The invention provides an areola pad for use during breast feeding. The invention is used to treat sore and painful nipples caused by breast feeding and to enable uninterrupted nursing. The invention includes a flexible element composed of one or more bio-compatible polymers, where the element is breathable, and allows contact between the mother and the infant. The flexible element further includes a centrally-located opening for receiving a nipple of any size, where the nipple extends through the opening and is uncovered.

It is well known that breast feeding is highly recommended and preferred over bottle feeding. The physical experience of breast feeding enhances bonding between the mother and baby. Further, breast milk provides immunoglobulins to the baby, thus conferring passive immunity to the baby through the mother.
However, virtually every mother who attempts to breast feed her baby experiences sore and painful nipples at some point. For many women, this can lead to cracked, bleeding nipples, and even breast infections. Such experiences cause many women to abandon breast feeding. Presently, there is no satisfactory treatment for these conditions that provide immediate relief. Typically, doctors prescribe topical preparations including, for example, lanolin, to ease soreness, and recommend air drying nipples. However, it is generally difficult to breast feed while using such preparations as an infant nurses every two to three hours and topical solutions need to be removed. Also, it is very difficult in today's world to "air dry" nipples.
Devices including nipple shields are known and include the Medela™ Contact Nipple Shield made by Medela, Inc., of McHenry, Ill. This shield is worn over the nipple and areola, and is designed to help correct latch-on difficulties, especially in the case of women who have inverted nipples. The shield has holes in the nipple area to allow breast milk to flow through. The shield also includes a cut-away portion in the base area (in the area of the areola). The Medela™ shield is available in different sizes to accommodate different sized nipples.
Doctors do not recommend using nipple shields like the Medela™ shield to treat sore nipples, because such use does not correct the underlying problem (incorrect latching-on) and creates additional problems. Specifically, use of such shields causes the mother to receive less stimulation, thus causing a decrease in milk production, and thereby causing diminished milk supply and diminished weight gain of the baby. Other problems associated with the use of such shields include: nipple confusion, whereby the baby may become so used to the shield that he or she may refuse the mothers natural nipple; a decreased ability of the baby to smell and feel the mother; and a negative effect on bonding between the baby and the mother.
Another available nipple shield is the Hobbit™ Breast Shell, made by Medela, Inc. of McHenry, Ill. The Hobbit™ Breast Shells are for protecting sore nipples from further irritation. The Hobbit™ Breast Shell is a rigid, dome-shaped, multi-piece shell which overlies the areola and nipple to protect them from irritation, for example from clothing. The shell includes through holes which allow air to circulate around the nipple. The Hobbit™ Breast Shell cannot be worn during breast feeding.
Neither of these devices, nor known treatments, help to ease pain and soreness during breast feeding. Thus, there is a great need for a device which eases pain and soreness during breast feeding, where nipple stimulation is unaffected by the device, which preserves the baby's ability to smell and feel the mother, that does not give rise to nipple confusion, and accommodates nipples and areola of all sizes.


The present invention provides a hose management system for a plumbing fixture fitting.

Faucets and other plumbing fixture fittings with wands that can be pulled away from the faucets are well known. Such faucets have a hose that connects the wand to valve components within the faucet. When the wand is docked in the faucet, the hose extends through the faucet and below the mounting surface upon which the faucet is mounted. As the wand is pulled away from the faucet, the hose extends out of the faucet. As the wand is returned to the faucet, the hose retracts through the faucet. When the hose is extended and retracted, the hose can get caught on obstructions beneath the mounting surface, such as pipes and garbage disposals. Difficulties can be encountered in designing faucets with wands so that the hose does not get caught on obstructions when the hose is extended and retracted.

Hose management system for a plumbing fixture fitting


A foot abduction brace is disclosed herein. The foot abduction brace can include a crossbar having a planar bottom end. The foot abduction brace can also include a first end disposed on one side of the crossbar. The foot abduction brace can further include a first locking hub removably coupled to the first end in a first position of a plurality of positions, where the first locking hub is disposed in the first keyhole and includes a first coupling feature disposed at a top end of the first locking hub. The foot abduction brace can also include a first footplate having a first complementary coupling feature that removably couples to the first coupling feature of the first locking hub. The foot abduction brace can further include a first foot restraint mechanically coupled to the first footplate.

Clubfoot, also known as talipes equinovarus, is a congenital birth defect that causes one or both feet to turn inward and/or downward. The exact causes of clubfoot are unknown, but research indicates genetic factors may play a role. Clubfoot results from abnormal development of the muscles, tendons, and bones of the fetus. Shortened tendons and ligaments on the inside of the lower leg lead to the foot turning inward. A tight Achilles tendon contributes to rigidity of the foot.
Clubfoot occurs in approximately 1 out of 750 births, with some variation across countries and ethnic groups and with an increased incidence in children born to a parent with clubfoot. Clubfoot occurs more often in boys than girls. There are about 200,000 new cases of clubfoot each year around the world. For children born with clubfoot, both feet are affected in about 50% of the cases. Without treatment, children born with clubfoot cannot walk properly, if at all, and the untreated condition can lead to severe disability. Treatment can include the use of braces, casts, and/or surgery. Nonsurgical treatment of clubfoot has gained popularity in recent years and consists of a series of leg castings, followed by use of a foot abduction brace for several years.

The Board Of Trustees Of The Leland Stanford Junior University, C/O Ms. Katharine Ku, Director Office Of Technology Licensing


A device can include a processor configured to write a first data structure to a memory, the first data structure comprising a list of at least one data channel; and a scheduler circuit comprising logic circuits responsive to the processor, the scheduler circuit configured to transfer data packets to the at least one data channel via a packet based serial data communication interface and according to the first data structure.

FIGS. 10A to 10D shows a conventional universal serial bus (USB) system 1000. A system 1000 can include a controller section 1002 and a system memory 1004. A controller section 1002 can include a processor 1006 and a host controller driver (HCD) 1008, which is software executed by the processor.
Referring to FIG. 10A, it is assumed that in a previous operation HCD 1008 has created a data structure 1010 in system memory 1004 that includes a linked-list of USB endpoint descriptors (EP1, EP2). As is well known, endpoint descriptors (EP1, EP2) can describe logical endpoints for data transfers. Though not shown in FIG. 10A, each USB endpoint descriptor (EP1, EP2) can include a pointer to a queue of one or more USB transfer descriptors. The USB transfer descriptors define buffer sections accessed in a data transfer operation. A processor 1006 can traverse the data structure 1010, servicing endpoints according to a predefined order, to thereby control transfers over one or more USB buses. FIG. 10A also shows transfer data 1012 arriving for a new endpoint (EP3). The data structure 1010 remains unchanged as only part of the transfer data has been received.
Referring to FIG. 10B, in response to receiving all of the transfer data 1012, HCD 1008 (by operation of processor 1006) modifies data structure 1010 by inserting a new USB endpoint (EP3), along with USB transfer descriptors (TD0 to TDn) for the new endpoint (EP3). The newly added USB transfer descriptors (TD0 to TDn) can have physical memory addresses to locations of the transfer data.
It is noted that HCD 1008 stores the entire transfer data 1012 in system memory 1002 before scheduling transfer packets (by inserting transfer descriptors into the data structure). Further, modifications to data structure 1010 may require halts to the processing of endpoints.
Referring to FIG. 10C, with changes to the data structure 1010 complete, transfers for the new EP (EP3) can take place. Processor 1006 can initiate a transfer by sending a control packet (OUT TOKEN) for a data channel.
As shown in FIG. 10D, as processor 1006 traverses the data structure 1010 and arrives at endpoint EP3, it can start transferring the data via a data packet.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a representation of another conventional USB system 1100. A processor 1106 can manage a data structure in system memory 1104 that includes "vertical pointers" 1110-0 and "horizontal pointers" 1110-1. A processor 1106 manages the data structure 1110-0/1, updating the various pointers as requests for adding endpoints, removing endpoints, and adding new data transfers is received.
Horizontal pointers 1110-1 can be linked-lists of endpoints (EP0 to EP3), where each endpoint points to a queue of transfer descriptors (TD0 to TDn).
Vertical pointers 1110-0 can be the queues of transfer descriptors, each identifying a buffer of data that transmits or receives data for its endpoint. Such vertical pointers 1110-0-0 can include physical addresses identifying locations in a buffer memory 1114 for receiving/storing transfer data.
From the above, it is understood that in conventional systems, for large data transfers, a large amount of system memory can be needed to buffer the data prior to constructing endpoint descriptors for the data. Further, a processor must dedicate significant bandwidth to manage the data structure, as it is traversed and updated. Correspondingly, an HCD can be a relatively complex piece of software, in order to manage the data structure.
When a USB controller is implemented as an integrated circuit, the need for relatively large memories (to accommodate large data transfer sizes, and a complex HCD), can lead to large die size, increasing cost and footprint: both can be undesirable, particularly in portable devices. Further, a larger memory in combination with an active processor, can increase power consumption of the device, another undesirable feature.
Standard USB systems typically include a computer (e.g., desktop or laptop computer) as a host device. In such systems, there can be sufficient computing power and memory to accommodate data transfers among various peripheral (i.e., slave) devices. However, portable standards have arisen, such as USB on-the-go (USB-OTG), which can enable devices that are typically peripherals to operate as hosts. Thus, a smaller device, such as a camera, printer or keyboard, can connect directly to another peripheral device, and act as a host device in the system.
However, implementing conventional host architectures into such smaller devices can often require undesirably large die sizes and power consumption, as noted.

Host communication device and method with data transfer scheduler


A structure for preventing movement of pivot bearings used in vehicular wiper devices, wherein a pivot shaft is rotatably supported by a sleeve mounted on a vehicle body through the intermediary of a pair of bearings at a predetermined axial spacing from each other. The pivot bearing fixing structure comprises slits formed in facing end surfaces of the bearings so as to divide the end portion of each bearing into an inner circumferential portion and an outer circumferential portion, ridges protruding inward radially from an inner surface of the inner circumferential portion of each bearing, the ridges being notched at a predetermined circumferential spacing so as to be elastically deformable radially outward, and recesses provided on an outer circumferential surface of the pivot shaft so as to receive the ridges thereby to fix the bearings against axial movement.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a structure for preventing movement of pivot bearings, for example, pivot bearings as used in a wiper device for vehicles such as passenger cars, buses, and trucks.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is commonly known, in this type of a wiper device, a pivot shaft, having a wiper arm integrally fixed at its base end, is rotatably supported by a sleeve fixedly mounted on a vehicle body through the intermediary of a pair of bearings opposedly placed at a predetermined axial spacing from each other.
In the above wiper device, bearings are press-fitted in the sleeve in which the pivot shaft rotatably slides with respect to the bearings. However, the press-fitted bearings may axially move to get close to each other when the press fitting between the sleeve and the bearings becomes loose due to an unacceptable allowance of the press fitting or thermal expansion and contraction caused by temperature variations. Under this circumstance, reliable supporting of both ends of the pivot shaft by the bearings will be impaired and smooth oscillation of the wiper arm is prevented due to the shaking of the pivot shaft and so on.

Fixing structure for vehicular wiper pivot bearings


Regression testing of software applications is described. Breakpoints are inserted in a programming code of an object to perform testing of all software applications that use the object. A processor in a computing device can receive data representing a programming code of a functionality of a software application rectifying a problem associated with the functionality of the software application. The processor can determine another software application executing the functionality. The processor can insert a breakpoint in the programming code of the functionality of the software application and the another software application. The breakpoint can be inserted at a location in the programming code of the software application where the problem was rectified. The processor can execute the programming code of the functionality including the inserted breakpoint. The processor can determine, based on the executing, whether the problem has been rectified in the software application and the another software application.

Various entities offer software applications that their clients can use. When a client using a software application notices a problem (which is sometimes also referred to as a bug or an error) in the execution of the software application, the client often reports it to the entity. Subsequently, the entity tests the software application for the problem, and once the problem is confirmed, identifies the problematic functionality in the software application. In response, the entity rectifies the functionality in the software application. However, there often exist situations that even when the rectified functionality functions properly in the software application, the rectified functionality still fails to properly execute in other software applications using this functionality. Thus, there exists a need to ensure that other software applications using the rectified functionality run/execute properly before assuring that the rectification is proper.

Regression testing with external breakpoints


A ceramic-lined pipe for hot fluids, e.g. gases or liquids from high-tempture nuclear reactors or within such reactors, comprises an outer metal-wall pipe formed internally with a lining of ceramic. The ceramic lining is constituted of a ceramic inner shell surrounded by a stress-absorbing reinforcing element in the form of a multiplicity of wires or cables or a sleeve. The reinforcing member stresses the ceramic body inwardly by way of compensation to the tensile stress caused by the thermal expansion of the ceramic inner shell and is sealed against the metal pipe wall directly or through the intermediary of another tubular member.

Internally insulated pipes for the transport of high temperature fluids, e.g. gases or liquids, generally are constituted of a metallic material which must be protected from the fluid transported through the pipe against overheating. This is especially the case in nuclear reactor applications where failure of the metallic member of the pipe may be detrimental to the environment, to operating personnel and to the equipment of the nuclear reactor.
This is particularly the case when the hot fluid is under pressure and the passage of the hot fluid through the pipe places the latter under substantial stress or loading.
In general, the internally lined pipes used heretofore for such purposes are formed internally with ceramic foils or fibrous material, as well as solid ceramic linings, the latter being especially useful for reinforced concrete vessels or ducts.
Ceramic inner linings of pipes and other vessels have hitherto encountered two basic problems.
Since it is desired that the lining create a significant temperature gradient between its internal surface and its external surface surrounded by the metallic conduit, significant tension stresses develop along the outer or cold side of the insulation which frequently cannot be withstood by the ceramic material and thus there is a tendency for cracks to form in the ceramic material. The danger of such crack formation with ceramic internal linings for conduits and the like is especially pronounced when the temperature gradient is very high and it has been proposed to avoid such crack formation by subdividing the ceramic internal lining into a plurality of segments. However, when such segments are used, there is a possibility that gas will pass through the spaces between the segments or along the interfaces between adjoining segments and thus reduce the reliability of the insulation and the insulation effectiveness.
Even where such segments are not provided, there is always the danger that the fluid will flow between the inner insulation and the outer wall of the lined duct. Such undesired gas flow also adversely affects the insulation efficiency and is frequently uncontrollable so that locally high temperatures may be experienced at the outer wall of the pipe and may be detrimental to the latter, affecting the useful life of the pipe. In addition, unpredictable forces may develop at the outer metallic pipe wall which can cause rupture thereof, especially if temperature fluctuations cause degradation of the metal material.

Ceramic-insulated pipe for the transport of hot fluids

Kernforschungsanlage Julich Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung


Described herein is a variant of wild type Gaussia luciferase that catalyzes glow-type emission kinetics suited for high-throughput functional screening applications. Polypeptides, functional fragments, variants, and nucleic acids that encode the enhanced luciferase are further described. One such polypeptide corresponds to wild type Gaussia luciferase with a substitution mutation of I for M at position 43 of the mature peptide. Methods of use, assay systems and kits that contain the polypeptides and/or nucleic acids are further described.

Luciferases catalyze light emission in the presence of their substrates, luciferins, and this property has made them a staple in multiple basic scientific research applications ranging from quantitative analysis of promoter activity and cell viability and proliferation in cultured cells to non-invasive bioluminescence imaging of biological processes such as cell tracking, tumor growth kinetics and response to therapy in vivo.1-3 There are different types of luciferases that occur in species including beetles, bacteria, worms, fungi, and squid with several of them cloned and tested for molecular biology research.4, 5 Each of these luciferases has different characteristics which makes them attractive for certain applications but not optimal for others. For high-throughput applications, an optimal luciferase would display the following characteristics: (1) enzyme stability over a variety of conditions; (2) high light output for increased sensitivity; (3) non-invasive monitoring of enzymatic activity at different time points in real-time; and (4) the catalysis of stable light emission for minimal variability between thousands of screened wells.
The marine copepod, Gaussia princeps, secretes a luciferase (Gluc) which possesses all but the fourth characteristic. In recent years, the cloned cDNA of Gluc has been shown to be the preferred luciferase type for many different biological applications.6-13 Gluc is the smallest luciferase cloned (18 kDa) with several advantages over other commonly used reporters: Gluc is over 2,000-fold more sensitive than firefly (Fluc) or Renilla (Rluc) luciferases and 20,000-fold more sensitive than the secreted alkaline phosphatase;6,14 Gluc is naturally secreted and therefore monitoring of biological processes can be accomplished in real-time by measuring enzymatic activity in aliquots of conditioned medium in cultured cells at different time points keeping the cells intact for confirmation analysis making it useful for studying assay kinetics;6,15 it is stable over a wide pH range and in the presence of reactive compounds;14,16 in vivo, Gluc can be detected in blood or urine making it a sensitive ex-vivo tool for monitoring of in vivo processes.13 One limitation of Gluc for high-throughput assays is the rapid decay of its bioluminescence reaction and therefore a luminometer with a built-in injector is required, making the assay time consuming.14


In the free induction technique of this invention, the maser is externally stimulated to allow significant reduction of the size of the maser, and the stimulation is turned off and allowed to decay so that the maser output is free from the external stimulation before the signal is sensed to provide a clock frequency standard. As a result, the invention solves significant problems which otherwise have limited the accuracy of prior art atomic clocks, including the problem of frequency pulling due to amplitude drift in the stimulation signal.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,209,280 for Atomic Storage Cell For Atomic Hydrogen Maser by Robert Vessot and Norman Ramsey and U.S. Pat. No. 3,255,423 for Atomic Hydrogen Maser, both by Norman Ramsey and Daniel Kleppner and U.S. Pat. No. 3,388,342 for Atomic Hydrogen Maser With Enlarged Atom Storage Container by Norman Ramsey disclose a hydrogen gas maser atomic clock. Prior art hydrogen gas masers useful with atomic clocks operate on the hyperfine transition frequency f.sub.0 of atomic hydrogen, which is 1.42040575168 gigahertz. Such hydrogen gas masers provide extremely accurate clock standards because the hyperfine transition of ground state atomic hydrogen has a very narrow line width of the order of 1 hertz. If the hydrogen hyperfine transition is not externally stimulated, losses in the maser cavity must be sufficiently low such that the power radiated by the atoms would overcome cavity losses and oscillation can be sustained. Such low-loss narrow band width cavities have a relatively large size of the order of the wavelength of the radiation or 21 cm. The low loss cavity required to sustain oscillation is not necessary if the hydrogen is externally stimulated. In some prior art hydrogen gas maser clocks, the atoms are stimulated to radiate by continuous wave stimulation with a phase modulated resonant radiation synthesized from a voltage controlled crystal oscillator (VCXO), typically at 5 MHz. The radiation of the hydrogen gas in the maser is coherently detected and an error voltage proportional to the frequency difference between the atom transition frequency and the frequency of the stimulating signal is used to servo the VCXO. The VCXO output thus serves as a hydrogen atom resonance controlled frequency standard. One difficulty with such prior art devices is that the coherent emission from the hydrogen must be sensed in the presence of the stimulating signal. As a result, frequency pulling may occur whenever the amplitude of the stimulating signal drifts. Furthermore, phase drifts in the sensing electronics will introduce systematic errors. Significant frequency pulling is also produced when the cavity resonant frequency drifts out of tune.
Another disadvantage in such prior art devices is that the frequency synthesizer used to generate the continuous wave stimulating signal must have high resolution and stability in its output. Fluctuations both in frequency and amplitude in the synthesizer output will degrade the clock performance. Thus, it is apparent that the accuracy of such prior art atomic clocks place stringent stability requirements on the electronics.

Atomic frequency standard using free induction technique


A method of assessing a spatial frequency distribution within a sample comprising subjecting the sample to magnetic resonance excitation, receiving an echo signal from the sample while the sample is subjected to a magnetic field gradient, applying an invertible linear transform to the echo signal, identifying a region of interest in the transformed echo signal and deriving a corresponding window function, applying the window function (in the signal or transform domain) to the echo signal to remove echo signal coming from regions of the sample outside of the region of interest, and analyzing the one dimensional spatial frequency content in the windowed echo signal in order to access a one dimensional spatial frequency distribution within the region of interest within the sample without creating an image.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of fine structures characterized by magnetic resonance and to a method for processing magnetic resonance signals.
2. Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 7,932,720 describes a method for measurement of biologic textures too fine to be resolved by conventional magnetic resonance imaging, providing a quantitative measure of the characteristic spatial wavelengths of these textures. In its simplest form the method consists of acquiring finely-sampled spatially-encoded magnetic resonance echoes along an axis of a selectively-excited inner-volume positioned within the biologic tissue to be analyzed. Signal analysis yields spectra of textural wavelengths within various sub-regions along the spatially encoded axis of the selected tissue volume.
Filtering techniques have been used in the prior art to selectively analyze sub-regions (regions of interest) by windowing within the selectively excited internal volume but they are non-linear as the method involves taking the magnitude of the signal to produce a signal intensity as a function of location. This prior art method (U.S. Pat. No. 7,932,720) describes a method wherein the basic steps are as follows:                1. Subject the sample to a magnetic field;        2. Subject the sample to magnetic resonance excitation;        3. Receive an echo signal from the sample while the sample is subjected to a magnetic field gradient;        4. Fourier transform the echoes and take the magnitude to convert them into a signal intensity versus position,        5. Select a region of interest by multiplying the transformed data by a windowing function;        6. Fourier transform again, converting back into the echo domain;        7. Display the result as the magnitude of the resulting derived spectrum treating it as a measure of frequency content.
While the approach in the '720 patent provides insight into underlying structure, particularly for biological samples, it is limited due to being non-linear and restricted to the use of the nonlinear magnitude function and two Fourier transforms.
Other prior art methods based on magnetic resonance for analyzing fine textures are similar to that of the '720 patent in that they also are nonlinear as a result of taking the magnitude to generate a signal intensity vs. location. They differ from the '720 patent in that they are based on the analysis of magnetic resonance image data rather than a one dimensional signal intensity. In general the steps used by these methods are as follows:                1. Receive a multiplicity of echoes (as a result of a 2D or 3D magnetic resonance acquisition sequence),        2. Fourier transform and then take the magnitude of the echoes to convert them into a signal intensity versus position (i.e., create an image or a set of images),        3. Select a region of interest by multiplying the transformed data by a windowing function (wherein the shape and the width have been carefully chosen to optimize the signal extraction without introducing truncation artifacts, and to minimize the decrease in spectral resolution),        4. Use a Fourier or other transform again to convert back into the echo domain which is a measure of frequency content,        5. Display the result as the magnitude of the resulting derived spectra.

Localised one-dimensional magnetic resonance spatial-frequency spectroscopy


A combination table easel, slant board and clipboard is provided. A body having a front surface for holding working papers and the like is pivotally connected to first and second support members. The second support member may be connected to the body in at least three different angular relationships to form either a table easel, slat board or clipboard. Velcro fasteners are the preferred type of fastener. The apparatus is easily stored, shipped and handled in its clipboard configuration.

The present invention relates generally to table easels, slant boards and clipboards. More particularly, the present invention provides a combination table easel, slant board and clipboard. The present invention may be packaged and/or stored as a clipboard and may be readily adjusted to form a table easel or slant board.
The prior art includes a variety of table easels and slant boards. For example, the Herrera U.S. design patent 399,368 dated Oct. 13, 1998 teaches a book holder including a triangular support which includes means for adjusting the angle of the book support itself. Although this patent teaches one form of table easel, the patent does not teach a table easel readily adjustable to form a slant board or a clipboard.
The prior art also includes the Jacobson U.S. Pat. No. 4,105,182 dated Aug. 8, 1978, which teaches a collapsible and portable bookstand. However, this patent does not teach or suggest an adjustable apparatus which can also be used as a slant board and/or clipboard.
The Teague U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,919 dated May 26, 1987 teaches an apparatus for supporting a clipboard at different angles. However, this device is rather complex in that it includes a supporting base having slots at various angles into which the base of the clipboard is inserted.
The present invention contrasts with the above-identified prior art in that it provides a relatively simple and easily manufactured, shipped and stored device which can readily be adjusted to form a table easel, a slant board or clipboard. The present invention uses in its preferred form Velcro connectors which allow the device to be readily adjusted into one of its three configurations and readily detached from that configuration and adjusted to one of its other end uses.
A primary object of the invention is to provide a combination table easel, slant board and clipboard which is readily adjusted from one configuration to another.
A further object of the invention is to provide a combination table easel, slant board and clipboard having a clipboard configuration which facilitates storage, shipping and handling.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a combination table easel, slant board and clipboard having predetermined discrete angular relationships between the major components of the apparatus, whereby predetermined support angles are provided.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide in an alternate embodiment an infinite number of angular relationships between the components of the device so that the user can provide a support angle of his or her choice.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and drawings wherein:

Combination table easel, slant board and clipboard


The present disclosure relates to a process for the purification of water. The process includes leading water laden with microorganisms and arsenic through an arsenic adsorption media followed by treating the resultant arsenic deficient water with a disinfectant releasing system to obtain water deficient of arsenic and viable microorganisms. The present disclosure also provides an apparatus for the purification of water using the afore-stated process.

Water available from various sources is often contaminated with suspended solids, microorganisms and toxic chemicals. Consumption of water contaminated with microbial contaminants such as bacteria, viruses and cysts is one of the major causes of various water-borne diseases such as cholera, typhoid and diarrhea. Similarly, consumption of water contaminated with toxic chemicals such as arsenic causes various health hazards such as hyperkeratosis of the hands and palms, black-foot disease and skin, lung, liver, bladder and kidney cancer. Significantly, arsenic has been identified as one of the major water contaminants across the world by countries such as Bangladesh, India, United States of America, South America, China, Taiwan and Thailand. It is estimated that worldwide about 137 million people are exposed to arsenic and subsequently its toxicity. West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are the Indian states having a very high exposure to arsenic induced toxicity and associated health concerns.
This problem is more aggravated in developing countries where most of the population lives in rural areas and is deprived of purified and safe drinking water. In order to avoid such health hazards caused due to microbial and arsenic contamination, water used for drinking and cooking purposes should be made free from these contaminants.
Different interventions have been adopted in the state of the art, which include centralized water treatment plants, community water treatment units and point-of-use (POU) treatment units. However, these state of the art methods are associated with various disadvantages which are described herein below:                a) Centralized water treatment plants require large capital and involve large operating costs. Hence, these methods are available only in urban areas and are not feasible for deployment in remote rural areas.        b) Community treatment units are also not feasible for long term deployment, since these units demand high maintenance and skilled manpower.        c) The point of use (POU) purifiers based on chemical disinfection, ultraviolet radiation treatment and membrane filtration are able to inactivate or remove microbial contaminants but are not effective in reducing arsenic contamination in water.        d) These POU purifiers are priced by targeting relatively affluent urban buyers and are not affordable to most low-income and rural households.        e) The POU purifiers that are based on reverse osmosis technology are expensive and require continuous supply of piped water and electricity for their operation, and are thus, beyond the reach of rural population.        f) The state of the art methods involve the use of continuous supply of water.        g) The state of the art methods involve the use of electricity.        h) The state of the art methods require skilled manpower.
It is evident that the state of the art processes are inappropriate for widespread use in a majority of developing countries since these processes are expensive and require continuous supply of water. Further, these processes are not able to simultaneously reduce arsenic and microbial contamination in water. Still further, these processes require electricity and skilled manpower for their proper functioning.

Process and apparatus for purification of water


A device intercepts a request from a requesting device, and the request includes a network address or a universal resource locator (URL) for content. The device determines whether special handling is applicable when forwarding the content to the requesting device. The device establishes a session between the content device and the requesting device, and the session exchanges data via a pathway that includes a proxy. The proxy identifies data, including the requested content, exchanged in the session and determines whether the special handling was used when forwarding the data. The proxy forwards reporting data identifying the exchanged data and indicating whether the special handling was used when exchanging the data through the session.

A user device, such as a computer or smart phone, may access various content (e.g., a webpage, multimedia content, programs, services, etc.) through a service network. In some instances, the service network may provide special handling of certain content from a content provider, such as an operator of a web page or web service. In one example, the service network may transmit certain content to the user device using a specialized path that provides certain performance attributes (e.g., certain levels of bandwidth, delay, jitter, packet losses, etc.). In another example, the service network may transmit certain content to the user device using a different protocol, priority (e.g., a quality of service value), and/or access fees relative to other data available from the content provider. For instance, access by the user device to wireless communication networks and data services typically involves some form of payment made to the network provider, but in some instances, a third party (e.g., the content provider) may sponsor a user's data consumption in order to entice user engagement. However, because the service network and the content provider are separate entities, the content provider may not easily verify that the service network does, in fact, provide special (e.g., sponsored) handling of certain, designated content and forward other, non-designated content without special handling.

Proxy for monitoring special handling of content within a service network


A gravity and inertia responsive latch mechanism for accommodating pivotal forward tilting of a vehicle seat back to permit ingress and egress of back seat passengers when the vehicle is stationary without requiring manual release and for automatically preventing forward tilting of the seat back under sudden deceleration such as incident to a front end collision. A spring detent cooperates to resist initial forward tilting of the seat back rendering the inertia latch more dependable under marginal and unusual conditions of operation.

A number of inertia latch mechanisms have been devised for preventing forward tilting of the front seat back rest under sudden deceleration conditions, such as incident to front end collisions, while permitting such forward tilting to accommodate rear passenger ingress and egress without the inconvenience of actuating a manual release mechanism. Examples of known prior inertia latch constructions include the following issued U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,873,794, 4,082,353, 4,103,967, 3,674,309, 4,010,979 and 4,118,067. Another known prior inertia latch mechanism is disclosed in co-pending U.S. Application Ser. No. 931,306 filed by Wolfgang Osterhold.
Various problems and limitations have been encountered in prior constructions which the present improvement is directed to overcome. For example, with prior constructions undesired disabling of the inertia latch may occur when packages loaded in the back seat compartment press against and displace seat back slightly from full back position to a point where inertia incident to sudden deceleration would be inoperative to engage the latch; when the inertia element is mounted on the seat back hinge member, sudden forward tilting movement of the seat back, as by a rear seat passenger bracing himself in anticipation of an accident, may disable the inertia element from operating effectively upon impact deceleration; likewise even when the inertia element is mounted on the seat hinge member, if it is provided with a normally open or unlatched condition which requires deceleration inertia to move it into a latched position, a rapid forward tilting movement as caused by bracing of a rear seat passenger anticipating an accident may disable the inertia latch before impact deceleration has an opportunity to effectively actuate the latch mechanism. Furthermore, if the latch is not actuated by each forward tilting movement of the seat back and is only actuated by inertia upon sudden deceleration, friction build-up by dirt accumulation or otherwise may prevent or delay actuation when needed.


The invention claims a device for facilitating the effective cleaning of grill grates by taking the exact shape of the grill grate itself. This is possible doe to a large number of small diameter pins that move independently of each other. When pressed against the grill grate the pins m contact with the grate itself will be displaced upward and the pins in between the grates will move downward. This movement allows the device to take the exact shape of each individual grate. When the device takes the shape of the grate it can easily be locked in place allowing effective scraping of the grates. When finished scraping one particular size and shape grate the device can easily be unlocked and placed on a flat surface to even out the pins, then placed on another grate of a completely different shape and size, pressed down, have it take the exact shape, lock in place and effectively scrape this grate. This can be repeated over and over for most any shape or size grill grate.

Backyard grilling has become very common throughout the world and keeping the grate clean is important. There are many grill grate cleaning devices available to the backyard griller and most of them do a pretty good job. One common grid grate cleaning device is a wire brush. This device can be a health hazard if the small wires break loose from the device and get deposited on the grate itself. These small wires can get picked up and stuck on the food that is being grilled, completely undetected. Because the wires are stuck on the food and undetected they are easily ingested and can become a health hazard. There are many documented cases of ingestion and illness due to this.
This device that is the subject of this invention helps to eliminate this problem by having larger, stiffer pins taking the exact shape of the grill and lock in place. The wire brush relies on the small diameter wires radically bending to take die shape of the grate. The individual wires become work hardened and brittle because of the back and forth motion of cleaning. The wires become brittle and break loose getting deposited on the grill grate. Because they are small, they go undetected.
Since the invented device's pins are of a larger diameter than a wire brash and do not bend during the scraping/cleaning process, it is not likely that they will break off and go undetected.
Existing methods of scraping/cleaning grill grates using either adjustable or formable scrapers are:
Grill Rack Cleaning Device: that is laterally adjustable, using tools to loosen and tighten individual friction locks. The clips are a predetermined shape that must be installed individually. They will clean a particular grill grate shape, but will not take the exact shape of a multitude of grill grates without the use of tools.
Adjustable Grill Scraper: that can be adjusted laterally with the use of tools to loosen and tighten individual friction locks for each grate. These are designed to clean grates that have different spacing however; there is no natural conformity to the grill grate for intimate cleaning of a variety of shapes and sixes of grill grate.
Heat Responsive Wood Scraper: that will take the shape of the grill grate. This method requires "burning" the shape of the grill grate into the end of the wood scraper by heating the grill to high heat and scraping the end of the paddle on the hot grill grates until the shape is worn in. This scraper will take the shape of the grate but is only good for that particular grate.
The inventor is not aware of any prior grill scraper/cleaner that uses something similar to the subject of this application.
There are multiple variations of the three approaches discussed above. Representative prior art is cited as Lann 708,611,7 (Cylindrical Clip), Hall 572,007,1 Rood 525,540,6 (Adjustable Grill Scraper), Thompson 874,106,8 (Meat Responsive Wood Scraper).

Device for facilitating grill grate cleaning


A shower curtain rod assembly including a shower curtain rod, a mount for mounting the shower curtain road on a first end thereof, and a moveable mount for mounting the shower curtain rod on a second end thereof. The shower curtain is moveable from a first position to a second position to increase the volume of space enclosed by the shower curtain.

In the construction of most bathrooms, it is common to position a shower nozzle mounted on the wall in an enclosure above a bath tub to thereby provide the option of a shower for the resident using the bathroom facility. In defining such enclosures, splashing water out of the enclosure is limited by the use of a sliding door, typically a translucent plastic or shatter proof glass, or more conveniently, a shower curtain. The shower curtain is ordinarily constructed and arranged to drape loosely from a set of eyelets or curtain rings which slide along the curtain rod. A set of such rings is normally mounted slidably on the shower curtain rod which is positioned normally at the height of the sprinkler head or other nozzle. The shower curtain is draped in the bath tub below so that water is not splashed out of the bath tub. Because the bath tub is below the shower nozzle, the bath tub functions to collect water which drains from the bath tub during the shower.
Many bath tubs, indeed most bath tubs, are constructed with a straight exposed side. Straight side bath tubs are constructed so that they can be positioned immediately below a straight shower rod. In the use of a straight shower rod, the drape of the shower curtain is fairly well defined by the support provided overhead by the shower rod. Since the shower rod is straight, the bath tub itself defines a companion or parallel, perhaps slightly inset, opening where the loosely hanging shower curtain can be directed. In that event, the shower curtain is positioned so that all of the splashed water is maintained in the bath tub. In a rectangular bath tub, this is accomplished through the use of a straight shower curtain rod. A straight shower curtain rod is typically provided with a central straight portion having a length approximately equal to that of the bath tub and which also includes offset end rod portions which enable connection with the tile wall which surrounds the bath tub. In that construction, the bath tub is positioned below the rod so that the shower curtain can drape in the tub. Straight shower curtain rods typically have a straight length portion with end portions which approximately conforms to the length or profile of the bath tub when viewed from above.
While functional, and even generally effective, straight shower curtain rods have the significant drawback of limiting the space available inside the shower. Particularly for larger persons or for those who prefer to have more space available to them in the shower, the relatively narrow width of the bathtub does not provide enough room for them to shower comfortably. To address this point one approach has been to form curved shower curtain rods. The curvature of the shower curtain rod increases the volume of space available to a user behind the shower curtain. But these too have the drawback of significantly reducing the amount of space in the bathroom outside of the shower. Further, for many applications, particularly with essentially square bathtubs, the curved shower rods are unsightly and the shower curtains do not hang from them in an aesthetically pleasing manner.
The present invention endeavors to overcome the problems of the prior art and provide shower curtain rod which is extendable in an outward direction from the bathtub to create more space when in use, but which may be returned to the retracted position when not in use.


Sound emitter comprising a circuit generating an electrical signal at high frequency and high voltage, which is modulated by a low frequency signal which is to be transformed into sound waves, and which is applied to a corona-effect transducer at the input of an exponential horn.. Transducer appears in the form of a cylindrical cartridge which is mounted slidably in a passage in the housing of the emitter, and one end of which is engaged in an accommodation provided at the input of the horn, while its other end projects beyond the outer end of passage; the discharge electrode has a cylindrical contact part which is exposed in an intermediate zone of the transducer, between the accommodation and the inner end of the passage; a metal contact member is electrically connected to the output of the generating circuit and is in sliding contact with the contact part of electrode; a metal plug is fixed detachably at the outer end of said passage and holds the transducer in place axially.

The present invention relates to a sound emitter of the type comprising a metal chassis supporting a circuit generating an electrical signal at high frequency and high voltage, which is modiated by a signal at lower frequency that is to be transformed into sound waves, a metal housing fixed detachably to the chassis and forming with the latter a completely closed shielding that encloses the said generating circuit, a metal horn of exponential form which extends into the interior of the metal housing, and of which the output end through an opening in the housing, and a corona-effect transducer containing a tube made of an electrically insulating material resistant to high temperature, which is mounted at the input to the exponential horn and in the bore of which there extends a discharge electrode electrically connected to the output of the said generating circuit and having a tip disposed in proximity to the input end of the horn.
Sound emitters of the above-indicated type, using a modulated corona discharge to cause the ambient air to vibrate and obtain sounds of remarkable purity, are known as "IONOPHONES" and are described, in particular, in French Pat. No. 1,041,790 and the certificates of addition attached thereto of the Applicant.
In known sound emitters of the above type, the tip of the discharge electrode, and the adjacent components, are exposed to a high temperature while in operation, so that these components end up by becoming deteriorated in the long run. In practice it is necessary to replace the corona-effect transducer or at least a part of the latter approximately every two thousand hours. Nevertheless, in known sound emitters of the above type, the replacement of the worn corona-effect transducer by a new transducer, was a relatively complicated operation that had to be done by a specialist, because of the very method of construction of the corona-effect transducer and its method of installation in the emitter. Furthermore, for a given HF power, known transducers have a relatively low efficiency.


The present invention relates to earphone arrangements configured to accommodate an acoustically-resistant couple within the compact dimensions of ear-bud type earphones, and aims to incorporate a front volume to rear volume acoustic couple into an earphone without requiring significant addition to the lateral dimensions of the earphone. The earphone has an elongate sound outlet port that locates into a listener's ear canal and bears an internal support surface which is apertured and communicates with the outlet port. A microspeaker is supported on the support surface and projects sound through the aperture and toward the outlet port. Furthermore, the housing includes a front cavity in front of the microspeaker and in communication with the outlet port, and a rear cavity behind the microspeaker. The support surface bears a recess that communicates with the front cavity, and an acoustic resistor is accommodated in the recess.

Acoustically-resistant couples play a significant role in determining and adjusting the acoustic characteristics and performance of earphones, especially when a particular frequency response characteristic is required. This is especially the case in the design of earphones which feature electronic ambient noise-cancellation (ANC) technology, and specifically to those utilising "ear-bud" type thin rubber flanges that seal the outlet conduit of the earphone into the entrance of the listener's ear-canal. Such earphones are sometimes referred to as "in-ear" earphones, or "ear-bud type" earphones, and they are now widely used for portable communications and entertainment applications whilst the listener is travelling, including listening to music and, in conjunction with cellular telephone handsets, for hands-free calls and conversations.
Although the thin rubber ear-bud flanges might appear to effectively "seal" the earphone assembly into the listener's ear-canal, an earphone thus positioned and located does not provide an effective acoustic seal between the listener's ear canal and the ambient environment, because low-frequency sound vibrations can still pass through the rubber flanges themselves. In addition, as already mentioned, and as disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,177, acoustically-resistant couples are often incorporated into acoustic coupling pathways that are provided in earphone structures so as to adjust the acoustic performance for a desired frequency response at the listener's ear, and such pathways allow external sound energy to be transmitted directly through the actual structure of the earphone and into the ear-canal. Acoustic coupling pathways are often implemented as small apertures, with acoustical resistance provided by an acoustically resistive mesh material overlying an aperture. Such pathways are usually situated to provide an acoustic connection either between the outer ambient air and the internal space situated at the front surface of an internal microspeaker (or in the space behind it), or between these two internal spaces themselves, or some combination thereof, and these pathways contribute to the complexity of the acoustic structure of the earphone.
The general structure of a prior-art ear-bud type earphone 10 is shown in FIG. 1, in which a microspeaker 12 is sealed into a central substrate 14, which, in turn, is sealed to both a front housing 16 and a rear housing 18. The front housing 16 includes an elongate outlet port comprising an inner opening 20 coupled to an in-ear extension piece 22 on to which a rubber ear-bud flange 24 is affixed, and the rear housing 18 often is formed with one or more rear vents, such as 26, linking the rear of the microspeaker 12 to the external ambient. It is convenient to refer to the volume of air in the front housing 16, lying between the front of the microspeaker 12 and the inner opening 20 of the outlet port, as the "front volume" 28, and to the volume of enclosed air lying in the rear housing 18 behind the microspeaker 12 as the "rear volume" 30. The rear housing 18 is also used to carry and locate the electrical flex connections to and from the microspeaker 12, though these are not shown, for reasons of clarity.
As already mentioned, it is usual to provide the earphone 10 with one or more vents or acoustically-resistant couples, such as that shown at 32, in order to modify the frequency response to provide, for example, high-quality sound reproduction. Such couples usually include acoustic resistors, formed by sealing a thin, acoustically resistant nylon mesh (or similar) over a small diameter (<1 mm), short length (<1 mm) aperture in the housing. This is often done by means of small, double-sided adhesive tape discs, as illustrated in FIG. 2, which shows an acoustic resistor 32, comprising a nylon mesh disc 34 mounted on to an adhesive disc 36 in which there is a central aperture 38 defining the active area of the acoustic resistor 32.
Typically, the disc 34/36 has an outer diameter of 3 mm, and a central aperture of 1 mm. It is beneficial to deploy such a resistance either between the front volume 28 and the ambient, as shown in FIG. 1, or between the front and rear volumes 28, 30. This expedient provides an additional benefit, in preventing a total hermetic seal of the earphone in the ear of the user, which could otherwise cause an unpleasant "blocked ear" feeling in use.
Further, the provision of a pathway between the ear-canal and the ambient (either directly or via the rear volume 30) allows air to escape from the ear-canal when the ear-bud 10 is inserted. This prevents damage to the microspeaker 12 as, without such a pathway, the air in the canal and front volume 28 would be momentarily compressed, and this could force the diaphragm of the microspeaker 12 beyond its mechanical limits, potentially buckling the diaphragm and causing permanent damage.
In practise, only one of these acoustic couples is required to avoid the above problems: either a front volume-to-ambient couple, or a front volume to rear volume couple (assuming that the rear volume itself is also vented). The present invention utilises an acoustic couple between the front volume and the rear volume.
When it is required to implement a front volume to rear volume acoustic couple, such as in the acoustic module design disclosed in GB-A-2,475,526, it is convenient to position the elements of the acoustic couple directly adjacent to the microspeaker 12. This is illustrated in FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b), in which features corresponding to those already described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 are identified by the same reference numbers. FIG. 3 shows only part of an earphone 40, comprising a front housing 16 and its contents, but it will be appreciated that a rear housing, such as that shown at 18 in FIG. 1, would be attached to the front housing 16 to form an enclosed unit defining a vented rear volume, such as that shown at 26, 30 in FIG. 1.
In FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b), the front housing 16 of an earphone shown in part at 40 includes an acoustic resistor 42 mounted over an aperture 44 formed in the substrate 14, beside the aperture provided for the microspeaker 12, thereby providing an acoustic leakage path, via the resistor 42, between the front volume 28 and the rear volume (not shown in FIG. 3) of air in the earphone. However, this layout increases the lateral dimensions of the earphone 40 significantly beyond those needed to accommodate the microspeaker 12, as is clear from the drawing. In addition to the area of the acoustic resistor 42, which may typically have a diameter of around 3 mm, it is necessary to allow for manufacturing clearances around the edges of the individual components, and consequently the overall lateral dimensions of an earphone such as 40 are considerably larger than those of an earphone such as that shown at 10 in FIG. 1.
It is one object of the present invention to provide an earphone which incorporates a front volume to rear volume acoustic couple, without requiring significant addition to the lateral dimensions of the earphone.


An intervertebral spacer adapted for implanting between adjacent vertebral bodies of a human spine as a load-bearing replacement for a spinal disc. The spacing member includes an external, non-porous, concavo-convex contour with respect to one dimension of said spacing member. The spacing member is preferably constructed from a rigid, non-resilient load-bearing material that is incapable of elastic deformation. The spacing member is inserted with the aid of a sheathed trocar device that is releasably attached to the spacer, to enable implantation and selective positioning of the spacer by the surgeon from the posterior side of the spine, without the need to retract the dural nerve or the posterior longitudinal ligament.

Not Applicable.
Not Applicable.
1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an intervertebral spacer, and more particularly, but not necessarily entirely, to a interbody spacing system for accomplishing enhanced intervertebral fusion between adjacent vertebral bodies of a human spine.
2. Description of Related Art
The human spine is a complex, sophisticated mechanical system. The vertebrate spine operates as a structural member, providing structural support for the other body parts. A normal human spine is segmented with seven cervical, twelve thoracic and five lumbar segments. The lumbar portion of the spine resides on the sacrum, which is attached to the pelvis. The pelvis is supported by the hips and leg bones. The bony vertebral bodies of the spine are separated by intervertebral discs, which reside sandwiched between the vertebral bodies and operate as joints allowing known degrees of flexion, extension, lateral bending and axial rotation.
The intervertebral disc primarily serves as a mechanical cushion between adjacent vertebral bodies, and permits controlled motions within vertebral segments of the axial skeleton. The disc is-a multi-element system, having three basic components: the nucleus pulposus (xe2x80x9cnucleusxe2x80x9d), the anulus fibrosus (xe2x80x9canulusxe2x80x9d) and two vertebral end plates. The end plates are made of thin cartilage overlying a thin layer of hard, cortical bone that attaches to the spongy, richly vascular, cancellous bone of the vertebral body. The plates thereby operate to attach adjacent vertebrae to the disc. In other words, a transitional zone is created by the end plates between the malleable disc and the bony vertebrae.
The anulus of the disc forms the disc perimeter, and is a tough, outer fibrous ring that binds adjacent vertebrae together. The fiber layers of the anulus include fifteen to twenty overlapping plies, which are inserted into the superior and inferior vertebral bodies at roughly a 40 degree angle in both directions. This causes bi-directional torsional resistance, as about half of the angulated fibers will tighten when the vertebrae rotate in either direction.
It is common practice to remove a spinal disc in cases of spinal disc deterioration, disease or spinal injury. The discs sometimes become diseased or damaged such that the intervertebral separation is reduced. Such events cause the height of the disc nucleus to decrease, which in turn causes the anulus to buckle in areas where the laminated plies are loosely bonded. As the overlapping laminated plies of the anulus begin to buckle and separate, either circumferential or radial anular tears may occur. Such disruption to the natural intervertebral separation produces pain, which can be alleviated by removal of the disc and maintenance of the natural separation distance. In cases of chronic back pain resulting from a degenerated or herniated disc, removal of the disc becomes medically necessary.
In some cases, the damaged disc may be replaced with a disc prosthesis intended to duplicate the function of the natural spinal disc. U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,477 (granted Sep. 5, 1989 to Monson) discloses a resilient spinal disc prosthesis intended to replace the resiliency of a natural human spinal disc. U.S. Pat. No. 5,192,326 (granted Mar. 9, 1993 to Bao et al.) teaches a prosthetic nucleus for replacing just the nucleus portion of a human spinal disc.
In other cases it is desired to fuse the adjacent vertebrae together after removal of the disc, sometimes referred to as xe2x80x9cintervertebral fusionxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cinterbody fusion.xe2x80x9d
In cases of intervertebral fusion, it is known to position a spacer centrally within the space where the spinal disc once resided, or to position multiple spacers within that space. Such practices are characterized by certain disadvantages, including a disruption in the natural curvature of the spine. For example, the vertebrae in the lower xe2x80x9clumbarxe2x80x9d region of the spine reside in an arch referred to in the medical field as having a sagittal alignment. The sagittal alignment is compromised when adjacent vertebral bodies that were once angled toward each other on their posterior side become fused in a different, less angled orientation relative to one another.
Another disadvantage of known spacing techniques and intervertebral spacers are the additional surgical complications that arise in the use of multiple spacers in a single disc space. In such cases, surgeons will often first perform a posterior surgery to remove the affected disc and affix posterior instrumentation to the posterior side of the vertebrae to hold the posterior portions of the vertebrae in a desired position. Placement of the multiple spacers is often too difficult to accomplish from the posterior side of the patient, at least without causing with undue trauma to the patient, because a surgeon would need to retract the dura nerve as well as the anterior longitudinal ligament, thereby increasing damage, pain and morbidity to the patient. Surgeons have therefore often chosen to turn the patient over after completing the posterior surgical portion, to perform an anterior operative procedure, through the patient""s belly, in order to insert multiple spacers between the vertebrae from the anterior side instead of from the posterior side.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,961,554 (granted Oct. 5, 1999 to Janson et al.) illustrates a spacer having a high degree of porosity throughout, for enhanced tissue ingrowth characteristics. This patent does not address the problem of compromising the sagittal alignment, or of increased pain and trauma to the patient by implantation of multiple spacers in a single disk space.
The prior art is thus characterized by several disadvantages that are addressed by the present invention. The present invention minimizes, and in some aspects eliminates, the above-mentioned failures, and other problems, by utilizing the methods and structural features described herein.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an intervertebral spacing system that does not require an additional, anterior surgical procedure.
It is another object of the present invention, in accordance with one aspect thereof, to provide such an intervertebral spacing system by which sagittal alignment of the spine is restored.
It is a further object of the present invention, in accordance with one aspect thereof, to provide such an intervertebral spacing system that can accommodate a larger host-graft interface between adjacent vertebral bodies.
It is an additional object of the present invention, in accordance with one aspect thereof, to provide such an intervertebral spacing system in which bone grafting material is loaded in compression between adjacent vertebral bodies of the spine.
It is yet another object of the present invention, in accordance with one aspect thereof, to provide such an intervertebral spacing system that does not require retraction of the dural nerve, or of the anterior or posterior longitudinal ligaments, for implantation of the spacer.
The above objects and others not specifically recited are realized in a specific illustrative embodiment of an intervertebral spacer adapted for implanting between adjacent vertebral bodies of a human spine as a load-bearing replacement for a spinal disc. The spacing member includes an external, non-porous, concavo-convex contour with respect to one dimension of said spacing member. The spacing member is preferably constructed from a rigid, non-resilient load-bearing material that is incapable of elastic deformation. The spacing member is inserted with the aid of a sheathed trocar device that is releasably attached to the spacer, to enable implantation and selective positioning of the spacer by the surgeon from the posterior side of the spine, without the need to retract the dural nerve or the posterior longitudinal ligament.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the invention without undue experimentation. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.


A lead frame includes an outer frame. The outer frame includes: one surface; another surface that is opposite to the one surface; a side surface between the one surface and the other surface; a recess that is formed to extend from the one surface to the side surface; and a notch step portion that is formed to extend from the other surface to the side surface.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a lead frame.
2. Background Art
In the background art, there are lead frames for mounting electronic components such as semiconductor chips thereon. In such a lead frame, a semiconductor chip which has been mounted on a die pad are connected to ambient leads by wires, and the semiconductor chip and the wires are sealed with a sealing resin (e.g. see JP-A-2004-319816 and JP-A-2013-58693).
As will be described in an undermentioned preliminary matter, when the lead frame provided with an outer frame shaped to have long sides is stored in a frame stocker, there is a problem that right-angled portions of long side surfaces of the outer frame may contact and rub inner walls of the frame stocker to thereby cause occurrence of burrs.


A method, for the conveyance of molten metal from one place to another, in a high-temperature molten metal pool in a metal-melting furnace or out of said molten metal pool, employing an at least partially-inclined elongated conveying conduit and gas feed means for feeding inert gas into the lower end of the conveying conduit and thereby inducing a flow of molten metal in and through said conveying conduit, is disclosed, along with suitable apparatus for carrying out the said method wherein the parts or elements coming into contact with the high-temperature molten metal pool are of a suitable refractory material. According to the present invention, the inert gas is fed into the conveying conduit at a supersonic velocity, thereby simultaneously effecting a degassing of the molten metal while it is being conveyed.

1. Field of the Invention
Movement of molten metal in a mass or pool of molten metal in a metal-melting furnace, establishing and maintaining efficient circulation of molten metal therein, movement of said molten metal from a hotter area to a colder area and thereby enhancing the efficient melting of metal chips in the molten metal mass or pool.
According to the present invention, the conveyance of the molten metal is effected with simultaneous degassing of the melt by virtue of the introduction of the inert gas into the molten metal mass at a supersonic velocity through one or more nozzles or exit ports as will be further explained hereinafter.
2. Prior Art
For the efficient melting of metal chips, especially scrap metal chips, particularly brass, aluminum, magnesium, titanium, and alloys thereof, by introduction of the same into a pool or mass of molten metal, usually the metal of which they are formed or an alloy thereof, as in the feed or charge well of a metal-melting furnace, e.g., a reverberatory furnace or the like, it is not only desirable but necessary to circulate molten metal from the hottest area of the metal-melting furnace, that is, the main chamber thereof, out into side chambers or wells, and especially into the feed or charge well, on a continuous basis. According to present practice of the art, a molten metal circulating pump, fabricated at least partially of graphite, is the means of choice. Such a pump comprises a submerged discharge scroll which houses an impeller mounted on a vertical shaft which rides in silicon carbide bearings. The shaft, upon which the pump impeller is mounted, is driven by an air or electric motor located atop the pump several feet above the molten metal bath or pool. An alternate use for the same type of pump is to elevate molten metal above the level of the molten metal bath or pool for transfer into other containers, such as a refractory-lined ladle or into a trough which is covered and sometimes heated, referred to in the trade as a "launder". Such a device is also employed to transfer molten metal from one furnace to another. Inasmuch as graphite is refractory, i.e., heat-stable and resistant to attack by most metal alloys as well as characterized by good non-wetting characteristics, such graphite metal circulating pumps have broad acceptance in the metal melting and reclaiming industry. However, due to the fragile nature of the graphite parts, the close tolerance of the pump parts, and the frequent requirement of pulling the pump for cleaning, the wear and breakage expenses account for very high maintenance costs, which on an annual basis often exceed twice the initial cost of the pump. Accordingly, the search for improvements in the molten metal circulating pump design and in general for some means of transporting or conveying molten metal from one place to another, especially in a molten metal bath or pool in a metal-melting furnace, has had high priority. Despite the efforts to date, no effective means or method for moving or conveying molten metal from one place to another, especially in a molten metal bath or pool in a metal-melting furnace, have been devised, despite a long-standing need for the same in the industry.
Moreover, in order to produce acceptable quality metal, e.g., aluminum, from remelted scrap, it is necessary to control the percentage of hydrogen gas in the alloy. Current practice uses a rapidly-turning rotor to disperse an inert gas, e.g., nitrogen gas, which is piped to the device rotating in the metal. The inert gas, e.g., nitrogen, gas bubbles help to remove hydrogen from the molten metal. Another method currently used is to bubble an inert gas, e.g., nitrogen, into a ladle filled with molten metal. The use of a spinning gas dispersal rotor is an improvement upon the simple bubble tube or lance. The disadvantage of the dispersal rotor is that the rotor will erode while in contact with the molten metal, and the small dispersing apertures will clog. The present invention, wherein molten metal is conveyed from one place to another in a metal-melting furnace with simultaneous degassing of the melt, represents a considerably advantageous improvement in the degassing art as well.

Molten metal conveying means and method of conveying molten metal from one place to another in a metal-melting furnace with simultaneous degassing of the melt


A marine vessel waste treatment system includes a tank for receiving successive charges of liquid and solid waste material. A water conduit conducts heated water from the vessel's engine through the tank to heat the contents thereof above the level at which coliform bacteria can survive, thereby reducing the count of such bacteria to a level at which it is safe and acceptable to discharge the material into a waterway. A macerator pump is mounted in the tank for operation only after the temperature within the tank is sufficiently high. An electrically operated heating element is also mounted in the tank to accelerate the treatment of waste and can be used alone when desired. A thermal switch at the waste material input inhibits discharge if a fresh charge of material is received when the system is ready to discharge, thereby preventing discharge into the environment of untreated material.

In recent years, increased environmental awareness has caused the practice of dumping untreated sewage, especially from marine vessels, into rivers, lakes and oceans to be outlawed with the goal of ending, or at least reducing, such practices. Regulations applicable to marine vessels operated in U.S. waters require that all vessels equipped with toilet facilities be equipped with an approved form of marine sanitation device (MSD) which can either hold the sewage until it can be discharged safely into a shore-side sewage handling facility or can treat it so that it can be safely discharged overboard, 33 CFR Chapter 1, Part 159.
Generally speaking, sewage treatment equipment for applications of this type falls into three rather broad categories (disregarding those devices which merely hold untreated sewage for shore-side disposal). These categories are (a) incineration of the sewage, (b) chemical treatment of the sewage, and (c) heating of the sewage to a temperature level which accomplishes the desired disinfection but which falls somewhat short of incineration. Clearly, the ultimate objective is to reduce the biological activity of the material to a level such that its discharge into waterways is safe as determined by tests defined in the regulations.
Unfortunately, the available types of MSDs which are capable of satisfying the requirements of these regulations are very expensive to buy, either as retrofit equipment for existing vessels or as new equipment on a new vessel, and are also difficult to operate and maintain. In addition, these MSDs generally use chemicals which are themselves dangerous or they use large amounts of the vessel's limited supply of electrical power. For these reasons, it is believed that owners of vessels commonly circumvent the regulations by not using the required equipment with the unfortunate result that the waterway pollution continues.


The present disclosure relates to the technical field of degradation of persistent pollutants and discloses a method for efficiently degrading a perfluorinated compound (PFC), through which the problems of harsh reaction conditions and less high defluorination rate existing in prior-art methods for degrading PFCs are solved. In the present disclosure, a 3-indoleacetic acid (IAA) solution is irradiated with 254 nm UV light to generate hydrated electrons, with which the PFC are degraded by reduction under an aerobic condition, where an organo-modified montmorillonite is added to provide a reaction microzone, so the degradation and defluorination effects of the hydrated electrons for the PFC are greatly improved. The method for degrading a PFC according to the present disclosure is not affected by the pH of and the dissolved oxygen in the solution and less affected by the humic substances in a water body, thereby overcoming the defects in existing methods for degrading PFCs with hydrated electrons while the degradation efficiency is ensured. Therefore, the present disclosure is of great application value.

Due to the excellent thermal and chemical stability, PFCs are widely used in industrial production, for example, in the fields of polymer synthesis, papermaking, textiles, electroplating and fire retardants (Renner, R. Growing Concern over Perfluorinated Chemicals. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2001, 35, 154A-160A; Moody, C. A.; Field, J. A. Perfluorinated Surfactants and the Environmental Implications of Their Use in Fire-Fighting Foams. Environ. Sci. Technol., 2000, 34(18), 3864-3870; and Giesy, J. P.; Kannan, K. Perfluorochemical Surfactants in the Environment. Environ. Sci. Technol., 2002, 36(7), 146A-152A). With the increasing production and use, some PFCs, particularly perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) are extensively detected in the environment (water, soil, and dust), and even in the serum and breast milk of human at a high concentration (Giesy, J. P.; Kannan, K. Global distribution of perfluorooctane sulfonate in wildlife. Environ. Sci. Technol., 2001, 35(7), 1339-1342; A. Quantitative Characterization of Trace Levels of PFOS and PFOA in the Tennessee River. Environ. Sci. Technol., 2002, 36(4), 545-551; and Hansen, K. J.; Johnson, H. O.; Eldridge, J. S.; Butenhoff, J. L.; Dick, L. A. Exploring Indirect Sources of Human Exposure to Perfluoroalkyl Carboxylates (PFCAs): Evaluating Uptake, Elimination, and Biotransformation of Polyfluoroalkyl Phosphate Esters (PAPs) in the Rat. Environ Health Perspect., 2011, 119(3), 344-350). This class of substances is persistent pollutants. Research suggests that PFOA and PFOS can cause liver damage, and have genotoxicity, reproductive toxicity, and carcinogenicity. They can be enriched in the food chain, and pose a great threat to human and animal health (Midgette, K.; Peden-Adamsb, M. M.; Gilkesonc, G. S.; Kamenc, D. L. In vitro evaluation of the effects of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) on IL-2 production in human T-cells. J. Appl. Toxicol., 2015, 35, 459-465).
PFCs cannot be degraded by conventional chemical and biological treatment process due to the high C-F reduction potential (F+e−→F−, E0=3.6V) and the large bond energy (Vecitis, C. D.; Park, H.; Cheng, J.; Mader, B. T.; Hoffman, M. R. Treatment technologies for aqueous perfluoro octane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA). Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering in China. 2009, 3(2), 129-151). Researchers have proposed many methods for the degradation of PFCs such as electrochemical oxidation, ultrasonic degradation, photocatalytic oxidation, and reduction with hydrated electrons (Moriwaki, H.; Takagi, Y.; Tanaka, M.; Tsuruho, K.; Okitsu, K.; Maeda, Y. Sonochemical Decomposition of Perfluorooctane Sulfonate and Perfluorooctanoic Acid. Environ. Sci. Technol., 2005, 39(9), 3388-3392; Lin, H.; Niu, J. F.; Ding, S. Y.; Zhang, L. L. Electrochemical degradation of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) by Ti/SnO2—Sb, Ti/SnO2—Sb/PbO2 and Ti/SnO2—Sb/MnO2 anodes. Water. Research, 2012, 46(7), 2281-2289; Qu, Y., Zhang, C. J.; Li, F.; Chen, J.; Zhou, Q. Photo-reductive defluorination of perfluorooctanoic acid in water. Water. Research. 2010, 44(9), 2939-2947; and Song, Z.; Tang, H. Q.; Wang, N.; Zhu, L. H. Reductive defluorination of perfluorooctanoic acid by hydrated electrons in a sulfite-mediated UV photochemical system. Journal of Hazardous Materials. 2013, 262, 332-338). In these methods, electrochemical oxidation and reduction with hydrated electrons have a high application prospect. Studies show that the PFCs can be rapidly degraded and mineralized on the anode during degradation by electrochemical oxidation. However, the electrochemical process also suffers from notorious disadvantages, for example, short electrode life and the need for adding a high concentration of background electrolyte during the degradation process. The reduction with hydrated electrons has advantages of thorough degradation for PFCs and high defluorination rate. For example, Chinese Patent Application No. 200910051114.8 published on Nov. 17, 2010, discloses a method for degrading PFCs by defluorination through photoreduction, that is, a method for degrading PFCs by reduction with hydrated electrons produced from KI under irradiation. In the method, the PFCs are placed in a reaction vessel fitted with a UV lamp, then a reductive material is fed to the reaction vessel via a feed port, and the PFCs are degraded and defluorinated by reacting with the reductive material under UV irradiation. Under optimum conditions, the degradation rate for PFOA is nearly 100%, and the defluorination rate is 95% or higher. However, in the degradation of PFCs in this patent, an anaerobic condition is needed, and the reaction solution is required to be alkaline, which increases the treatment cost in effective pollution treatment and reduces the operability considerably. Therefore, there is a need for developing a method for efficiently degrading PFCs, which is convenient for use in practice.

Method of degrading perfluorinated compound


A process and apparatus for the combustion of liquid fuel provides an extremely intense blue/violet flame having a temperature in excess of 3000.degree. F. with combustion under near perfect stoichiometric conditions without the formation of soot. The liquid fuel is atomized and mixed with air within a nozzle and enters a flame tube surrounding the nozzle as a conical stream where it is further atomized by jets of air directed to converge on the stream and mixed with secondary combustion air to obtain the desired combustion mixture. Yet further atomization of the liquid fuel-air mixtures within the flame tube can be obtained as a consequence of at least partial vaporization of the liquid fuel therein through the heat of the flame tube. An advantageous relationship exists between the size, angle and point of convergence of the air jets with the atomized conical stream, the flame tube diameter and length and the location of the nozzle therein and the fuel feed.

The present invention relates to a process and apparatus for the combustion of liquid fuels, especially fuel oil Numbers 2 through 4. Further, the present invention relates more particularly to an oil atomizing burner that uses low pressure air as the primary and secondary atomizing medium.
There are known combustion processes and burners by which fuel oils are atomized with air. Prior art burners are not adapted to produce perfect or near perfect combustion. As a result, soot and carbon are formed which has a further detrimental effect on the burner operation as the soot and carbon contaminate the nozzle, combustion chamber and other heat-exchange surfaces. The present invention, by producing complete combustion, eliminates the formation of soot.
One of the more advanced designs for burners prior to the present invention is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,362,647 to Davis et al. That patent discloses a burner spray nozzle which utilizes fuel oil under pressure which is thereafter mixed with normally aspirated air. In the present invention, the atomized air is under pressure and the fuel is not. These are burners which do, however, utilize low pressure air for atomization purposes as well as to draw the fuel into the mixing chamber. Such a design is shown in Schreter et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,254,846. The Schreter patent does not utilize the construction of the present nozzle which has been designed to swirl the fuel-air mixture to increase the atomization process. Further Schreter does not disclose the use of a flame tube or secondary atomization which is utilized by the present invention. Another prior art construction which is of possible interest is disclosed by Graat, U.S. Pat. No. 3,870,456. This prior art reference does not disclose the present invention as it utilizes an entirely different nozzle structure wherein the fuel is under pressure. Further, the Graat reference does not disclose any secondary or tertiary atomization.
The burners disclosed in the above references are similarly deficient when contrasted to the present invention, that is, they do not produce an extremely intense, short-length flame. Further, the present invention is 30% to 40% more efficient than conventional burners. These advantages are the result of combining the flame or mixing tube with secondary and even tertiary atomization, to produce a violet flame with temperatures in excess of 3000.degree. F. without preheating air and/or fuel. Further, the temperature of the flame can be precisely controlled over a complete range while maintaining complete combustion.

Process and apparatus for stoichiometric combustion of fuel oil