drain region has a satisfactory resistance against a program voltage and an erase voltage.
Referring to FIG. 1, during a program operation, a threshold voltage of a transfer transistor, i.e., 20+Vth, for example, 22 V, is applied to the gates of the transfer transistors Q0 through Q7. As a result, 20 V is applied to a selected wordline among the wordlines WL0 through WL7. In addition, 0 V is applied to non-selected wordlines adjacent to the selected wordline and 10 V is applied to the other non-selected wordlines.
The lower portions of the transfer transistors Q0 through Q3 are arranged in order of CG1 (WL1), CG3 (WL3), CG0 (WL0), and CG2 (WL2), and therefore, a potential difference between the transfer transistors Q1, Q3, Q0, and Q2 adjacent each other in X directions (i.e., X1, X2, and X3) is suppressed to 10 V. In addition, the upper portions of the transfer transistors Q4 through Q7 are arranged in order of CG5 (WL5), CG7 (WL7), CG4 (WL4), and CG6 (WL6), and therefore, a potential difference between the transfer transistors Q5, Q7, Q4, and Q6 adjacent each other in the X directions X1, X2, and X3 is suppressed to 10 V. Further, a potential difference between the transfer transistors Q0 and Q4, and Q3 and Q7, adjacent each other in Y directions (i.e., Y1, Y2, Y3, and Y4) is suppressed to 10 V.
In order to prevent current from leaking due to the potential difference described above, the arrangement of transfer transistors in the transfer transistor unit can be controlled so that a distance between the transfer transistors is optimized. However, a transfer transistor for driving a select transistor is different from a transfer transistor for driving a wordline, and therefore, a distance therebetween may be different.


In a photosensitive resin, a photoresist composition having the photosensitive resin, and a method of forming a photoresist pattern by using the photoresist, the photosensitive resin includes a blocking group substituted for an acid. The photosensitive resin has a weight-average molecular weight of from about 6,000 up to about 8,000. The photosensitive resin has a blocking ratio of from about 5% up to about 40%.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photosensitive resin, a photoresist composition having the photosensitive resin and a method of forming a photoresist pattern by using the photoresist composition. More particularly, the present invention relates to a photosensitive resin used for forming a pattern in a semiconductor device, a photoresist composition having the photosensitive resin and a method of forming a photoresist pattern by using the photoresist composition.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, as information media, such as computers, have become widely used, semiconductor devices included in the information media have become highly developed to have large capacities and high operational speeds. Thus, integrity, reliability and a response speed of the semiconductor device have been largely improved. In order to manufacture the semiconductor device, a photolithography process capable of forming a photoresist pattern having a relatively small line width is required.
The photolithography process for forming the photoresist pattern uses a photoresist composition. In case that light is incident onto a photoresist layer formed using the photoresist composition, a solubility of the photoresist composition in a developer may be changed. Particularly, the light may be provided onto a portion of the photoresist layer in an exposure process. The exposed portion of the photoresist layer is then removed in a development process using the developer. Thus, a desired photoresist pattern may be obtained.
The photoresist composition may include a resin. It is necessary that the resin have a high solubility in a solvent used in a coating process, a low absorbency of a light having a predetermined wavelength, a suitable adhesion and thermal stability.
Because the processes for manufacturing the semiconductor device are becoming complex, and the semiconductor device is becoming highly integrated, an improved photoresist composition capable of forming a fine photoresist pattern is being largely researched. In order to efficiently form the fine photoresist pattern, it is required that a difference in a solubility of the photoresist composition in the developer, between before and after the exposure process, is relatively large.
In order to increase the difference in the solubility, a conventional photoresist composition having a relatively low solubility in the developer before the exposure process has been used. However, in case that the conventional photoresist composition is used to form a conventional photoresist pattern, microbubble defects are unfortunately formed on the conventional photoresist pattern.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the microbubble defects generated on the conventional photoresist pattern formed using the conventional photoresist composition.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, particles 16 of an exposed portion of a photoresist layer formed using the conventional photoresist composition are attached to the conventional photoresist pattern 12 in the development process so that the microbubble defects 14 may be formed on the conventional photoresist formed on a substrate 10.
An example of a photoresist composition capable of suppressing the microbubble defects is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-221795.
The photoresist composition of Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-221795 includes a first resin and a second resin. The first resin and the second resin have a first degree of dispersion and a second degree of dispersion, respectively. A ratio of the first degree of dispersion to the second degree of dispersion is about 1.3 to about 9.9. In addition, the photoresist composition of Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-221795 further includes a phenol compound including a hydroxide (OH) group to increase a solubility of the photoresist composition in a developer. In case that the photoresist composition of Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2002-221795 is used to form a photoresist pattern, a line edge roughness (LER) of the photoresist pattern is improved. However, the microbubble defects may still formed on the photoresist pattern.
Thus, an improved photoresist composition capable of forming a fine photoresist pattern on which the microbubble defects are hardly generated is widely researched.

Photosensitive resin, photoresist composition having the photosensitive resin and method of forming a photoresist pattern by using the photoresist composition


A progressive trivia game for two or more participants having a playing board with a path made of a plurality of symbolic positions, a six sided die, a plurality of question and answer cards and a timer. A player rolls the die to move to a symbolic position. The symbolic position defines a category of trivia. The card provides elements of an answer. The player scores a greater number of points by providing an answer before (a) time runs out and (b) by providing the answer by knowing a lesser number of elements. The object of the game is to be the first to score a predetermined amount of points.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to trivia games. More particularly, the present invention relates to trivia games that incorporate question cards.
2. Description of Related Art
Trivia games require a player to remember various tid-bits of information about a variety of subject matters. A player is asked a question. Upon answering the question correctly, the player may advance toward winning the game.
Trivia games have taken numerous forms in the past. Generally, a player or team is asked a question. The question must be answered in a specific amount of time. If the question is answered within time the player/team may move a game piece on a playing board toward a finish. The first player/team to advance to the finish wins the game.
One drawback of prior trivia games is that the question presented must be answered or the turn is lost. The entire question is provided and if the player/team does not answer the question correctly in the required time, then it is the next player/team's turn. No second chance or additional clues are provided when the question cannot be answered on a first try.
Another drawback of prior trivia games is that the dice, spinner or luck of the draw always determine which trivia category a player/team must respond to. Other participants in the game or the player/team are not able to choose which trivia category the question should come from.
Still another drawback of prior trivia games is that a player must advance to the designated finish on the playing board. Points are not provided for correct answers.

30 Lincoln Plz., 30 West 63rd St., Apt. 8A


A temperature control system for a permanent magnetic assembly in a permanent magnetic system comprises thermoelectric heat pumping devices which are in thermal contact with a yoke of the permanent magnet system. The heat pumping devices are controlled by an electronic circuit which controls the current that flows through them, so that the desired temperature of the permanent magnetic assemblies is achieved. Each thermoelectric heat pumping device includes a spring-loaded plunger which is mounted in a hole in the yoke.

The present invention relates to a temperature control system for a permanent magnet system and in particular it relates to systems used for magnetic resonances imaging (MRI).
In such systems a magnetic field with a high degree of stability and homogeneity is essential for the successful application of a number of analytical techniques such as MRI. MRI systems comprising large amounts of permanent magnetic material can be used for the generation of such a magnetic field.
Most permanent magnetic materials with sufficient energy density to be useful for this application are generally very sensitive to temperature variations. The effect of the temperature variations on the air temperature of the permanent magnetic assembly can be reduced to tolerable levels by controlling the temperature of the permanent magnetic assembly. Thus, the temperature control of existing permanent magnet MRI assemblies rely on raising the temperature of the permanent magnetic assemblies so that heat flows to the ambient air. This technique, however, raises the temperature of the permanent magnetic assemblies and results in a significant reduction of field due to the large temperature coefficient of the permanent magnetic materials.
One object of the present invention is to provide a system for controlling accurately the temperature of the permanent magnetic assemblies.
According to the present invention there is provided a temperature control system for a permanent magnet system having at least one permanent magnetic assembly, in which the permanent magnet assembly is mounted in thermal contact with a yoke via a plurality of thermoelectric heat pumping devices. At least one temperature sensor is connected to an electronic control circuit; and the thermoelectric heat pumping devices are connected to and controlled by the electronic control circuit which controls the current passing through the thermoelectric heat pumping devices in dependence upon the temperature. In this way, the permanent magnet assembly is maintained at a desired temperature enabling the permanent magnet system to generate an accurate magnetic field.
According to an aspect of the present invention a thermoelectric heat pumping device is provided with a spring loaded plunger to provide mechanical pressure on the thermoelectric heat pumping device so that a good thermal contact between the thermoelectric heat pumping device and the permanent magnet assembly is achieved.
According to a further aspect of the present invention the thermal contact between the plunger and the yoke is achieved by a sliding fit of one end of the plunger with a hole in the yoke into which the said one end of the plunger is fitted.
According to still yet a further aspect of the present invention thermal grease is enclosed within said hole, and the plunger is provided with a ventilation hole to prevent displacement of the grease by trapped air as said one end of the plunger is inserted into said hole.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Temperature control system for a permanent magnetic system

Abstract: Heat is exchanged from or to the yoke via ambient air by natural convection or by forced air. Alternatively heat may be exchanged from the yoke via a cooling water circuit.


A system is provided for switching the I/O channel for disk drives between multiple computers. The system incorporates the switch into removable drive modules, or a docking base for a removable drive module. The incorporation of switching into the system, such that it is integral with the drives, can reduce overall system failures, by reducing the number of elements which flow through a central switching element. Thus, even where a switch fails other drive modules of the system may continue to operate in the system and provide information to different computers of the system.

Highly available computing is the process of designing a computer network so that system operations can continue to operate even with the malfunction or other unexpected interruption to a component of a computing network. Such systems are utilized in situations that demand a high degree of reliability. The goal of highly available networks is to provide duplicate network components to reduce the risk of a single point of failure. In the event of a component failure, duplicate or backup components can take over the role of a failed component, where a component is a general term which can include devices such as a networking switch, a storage device, a computer, or any additional device that may connect to computer network. There are a variety of possible configurations for highly available systems and typically the more effective configurations provide for duplication of components.
One example of a prior system 100 is shown in FIG. 1. This system includes two distinct computer systems, computer 102 and computer 104, each with an independent CPU, RAM, I/O bus(es) for user input devices (e.g. keyboard and mouse), and I/O bus(es) for external system devices (e.g. network switches, printers, storage devices, etc.). The system 100 includes an external switch 106 that connects input/output (I/O) ports of each computer system to two separate docking bases, 112 and 114. Each docking base in turn connects to external removable storage modules 108 and 110. These storage modules are typically individual hard disk drives.
The actual implementation of these systems can be accomplished in a number of different ways. For example, some systems are configured in a system rack device which holds a number of separate boxes, and each box could correspond to a different computer or associated computer device such as storage systems or networking components. Each computer would be able to operate independently and would have its own CPU, power supply, RAM, etc. Storage devices in the rack could take different forms. One such device is a storage module chassis which is designed to hold removable storage disk drives. In environments where security is of concern removable storage modules can be provided where the storage modules are designed to be easily removed and inserted into receptacles of the storage module chassis. Issued U.S. Pat. No. 5,126,890, and issued U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,398 discuss different aspects of removable disk drive storage modules, and each of these references is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Both of these patents are assigned to the same assignee as the present patent application.
In addition to the above patents describing aspects of removable disk drives, U.S. Pat. No. 5,552,776 also discusses aspects of removable disk drives, and also describes systems and methods related to providing for security by controlling access between different computers and storage modules. The U.S. Pat. No. 5,552,776 is also assigned to the assignee of the present patent application, and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
System 100 of FIG. 1 contains removable storage modules 108 and 110. The system 100 allows for each removable storage module to be inserted into a receptacle in a storage module chassis. Each receptacle in the storage module chassis provides a docking base with a connector for receiving a connector from the removable storage module. For example storage module 108 is shown as being coupled with docking base 112 of a storage module chassis, and storage module 110 is coupled with docking base 114 of a storage module chassis. The I/O channel of the storage module 108 is coupled through the docking base 112 to a switch which is external to the docking base and the storage module. The I/O channel of the storage module 110 is coupled through the docking base 114 to the switch 106. The switch 106 is controlled to provide computers 102 and 104 access to the different storage modules.
This approach of providing an external switch 106 adds potential compatibility and interoperability problems. Such issues increase the complexity and cost of the system, reduce the reliability or uptime of the system, and introduced control issues. For example, if a particular storage module is not working with a computer, then the failure could be in either the storage module or the switch. Further, the central switch acts as a single point of failure. If the switch fails it is likely that the computers may not have access to any of the storage modules.
The above described system is just one example of creating a highly available system utilizing an external switch. Another example of a prior system, is one that utilizes disk storage modules which have two I/O channels and two I/O ports. An existing such storage system is the Fiber Channel (FC) interface drive provided by Seagate Technology LLC. In systems where these drives are configured for RAID operation a single or dual redundant RAID controller can access either port of the drives by means of a hub or a switch inserted in the FC loop between the drives and the controllers. With a hub, there is no switching as all drive ports are seen by the controllers. It is up to the RAID controller programming to arbitrate which computer owns each drive. If a drive port goes bad the RAID controller and the computer can continue using the other port. In a dual RAID controller mode, if one of the RAID controllers fails, the other controller can take ownership the drives. The hub or switch provides the connectivity and the RAID controllers provide the switching, redundancy and failover intelligence. Hubs or switches on the computer channels are required to do failover transparent to the host.
At the network level, between the RAID box and the host computers, FC switches can provide switching and multi-path redundancy. There is usually some storage area network (SAN) control mechanism that involves firmware or software on the host computer, the switches and the RAID controllers. On the RAID controller there is a method called SAN masking, which controls which host computers can have assess to each RAID set. Switches can be zoned to partition traffic and control access. SANs can be very complicated and often have interoperability problems between all of the pieces of the systems. At the host level, multipath software can reroute traffic through a redundant connection to the Raid box.

System and method for switching data storage devices and multiple processors


An audio system on a headset presents audio content via tissue conduction to an inner ear of a first ear of a user. The system monitors, via one or more sensors on the headset, data about the presented audio content. The one or more sensors including at least one sensor configured to capture data about the presented audio content at a second ear of the user. The system estimates array transfer functions (ATFs) associated with the data, and generates sound filters for the transducer array using the estimated ATFs. The system presents adjusted audio content based in part on the sound filters. The adjusted audio content has a damped region at the second ear such that the amplitude of the adjusted audio content at the first ear has a higher amplitude than at the second ear.

The present disclosure generally relates to tissue conduction audio systems, and specifically relates to the mitigation of crosstalk in tissue conduction audio systems.
Head mounted displays (HMDs) may be used to present virtual and/or augmented information to a user. For example, an augmented reality (AR) headset or a virtual reality (VR) headset can be used to simulate an augmented/virtual reality. Conventionally, a user of the AR/VR headset wears headphones to receive, or otherwise experience, computer generated sounds, video, and haptic. However, wearing headphones suppresses sound from the real-world environment, which may expose the user to unexpected danger and also unintentionally isolate the user from the environment. Moreover, headphones separated from the outer casing or a strap of the HMD may be aesthetically unappealing and may be damaged through use.

Mitigating crosstalk in tissue conduction audio systems


An exercise device capable of animating a walking motion is composed of a frame on which a damping unit, two drive units, and a handle are mounted. The drive units are respectively composed of a first frame, a second frame, a connection frame connecting the first frame and the second frame, a slide rod connecting the second frame and a crank of the damping unit, and a pedal rod fastened pivotally at one end thereof with the connection frame and at another end thereof with a roller capable of sliding on the slide rod. The drive units are driven at the same time in opposite directions when the pedal rods are at work, thereby resulting in the actuation of a rotary wheel for bringing about a leg exercise.

There are a variety of exercise devices currently available in the market place. These exercise devices are intended for use in building the muscles of various parts of a human body. A relatively new and good stationary exercise device is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,829. Such a prior art stationary exercise device is effective in building the leg muscles; nevertheless it is rather cumbersome.


A display device includes sub-pixels, video lines, a drive circuit and switch groups. The video lines are divided into plural blocks each composed of m video lines, m being an integer of 2 or more. The drive circuit outputs m gray scale voltages time-sequentially. Each of the switch groups corresponding to one of the blocks is composed of first to mth switches, receives the m gray scale voltages from the drive circuit, and then supplies them to the m video lines in a time-division multiplexed fashion. The mth switch is turned on last during a writing time for writing the m gray scale voltages into the sub-pixels, and Tq<Tm, where Tm and Tq are times during which the mth switch and a qth switch of the first to (m−1)th switches are turned on, respectively, and q is an integer of from 1 to (m−1).

The present invention relates to a display device, and in particular to a technique useful for application to a display device employing a time-division-multiplexed driving. TFT (Thin Film Transistor) type liquid crystal modules are widely used as displays for portable equipment such as notebook personal computers or the like. Especially, liquid crystal display modules provided with a small-sized liquid crystal display panel are used as displays for portable equipment always carried such as mobile phones, for example.
Usually there are as many outputs of a drain driver (also called a video line drive circuit) for driving a liquid crystal display panel as there are video lines (also called drain lines) of the liquid crystal display panel, and each of the outputs of the drain driver is coupled to a corresponding one of the video lines.
On the other hand, for the purpose of miniaturizing a drain driver, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 11-327518 Publication (which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 6,424,328 B1) discloses a so-called time-division-multiplexed driving method as a driving method of a liquid crystal display panel which is capable of reducing the number of output pins (output terminals) of a drain driver. In this time-division-multiplexed driving method, video lines are divided into plural units (blocks) each composed of plural video lines. Signals to be supplied to plural video lines of each of the blocks are output from the drain driver in a time-sequential fashion. The liquid crystal display panel is provided with plural time-division switches each corresponding to one of the blocks of the plural video lines, and each of the time-division switches receives the time-sequential signals outputted from the drain driver and supplies the time-sequential signals to the plural video lines of a corresponding one of the blocks in a time-sequential fashion.

Display device employing a time-division-multiplexed driver


Aspirin triggered lipid mediators (ATLMs) are disclosed which are useful for the treatment of prevention of inflammation associated with various diseases, including ischemia.

Numerous reports of the past 25 years suggest that supplementation of dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (w-3 PUFA) with linseed, canola, or fish oils has beneficial effects in human discases and laboratory animals (1. De Caterina, R., S. Endres, S. D. Kristensen, and E. B. Schmidt, editors. 1993. n-3 Fatty Acids and Vascular Disease. Springer-Verlag, London and 2. Lands, W.E.M., editor. 1987. Proceedings of the AOCS Short Course on Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Eicosanoids. American Oil Chemists' Society, Champaign, Ill.). These have included lively discussions of potential antithrombotic, immunoregulatory, and antiinflammatory responses relevant in arteriosclerosis, arthritis, and asthma as well as antitumor and antimetastratie effects (Ref. 1 and Iigo, M., T. Nakagawa, C. Ishikawa, Y. Iwahori, M. Asamoto, K. Yazawa, E. Araki, and H. Tsuda. 1997. Inhibitory effects of docosahexaenoic acid on colon carcinoma 26 metastasis to the lung. Br. J Cancer 75:650-655.). Their potential for preventative actions in cardiovascular diseases was recently bolstered with the finding that major dietary ω-3 PUFAs, eicosapentaenoic acid (C20:5 ω-3; EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (C22:6 ω-3; DHA), have a dramatic effect on ischemia-induced ventricular fibrillation and can protect against sudden cardiac death in dogs (4. Billman, G. E. et al. 1999 Prevention of sudden cardiac death by dietary pure ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in dogs. Circulation. 99:2452-2547.). Emergence of such possible preventative and/or therapeutic actions of -ω3 PUFA supplementation in infant nutrition, cardiovascular diseases, and mental health has led to a call for recommended dietary intakes by an international workshop (5. Simopoulous, A.P. et al. 1999. Workshop on the Essentiality of and Recommended Dietary Intakes for Omega-6 and Omega-3 Fatty Acids. J Am. Coll. Nutr. 18:487-489.). Also, the Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della Sopravvivense nell'Infarto Miocardio (GISSI) Prevenzione trial evaluated the effects of ω-3 PUFA supplementation with >11,300 patients surviving myocardial infarction taking ˜1 g of ω-3 PUFA daily (n=2,836) along with recommended preventive treatments including aspirin, and reported a significant benefit with a decrease in cardiovascular death (6. Marchioloi, R. 1999. Dietary supplementation with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin E after myocardial infarction: results of the GISSI-Prevenzione trial. Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della Sopravvivenza nell'Ifarto miocardioco. Lancet. 354:447-455.). However, the cellular and molecular mechanism(s) for dietary ω-3 protective actions in all of the studies including those with neural tissues (Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease and other known to involve inflammation in the brain) to date remain largely unexplained.
It is believed that the actions of the major lipid of fish oil, C20:5, are based upon (a) preventing conversion of arachidonic acid (C20:4 ω-6; AA) to proinflammatory eicosanoids (i.e. prostaglandins [PGs] and leukotrienes [LTS]); (b) serving as an alternate substrate producing 5-series LTS that are less potent; and/or (c) conversion by cyclooxygenase (COX) to 3-series prostanoids (i.e., PGI3) with potencies equivalent to their 4-series PG counterparts to maintain antithrombotic actions (References 1, 3 and 4). These and other explanations offered have not been generally accepted because of the lack of molecular evidence in vivo and high concentrations of ω-3 PUFA required to achieve putative "beneficial actions" in vitro (References 1-5).
Although the proinflammatory roles of LT and PG are appreciated, there is new evidence that other eicosanoids derived from arachidonate, namely lipoxins (LXs) and their endogenous analogues, the aspirin-triggered 15 epimer LXs (ATLs), are potent counterregulators of PMN-medicated injury and acute inflammation (7. Weissmann, G. 1991. Aspirin. Sci. Am. 264:84-90; 8. Marcus, A. J. 1999. Platelets: their role in hemostasis, thrombosis, and inflammation. In Inflammation: Basic Principles and Clinical Correlates. J. I. Gallin and R. Snyderman, editors. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia. 77-9; 9. Claria, J., and C. N. Serhan. 1995. Aspirin triggers previously undescribed bioactive eicosanoids by human endothelial cell-leukocyte interactions. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92:9475-9479; 10. Serhan, C. N., J. F. Maddox, N. A. Petasis, I. Akritopoulou-Zanze, A. Papayianni, H. R. Brady, S. P. Colgan, and J. L. Madara. 1995. Design of lipoxin A4 stable analogs that block transmigration and adhesion of human neutrophils. Biochemistry 34:14609-14615; and 11. Chiang, N., K. Gronert, C. B. Clish, J. A. O'Brien, M. W. Freeman, and C. N. Serhan. 1999. Leukotriene B4 receptor transgenic mice reveal novel protective roles for lipoxins and aspirin-triggered lipoxins in reperfusion. J. Clin. Invest. 104:309-316.). At least two isoforms for COX, the classic site of action for nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), have been uncovered (COX-1 and 2) that appear to serve separate physiologic and pathophysiologic roles in humans (12. Herschman, H. R. 1998. Recent progress in the cellular and molecular biology of prostaglandin synthesis. Trends Cardiovasc. Med. 8:145-150.). Each COX isoform carries dual enzymatic activities, a bisoxygenase and a peroxidase. Inhibition of COX-2 is the current focus of several pharmaceutical companies, as selective inhibition of COX-2 without blocking COX-1 could reduce unwanted side effects associated with traditional NSAIDs (13. Needleman, P., and P. C. Isakson. 1997. The discovery and function of COX-2. J. Rheumatol. 24 (Suppl. 49):6-8.). In this regard, acetylation of COX-2 by the classic NSAID, aspirin (ASA), prevents the formation of prostanoids, but the acetylated enzyme remains active in situs to generate 15R-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (15R-HETE) from C20:4 that is released and converted by activated inflammatory cells to the 15-epimeric LXs (14. Chiang, N., T. Takano, C. B. Clish, N. A. Petasis, H. -H. Tai, and C.N. Serhan. 1998. Aspirin-triggered 15-epi-lipoxin A4 (ATL) generation by human leukocytes and murine peritonitis exudates: Development of a specific 15-epi-LXA4 ELISA. J Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 287:779-790 and 15. Xiao, G., A. -L. Tsai, G. Palmer, W. C. Boyar, P. J. Marshall, and R. J. Kulmacz. 1997. Analysis of hydroperoxide-induced tyrosyl radicals and lipoxygenase activity in aspirin-treated human prostaglandin H synthase-2. Biochemistry 36:1836-1845.). Synthetic analogues of these natural local mediators with prolonged biological half-life display potent antiinflammatory properties providing evidence that cell-cell interactions can be responsible for conversion of AA (and/or other lipids and PUFA see FIG. 1) to mediators that possess antiiflammatory properties by regulating signaling events important to host defense (Reference 11 and 16. Clish, C. B., J. A. O'Brien, K. Gronert, G. L. Stahl, N. A. Petasis, and C. N. Serhan. 1999. Local and systemic delivery of a stable aspirin-triggered lipoxin prevents neutrophil recruitment in vivo. Proc. Nad. Acad. Sci. USA 96:8247-8252.).

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A tag unit comprises two RFID tags arranged nearly parallel with each other, each RFID tag including an antenna, tag transmission/reception section, and storage section. The tag unit stores different serial numbers in the respective storage sections. A tag unit reading/writing apparatus writes the different serial numbers and common data in the storage sections of the respective RFID tags, and retains the same serial numbers of the respective RFID tags in its storage section 18. The tag unit reading/writing apparatus judges validity of reading and reusability of the tag unit, when it successfully reads both of the serial numbers and the data stored in the storage sections of the respective RFID tags.

An RFID tag structure is described in Japanese patent application Kokai publication No. 2002-183695, in which a plurality of RFID tags, each comprising an antenna and IC chip that includes a wireless communications section and a storage section, are arranged. This RFID tag structure is formed in which there are provided two RFID tags having cylindrical antenna coils whose axes are oriented nearly orthogonal to each other. By arranging two antenna coils nearly orthogonal to each other, reception/transmission sensitivities of the antennae in a direction of an axis of one antenna coil and a direction orthogonal to the axis of the antenna can be made in an almost same degree and thereby a restriction of the antenna directivity has become alleviated. Also, the same addresses and codes are allocated to the two RFID tags, either one of the RFID tags having higher sensitivity first responses to an inquiry that is received and that tag is given precedence. Even if the two RFID tags response simultaneously, no mutual interference occurs because the two have the same addresses and codes.
An RFID tag is generally breakable subject to strong physical or electromagnetic forces. Because, when it is broken down, one can hardly tell by a visual look whether it is still operational or dead, the inventors of the present invention have become aware of necessity of knowing or judging whether or not the tag in such a case is still operational.
In the RFID tag structure as described in the above-mentioned Japanese patent application Kokai publication No. 2002-183695, if one of the two RFID tags becomes broken down, data can still be read from the other one since the two store common data. However, one cannot tell which one is disabled. Besides, if both RFID tags become broken and therefore data is unable to read, one can hardly tell if the RFID tags themselves are dead or an RFID tag reading apparatus has become disabled, or the trouble is due to magnetic interference.
In other words, even if two tags are provided, it cannot be judged that one of the tags is broken down and needs to be replaced, or both are still normal and reusable.


An image sensor module is provided. The image sensor module includes a circuit board, a flat material, an image sensing chip, a holder and a covering plate. The flat material disposed on an assembling surface of the circuit board has a supporting surface and a bottom surface opposite thereto. The image sensing chip with its base surface facing to the supporting surface is configured on the supporting surface. The holder is disposed on the flat material, and the bottom plane of the holder faces to the supporting surface. The supporting surface is used to make the base surface parallel to the bottom plane. The covering plate is arranged on the holder to seal the image sensing chip.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to an image sensor module for improving image.
2. Description of Related Art
An image sensor module (such as a digital camera) can use a chip module to convert images captured by lens into digital image signals. Then, the digital image signals can be saved in a storage medium. The chip module and the supporting base for supporting the lens module are usually disposed on a circuit board. In ideal situation, the optical axis of the lens module should align with the optical axis of the sensing section in the chip module.
However, the circuit board is made of a composite material. When the circuit board is in heating process, the warpage of the circuit board easily occurs in whole because each of the materials of the circuit board has different coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). That is, before disposing the chip module and the lens module, the surface of the circuit board is not level and may be a curve. Although a degree of warpage of circuit board may not be seen by eyes of the human, the optical axis of the lens module is easy to misalign with the optical axis of the sensing section in the chip module when the chip module and the lens module are mounted on the circuit board. Accordingly, the misalignment between both optical axes of the lens module and the sensing section can influence the quality of image.

Image sensor module having flat material between circuit board and image sensing chip


A method and apparatus for determining the sufficiency of refrigerant charge in an air conditioning system by the use of only two temperature measurements. The temperature of the liquid refrigerant leaving the condenser coil is sensed and the temperature of the condenser coil itself is sensed and the difference between these two measurements is calculated to provide an indication of the adequacy of refrigerant charge in the system. This process is refined by steps taken to eliminate measurements during transient operations and by filtering signals to eliminate undesirable noise. A permitted threshold of deviation is calculated by using probability theory.

This invention relates generally to air conditioning systems and, more particularly, to an apparatus for determining proper refrigerant charge in such systems.
Maintaining proper refrigerant charge level is essential to the safe and efficient operation of an air conditioning system. Improper charge level, either in deficit or in excess, can cause premature compressor failure. An over-charge in the system results in compressor flooding, which, in turn, may be damaging to the motor and mechanical components. Inadequate refrigerant charge can lead to increased power consumption, thus reducing system capacity and efficiency. Low charge also causes an increase in refrigerant temperature entering the compressor, which may cause thermal over-load of the compressor. Thermal over-load of the compressor can cause degradation of the motor winding insulation, thereby bringing about premature motor failure.
Charge adequacy has traditionally been checked using either the "superheat method" or "subcool method". For air conditioning systems which use a thermal expansion valve (TXV), or an electronic expansion valve (EXV), the superheat of the refrigerant entering the compressor is normally regulated at a fixed value, while the amount of subcooling of the refrigerant exiting the condenser varies. Consequently, the amount of subcooling is used as an indicator for charge level. Manufacturers often specify a range of subcool values for a properly charged air conditioner. For example, a subcool temperature range between 10 and 15° F. is generally regarded as acceptable in residential cooling equipment. For air conditioning systems that use fixed orifice expansion devices instead of TXVs (or EXVs), the performance of the air conditioner is much more sensitive to refrigerant charge level. Therefore, superheat is often used as an indicator for charge in these types of systems. A manual procedure specified by the manufacturer is used to help the installer to determine the actual charge based on either the superheat or subcooling measurement. Table 1 summarizes the measurements required for assessing the proper amount of refrigerant charge.
TABLE 1Measurements Required for Charge Level DeterminationSuperheat methodSubcooling method1Compressor suction temperatureLiquid line temperature at theinlet to expansion device2Compressor suction pressureCondenser outlet pressure3Outdoor condenser coil entering airtemperature4Indoor returning wet bulbtemperature
To facilitate the superheat method, the manufacturer provides a table containing the superheat values corresponding to different combinations of indoor return air wet bulb temperatures and outdoor dry bulb temperatures for a properly charged system. This charging procedure is an empirical technique by which the installer determines the charge level by trial-and-error. The field technician has to look up in a table to see if the measured superheat falls in the correct ranges specified in the table. Often the procedure has to be repeated several times to ensure the superheat stays in a correct range specified in the table. Consequently this is a tedious test procedure, and difficult to apply to air conditioners of different makers, or even for equipment of the same maker where different duct and piping configurations are used. In addition, the calculation of superheat or subcool requires the measurement of compressor suction pressure, which requires intrusive penetration of pipes.
In the subcooling method, as with the superheat method, the manufacturer provides a table listing the liquid line temperature required as a function of the amount of subcooling and the liquid line pressure. Once again, the field technician has to look up in the table provided to see if the measured liquid line temperature falls within the correct ranges specified in the table. Thus, this charging procedure is also an empirical, time-consuming, and a trial-and-error process.


A miniature projection device includes a rotatable bracket assembly, a rotating plate, a driving device, and a light source unit. The rotating plate is rotatably mounted to the rotatable bracket assembly. The driving device is configured to drive the rotatable bracket assembly to rotate in a first direction, and to drive the rotatable plate to rotate in a second direction. The first direction is substantially perpendicular to the second direction. The light source unit is mounted on the rotatable plate and is capable of rotating together with the rotating plate. The light source unit is configured to emit laser beams and to project the laser beams onto a screen.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to projection devices, and particularly to a miniature projection device.
2. Description of Related Art
Laser projection devices are becoming more and more popular due to their having a larger color gamut, a higher brightness, a higher contrast ratio, and a better saturation. A MEMS mirror device mounted in the laser projection device is configured for reflecting laser beams emitted by a light source onto a screen. However, a size of the MEMS mirror device is very large, which is undesirable for miniaturizing the laser projection devices.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a miniature projection device that can overcome the above-mentioned limitations.

Miniature projection device for emitting laser beams


The invention is directed to a chlorinator mounted inline in a water purification system having a housing having an inlet end and an outlet end and an upper compartment having an electronics section with a controller unit contained within the electronics section and in electrical communication with a power source and an at least one electrolytic plate. The system having a heat sink member in thermal communication with the controller, wherein the flow of the water in the water purification system cools the heat sink member and the controller unit.

There are various methods of disinfecting water supplies. For instance, some systems use chlorine dioxide, which is unstable and may produce undesirable byproducts such as chlorates. Similarly, ozone can be used. However, ozone is an unstable chemical and breaks down rapidly as does UV radiation (ultra violet light) from UV treatment systems. Additionally, neither of these systems leaves a residual disinfectant in the water supply. Thus, chlorine is one of the most widely used and adopted methods of sanitizing water.
Chlorine is the most widely used method of neutralizing disease causing pathogens and bacteria in a body of water. Although there are other means of neutralizing bacteria and pathogens, chlorine is the disinfectant of choice for many reasons. Chlorine kills pathogenic organisms efficiently and effectively by attacking the cell or the cell enzyme system. In either case, the inactivation of the pathogenic organisms is achieved. The chlorine residual HOCL is a longer lasting residual that effectively kills pathogens until dissipated. EPA requirements for potable or public water facilities and state requirements for chlorine levels are as follows: 0.2 mg/L-0.5 mg/L free chlorine residual. As such, safe levels of chlorine can be maintained to eradicate any bacteria or pathogens in the water without risk to public safety.
However, even though chlorine is relatively inexpensive and safe as compared to other types of sanitizers, the cost of chlorine in tablet and liquid systems, like those used to typically sanitize a pool, becomes an extremely expensive proposition over the lifetime of the pool. Moreover, significant hazards, time, labor, and other costs are associated with storing and handling toxic chlorine and/or other hazardous chemicals such as chlorine tablets, oxidizers, algaecides or algae inhibitors.
Another problem with the use of tablet and liquid based chlorine systems, like that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,656,353 is the need to stabilize the chlorine such that it remains in the water, as UV rays tend to deplete or damage chlorine molecules during the day. Typically, this is accomplished in a tablet system by the addition of cyanuric acid or similar stabilizing agents. However, these agents can build up to undesirable levels which can present a health problem and cause damage to pool plaster and can require draining the body of water and adding fresh water to reduce concentrations.
Several attempts have been made to utilize chlorine or ion producing generators to treat water. However, besides the problems already mentioned above, such devices tend to have significant reliability problems and/or require complex chemical production and containment requirements. Moreover, such systems tend to require a professional to install and maintain resulting in expensive installation and maintenance costs. This is especially true of the heretofore known systems.
Systems such as those in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,136,005 to Persson et al.; 4,255,246 to Davis et al.; 4,472,256 to Hilbig; 5,427,658 to Allen; 5,468,360 to David et al. and 5,807,473, to Sadler et al. typically utilize significant amounts of electricity and generate significant amounts of heat during operation. Some of these systems have even included heating elements within the system, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,599,159, which shows an electrolytic pool chlorinator with a resistive heater, adding heat into the system around the electrolytic units. This results in the locating of controls and electronics, which are negatively affected by the increased operating temperatures, remotely from the chlorinator.
This increases the complexity in these existing devices, as electrical connections must extend from the chlorinator to the controller and back to the chlorinator to properly function. Generally, electrical systems, especially complex systems with multiple connections, in close proximity with salt water can be dangerous in and of themselves and may tend to cause accidental electrical shock hazards under some conditions. This is coupled with the fact that these systems are also subject to electrical shorting in the normal course of operation, which causes breakdowns, an absence of chlorination during the breakdowns, repair expenses, and other problems.
These chlorinators work to the extent that they do satisfactorily treat the water, but they have serious drawbacks. Essentially, they have very limited lifespans without maintenance and are thus both inconvenient and expensive to maintain in full working order. If the chlorinator elements should fail, in the heretofore known complex designs a professional installer is often called upon to repair or reinstall the chlorinator and reconnect the system. This results in downtime and potentially significant additional costs for these systems and inconvenience, in the case of pool systems, for the pool owner.
In an attempt to provide easier maintenance access for these professionals, various inline embodiments of these systems have been provided. For instance, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,085,028 to McCallum; 4,100,052 to Stillman; 4,714,534 to Fair et al.; and 4,861,451 to David; and U.S. application 2003/0024809 to Broembsen disclose inline chlorinator systems that begin in the simplification of the design, consolidating the working components of the chlorinator in an inline design at an input line for the pool. However, in each of the instances, several electrical connections are required to make the system functional and the systems are therefore still difficult to maintain for the average pool owner.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,391,167 attempted to address this issue, by providing an easily removable two-part housing. The chlorinator comprises a housing having in-line inlet and outlet openings and a removable cover. An input bridge is provided which is designed to provide overvoltage and surge protection, as well as low-loss input rectification to keep heat generation low. However, the controller for the system, including the sensor element, must still be located remotely from the system and requires that several electrical connections be made before the system is functional. All of these designs still require connection to a master controller located remotely from the electrolysis package.
The significant maintenance, repair and operation costs involved with such systems can be disappointing to pool owners who were led to believe their system would reduce costs by eliminating the need to purchase chlorine. None of these systems to date has been able to locate all the mechanical and electrical components in one easy to use and easy to replace "plug and play", in-line package incorporating both the electrolytic components used for generating the chlorine and the control and power management components in a single housing together with a heat dissipation system to protect these electrical elements.
The prior art discussed above does not provide a long life, low maintenance, purification system that is an extremely effective purifying water and which incorporates its controller in situ on the inline device and, in a preferred embodiment, and utilizes a heat sink element to help cool the electronics. Consequently, there remains a need to provide a highly reliable, easy to use and install water purification apparatus. Those of skill in the art will appreciate the present invention, which addresses the above and other problems and long felt needs.

Inline chlorinator with integral control package and heat dissipation


There is disclosed a control device including (i) a support (4, 4.1), (ii) an electronic module (6, 60) arranged in or on the support, (iii) a push-button (2.1 to 2.5) mounted to be mobile on the support so as to have a travel in translation along an axis of actuation, (iv) a first contact element (210) including a mobile part (211) placed on the axis of actuation so as to be actuated by the push-button, and (v) a second contact element (220) with which the mobile part of the first contact element can be brought into contact in order to establish an electric connection between the two contact elements, the electronic module including at least one contact pad (610, 620) in electric contact with the first or second contact element, the other contact element having a determined electric potential. The first and second contact elements are respectively formed of a first metal contact strip (210) and a second metal contact strip (220) both carried directly by said support (4, 4.1). The first and second contact strips, as well as the push-button, are thus mounted on the same frame, namely the support, such that the arrangement and the travel of the push-button can be controlled and fixed with a high level of precision.

The present invention concerns generally a push-button control device of the type encountered particularly in electronic or electromechanical timepieces. The present invention also concerns a portable electronic instrument, such as a timepiece, including such a push-button control device.
Such push-button control devices are very widespread, particularly in the field of electronic or electromechanical timepieces. A typical example of such a control device is given in EP Patent No. 1 089 144. This document discloses in particular a multi-function push-button contact strip essentially formed of a base fixed to the bottom of a case in proximity to the push-button and an elastic blade forming a mobile contact element capable of being actuated by the push-button. This contact strip forms a first contact element of the control device, the elastic blade of the strip cooperating with a second contact element arranged on an electronic module for establishing an electric connection when the push-button is actuated.
From the electrical and mechanical point of view, the contact is thus formed of two contact elements, one mobile (namely the aforementioned elastic blade capable of being actuated by the push-button) secured to the case by its base and the other fixed, which is arranged on the electronic module (typically a contact pad arranged on the printed circuit board of the electronic module). In the aforementioned EP Patent No. 1 089 144, the second contact element is for example formed of a bent conductive lug of the printed circuit. It will thus be understood that the two contact elements are arranged on different frames, namely the case (to which the push-button is typically secured) for the first contact element, and the printed circuit board, for the second contact element.
One drawback of the aforementioned typical construction lies in the fact that the printed circuit board constitutes an element whose dimensions and position in the case cannot be guaranteed with a high level of precision. This lack of precision leads to a loss of precision as to the arrangement and travel of the push-button, which consequently has repercussions on the quality of actuation and use of the push-button. In order to improve precision, it is thus necessary to find another solution or at least to improve the existing solutions.
Another drawback of the aforementioned typical construction also lies in the liability of the contact to wear. In fact, the fixed contact element with which the mobile contact element is brought into contact, is generally made in the form of a metallisation made on the printed circuit board or a part secured to the printed circuit. Following repeated mechanical contacts between the contact elements, this metallisation can undergo significant wear and consequently reduce the quality of the electric contact. It is thus also sought to reduce the liability of the push-button control device to wear.

Control device for a push-piece, in particular for time piece, and portable electronic instrument comprising same

Abstract: There is also disclosed a portable electronic instrument, such as a timepiece, including such a push-button control device.