A superconductive magnetically levitated railway is provided with six phases of propulsion-levitation-guidance ground coils arranged on both side walls of a track, and with a pair of superconducting magnets, which are mounted on the vehicle, corresponding to the six phases of the ground coils. The ground coils are a U-phase coil, a negative W-phase coil, a V-phase coil, a negative U-phase coil, a W-phase coil and a negative V-phase coil arranged successively at a 60.degree. pitch along both side walls of the track. As a result, higher harmonics of the magnetic field produced by the propulsion-levitation-guidance ground coils can be reduced. In addition, the number of layers of the ground coils can be reduced one and the number of ground coils can be decreased.

This invention relates to a superconductive magnetically levitated railway and a system for feeding power thereto.
An example of the prior art in the technical field to which the present invention appertains is as disclosed in the specification of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (KOKAI) No. 1-107603.
The arrangement of ground coils and superconducting magnets in a superconductive magnetically levitated railway according to the prior art will now be described with reference to the drawings.
As for the arrangement of the ground coils in the conventional superconductive magnetically levitated railway, ground coils 2 for levitation are laid upon a track bed 1 having a generally U-shaped cross section, as illustrated in FIG. 1, and ground coils 3 for propulsion and guidance are mounted on the side walls of the track bed 1, at a pitch equivalent to an electric angle of 120.degree., in such a manner that the three U-, V-and W-phases will correspond to the N and S poles of a superconducting magnet 4 installed on a vehicle. The left-and-right ground coils for propulsion are null-flux connected so as to form a loop and serve also to guide the vehicle. The number of coils per unit length is such that two coils are used for levitation for each single coil that is used for propulsion.
This arrangement of the ground coils according to the prior art has been investigated to determine how the superconducting magnets are affected by the higher harmonics of the magnetic field generated by the propulsion ground coils disposed in this 120.degree. single-layer configuration. As a result of these investigations, it has been found that the vibration of the inner tank of the superconducting magnets becomes large at a specific frequency and that a large amount of heat loss is produced. Accordingly, a two-layer spaced-pole system has been proposed in which, while such measures as strengthening the inner tank of the superconducting magnet are taken, third harmonics are eliminated, without changing the number of coils, as means for reducing higher-harmonic magnetic fields.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the arrangement of the ground coils in the two-layer spaced-pole system mentioned above.
As shown in FIG. 2, a side-wall levitation system is adopted in which ground coils 11 for propulsion and ground coils 12 for levitation and guidance are arranged on the side walls of a track bed 10 having a generally U-shaped cross section.
As shown in FIG. 3, this side-wall levitation system includes ground coils 21 for levitation and guidance and a null-flux line 22. Each levitation-guidance coil 21 has upper and lower coil segments connected together into a figure-eight configuration. The levitation-guidance coils 21 are provided on mountain and ocean sides and are connected together by the null-flux line 22. The levitation-guidance coils 21 are mounted on the side walls of the track bed so that when the center line of a superconducting magnet 20 installed in the vehicle is situated at the center of the levitation-guidance coil 21 having the upper and lower coil segments, the magnetic flux interlinking both coil segments will be the same so that an induced current will not flow through the levitation-guidance coil 21. When the center line of the superconducting magnet 20 installed in the vehicle is situated above or below the center of the levitation-guidance coil 21, an induced current flows through the coil 21 and both the upper and lower coil segments thereof generate a force which returns the superconducting magnet 20 to the center. When the superconducting magnet 20 is below the center, therefore, a levitating force is produced.
Since a levitating force is produced by each horizontal side of the levitation-guidance coil 21, as shown in FIG. 4(a), the same levitating force can be obtained by passing less current through the ground coil 21 in comparison with the system of FIG. 1, and therefore the resistive loss that accompanies levitation also is smaller by comparison. Accordingly, the resistance to traveling of the vehicle (namely the magnetic resistance) caused by magnetism is small. In addition, the magnetic resistance which exhibits its peak value at low velocities can be made zero if the vehicle is made to travel on wheels at the time of low velocity while the height of the center line of the superconducting magnet and the height of the center line of the ground coils are made to coincide.
The guiding force is produced as shown in FIG. 4(b). Specifically, the upper coil segments of the levitating coils on the left and right side walls, as well as the lower coils segments of these levitating coils, are connected by the null-flux line 22 (see FIG. 3) in such a manner that the induced voltages will cancel each other out. As a result, the induced voltage of the levitating coil on the side approached by the superconducting magnet 20 becomes larger than that of the levitating coil on the side from which the superconducting magnet 20 departs, and therefore a circulating current flows through the null-flux line. This causes a repulsive force to be produced on the side approached by the superconducting magnet 20 and an attractive force on the side from which the superconducting magnet 20 departs. Since the upper coil segments and the lower coil segments act in the same manner, a sufficient guiding force is obtained.
In the power-feed system according to the prior art, a current of a frequency commensurate with vehicle velocity and required propulsive force is passed through the propulsion coil of a ground primary-type linear synchronized motor to accelerate and decelerate the vehicle. Furthermore, a dual-feeder system is adopted in which the power supply system is provided in two groups and sections are changed over in succession by feeder section switches as the vehicle advances.
With the ground coil arrangement in the two-layer spaced-pole system, as described above, the mutually adjacent U-, V and W-phase coils of the ground coils 11 for propulsion partially overlap each other in order to eliminate third harmonics without changing the number of coils, as illustrated in FIG. 2. In other words, part of the U-phase coil and part of the V-phase coil are overlapped, part of the V-phase coil and part of the W-phase coil are overlapped, and part of the W-phase coil and part of the V-phase coil are overlapped. The coils are disposed in this manner in successive fashion.
When the coils are arranged in this manner, however, the propulsion ground coils 11 are disposed on the side wall of the U-shaped track bed 10 in such a manner that the V-phase coil 11b is placed upon the U-phase coil 11a, by say of example, and the ground coils 12 for levitation and guidance are disposed on the side wall by being placed upon the propulsion ground coils 11. Accordingly, the ground coils are disposed in three layers, as a result of which overall thickness is increased. This means that a corresponding amount of space is required in the direction of width. In addition, a half-length of a propulsion coil, which is referred to as an end coil, is required to be placed at each break in the guideway beam. Thus, difficulties are encountered in the installation and maintenance of the ground coils.

Superconductive magnetically levitated railway, and power-feed system therefor


A method for semiconductor wafer scribing utilizing perforated metal areas in the scribe regions. In one form, a method for fabricating a semiconductor device includes forming a plurality of semiconductor die (12) on a semiconductor wafer (10) such that the die are separated from one another by scribe regions (13). A test structure (14) is formed within one of the scribe regions and includes a perforated probe pad (16). In one embodiment, the probe pad is perforated by a plurality of slots (18). The perforations in the probe pad aid in scribing the semiconductor wafer by preventing metal lift-off which often occurs when cutting metal areas.

Semiconductor device fabrication begins by forming a plurality of semiconductor die on a wafer or a slice of semiconducting material. Each die has one or more integrated circuits formed thereon by a process known as wafer fabrication. In a very simplistic explanation, wafer fabrication involves subjecting a semiconductor wafer to a series of depositions and etches of various conducting and insulating materials to form the circuit(s). Upon the completion of wafer fabrication, the semiconductor die are singulated, or in other words are separated from one another, by cutting the wafer into a plurality of individual semiconductor die. Each die is then assembled by encasing the die in a package body or protective coating and providing a way of electrically accessing the circuit(s) on the die.
As a method of monitoring and controlling the wafer fabrication process, many semiconductor manufacturers incorporate electrical test structures onto the semiconductor wafer. The test structures are formed simultaneously with the semiconductor die, but in general are much simpler circuits. The test structures are used to provide a reasonably accurate interpretation of how well the semiconductor die will perform in view of a few simple test results. In an effort to conserve valuable space on a semiconductor wafer, these test structures are quite small and are most often formed between the semiconductor die. Once wafer fabrication is complete, diagnostic testing is performed on the wafer's test structures to evaluate various electrical characteristics. Upon completion of diagnostic testing, the semiconductor die are cut from the wafer and singulated to prepare the die for subsequent assembly.
One problem that exists in using the test structures described above is that the test structures impede the ability to properly and reliably cut the wafer. Since the test structures are formed between semiconductor die, the test structures lie in the cutting path of the wafer. (Cutting the wafer is also referred to as "scribing" the wafer and thus the cutting path on the wafer, where the test structures are located, is sometimes called the "scribe region.") Because the test structures have already been utilized at this point in fabrication, there is no harm in destroying the test structures during the cutting operation. However, cutting through the structures often involves cutting through large metal regions which are used in the test structures as contact points or probe pads. Probe pads are coupled to the circuits formed within the test structure and are contacted during diagnostic testing by probe needles. The probe pads must be made large enough to ensure accurate placement of the probe needles during testing, thus the size of the probe pads is much larger than the actual circuitry. In cutting through the probe pads, much of the metal which forms the probe pad is torn away by the cutting element, for example a sawing blade. Although destroying the probe pad does not impact a semiconductor device's performance, any metal which is removed from the probe pad may adversely affect the device. For example, the torn metal may become lodged on one of the semiconductor die of the wafer, thereby short-circuiting two of the die which normally are to remain isolated. Therefore, having stray pieces of metal potentially thrown about throughout the assembly of a semiconductor device creates serious reliability concerns.
Because test structures impede the ability to properly and reliably singulate die on a semiconductor wafer, a need exists for an improved semiconductor device, and more specifically, for an improved semiconductor device which has features to aid in cutting metal regions and a process for fabricating the same.

Method for manufacturing a semiconductor device with a slotted metal test pad to prevent lift-off during wafer scribing


Particular implementations of an electrical conduit coupling comprise a coupler body having an open end defined by an outer body wall. The open end comprises an interior diameter sized and shaped to accept a cylindrical conduit. A raised shoulder portion extends inward from an inside surface of the coupler body. A locking element in the outer body wall comprises a locking tab recess. The locking element comprises a compression plate, a locking tab, and a release. The compression plate is slidably engaged with the outer body wall and extends past the inside surface of the coupler body to engage an outer wall of the conduit. The locking tab extends into the locking tab recess when the compression plate is in its engaged position. Upon actuation of the release, the locking tab withdraws from the locking tab recess and the compression plate slides to an unengaged position.

1. Technical Field
Aspects of this document relate generally to weatherproof coupling devices for conduits.
2. Background Art
Coupling devices for conduits are useful in the construction and electrical trades to join two conduits in an end-to-end orientation. Other types of coupling devices join an end of a conduit with an electrical junction box. Various types of coupling devices have been attempted, including, by way of non-limiting example, cementable sleeve couplers, fusion couplers that meld adjoining pipe ends, compression couplers, and others. Conventional pipe couplers also exist that comprise a rotatable screw to engage a side of a conduit to hold the conduit into a coupler.


In a method for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with a camera to capture images of a target, the computing device sets coordinates of a target, initial coordinates of the camera, and an initial viewing direction of the camera. Real-time coordinates and a real-time viewing direction of the camera are obtained when the UAV flies around the target. Accordingly, adjustment parameters of the camera are calculated and transferred to a driver system connected to the camera, such that the driver system adjusts the camera to face the target according to the adjusting parameters.

1. Technical Field
The embodiments of the present disclosure relate to image capturing technology, and particularly to a computing device and method for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle to capture images of a target.
2. Description of Related Art
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), also known as an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) or a remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), are controlled remotely. UAVs are often preferred for missions that are too dull or dangerous for manned aircraft. For example, a UAV is equipped with a camera and is remotely piloted to a dangerous region to capture images of that region. While piloting the UAV, the navigator or pilot may be unable to adjust an orientation of the camera of the UAV, so that the camera cannot capture images of a target. Therefore, there is a need for improvement in the art.

Computing device and method for controlling unmanned aerial vehicle to capture images

Zhongshan Innocloud Intellectual Property Services Co., Ltd.


A case that is convertible into a stool and a working surface is provided. The case includes a worktable, a front panel removably secured to a front side of the worktable, and a rear panel removably secured to a rear side of the worktable. The front and rear panels each include a slot inwardly extending from a first edge thereof. The front and rear panels may be removed from the worktable and interconnected by sliding the slot of the front panel through the slot of the rear panel. The stool seat is removably attachable to the case and/or to the interconnected panels to form a stool.

Pochade boxes are compact boxes that allow a user to keep all of their tools in one location and enable a user to perform work on the inside lid of the box. These boxes are traditionally used for travel and outdoor artistic endeavors such as plein air painting. These boxes and other known portable workstations suffer from disadvantages. For example, such workstations are cumbersome to carry and/or lack a seat to sit on when the user is working in the field.
There is a general desire for a portable workstation that is readily convertible from a compact case, which is used to conveniently carry tools and equipment, into an easily assembled workstation that includes a stool to seat the user and a worktable to enable the user to perform work with comfort and convenience.
The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related thereto are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.


A power gate structure and corresponding method are provided for controlling the ground connection of a logic circuit for a plurality of modes, where the power gate structure includes an NFET transistor, a PFET transistor in signal communication with the NFET transistor, source to source and drain to drain, respectively, a ground node in signal communication with the drains of the transistors, and a ground rail in signal communication with the sources of the transistors; and the corresponding method includes decoupling the logic circuit from the ground connection in a first or active mode, holding the logic circuit at about a threshold voltage above the ground connection in a second or state retention mode, and cutting off the current flow between the logic circuit and the ground connection in a third or non-state retentive mode.

The present disclosure relates to Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor ("CMOS") integrated circuits and, more particularly, to CMOS implementations of Static Random Access Memories ("SRAM"), digital logic, and related methods for reducing parasitic leakage currents in memory and logic elements.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional CMOS SRAM storage cell indicated generally by the reference numeral 100 [1]. As shown in the figure, various parasitic leakage current paths exist between VDD and ground through the various devices. Paths in the solid line represent leakage through the gate nodes of the MOS devices, while subthreshold device source-to-drain leakage is represented by the dotted lines in the figure. As technology scales to deep submicron dimensions, these leakage currents can constitute a significant portion of total power during both standby and active modes. The gate leakage component leakage is a strong function of voltage potential between the gate and either the device source or drain terminal. The subthreshold leakage current is a strong function of device threshold voltage (Vt) and drain-to-source voltage potential, which modulates the Drain-Induced-Barrier Lowering effect (DIBL). [1] "A Novel Powering-down Scheme for Low Vt CMOS Circuits", Kouichi Kumagai, Hiroaki Iwaki, Hiroshi Yoshida, Hismitsu Suzuki, Takashi Yamada, Susumu Kurosawa, 1998 Symposium on VLSI Circuits Technical Digest, IEEE, pp. 44–45.
FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional technique to dynamically reduce the supply voltage across a logic circuit during standby mode by interrupting the power supply and ground connections of an integrated circuit by a low leakage MOS switch (MPSW and MNSW), indicated generally by the reference numeral 200 [2]. The diodes DN and DP are added to the circuit to reduce and clamp the supply voltage potential to a lower voltage while the circuit is in a standby mode. [2] "Standby Power Management for a 0.18 um Microprocessor", L. T. Clark, S. Demmons, N. Deutscher, F. Ricci, Proceedings of 2002 International Symposium on Low Power Electronics and Design, Monterey Calif., ACM, pp. 7–12.
The conventional technique illustrated in 200 has problems for voltage scaled devices. The diode is constructed by a P/N junction, which maintains a voltage drop of approximately 0.6V during normal conduction mode. If the supply voltage VDD is normally at 1.0V or less, the remaining small voltage (1.0V−0.6V=0.4V) can cause problems in maintaining the state of the circuit in the presence of noise. It also limits the amount the normal supply voltage can scale to less than the diode built-in potential of 0.6V. Another drawback of this approach is that it is not possible to control the diode voltage drop electronically to adjust the voltage potential across the internal circuits during the standby state because it is fixed by the physical limits of the diode characteristics.
This problem may be solved by using a complex voltage regulator, which uses a reference voltage to determine the virtual ground potential during standby mode. Such a voltage regulator, however, consumes chip area and is centrally located on the chip. The regulator must supply enough sink current to safely clamp the virtual VSS node in modes when the leakage current can be very high, such as under high temperature operation. Distribution of the Virtual VSS node must be done using wiring resources and can be inefficient for use in localized areas of the chip controlled independently.
FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a conventional circuit used to reduce the leakage current during standby mode using a complex regulator, and indicated generally by the reference numeral 300. In the circuit 300, the VSS ground connection is interrupted by the MOS switch M5 during standby mode, while an integrated voltage regulator is used to clamp and hold the floating VSS potential to a higher elevated voltage. During this mode, the PFET Nwell body connection is shorted to an externally generated supply that is higher than the normal VDD connection (IO VDD). This reduces the overall voltage potential across the microprocessor core circuit and reverse well biases both the PFET and NFET devices.

International Business Machines Corporation


Disclosed is a scuttle hole cover comprising a sleeve and an insulating cap. The sleeve extends into the attic through the scuttle hole and includes a locking mechanism for locking an insulating cover in place. The insulating cap includes a mating locking mechanism and, when inserted into the sleeve, locks into place.

This invention relates generally to attic insulation systems, and more particularly to an insulation system designed to insulate a conventional ceiling entrance, or "scuttle hole".
Scuttle holes exist in many buildings, especially in homes. These scuttle holes generally provide access to the storage space in the attic of a home through pull-down covers, many of which include a set of expandable stairs to allow easy access. However, attic insulation generally stops at the scuttle hole to allow access through the attic floor. Consequently, a significant amount of heat generally escapes through the scuttle hole opening.
Although existing insulating devices for scuttle holes are generally effective for the purposes intended, such devices are often difficult to transport and install. Furthermore, such devices are generally susceptible to heat leakage and are often difficult both to insert and remove when access to the scuttle hole is required.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a scuttle hole cover which is easy to transport.
It is another object of the invention to provide a scuttle hole cover which is easy to install.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a scuttle hole cover which greatly minimizes heat leakage.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a scuttle hole cover which is easy to selectively insert and remove as access to the attic is required.


A lens group for an endoscope or microscope, comprising one or more lens elements, each of uniform refractive index, adapted to: i) focus, with high wavefront aberration correction, driving or excitation light received from an exit tip of an optical waveguide (such as an optical fiber) located substantially against a proximal surface of the lens group to a point observational field with narrow point spread function beyond a distal surface of the lens group (such as outside an optical window located distally relative to the distal surface); and ii) transmit, with high wavefront aberration correction, fluorescence or reflected return light received by the distal surface from the point observational field (and its neighborhood defined by the fluorescence wavelength point spread function) back to the exit tip of the optical waveguide at the fluorescence wavelength.

In general, the further an object is from the centre of an optical system's optical axis, the worse the imaging system's Strehl ratio is and thus the dimmer the object will appear and the worse will be its signal to noise ratio. Moreover, there is a trade-off between field of view and numerical aperture: the higher the numerical aperture of an optical system is (i.e. the smaller the object it can resolve), the smaller is the field of view over which the system's Strehl ratio is acceptably large (particularly for in vivo systems), and over which vignetting is acceptably small. This trade-off arises from the change of the relative geometry of the imaging optics, the object and the object's image as the position of an object changes in the field of view. Practical optical systems that are optimized for on-axis imaging are not simultaneously optimized for off-axis imaging. The higher the system's numerical aperture, the greater the sensitivity of any design to a change in relative geometry between object, imaging system and image. Aberrations, particularly coma, increase off-axis. The focal position at the drive and fluorescence wavelengths must be the same to within the lateral and axial resolutions of the instrument.
For example, FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a many-element confocal collector lens of the background art, with a 0.3 NA, 0.8 Strehl ratio, axial chromatic shift <2 mm and lateral chromatic shift <150 nm over the whole field of view (FOV). In order to manufacture this lens with a Strehl ratio of 0.5 or greater throughout the whole field of view, it is necessary to consider the limitations of existing manufacturing techniques, and the aggregation of manufacturing imperfections, etc., and to take into account the expected radius of curvature of the imaging surface in the tissue (in this example, >3 mm). Hence, a design or theoretical Strehl ratio of 0.95 is required, at both the drive wavelength of 488 nm and fluorescence emission peak wavelength of 532 nm, together with a lateral focal chromatic shift of less than 150 nm and an axial focal chromatic shift of less than 2 μM between the two wavelengths across the whole field of view, all with the radius of curvature of the imaging surface in the tissue being greater than 3 mm. This is achieved by using the multi-element design of lens shown in FIG. 1.
The concatenation of ten optical elements in turn makes it costly to achieve the required stringent optical quality and mechanical tolerances. Assuming that the aberration from imperfections of each surface add incoherently, the aberration of the fourteen air to glass interfaces is roughly √{square root over (14)}≈3.7 times the aberration added by each surface. The required ISO 10110 specifications for each surface within the final assembly is 3/0.5(0.5/−) RMSi <0.05, λ=633 nm and 4/5′.
A further problem with these systems is the low numerical aperture of the output field of the fibre. The numerical aperture (NA) of the field output from a single mode 450 nm fibre is approximately 0.1. For many clinical in vivo imaging applications, numerical apertures of 0.2 or greater are needed. Therefore, optical magnification is needed if a single mode optical fibre's bound eigenfield is to be used as the confocal pinhole to boost this numerical aperture by a factor of two or more. This means that the scanning amplitude of the fibre must be two or more times that of the field of view in the tissue. A scanning system with a magnification of 2× must achieve a scan amplitude of the optical fibre twice that of the wished-for field of view.
A system with a simpler optical arrangement is disclosed in US Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0211104 and further explored in "High-resolution resonant and nonresonant fiber-scanning confocal microscope", J. Biomedical Optics 16(2), 026007 (February 2011). US 2011/0211104 discloses an optical probe for a confocal scanning endoscope. The probe comprises an optical guide, a first lens mounted on a distal end portion of the optical guide for focusing light from the optical guide, an actuator for displacing the distal end portion and the first lens to enable optical scanning, and a second lens inside the probe to receive radiation from the first lens. The second lens, which comprises a negative lens, deflects radiation from the first lens in a direction corresponding to a direction of displacement of the first lens by the actuator. The invention is said to be particularly useful for increasing the field of view (FOV) of cheap, disposable optical probes. Thus, the first lens is mechanically coupled to the optical guide, which avoids the trade-off between field of view and numerical aperture, permitting high values of both parameters, and also eliminates lateral chromatic shift as the relative geometry of the lens, imaged tissue and coverslip stays the same as the on-axis geometry throughout scanning.
However, the system of US 2011/0211104 includes several electrical channels running along a scanning steel tube that couples the first lens to the optical guide, employs large, heavy lenses and does not address the problem of chromatic aberration (other than to calculate the pulse spread for many-photon imaging).

Optical scanner and scanned lens optical probe


When a motor is driven by a signal transmitted due to a switch turned on, a count value is added. When the motor is stopped, the count value is subtracted. When the count value is an upper limit value, the motor is continuously driven until the switch is changed to an off state. Subsequently, until the count value comes to a lower limit value, the motor is maintained in a stopped state even if the switch of the motor is changed to an on state. For this reason, generation of heat in the motor can be prevented.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a driving circuit of a motor, which is used to drive a motor, particularly, an ultrasonic motor.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has conventionally been known an ultrasonic motor which employs ultrasonic vibration as driving force. In a traveling-wave ultrasonic motor which is a kind of ultrasonic motor, a stator is formed with a piezoelectric body attached to a ring-shaped elastic body and a rotor mounted on a driving shaft press-contacts the stator. The driving circuit of the ultrasonic motor supplies, to the piezoelectric body, driving signals of two phases (sine wave and cosine wave) which differ from each other by 90 degrees at a predetermined frequency. Due to mechanical vibration of the piezoelectric body caused by the driving signals of the two phases, the elastic body is excited by ultrasonic vibration (traveling wave) in which the antinode and node of the vibration move annularly along the elastic body. The traveling wave causes the rotor, which press-contacts the elastic body, and the driving shaft to rotate.
As described above, the ultrasonic motor produces driving force by frictional force generated by the piezoelectric body and the elastic body, and therefore, when the ultrasonic motor is driven continuously for a long time, there have existed problems in that the piezoelectric body may crack, degradation of performance caused by heat may occur, and elements which form the driving circuit (for example, MOS-FET and the like) may be broken.
In order to solve the above-described problems, generally, there is applied a method in which, with a temperature detecting element such as a thermistor used, when the temperature rises, the driving of an ultrasonic motor is stopped.
However, in the above-described method, there is a possibility that, even if a switch is turned on by an operator, the ultrasonic motor suddenly stops irrespective of whether the ultrasonic motor is broken or not, which makes the operator believe that something is wrong.


A remote sensor control system provides a sensor reading from an insulated environment at a certain interval dependent upon the threat level. The remote sensor control system has a control module and a remote module. The control module is disposed outside the insulated environment. The control module includes an energy source configured to produce an energy beam. The remote module is disposed at least partially within the insulated environment. The remote module is configured to receive the energy beam from the energy source. The remote module includes a battery, a sensor reader configured to sample a sensor, and an optical power gate configured to provide power from the battery to the sensor reader upon receiving said energy beam from the energy source.

1. Field
Embodiments of the invention relate to the sensors disposed in an insulated environment. More specifically, embodiments of the invention relate to the control of these remote sensors.
2. Related Art
Utility workers utilize a utility vehicle to reach inaccessible locations. The utility vehicle generally includes a boom with a utility platform. The utility worker stands in the elevated utility platform while performing a task. Electric utility workers typically use a utility vehicle to access overhead electric power lines and electric power components for installation, repair, or maintenance. The utility platforms utilized by electric utility workers are highly insulated so as to prevent the discharge of electricity through the utility vehicle, and especially through the utility worker. The insulated nature of the utility platform prevents the transmission of electricity via conventional wiring to electronic components in the utility platform.
Reading a sensor disposed in the insulated utility platform presents a problem. Some systems utilize a battery to power a sensor-reader. The sensor reader must be turned on and off by the operator. The operator may forget to turn the sensor reader on (such that the sensor reader cannot function) or off (such that the battery drains during periods in which the aerial device is not being used). The operator may also purposefully not turn on the sensor reader to avoid the alert that is produced by the sensor reader.


A process for purifying human Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra), obtained by fermenting a strain of recombinant E. coli, which comprises: a) loading the mixture to be purified, which has been buffered at a pH value lower than 6.2 and optionally diluted to reduce its ionic strength at a low value, onto a cationic exchange matrix and eluting said matrix with an aqueous buffered solution having a pH value from about 7.5 to 9.0 and a low ionic strength; and b) applying the eluate from the cationic exchange step, containing the desired IL-1ra protein, directly onto an anionic exchange matrix and eluting with an aqueous buffered solution having a pH value within the above range 7.5 to 9.0 and an increased ionic strength.

The present invention refers to a new purification process of the human Interleukin-1 receptor-antagonist (IL-1ra) obtained by fermenting a strain of recombinant E. coli.
As known, the members of the interieukin-1 (IL-1) family are important mediators of inflammatory, and immune responses. Among these Interleukin-1xcex1 and xcex2 (IL-1xcex1 and IL-1xcex2) behave as agonists on the IL-1 receptors, being responsible for the stimulation of a number of cellular activities related to inflammatory and immune responses.
IL-1ra (the third member of the IL-1 family) is a protein that, like IL-1xcex1 and IL-1xcex2, binds both the IL-1receptor type I (IL-1R type I) on the T-cells (see Cannon J. H. et al., J. Infect. Dis., 1990, 161, 79 and Hannum C. H. et al., Nature, 1990, 343, 336) and the IL-1R type II on polymorphonuclear leukocytes and and B-cells (see Grarowitz E. V. et al., J. Biol. Chem., 991, 266, 14147 and Dripps D. J. et al., J. Biol. Chem., 991, 266, 20311). Nevertheless, differently from IL-1xcex1 and IL-1xcex2, IL-1ra acts as a pure antagonist, blocking the binding of the IL-1xcex1 and IL-1xcex2 proteins to the said receptor and thereby providing a relevant control of on the whole IL-1 system.
Although extremely important for mediating the immunological response against pathogens, overproduction of IL-1(i.e. IL-1xcex1 and IL-1xcex2) may in some cases lead to undesired pathogenic conditions. This is, for instance, the case of septic shock, graft versus host disease or autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, multiple sclerosis and certain types of leukemia.
As showed by a number of authors, the inhibition of the IL-1 activity by IL-1ra in said pathogenic conditions could have therapeutic effects (see for instance, Dinarello C. A., Adv. Pharmacol., 1994, 25, p. 21 and Dower K. S. et al., Therap. Immunol., 1994, 1, p. 113). It appears however that relatively high amounts of protein are required in order to achieve significant clinical results (Fisher C. J. et al., JAMA, 1994, 271, 1836).
Because of the evident difficulties of providing high amounts of the human IL-1ra for further studies, the preparation of recombinant IL-1ra proteins is highly desirable.
The IL-1ra protein produced by recombinant E. coli according to the present fermentation process is an unglycosylated protein of about 17.5 kDa which has an affinity for the IL-1R type I similar to the one of the natural occurring glycosylated protein (Molecular weight of about 22 kDa), as disclosed by Schreuder et al., Eur. Jour. Biochem., 227, 838-847, (1995). Furthermore, it has been shown that said recombinant IL-1ra inhibits a variety of IL-1 dependent processes both in vitro (see Eisenberg S. P. et al., Nature, 1990, 343, 341; Arend W. P. et al., J. Clin. Invest., 1990, 85, 1694 and McIntyre K. W. et al., J. Exp. Med., 1991, 73, 931) and in vivo (see Rambaldi A. Et al., Blood, 1990, 76, 114; Cominelli F. et al., J. Clin. Invest., 1991, 86, 972 and Alexander H. R. et al., J. Exp. Med., 1991, 173, 1029).
The expression of the recombinant IL-1ra and its purification from the fermentation broth are disclosed by Schreuder et al., Eur. Jour. Biochem., 227, 839-847 (1995). Briefly, a IL-1ra producing recombinant Escherichia coli is prepared by inserting the human IL-1ra gene (from BBLxe2x80x94British Biotechnology Labs) into the TAC-Bsp vector by cutting the BBL IL-1ra vector with HindIII and BamHI, isolating the HindIII-BamHI fragment and inserting this latter into a BspMI/BamHI-digested TAC-Bsp vector with the addition of two linker oligonucleotides to bridge the restriction site and to put the gene in frame.
The so obtained recombinant E. coli is grown overnight at 37xc2x0 C. in Luria broth containing 50 xcexcg/ml of ampicillin; bacterial cells are then harvested by centrifugation and stored at xe2x88x9280xc2x0 C. until use.
According to the recovery procedure disclosed in the above document, bacterial cells are then lysed by sonication, centrifuged and clarified to remove cell debris.
For purification purposes, the clarified suspension is first passed through a hydrophobic interaction matrix (Phenyl-sepharose Fast-Flow, Pharmacia) using a salt-gradient elution; fractions containing the IL-1ra are pooled, dialyzed and passed through an anionic matrix (MonoQ with FPLC system, Pharmacia), then ammonium sulfate is added to the fractions containing the IL-1ra which are again passed through the hydrophobic interaction matrix and finally purified by gel filtration.
According to other purification, procedures, the recombinant IL-1ra protein contained in the clarified solution may also be purified by using two anionic exchange matrices and a size exclusion chromatography, as disclosed by D. B. Carter et al., Nature, 344 (19901), pp. 633-638, or by employing an anionic exchange chromatography, an hydrophobic interaction chromatography and a size exclusion chromatography, as disclosed by O. M. P. Singh et al., Spec. Publ.xe2x80x94R. Soc. Chem. (1994), 158 (Separations for Biotechnology 3), pp. 474-481.
It has now been found that the purification of IL-1ra protein can be easily achieved by using a simple two-step purification process which employs a cation exchange matrix and an anion exchange matrix.
In particular, the first elution is achieved by increasing the pH of the eluent with respect to the one of the loading mixture. The eluates containing the IL-1ra protein from the first chromatographic column are then directly loaded onto the second chromatographic column, without any intermediate operation such as diafiltration or dialysis; the second elution is then achieved by increasing the ionic strength of the eluent with respect to the one of the mixture eluted from the first chromatographic step.
As the skilled man will appreciate, the present purification method can be applied, using a conventional chromatographic system, to the clarified suspension obtained by the fermentation process described above, after treatment of the recombinant E. coli fermentation mass.
However, according to a preferred embodiment, the first purification step onto the cationic exchange matrix is preferably performed under the conditions of the so-called xe2x80x9cexpanded bed adsorption techniquexe2x80x9d. This technique, based upon fluidization, relies on the use of particular columns and ion exchangers, which allow to feed the column with a crude feed, without the need of preliminary operations for cell debris removal, such as concentration and/or clarification. Whilst the desired protein is adsorbed onto the matrix, the cell debris passes through the column unhindered and is then discarded (together with the unbound proteins). Accordingly, the homogenate obtained after cell disruption does not need to be clarified and filtered, as disclosed in the above prior art documents for eliminating the cell debris, but may directly be loaded onto the first cationic exchange matrix (see Hjorth et al., Bioseparation, 5(4), 217-223, 1995).
By coupling the expanded bed adsorption technique with the improved two-step chromatographic purification, a new simple procedure for the purification of IL-1ra from recombinant E. coli is thus provided; as a further advantage, in view of the low number of operations, the present purification process is also easily scalable for an industrial production of the IT-1ra recombinant protein.
As a general procedure, the cationic exchange matrix is first swallen by addition, of a suitable aqueous buffered solution (buffer A) having a pH lower than 6.2, preferably from about 5.0 to about 6.2, particularly preferred being a pH of about 6.0. For instance, buffered solutions containing MES (4-morpholineethanesulfonic acid), BIS-TRIS (2-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)amino-2-(hydroxymethyl)-1,3-propandiol) or citrate may be employed. If desired, further compounds may be added to the buffering solution, for instance protease inhibitors such as EDTA (ethylendiamino-tetraacetic acid) or PMSF (benzenemethanesulfonyl fluoride). A suitable buffering solution may be prepared, for instance, with 20 mM MES and 1 mM EDTA (pH about 6.0). The column is then loaded with the mixture to be purified, which will be either a clarified solution when a conventional chromatographic technique is applied or an homogenate containing the cell debris when the expanded bed adsorption technique is applied. The mixture to be purified is loaded as a solution with a buffer having a pH value within the above range (lower than 6.2, preferably 5.0-6.2), the buffer solution being preferably the one employed for the expansion of the matrix. The addition of the buffered solution has also the result of diluting the mixture to be purifed, so to achieve a low ionic strength of the loading solution; if necessary, the ionic strength of the loading mixture may be further lowered by diluting it with deminerilazed water.
Before eluting, the column is washed with a suitable buffer, preferably with the same buffer A used for expanding the matrix; preferably, after washing with buffer A, the column is then washed with water, so to minimize undesired pH""s gradients inside the column.
The IL-1ra protein is then eluted with another aqueous buffered solution buffer B), having a pH value of from about 7.5 to about 9.0, preferably about 8.0. For instance, buffered solutions containing TRIS (2-amino-2-(hydroxymethyl)-1,3-propanediol), HEPES (4-(2-hydroxy-ethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulfonic acid) or phosphate may be employed. Also in this case, as for buffer A, suitable additives may be added to the buffered solution. A suitable buffering solution may be prepared, for instance, with 25 mM TRIS and 1 mM EDTA (pH about 8.0).
The monitoring of the eluates is performed according to the known techniques, such as by UV analysis.
By following the above procedure, the eluted solution containing the desired IL-1ra, which will have a pH value within the range above defined for buffer B (i.e. 7.5 to 9.0) and a low ionic strength, may directly be loaded onto the anionic exchange resin.
The eluates from the cationic exchange column, containing the desired IL-1ra protein, are thus directly loaded onto the anionic exchange matrix, which has been previously equilibrated with a suitable buffer, preferably with the same buffer B used for eluting the IL-1ra protein from the cationic exchange matrix. After washing the loaded matrix, preferably with buffer B, the IL-1ra protein is then eluted with an aqueous buffered solution (buffer C) having the same pH as buffer B (i.e. from about 7.5 to 9.0, preferably about 8.0) but with an increased ionic strength (measured as conductivity of the solution).
As a general indication, the buffer B solution, which should have a low ionic strength, will in general have a conductivity lower than 3.0 mS/cm2, preferably lower than 1.5 mS/cm2, particularly preferred being a conductivity of about 0.9-1.0 mS/cm2. As said above, also the ionic strength of the mixtures loaded onto the ionic exchange matrices should be kept at low values; thus the above conductivity values are also desirable for these mixtures. On the other side, the buffer C solution, which has an increased salt content will in general have a conductivity higher than 9 mS/cm2, preferably from 9 to 15 mS/cm2, particularly preferred being a conductivity of about 10 mS/cm2.
As known in the art, for increasing the ionic strength of a buffered solution, a non-buffering salt is added thereto, such as NaCl, KCl and the like. Buffering agents and additives for buffer C are generally the sable as those employed for buffer B. For instance, a suitable solution for buffer C may be prepared with 25 mM TRIS, 100 mM NaCl and 1 mM EDNA (pH about 8.0, conductivity about 10 mS/cm2).
Also in this case, the monitoring of the eluates is performed according to the known techniques, such as by UV analysis.
At the end of the chromatographic purification, the obtained solution is then treated as known in the art for recovering the pure IL-1ra recombinant protein. For instance, tipical operations which may be applied, also in combination, for recovering the pure product are concentration, filtration and diafiltration.
When conventional ion exchange chromatographic techniques are employed, suitable cationic exchangers which may be employed in the first chromatographic step are the conventional cellulose based, dextran based, agarose or cross-linked agarose based, synthetic organic polymers based, coated silica matrices based cation exchangers, which may be functionalized with carboxymethyl, sulfonate, sulfoethyl or sulfopropyl groups. Preferably, cross-linked agarose based or synthetic organic polymers based cation exchangers are employed, which are preferably functionalized with sulfonate or sulfopropyl groups.
Examples of commercially available cationic exchangers are the cellulose based CM 23, CM 32 and CM 52 (Whatman); the dextran based CM-Sephadex C-25, SP-Sephadex C-25, CM-Sephadex C-50 and SP-Sephadex C-50 (Pharmacia); the agarose or cross-linked agarose based CM Bio-gel A (Biorad), CM-Sepharose CL-6B and S-Sepharose Fast Flow (Pharmacia); the synthetic organic polymer based Mono S (Pharmacia), S-Hyper D (Biosepra), SP-5-PW and HRLC MA7C (Biorad) and the and the coated silica matrices based such as CM Si300 and SP Si100 (Serva). Preferred matrices are S-Sepharose, Mono S and S-Hyper D.
According to the preferred embodiment, when the xe2x80x9cexpanded bed adscrption techniquexe2x80x9d is applied in the first chromatographic step, a particular column and ion exchanger are employed. In the specific, the column is provided with a mobile top adaptor, moved by hydraulic drive, and with a net at the top and the bottom of it, which permits the passage of the cell debris but not of the bead particles of the ion exchanger. The ion exchanger matrix is formed by special beads which are made heavier with respect to the beads employed in the conventional technique. The ion exchange matrix may be selected from the above cited cation exchange matrices, i.e. cellulose based, dextran based, agarose or cross-linked agarose based, synthetic organic polymers based, functionalized with carboxymethyl, sulfonate, sulfoethyl or sulfopropyl groups; said matrices are made heavier with respect to conventional matrices by addition of inert material to the beads, for instance quarz. Preferably, cross-linked agarose based cation exchangers are employed, which are preferably functionalized with sulfonate or sulfopropyl groups.
For instance, a STREAMLINE column (Pharmacia) filled with the a modified cross-linked agarose based cationic exchanger such as SP-STREAMLINE (modified SP-Sephadex, Pharmacia) can conveniently be employed.
Suitable anionic exchangers which may be employed in the second chromatographic step are the cellulose based, dextran based, agarose or cross-linked agarose based, synthetic organic polymers based and coated silica matrices based anion exchangers, which may be functionalized with diethylaminoethyl, quaternary aminomethyl, quaternary aminoethyl diethyl-(2-hydroxypropyl)aminoethyl, triethylaminbmethyl, triethylaminopropyl and poliethyleneimine groups. Preferably, cross-linked agarose based or synthetic organic polymers based anion exchangers are employed, which are preferably functionalized with a quaternary aminomethyl group.
Examples of commercially available anionic exchangers are the cellulose ion exchangers such as DE 32 and DE 52 (Whatman), the dextran ion exchangers such as DEAE-Sephadex C-25, QAE-Sephadex C-25, DEAE-Sephadex C-50 and QAE-Sephadex C-50 (Pharmacia), the agarose or cross-linked agarose such as DEAE Bio-gel A (Biorad), DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B and Q-Sepharose Fast Flow (Pharmacia), the synthetic organic polymers, such as Mono Q (pharmacia), Q-Hyper D (Biosepra), DEAE-5-PW and HRLC MA7P (Biorad) and the coated silica matrices such as DEAE Si5500 and TEAP Si100 (Serva). Preferred matrices are Q-Sepharose, Mono Q and Q-Hyper D; preferably the Q-Sepharose is employed as the anionic exchanger.

Process for the purification of human interleukin-1 receptor antagonist from recombinant E. coli


A process for preparing a fiber reinforced, glass matrix composite article of manufacture. The process employs an aqueous wet-laid technique by forming a dilute aqueous slurry of solids comprising glass fibers, reinforcing fibers and binder material which may be partially or completely fibrous. The dilute aqueous slurry is destabilized and the solids are collected on a porous support means. They are then dewatered and dried to form the composite mat which can be hot-pressed into an article of manufacture. The hot-pressed article of manufacture may then be heated, in the absence of pressure, to a temperature above the softening point of the glass, but below the degradation temperature of the reinforcing fibers, to provide a lofted composite.

The present invention concerns a process for preparing reinforced glass matrix composites.
Generally, fabrication of glass matrix composites is accomplished by impregnating a mat of fibrous material with a glass slurry. The impregnated fibers are then dried and stored as a prepreg or used directly. In any case, they are cut into desired form and molded under pressure and heated to fuse the glass matrix. Typical preparations as described above are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,511,663 and 4,485,179.
U. K. Patent Application 52023/68 discloses a technique where a continuous length of glass fibers is first pulled over and under spreading rollers to form a tape and then into a bath containing a glass powder slurry. Excess slurry is removed from the wet tape before it is wound onto a flat-sided drum so that the turns bond together. The turnings are removed and hot pressed. Modifications of this process can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,681,187.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,263,367 attempts to improve the reinforcement of glass matrix composites by employing premanufactured isotropically laid, i.e., in-plane randomly oriented fiberst graphite paper mats. After removing the binder material from the mats by solvent immersion or burning, the mats are dipped into a glass slurry. The mats are then stacked with alternating layers of powdered glass and hot pressed. The randomly oriented reinforcing fibers provide enhanced mechanical strength to the glass matrix composites.
Still another attempt to prepare glass matrices with reinforcing fibers is described in the article by Sambell, Bowen and Phillips, "Carbon Fiber Composites with Ceramic and Glass Matrices", Journal of Material Science, 7 (1972) at 663. Their process involves dispersing chopped carbon fibers and powdered matrix material in isopropyl alcohol. The mixture is continuously agitated while the alcohol is removed by infrared radiant heat until the mixture has a stiff consistency. The mixture is then loaded into a die assembly and hot pressed.
While the above methods are satisfactory, they are quite labor intensive. Simple, more efficient methods with good composition control are desired.

Reinforced glass and/or ceramic matrix composites


This invention relates to a pump (1) which is, in particular, constructed as an enclosed medical pump. To achieve an especially compact design, a pump section (6) which is connected to a rotor (5) of an electromagnetic drive means (2) for torque transmission is arranged inside said rotor (5) having a hollow interior.

This invention relates to a pump, in particular an enclosed medical pump.
Such a pump is known from Swiss Patent Specification 621 655, which relates to a circulating pump for aquaria. The pump section of this pump is connected to the drive means via a shaft. The housing of the pump section is there flanged onto that of the drive means, so that the known pump requires a very large space. For this reason, the known pump cannot be used in all those fields where extremely small and compact external dimensions are of importance. This regards, above all, medicotechnical fields, in particular, applications for dialysis devices, or the like.

Pump, in particular an enclosed medical pump


Certain embodiments of the invention may be found in a method and system for multi-layer network interface controller (NIC) operation. An aspect of the invention may utilize a two (2) level work-conserving scheduling system for network interface controller operation and may comprise tracking for all L4/L5 offload connections with active transmit requirements as well as layer 2 (L2) level transmit requirements. The first level may comprise a round-robin scheme that may be utilized to select the next high priority, normal priority, and layer 2 (L2) transmit requirement independently. The send level arbitration may comprise a work-conserving programmable weighted round-robin priority scheme that may be utilized to select amongst the transmit tasks selected by the first level priority scheme.

The International Standards Organization (ISO) has established the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference model. The OSI reference model provides a network design framework allowing equipment from different vendors to be able to communicate. More specifically, the OSI reference model organizes the communication process into seven separate and distinct, interrelated categories in a layered sequence. Layer 1 (L1) is the Physical Layer, which handles the physical means of sending data. Layer 2 (L2) is the Data Link Layer, which is associated with procedures and protocols for operating the communications lines, including the detection and correction of message errors. Layer 3 (L3) is the Network Layer, which determines how data is transferred between computers. Layer 4 (L4) is the Transport Layer, which defines the rules for information exchange and manages end-to-end delivery of information within and between networks, including error recovery and flow control. Layer 5 (L5) is the Session Layer, which deals with dialog management and controlling the use of the basic communications facility provided by Layer 4. Layer 6 (L6) is the Presentation Layer, and is associated with data formatting, code conversion and compression and decompression. Layer 7 (L7) is the Applications Layer, and addresses functions associated with particular applications services, such as file transfer, remote file access and virtual terminals.
In some communication systems, network interface controllers (NICs) may be required to support multiple interfaces to a host system that may be running with a plurality of different levels of offload. The host system interfaces may include legacy L2 services, transport level L4 services, or session level L5 services. For the legacy L2 services, the NIC provides a lower amount of offload where pre-formatted packets from the system are simply read from the system and transmitted. For the transport level L4 services, the NIC provides reliable data transport service on a connection by connection basis. A normal implementation of this type of offload includes TCP/IP offload. For session level L5 services, the NIC provides upper level protocol L5 services in which the NIC provides protocol specific services, such as digest or header composition/decomposition, as well as protocol specific or generic buffer-to-buffer copy services across the network with reliable data transport. A typical implementation of this type of offload is RDMAC protocol or iSCSI protocol.
FIG. 1A is a block diagram of a conventional system 100 that may be required to support multiple interfaces to a host system that may be running with a plurality of different levels of offload. Referring to FIG. 1A, the system 100 may comprise operating system 101, L2 driver 103, L4 driver 105, L5 driver 107, L2 only NIC 109, L4 only NIC 111, L5 only NIC 113, and external switch 115. The system 100 may utilize operating system 101 to support L2, L4 and L5 types of offload. The operating system 101 may utilize separate drivers and separate NICs for each type of offload. For example, L2 type of offload may be managed by a L2 NIC 109 utilizing a L2 driver 103, L4 type of offload may be managed by a L4 NIC 111 utilizing a L4 driver 105, and L5 type of offload may be managed by a L5 NIC 113 utilizing a L5 driver 107.
The conventional system 100 is a multiple support environment in which each of the offload layer protocols is implemented on a separate NIC or Host Bus Adapter (HBA). Since each of the offload layer protocols is implemented on a separate NIC, there is little need to manage the transmit bandwidth between the different levels of services. Each NIC has its own independent connection to the network. For example, it may be a common occurrence for some or all of the protocols for the L2 NIC 109, the L4 NIC 111 and the L5 NIC 113 to be simultaneously transmitting. In this regard and when all the NICs transmit on the same network (e.g. Ethernet) and that network transfers all of the above data types form the multiple NICs to the destination/s, such solution may utilize a single external switch 115 to combine traffic on a per-packet basis (directly attached or somewhere between source and destination). Each NIC in this solution may not take the traffic needs of adjacent NIC devices into account. Consequently, if all three NIC devices transmit at a combined rate greater than a designated egress port, leading towards the destination on the switch 115, data may accumulate inside the switch and packets from two or more of the NIC devices may be delayed or even dropped regardless of protocol type, connection priority characteristic, or protocol element type. In addition, costs for power, cooling, and/or component costs, both within and outside the system, may be considerable.
A second problem may arise since all offloads of L4 and above must meter out the transmit bandwidth between many different connections. A latency sensitive connection having a small amount of data to transmit, may have to wait until busier connections are idle before the connection with the small amount of data is allowed to transmit. Furthermore, busy connection(s) may operate for long periods and the small connections with sparse amounts of traffic may not be permitted to transmit until the busy connections have become idle. This may occur because system performance is normally sensitive to throughput for high bandwidth connections while latency is important for connections with a sparse amount of traffic, or because the system may have a policy of sending all the data available for a connection or very large blocks of data per connection.
In addition, offload NICs may nowadays transmit data faster than it was previously possible. One problem with this acceleration is that it is more important to keep the accelerated NIC transmitter updated as to the buffer status on the receiving NIC. For the TCP protocol, for example, the receiver window size may normally be enlarged, by configuration or other, when the network speed is increased. The receiver, therefore, must provide buffering for receive data up to the size of the TCP send window. This may require more costly memory either in the offload NIC or in the host of the receiver, to achieve the higher throughput.
FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating transmit behavior characteristic of the system of FIG. 1A. Referring to FIG. 1B, there is shown a connection A 121, a connection B 123 and a transmit behavior 125 for connections 121 and 123 when an external switch is utilized. Connection A, 121, may have a small amount of data to occasionally transmit and connection B, 123, may have a large amount of data to transmit. In the conventional system 100 of FIG. 1A, the transmit behavior 125 may correspond to a transmit pattern when an external switch is utilized to switch between connections A 121 and B 123. Since the large data transmit of connection B 123 may be broken up into individual packets, a switch, such as the switch in the conventional system 100 of FIG. 1A, may be utilized for limiting delay incurred by connection A 121. In this regard, packetized data streams may be merged after they have been packetized by the independent NICs.
FIG. 1C is a diagram illustrating data transmit and acknowledgement receive behavior characteristics of the system of FIG. 1A. Referring to FIG. 1C, transmit data traffic may be represented by transmit connections 131, 137, and 143. Corresponding receive acknowledgements may be represented by receive connections 133, 139, and 145. Bandwidth window size for each of the transmit data connections 131, 137, and 143 may be represented by bandwidth window sizes 135, 141, and 147, respectively. With regard to each of the three connections 131, 137, and 143, the transmitter must have "credit" to transmit packets. This credit may be equal to the amount of memory that the receiver has dedicated for this connection to receive data into. The amount of credit available is referred to as "window size" in TCP. The transmitter may transmit up to the available credit, but then must wait for acknowledges from the receiver which may restore some credit level before continuing. The receiver may be adapted to restore credit for data that has been properly received and/or processed by transmitting acknowledges 133, 139, and/or 145.
The first set of transmit data connection 131 and receive acknowledges 133 illustrates behavior at traditional speeds. A receiver may promptly generate acknowledges 133 about every two packets and may communicate the acknowledges 133 within one large packet time. As a result, a minimum possible bandwidth window size 135, that may be utilized to achieve full bandwidth, may be well controlled. The second set of transmit data connection 137 and receive acknowledges 139 illustrates packet processing behavior as the network communicates faster and not with the same scale as the first transmit-receive set. The receiver in this case is promptly generating acknowledges 139, however, the generated acknowledges may take longer time to transition the network as before. In the same amount of time, much more data may be transmitted, so the receiver may need to be configured with a larger window, which is bigger than the minimum possible bandwidth window 141 to achieve full bandwidth. To achieve full bandwidth, the window size may be configured at an increased size, which may be equal to, or larger than, the minimum possible window size 141. The increased window size may consume more receiver memory. However, the increased window size may be utilized to compensate for network latency and to achieve full bandwidth.
The third set of transmit data connection 143 and receive acknowledges 145 illustrates packet processing behavior when the receiver's transmitter is characterized with poor TX scheduling behavior. In this case, the acknowledges 145 may be delayed due to waiting for transmission of some other connection, for example, and may emerge as a group later in time. Accordingly, the minimum bandwidth window size 147 that may be required to achieve full bandwidth, may be further impacted and significantly increased. If the window size is not adjusted to match or exceed the new minimum bandwidth window size 147, the transmitter may "stutter," or come to a full stop, waiting for more ACK from the receiver. Since the window size for any one connection is normally fixed in size, it is important that ACK transmit behavior be predictable to keep window size requirements to a minimum and to maintain full possible bandwidth. Further, if the window size is limited below the minimum required size for full bandwidth, the possible bandwidth of the connection may be reduced. Any additional delay in generation of ACK packets, therefore, may further reduce the connection bandwidth.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.

Method and system for transmit scheduling for multi-layer network interface controller (NIC) operation


A communication robot including: a situation change detection unit for detecting writing of information into a situation database; a rule detection unit for detecting, from a rule database, a rule corresponding to the situation indicated by the data stored in the situation database when the writing of information into the situation database is detected by the situation change detection unit; an action inducing parameter setting unit for setting the degree of interest of the detected rule to at least one of movable parts and an audio output unit independently in the situation database; a parameter changing unit for independently changing the degree of interest set for the at least one of the movable parts and the audio output unit; and a command unit for requesting the at least one of the movable parts and the audio output unit to execute the execution command indicated by the detected rule.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication robot capable of communicating with people, and more particularly to a communication robot that can naturally express motions of its movable parts or make a speech.
2. Description of the Related Art
A robot has been conventionally known which determines its behavior based on an external situation and its internal status in order to enhance the amusement property for a pet robot (e.g. refer to Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-283958, paragraphs 0136-0148, FIG. 18). A robot disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-283958 has a plurality of behavior describing modules (schemes) in which actions having objectives, such as "exploring", "eating", and "playing" are described. Each scheme calculates, by using a predetermined function, an activation level AL of an action, which is the degree of execution priority of the scheme, in response to a change in the internal status of the robot or an external stimulus. Generally, the robot selects a scheme that has the highest AL, and expresses an action that corresponds to the scheme.
For example, the robot selects a scheme in which an action "kick a ball" is described when a user says to the robot "kick the ball" as a predetermined external stimulus. The selected scheme calculates the AL of the action so as to grasp how willing the robot is to perform the action, and determines whether or not the robot obeys the user's instruction based on the value of the AL. When the value of the AL is positive the robot obeys the user's instruction. In contrast, when the value of the AL is negative, the robot expresses a negative desire that it does not want to perform the action by emitting a predetermined sound "No, I don't want to" which notifies the user of the rejection of the action. As described above, the robot does not obey the user's instruction depending on the value of the AL of the action, which enhances the entertainment property of the robot.
However, since the robot disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-283958 selects, among a plurality of predetermined schemes, a scheme to be executed, actions expressed by the robot are monotonous. Furthermore, the robot stays still in a resting state when the robot does not perform any action specified by the schemes, which makes the robot appear to behave unnaturally.
Some robots (communication robot) are required to perform actions to execute various tasks efficiently, such as a transportation task or a guide task while communicating with people. In this case, if actions expressed by the robot are monotonous, a user may not have a sense of affinity but a sense of discomfort to the robot, which may become an obstacle for the communication. Therefore, the communication robot is desired to be able to express a variety of actions in addition to the actions for efficiently executing the tasks.


A seal for use in a surgical instrument to provide a gas-tight seal with an instrument passed through the seal. The seal can form a gas-tight seal with an instrument having a diameter within a wide range of diameters. The seal comprises a seal body, an instrument seal, and a laterally-compliant seal mounting device. The seal body includes a bore through which the instrument is passed. The instrument seal is made of an elastic material and is disposed substantially perpendicular to the axis defined by the bore in the seal body. The instrument seal includes an instrument port through which the instrument is passed. The laterally-compliant seal mounting device mounts the instrument seal to the seal body, forms a gas-tight seal between the instrument seal and the seal body, and allows the instrument seal to move freely laterally in response to lateral movement of the instrument.

Trocar tubes used in laparoscopic surgery are normally fitted with a gas-tight seal to maintain pneumoperitoneum when a laparoscopic instrument is inserted into the trocar tube. The gas-tight seal is normally built into the rear housing attached to the cannula of the trocar tube, and forms a gas-tight seal with an instrument having an outside diameter that is similar to the internal diameter of the cannula.
In the course of laparoscopic surgery, it is often necessary to insert into the trocar tube a laparoscopic instrument having a diameter that is less than the diameter of the cannula. The gas-tight seal built into the trocar tube cannot provide an adequate gas-tight seal with such a smaller-diameter instrument since known gas-tight seals suffer from an inability to accommodate a wide range of instrument diameters. Known gas-tight seals leak when a smaller-diameter instrument is inserted, and/or impose excessive friction when a larger-diameter instrument is inserted. Known gas-tight seals also have an increased tendency to leak with a smaller-diameter instrument when the instrument is displaced laterally.
In known gas-tight seals, a thin, circular piece of an elastic material is rigidly supported at its periphery. In the center of the elastic material is a circular instrument port through which the instrument passes. The elastic material surrounding the instrument port contacts the instrument, which forms the gas-tight seal. The inability of known gas-tight seals to seal with instruments having a large range of diameters results from this basic construction.
The instrument port must be smaller than the diameter of the instrument so that the instrument can deform the elastic material surrounding the instrument port to form the seal with the instrument. Consequently, when the seal is to accommodate a range of instrument diameters, the instrument port must be smaller than the minimum of the range of instrument diameters for which the seal is designed, so that a minimum-diameter instrument can deform the elastic material. Deforming the elastic material results in a radial force between the elastic material and the instrument. This holds the elastic material in contact with the instrument and maintains the gas-tight seal.
An instrument port diameter that produces the required amount of radial force for a minimum-diameter instrument results in a greater radial force when a larger-diameter instrument is inserted. The greater radial force increases friction between the seal and the instrument. With known gas-tight seals, the maximum of the diameter range, above which friction is so great as to make it impossible to manipulate the instrument, may not be a great deal larger than the minimum of the diameter range, below which the gas-tight seal leaks.
In known gas-tight seals, the radial force between the elastic material and the instrument at the minimum of the diameter range must be increased if the instrument is to be allowed to move laterally in the seal. The increased radial force is required to keep the elastic material remote from the direction of lateral displacement in contact with the instrument, and thus to maintain the gas-tight seal. This increase in the radial force further increases friction between the seal and the larger-diameter instrument, and thus further limits the diameter range that the seal will accommodate.
To enable instruments with a range of diameters to be used in the same trocar tube, and to form a gas-tight seal with instruments having a range of diameters, it is known to fit a trocar tube with an auxiliary gas-tight seal. The auxiliary gas-tight seal supplements the diameter range capability of the main gas-tight seal. For example, the applicant's assignee sells trocar assemblies in which the trocar tube has a 10 mm (0.4") diameter cannula that can accommodate instruments ranging from 5 mm (0.2") and 10 mm (0.4") in diameter. The trocar tube accommodates this range of diameters by providing two auxiliary door-type gas-tight seals in addition to the main gas-tight seal. The main gas-tight seal, which will be described further below, seals with instruments between 9 and 10 mm in diameter; a first auxiliary seal seals with instruments 7 to 8 mm in diameter, and a second auxiliary seal seals with instruments 5 and 6 mm in diameter.
The two auxiliary door-type gas-tight seals are stored on opposite sides of the rear housing of the trocar tube. Each auxiliary seal is mounted in a track that runs up the side and across the rear face of the housing. Before a smaller-diameter instrument is inserted into the cannula, the surgeon must slide the appropriate auxiliary gas-tight seal up the track from the storage position into place on the proximal face of the housing. In this position, the auxiliary seal forms a seal with a lip on the main gas-fight seal, and seals with the smaller-diameter instrument passed through it. If another instrument with a different diameter is later to be inserted into the cannula, the one auxiliary seal must be returned to its storage position, and, if necessary, the other auxiliary seal deployed.
Time is needed in the operating room to move each auxiliary gas seal back and forth from its storage position to its operating position. The process of sliding the auxiliary gas-tight seal can be tedious, especially for gloved hands. The surgeon must remember, or double check, which auxiliary seal is in place before inserting an instrument into the trocar tube. If the auxiliary seal is too large for the instrument, the seal will leak; if the auxiliary seal is too small for the instrument, there will be excessive friction between the seal and the instrument. With an extreme diameter mismatch, the instrument can tear the seal, which would then require that the trocar tube be replaced.
As an example of a different approach to accommodating in a single trocar tube instruments with a range of diameters, U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,383 describes a completely detachable auxiliary seal that allows an instrument as small as 5 mm in diameter to be used in a 10 mm cannula. The auxiliary seal is installed into the rear of the housing before a smaller-diameter instrument is inserted into the cannula. A single auxiliary gas-fight seal is made to accommodate instruments with a range of diameters by including a rigid stabilizer plate to prevent the instrument from being moved laterally relative to the cannula. The stabilizer plate keeps the instrument centered in the cannula, and prevents gas leaks caused by the instrument going off center in the auxiliary seal.
Thus, with known auxiliary gas-tight seals, either a single, wider range, auxiliary gas-tight seal or plural, narrower-range, auxiliary gas-tight seals can be used to accommodate instruments with a range of diameters. If plural, narrower-range, auxiliary gas-tight seals are used, the surgeon has to ensure that the auxiliary gas-tight seal is the appropriate one for the diameter of the instrument being used. If a single, wider-range auxiliary gas-tight seal is used, the surgeon must accept that the range of lateral movement of the instrument in the cannula is limited if the auxiliary gas-tight seal is to seal effectively with an instrument at the minimum of the diameter range.

Gas-tight seal accommodating surgical instruments with a wide range of diameters


A device of one aspect of the present invention includes a receiver to receive a modulation signal that has been subjected to frequency shift keying division ratio. The receiver includes a first demodulator and a demodulation control signal generator. The demodulation control signal generator includes a first frequency divider, a frequency control signal generator, and an oscillator. The first frequency divider divides a frequency of one of the modulation signal and the demodulation control signal by a first or second reception division ratio. The frequency control signal generator generates a frequency control signal based on a frequency of the other of the modulation signal and the demodulation control signal, and a frequency of the one of the modulation signal and the demodulation control signal obtained by division by the first or second reception division ratio. The oscillator generates the demodulation control signal based on the frequency control signal.

In the field of integrated circuits, it is becoming popular to use a technique to transmit electrical signals to a module isolated (insulated) by an insulating device, using an electromagnetic field generated by the insulating device. This technique enables communication between insulated modules by generating electrical signals on the other insulated module (communication partner) through a magnetic field coupling by a transformer or an electric field coupling by a capacitor element.
A signal processing device using such an electromagnetic field typically uses a high-frequency electromagnetic field due to the fact that insulation is performed with a transformer or capacitor element or due to various reasons (e.g. sizes). Hence, a communication scheme is used in which modulation is performed using the high frequency. Frequency shift keying (FSK) communication is known as one of this type of communication schemes. In FSK communication, modulation is performed in such a manner that frequency of the high frequency is switched depending on the value of communication data, and the communication data is demodulated according to the high frequency.
To precisely demodulate the communication data through a reception circuit receiving the communication data, it is necessary to precisely judge a difference in the frequency. The frequency generally depends on the oscillation frequency of the oscillator in a transmission circuit, but the oscillation frequency fluctuates with temperature, power supply voltage, and the like and then deviates from a predetermined value. Besides, demodulation in the reception circuit is also susceptible to temperature, power supply voltage, and the like. Therefore, even with calibration between the transmission circuit and the reception circuit, it is difficult to keep stable demodulation.

Signal processing device and signal processing method


A wall mount system is disclosed. The wall mount system can include a wall plate and one or more brackets. To secure a display to a wall, the brackets are affixed to the display and the wall plate is affixed to the wall. The brackets can include one or more lips couplable to tracks of the wall plate. The brackets further include a rotatable securement device having a lip couplable to the bottom track of the wall plate. The securement device can be manipulated using a lever that has one end rotatably coupled to the securement device and one end distal from the securement device. The distal end extends to a position proximate to the bottom rear of a display. When manipulated in a direction towards the securement device, the lever rotates and decouples the securement device.

Because of their reduced weight and size as compared to previous generations, a modern, digital television or monitor ("display") can be mounted to a flat surface, such as a wall. Conventional mounting systems often use a wall plate attached to the wall and one or more brackets attached to the display to secure the display to the wall. A typical wall plate often has one or more tracks shaped to couple to lips on the bracket. When placed in a proper position, the track/lip system supports the weight of the display, with the weight being transferred ultimately to the wall through the bracket.
In some conventional wall mounting systems for digital displays, additional securement of the display may be realized using one or more pins on the track of the wall plate and/or the lip of the bracket. In some conventional mounting systems, these pins are often placed in difficult to access positions, often in the center of the back of the display. In these systems, it may be difficult to install or remove the display, especially if there are physical impediments preventing installation or access, such as other displays, walls, and the like. In the case of other displays acting as physical impediments, it may be necessary to remove the other displays around a target display in order to access and remove the target display. This can be very inconvenient for an installer or repairperson needing to remove a single display.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the various embodiments described below are presented.

Wall mount system with brackets coupled to wall plate track by rotatable securement device


A torque transfer system is provided for transferring torque from an input element such as a flywheel of an internal combustion engine to an output element such as a PTO shaft. The torque transfer system includes the input and output elements and a drive system comprising a drive ring attached to the input element and a drive plate positively or non-positively coupled to the output element. The drive ring transfers torque to the drive plate so as to absorb torsional vibrations which occur during operation of the system, so as to resist abrasion of the drive ring from the drive plate, and so as to resist failure from rotational shock loads imposed on the drive ring by the drive plate. To this end, the drive ring is formed with resilient teeth which, though overlying metal support lugs imparting sufficient rigidity to the teeth to transfer torque to the drive plate, provide the sole contact surface between the drive ring and the drive plate and thus assuredly provide the desired damping and wear resistance under all operating conditions. The resilient teeth and the mating teeth on the drive plate preferably take the form of oversized lugs which are resistant to failure from rotational shock loads.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to drive rings and, more particularly, relates to drive rings for transmitting torque from prime movers such as internal combustion engines to output elements such as power take-off shafts.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Drive rings for transmitting rotational torque from prime movers such as gasoline or diesel engines and the like to output elements such as power take-off (PTO) shafts are well known. The typical drive ring is formed from a rigid metal material such as steel, is bolted or otherwise attached to the prime mover flywheel, and presents a relatively large number of relatively small internal metallic teeth which mate with external teeth of a drive plate. The drive plate may be coupled to an output element such as a shaft, or may be positively coupled to the output element.
The conventional drive ring having small metallic teeth exhibits several drawbacks and disadvantages. For instance, the metallic teeth are incapable of absorbing torsional vibrations which occur during operation of the drive train and which could damage or result in premature failure of the teeth on the drive ring and/or the drive plate. In addition, if the drive plate is a friction disc of a clutch, relative axial and/or radial movement between the drive plate and the drive ring causes the friction materials of the disc to abrade teeth of the drive ring. This abrasion leads to accelerated wear of the metallic drive ring teeth, thus leading to increased "chatter" and possibly to premature failure of the drive ring. The relatively small teeth on the drive ring and the drive plate also may be incapable of resisting the relatively high rotational shock loads which may be imposed on the mating teeth during operation of the system.

Torque transfer system employing resilient drive ring


Methods and systems are provided for a phase change material (PCM) integrated radiator. In one example, a method may include adjusting a radiator control valve into a first position to flow coolant only through a first zone of a radiator containing phase change material (PCM) and not through a second zone of the radiator not containing phase change material. The method may further include adjusting the radiator control valve into a second position to flow coolant only through the second zone of the radiator and not the first zone.

Vehicle cooling systems provide a vehicle engine with coolant to cool the engine. Coolant may be circulated through the cooling system by a water pump. The coolant may flow from the water pump to the engine, and as the coolant passes through the engine, it absorbs heat from the engine. Heated coolant then flows to a radiator in the cooling system to be cooled before returning again to the engine. Traditional radiators may comprise a fan which blows air through the radiator and cools the coolant passing through the radiator. Specifically, the radiator may include a plurality of tubes for flowing coolant therethrough and heat conductive fins to increase heat transfer from the coolant in the tubes to ambient air. However, the effectiveness of the radiator in cooling the coolant may be decreased under certain operating conditions, such as when the ambient air temperature is above a threshold. Moreover, if the temperature of the coolant reaches the boiling point of the coolant, coolant may be vaporized and lost from the cooling system and the effectiveness of the coolant in cooling the engine may be decreased, which may, in turn, lead to engine degradation.
Previous attempts to address the vaporization of coolant include utilizing phase change material (PCM) to absorb excess heat from the coolant. PCM is used as a heat absorber because of its high latent heat of fusion. When a solid material reaches its melting point, energy can be added to the material, without increasing the temperature of the material. This is because energy is required to change the phase of a material from solid to liquid. The amount of energy required to melt a material without changing its temperature may be referred to as its latent heat of fusion. Because of PCM's large latent heat of fusion, it is able to absorb a significant amount of heat while maintaining its temperature. Thus, incorporating PCM into a cooling system may increase the efficiency of the cooling system.
One example approach to employ the use of PCM in a cooling system to reduce excessive coolant temperatures is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,735,461, which provides an auxiliary line downstream of a radiator, the auxiliary line containing PCM capsules. Coolant may be directed through the auxiliary line containing the PCM capsules if the coolant temperature increases above a threshold, where the threshold may be the melting temperature of the PCM. Because the coolant is at a higher temperature than the PCM, the PCM may naturally draw heat from the coolant, raising the temperature of the PCM. However, when the PCM reaches its melting point, because of the PCM's high latent heat of fusion, it may continue to draw heat from the coolant without its own temperature being raised. Therefore, the PCM provides increased cooling over other materials with lower latent heats of fusion. As such, the system provided in U.S. Pat. No. 7,735,461, may divert coolant flow through the auxiliary line containing PCM, to increase coolant cooling efficiency at high coolant temperatures.
However, the inventors herein have recognized potential issues with such systems. Adding an auxiliary line containing PCM to a cooling system increases the amount of piping and number of valves in the cooling system. Thus, the cost, packaging size, and complexity of such cooling systems may be increased. Further, due to the additional plumbing required by such systems, the chances of leakages, and malfunctions in such systems are increased.
Thus, the inventors herein have provided a system and methods for addressing the issues described above. In one example, the issues described above may be addressed by a method comprising, adjusting a radiator control valve into a first position to flow coolant only through a first zone of a radiator containing phase change material (PCM) and not through a second zone of the radiator not containing phase change material, and adjusting the radiator control valve into a second position to flow coolant only through the second zone of the radiator and not the first zone. In this way, the efficiency of a radiator may be increased, while both its size and power consumption may be decreased. As such, the fuel efficiency of an engine may be increased.
As one example, the first and second zones may comprise hollow tubes for flowing coolant therethrough. The second zone may comprise heat conductive fins for increasing heat dissipation from coolant flowing through the second zone. However, the tubes in the first zone may instead be encased in PCM. As such, the thermal absorption efficiency of the first zone may be greater than the second zone at coolant temperatures above the melting temperature of the PCM. Thus, for coolant temperature above the threshold, the radiator control valve may be adjusted to a first position to flow coolant through the first zone of the radiator. For coolant temperatures below the threshold, the radiator control valve may be adjusted to a second position to flow coolant through the second zone of the radiator. Thus, by flowing coolant through the first zone of the radiator containing PCM when coolant temperatures exceed a threshold, the coolant may be cooled more effectively, and thus, the amount of coolant lost to vaporization may be reduced. Furthermore, by incorporating the PCM within the radiator and regulating coolant flow within the radiator with the control valve, the overall compactness and efficiency of the cooling system may be increased, while the cost and size may be reduced.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.

System and methods for a high temperature radiator heat absorber


A multiple-glazed glass unit of the present invention is adapted to separate an indoor space and an outdoor space and includes a pair of glass panes opposed across a gap layer to be spaced at a predetermined distance from each other. Low-emissivity (Low-E) films are formed on both principal surfaces of one of the pair of glass panes that is located closer to the indoor space. The low-emissivity film formed on one of the two principal surfaces that faces the indoor space has an arithmetic average surface roughness Ra of 14 nm or less. This multiple-glazed glass unit is configurable to have a higher SHGC value ever than before as well as keeping a low U-value.

Some window structures mounted in buildings or vehicles to separate the indoor space and the outdoor space employ a multiple-glazed glass unit. The multiple-glazed glass unit includes a pair of glass panes opposed across a gap layer to be spaced at a predetermined distance from each other. Thanks to the presence of this gap layer, the window structure employing the multiple-glazed glass unit has better heat insulating properties than a window structure employing a single glass pane. The improvement in heat insulating properties of the window structure can provide a reduction in the energy required for indoor air conditioning.
In recent years, a multiple-glazed glass unit employing a glass pane having a principal surface (glass surface) on which a heat shielding film is formed has been developed in an attempt to provide heat shielding properties in addition to heat insulating properties. With the use of a window structure additionally having heat shielding properties, entry of strong sunlight into an indoor space can be reduced during daytime, and inflow of heat from an outdoor space can be decreased during night, particularly in summer. A known example of the heat shielding film is a low-emissivity film (Low-E film). For example, JP 2013-517206 A discloses a multiple-glazed glass unit including a first glass pane facing an outdoor space and a second glass pane facing an indoor space, the second glass pane having an external surface (a principal surface facing the indoor space; this surface corresponds to a fourth face (face #4) described later) on which a low-emissivity film including a transparent electrically-conductive film is formed. JP 2013-517206 A also discloses that in this glass unit, a low-emissivity film including a film containing silver may further be formed on an internal surface (a principal surface facing a gap layer; this surface corresponds to a second face (face #2) described later) of the first glass pane.

Multiple-glazed glass unit and glass pane for multiple-glazed glass unit