Described herein are devices and methods for extracting cellular material from living cells and then depositing them into to a receptacle in a nanoliter scale. Using a nanopipette integrated into a scanning ion conductance microscope (SICM), extraction of mitochondrial DNA from human BJ fibroblasts and Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) transcripts from HeLa/GFP cells was achieved with minimal disruption to the cellular milieu and without chemical treatment prior to obtaining the isolated sample. Success of the extraction was confirmed by fluorescence microscopy and PCR analysis of the extracted material. The method and apparatus may be applied to many different cell types and intracellular targets, allowing not only single cell analysis, but single subcellular compartment analysis of materials extracted in their native state.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of nanodevices for single cell extraction of intracellular contents, specifically, mitochondrial DNA.
Related Art
Presented below is background information on certain aspects of the present invention as they may relate to technical features referred to in the detailed description, but not necessarily described in detail. That is, individual compositions or methods used in the present invention may be described in greater detail in the publications and patents discussed below, which may provide further guidance to those skilled in the art for making or using certain aspects of the present invention as claimed. The discussion below should not be construed as an admission as to the relevance or the prior art effect of the patents or publications described.
Physiological and pathological processes within the human body are controlled by complex cell-cell interactions within the context of a dynamic microenvironment. Biomolecular analysis of cells has been traditionally conducted under the assumption that cells of a clonal population behave identically. This assumption arose not from experimental evidence but from the lack of tools capable of analyzing individual cells. Furthermore, the ability to dynamically measure phenotypes (i.e. gene expression, protein activities, ion fluctuations, signaling) at the single cell level is key to understanding cellular behavior in a complex environment (1-4).
In 1990, James Eberwine's group isolated a single-cell in culture using a glass micropipette and demonstrated that RNA extracted from that cell could be amplified and analyzed (5). This experiment pioneered the field of single-cell biology and Eberwine's group successfully applied this technology towards understanding the molecular basis of neuronal functioning (6). In the last 20 years, biomolecular analysis leaped forward with the development of high-throughput sequencing which now allows researchers to obtain the collection of active genes in a cell in a single readout (7). The initial capture of the single cell, however, remains a major technical issue (1). Since Eberwine's success using a glass micropipette, scientists have used a variety of techniques to isolate single cells, from enzymatic digestion (which releases cells from tissues) to laser micro-dissection (which cuts out a homogeneous population of intact cells from tissue sections). However, these methods either cannot examine cells in their native environment, or as with the original micropipette, they are limited to probing isolated cells (8).
Nanodevices as Surgical Tools
Nanoscale devices are ideal single-cell surgical tools because of their potential for high spatial and temporal resolution studies (9-10). Recently two groups independently developed cellular nanoendoscopes for single cell analysis. Singhal et al. (11) attached a carbon nanotube at the very tip of a glass micropipette and showed its potential for interrogating cells, transporting fluids and performing optical and electrochemical diagnostics down to the single organelle level. Similarly Yan et al. (12) developed a nanowire waveguide attached to the tip of an optical fiber which can both guide visible light into intracellular compartments of a living mammalian cell and detect optical signals from sub-cellular regions. The cylindrical shape of these nanoendoscopes allows the probing of organelles deep inside the cell but these technologies lack any automation capability; these endoscopes are manually positioned in the cell, not allowing the study of those complex biological problems that require analysis of a large number of samples.
Integration of these nanoendoscopes with scanning probe techniques may overcome this limitation, potentially allowing automation and high-throughput analysis. In 2003, Osada and coworkers inserted atomic force microscope (AFM) tips into living cells to extract mRNAs (13). The mRNAs were analyzed with PCR techniques to validate the extraction protocol (14). More recently, Wickramasinghe's group optimized this method by coating AFM tips with platinum, which allowed extraction of the mRNA molecules through dielectrophoresis. Wichramasinghe's technology has been successfully combined with standard assay techniques to detect RNA molecules in breast cancer cells (15-16).
Manipulation and analysis of single cells is the next frontier in understanding processes that control the function and fate of cells. With the introduction of high-throughput sequencing it is now possible to obtain the collection of all active genes within a single cell, but the initial capture of genetic material of the cell still remains a major challenge. Furthermore, current methods for single-cell manipulation often can detect only one class of analytes.

Nanopipette device and method for subcellular analysis

The Regents of the University of California


Solid sodium sesquisulfate is metathesized by water to neutral anhydrous sodium sulfate and to recover the acid values therefrom by employing a dynamic leaching of the solid phase sodium sesquisulfate, to provide an acid medium for recycle to a chlorine dioxide generating process producing the sodium sesquisulfate without significantly increasing the evaporative load on the generator.

In U.S. Pat. No. 5,205,995, there is described the metathesis of by-product sodium sesquisulfate from a chlorine dioxide generation process to recover acid values therefrom while not significantly increasing the evaporative load on the chlorine dioxide generator when the recovered acid values are recycled to the chlorine dioxide generator.
One of the agents described as being employed in the process is water but, in order to minimize water usage and consequent evaporative load on the generator, it is necessary to employ, as seen in FIG. 3 of that patent, two filters, a mixing tank and recycle of part of the resulting acidic solution to the first filter.

Dynamic leaching procedure for metathesis


A process for recovery of hydrogen sulfide-free fuel, while maintaining desirable carbon dioxide for combustion in a gas turbine to recover power in an integrated coal gasification combined cycle power plant and obtaining a rich hydrogen sulfide Claus plant feed gas is described.

In Integrated Coal Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plants the fuel gas from the O.sub.2 blown coal gasification has to be desulfurized before being combusted in the gas turbine for power generation. When the gas is produced by proven coal gasification processes using a 60 wt % coal in water slurry feed, it contains about 20 (dry) mole % CO.sub.2 with a sulfur content depending on the coal fed. With a low sulfur coal containing 0.5 wt % sulfur the fuel gas contains about 0.15 mole % H.sub.2 S and about 0.003 mole % COS. To achieve desired SO.sub.2 emission limits, 97% of H.sub.2 S+ COS must be removed and recovered as elemental sulfur in a Claus plant and tail gas cleanup unit (TGCU). A selective acid gas removal process is required to absorb essentially all the H.sub.2 S while coabsorbing a minimum amount of CO.sub.2. Minimum CO.sub.2 removal is required to obtain a concentrated H.sub.2 S Claus plant feed to minimize the capital and operating costs of the Claus plant and TGCU. Co-absorbtion of CO.sub.2 not only dilutes the Claus H.sub.2 S feed, it also decreases the IGCC power generation thermal efficiency. The CO.sub.2 in the high pressure fuel gas generates power when it is expanded in the gas turbine. To the extent that CO.sub.2 is removed with the H.sub.2 S. that power generation potential is lost. The problem is that available acid gas removal processes are not sufficiently selective and co-absorb significant CO.sub.2. The most selective physical solvents, such as mixed dialkylethers of polyethylene gylcol and N methyl pyrrolidone coabsorb about 16% of the CO.sub.2 when solvent flow is set to remove essentially all of the H.sub.2 S. With low sulfur coal gasification gas, this results in a very dilute (5 to 6 mole % H.sub.2 S) acid gas which can not be processed in a conventional Claus plant. In commercial practice an expensive H.sub.2 S selective amine preconcentration is used to increase the Claus feed to 25% H.sub.2 S. Even at this concentration the TGCU is very expensive and natural gas fuel has to be fired to raise Claus reaction furnace temperature to an acceptable level.
The problem overcome by the present invention is development of an IGCC desulfurization system that gives a concentrated H.sub.2 S Claus/TGCU feed and retains CO.sub.2 in the fuel gas to the gas turbine to maximize power generation thermal efficiency.
The problem has been recognized by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) who commissioned a study to contact experts skilled in the art of gas processing to identify promising new approaches to solve it. The study by SFA Pacific Inc. is summarized in a final report EPRI AP-5505, Project 2221-13. December 1987. Table 3-6 of the report summarizes performance data supplied by licensors of selective physical solvent and amine acid gas removal processes for low sulfur coal gasification feeds. The processes, in general obtained Claus feeds with 5 to 8% H.sub.2 S, except for the Purisol process which achieved 40% H.sub.2 S. Page 3-15 from the report, notes that the Purisol design included an N.sub.2 stripping stage to enrich the Claus plant acid gas feed from 6.5 to 40% H.sub.2 S. It states that such a stripper is used in the Texaco. Wilmington refinery Rectisol process described in their reference "The Rectisol Process . . .", Gerhard Ranke. Chemical Economy and Engineering Review, May 1972. Vol. 4 No. 5 (No. 49) pp. 25-31. The H.sub.2 S enrichment column is shown on FIG. 4, page 29. It operates at essentially atmospheric pressure and includes a bottom CO.sub.2 stripping section surmounted by an H.sub.2 S reabsorber section. In operation it uses N.sub.2 to strip some of the CO.sub.2 from the solvent with H.sub.2 S in the stripped CO.sub.2 reabsorbed with H.sub.2 S-free solvent in the top reabsorber section to give an N.sub.2 plus CO.sub.2 vent stream containing an acceptable 10 ppm of H.sub.2 S. While operation at low pressure minimizes the N.sub.2 strip gas requirement which is directly proportional to pressure, it increases the solvent flow required to reabsorb the H.sub.2 S which is inversely proportional to operating pressure. As stated on page 25 of Ranke, with physical solvent processes, absorption solvent flow is in general inversely proportional to pressure. Because the reabsorbtion solvent flow is added to the main absorber solvent for regeneration, it increases the regeneration steam requirement. When the process operates at refrigerated temperature, as many physical solvent processes such as Rectisol and Selexol do, and Purisol may, the increased regeneration solvent flow increases the refrigeration requirements. As a result, N.sub.2 stripping at low pressure to obtain a concentrated Claus H.sub.2 S stream is unattractive because regeneration solvent flows are excessive and result in prohibitive solvent regeneration steam and refrigeration requirements. Also, the stripped carbon dioxide along with the nitrogen strip gas is rejected to the atmosphere and does not contribute to power production in the gas turbine. Finally, note that the solvent regeneration severity has to be increased to obtain very low residual hydrogen sulfide content in the lean regenerated solvent to achieve the 10 ppm hydrogen sulfide level in the reabsorber carbon dioxide and nitrogen vent gas at low pressure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,242,108 to Nicholas & Hegarty assigned to the present assignee solves the problem of obtaining a concentrated Claus H.sub.2 S feed gas by heating the H.sub.2 S absorber bottoms solvent and feeding it to a high pressure CO.sub.2 stripping column operating at essentially the same pressure as the H.sub.2 S absorber and stripping the coabsorbed CO.sub.2 with a high pressure CO.sub.2 -free inert gas. It notes the possibility of using high pressure N.sub.2 from an air separation unit (Col. 3. lines 7-9) in NH.sub.3 plant applications. In general, it is not feasible to use nitrogen stripping gas, with the nitrogen contaminating the treated gas. This citation of N.sub.2 use is limited to NH.sub.3 applications where N.sub.2 has to be compressed and added to the H.sub.2 after acid gas removal to make NH.sub.3 synthesis gas. This application merely routes a portion of the required N.sub.2 through the stripper for beneficial effects. It is limited in the claims to situations where CO.sub.2 has to be rejected from the product gas as in NH.sub.3 synthesis.
Note also that because the strip gas requirement is directly proportional to the stripper pressure, high pressure N.sub.2 stripping requirements result in high N.sub.2 compression requirements, except for NH.sub.3 synthesis applications where the N.sub.2 must be compressed in any event.
Hot stripping at high pressure and temperature also increases refrigeration requirements for refrigerated physical solvent processes. In the Nicholas and Hegarty patent, while the lean solvent is precooled against stream 7 in heat exchanger 8, stream 7 has not been cooled by expansion and flashing as is typically done. As a result with a given cold end temperature approach in exchanger 8, the lean solvent temperature is increased and this results in an increase in net process refrigeration duty. Also operation of heat exchanger 8 precludes the use of the economical plate and frame type heat exchanger which have gaskets limited to pressures below 300 psig.

Process for sulfur removal and recovery from fuel gas using physical solvent


A tank comprises a container body configured to contain an ink and an ink fill port configured to accept the ink to be injected into the container body. A cap is provided to close the ink fill port when the cap is attached to the tank. The cap comprises a covering portion configured to cover the ink fill port; a seal portion protruded from the covering portion to be inserted into the ink fill port and configured to close the ink fill port when the seal portion is inserted in the ink fill port; and a skirt portion protruded from the covering portion in a direction of protrusion of the seal portion from the covering portion and located away from the seal portion when the covering portion is viewed from a seal portion side. The skirt portion is protruded more than the seal portion.

The disclosure relates to a cap and a printer.
An inkjet printer has conventionally been known as one example of printer. The inkjet printer is configured to eject ink from a print head onto a printing medium such as printing paper, so as to perform printing on the printing medium. A known configuration of the inkjet printer supplies ink from a tank unit to an ejection head (for example, JP 2014-54826M.
The tank unit described in JP 2014-54826A includes a tank configured to include an ink fill port, a closing member (cap) configured to close the ink fill port, and a tank case configured to place the tank therein. A fitting portion in a ring shape is provided in the closing member to be fit in the ink fill port. The ink fill port is closed when the fitting portion of the closing member is press-fit into the ink fill port. In this tank unit, a cross portion (support portion) is provided in the tank case to support the closing member that is removed from the ink fill port. The closing member is supported by the cross portion when the inner circumference of the fitting portion is press-fit into the cross portion. Ink in the tank or ink adhering to the ink fill port in the process of ejecting ink through the ink fill port is likely to adhere to the closing member. The ink adhering to the closing member is likely to be splattered from the closing member to the circumference by the momentum of pulling out the closing member from the ink fill port or the cross portion. There is accordingly still a room for improvement in the convenience with respect to the conventional cap and the conventional printer.


A wafer support device including at least one support member shaped like a rotatable rod and having plural wafer support grooves formed at different pitches on the outer surface of the member in the longitudinal direction thereof. The frequencies of exchanging the support member with a new one or washing and cleaning it can be remarkably reduced and the productivity of semi-conductor wafers can be enhanced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wafer support device capable of being incorporated into devices for transferring semiconductor wafers (which will be hereinafter referred to as wafers) to and from wafer boats or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the course of manufacturing semiconductor integrated circuits, particularly in the processes of diffusing, oxidizing and CVD-treating wafers, it is preferable that these processes be conducted under clean circumstances with clean equipment and without using human hands since they tend to be sources for generating dust. When these processes are conducted in this manner, circuit elements of high density and quality can be produced. Various kinds of wafer carrying devices are used to this end. When wafers are to be heated, they are picked up directly from a carrier and transferred to a wafer boat made of quartz. They are then carried to a heat treatment furnace. There is also a case where they are once moved from the carrier to a buffer and then transferred from the buffer to the boat. They are further carried to the predetermined processing apparatus by the boat and subjected to the various manufacturing processes there. The manufacturing and processing apparatuses include those of the batch type and of the continuation type and they are grouped into the ones for processing wafers vertically supported and the ones for processing wafers horizontally supported.
In the case of the manufacturing and processing apparatus of the batch type, the transfer of wafers is attained by such a device as shown in FIG. 1. Numeral 1 represents a support member having a curved top. Support member 1 supports plural wafers (W), which are housed in carrier 4, from below in groove 2 formed on the curved top thereof. When it is driven by driver means 3, support member 1 lifts plural wafers (W) or 25 pieces of wafers (W) above carrier 4 at the same time. Wafers (W) kept under this state are held between holder member 5, which transfers wafers (W) from carrier 4 to a boat (not shown). After being processed, wafers (W) are transferred from the boat to the carrier. When any of the wafers (W) are broken during the transferring, however, broken pieces of the wafer adhere to support member 1. When multistage furnaces are used and the manufacturing process conducted in each of the reaction furnaces is different from the others, components of wafers (W) processed in the previous reaction furnace become impurities, which also adhere to support member 1 and holder member 5. This makes it necessary to use new support and holder members for every manufacturing and processing apparatus or to prepare plural support and holder members for both of wafers (W) not processed yet and those processed. Further, the support and holder members must be washed and cleaned every time when the processing of wafers (W) is finished. The washing and cleaning of the support and holder members are so troublesome as to reduce the productivity of the manufacturing and processing apparatuses.


An apparatus for gripping and holding glass during a glass grinding process. The glass gripping and holding apparatus includes an elongated top shank and an elongated bottom shank pivotally connected, with the top shank being inclined toward the bottom shank. Both shanks each have a respective glass-gripping end portion that oppose one another in generally parallel disposition when gripping a piece of glass. A spring operatively connects the shanks toward each other, biasing the glass-gripping end portions of the shanks toward each other. A generally circular boss is located on the bottom shank to facilitate mobility of the apparatus across a table surface of a glass grinder.

This invention generally relates to a gripping apparatus and more particularly, to an improved glass gripping apparatus capable of securely holding small pieces of glass during a glass grinding process. The apparatus permits a user to safely and efficiently grind glass.
Various glass grippers are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,030 discloses a device for holding small glass pieces for grinding comprised of two curved, crossed arms or shanks pivotally connected. This device may be placed flatly on a surface of a grinding table during the grinding process. The device is similar to pliers as the user must constantly squeeze the arms together to hold a piece of glass therebetween. Thus, the user cannot release his grip of the arms during the grinding process without the glass being released from the device.
A similar glass gripping apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,291. This apparatus also closely resembles and functions like a pair of pliers as the apparatus has two curved, crossed arms pivotally connected. Again, the user must constantly squeeze the arms together to hold a piece of glass therebetween, and there is nothing to stabilize the device when placed on a grinding table.
It will be appreciated that it is desirable for a glass gripping apparatus to be able to secure the glass between its arms without the user having to constantly squeeze the arms together. Without the capability of a glass gripping apparatus being able to alone secure glass between its arms, the user must always concentrate on squeezing the arms of the apparatus together so that the glass does not slip out from between the arms and injure the user. When the user must concentrate on applying pressure to grip the glass, his dexterity and flexibility are limited and this limits his ability to freely move the glass with respect to the grinding wheel.
It is also important for a glass gripping apparatus to be able to support glass securely in a generally parallel disposition to the surface of a grinding table during the grinding process. Furthermore, it is desirable to be able to freely manipulate the device with the glass held therein since edges of the glass to be ground are frequently wavy or serpentine and the glass must be manipulated in many directions against the grinding wheel.
Although there are other devices pertaining to various hand held tools such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,065,650; 4,461,193; 2,815,777 and 3,263,535, none of these tools are particularly useful for holding glass. The tools disclosed in all of these patents have curved arms or shanks with a spring between the arms biasing the arms towards each other. The arms of the devices in the '650, '193, and '777 patents are both curved and crossed. Due to the curved arms of all of these tools as well as the crossing of the arms in the devices disclosed in the '650, '193 and '777 patents, a user cannot place the tools on a flat surface such as a grinding table of a grinder. Furthermore, the arms of these devices are incapable of safely and securely holding a piece of glass between them. For example, the device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,815,777 has clamping jaws with teeth connected to the respective ends of the curved arms such that a piece of glass would be scratched or shattered if held by these jaws.
It will be appreciated that while certain of the noted devices have a biasing spring located between the respective arms of the tools so that an object can be held without the user having to continually squeeze the arms together, the tools do not readily accommodate the gripping of glass or the presentation of glass to a grinding wheel. Furthermore, the known tools do not permit a user to place the tools flatly against a grinding table of a grinder during the grinding process. Thus, the glass cannot be ground at a preferable parallel disposition with the grinding table and at a preferable perpendicular angle against the grinding wheel.
Accordingly, the primary objective of the present invention has been to provide a glass-gripping apparatus capable of securely holding a small piece of glass without the user having to continually squeeze the arms or shanks of the apparatus together to securely hold a piece of glass therebetween.
Another objective of the present invention has been to provide a glass gripping apparatus capable of being placed securely but movably upon a surface of a glass grinding table of a grinder having a grinding wheel protruding therefrom, so that the glass can be ground at a preferable parallel disposition with the grinding table and at a preferable perpendicular angle against the grinding wheel, and can be easily moved with respect to the table and the grinding wheel to accommodate the grinding process.
It has been a further objective of the present invention to provide a glass gripping apparatus capable of freely sliding across a table surface of a glass grinder so that a piece of glass held thereby can easily be manipulated for grinding along the entire length of an edge thereof.

Apparatus for gripping and holding glass during a glass grinding process


A rotatable pressure seal between a relatively rotatable shaft and body structure comprises two annular sealing discs concentric with the shaft, one disc being mounted on the body structure and the other disc being carried on the shaft the discs having engaging sealing faces formed of polycrystalline diamond or other superhard material. The pressure seal is particularly for use in a modulated bias unit, for controlling the direction of drilling of a rotary drill bit when drilling boreholes in subsurface formations. The bias unit comprises a number of hydraulic actuators spaced apart around the periphery of the unit, and a selector control valve modulates the fluid pressure supplied to each actuator in synchronism with rotation of the drill bit so that, as the drill bit rotates, a thrust member of each actuator is displaced outwardly at the same selected rotational position so as to bias the drill bit laterally and thus control the direction of drilling. The selector control valve is located within a cavity in the body structure and is operated by a shaft which extends into the cavity through a pressure seal according to the invention.

The invention relates to a rotatable pressure seal between a rotatable shaft and a body structure. The pressure seal is particularly but not exclusively suitable for use in a modulated bias unit used in drilling boreholes in subsurface formations. The invention will therefore be described in that context, but it will be appreciated that it is more widely applicable to many other situations where a rotatable pressure seal is required.
When drilling or coring holes in subsurface formations, it is often desirable to be able to vary and control the direction of drilling, for example to direct the borehole towards a desirable target or to control the direction horizontally within the payzone once the target has been reached. It may also be desirable to correct for deviations from the desired direction when drilling a straight hole, or to control the direction of the hole to avoid obstacles.
British Patent Specification No. 2259316 describes various arrangements in which there is associated with the rotary drill bit a modulated bias unit. The bias unit comprises a number of hydraulic actuators spaced apart around the periphery of the unit, each having a movable thrust member which is hydraulically displaceable outwardly for engagement with the formation of the borehole being drilled. Each actuator has an inlet passage for connection to a source of drilling fluid under pressure and an outlet passage for communication with the annulus. A selector control valve connects the inlet passages in succession to the source of fluid under pressure, as the bias unit rotates. The valve serves to modulate the fluid pressure supplied to each actuator in synchronism with rotation of the drill bit, and in selected phase relation thereto whereby, as the drill bit rotates, each movable thrust member is displaced outwardly at the same selected rotational position so as to bias the drill bit laterally and thus control the direction of drilling.
The selector control valve is located within a cavity in the body structure of the bias unit and is operated by a shaft which is rotatable relative to the body structure. Drilling fluid is supplied to the cavity through a choke and consequently there is a significant pressure difference between the interior of the cavity and a central passage where the main part of the shaft is located. In order to accommodate this pressure difference a rotatable pressure seal must be provided between the shaft and the body structure of the bias unit. The pressure seal must operate reliably under conditions of high pressure and temperature, and must be able to resist the highly abrasive effect of the drilling fluid. It must also operate under low torque. The present invention therefore provides a novel form of pressure seal which is particularly suitable for use in a modulated bias unit of the kind described, although it may also be suitabIe for use in other situations where a reliable rotatable pressure seal is required.


The invention relates a method and system for assessing coverage of a wireless access network within a desired area via cooperating wireless access networks and terminals capable of measurement and reporting across the different wireless access networks. The cooperation refers to, among other things, the ability of obtaining coverage assessment for one of the wireless access networks using results of the measurements collected at one of the other wireless access networks. In this manner, more accurate and complete coverage assessment may be obtained, relative to the prior art approaches.

Wireless access networks are used to provide terrestrial coverage via placement of base stations throughout the desired coverage area. In order to provide adequate service to the clients, wireless operators constantly evaluate the coverage area of their wireless access networks. Such an evaluation may, for example, be done in the planning phase via coverage calculations based on models for the attenuation of the radio signals, terrain configuration data and the configuration data about the type and placement of the base stations. Such calculations provide, for the area under consideration and for each base station included in the calculations, a reasonably complete indication of the estimated signal strength but only with a limited accuracy, given the necessary simplifications made in the attenuation model and the limited degree of details in the underlying data bases. In their operational processes, wireless operators frequently use drive tests in order to assess the coverage of their wireless access networks. These drive tests consist of measurement routes that are traversed by a measurement terminal often mounted on a vehicle, as illustrated in FIG. 1, where the measurement route is shown with a line 1 and the measurement terminal (vehicle) location is shown as a dot 10. Such measurements provide, for each base station included in the measurement, a reasonably accurate indication of the signal strength but only for the very limited set of locations along the measurement route 1. Besides the drive measurements the operators collect statistical information from the network nodes about events that can be used to roughly indicate coverage problems such as failed connections, inter-radio access technology (inter-RAT) handovers and cell reselections, etc.
The coverage assessment options presented above have a number of drawbacks. One is that the planning process is generally characterised by a certain degree of inaccuracy due to e.g. estimation errors in the radio propagation modelling and/or inaccurate terrain configuration data. Another drawback is that the drive tests provide the coverage assessment only along the measurement route. Moreover, drive tests are too costly for estimation of the overall coverage. Yet another drawback is that the network statistics collection has its basic limitation in that only the signals and events for the terminals that are connected to/camping on the network may be reported (and not the terminals that do not have coverage). Moreover, such statistics can only roughly indicate the locations of coverage gaps.
As the foregoing illustrates, there exists a need in the art for a system and method for generating a coverage assessment in a telecommunications infrastructure in a manner that minimizes or eliminates at least some of the drawbacks of the current approaches described above.

Method and system for automatic coverage assessment for cooperating wireless access networks


A wheel chair lift device includes a lift car selectively elevated above a base, along with protective skirting covering the region below the lift car. Exposed portions of the protective skirting subject to lateral inward deformation are provided with skirt deformation sensors for detecting abnormal inward deformation of such skirt portions. The skirt deformation sensors include a spring or other elongated deformable member that extends generally parallel and proximate to the portion of the skirt being sensed. A sensor detects that the elongated member has been laterally displaced from its usual longitudinal axis and generates an electrical signal. In response to such electrical signal, the lift device stops further movement of the lift car.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to lifting devices, and more particularly, to a wheelchair lift device including a lift car, and having a protective skirt that restricts access below the lift car.
2. Description of the Background Art
Under the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (the "ADA"), the U.S. government required that public buildings be accessible to the disabled. For persons requiring a wheelchair for mobility, abrupt changes in floor elevation have to be modified to enable access by wheelchair. The ADA permits vertical lifting devices to be used instead of a ramp.
Lifting devices for the disabled are known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,105,915 (Gary) describes a lifting device having a car including fixed sides and short, one-piece ramps at each end. The car is raised and lowered by a pantograph jack including a hydraulic pump driven by an electric motor controlled by switches. The patent also describes several lifting devices of the prior art. Another wheelchair lifting device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,182,798 to Brady, et al., and assigned to AGM Container Controls, Inc., the assignee of the present invention. The '798 patent discloses a portable lift device with gates at both ends of the lift car, transparent walls, a loading ramp, a dock plate, a stage height sensor, and numerous safety features.
Another portable lifting device adapted for wheelchairs is disclosed within pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/026,863, filed on Dec. 30, 2004, and published as U.S. Publ. No. 20060182570 (Zuercher, et al.) on Aug. 17, 2006, also assigned to the assignee of the present application. This application discloses a portable wheelchair lift device that includes a lift car that can be raised and lowered, and which provides protective skirting around the front, back, and sides of the lift device to restrict access below the lift car to help prevent injury.
Applicable governmental regulations require that wheelchair lift devices include a safety skirt surrounding the base of the lift to help keep legs, arms and other body parts from being inserted under the lift car. While such safety skirting is helpful in preventing accidents, the safety skirts are often made from rather flexible, yielding material, such as rubber or plastic. If sufficient force is applied laterally inward upon such safety skirts, they readily give way and deform. Accordingly, were a lift attendant, or even a bystander, to fall against the lift device during operation, such person's legs, arms, head, or other body parts could press sufficiently hard against the safety skirting to cause it to deform. If the lift car is being lowered at such time, there is a possibility that such person's leg, arm, head, etc., could become pinched between the bottom of the lift car and the base of the lift device, posing a significant danger. In view of such dangers, applicable governmental regulations now require that such wheel chair lift devices be able to avoid injury to such persons.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a wheelchair lift device suitable for lifting wheelchair-bound users up to the height of stages, platforms, risers and the like in a safe and reliable manner, and comporting with all applicable ADA requirements.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a lift device having a safety skirt, and which is able to detect instances when the safety skirt is inwardly deformed to the extent of posing a possible danger.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such a lift device which is capable of halting upward or downward movement of the lift car upon detecting that the safety skirt has been inwardly deformed to the extent of posing such danger.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such a lift device achieving the aforementioned objectives without significantly increasing the cost or complexity of the lift device.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art as the description of the present invention proceeds.

Wheel chair lift with protective skirt sensors


A method and apparatus for allocating service beams (72, 76) to communication units (80-84) (CUs) ascertains (124) the location of a CU (81) attempting to access the communication system (30), and determines (126) whether a currently active service beam (72) is capable of providing service to the CU (81). If so, a ground position aim point (90) is determined (134), and the active service beam (72) is steered (142) to the ground position aim point (90). If not, a new service beam (76) is provided (132) to the CU (83). When a call is terminated (162), a new ground position aim point (92) is determined (168) and the service beam (72) is steered (170) to the new ground position aim point (92). If no remaining CUs are being serviced by the service beam, the service beam is deactivated is (166).

In a cellular communication system, a subscriber unit communicates within a "cell" or "beam" which contains multiple channels. When a subscriber unit exits a first cell, the call is handed off to another cell which is projected by the same or a different cellular antenna. Channel frequencies within adjacent cells are typically selected by the communication system so that they do not interfere with each other.
Prior art terrestrial cellular communication systems are described in William C. Y. Lee, Mobile Cellular Telecommunications (2d ed. 1995). Prior art terrestrial cellular communication systems provide communication channels to subscriber units by projecting fixed cellular beams from cellular antennas located on 30-100 foot towers. A cell's size depends on power, antenna type, geometry, and local geography. The more power emitted by the antenna, the greater the size of the cell. However, increased power produces more interference. An omnidirectional, omnicell antenna projects an ideally circular cell around the cellular antenna. A directional antenna allows a cell pattern to extend in a planned direction relative to the antenna.
Terrestrial cellular systems have several disadvantages. For example, only limited service areas are feasible because of the necessity of antenna towers. With antenna ranges of twenty miles or less, coverage of rural and remote areas would not be cost-effective. Also, once an omnidirectional or directional antenna is set up, only a hardware change can affect the shape or location of the cell or the frequencies assigned to the communication channels.
Satellite cellular communication systems have been proposed to overcome some disadvantages of terrestrial cellular systems. For example, a satellite cellular communication system using low earth orbit (LEO) satellites can provide a much greater service area than a terrestrial system because the satellites can project cells toward the entire surface of the earth. Several proposed satellite cellular systems project "satellite-fixed" cells toward the surface of the earth. FIG. 1 illustrates the motion of a satellite-fixed cellular footprint relative to a hypothetical urban area 18 as a prior-art satellite 10 progresses in its orbit. At time=1, the satellite's cellular footprint is projected toward area 12. At time=2, after satellite 10 has traveled along orbital path 16, the satellite's cellular footprint is projected toward area 14. Relative to satellite 10, the direction that the cellular footprint is projected does not change. However, relative to the earth, the cellular footprint travels smoothly over the earth's surface as satellite 10 progresses in its orbit.
During a typical conversation, several cells and/or satellites might pass over a particular subscriber unit. Because of the relative movement of the cells to the subscriber units, frequent cell-to-cell handoffs are required. In addition, when a satellite moves out of range of a particular satellite, a satellite-to-satellite handoff is required. These frequent handoffs add a level of complication to the management of the system.
Earth-fixed satellite cellular beams have also been proposed. In a system employing earth-fixed satellite cellular beams, the satellites steer their antennas to project a footprint toward a particular region of the earth. These regions are predetermined by the system and typically represent high-demand areas (e.g., major metropolitan areas or continental regions). FIG. 2 illustrates an earth-fixed cellular footprint relative to a hypothetical urban area 28 as a prior-art satellite 20 progresses in its orbit. At time=1, time=2, and time=3, satellite 10 projects its cellular footprint toward area 22. As satellite 20 moves along its orbital path 24, the cellular footprint is "steered" either electrically or mechanically toward area 22. The shape of area 22 might vary as satellite 20 moves, but the direction of the cellular footprint projection remains relatively constant. The shape of area 22 is nearly circular when satellite 20 is at a high angle of elevation (e.g., at time=2). When satellite 20 projects the satellite footprint from a low angle of elevation (e.g., at time=1 and time=3), however, the shape of the satellite footprint and the cells contained within the footprint are elliptical. Thus, during the pass of a satellite, the shape of a particular cell changes from an ellipse to a circle and back to an ellipse.
Examples of prior art, earth-fixed satellite cellular systems are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,415,368 and 5,439,190, where Horstein, et al. disclose a "coordinated boresight steering" method where the communication system determines antenna focal directions for projection of a satellite footprint for a predetermined orbital period. The focal directions are adjusted during the orbital period so that the footprint is steered toward a particular geographical region during the orbital period. Another example of an earth-fixed satellite cellular system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,408,237, Patterson, et al.
Earth-fixed systems can minimize cell-to-cell handoffs and can simplify satellite-to-satellite handoffs. However, a drawback to earth-fixed satellite cellular systems is that these systems do not compensate for demand variations. The action in which a footprint is projected is predetermined. Thus, these systems cannot react in real time to varying subscriber demands. Although an earth-fixed cellular system can target a high demand area, each cell has a fixed capacity. Thus, only a number of subscribers not exceeding that cell's capacity can use the system at one time.
Another negative aspect to earth-fixed systems is that they continuously project RF energy toward the earth, whether or not communication channels are being used. This results in unnecessary RF interference over a large area.
A drawback to both terrestrial and satellite prior art systems is that they waste power by projecting a fixed footprint of cells toward a region, without taking user demand into account While some cells can see very high demand, other cells can see little or no demand. Thus, wasted power is expended in projecting cells toward areas with little or no demand. Power considerations are especially important in satellite communication systems because of limited battery storage capabilities of the satellites.
What is needed is a method and apparatus to increase the traffic-carrying capacity of a cellular communication system while minimizing power consumption and unnecessary RF interference. Further needed is a method and apparatus to better service geographically varying subscriber demands and to simplify handoff problems.

Adaptive beam pointing method and apparatus for a communication system


An agricultural implement, such as a hay rake, may be easily and quickly connected to or disconnected from the tow bar of a tractor. The apparatus features a large main frame assembly which extends over top of the tractor to a ground-engaging position in front of the tractor. The hay basket or other implement is connected to an end of an auxiliary lift frame which is pivotally coupled to the main frame by a hydraulic lift cylinder which permits the implement to be raised from its normal, ground-engaging position to a position far above the top of the tractor for unloading or transport. A second, lift cylinder controls the level of the implement during lifting and transport, while a third hydraulic cylinder serves to operate a push-off mechanism for unloading the hay rake. The apparatus also features a quick-connect-disconnect hitch for coupling to the draw bar of the tractor, and an integrally formed stand for supporting the main frame when uncoupled from the tractor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to agricultural equipment and, more particularly, is directed toward a frame structure which may be utilized to couple an agricultural implement to a tractor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known to provide several different types of hydraulically-operated frame assemblies for coupling an agricultural implement to a tractor. See, for example, the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 2,468,220; 2,606,417; 2,738,083; and 2,815,876.
Of the foregoing, the Ritchie U.S. Pat. No. (2,606,417) teaches a rake assembly 39 connected to a tractor 21 by means of a wheeled frame 30. Means are provided in the form of a hydraulic actuator 81 for applying rocking force to the rake assembly 39 so as to move the latter between its lower position indicated by full lines in FIG. 1 and an upper position indicated by broken lines. The arch-like frame 30 is of sufficient height to permit the tractor to pass freely thereunder. An alternate form of the apparatus illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11 includes power-actuated means for unloading the rake assembly in the form of a second hydraulic actuator 111 and associated linkages.
While the Ritchie patent describes a very useful structure, it nevertheless suffers from several deficiencies. Initially, the rake assembly may be raised only a short distance above the ground which makes it difficult to unload the contents thereof onto, for example, a high stack of hay. Further, the relatively low height of the rake assembly can obstruct the vision of the driver of the tractor, which presents a potentially serious safety hazard. Further, the low level of the rake assembly during transport, as illustrated in FIG. 8, makes maneuvering somewhat difficult. When operating with large amounts of hay and large hay stacks, the foregoing problems are increased.
It would also be desirable to provide such a frame assembly with means for permitting a quick connection or disconnection thereof to the draw bar of the tractor. Auxiliary means should also be provided for supporting the frame assembly when uncoupled from the tractor.
It is toward remedying these deficiencies that the present invention is advanced.


A compressible dust container for a vacuum cleaner, which is compressed by means of a device that causes a change in pressure between the outside and inside of the dust container, as well as agitating the container. The dust container is then able to be filled to substantial capacity without a false reading on the dust indicator of the vacuum cleaner.

The pores in the filtering surface of dust containers used in vacuum cleaners become clogged after a certain period of operation, so that even if the dust container is only partially filled the pressure drop over the container wall has increased so much that an indicating device, which usually senses this pressure drop, gives a false indication that the container is filled, and should be exchanged. Of course, this situation is undesirable and, moreover, it is not economical.
Different types of filter shaking devices are known, which in most cases are mechanical and have a principal purpose of loosening the dust from the filter surface of the dust container, and in this way, results in the continued use of the dust container and the increase of filling capacity thereof. Often the contents of the dust container have a fluffy structure, which results in that the desired effect cannot be obtained by means of filter shaking only.
The present invention relates to a compressing device for a dust container, i.e. intended for vacuum cleaners, comprising a chamber with an inlet for dust laden air, an outlet for cleaned air and a motor fan unit for transporting air from the working implement through a suction hose and the dust container disposed in the chamber.
An object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawback and to construct a simple device for increasing the filling degree of the dust container. For this purpose the invention is mainly characterized in that the dust container, by changing the pressure conditions between the inside and outside, respectively, of the dust container, the latter is compressible so that its inner volume during a certain time interval becomes smaller than the original volume thereof.

Compressing arrangement for a dust container


A device and method of continuous introduction of liquid solution samples into a system from a chamber containing the solution.

The present invention relates to a dosing unit for continuous introduction of liquid solution samples into a system. Moreover it relates to a method of continuous introduction of liquid solution samples into a system from a chamber containing the solution.
A number of arrangements are known for dosing small samples of liquid into a system in the form of a treatment apparatus. These will be explained later. First an explanation of the prior art arrangements in association with mass spectrometry will be given.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,705,616 describes a process and an interface probe for discharging chemicals from one end of a capillary tube into a mass spectrometer. Chemicals are fed into the other end of the capillary tube by a valve comprising a housing and a rotable member inside the housing. The rotable member, which is rotable between two positions, is constructed with a transversal fluid passage by which chemicals can be transported from a reservoir into the capillary tube. In one of the two positions, where the fluid passage is parallel to the capillary tube, the fluid passage allows a continuous flow of chemical from a reservoir into the capillary. In the other position, where the passage fluid is perpendicular to the capillary, chemicals from a second reservoir are fed into the passage, but these chemicals are only released when the rotable member is back in the first position. Thereby, an intermittent operation is obtained.
Continuous mass spectrometric monitoring of a reaction mixture or the effluent from a separation device requires continuous introduction of a minute. stream of sample into the vacuum of the mass spectrometer. Established techniques use either pervaporation through a solid polymer membrane or mass flow through a capillary or porous membrane for this purpose. In addition a mechanical device, the moving belt, has been designed to introduce continuously the remnant of evaporated sample. Each technique has its own advantages and disadvantages and no single technique has universal applicability.
In the pervaporation technique, membrane inlet mass spectrometry, the sample is separated from the vacuum of the mass spectrometer by a thin, solid polymer membrane. Compounds such as gases and organic volatiles diffuse through the membrane into the mass spectrometer where they are ionized and give rise to mass spectrometric signals, which are proportional to the activities of the compounds in the liquid or gaseous sample. Ionisation usually takes place by collision with electrons emitted from a hot filament. Electron impact ionisation (EI) causes extensive disintegration of analyte molecules to form fragment ions which can be used to identify the analyte. Chemical ionisation, where analyte molecules are ionized by capturing charges from
The path through which analyte travels from the sample to the vacuum has three stages, namely the unstirred layer (Nernst layer) of liquid sample adjacent to the membrane, the membrane itself and the space in vacuum from the inside of the membrane to the ion source. The detection limit of the measurement is mainly determined by the stage that has the highest resistance to the transport process and the response time is mainly determined by the stage where the transport process has the longest relaxation time. Both limitations are often located in the membrane stage. The permeability of a polymer membrane is a product of the solubility of the compound in the membrane material and the mobility of the dissolved compound. Whereas high solubility in the membrane material is favorable for the sensitivity of the measurement, it is unfavorable for the response time because an increased accumulation of analyte in the membrane leads to an increased relaxation time of the transport process. Thus FAX high sensitivity and rapid response are mutually exclusive as far as these properties are determined by the membrane. The transport of analyte from the inside of the membrane to the ion source takes place by molecular flow. Molecules that collide with the walls surrounding the flow path may be absorbed to the walls and later desorbed. This gives a contribution to the response time which depends strongly on the volatility of the analyte.
Since only small amounts of gases and volatiles enter the mass spectrometer, the pervaporation technique is very clean and can be carried on for long periods of time without the need for internal cleaning of the mass spectrometer. Another advantage is that measurements with the pervaporation technique of favoured compounds, i.e. compounds that partition in favour of the membrane material, do not require any pretreatment of the sample. Measurements can be done in cell suspensions and in strongly acidic or alkaline solutions. The sensitivity of the pervaporation technique for a compound which partitions strongly in favour of the membrane may be very high. However, the response time may be too long for practical use in monitoring of reaction systems. In addition the accumulation of analyte in the membrane may change the properties of the membrane material leading to a non-linear response.
Whereas the solid membrane excludes a large class of compounds which do not readily pervaporate through the membrane material, a mass flow technique utilizing a porous membrane allows sample to enter the mass spectrometer with little change in composition. The flow through a porous membrane is a combination of laminar and turbulent flow depending on the pore size of the membrane material. This type of flow is much faster than diffusion through a solid membrane and, consequently, the response time may be much shorter with a porous membrane than with a solid membrane. Another difference is that because the flow through the porous membrane is not selective, no depletion of solute takes place in the sample adjacent to the surface of a porous membrane as it occurs at a solid membrane. A major drawback of mass flow techniques in general is that comparatively large amounts of material including salts and other non-volatiles enter and accumulate in the mass spectrometer making frequent cleaning necessary. In addition filtration of the sample is often necessary since clogging may otherwise occur. The most common use of porous membrane inlets is in the field of electrochemistry. Electron impact as well as chemical ionisation is used.
Continuous fluid introduction through a capillary includes thermospray, electrospray, particle beam and continuous-flow fast atom bombardment (CF-FAB). Thermospray operates by the generation of a fine mist of droplets from the sample solution and the evaporation of the solvent from the droplets to yield ions of the analyte. Enrichment is achieved because much of the solvent is evaporated and pumped away, whereas the analyte molecules, being charged, can be electrically focused to enter the analyzer. In the particle beam technique the remnant after vaporization of the droplets forms particles which are guided into the analyzer by translational momentum. In CF-FAB the sample liquid is not nebulized but mixed with glycerol and made to flow onto the target area of a xenon atom source in the mass spectrometer.
The moving belt technique for continuous sample introduction is neither a pervaporation technique nor a mass flow technique. It belongs to a third category where sample is brought into the mass spectrometer by mechanical transport. Sample is applied to a moving belt from where the solvent evaporates and the remnant, sticking to the surface of the belt, is dragged into the mass spectrometer through a vacuum lock.
As it occurs from the above a number of drawbacks are associated with the prior art systems.
It is the purpose of the present invention to provide a unit and a method in which these drawbacks are obviated and which provides for a new and simple arrangement for continuous sample introduction in which it is possible in a simple and reliable manner to adjust the rate of the sampling of different types of solution.
According to the present invention this is obtained with a unit mentioned above wherein a moving member is provided in a chamber containing said solution, said member is pressed against a gasket surrounding the inlet opening of the system, the member is connected with drive means for moving it whereby a sample of the solution adhered to the surface is dragged past the gasket into the inlet.
The method according to the present invention for continuous introduction of liquid solution samples into a system from a chamber containing the solution wherein the liquid adhering to a surface of a moving member provided in said chamber is dragged past a gasket surrounding an inlet to the system by activating drive means connected with said member.
The unit is a simple mechanical means of transportation for the sample which is obtained on the surface as the member is submerged in the solution. Therefore, the member will drag small quantities of the solution past the gasket when activating the drive means. This activation can be a continuous or intermittent drive. The amount to be introduced in the apparatus is adjusted in simple manner by regulation of the movement rate of the member, the pressure exerted on the member and the size thereof. Moreover, it is easy to adapt the member to different types of solution by amending the surface properties and the force used to press the member against the gasket.
According to a preferred embodiment the system is a treatment apparatus in the form of an analysis apparatus where the inlet opens into an analysis chamber, and especially a mass spectrometer having a vacuum chamber wherein the analysis is effected. The unit may also be used in a system comprising a living organism, e.g. for dosing a medicine into the human body.
The moving member is preferably a rotation member in the form of a ball and the drive means is a motor having a shaft which is connected with the ball which co-operates with the gasket in form of a circular flange being easy to manufacture. Preferably the rotation member is made of steel having a polished surface having cavities of a mean depth of 0.5 micron and the gasket is a polymer gasket manufactured from Teflon containing graphite in an amount between 20 and 30%. Alternatively, the member is made of ceramic or crystalline materials, e.g. a ruby.
It is also possible that the moving member is a reciprocating member having a flat, curved or circular surface for contact with the gasket.
In order to obtain sample rates which are convenient for mass spectrometry of a variety of compounds in an aqueous solution it is preferred that the steel ball has a diameter of between 8 and 30 mm, preferably of between 10 and 20 mm and is rotated with a rotational rate of between 3 and 8 rpm, preferably of 5 rpm and that a pressure of between 5*10xe2x88x925 and 5*10xe2x88x927 mbar, preferably of 5*10xe2x88x926 mbar is maintained during the sample analysis.
Because monitoring bioreactors is a particularly important field for continuous mass spectrometry the apparatus has been tested on a suspension of bakers yeast supplied with glucose. The production of ethanol could be recorded and the presence of cells did not disturb the measurement. The cavities in the surface of the ball seen with electron microscopy are too small to accommodate yeast cells. Measurements of dissolved compounds in suspensions of smaller cells such as bacteria may require a more finely polished ball.
The rotating ball inlet has the same field of applications as the other techniques for continuous sample introduction mentioned above. This is a wide and expanding field including the monitoring of industrial reactors and the environment. In certain hyphenated techniques such as liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), where a conventional method for continuous sample introduction is utilized in connection with a separation techniques, the rotating ball inlet may possibly be used with advantage. The most important advantages of the rotating ball inlet compared to other devices for continuous sample introduction are simplicity and fast response.
Continuous mass spectrometric monitoring of solutes in water requires continuous introduction of a minute stream of sample into the vacuum of the mass spectrometer.
Different methods have been described above for continuous mass spectrometric monitoring of aqueous solutions. The above embodiments of the rotating ball unit have a sample cell which may be used for the determination of constant concentrations of solutes in aqueous samples or the monitoring of concentration transients in aqueous reaction mixtures. The chamber wherein the ball is situated may also be a reaction container, e.g. a fermenter, bioreactor or the like. Thus, it is possible to take out a sample directly from a container to the inlet of an analysis chamber or the like.
According to a further aspect of the invention a rotating ball unit is disclosed which is suited for continuous measurement on a sample stream. Apart from measurements on injected discrete samples this unit may be used for the monitoring of sample streams taken from reactors or effluents from liquid chromatographs and other separation apparatus. Because of the rapid response of rotating ball inlet mass spectrometry compared to membrane inlet mass spectrometry, the flow through cell proposed is better suited than a membrane inlet flow cell for the use in stopped flow mass spectrometry.

Dosing unit and a method of continuous introduction of liquid solution samples into a system


Disclosed are zirconia ceramics superior in mechanical strength, hardness and toughness and a method for producing them. The zirconia ceramics contain ca. 7-12 mol % of cerium oxide and ca. 2-7 mol % of magnesium oxide and have an average crystal grain size of crystal grains thereof of 1 .mu.m or less, at least ca. 80 mol % of the crystal grains being tetragonal grains and the balance being monoclinic grains, and have a bending strength of at least 100 kg/mm.sup.2, a fracture toughness of at least 10 MNm.sup.-1.5 and a Vickers hardness of at least 1000 kg/mm.sup.2. The method comprises calcining a hydrate obtained by coprecipitation method from water-soluble salts of cerium and magnesium and a basic salt of zirconium or a hydrate obtained by adding water-soluble salts of cerium and magnesium to a zirconium hydrate and neutralizing the mixture of hydrates, further grinding the calcined hydrate to obtain zirconia powders of 1 .mu.m or less in average crystal grain size, then shaping the powders and sintering the resulting shaped product.

This invention relates to zirconia ceramics superior in mechanical strength, hardness and toughness and a method for producing same. More particularly, it relates to zirconia ceramics superior in mechanical strength, hardness and toughness which is especially suitable as mechanical structural materials and which contain cerium oxide (sometimes referred to as "CeO.sub.2 " hereinafter) and magnesium oxide (sometimes referred to as "MgO" hereinafter) as stabilizers and a method for producing same.
It has been well known to use CeO.sub.2 or MgO as a stabilizer for zirconium oxide (sometimes referred to as "ZrO.sub.2 " hereinafter).
For example, when CeO.sub.2 is contained in an amount of 20 mol % or more for ZrO.sub.2, a zirconia ceramic comprising tetragonal phase and cubic phase can be obtained, when CeO.sub.2 is contained in an amount of 16-20 mol %, a completely stabilized zirconia ceramic comprising tetragonal phase crystal can be obtained and when CeO.sub.2 is less than 16 mol %, an unstabilized zirconia ceramic comprising only monoclinic phase at room temperature can be obtained. [cf. "Journal of Materials Science", 17 (1982), page 256, FIG. 1]. However, all of these products are not sufficient in mechanical strength and hardness, although high in toughness.
Furthermore, zirconia ceramics comprising ZrO.sub.2 containing MgO are also known, but in this case, tetragonal phase precipitated at 1240.degree.-1400.degree. C. is decomposed into monoclinic phase and MgO while cooling.
Therefore, in the case of magnesia-partially stabilized zirconia ceramics, the mixture is first fired to obtain cubic phase solid solution and rapidly cooled at a suitable cooling rate to precipitate tetragonal phase in the cubic grain matrix. [cf. "Journal of American Ceramic Society", vol. 50, no. 6 (1967), pages 288-290].
However, in this case, grain size of cubic phase of the ceramic obtained is large, namely, about 10-100 .mu.m and zirconia ceramics superior in mechanical strength cannot be obtained.
Furthermore, zirconia ceramics prepared using CeO.sub.2 and MgO in combination as a stabilizer is reported in "AUSTCERAM", 86, Aug. 1986, PROCEEDINGS pages 371-378. That is, this literature discloses spongy sintered products having a strength of 700 Mpa in maximum and a toughness of 8 MNm.sup.-1.5 (MeGa Newton/meter 15 ) and a density of 95% or less with crystal grain size of 1 .mu.m or less.
This method is advantageous in that CeO.sub.2 and MgO which are stabilizers are less expensive than Y.sub.2 O.sub.3, but the ceramics obtained by the method cannot be said to be sintered products having well balanced and excellent characteristics such as strength, toughness and hardness which are required as mechanical structural materials.
Under these circumstances, the inventors have made intensive researches in an attempt to obtain zirconia ceramics superior in mechanical strength, hardness and toughness using CeO.sub.2 and MgO which are less expensive than Y.sub.2 O.sub.3 and found that a sintered product which satisfies the above required properties can be obtained when CeO.sub.2 and MgO are used in combination at a specific ratio and when raw material powders are prepared by a specific method and they are shaped and sintered. This invention is based on this finding.

Zirconia ceramics and method for producing same


A marine structure adapted to be at least partially submerged at an offshore body of water to drill wells into the ocean floor and to produce fluids therefrom. A corrosion deterrent system for protecting the submerged members of the structure comprises sacrificial anodes which are disposed about the structure's jacket.. A drilling template carried on the jacket comprises means to a plurality of drilling conductors therein. At least one upright column incorporated into said drilling template is provided with discretely placed sacrificial anodes arranged to best protect the drill conductors.

Offshore marine structures such as production and well drilling platforms, presently utilize conductors for well drilling operations as well as for the subsequent production of fluids such as crude oil and gas.
In the instance of any metallic structure which is submerged in an offshore body of water, the problem of electrolytic corrosion of metallic parts will be prevalent. In such an electrolytic action, some submerged surfaces of the structure act as anodes whereas other parts function as cathodes. Over a period of time, the anode segments will tend to erode and deteriorate whereas the cathodic parts will not be similarly effected.
One way to minimize or to completely avoid electrolytic corrosion in off shore structures of this nature, is through the use of sacrificial anodes. These are normally formed of zinc, aluminum, aluminum alloys, magnesium, or a similar metal which is capable of providing the desired potential. Thus, over a period of time the sacrificial body which is chemically active with sea water, will be dissolved or eaten away and have to be replaced. The main body of the metallic structure will however be unaffected.
This form of cathodic protection is well known in the offshore industry. It has been utilized for protecting many submergible metallic bodies, including the presently discussed marine platform for drilling wells, and for producing hydrocarbon products.
Many existing marine platforms which embody a jacket section as the main support component, utilize aluminum alloy sacrificial anodes which are strategically located about the submerged part of the jacket structure. These anodes will be gradually eroded away as noted above. They will, however, serve as a means of cathodic protection for the platform.
Recent trends in deep water drilling and production platforms of the type contemplated, have resulted in more massive marine structures. This leads in turn to large numbers of drilling conductors, or more dense conductor arrays to optimize fluid production. As a result, the conductors, which are normally fabricated of steel, and thus subject to corrosion, are grouped together within the jacket at a considerable distance from anode carrying structure members.
Normally, such a jacket particularly adapted to deep water use, is comprised of an open framework of steel members which carry judicially spaced sacrificial anodes. Two phenomena thereby occur which are considered detrimental to adequate cathodic protection of the drilling conductors. These include firstly, the jacket horizontal framing levels are spaced so far apart that sacrificial anodes placed at these levels have inadequate current (throw) to protect steel members located between the levels and beyond the anodes range.
Secondly, due to the physical congestion prompted by the large number of drilling conductors within a relatively small area, interior conductors in the array are shielded from the protective effects of the sacrificial anodes positioned on external or peripheral conductors. Thus, no appreciable electrolytic ion exchange occurs between the sacrificial anodes and the shielded or internal conductors in the array. This circumstance results in relatively poor or no cathodic protection whatsoever for the latter.
The offshore drilling industry has appreciated and approached the problem of drilling conductor corrosion. Further, it has succeeded to a degree in countering the problem. The attempted solutions have been addressed principally to elimination, or at least reduction of the aforementioned detrimental effects. These approaches extend across a wide range including conservative cathodic protection systems which rely on the use of many more anodes than are necessary. This method, however, is found to be expensive even though preinstalled, and can be ineffective as well.
An alternative method of applying the desired protection is through use of expensive in-situ installation of the sacrificial anodes on or around conductors after the platform has been immersed at its offshore site. Both these methods tend toward excessive costs, are often remedial in nature and frequently unsatisfactory in performance.

Offshore marine structure with corrosion protection


A toilet ventilation system including a toilet bowl having a plurality of ports for directing water into an interior of the bowl. The toilet includes a tank for holding water, and an interior passageway for conveying water from the tank to the ports of the toilet bowl. The toilet also includes an overflow tube mounted within the tank which is in fluid communication with the interior passageway. The toilet further includes a ventilation port in fluid communication with the interior passageway. A valve structure allows water to flow from the tank to the interior passageway of the overflow tube, but prevents air from being drawn from the tank into the interior passageway through the overflow tube.

A variety of ventilation systems have been employed to dissipate unpleasant odors present within lavatory facilities. Most commonly, ceiling fans have been used to continuously withdraw air from a lavatory facility. However, ceiling fans only ventilate unpleasant odors after they have already diffused throughout the lavatory facility. Consequently, even with operable ceiling fans, objectionable odors are still present in lavatories. Furthermore, ceiling fans are relatively inefficient because they continuously ventilate large volumes of air from the entire lavatory.
Efforts have been made to provide ventilation systems that solve the aforementioned problems associated with ceiling fans by ventilating air directly from a toilet bowl. However, such systems are commonly complicated and difficult to assemble. Furthermore, existing ventilation systems commonly cannot be readily used to retrofit existing toilet systems.
What is needed is a simple, inexpensive and easy to install ventilation system that can be used in association with new toilet facilities, and can also be used to easily retrofit existing toilet facilities. What is also needed is an efficient, quiet and inconspicuous toilet ventilation system that evacuates air directly from a toilet bowl.


This invention relates to chips containing nucleic acid probes or primers and their use in methods to detect nucleic acid molecules. The invention includes DNA chips in contact with a thermocycler capable of automatically regulating the temperature, temperature cycle times, and number of temperature cycles of the chips to provide genetic diagnosis in one step.

Generally speaking, DNA or gene chips have being developed for detection of infectious pathogens, disease-causing genes, mutations, and expression levels of genes, etc. In some instances, the technology has also been adapted for diagnosis at hospitals and clinics. In other instances, various technologies have been consolidated and optimized for convenient use and for reliable decisions in connection with clinical diagnosis.
For detection of certain DNA sequence(s) in a biological sample with use of a DNA chip, the following steps are typically followed:
(1) secure tissues, cells and/or biological fluids,
(2) extraction of DNA or RNA,
(3) amplification of certain sequences or nucleic acid regions of interest, typically by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), with use of appropriate primers in the presence of deoxynucleotide triphosphates, one of which is labeled with fluorescent compound,
(4) purification of the amplified DNA,
(5) add the purified amplified DNA to a solid surface, such as a glass slide, containing attached short single stranded DNAs that act as capture probes by being complementary to the amplified DNA,
(6) hybridization of the fluorescently labeled amplified DNA to a capture probe to form double stranded DNA attached to the solid surface,
(7) scanning the fluorescence of the double-stranded DNA formed on the surface of the chip, and
(8) analysis of the data.
These processes are long, and cumbersome, and loss of samples occur during purification of reaction products. The losses cause variation of the final results.
The Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is used widely for amplification of a minute amount of a defined DNA sequence to be an amount sufficient for analysis such as DNA sequencing, detection by gel electrophoresis, and for DNA chip-based analysis. Generally, the PCR process involves denaturation of DNA (strand separation) at a high temperature, annealing of primers that are complementary to either ends of a DNA region to be amplified, and chain elongation from the annealed primers in the presence of thermostable DNA polymerase and the four deoxynucleotide triphosphates. These processes require specific temperatures: for example, 90° C. or above for denaturation, 55-65° C. for annealing, and 72° C. for chain elongation. Denaturation, annealing and chain elongation are repeated continuously until desired amount of DNA is amplified, typically 20-30 cycles. Therefore, PCR requires a programmable thermocycler.
A DNA chip is typically a slide on which capture probes (short single-stranded DNA) are immobilized in a high density format. They are used for analysis of the presence of certain DNA or RNA sequences, the presence of mutation(s), and expression (transcription) of certain genes in cells or tissues.
Usually, a glass slide is coated with chemicals to attach DNA to the glass. The chemicals should not only attach the DNA to the glass surface but also minimize non-specific binding and noise. For example, the chemicals contain silanated, silylated, or poly-L-lysine as a source of amine or aldehyde group for attachment of DNA. Recently, dendrons have been developed for use in biochip. When a chip is coated with dendrons, one can control spacing between capture probes and this also allows reduction of steric hinderance and concomitant increase in sensitivity. Korean patent 10-0383080-0000 and published U.S. Patent Application 2005/0037413 describe dendrons provide controlled spacing as well as density of amines on dendron.
When DNA chip slides are used, the sequence of steps is to amplify the DNA (labeling the DNA with fluorescent group at the same time) and then purify the DNA. The amplified DNA is denatured by heating and added to the surface of capture probes for annealing. After hybridization, the slide is washed and the fluorescent double-stranded DNA is detected by scanning and the data are analyzed.
As described above, the use of DNA chip requires extraction of DNA or RNA from cells, gene amplification and purification, and DNA hybridization. This requires different instruments for gene amplification and hybridization, and considerable time is required for gene amplification and purification (as much as one day). Also, the cost of chemicals and disposable items is high. There is also loss of sample during purification of gene amplification products. Therefore, there is need for streamlining the cumbersome processes involved in use of gene chips.
Citation of the above documents is not intended as an admission that any of the foregoing is pertinent prior art. All statements as to the date or representation as to the contents of these documents is based on the information available to the applicant and does not constitute any admission as to the correctness of the dates or contents of these documents.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

One step diagnosis by dendron-mediated DNA chip


A method and system for monitoring a factory automation product via a communications network. The factory automation product is installed at an installation site having an installation site address and includes identifiable information such as a product number, a version number, a serial number and a MAC address. By obtaining the installation site address and the identifiable information, it is possible to associate the installation site address to the factory automation product based on the identifiable information. Based on the installation site address, it is possible to determine whether the factory automation product is used in violation of licenses.

A local area network system, such as the Ethernet, can be used for industrial control applications. Such a network system can be used to enable programmable controllers, host computers, control devices, such as adjustable frequency drives, and other automation devices to communicate through the production areas of an industrial plant. The devices connected together in such a communication link are generally referred to as "nodes". Each node has a unique Media Access Control (MAC) address as an identifier of the node to allow messages from one node to be sent to another. In an automated factory where a plurality of automation devices are used to perform a variety of intended functions, each automation device has a controller, such as a programmable logic controller (PLC), to communicate with a controlling workstation or the PLC of another automation device. Furthermore, the PLC includes a software program to control the automation device in performing the intended function.
In a small, enclosed communications network such as the local area network system, any automation device can be easily tracked down by a monitoring mechanism within the network using the MAC address of the device. However, it is not as easy to keep track of a factory automation device from the outside of that local area network system. It is even more difficult to monitor a factory automation product that does not have a MAC address or other address accessible via a communications network. For example, it is rather difficult for the manufacturer of a software program or other similar factory automation product to identify the user of the product in order to determine whether the product is used in violation of licenses, or to notify the user of product safety or quality issues. Furthermore, it is also desirable for the manufacturer to determine whether the product is being illegally duplicated, or whether the product is used in compliance with an export license.
Thus, it is advantageous and desirable to provide a method and system for monitoring the users of factory automation products through a communications network such as the Internet.

Remote monitoring of factory automation users


The cargo spreader bar (100) is a rectangular frame with longitudinal sides (120) that are longer than the lateral sides (118e). Hooks (102) are attached to the frame along the longitudinal sides (120). The hooks (102) hold cargo hoisting chains (CH) and include actuator (206) controlled, pivoting safety locks (208) that close to secure the chains (CH) to the hooks (102). A tubular chain lifter (104) pivotally mounted to the frame extends along one of the longitudinal frame members (120). A second chain lifter (104) extends along the remaining longitudinal frame member (120). Inside sections of the tubular chain lifters (104) are pivotally coupled to a chain lifter actuator (400). When safety locks (208) are disengaged, an actuator arm (401) can be commanded to pivot the outside sections of the lifters (104) to swing upward to release the chains (CH) from the hooks (102).

Currently, stevedores and other longshoremen must lift and handle several pneumatic hooks, which each weigh about thirty pounds, in order to hook cargo up to the spreader bar. The process is exhausting manual labor, and may lead to back injuries through job-related accidents or occupational disease. Since there can be upward of seven or more of these pneumatic hooks on each side of the spreader bar, each of the hooks having its own individual air hose for actuation, pneumatic leaks pose a constant problem, as well as the difficulty in manipulating so many hooks attached to separate air hoses. Productivity is lost when a stevedore is injured handling the pneumatic hooks, and also when the system must be shut down to troubleshoot an air leak amidst the complex array of supply hoses for the pneumatic hooks.
Thus, a cargo spreader bar solving the aforementioned problems is desired.


A window including a movable monolithic or laminated window, equipped along at least one part of its periphery with a molded profile obtained by encapsulating the window, presenting a structure which allows easy and permanent assembly by fitting and/or gripping it with a connecting piece which is part of the mechanism which provides the mobility of the window.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a movable window, particularly a side window of a transport vehicle, which can be moved particularly by rolling up and down.
2. Background of the Prior Art
Side windows of transport vehicles, particularly automobiles, are generally installed so that they can roll or move in the body, generally the doors of the vehicle. This movable installation makes it necessary to have the window connected with a mechanical raising-lowering system.
In order to facilitate this connection, it has already been proposed that the side window be equipped with a profile made of metal or a plastic material, which is glued onto the glass sheet, and which contains holes for attaching the window to the raising-lowering mechanism.
This type of assembly, while it simplifies the operation of installing the window in the body of the vehicle, is not entirely satisfactory, because it is difficult to perform with automated equipment.
A connection apparatus between the glass and a glass-raising mechanism of the automobile is known, comprising at least one metal binding for the glass, connected to a maneuvering element of the glass-raising mechanism, in which the means for attaching the glass has a frame with means for interlocking, which interlock with the metal binding.
This arrangement makes it possible to eliminate the manual operation of attaching the glass to the glass-holding binding.
The means of producing the window comprises a profile with a U-shaped cross-section, into which the lower edge of the window is placed, with a retention lining being placed in between. One disadvantage of this arrangement is that installation of the window in the attachment means requires further manual operations.

Movable window, particularly for an automobile


Disclosed is a transmissive type display which uses ambient light for enhanced backlighting and which can be used with or without an artificial light source which is either built-in or external to the unit. The backlighting display assembly includes a light pipe with an arrangement of immediately adjacent microprisms serving as the back surface of the light pipe and a light injecting system. The backlighting system may also include a compensating plate or film which also has an immediately adjacent surface profile complementing that of the light pipe. The compensating plate, placed on top of the light pipe, is used to provide uniform illumination. Since outdoor ambient light provided by the sun usually comes from overhead, a light bending film may also be included in the backlighting system so that the display utilizes the overhead light effectively.

Non-emissive flat panel displays, including liquid crystal displays, are commonly used in portable computer systems, televisions and other electronic display devices. Non-emissive flat panel displays can be divided into two types--reflective and transmissive.
Reflective type displays use ambient light for energy efficiency. However, lacking a suitable built-in lighting system and suffering from a low brightness, the reflective type displays are used mainly for low end monochromatic applications. Back-lit transmissive type displays, on the other hand, are used mainly in high end products such as notebook computers and televisions because they beneficially have a very high contrast ratio and low surface reflectivity.
One disadvantage to the backlighting system of a transmissive display is that it consumes a significant amount of power and its brightness is limited by available lighting power. Most of the transmissive type displays are not suitable for outdoor applications because they lack sufficient brightness.
Transmissive type displays completely rely on their build-in lamps for illumination. As a result, the battery life of the portable computers are quite short (usually, less than 4 hours). Furthermore, most of the existing transmissive type displays do not have a sufficient brightness for outdoor applications. Moreover, since transmissive type displays using backlighting systems of the prior art are not transparent, ambient light cannot be used to enhance their illumination. There is a need to obtain a sufficiently bright transmissive type display which uses as little power consumption as possible while also generating a sufficient brightness for outdoor use.
Overhead projection palettes which are used in conjunction with overhead projectors, are used to transfer data on a computer screen to a projection screen. These are transmissive type displays which rely solely on ambient light for their illumination, specifically, an overhead projector having capable of high lumen output.

Transmissive type display and method capable of utilizing ambient light


Input sequence information may be analyzed and quantified using n-gram analysis of inputs received by an application. The sequences of inputs may be represented by n-grams, and the frequency of the various n-grams may indicate the ‘real world’ uses of the application in production, which may be compared to a test suite whose coverage may be quantified using a similar n-gram analysis. A coverage factor may compare the observed inputs to the application in production to the test suite for the application. The n-grams may be further quantified or prioritized by resource utilization and several visualizations may be generated from the data.

Tracing a software application is a mechanism for gathering performance and operational data while the application executes. Tracers may be deployed in a development or testing environment, where the data may be used to understand how the application performs under simulated loads. When deployed in production, a tracer may gather usage data that reflects the actual loads and performance of the application in response to those loads.
Tracing may be performed at different levels, where a heavyweight tracer may gather a large amount of data but may consume a large amount of overhead. A lightweight tracer may consume less overhead but may consume fewer less accurate or more generalized data. In some cases, the overhead may exceed 10 times the amount of resources that the application consumed on its own.
Software testing is a step in software development where an application may be tested using simulated loads and inputs to exercise the application. The application's behavior may be captured using a tracer or other data gathering system. In many cases, the simulated loads may reflect the expected loads that the application may experience.

N-gram analysis of inputs to a software application


An electronic device having a cover includes a cover unit rotated about one side of the electronic device and having a magnet member; a magnetic body mounted within the electronic device and magnetized by the magnet member; a sensor unit provided close to the magnetic body to sense a magnetic flux generated by the magnetic body; and a controller which executes a user experience according to a signal output of the sensor unit.

In recent years, various electronic devices, such as mobile phones, MP3 players, portable multimedia players (PMPs), and electronic books, have become widely used so that the users can access various content or media while the devices are being carried. Various functions such as pictures, videos, multimedia, and games as well as wireless transmission/reception of signals are often integrated in such electronic devices. A display unit is typically provided on a front surface of an electronic device so that multi-functions can be used, and an electronic device called smart phones provides a large-sized display such that the entire front surface of the electronic device responds to a touch.
However, in the electronic device, a scratch or a damage due to an impact may be generated on an outer case of the electronic device or a display unit exposed to a front side of the electronic device in the process of carrying or using the electronic device. In order to prevent the problem, electronic devices are often provided with various cases, or covers (hereinafter, referred to as 'the cover unit'). Various existing cover units for covering electronic devices exist according to the types or configurations for covering the electronic devices. For example, a cover unit whose display unit side is exposed and which covers only an outer periphery of an electronic device or a rear case is provided so that a user can directly use the display unit, and a cover unit which covers an entire electronic device through a flip type case and in which a portion covering the display unit is opened and closed to use the display unit. When the cover unit in which the display unit is exposed is used, the display unit can be directly used but a scratch may be generated in the display unit and it is difficult to prevent damage. Accordingly, in recent years, considering a design and a convenience of the cover unit, a flip type cover unit (hereinafter, referred to as 'the flip cover'), having a luxurious design is widely used. A conventional flip cover has a part for covering a display unit (hereinafter, referred to as 'the cover member') and a rear cover for covering a rear surface of an electronic device (hereinafter, referred to as 'the battery cover') integrally formed with the cover member to make the electronic device slim and realize a luxurious design. However, the cover member is provided to be simply positioned on a surface of a display unit to protect the surface of the display unit, and simply recognize only an opening/closing state of the cover unit. For example, a cover member in the form of a hard book cover (referred to as 'the quick cover') is rotatably provided on a surface of an electronic device, or is provided such that a Hall sensor can determine only existence of a magnetic flux generated by a magnet to recognize an on/off state of the book cover.
Further, since the cover member such as a book cover does not separately include a member for fixing the cover member to realize a luxurious design, the cover member cannot be fixed onto the display unit. Further, since the cover member cannot be fixed even when the cover member such as a book cover is deployed so that a user can use the display unit, for example, since a user should use the electronic device while holding the cover member on the rear surface of the electronic device, he or she feels inconvenience.
Even when a fixing unit for fixing the book cover is provided separately, only the front surface of the display unit is fixed.
Thus, as described above, when the cover member is open, a user should use the electronic device while holding the cover member. Further, since the fixing member is exposed to the outside, the luxuriousness of the design of the cover unit is lowered.