According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a method for profiling computer program executions in a computer processing system having a processor and a memory hierarchy. The method includes the step of executing a computer program. Profile counts are stored in a memory array for events associated with the execution of the computer program. The memory array is separate and distinct from the memory hierarchy so as to not perturb normal operations of the memory hierarchy.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to computer programs and, in particular, to a method and apparatus for profiling computer program execution.
2. Background Description
Contemporary high-performance processors rely on superscalar, superpipelining, and/or very long instruction word (VLIW) techniques for exploiting instruction-level parallelism in programs (i.e., for executing more than one instruction at a time). In general, these processors contain multiple functional units, execute a sequential stream of instructions, are able to fetch from memory more than one instruction per cycle, and are able to dispatch for execution more than one instruction per cycle subject to dependencies and availability of resources.
The performance of programs can be greatly enhanced if information about the typical execution path of the programs is known so as to optimize program execution for such paths. To this end, program profile information is necessary which describes the typical execution behavior, such as, for example, the probability that a given branch is taken, the correlation between different branches and typical execution path information, the cache miss rate of a particular memory operation, and so forth.
An exemplary overview of the use of profile information in the compilation of programs is described by Chang, et al., in "Using Profile Information to Assist Classic Code Optimizations", Software Practice and Experience, Vol. 21(12), pp. 1301-21, December 1991.
Profiling can be used to optimize programs during static or dynamic compilation. The use of profile information in static compilation is described by Chang et al. in the above referenced article entitled "Using Profile Information to Assist Classic Code Optimizations". The use of profile information for dynamic optimization at program runtime is described by: Ebcioglu et al., in "Execution-Based Scheduling for VLIW Architectures", EuroPar '99 Parallel Processing—5th International Euro-Par Conference, Berlin, Germany, pub. Springer Verlag, pp. 1269-80, August 1999; and Gschwind et al., in "Dynamic and Transparent Binary Translation", IEEE Computer, pp. 54-59, March 2000.
Many techniques have been proposed to perform profiling of executing programs. Traditionally, static (compile- and/or link-time) instrumentation of code has been used to modify code to generate and gather profile information. A separate run of the program is then performed, which generates and stores the information on disk. The profile is then read back in by the compiler back-end and used to optimize the code. This technique is implemented in tools such as XPROF and PIXIE. This technique has the disadvantage that the execution pass made for the express purpose of profiling typically has high overhead, and since it is conducted in laboratory conditions, may not gather the actual profile of the program under end-user control. Hence the usefulness of the technique is limited. Static instrumentation for profiling and the use of profile information for optimization is described by Chang et al., "Using Profile Information to Assist Classic Code Optimizations", Software Practice and Experience, Vol. 21(12), pp. 1301-21, December 1991. PIXIE is described by M. Smith, in "Tracing with PIXIE", No. CSL-TR-91-497, Center for Integrated Systems, Stanford University, pp. 1-29, November 1991.
Dynamic instrumentation of program code, which is an extension of the static instrumentation technique, inserts the instrumentation code at run-time. This approach suffers from the drawback that most of the information that the compiler has about the syntax and the semantics of the program statically is unavailable dynamically. Hence, it can only make crude guesses about the nature of the instrumentation to be inserted into the program. Further, the instrumentation code also slows the mainline execution of the program, just as in the static case. The SHADE emulator on the Sun SPARC architecture performs dynamic instrumentation to some extent. A description of a reference to this emulator is provided hereinbelow.
Emulation of an architecture can be used to run a program, and profile information can be collected using access methods to the internal architectural state of the emulated machine. This approach has two drawbacks: (1) the emulation is quite slow (typically 10 to 100 emulator instructions per emulated instruction), and (2) the profile information is only accurate at the ISA level; none of the microarchitectural bottlenecks can be captured and identified under the emulation technique. Various emulators have been described in the literature, such as, for example: Keppel et al., in "SHADE: A Fast Instruction-set Simulator for Execution Profiling", Proceedings of the 1994 Conference on Measurement and Modeling of Computer Systems, Nashville, Tenn., SIGMETRICS, pp. 128-137, May 1994.
Dedicated Counters are available on modern processors such as PowerPC 604e and Pentium Pro, which can be programmed to watch for specific hardware events, and count them. Using dedicated counters is desirable because they do not perturb the other system state (such as the data cache), when counting is performed. However, there are some drawbacks to this approach. The counters cannot distinguish between multiple user-mode programs, losing some level of accuracy. Also, the information gathered is summary information, at a higher level of granularity. The approach is described in the International Business Machines Corp. PowerPC 604e User's Manual, IBM Order No. SA14-2044-00, IBM Microelectronics, Essex Junction, Vt. Using counters in memory is not a very good idea for profiling, because the counters then reside in the memory of the machine, which means they are accessed (read from and written to) the data caches. This perturbs the very behavior of the program that the instrumentation code attempts to measure.
Special instructions to support profiling is another technique, a flavor of which was described in a proposal for the recently unveiled IA-64 from Intel. According to this approach, the IA-64 uses an "initprof" instruction for initializing a memory area for collecting profile information. The instruction encodes enough information for the machine hardware to accurately gather and store away relevant profile information. This technique can be seen as a variant of the static instrumentation techniques, but with less overhead. The drawback of this technique is that the application still must be instrumented with these special instructions, a proposition that the software developers are less likely to accept for their final, production versions of code that are shipped to end customers. The counters are stored in the memory of the machine, which again leads to the data-cache perturbation problem. The initprof instruction is further described by Lee et al., in "An Efficient Software-Hardware Collaborative Profiling Technique for Wide-Issue Processors", Proceedings of the 1999 Workshop on Binary Translation, Newport Beach, Calif., Oct. 18, 1999, IEEE Computer Society Technical Committee on Computer Architecture Newsletter, pp. 34-42, December 1999.
A method of profiling, referred to as PROFILEME, tracks a sample of instructions in an out-of-order microarchitecture. The technique enables "observation" of all of the work that is performed on behalf of an arbitrary instruction that flows through the pipeline of an OOO processor core. The main focus is not to collect the aggregate information, but to observe the behavior of a given instruction as the instruction flows. This view is orthogonal to the technique of the invention. PROFILEME is described by Chrysos et al., "PROFILEME: Hardware Support for Instruction-Level Profiling on Out-of-Order Processors", Proceedings of the 30th Symposium on Microarchitecture (Micro-30), pp. 292-301, December 1997.
Therefore, it is evident that there is a need for a method and/or apparatus for profiling which: (1) can provide accurate resolution of profile information for a significant number of simultaneously profiled events; (2) does not disturb the program execution behavior of the program being profiled; (3) offers high performance; (4) is useable to profile in real-time; (5) does not require changes to the application being profiled; and (6) provides profile information for use in dynamic optimization at program runtime.

Method and apparatus for profiling computer program execution

International Business Machines Corporation


An apparatus for automatically analyzing genetic and protein materials using photodiodes. The apparatus comprises a computer for controlling the entire operation of the apparatus and analyzing a voltage level from a characteristic detector to analyze states of the genetic and protein materials, and an address decoder connected to the computer. The photodiodes are connected to the address decoder and generate currents in response to external light being incident thereon. A plurality of amplifiers are connected respectively to the photodiodes to amplify output currents therefrom, and a plurality of voltage output circuits are connected respectively to the amplifiers to convert output currents therefrom into voltages. An output selector selects any one of output voltages from the voltage output circuits under the control of the computer. The characteristic detector measures a level of an output voltage from the output selector and applies the measured voltage level to the computer. A variety of genetic and protein materials corresponding to various diseases are attached to the photodiodes. If the external light is incident on the materials, then luminous fluxes vary depending on chemical structures of the materials, thereby causing the photodiodes to generate currents of amounts corresponding to the varying luminous fluxes, respectively.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for automatically analyzing genetic and protein materials, and more particularly to an automatic genetic/protein material analyzer using photodiodes, wherein the photodiodes are adapted to generate currents of different amounts according to the amounts of light transmitted thereto, and a variety of protein materials and a variety of genetic materials such as DNA, RNA and the like are attached to the photodiodes and then applied with light so that they can be automatically analyzed on the basis of the amounts of currents flowing through the photodiodes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, various diseases have developed with the advance of human civilization. For this reason, it is the current reality that human beings are faced with war with diseases. In order to rapidly detect and analyze various diseases, it is very effective to detect and analyze genetic materials or viruses causing such diseases. In this regard, for the purpose of rapidly and accurately analyzing and curing various diseases, it is necessary to accurately detect and analyze genetic materials or viruses causing such diseases.
A conventional genetic material analyzer has been proposed to implant a genetic material onto a glass slide and then analyze a gene expression from the resultant fluorescence through the use of a laser fluorescence scanner so as to analyze disease states. However, the conventional genetic material analyzer has a disadvantage in that it is complicated in its construction and operation.

Apparatus for automatically analyzing genetic and protein materials using photodiodes


A display device includes a main body and a support assembly. The main body includes a liquid display module, four fixed pieces, and a housing to receive the liquid display module. The housing includes four latching units. The support assembly is to support the main body. Each of the fixed pieces is fixed to the main body and the support assembly to connect the main body with the support assembly. Part of each latching unit is deformable to allow passage thereby of one fixed piece, whereby the fixed pieces are fixed to the main body.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relatives to display devices and, particularly, to a liquid crystal display device.
2. Description of Related Art
Liquid crystal display devices, as a kind of panel display device, are widely used for their high brightness, small weight, and low energy consumption.
Referring to FIG. 11, a commonly used display device 10 is shown. The display device 10 includes a main body 11, a support assembly 12, and four fasteners 13. The support assembly 12 is fixed to the main body 11 by the fasteners 13, providing support thereto. The main body 11 includes four fixed pieces 14, a front frame 15, a liquid crystal module 16, and a rear frame 17. The support assembly 12 includes a base 121, a bracket 122, and a mounting plate 123. The bracket 122 is fixed to the base 121 and the mounting plate 123. The mounting plate 123 defines four through holes 124. The rear frame 17 defines four through holes 171 and eight fixing posts 172. The fixed piece 14 defines two fixing holes 141 and a threaded hole 142.
To mount the fixed pieces 14 to the rear frame 17, the fixing posts 172 pass through the fixing holes 141 and are heated and pressed. Once cooled, the fixing posts 172 are immovable in the fixing holes 141, thus the fixed pieces 14 are fixed on the rear frame 17. After that, the fasteners 13 pass through the through holes 124 and the through holes 171, and are received in the threaded holes 142 of the fixed pieces 14. As such, the main body 11 is fixed to the support assembly 12.
However, the heating and pressing process fixing the fixed pieces 14 to the rear frame 17 requires specific apparatus, and thus assembly of the display device 10 is relatively complex and costly. In addition, the heating and pressing process is very complex, and parameters such as temperature and pressure are difficult to control, possibly affecting product quality.
Therefore, a new display device is desired to overcome the above-described shortcomings.


An endoscopic clip apparatus includes a clip sleeve defining an interior passage along a longitudinal axis and having a distal end with a plurality of openings defined in the distal end. A clip including a plurality of arms is disposed in the clip sleeve, and each arm includes a distal tip extending from the clip sleeve through one of the plurality of openings. Each arm includes a convex curved section oriented away from the longitudinal axis. The clip sleeve and clip are axially moveable relative to each other such that when the clip sleeve travels over the convex curved section of each arm toward the distal tip of each arm, each arm is constrained by the clip sleeve and each distal tip advances toward the longitudinal axis to grasp tissue.

Conventional endoscopic clips include two or more arms that are pushed into tissues as the arms are swept through an arc motion until the arms come together. Conventional endoscopic clip arms are either made of thin metal that is stamped into the desired form or are machined from a monolithic piece of metal stock. These conventional arms experience tangential loading that causes them to buckle under loads created while capturing tissue. Because of this tendency to buckle, the arm size and shape is limited. While increasing the size of the arms may increase the arms' strength, the arms must still be able to pass through the lumen of an endoscope, which may be as small as 2.8 millimeters.
Conventional endoscopic clips may also fail to properly secure tissue or inadvertently loosen over time. Additionally, conventional endoscopic clips do not offer a sufficient mechanical advantage or precision control to perform certain types of operations.
What is needed then are improved endoscopic clip devices and associated methods.


Embodiments relate generally to systems and methods for treating passenger transportation vehicle cabin surfaces and surrounding air. The methods may use organic LEDs to produce ultraviolet light. Systems may be provided to ensure safety and operation of the air treatment only when passengers and personnel are not present in the cabin.

Aircraft and other passenger transportation vehicle facilities can transport infections, viruses, and bacteria across large distances. This transport can happen very rapidly, due to the very nature of travel. Passengers often travel when knowingly sick, and their coughing, breathing, and/or touching surfaces can spread germs to other passengers. Passengers also travel when, often unknowingly, they have been exposed to a virus or other airborne illness that can be spread rapidly.
Aircraft and other passenger transportation vehicles may often be cleaned between routes. This cleaning may simply be trash removal and straightening of the visual area. It is not often the case that the cleaning involves a thorough disinfection of the passenger cabin. Accordingly, many passenger transportation vehicle cabins have air and surfaces that may be contaminated with bacteria, viruses, mold, and/or other airborne illnesses. It is generally desirable for any cleaning systems to be safe and effective. Improved systems and methods for cleaning cabin surfaces and air are described herein.

Systems and methods for treatment of cabin surfaces and air


A cheering system includes a glove including a palm covering, a back hand covering and a plurality of finger receiving members. A plurality of cheering devices is provided. Each of the cheering devices has a panel attached thereto. A coupler is configured for removably coupling one of the panels of the cheering devices to an outer surface of the back hand covering.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cheering devices that include pompoms, as towels, mascots, bells and other assorted cheerleading devices, and more particularly pertains to a new cheering device for attaching a pompom to a person's hand in such a manner that the person's hands are free for gripping other items, clapping, performing stunts or for other purposes, and also allows the wearer of the cheering devices to selectively couple various types of pompoms or cheering devices to their hands.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of pompom devices is known in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,725 describes a device that may be worn on the wrists of a cheerleader. Another type of pompom device is U.S. Pat. No. 6,340,507 having a configuration allowing it to be removably attached to a selected body part. A more conventional pompon construction is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,079,046.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the need remains for a device that allows a person to wear cheering devices on the backs of their hands so that their hands are free during cheerleading activities. Further, the device should be configured to allow selective removal and attachment of different types of cheering devices to the hands without having to remove the complete device from the hands.


Overheating of a process liquid retained in a reservoir of a multiphase pump during extended gas slugs is avoided by circulating a cooling liquid in thermal contact with a process liquid through an external cooling apparatus, which can include a heat exchanger. In some embodiments, process liquid from the reservoir is circulated through the cooling loop, while in other embodiments a separate cooling liquid is circulated between a reservoir heat exchanger and the external cooling apparatus. The liquid in the cooling loop can be circulated by a separate cooling pump, or process liquid can be circulated through the cooling loop due to a pressure differential between an inlet and an outlet of the cooling loop within the multiphase pump. The multiphase pump can be a twin screw pump, and the reservoir can be formed between outer and inner casings of the multiphase pump.

Multiphase pumps, in particular pumps that are applicable for pumping a process fluid that is a mixture of liquid and gas, have gained increased acceptance in oil field production and other applications, where they have replaced conventional production equipment with simpler and more economical technology. Multiphase pumping helps to eliminate separators, compressors, individual pumping equipment, heaters, gas flares and separate flow lines, thereby improving production at lower costs.
An additional benefit of multiphase pumps in the oil industry is the reduced environmental impact for onshore installations. Multiphase pumps require only a fraction of the space that is occupied by conventional pumping apparatus, and the ability of multiphase pumps to handle gas in a closed system instead of venting and flaring the gas guarantees low emissions and thereby protects the environment.
In order to maintain internal sealing for the compression of the gas phase, a small quantity of liquid must be provided during the entire operation of a multiphase pump. This can be achieved by either an internal system which tolerates short gas slugs only, or by using external liquid separators or scrubbers to collect liquid downstream of the pumps, run it through a heat exchanger to reduce the temperature of the liquid and re-inject such liquid back to the suction upstream of the pump, thereby tolerating much longer gas slugs.
In particular, some twin screw multiphase pump designs incorporate a reservoir chamber between the outer and inner casings of the pump which acts as a liquid trap that captures process liquid and uses the pump discharge pressure to re-inject the liquid into the screw inlets via internal ports. This feature ensures that enough liquid is contained and maintained inside of the pump so that when there is no liquid entering the unit through the incoming process stream, the gas can continue to be compressed by allowing the trapped liquid to act as a hydraulic seal along the clearance between screws and bores to maintain independence of the locks or closed chambers formed by the screws and casing bores. With this feature, some twin screw multiphase pump designs are capable of pumping and compressing any combination of liquid and gas, from 0% gas to 100% gas.
Heat is unavoidably generated in a multiphase pump due to the inherent heat of gas compression. When there is relatively little gas in the process stream, so that the gas slugs are relatively short, the gas compression heat is easily absorbed into the process liquid and transported away from the pump. For a twin screw or other multiphase pump that maintains a reservoir of liquid, relatively longer gas slugs can be tolerated, because the heat of gas compression is absorbed by the liquid reservoir. However, when the process stream consists mostly of gas, and the gas slugs are consequently very long, a liquid reservoir can become overheated, so that it becomes too hot to efficiently cool the gas, or evaporates out of the casing and/or flows out of the casing due to a drag effect until there is insufficient liquid remaining in the casing to absorb the heat. As a result, the temperature of the discharge stream can rise until it exceeds an acceptable limit.
What is needed, therefore, is a multiphase pump design that can tolerate very long gas slugs without overheating.

Multi-phase pump with cooled liquid reservoir


A fiber optic array is miniaturized in a configuration that includes an input collimator, a first birefringence crystal, a waveplate, a Faraday rotator, a second birefringence crystal and a second collimator. The elements are aligned along a common optical axis. A light beam along the optical axis that is passed through the first collimator emerges off of the optical axis and through the remaining elements. It re-emerges from the fiber optic array on axis. The configuration provides substantial attenuation in a backward direction.

Optical fibers have many uses in modern communications systems. They serve to direct beams of light between components in such systems. Optical fibers have been developed to have low loss, low dispersion, polarization maintaining properties and can be incorporated into several different types of devices, such as amplifiers, filters, lasers and interferometers. Many communication systems require an isolator.
Fiber optic isolators are passive optical devices that allow light to be transmitted in only one direction. They are most often used to prevent any light from reflecting back down the fiber, as this light could enter the source and cause backscattering or feedback problems. Optical feedback degrades signal-to-noise ratio and consequently bit-error rate. Ideally an isolator would pass all light in one direction and block all light in the reverse direction.
Some of the specifications used to measure a fiber optic isolator include center wavelength, isolation, insertion loss and polarization dependent loss. Center wavelength is the center of the wavelength range in which the isolator is designed to function optimally. This characteristic is usually measured in nm. Isolation, generally measured in decibels (db), is a measure of how effectively back reflections are prevented and the degree to which the isolator can transmit. Insertion loss is the attenuation caused by the insertion of an optical component. Polarization dependent loss is the attenuation caused by polarization variation. Fiber optic isolators are commercially available at various specifications. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,890, titled "Low-Loss, High-Isolation, Fiber-Optical Isolator," issued to Lutes on Jan. 16, 1990, and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2004/0169926, titled "Module Assembly for Fiber Optic Isolator," by Blair, et al., and published on Sep. 2, 2004, both disclose such fiber optic isolators. Both of these references are incorporated in their entirety.
In addition to these optical properties, another physical characteristic, namely size, can be important for some applications. Unfortunately, it is difficult to obtain high performance characteristics in a small size. Accordingly, an improved design is needed.


A stable blood factor composition contains a stabilising amount of trehalose in the absence of human serum albumin to provide a product stable at up to 60° C.

This invention relates to dried compositions of blood factors for reconstitution with water or aqueous solutions.
Blood factors, particularly factor VIII and factor IX, are now the standard treatment for diseases caused by a lack of the appropriate factor, in particular haemophilia. The blood factor has generally been derived from human blood by various extraction techniques, for example as disclosed in EP-A-0083483, or by expression in genetically modified microorganisms, for example as disclosed in EP-A-0160457 and EP-A-0182448.
Blood factor products such as factor VIII are highly delicate, unstable proteins. They are usually supplied in the form of frozen solutions in an appropriate buffer or, more generally, as freeze-dried powders. Even the freeze-dried powders must be kept cold during storage. In order to stabilise the freeze-dried material, commercial products contain a stabilising protein, in particular human serum albumin (HSA). It has not been thought possible to prepare a dry blood factor composition which is stable at ambient temperatures and at pasteurisation temperatures (e.g. 60° C.) in the absence of HSA. However, the presence of HSA introduces considerable problems of purification since it is essential that the protein is free of viral contamination. The use of recombinant HSA to overcome these problems is expensive.
Trehalose is known to be a highly effective stabilising agent for delicate proteins, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,891,319, enabling proteins to be dried at temperatures above freezing. We have now found that if trehalose is used to stabilise a blood factor product, not only can the product be dried with or without freezing, but also the product is stable even when retained at a temperature of 60° C. for an extended period, in the complete absence of HSA. According to the present invention therefore we provide a stable dried blood factor composition containing a stabilising amount of trehalose in the absence of albumin.
In general, any stabilising amount of trehalose may be used and an excess in general causes no problems. Indeed, the presence of trehalose aids the rehydration process and is physiologically acceptable for injection, being rapidly metabolised to glucose. The composition is particularly suited to formulations of factor VIII, which may also contain appropriate buffering and ion-reinforcing salts, in particular a source of calcium. In general, a ratio of about 1.0 to 1.5 mg of calcium ions per unit of factor VIII is appropriate.
Other buffering and modifying agents may also be present in the dried material for reconstitution to the injection solution, for example histidine. However, we have found that the level of salts, particularly sodium chloride, present can affect the preservation on drying. It is thought desirable for the commercial product for injection to have an isotonic salt concentration. However, the processing formulations which are freeze-dried are desirably hypertonic, typically containing about 500 mM NaCl (isotonic NaCl=150 mM), as this is considered to help stabilise the blood factor. As a result, commercial freeze-dried formulations generally have a high salt content and are reconstituted for injection with the appropriate amount of sterile water to obtain an isotonic solution.
A considerably reduced salt content is preferred for the dried material of the invention and, in general a solution of about 500 units of Factor VIII per ml to be dried should preferably contain less than 200 mM e.g. 75 to 150 mM, NaCl, especially about 100 mM, or even lower, e.g. 20 to 50 mM, especially about 22 to 30 mM. Low salt preparations possess a higher dry stability. The dried product can be reconstituted to the desired salt level with a saline solution instead of the conventional water. In general, the molar ratio of trehalose to salt should be above 1:1, especially above 2.5:1 e.g. above 10:1, preferably above 12.5:1.
The dried composition may be obtained by drying an appropriate solution of the blood factor containing the correct proportions of trehalose and other desired components. In general, the solution that is dried should simply contain all the components required in the reconstituted injection solution, although the solution for drying may not necessarily be at the same dilution. Typically, the solution for drying will contain from 1 to 1000 units of factor VIII per ml. The methods of drying may include freeze drying, vacuum drying and spray-drying. A particularly preferred method according to the invention comprises vacuum drying at a temperature no greater than 25° C., preferably no greater than 10° C., to form a foam, thus maximising the exposed surface and the drying effect.
The following examples illustrate the invention further.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Dried blood factor composition trehalose


A treatment method is provided, including identifying a subject as one who is selected to undergo an interventional medical procedure, and, in response to the identifying, reducing a likelihood of a potential adverse effect of the procedure by applying an electrical current to a parasympathetic site of the subject selected from the group consisting of: a vagus nerve of the subject, an epicardial fat pad of the subject, a pulmonary vein of the subject, a carotid artery of the subject, a carotid sinus of the subject, a coronary sinus of the subject, a vena cava vein of the subject, a jugular vein of the subject, a right ventricle of the subject, a parasympathetic ganglion of the subject, and a parasympathetic nerve of the subject.

The use of nerve stimulation for treating and controlling a variety of medical, psychiatric, and neurological disorders has seen significant growth over the last several decades, including for treatment of heart conditions. In particular, stimulation of the vagus nerve (the tenth cranial nerve, and part of the parasympathetic nervous system) has been the subject of considerable research. The vagus nerve is composed of somatic and visceral afferents (inward conducting nerve fibers, which convey impulses toward the brain) and efferents (outward conducting nerve fibers, which convey impulses to an effector to regulate activity such as muscle contraction or glandular secretion).
The rate of the heart is restrained in part by parasympathetic stimulation from the right and left vagus nerves. Low vagal nerve activity is considered to be related to various arrhythmias, including tachycardia, ventricular accelerated rhythm, and rapid atrial fibrillation. Stimulation of the vagus nerve has been proposed as a method for treating various heart conditions, including atrial fibrillation and heart failure. By artificially stimulating the vagus nerves, it is possible to slow the heart, allowing the heart to more completely relax and the ventricles to experience increased filling. With larger diastolic volumes, the heart may beat more efficiently because it may expend less energy to overcome the myocardial viscosity and elastic forces of the heart with each beat.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a condition in which the atria of the heart fail to continuously contract in synchrony with the ventricles of the heart. During fibrillation, the atria undergo rapid and unorganized electrical depolarization, so that no contractile force is produced. The ventricles, which normally receive contraction signals from the atria (through the atrioventricular (AV) node), are inundated with signals, typically resulting in a rapid and irregular ventricular rate. Because of this rapid and irregular rate, the patient suffers from reduced cardiac output, a feeling of palpitations, and/or increased risk of thromboembolic events.
Current therapy for atrial fibrillation includes cardioversion and rate control. Cardioversion is the conversion of the abnormal atrial rhythm into normal sinus rhythm. This conversion is generally achieved pharmacologically or electrically. Rate control therapy is used to control the ventricular rate, while allowing the atria to continue fibrillation. This is generally achieved by slowing the conduction of signals through the AV node from the atria to the ventricles.
Bilgutay et al., in "Vagal tuning: a new concept in the treatment of supraventricular arrhythmias, angina pectoris, and heart failure," J. Thoracic Cardiovas. Surg. 56(1):71-82, July, 1968, which is incorporated herein by reference, studied the use of a permanently-implanted device with electrodes to stimulate the right vagus nerve for treatment of supraventricular arrhythmias, angina pectoris, and heart failure. Experiments were conducted to determine amplitudes, frequencies, wave shapes and pulse lengths of the stimulating current to achieve slowing of the heart rate. The authors additionally studied an external device, triggered by the R-wave of the electrocardiogram (ECG) of the subject to provide stimulation only upon an achievement of a certain heart rate. They found that when a pulsatile current with a frequency of ten pulses per second and 0.2 milliseconds pulse duration was applied to the vagus nerve, the heart rate could be decreased to half the resting rate while still preserving sinus rhythm. Low amplitude vagal stimulation was employed to control induced tachycardias and ectopic beats. The authors further studied the use of the implanted device in conjunction with the administration of Isuprel, a sympathomimetic drug. They found that Isuprel retained its inotropic effect of increasing contractility, while its chronotropic effect was controlled by the vagal stimulation: "An increased end diastolic volume brought about by slowing of the heart rate by vagal tuning, coupled with increased contractility of the heart induced by the inotropic effect of Isuprel, appeared to increase the efficiency of cardiac performance" (p. 79).
Svedjeholm R et al., in "Predictors of atrial fibrillation in patients undergoing surgery for ischemic heart disease," Scand Cardiovasc J 34:516-21 (2000), which is incorporated herein by reference, analyze risk factors for postoperative AF in a uniformly managed cohort of patients. The authors report that the incidence of AF was 29.1% in patients undergoing isolated CABG and 48.6% after CABG+valve procedures.
Cummings J E et al., in "Preservation of the anterior fat pad paradoxically decreases the incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation in humans," J Am Coll Cardiol 43(6):994-1000 (2004), which is incorporated herein by reference, describe a study they performed to determine if parasympathetic nerves in the anterior fat pad can be stimulated at the time of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, and if dissection of this fat pad decreases the incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation (AF). The authors report that direct stimulation of the anterior epicardial fat pad slows sinus cycle length, and that this parasympathetic effect is eliminated with fat pad dissection. They conclude that the preservation of the human anterior epicardial fat pad during CABG surgery decreases the incidence of postoperative AF.
An article by Moreira et al., entitled, "Chronic rapid atrial pacing to maintain atrial fibrillation: Use to permit control of ventricular rate in order to treat tachycardia induced cardiomyopathy," Pacing Clin Electrophysiol, 12(5):761-775 (May 1989), which is incorporated herein by reference, describes the acute induction of atrial fibrillation with rapid atrial pacing, and an associated reduction in ventricular rate with digitalis therapy. Different treatment protocols are described to induce and maintain atrial fibrillation, in order to bring a patient with NYHA class III-IV congestive heart failure to a more moderate NYHA class II.
An article by Preston et al., entitled, "Permanent rapid atrial pacing to control supraventricular tachycardia," Pacing Clin Electrophysiol, 2(3):331-334 (May 1979), which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a patient who had continuous supraventricular tachycardia with a ventricular rate of about 170. The arrhythmia was refractory to drugs and DC countershock, and did not convert with atrial pacing. Rapid atrial stimulation (pacing at 300-400/min) controlled the ventricular rate by simulating atrial fibrillation. This therapy was used on a permanent basis for more than five months.
An article by Lindmark S. et al., entitled, "Does the autonomic nervous system play a role in the development of insulin resistance? A study on heart rate variability in first-degree relatives of type 2 diabetes patients and control subjects." Diabet Med 20:399-405, 2003, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes how vagal activity is correlated with insulin resistance.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,473,644 to Terry, Jr. et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a method for treating patients suffering from heart failure to increase cardiac output, by stimulating or modulating the vagus nerve with a sequence of substantially equally-spaced pulses by an implanted neurostimulator. The frequency of the stimulating pulses is adjusted until the patient's heart rate reaches a target rate within a relatively stable target rate range below the low end of the patient's customary resting heart rate.
The effect of vagal stimulation on heart rate and other aspects of heart function, including the relationship between the timing of vagal stimulation within the cardiac cycle and the induced effect on heart rate, has been studied in animals. For example, Zhang Y et al., in "Optimal ventricular rate slowing during atrial fibrillation by feedback AV nodal-selective vagal stimulation," Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 282:H1102-H1110 (2002), describe the application of selective vagal stimulation by varying the nerve stimulation intensity, in order to achieve graded slowing of heart rate. This article is incorporated herein by reference.
The following articles and book, which are incorporated herein by reference, may be of interest:    Levy M N et al., in "Parasympathetic Control of the Heart," Nervous Control of Vascular Function, Randall W C ed., Oxford University Press (1984)    Levy M N et al. ed., Vagal Control of the Heart: Experimental Basis and Clinical Implications (The Bakken Research Center Series Volume 7), Futura Publishing Company, Inc., Armonk, N.Y. (1993)    Randall W C ed., Neural Regulation of the Heart, Oxford University Press (1977), particularly pages 100-106.    Armour J A et al. eds., Neurocardiology, Oxford University Press (1994)    Perez M G et al., "Effect of stimulating non-myelinated vagal axon on atrioventricular conduction and left ventricular function in anaesthetized rabbits," Auton Neurosco 86 (2001)    Jones, J F X et al., "Heart rate responses to selective stimulation of cardiac vagal C fibres in anaesthetized cats, rats and rabbits," J Physiol 489 (Pt 1):203-14 (1995)    Wallick D W et al., "Effects of ouabain and vagal stimulation on heart rate in the dog," Cardiovasc. Res., 18(2):75-9 (1984)    Martin P J et al., "Phasic effects of repetitive vagal stimulation on atrial contraction," Circ. Res. 52(6):657-63 (1983)    Wallick D W et al., "Effects of repetitive bursts of vagal activity on atrioventricular junctional rate in dogs," Am J Physiol 237(3):H275-81 (1979)    Fuster V and Ryden L E et al., "ACC/AHA/ESC Practice Guidelines—Executive Summary," J Am Coll Cardiol 38(4):1231-65 (2001)    Fuster V and Ryden L E et al., "ACC/AHA/ESC Practice Guidelines—Full Text," J Am Coll Cardiol 38(4):1266i-12661xx (2001)    Morady F et al., "Effects of resting vagal tone on accessory atrioventricular connections," Circulation 81(1):86-90 (1990)    Waninger M S et al., "Electrophysiological control of ventricular rate during atrial fibrillation," PACE 23:1239-1244 (2000)    Wijffels M C et al., "Electrical remodeling due to atrial fibrillation in chronically instrumented conscious goats: roles of neurohumoral changes, ischemia, atrial stretch, and high rate of electrical activation," Circulation 96(10):3710-20 (1997)    Wijffels M C et al., "Atrial fibrillation begets atrial fibrillation," Circulation 92:1954-1968 (1995)    Goldberger A L et al., "Vagally-mediated atrial fibrillation in dogs: conversion with bretylium tosylate," Int J Cardiol 13(1):47-55 (1986)    Takei M et al., "Vagal stimulation prior to atrial rapid pacing protects the atrium from electrical remodeling in anesthetized dogs," Jpn Circ J 65(12):1077-81 (2001)    Friedrichs G S, "Experimental models of atrial fibrillation/flutter," J Pharmacological and Toxicological Methods 43:117-123 (2000)    Hayashi H et al., "Different effects of class Ic and III antiarrhythmic drugs on vagotonic atrial fibrillation in the canine heart," Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology 31:101-107 (1998)    Morillo C A et al., "Chronic rapid atrial pacing. Structural, functional, and electrophysiological characteristics of a new model of sustained atrial fibrillation," Circulation 91:1588-1595 (1995)    Lew S J et al., "Stroke prevention in elderly patients with atrial fibrillation," Singapore Med J 43(4):198-201 (2002)    Higgins C B, "Parasympathetic control of the heart," Pharmacol. Rev. 25:120-155 (1973)    Hunt R, "Experiments on the relations of the inhibitory to the accelerator nerves of the heart," J. Exptl. Med. 2:151-179 (1897)    Billette J et al., "Roles of the AV junction in determining the ventricular response to atrial fibrillation," Can J Physiol Pharamacol 53(4)575-85 (1975)    Stramba-Badiale M et al., "Sympathetic-Parasympathetic Interaction and Accentuated Antagonism in Conscious Dogs," American Journal of Physiology 260 (2 Pt 2):H335-340 (1991)    Garrigue S et al., "Post-ganglionic vagal stimulation of the atrioventricular node reduces ventricular rate during atrial fibrillation," PACE 21(4), 878 (Part II) (1998)    Kwan H et al., "Cardiovascular adverse drug reactions during initiation of antiarrhythmic therapy for atrial fibrillation," Can J Hosp Pharm 54:10-14 (2001)    Jidéus L, "Atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass surgery: A study of causes and risk factors," Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, Uppsala, Sweden (2001)    Borovikova L V et al., "Vagus nerve stimulation attenuates the systemic inflammatory response to endotoxin," Nature 405(6785):458-62 (2000)    Wang H et al., "Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor alpha-7 subunit is an essential regulator of inflammation," Nature 421:384-388 (2003)    Vanoli E et al., "Vagal stimulation and prevention of sudden death in conscious dogs with a healed myocardial infarction," Circ Res 68(5):1471-81 (1991)    De Ferrari G M, "Vagal reflexes and survival during acute myocardial ischemia in conscious dogs with healed myocardial infarction," Am J Physiol 261(1 Pt 2):H63-9 (1991)    Li D et al., "Promotion of Atrial Fibrillation by Heart Failure in Dogs: Atrial Remodeling of a Different Sort," Circulation 100(1):87-95 (1999)    Feliciano L et al., "Vagal nerve stimulation during muscarinic and beta-adrenergic blockade causes significant coronary artery dilation," Cardiovasc Res 40(1):45-55 (1998)    Lindmark S et al., "Does the autonomic nervous system play a role in the development of insulin resistance? A study on heart rate variability in first-degree relatives of type 2 diabetes patients and control subjects," Diabet Med 20:399-405 (2003)    Takayama S et al., "A possible involvement of parasympathetic neuropathy on insulin resistance in patients with type 2 diabetes," Diabetes Care 24:968-969 (2001)
A number of patents describe techniques for treating arrhythmias and/or ischemia by, at least in part, stimulating the vagus nerve. Arrhythmias in which the heart rate is too fast include fibrillation, flutter and tachycardia. Arrhythmia in which the heart rate is too slow is known as bradyarrhythmia. U.S. Pat. No. 5,700,282 to Zabara, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes techniques for stabilizing the heart rhythm of a patient by detecting arrhythmias and then electronically stimulating the vagus and cardiac sympathetic nerves of the patient. The stimulation of vagus efferents directly causes the heart rate to slow down, while the stimulation of cardiac sympathetic nerve efferents causes the heart rate to quicken.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,507 to Schwartz, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a cardiac pacemaker for preventing or interrupting tachyarrhythmias and for applying pacing therapies to maintain the heart rhythm of a patient within acceptable limits. The device automatically stimulates the right or left vagus nerves as well as the cardiac tissue in a concerted fashion dependent upon need. Continuous and/or phasic electrical pulses are applied. Phasic pulses are applied in a specific relationship with the R-wave of the ECG of the patient.
European Patent Application EP 0 688 577 to Holmström et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a device to treat atrial tachyarrhythmia by detecting arrhythmia and stimulating a parasympathetic nerve that innervates the heart, such as the vagus nerve.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,690,681 and 5,916,239 to Geddes et al., which are incorporated herein by reference, describe closed-loop, variable-frequency, vagal-stimulation apparatus for control of ventricular rate during atrial fibrillation. The apparatus stimulates the left vagus nerve, and automatically and continuously adjusts the vagal stimulation frequency as a function of the difference between actual and desired ventricular excitation rates. In an alternative embodiment, the apparatus automatically adjusts the vagal stimulation frequency as a function of the difference between ventricular excitation rate and arterial pulse rate in order to eliminate or minimize pulse deficit.
US Patent Application Publication 2003/0040774 to Terry et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a device for treating patients suffering from congestive heart failure. The device includes an implantable neurostimulator for stimulating the patient's vagus nerve at or above the cardiac branch with an electrical pulse waveform at a stimulating rate sufficient to maintain the patient's heart beat at a rate well below the patient's normal resting heart rate, thereby allowing rest and recovery of the heart muscle, to increase in coronary blood flow, and/or growth of coronary capillaries. A metabolic need sensor detects the patient's current physical state and concomitantly supplies a control signal to the neurostimulator to vary the stimulating rate. If the detection indicates a state of rest, the neurostimulator rate reduces the patient's heart rate below the patient's normal resting rate. If the detection indicates physical exertion, the neurostimulator rate increases the patient's heart rate above the normal resting rate.
US Patent Publication 2003/0045909 to Gross et al., which is assigned to the assignee of the present patent application and is incorporated herein by reference, describes apparatus for treating a heart condition of a subject, including an electrode device, which is adapted to be coupled to a vagus nerve of the subject. A control unit is adapted to drive the electrode device to apply to the vagus nerve a stimulating current, which is capable of inducing action potentials in a therapeutic direction in a first set and a second set of nerve fibers of the vagus nerve. The control unit is also adapted to drive the electrode device to apply to the vagus nerve an inhibiting current, which is capable of inhibiting the induced action potentials traveling in the therapeutic direction in the second set of nerve fibers, the nerve fibers in the second set having generally larger diameters than the nerve fibers in the first set.
US Patent Publication 2003/0229380 to Adams et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes techniques for electrically stimulating the right vagus nerve in order to reduce the heart rate of a patient suffering from conditions such as chronic heart failure, ischemia, or acute myocardial infarction. The amount of energy of the stimulation may be determined in accordance with a difference between the patient's actual heart rate and a maximum target heart rate for the patient. Delivery of energy is preferably synchronized with the detection of a P-wave. Automatic adjustment of the target heart rate may be based on current day and/or time of day information, and patient physical activity. The voltage, pulse width, or number of pulses in the stimulation may be controlled.
US Patent Application Publication 2005/0154419 to Whitehurst et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes methods for treating a medical condition, including applying at least one stimulus to a target nerve within the patient with an implanted system control unit in accordance with one or more stimulation parameters. The target nerve may include any nerve originating in an upper cervical spine area of the patient or a branch of any nerve originating in the upper cervical spine area of the patient. Medical conditions described include cerebrovascular disease, an autoimmune disease, a sleep disorder (e.g., sleep apnea), an autonomic disorder, a urinary bladder disorder, epilepsy, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, a muscular system disorder, a neuropsychiatric disorder (e.g., depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, personality disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorder), pain, a gastrointestinal disorder (e.g., a gastrointestinal motility disorder, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, chronic hiccups, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and hypersecretion of gastric acid), autonomic insufficiency, excessive epiphoresis, excessive rhinorrhea, and a cardiovascular disorder (e.g., cardiac dysrhythmias and arrhythmias, hypertension, and carotid sinus disease).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,526,318 to Ansarinia, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a method for the suppression or prevention of pain, movement disorders, epilepsy, cerebrovascular diseases, autoimmune diseases, sleep disorders, autonomic disorders, urinary bladder disorders, abnormal metabolic states, disorders of the muscular system, and neuropsychiatric disorders in a patient. The method comprises positioning at least one electrode on or proximate to at least one of the patient's sphenopalatine ganglia ("SPG"), sphenopalatine nerves ("SPN"), or vidian nerves ("VN"), and activating the at least one electrode to apply an electrical signal to at least one of the SPG, SPN, or VN. In a further embodiment, a method is described to treat the same conditions, and the electrode used is capable of dispensing a medication solution or analgesic which is applied via an electrode to at least one of the SPG, SPN, or VN. A method is also provided for surgically implanting an electrode on or proximate to at least one of the SPG, SPN, or VN of a patient. A method for treating hiccups is also described.
US Patent Application Publication 2005/0080458 to Ehlinger, Jr. et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a device for the treatment of hiccups, and more specifically, a method and apparatus for the treatment of hiccups involving galvanic stimulation of the superficial phrenic and vagus nerves using an electric current.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,104 to Wernicke et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a method for treating patients with compulsive eating disorders includes the steps of detecting a preselected event indicative of an imminent need for treatment of the specific eating disorder of interest, and responding to the detected occurrence of the preselected event by applying a predetermined stimulating signal to the patient's vagus nerve appropriate to alleviate the effect of the eating disorder of interest. For example, the preselected event may be a specified level of food consumption by the patient within a set interval of time, or the commencement of a customary mealtime according to the patient's circadian cycle, or the passage of each of a sequence of preset intervals of time, or the patient's own recognition of the need for treatment by voluntarily initiating the application of the stimulating signal to the vagus nerve. In cases in which the disorder is compulsive eating to excess, the stimulating signal is predetermined to produce a sensation of satiety in the patient. The occurrence of the preselected event is detected by summing the number of swallows of food by the patient within the set interval of time. In cases where the disorder is compulsive refusal to eat (anorexia nervosa), the stimulating signal is predetermined to produce a sensation of hunger or to suppress satiety in the patient.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,540,734 to Zabara, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes the treatment, control or prevention of medical, psychiatric or neurological disorders accomplished by application of modulating electric signals to one or both of a patient's trigeminal and glossopharyngeal nerves. The disorders treatable, controllable or preventable by such nerve stimulation are described as including voluntary and involuntary disorders, migraine, epileptic seizure, motor disorders, Parkinson's disease, cerebral palsy, spasticity, chronic nervous illnesses and involuntary movement; pancreatic endocrine disorders including diabetes and hypoglycemia; dementia including cortical, subcortical, multi-infarct, Alzheimer's disease and Pick's disease; sleep disorders including central sleep apnea, insomnia and hypersomnia; eating disorders including anorexia nervosa, bulimia and compulsive overeating; and neuropsychiatric disorders including schizophrenia, depression and borderline personality disorder.
PCT Patent Publication WO 2001/85094 to Shalev et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes apparatus for modifying a property of a brain of a patient is provided, including one or more electrodes, adapted to be applied to a site selected from a group of sites consisting of: a sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) of the patient and a neural tract originating in or leading to the SPG. A control unit is adapted to drive the one or more electrodes to apply a current to the site capable of inducing (a) an increase in permeability of a blood-brain barrier (BBB) of the patient, (b) a change in cerebral blood flow of the patient, and/or (c) an inhibition of parasympathetic activity of the SPG.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,326 to Collins, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a pacemaker which detects a cardiac abnormality and responds with electrical stimulation of the heart combined with vagus nerve stimulation. The vagal stimulation frequency is progressively increased in one-minute intervals, and, for the pulse delivery rate selected, the heart rate is described as being slowed to a desired, stable level by increasing the pulse current.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,511,500 to Rahme, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes various aspects of the effects of autonomic nervous system tone on atrial arrhythmias, and its interaction with class III antiarrhythmic drug effects.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,428 to Obel et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a cardiac pacemaker for detecting and treating myocardial ischemia. The device automatically stimulates the vagal nervous system as well as the cardiac tissue in a concerted fashion in order to decrease cardiac workload and thereby protect the myocardium.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,334,221 to Bardy and 5,356,425 to Bardy et al., which are incorporated herein by reference, describe a stimulator for applying stimulus pulses to the AV nodal fat pad in response to the heart rate exceeding a predetermined rate, in order to reduce the ventricular rate. The device also includes a cardiac pacemaker which serves to pace the ventricle in the event that the ventricular rate is lowered below a pacing rate, and provides for feedback control of the stimulus parameters applied to the AV nodal fat pad, as a function of the determined effect of the stimulus pulses on the heart rate.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,522,854 to Ideker et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes techniques for preventing arrhythmia by detecting a high risk of arrhythmia and then stimulating afferent nerves to prevent the arrhythmia.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,434,424 to Igel et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a pacing system with a mode switching feature and ventricular rate regularization function adapted to stabilize or regularize ventricular heart rate during chronic or paroxysmal atrial tachyarrhythmia.
US Patent Application Publication 2002/0120304 to Mest, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a method for regulating the heart rate of a patient by inserting into a blood vessel of the patient a catheter having an electrode at its distal end, and directing the catheter to an intravascular location so that the electrode is adjacent to a selected cardiac sympathetic or parasympathetic nerve.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,006,134 and 6,266,564 to Hill et al., which are incorporated herein by reference, describe an electro-stimulation device including a pair of electrodes for connection to at least one location in the body that affects or regulates the heartbeat.
PCT Publication WO 02/085448 to Foreman et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a method for protecting cardiac function and reducing the impact of ischemia on the heart, by electrically stimulating a neural structure capable of carrying the predetermined electrical signal from the neural structure to the "intrinsic cardiac nervous system," which is defined and described therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,980 to Mehra, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes techniques for discrimination between ventricular and supraventricular tachycardia. In response to the detection of the occurrence of a tachycardia, stimulus pulses are delivered to one or both of the SA and AV nodal fat pads. The response of the heart rhythm to these stimulus pulses is monitored. Depending upon the change or lack of change in the heart rhythm, a diagnosis is made as to the origin of the tachycardia.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,658,318 to Stroetmann et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a device for detecting a state of imminent cardiac arrhythmia in response to activity in nerve signals conveying information from the autonomic nerve system to the heart. The device comprises a sensor adapted to be placed in an extracardiac position and to detect activity in at least one of the sympathetic and vagus nerves.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,292,695 to Webster, Jr. et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a method for controlling cardiac fibrillation, tachycardia, or cardiac arrhythmia by the use of a catheter comprising a stimulating electrode, which is placed at an intravascular location. The electrode is connected to a stimulating means, and stimulation is applied across the wall of the vessel, transvascularly, to a sympathetic or parasympathetic nerve that innervates the heart at a strength sufficient to depolarize the nerve and effect the control of the heart.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,134,470 to Hartlaub, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes an implantable anti-arrhythmia system which includes a spinal cord stimulator coupled to an implantable heart rhythm monitor. The monitor is adapted to detect the occurrence of tachyarrhythmias or of precursors thereto and, in response, trigger the operation of the spinal cord stimulator in order to prevent occurrences of tachyarrhythmias and/or as a stand-alone therapy for termination of tachyarrhythmias and/or to reduce the level of aggressiveness required of an additional therapy such as antitachycardia pacing, cardioversion or defibrillation.
US Patent Application Publication 2003/0181958 to Dobak, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a method for the treatment of obesity or other disorders, by electrical activation or inhibition of the sympathetic nervous system. This activation or inhibition is achieved by electrically stimulating the greater splanchnic nerve or another portion of the sympathetic nervous system using an implantable pulse generator. This nerve activation is described as possibly resulting in reduced food intake and increased energy expenditure. Reduced food intake is described as possibly occurring through a variety of mechanisms that reduce appetite and cause satiety. Increased adrenal gland hormone levels are described as resulting in increased energy expenditure. Fat and carbohydrate metabolism, which are described as being increased by sympathetic nerve activation, are described as accompanying the increased energy expenditure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,657 to Terry, Jr. et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes techniques for treating and controlling sleep disorders by detecting the presence of the sleep disorder under treatment, and, in response, selectively applying a predetermined electrical signal to the patient's vagus nerve for stimulation thereof to alleviate the sleep disorder under treatment. The method and apparatus includes several techniques for detecting the presence of the sleep disorder under treatment, such as sensing the patient's EEG activity in the case of insomniac and hypersomniac patients, or detecting a sudden nodding of the head in the case of narcoleptic patients, or sensing the cessation of respiration in the case of sleep apnea patients.
PCT Publication WO 04/078252 to Karashurov, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes an implanted system for treatment of human diseases by electric stimulation and/or electric blocking of the body tissues, comprising sensor and/or biosensor means for measuring variables in the body, processor means connected to the sensors and biosensors for processing the measured variables and for deciding in real time whether to apply an electric signal to the body tissues, and electrode means implanted at predefined locations and connected to the processor means, for applying the stimulation and/or electric blocking signals to the body tissues.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,668,191 to Boveja, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes apparatus for neuromodulation adjunct (add-on) therapy for atrial fibrillation, refractory hypertension, and inappropriate sinus tachycardia, comprising an implantable lead-receiver and an external stimulator. Neuromodulation is performed using pulsed electrical stimulation. The external stimulator contains a primary coil which inductively transfers electrical signals to the implanted lead-receiver, which is also in electrical contact with a vagus nerve. The external stimulator emits electrical pulses to stimulate the vagus nerve according to a predetermined program. In a second mode of operation, an operator may manually override the predetermined sequence of stimulation.
A number of patents and articles describe other methods and devices for stimulating nerves to achieve a desired effect. Often these techniques include a design for an electrode or electrode cuff.
US Patent Publication 2003/0050677 to Gross et al., which is assigned to the assignee of the present patent application and is incorporated herein by reference, describes apparatus for applying current to a nerve. A cathode is adapted to be placed in a vicinity of a cathodic longitudinal site of the nerve and to apply a cathodic current to the nerve. A primary inhibiting anode is adapted to be placed in a vicinity of a primary anodal longitudinal site of the nerve and to apply a primary anodal current to the nerve. A secondary inhibiting anode is adapted to be placed in a vicinity of a secondary anodal longitudinal site of the nerve and to apply a secondary anodal current to the nerve, the secondary anodal longitudinal site being closer to the primary anodal longitudinal site than to the cathodic longitudinal site.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,608,985 to Crish et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,649,936 to Ungar et al., which are incorporated herein by reference, describe electrode cuffs for selectively blocking orthodromic action potentials passing along a nerve trunk, in a manner intended to avoid causing nerve damage.
PCT Patent Publication WO 01/10375 to Felsen et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes apparatus for modifying the electrical behavior of nervous tissue. Electrical energy is applied with an electrode to a nerve in order to selectively inhibit propagation of an action potential.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,750 to Petruska et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes techniques for selectively blocking different size fibers of a nerve by applying direct electric current between an anode and a cathode that is larger than the anode. The current applied to the electrodes blocks nerve transmission, but, as described, does not activate the nerve fibers in either direction.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,600,956 to Maschino et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes an electrode assembly to be installed on a patient's nerve. The electrode assembly has a thin, flexible, electrically insulating circumneural carrier with a split circumferential configuration longitudinally attached to a lead at the distal end thereof. The carrier possesses circumferential resiliency and has at least one flexible, elastic electrode secured to the underside thereof and electrically connected to an electrical conductor in said lead. A fastener serves to close the split configuration of the carrier to prevent separation from the nerve after installation of the electrode assembly onto the nerve. Tear away webbing secured to adjacent serpentine segments of the lead near the carrier enables the lead to lengthen with patient movements.
The following articles, which are incorporated herein by reference, may be of interest:    Ungar I J et al., "Generation of unidirectionally propagating action potentials using a monopolar electrode cuff," Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 14:437-450 (1986)    Sweeney J D et al., "An asymmetric two electrode cuff for generation of unidirectionally propagated action potentials," IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, vol. BME-33(6) (1986)    Sweeney J D et al., "A nerve cuff technique for selective excitation of peripheral nerve trunk regions," IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, 37(7) (1990)    Naples G G et al., "A spiral nerve cuff electrode for peripheral nerve stimulation," by IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, 35(11) (1988)    van den Honert C et al., "Generation of unidirectionally propagated action potentials in a peripheral nerve by brief stimuli," Science, 206:1311-1312 (1979)    van den Honert C et al., "A technique for collision block of peripheral nerve: Single stimulus analysis," MP-11, IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng. 28:373-378 (1981)    van den Honert C et al., "A technique for collision block of peripheral nerve: Frequency dependence," MP-12, IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng. 28:379-382 (1981)    Rijkhoff N J et al., "Acute animal studies on the use of anodal block to reduce urethral resistance in sacral root stimulation," IEEE Transactions on Rehabilitation Engineering, 2(2):92 (1994)    Mushahwar V K et al., "Muscle recruitment through electrical stimulation of the lumbo-sacral spinal cord," IEEE Trans Rehabil Eng, 8(1):22-9 (2000)    Deurloo K E et al., "Transverse tripolar stimulation of peripheral nerve: a modelling study of spatial selectivity," Med Biol Eng Comput, 36(1):66-74 (1998)    Tarver W B et al., "Clinical experience with a helical bipolar stimulating lead," Pace, Vol. 15, October, Part II (1992)    Manfredi M, "Differential block of conduction of larger fibers in peripheral nerve by direct current," Arch. Ital. Biol., 108:52-71 (1970)
In physiological muscle contraction, nerve fibers are recruited in the order of increasing size, from smaller-diameter fibers to progressively larger-diameter fibers. In contrast, artificial electrical stimulation of nerves using standard techniques recruits fibers in a larger- to smaller-diameter order, because larger-diameter fibers have a lower excitation threshold. This unnatural recruitment order causes muscle fatigue and poor force gradation. Techniques have been explored to mimic the natural order of recruitment when performing artificial stimulation of nerves to stimulate muscles.
Fitzpatrick et al., in "A nerve cuff design for the selective activation and blocking of myelinated nerve fibers," Ann. Conf. of the IEEE Eng. in Medicine and Biology Soc, 13(2), 906 (1991), which is incorporated herein by reference, describe a tripolar electrode used for muscle control. The electrode includes a central cathode flanked on its opposite sides by two anodes. The central cathode generates action potentials in the motor nerve fiber by cathodic stimulation. One of the anodes produces a complete anodal block in one direction so that the action potential produced by the cathode is unidirectional. The other anode produces a selective anodal block to permit passage of the action potential in the opposite direction through selected motor nerve fibers to produce the desired muscle stimulation or suppression.
The following articles, which are incorporated herein by reference, may be of interest:    Rijkhoff N J et al., "Orderly recruitment of motoneurons in an acute rabbit model," Ann. Conf. of the IEEE Eng., Medicine and Biology Soc., 20(5):2564 (1998)    Rijkhoff N J et al., "Selective stimulation of small diameter nerve fibers in a mixed bundle," Proceedings of the Annual Project Meeting Sensations/Neuros and Mid-Term Review Meeting on the TMR-Network Neuros, Apr. 21-23, 1999, pp. 20-21 (1999)    Baratta R et al., "Orderly stimulation of skeletal muscle motor units with tripolar nerve cuff electrode," IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, 36(8):836-43 (1989)
The following articles, which are incorporated herein by reference, describe techniques using point electrodes to selectively excite peripheral nerve fibers:    Grill W M et al., "Inversion of the current-distance relationship by transient depolarization," IEEE Trans Biomed Eng, 44(1):1-9 (1997)    Goodall E V et al., "Position-selective activation of peripheral nerve fibers with a cuff electrode," IEEE Trans Biomed Eng, 43(8):851-6 (1996)    Veraart C et al., "Selective control of muscle activation with a multipolar nerve cuff electrode," IEEE Trans Biomed Eng, 40(7):640-53 (1993)
As defined by Rattay, in the article, "Analysis of models for extracellular fiber stimulation," IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, Vol. 36, no. 2, p. 676, 1989, which is incorporated herein by reference, the activation function is the second spatial derivative of the electric potential along an axon. In the region where the activation function is positive, the axon depolarizes, and in the region where the activation function is negative, the axon hyperpolarizes. If the activation function is sufficiently positive, then the depolarization will cause the axon to generate an action potential; similarly, if the activation function is sufficiently negative, then local blocking of action potentials transmission occurs. The activation function depends on the current applied, as well as the geometry of the electrodes and of the axon.
For a given electrode geometry, the equation governing the electrical potential is:∇(σ∇U)=4πj,
where U is the potential, σ is the conductance tensor specifying the conductance of the various materials (electrode housing, axon, intracellular fluid, etc.), and j is a scalar function representing the current source density specifying the locations of current injection.

Parasympathetic pacing therapy during and following a medical procedure, clinical trauma or pathology


A conveyor employs a low-tension, direct drive conveyor belt, and a snap-on position limiter for ensuring proper engagement of the belt and a drive sprocket. The position limiter includes a body, a limiting surface and a snap clap opposite the limiting surface for snapping the position limiter to a mounting shaft. The limiting surface may comprise rotatable rollers mounted to the body, or a continuous arcuate surface. The position limiter may include a mounting arm for mounting a conveyor belt scraper at the front of the position limiter.

The invention relates generally to power-driven conveyors and, more particularly, to thermoplastic, toothed endless belts driven by sprockets.
Position limiters, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,850,562, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, are used in low tension, positive drive belting systems to ensure proper engagement of the belt and drive sprocket by controlling the position of the belt during the drive tooth hand-off process. A position limiter may be disposed against the belt near the exit point. Examples of position limiters include scrapers, rollers and shoes.
Current position limiters are fixed to a mounting shaft, which may trap dirt and debris and inhibit disassembly and-or replacement of the position limiter. In addition, current position limiters are generally placed where the conveyor belt would naturally fall away from the drive sprocket when no pretension is applied, which is typically at 165° of wrap from where the belt enters the drive sprocket. The position limiter thus competes for the same space as a belt scraper, if used. Further, the position limiter must be axially aligned with the drive sprockets, requiring locking collars or fasteners that can become harborage zones for bacteria, thus presenting risks to food safety.

Snap-on position limiter for a conveyor belt


A template for use in installing electrical boxes. The template may be used to install electrical boxes in both new and old work. An elongated member is configured to grip and frictionally engage a wall stud with a pair of stud gripping components. A plurality of spacers may be inserted between the elongated member and the wall stud to set the installation depth based on the thickness of the drywall to be installed. A pair of electrical cutouts are positioned along the elongated member at a desired height to locate a height of the electrical boxes. A second pair of cutouts are positioned along the elongated member at a second desired height to locate a second height of the electrical boxes. In an additional embodiment, the template is a mat with an electrical box cutout for locating the installation position for the electrical boxes on a finished wall.

The present invention generally relates to a tool for installing electrical boxes, and more specifically to a template configured to provide for the uniform installation of electrical boxes in both new and old work. Accordingly, the present specification makes specific reference thereto. However, it is to be appreciated that aspects of the present invention are also equally amenable to other like applications, devices and methods of manufacture.
Electrical boxes, or junction boxes are designed to enclose and protect wire connections and provide a safety barrier. They are used to contain switches and outlets while protecting against short circuits and fire and shock hazards. They form part of the electrical conduit wiring system in a building. They are usually mounted within a wall or ceiling. They can also be installed as "new work" before the installation of drywall, or as "old work" after the installation of the drywall.
Whether installed before or after the drywall, electrical box installation can be a difficult, frustrating, and time consuming process. The boxes are not easily installed uniformly at the same height. While there is no precise national code requirement for installation height, it is standard practice for wall switches to be installed approximately 48 inches above the floor, but this distance typically ranges from 43 to 53 inches, depending on preferences. It is also common practice for receptacle outlet boxes to be installed with the bottom edge between approximately 12 and 16 inches above the floor.
The electrical boxes can be also be difficult to install at the proper depth, so they are flush with the finished wall. Without some kind of guide, it can be difficult to install the boxes with the proper offset to ensure the front edges of the electrical boxes will be flush with the finished drywall surface. Measurements must constantly be made when installing the boxes and the corresponding wires.
Installing a box prior to the drywall is easier as the metal or wood wall studs are exposed. The height from the floor must be measured for each box. Once height is determined, the depth of box insertion must be determined. The front edge of the box must be flush with the finished surface. Installers usually create a jug from a scrap of drywall to help gauge the proper depth. The height and depth measurements must both be done for each box installation which requires multiple steps.
Installing a box after the drywall is in place is even more difficult. "Old work" boxes do not come with templates. The installer is forced to make a lot of measurements and transfer them to the wall with a ruler, try to use the front of the box as a template, or make a paper template to assist in installation. As these boxes taper from smaller to larger, the back side of the box will not work as a template. If the drywall cuts are not correct, the box will not stay in position and will fall into the wall. This installation similarly requires multiple steps.
In this manner, the improved installation tool of the present invention accomplishes all of the forgoing objectives, thereby providing an easy solution to mounting electrical boxes uniformly. A primary feature of the present invention provides users with an electrical box installation tool designed to install electrical boxes at the same height so that the electrical boxes are flush with the wall once installed. Finally, the improved electrical box installation tool of the present invention is capable of saving time and effort when installing electrical boxes.


A method detecting a battery capacity of a secondary battery, in which charging mode includes first mode including only ON state, and second mode including ON state and OFF state, the method includes: charging mode selection process of selecting the charging mode; internal resistance calculation process calculating internal resistance of secondary battery when ON state and OFF state are switched; remaining capacity calculation process calculating remaining capacity of secondary battery; remaining capacity variation amount calculation process calculating variation amount of remaining capacity from most recent full charge capacity calculation time; charged electricity amount calculation process of calculating amount of charged electricity in accordance with integrated value of current that flowed from point of time at which most recent full charge capacity is calculated; and full charge capacity detection process of detecting full charge capacity of secondary battery based on variation amount of remaining capacity and amount of charged electricity.

For example, a method of detecting a full charge capacity of a battery based on an integrated value of a charge and discharge current and a variation in a remaining capacity of a battery between first and second detection timings related to on and off of an ignition switch of a vehicle is disclosed in the related art (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).
In this method, the integrated value of the charge and discharge current is calculated by integrating a charge current and a discharge current of a battery. The charge current and the discharge current are detected by a current sensor between the first and second detection timings. In addition, when computing the variation in the remaining capacity, first, an open voltage of the battery is detected by a voltage sensor, for example, at each detection timing at which the charge and discharge current of the battery becomes zero. In addition, a remaining capacity corresponding to the open voltage of the battery is detected from a correspondence relationship between the open voltage, which is set in advance, of the battery and the remaining capacity. In addition, the variation in the remaining capacity is calculated from the remaining capacity at the first and second detection timings.

Method of detecting battery capacity of secondary battery


The described technology is generally directed towards combining user identity information, corresponding to user profile data, with vehicle information, such as for use by a traffic zone management system that charges a fee for vehicle usage in a traffic zone. A user device, such as a mobile communications device, can be coupled to vehicle information such as via a transponder that is detected by roadside units, or by uploading the combined information to a wireless communications system. Based on the combination of information, different billing rates or the like can be applied to different users and vehicle types. The technology can work with various communication systems, including roadside units and wireless communication networks.

Congestion pricing/charging zones refer to certain roads in which vehicles are charged a fee for usage in an effort to reduce traffic congestion, reduce pollution and raise revenue. For example, Singapore and London have congestion pricing schemes for the use of certain roads. Other cities are considering similar schemes.
Existing pricing schemes are designed and implemented around generally set rates for vehicles that enter a traffic zone or drive on a toll road or bridge. Such rates can be varied based on limited factors such as time of day or amount of traffic, and size (or number of axles) of the vehicle. These basic solutions have no realistic way to take into account various additional parameters that could be used to determine pricing, including pricing deemed more fair to users.

Combining user device identity with vehicle information for traffic zone detection


A matrixed memory array device is disclosed that includes input ports and output ports. Each input port is coupled to a first data bus and each output port is coupled to a second data bus that is different and separate from the first data bus. A memory brick is placed at each cross-point between first data buses and second data buses so as to switchably couple frames of data from input ports to output ports. Each memory brick contains a plurality of eight transistor (8-T) memory cells that can be used to store, erase, read, write, and switchably couple a data bit from the input port to a corresponding output port.

Various different types of system architectures can be used to build a packet/cell switching fabric. One type of system architecture is the shared bus architecture shown in FIG. 1A. Shared bus architectures include circuit boards 11 having multiple I/O buffers 12 that are coupled to a shared bus 10. Another type of system architecture is the shared memory architecture shown in FIG. 1B. Shared memory architectures include switch ports 21, a central switch fabric 22 and a shared memory 23. Yet another type of system architecture is the output buffered architecture shown in FIG. 1C. Output buffered architectures include switch ports 31 that have an output buffer 32 and a central switch fabric 33.
Shared bus architectures cannot practically be scaled to handle high bandwidth applications since data is transmitted in a broadcast fashion, requiring that each circuit board 11 wait its turn before transmitting on the shared bus 10. Shared memory and output buffered architectures are not easily scaled for two reasons: (1) the memory access speed of shared memory 23 (or output buffers 32), must be as fast as the overall bandwidth of central switch fabric 22 (or central switch fabric 33), and (2) shared memory 23 and output buffers 32 must be very large for packet/cell switching applications.
One type of system architecture that is more scalable and flexible than the architectures shown in FIGS. 1A-1C is the cross-point fabric with buffered input/output architecture shown in FIG. 1D. The cross-point fabric with buffered input/output architecture includes a plurality of line cards 41, each having an input/output (I/O) buffer 42, and a switch card 45, which includes a cross-point switch fabric 43 and an arbiter 44. Without an efficient and fast arbiter, the cross-point architecture with input/output buffer can become blocking. With very high-speed packet/cell transmission rates, it can be challenging to design an efficient arbitration algorithm that achieves 100% throughput for real life data network traffic.
The above-described packet switching technologies are further complicated if variable length packets are allowed. Most high-speed packet/cell switching technologies, such as those used in connection with the architectures of FIGS. 1A-1D require that variable length packets must first be padded into a fixed length internal packet/cells before switching. This padding process can add as much as 30% of transmission overhead to the switched cell/packet. Moreover, the complex arbiter 44 of the traditional cross-point fabric with buffered input/output architecture must be made even more complex to support variable length packets.
It would therefore be desirable to have an improved packet switching technology that overcomes the above-described deficiencies of conventional packet switching technologies. It would further be desirable to have a system that is bandwidth scalable. It would also be desirable to have a system that reduces the transmission overhead of variable length packets.

Apparatus and method for matrix memory switching element


The invention provides a method and system for formatting electronic mail for transmission, in which electronic mail messages include the operational results of one or more applets. An electronic mail client creates an electronic mail message using one or more applets, each of which may operate to actively receive, transform, and display information to be presented with the electronic mail message. At or near a time when the electronic mail message is formatted for transmission, editable program code for the applets is removed, and any dynamic links between the applets are broken. The electronic mail message made available to the receiver can thus include active elements, but any applets which are received are not editable by the receiver.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to electronic mail.
2. Related Art
"Electronic mail" is a technique in which messages are delivered between computers (or within a single computer), destined to be read by individual users. In addition to sending messages which are just text, it has recently become known to send mail, such as programs which are able to run on the receiving computer.
For example, an "applet" is a program which is able to be transmitted using a network of computers and executed at the receiving computer. In the Java programming language environment (and for other applet programming language environments such as ActiveX), each applet includes an editable program and a graphical display image. While it would be advantageous to be able to transmit applets using electronic mail, it is often not desirable to transmit the editable program portion of the applet.
An aspect of this problem is that there are many operations in which applets might be useful in electronic mail, such as providing dynamically updated information, providing templates for creating replies, transmitting to mailing lists, and the like. However, in many cases the power of providing these operations using applets is itself a strong reason not to provide the applet code to the electronic mail recipient.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a method and system for transmitting electronic mail which includes the operational results of one or more applets. This advantage is achieved in an embodiment of the invention in which links between applets and links within a applet, which are unnecessary to display of the information desired by the sender to be presented with the electronic mail, are broken at or near a time when the electronic mail is formatted for transmission.


The present invention is a tray for supporting food plates and beverage vessels. It comprises a substantially flat base structure with an orifice through the top of the base which is circular in shape and located to one end of the tray. This orifice is adapted to receive a beverage vessel. There is a second orifice through the top of the base which is circular in shape located at the opposite end of the tray from the first orifice. The second orifice is adapted to receive a food plate. There is a first notch located at the front of the base, adapted to receive an area between a thumb and a first finger when being held with the thumb on top and fingers on the bottom of the base. There is another notch located to the back of the base, adapted to receive an area between a thumb and a first finger when being held with the thumb on top and fingers on the bottom of the base. In a preferred embodiment, the second orifice has a surrounding recess tapered to receive an outer rim of a plate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention involves a support tray for food and beverages. It is a tray specifically adapted to hold both a plate and a beverage container, e.g. wine glass, coffee cup, glass, in a weight distributed fashion. The present invention tray has left hand and right hand holding adaptations and may be permanent china, plastic ware or disposable.
2. Prior Art Statement
Trays have been utilized for centuries for carrying dishes, serving bowls, etc., and, in modern times, for many purposes including fast food service, party foods, cafeteria service, and the like. Specialty trays have more recently been developed for compartmentalizing the tray and for carrying specific items.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,144 issued to Gabriella Hagelberg describes a serving tray with a number of recesses in the form of bowls for components of a meal. A recess is provided for at least one dish and one is provided for a drinking vessel. A hole extends through Hagelberg's tray in a shape and size to form an opening for the insertion of the thumb of a hand so that the tray can be carried with the thumb on the upper side of the tray while the hand is placed under the tray bottom to support the underside of the tray. However, the thumb hole is in a corner to allow the hand to go under the tray and is not balanced at all. It also has no holes for the beverage vessel and thus it is top heavy and easily tipped during use. Finally, it is not left hand/right hand symmetrical.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,685 to Michael French sets forth a plate-type tray with a tapered plate section and a recess for receiving a drinking vessel. No provision is made for carrying a separate plate therein nor is there a provision for a thumb recess nor is there right hand/left hand interchangeability.
More recently U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,713 to Fredrick Phillips describes a serving tray with deep recesses for drinking vessels but does not address the other prior art shortcomings set forth above.
Thus, the prior art describes various specialty trays but none providing orifices for both dishes and beverage containers coupled with dual thumb recesses opposed to one another to provide balance and left hand/right hand reversibility or interchangeability.


Modified ethylene/n-butyl acrylate copolymers obtained by grafting a half-ester of maleic acid onto a randomly copolymerized ethylene/n-butyl acrylate backbone are provided. The carboxylic functionalized polymers of the invention exhibit superior adhesion to non-polar substrates. They are particularly effective for adhering metals.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to modified ethylene/n-butyl acrylate (EnBA) copolymers having improved adhesion to non-polar substrates. Significantly improved metal adhesion is obtained by grafting a half-ester of maleic acid, e.g., monopropyl maleate, to EnBA copolymers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The ability of ethylene to be polymerized with a variety of monomers, such as vinyl esters, is well known. For example, vinyl acetate (VA) is polymerized with ethylene to produce ethylene/vinyl acetate (EVA) resins which are widely used in hot-melt and other adhesive systems. It is also known that ethylene can be copolymerized with n-butyl acrylate (nBA) to produce EnBA copolymers. While EnBA and EVA resins containing comparable molar amounts of the comonomer exhibit minor differences in polarity, density, tensile, elongation, softening point, heat stability, low temperature flexibility, etc., the resins are sufficiently similar so that they can be used in many of the same Comparisons of EVA and EnBA resins of the type used in hot melt adhesive systems are discussed in an article by D. C. Wielinski, Adhesives Age, November 1989, pp. 30-33.
Even though EVA and EnBA resins are useful for the formulation of hot melt adhesive and sealant systems, adhesion to metals, such as aluminum, is generally considered to be quite low. We have now found that significant improvement of metal adhesion can be achieved by crafting a half-ester of maleic acid, such as monopropyl maleate, to EnBA copolymers. While it is generally known that adhesion to metals and other non-polar substrates can be enhanced by incorporating adhesion promoting carboxylic monomers, the improvement obtained with the present invention is unexpected compared to the results obtained with comparable grafted EVA copolymers.
Numerous adhesion promoting monomers, primarily acrylic acid and maleic acid (or derivatives thereof), have been incorporated into ethylene copolymers either by direct polymerization or grafting. Ethylene/vinyl acetate/methacrylic acid terpolymers, for example, are known and commercially available from E. I. duPont le Nemours and Company under the trademark Elvax. Ethylene/monomethyl maleate/alkyl acrylate polymers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,599,119 and 2,599,123. Ethylene and monomethyl maleate are copolymerized in British Pat. 963,380 and copolymers of ethylene and monobutyl maleate are disclosed in Canadian Pat. 1,118,141. Polymers of monoalkyl esters of maleic acid and vinyl acetate, with and without other comonomers, are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,013,805, 4,116,913, 4,347,341, and 4,599,378.
Numerous references are also known which disclose grafting of unsaturated polycarboxylic compounds and their partial or complete esters to a variety of polymer substrates. Generally, grafting is accomplished using peroxide but some processes use other radical-generating means. For example, polypropylene and propylene/.alpha.-olefin copolymers are thermally degraded and grafted in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,480,580 and 3,481,910. Mono- and diesters of maleic acid are disclosed as suitable grafting monomers in both references. Maleic semiesters and semiamides are disclosed for grafting a variety of polymer substrates, including polyethylene and EVA, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,347,341.

Modified ethylene/n-butyl acrylate copolymers having improved adhesion