The isolation tool works at depth in the bore of a pipe whose upper end is to be severed and replaced. The tool isolates the lower pipe bore from the upper bore so that flammable downhole fluid is prevented from reaching a welding site along the pipe wall. The tool incorporates: means for establishing a pair of axially spaced apart annular seals engaging the pipe inner surface; means for venting downhole fluid to ground surface; and means for monitoring for seal leakage. The tool is primarily mechanical in nature. It finds use in connection with off-shore platform riser renewal operations.

The invention was developed in connection with providing an isolation tool which could be used 'downhole' in connection with the process of replacing the upper section of an upwardly oriented riser associated with an off-shore oil or gas production platform. Such platforms are prevalent in the Gulf coast region of the U.S. It will be described herein in that connection. However, it is contemplated that the tool and method may find application in other fields of use as well and is not limited to downhole applications in upwardly oriented pipes.
The word "riser" is commonly used to identify a steel pipe extending up from the sea floor to a production platform. Oil or natural gas is produced through the bore of the riser from one or more wells connected to it.
Many of these risers have been in use for decades in the Gulf coast region. As a consequence, in many cases their upper sections have become weakened and worn by wave action, corrosion and other damaging actions. The well operators pay close attention to this deterioration and will initiate replacement of the upper section of the riser when appropriate.
Typically the prior art replacement operation has involved:                closing the valves of the sea floor wellhead(s) to terminate production into the base of the riser;        setting a packer at depth in the riser bore (for example, this might take place at a depth of up to 40′ below the platform), so as to provide a barrier sealing off or isolating the upper section of the riser bore from its lower section;        severing the riser wall at a point above the packer with a mechanical cutting tool;        removing the severed upper section of the riser and lowering a replacement pipe section into its place; and        welding the new riser section end to end to the old section.
It follows that one needs to isolate the pipe wall area, where welding is to occur, from the flammable gas which may still be present in the bore of the riser.
Heretofore there have been various downhole tools employed to so control the riser bore. In one case, a pig-type device or packer is displaced to the appropriate depth in the bore and then actuated from ground surface by means of an electronic signal. Upon actuation, the packer mechanically expands its seal element radially into sealing engagement with the pipe wall and anchors itself to the wall, thereby providing a barrier to gas movement along the inner surface of the upper pipe segment.
These prior art tools are closely held and are not publically disclosed in detail in the literature, to our knowledge. However, we understand that they are characterized by several shortcomings, including that:                the tools are complex and their use entails lengthy set-up times;        the tools are not adapted to monitor and provide a real time indication of the on-going competence or possible leakage of the packer seal element; and        rental of the known tools is expensive.
It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide an isolation tool for use downhole that can be comparatively quickly installed and deployed at the desired depth in a riser bore.
It is another object to provide a tool adapted to provide a real time indication of seal competency or leakage.
And it is another object to provide a tool which, due to the simplicity of its structure and operation, can be supplied at less cost than has been common in the past.
If the tool is to be used at an off-shore platform, it is desirable that it be adapted to be insertable into the riser inlet within the space available. While these platforms are huge structures, the space available to feed an isolation tool into the open upper end of the riser bore is commonly very limited. Typically there might be only about 2½-6′ of "head room" available at the riser inlet. It therefore is a preferred object of the invention to provide a tool which is adapted to be fed into the pipe bore in spite of the usual space limitations at the inlet.
If the tool is to be used in the context of an off-shore platform riser, it is desirable that it remain cohesive in use. Dropping a steel part down the riser bore is unacceptable to the well operator. It therefore is a preferred object to provide a tool whose components are well tied together to maintain its cohesiveness while still allowing tool components to move to a limited extent in the course of 'setting' the tool.
If the tool is to be used in close proximity to a welding operation, it is desirable to avoid heat damage of the elastomer seals. It therefore is another preferred object to provide a tool adapted to protect the seals against deterioration from heat.

Apparatus and method for isolating a section of a pipe riser bore in the course of riser renewal


In a paintball gun 10 the valve member 17 which controls communication between the gas canister 13 and the barrel 11 of the gun is balanced by a piston 23. When the chamber 21 is pressurized the piston 23 helps to unseat the valve member 17 when the latter is struck by a hammer 15, thus reducing recoil and permitting use of lighter, less robust materials.

This invention relates to a valve for a gas operated gun, particularly although not exclusively a paintball gun. Paintball guns are used to fire balls or pellets of paint at other players of military games to mark them as "hit".
In one form of paintball gun compressed gas is released to fire a paint pellet when a valve controlling the gas pathway is struck by a hammer. This rather violent action produces a substantial recoil which can spoil the user's aim and cause discomfort. It also requires the use of relatively heavy and expensive components, such as the hammer, which will be capable of standing up to the wear and tear involved.
A principal object of the present invention is to address this problem.


Travelling carrier delivery equipment includes a delivery unit for transferring a travelling carrier that has no self-running means between a movable rail and a main rail by means of external friction-driven, and the travelling carrier is provided with a friction driving surface across its entire length, the delivery unit has a friction drive wheel and friction drive wheel moving means, the friction drive wheel is provided on the movable rail and is switchable between a driving state, in that it propels the travelling carrier via the friction driving surface and a driving release state, and the friction drive wheel moving means reciprocates the friction drive wheel between a retreating position (R), at which the friction drive wheel can be made to contact with the friction driving surface of the travelling carrier supported on the movable rail and a forwarding position (F), at which the friction drive wheel can be made to contact with the friction driving surface of the travelling carrier supported on the main rail.

This type of travelling carrier delivery equipment is utilized as means for switching a travelling path of a travelling carrier, means for distributing travelling carriers to a plurality of storage branch lines from a main line as a main travelling path of the travelling carrier and returning the travelling carriers to the main line from storage branch lines, or means for reversing the front and rear direction of a travelling carrier in the middle of a travelling path of the travelling carrier. For example, the travelling carrier delivery equipment described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-97546 uses a traverse-type movable rail that transfers a travelling carrier onto a second travelling path for travelling the travelling carrier in reverse from a first travelling path for travelling a carriage-like travelling carrier for carrying an automobile body in a forward direction, and as a delivery unit for transferring the travelling carrier onto the movable rail from the first travelling path, a friction drive wheel disposed at a terminal end of the first travelling path and a friction drive wheel on the movable rail are used, and as drive means for transferring the travelling carrier onto the second travelling path from the movable rail, a friction drive wheel disposed at the beginning of the second travelling path and the friction drive wheel on the movable rail are used.
As described above, in such a conventional type of travelling carrier delivery equipment, a friction drive wheel is necessary not only on the movable rail side but also on each travelling path side to which this movable rail is connected, and in addition, control of the friction drive wheel on each travelling path side is also necessary, so that the control system becomes complicated, and as a whole, the facilities cost becomes very high. Particularly, in travelling carrier delivery equipment for storage in which a number of storage rails for storing a number of travelling carriers are arranged parallel, and the movable rail traverses and is connectable to an arbitrary storage rail, the friction drive wheel must be provided for each of all storage rails, and this is not practicable in terms of the facilities cost. Of course, travelling carrier delivery equipment constituted so as to transfer a travelling carrier by pushing and pulling drive means on the movable rail side is also considered, however, in the case of equipment that handles travelling carriers with long entire lengths for carrying long objects, the stroke of a lock tool on the pushing and pulling drive means side that engages with a locked portion of the travelling carrier side also becomes longer according to the entire length of the travelling carrier, the pushing and pulling drive means becomes large in size and complicated, and this is still impractical.


An improved metal diaphragm valve is disclosed, in which the bed of the valve casing is made wider in its surface where the valve seat is mounted, than in conventional valves. The sufficiently spacious bed surface enables polishing easier, particularly in assembling micronized sizes of a valve. The simple design also makes it possible to use multiple-stage electropolishing, a technology used to obtain a mirror-like surface of casing bed. Since the bed of the valve casing has a wide enough space between the inner casing wall and the annular valve seat, the likelihood of fluid stagnation is lessened, causing fluid to flow smoothly from the inlet to outlet passage. The widened casing bed surface design is obtained because the annular valve seat caulked in position by expanding the rim of the inlet port in the fluid entrance passage that is bored concentrically of the central annular seat. This arrangement eliminates the conventional pair of collars used to securely fix the annual valve seat along both circumferences thereof.

1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a metal diaphragm valve which can be used in the fluid pipings of semiconductor producing equipment, and more particularly to such a device of micronized build, with small-diameter fluid passages.
2) Description of the Prior Art
There has been increased demand for micronized metal diaphragm valves for use in the fluid pipings of semiconductor manufacturing machines. As illustrated in FIG. 2, such a valve 20' consists a domed diaphragm 1 made of elastic metal material which is normally upwardly urged to bulge away from an annular valve seat 4 (as shown by broken line), that is mounted below the diaphragm, encased in a cylindrical casing 2. A valve drive system 3 is operatively connected to the diaphragm 1, and is operated to push a reciprocating piece 3a that is centrally mounted in the casing 2. The piece 3a, when depressed by the valve drive 3, physically exerts pressure on the diaphragm 1, and causes it to cave in and is brought into contact with the seat 4 below. When the diaphragm 1 is pressed sealingly against the seat 4, fluid-flow relationship is shut down between an inlet passage 10 and an outlet passage 13 that is formed below the casing 2.
When the drive system 3 releases the pressure on the reciprocating piece 3a, the diaphragm 1 retracts back, on its own elasticity, to the original convex position depicted by broken line in the drawing, thereby establishing fluid-flow relationship between the inlet passage 10 and outlet passage 13.
In conventional technologies, the annular valve seat 4 are fixedly secured, or caulked, in position in the casing bed 5 with a pair of annular collars 4a along both inner and outer circumferences of the seat. This caulking with collars, however, make the bed 5 irregular and bumpy in the surface, increasing a risk of stagnation of fluid in an area surrounding the ribbed valve seat 4, technically referred to as "dead zone".
Metal diaphragm valves have to be build small where they are used in the fluid pipings of semiconductor chip manufacturing equipment. In this application, their annular beds 5 have to have a sufficiently wide flat surface between the outer collar 4a and the inner walls of the casing 2, to remove the possibility of developing stagnation of fluid because of dead zone, when the diaphragm 1 is actuated to its opening position. As a result, after the diaphragm is fully closed, part of the fluid is left unevacuated. This undrained fluid leads to inefficient valve operation. Moreover, attempts at replacing fluid are often aborted since part of the fluid will refuse to leave the region of dead zone.
When the valve is built small as for the fluid piping of IC-chip assembling machines, the annular casing bed cannot be made to sufficiently wide because of technical difficulty. Grinding applied to the collar 4a has tended to leave metal particles or excessively polished patches to ruin the sealing capacity of the seat 4. Using multiple-stage electropolishing, an efficient technique to obtain a fine surface, is also be limited because of the narrow bed surface of the collars 4a.


A premium messaging exchange. The premium messaging exchange can include a list of destinations supported by the premium messaging exchange. Each record in the list can include a specified destination, and a supporting external messaging system. Finally, the premium messaging exchange can include an interface to the list which can be accessed by querying external messaging systems and through which supporting external messaging systems can be identified for specific destination addresses provided by the querying external messaging systems through the interface.

1. Statement of the Technical Field
The present invention relates to the field of data communications and more particularly to electronic message routing in a heterogeneous data communications network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Messaging has become the lifeblood of enterprise infrastructure. In the past, information technologists tolerated poor electronic communications with both customers and suppliers. Presently, though, competitive market pressures have changed driving information technologists to seek messaging solutions that provide a lower cost of ownership while increasing the effectiveness and reliability of their communications network. Specifically, information technologies now recognize the benefits of an Internet standards-based messaging system. In this regard, standards-based messaging systems typically can include native or gateway support for one or more of SMTP, MIME, POP3, IMAP4, LDAP, SNMP, and SSL.
While some messaging system vendors include support for widely used messaging standards, others fail to incorporate support for all relevant standards. Still others fail to completely support application required messaging standards. In such cases, customers must compromise interoperability. In all cases, however, unless a messaging system has been configured to interoperate with all available messaging protocols and data formats, a gateway or connector will be required to translate a message from one data format to another.
The use of a gateway or connector to provide interoperability between disparate messaging systems has been considered deficient in terms of providing native support for multiple messaging standards. Specifically, it has been recognized by those skilled in the art that gateway or connector based support for multiple messaging standards can prove suboptimal in that such systems are considered proprietary and can produce mere marginal scalability and can be expensive. Accordingly, the use of gateways and connectors to process multiple messaging formats and protocols have been limited strictly to electronic mail systems.
Twenty-first century messaging extends far beyond simple electronic mail systems, and incorporates both Internet and conventional fax messaging, voice messaging, video conferencing and the like. Yet, the same interoperability problems exist in twenty-first century messaging which could be identified among simple electronic mail systems. For instance, Internet fax providers utilize disparate format and file types, while video conferencing systems rely upon several known protocols and formats. Similarly, voice mail systems differ generally from vendor to vendor, in both cellular and business telephone systems.
Notably, in the context of fax messaging, it can be advantageous to route a fax not through the PSTN where toll charges can be incurred, but through the Internet where at present no tolls can be incurred. The use of Internet fax routing can be particularly advantageous where a fax is to be broadcast to a destination which broadcast will incur long distance charges. To that end, fax delivery systems have been developed which can algorithmically select an optimal route for a particular fax destination which might include a PSTN segment, an Internet segment or a combination of both PSTN and Internet segments.
Still, the effectiveness of each route can be limited by the route knowledge associated with a specific destination for a particular fax document. In particular, where one fax network cannot provide a cost effective Internet route for a selected destination, another fax network might enjoy a configuration able to provide a cost effective Internet route. Still, as each fax network can process fax transmissions disparately, neither can interoperate with the other and an expensive PSTN route will be required. In this regard, interoperability does not exist between different fax networks.
Similarly, in the context of video conferencing, participants to a particular video conference must utilize end point communications equipment which processes digital video in a like manner, whether the manner is through PICTURETEL, or H.323 means. Different endpoints having disparate mechanisms for processing video and audio imagery cannot interoperate to facilitate a video conferencing session. Analogously, voice mail processed by a cellular phone system cannot easily be processed in a conventional PBX system disposed within the enterprise. Thus, there exists a long felt unsolved need for a unified messaging architecture able to facilitate the exchange of electronic messages across disparate messaging systems in a seamless manner.


A method for generating a representation of a particular signal among video signals representing a display, the signals including a first component having a first bandwidth and a second component having a smaller second bandwidth, includes the steps of: (a) measuring first samples of the first component outside the second bandwidth for an interval in each signal; (b)measuring second samples of the second component inside the second bandwidth for the interval; (c) establishing factors based upon first samples; (d) establishing filter modes based upon second samples; (e) establishing a correlation between factors and filter modes; (f) filtering the signals using a selected filter mode; (g) identifying a selected factor according to the correlation for the selected filter mode; (h) employing the selected factor for weighted mixing of the samples to generate the representation for the time interval; and (g) repeating steps (a) through (h) until the representation is completed.

The present invention is directed to video signal treatment, and is especially directed to treatment of color video signals to achieve improved color separation in displays or images created using the signals.
The composite video signals often used in terrestrial and cable broadcast systems consist of three video components mixed together. A luminance component (LUMA) is at baseband and has a signal width of up to about 6 MHz (MegaHertz). Color components (U and V; CHROMA) are quadrature modulated with a subcarrier signal. U.S. standards establish the color component signals as modulated with a 3.58 MHz subcarrier. European standards (PAL) establish the color component signals modulated with a 4.43 MHz subcarrier.
Because the component signals' bandwidths overlap, crosstalk can occur when separating the component signals to their original luminance and color contributions to an image. Some solutions employ comb filters to reduce such crosstalk by vertically filtering the signal. Employing such vertical filtering to succeeding signals representing adjacent lines in an image effects temporal or time-related filtering. Such temporal filtering addresses like portions in an image appearing along a common axis in the image, generally perpendicular to the parallel lines established by the succeeding signals. Modern adaptive digital comb filters can achieve good crosstalk rejection while introducing a minimal amount of filter artifacts.
A problem occurs when comb filters operate only on the signal frequencies near the color subcarrier. Such an employment of filtering seems like a good solution because LUMA-CHROMA crosstalk can only exist in the region inside the CHROMA bandwidth. That band width is specified by standards to be about 1.3 MHz. The filters used to limit bandwidth (low pass filters limit the baseband; bandpass filters limit the composite signals) are not ideal. That is, the filters have losses as the signals approach the stopband. The losses typically amount to about 33% loss at 1.3 MHz. The portion of CHROMA that falls outside the comb filter band of operation becomes false LUMA, which is manifested in the resulting image as "dot crawl". Dot crawl is a moving pattern of dots on all horizontal color transitions.
One could design a comb filter designed to operate on the entire video frequency spectrum to eliminate dot crawl completely for horizontal color transitions. However, such a filter would cause increased artifacts on vertical LUMA transitions.
There is a need for a method for generating a representation of a particular signal among a plurality of signals representing lines in a display that avoids introducing artifacts or other manifestations of signal interference.

Method for generating a representation of a particular signal among a plurality of signals representing lines in a display


A system, method, and computer program product enabling individual user devices to authenticate and validate a digital message sent by a distribution center, without requiring transmissions to the distribution center. The center transmits the message with an appended modulus that is the product of two specially selected primes. The transmission also includes an appended authentication value that is based on an original message hash value, a new message hash value, and the modulus. The new message hash value is designed to be the center's public RSA key; a corresponding private RSA key is also computed. Individual user devices combine a digital signet, a public modulus, preferably unique hardware-based numbers, and an original message hash to compute a unique integrity value K. Subsequent messages are similarly processed to determine new integrity values K′, which equal K if and only if new messages originated from the center and have not been corrupted.

As digital storage technology and computer networks have advanced, efforts to ensure that digital content is made available for use only by authorized recipients have also progressed. One approach for providing security for digital content information is to distribute the information in encrypted form, and then to distribute necessary decryption information in the form of keys to only legitimate users. Unfortunately, unscrupulous legitimate users can share distributed decryption keys with unauthorized recipients, so there has been an increasing trend toward preventing anonymous sharing by requiring the recipient hardware to identify itself to the distributor of secured digital information as belonging to a particular user. The distributor may be the original vendor of secured digital information, or another party that handles the various security tasks (such as computing and communication) for the vendor.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,093 to Hellman discloses a system in which a manufacturer of "base units" (specific hardware instances of user devices that perform computations) assigns a random key to be stored by each particular base unit. When a user wants to use a software package, the user's base unit generates a random number and communicates it to the software manufacturer. The manufacturer generates an authenticator response that is a cryptographic function of the particular base unit's key, the requested software, the number of authorized times the software may be used, and the random number generated by the base unit. The manufacturer then electronically delivers the authenticator response to the user's base unit, which uses the same cryptographic function to generate a check value. (The RSA cryptographic function is used by Hellman; it is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,405,829 to Rivest et al., which is hereby incorporated by reference.) If the check value and the authenticator response match, the base unit accepts the authenticator response as valid and accordingly increments the number of times that delivered software may be used. The base unit verifies the message from the manufacturer using a digital signature and a hash of the manufacturer's message.
Digital signatures are known in the art and generate a single-bit yes/no answer to the question "Is this message authentic?". A hash is generally the output of a mathematical function that maps values from a large domain into a smaller range, is one-way in that it is computationally infeasible to find any input which maps to any pre-specified output, and is collision-free in that it is computationally infeasible to find any two distinct inputs which map to the same output. Such hashing functions are well known in the art. Unfortunately, the bidirectional communication that the Hellman system requires is not always available due to the distribution method employed or practical due to the sheer number of base units in the field. Also, the Hellman system requires an authorization and billing unit to maintain a memory of serial numbers and secret keys used to determine a base unit's secret key from knowledge of the base unit's public serial number.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,137 to Graunke et al. describes a similar system for authenticating and verifying the integrity of software modules. U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,236 to Mirov et al. extends this general approach to authenticating firmware programmed in a boot PROM and then using that trusted program code to authenticate a subsequent set of program code. The Mirov et al. system appends a digital signature to a self-extracting executable distribution file, and the distributed software is decrypted using a published public RSA decryption key. A comparison of decrypted hash values deems the self-extracting executable distribution file secure and free from accidental or intentional corruption if successful, or rejects and deletes the file if the comparison fails.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,341,373 to Shaw describes another secure data upgrading method that enables only selected portions of program code to be replaced. Shaw also requires the client device to transmit identification information regarding itself to a remote server before receiving updates from the server.
Commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,527 to Moore, U.S. Pat. No. 5,978,482 to Dwork et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,038,316 to Dwork et al., and U.S. Ser. No. 09/894,035 by Baentsch et al. are hereby incorporated by reference. Moore teaches a method for providing a reuser of a software component from a reuse library with an indication of whether the software component is authentic and valid, or whether it has been tampered with by some unauthorized entity. Baentsch et al. teach a method of going from a first piece of program code to a second piece of program code (e.g. a software update) by combining the first piece of program code with a difference program code. The various program codes are signed by software providers' private keys and verified as authentic by use of a corresponding public key.
Tamper resistant software is becoming increasingly important because movies, music, text, applications, and databases are now being distributed in digital form with copy protection features. Software pirates might attempt to defeat these copy protection features simply by patching the software used in the player hardware; that is, by presenting a bogus software update to the player such that the player then makes all content accessible whether properly authorized to do so or not. Most companies in the industry rely on digital signatures to check the authenticity of a piece of software. This is not a foolproof approach, however, as the check can be disabled by patching a single instruction in player software.
Digital signets present a better solution to this problem than digital signatures. Digital signets are as difficult to forge as digital signatures, but instead of giving a single yes/no output like a digital signature, they produce an arbitrary sequence of bits K that is correct if and only if the hash of the received message is properly related to the signet.
The Dwork et al. patents cited above (one is a divisional of the other) describe digital signet based systems for protecting digital information where the logic behind extricating decryption keys for accessing the protected information is openly known and operates on an authorization number generated in response to a user number. The user number uniquely identifies and is valuable to the user, so that the user would be unwilling to disclose it to public view. User numbers could include credit card numbers, phone numbers, central processing unit ID numbers, or other numbers having personal sensitivity to the user. Thus, the user is reluctant to share keys or decrypted content with others for fear that the user number would be divulged and that the misbehaving user would be easily identified.
The hash value of a software program has proven to be a particularly good "user number". Modifications to a software program, such as those made by hackers trying to defeat a content protection scheme, cause its computed hash value to change. Therefore, content protection can be improved when the decryption keys used in a content protection scheme are successfully extricated and used only if the software program is provably intact and unmodified.
This is the typical prior art signet calculation: K=g1h g2a mod M where K is an output sequence of bits, g1 and g2 are public numbers stored with the transmitted digital message itself, h is the hash of the message, and a is the digital signet. M is the public modulus under which this calculation is performed; in other words, K is the remainder after dividing the product g1h g2a by M. M is usually a prime number, but does not have to be. The output K is the basis for comparison used to guarantee the authenticity and integrity of the message, which may comprise a software update.
While the prior art in this field describes worthy accomplishments, there exists a need for further improvements to address unsolved needs. For example, how can the value of K, which determines if access to protected information should be allowed, be shielded from attack by those who seek to pirate it and the information it protects? If no verifying transmissions from individual recipients are feasible, how can the software being executed by the recipients be legitimately updated in the field? Any modification to the software running on a user device will generally cause its hash to change, and the subsequently computed K value will no longer be correct. Replacing user hardware is generally infeasible, and transmission of new device keys to potentially millions of users also presents readily apparent problems.

System and method for guaranteeing software integrity via combined hardware and software authentication

International Business Machines Corporation


In one embodiment, a secure object transfer system is described. The system features a virtual private cloud network (VPC) and a controller. The VPC includes a plurality of gateways and a network load balancer, which configured to conduct a load balancing scheme on access messages from computing devices deployed within an on-premises network to direct the access memory to one of the plurality of gateways for storage or retrieval of an object from a cloud-based storage element. Each gateway includes Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) filtering logic to restrict access of the computing devices to certain cloud-based storage elements in accordance with a security policy. The controller is configured to maintain and update the security policy utilized by each gateway of the plurality of gateways.

Over the past few years, cloud computing has provided an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), where resources are provided as part of a public cloud network and are made accessible to company users (e.g., administrators, end users, etc.) as a service. One of these services allows users to store data within a public-cloud storage service, in particular one or more cloud storage elements such as Simple Storage Service (S3) buckets provided by AMAZON WEB SERVICES™ (AWS). In some deployments, the S3 buckets are accessible via a high-speed communication link such as AWS's "Direct Connect" for example.
Herein, Direct Connect is a cloud service solution that supports a dedicated, private network connection from on-premises networked devices to AWS in lieu of an Internet-based connection. More specifically, Direct Connect may be used to provide a dedicated, high-speed network connection between networked devices operating as part of an on-premises network (e.g., enterprise network) and one of the AWS Direct Connect locations that are part of the global AWS public cloud. Relying on virtual local area networks (VLANs), such as industry standard IEEE 802.1q VLANs for example, this dedicated connection can be partitioned into multiple virtual interfaces. Hence, Direct Connect is capable of supporting concurrent communication sessions with different on-premises networked devices and this same connection may be used to access different resources such as objects stored in different S3 buckets at a particular storage region.
As stated above, Direct Connect can be leveraged for high-speed copying of one or more objects to selected S3 buckets. Since S3 is a public cloud service, however, the native solution for establishing Direct Connect with an on-premises ("on-prem") network is to use a public virtual interface (VIF) to advertise the entire S3 public address range to users of the on-premises networked devices. As a result, all on-premises users are able to upload data to any S3 buckets to which she or he is granted access, including their personal S3 buckets on their own personal account.
Stated differently, AWS features mechanisms to control authorization to certain S3 buckets; however, when a user is authorized to access a particular S3 bucket, AWS currently has no access control mechanisms that prevent certain types of security threats, such as confidential data leakage for example. Given a user (e.g. a network administrator, etc.) is allowed access to her or his personal public cloud storage elements (e.g., S3 buckets) via Direct Connect, even though she or he is operating within a company's network environment, confidential data leakage may occur if the user intentionally or accidentally sends company confidential data to her or his own personal S3 bucket in lieu of S3 buckets designated to the company.
Greater controls in data transfer to public cloud storage services are needed.

System and methods for controlling accessing and storing objects between on-prem data center and cloud


A hermetically sealed acoustic mechanism for an implantable hearing aid system having a signal processing unit having at least one electromechanical transducer coupled to the auditory system of a human. The transducer having an outer casing and at least one moving member extending outside the casing. The invention comprising a hermetically sealed bellows member having two ends and a generally cylindrical side wall. One end of the bellows member being hermetically affixed to the transducer casing and the other end of the bellows member being hermetically affixed to the moving member at a point outside the transducer casing. The side wall having a plurality of corrugations formed therein to allow the moving member to vibrate independently from the transducer casing while providing a hermetic seal protecting the interior of the transducer.

The present invention relates generally to implantable hearing aids and, more particularly, to an implantable hearing aid having one or more hermetically sealed transducers for direct coupling to the middle ear. The electroacoustic transducers of the present invention may be either a microphone or a hearing aid receiver within the implantable hearing aid of the present invention.
The implantable hearing aid is intended to help a specific class of patients for which conventional hearing aids are inadequate. These patients have severe hearing impairments and require excessive amplification. Conventional means are limited by acoustic feedback and sound distortion. Patients have reported an increased clarity of sound and were able to identify speech equal to or better than that reported with conventional aids by using amplified sound directly coupled to the middle ear bones.
An implantable hearing aid of the type discussed herein is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,988,333 issued Jan. 29, 1991, and in a related continuation-in-part Application Ser. No. 420,292, filed Oct. 12, 1989, both of which are incorporated herein by reference. An important requirement of an implantable hearing aid is for its components to be hermetically sealed so that the environment existing inside the middle ear cavity does not corrode and/or destroy the internal parts of the hearing aid device. In the embodiment of the prior art, a transducer is acoustically connected to an acoustical coupler. The acoustical coupler has a compliant synthetic rubber diaphragm or membrane is stretched across one end of the coupler which, when the coupler is used as a microphone, may be physically attached to the handle of the malleus by a wire hook, or it may be positioned to acoustically couple with the tympanic membrane. When the coupler is to be used as a transmitter or vibrator, the diaphragm can be physically attached to the stapes or other middle ear bone via an intermediate porous ceramic wafer which is glued to the diaphragm.
However, while the synthetic rubber membranes are easily vibrated for the transmission of sound waves, it may be difficult to actually obtain the necessary hermetic seal between the diaphragm and body of the acoustic coupler. The diaphragms of the prior art devices are typically manufactured from a porous synthetic rubber material which does not provide a proper hermetic seal to adequately protect the interior of the acoustical couplers. It would be desirable to have the diaphragm manufactured from a metal or non-porous material; however, it is important that the diaphragm not lose any of its compliancy so as to be able to properly transmit the acoustical pulsations or vibrations through the acoustic coupler.
In a second embodiment of the prior art acoustical couplers, a tube having a movable piston is disclosed which is mechanically coupled either between the malleus or tympanic membrane and the transducer or between the transducer and one of the middle ear bones. However, no structure is disclosed in the prior art for providing such a hermetically sealed acoustic coupler.
Accordingly, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a transducer for use inside the middle ear cavity having a totally hermetically sealed container without compromising the function of the transducer and acoustic coupler of the prior art devices.
It is another object to provide a hermetically sealed means for use with existing transducers to provide an implanted middle ear assistance device capable of use without significant modification of the existing transducers.

Hermetically sealed implantable transducer


A circuit arrangement is disclosed which detects a signal pauses in an audio signal, The audio signal is amplified, rectified, and then sent to a control unit. The control unit periodically sets the output of the rectifier to a predetermined level below a threshold level. The control unit then waits a predetermined period of time and determines whether the signal at the output of the rectifier has exceeded the threshold. If is does not, a signal pause has occurred.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a circuit arrangement for the detection of signal pauses in an audio signal, comprising a rectifier element, to whose input side the audio signal is applied, and an integrator element, to which the output signal of the rectifier element is applied.
2. Description of Related Art
Such a circuit arrangement is know from Philips IC TEA 0675. This known circuit arrangement is used for the detection of signal pauses on the magnetic tape of a magnetic-tape cassette in the fast winding mode. In this known circuit arrangement the audio signal is first rectified by means of a rectifier element, is subsequently integrated by means of an integrator element, and is applied to a first comparator, which is followed by a further integrator element with a second comparator. The integrator elements are formed by means of capacitors and resistors. A pause is detected when the input signal of the first comparator remains below the threshold value of the first comparator for a time interval which is essentially defined by the time constant of the second integrator element.
The minimum detectable pause length of such a circuit arrangement is determined by the time constant of the second integrator element and cannot be changed afterwards.

Circuit arrangement for signal-pause detection


An energy absorber including a strap including at least a first path of relatively reduced strength extending over at least a portion of the length of the strap. The energy absorber also includes at least a first transition region including a first initial point where tearing begins along the first transition region when a force above a threshold force is applied (to the energy absorber/strap) and a first end point. The first end point is in operative connection with a first point on the first path so that tearing continues along the first path after tearing along the first transition region. A gradual increase in load occurring as tearing occurs along the transition region.

The present invention relates to energy absorbers or shock absorbers and energy transferring connectors and, particularly to energy absorbers and connectors for use in connection with safety systems such as horizontal lifeline systems.
The following information is provided to assist the reader to understand the invention disclosed below and the environment in which it will typically be used. The terms used herein are not intended to be limited to any particular narrow interpretation unless clearly stated otherwise in this document. References set forth herein may facilitate understanding of the present invention or the background of the present invention. The disclosure of all references cited herein are incorporated by reference.
Energy absorbers or shock absorbers absorb energy to, for example, protect against damage to equipment and/or to protect against injury to person(s). Energy absorbers have, for example, been used in fall protection as part of a fall-arresting safety system such as a horizontal lifeline system. Horizontal lifeline systems include a generally horizontal line connected between supports such as stanchions to which safety lines of individual workers can be connected. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,722,470.
As part of a requirement established by the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) horizontal lifeline systems shall be designed to maintain a factor of safety of at least 2. Because of other regulations, fall protection components (for example, connectors etc.) are typically manufacture to have a rating (for example, an ultimate tensile load) of 5,000 lbs. Therefore, for fall protection manufacturers to use components commonly used with other fall protection systems (which components typically have a rating of 5000 lbs. as described above), it is advantageous to prevent loads in horizontal lifeline systems from exceeding 2,500 lbs (that is, 5,000 lbs with a 2:1 safety factor). To maintain minimal cable extension and suitable overall fall clearance distance below the workers using the horizontal lifeline, it is preferably to maintain loads as close to 2,500 lbs. as possible. Nonetheless, in certain systems, horizontal lifeline stanchions can be subjected to substantial force.
The purpose of an energy or shock absorber in a horizontal lifeline system is to absorb the energy from a fall and thereby limit the forces to below a certain force (for example, the 5000 lbs of force with a 2:1 safety factor). Although there are many types of energy absorbers that perform this function, a design problem common to all such energy absorbers is how to accommodate the force requirements at initial deployment or activation. Regardless of whether an energy absorbers performs consistently and within design and regulatory requirements during the continuous stage following initial deployment, care must be taken during design of the energy absorber to ensure that such requirements are satisfied during the dynamic, initial activation of the energy absorber.
In one type of energy absorber, a strip of metal is connected between two elements so that the metal tears when subjected to force exceeding a certain threshold force across the two elements. U.S. Pat. No. 6,279,680 discloses the use of such an energy absorber in a horizontal lifeline system. Tearing of the metal in this type energy or shock absorber absorbs energy. To ensure that such an energy absorber satisfies design and regulatory requirements during initial activation, it can be necessary for the manufacture to subject the energy absorber to an initial "pre-tear" process in which the energy absorber is subjected to sufficient force to initiate a small degree of tearing.
Several other problems are associated with energy absorbers including a strip or strap of material that is tom. For example, such energy absorbers typically tear such that one section of the strap thereof is pulled to move in a first direction, while a second section of the strap is pulled to move in a second direction, generally opposite of the first direction. Although the strap can, for example, be coiled by the manufacturer so that the energy absorber originally takes up little space, the activation and full (or even partial) deployment (including both uncoiling and tearing) of the energy absorber results in a spent strap that is relatively large in total length/area. Such an energy absorber may not be suitable for uses in which there is limited space for the spent energy absorber or in which it is desirable to limit total displacement.
Although a number of energy absorbers are available for use in connection with fall protection and other systems, it remains desirable to develop improved energy absorbing devices, systems and methods.

Energy absorbers, connectors and horizontal lifeline systems


A capacitive sensor includes an upper electrode layer having a plurality of electrodes disposed in line with each other, a lower electrode layer having a plurality of electrodes disposed in line with each other, an insulating layer disposed between the upper electrode layer and the lower electrode layer, and a layer of bumps made of insulating material formed above the area where the electrodes of the upper electrode layer and the electrodes of the lower electrode later are crossed. The sensor detects the proximity of approaching objects by the capacitance change between the electrodes disposed in the upper electrode layer, and detects the contact of any objects by the capacitance change between the electrodes of the upper electrode layer and the electrodes of the lower electrode layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dual mode capacitive sensor which operates both as tactile sensor and proximity sensor. The foregoing sensor comprises an upper electrode layer in which a plurality of electrodes are disposed in line with each other; a lower electrode layer in which a plurality of electrodes are disposed in line with each other; and an insulating layer disposed between the above upper electrode layer and lower electrode layer. The sensor detects approaching objects by the capacitance change between adjacent upper electrodes, and detects any contact with objects by the capacitance change between the electrodes in the upper electrode layer and the electrodes in the lower electrode layer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Sensors developed so far only operated either as a sensor detecting the shape of the object by detecting the distribution of the contact pressure when it came in contact with an object (tactile sensor) or as a sensor for detecting the proximity of an approaching object (proximity sensor). Such tactile sensor and proximity sensor are both essential to systems such as robots, etc. Therefore, there was a problem that if tactile sensors and proximity sensors are installed on a robot, the sensors required a large area and volume, and also burdened the signal lines and payload of the sensor.

Capacitive sensor for sensing tactile and proximity, and a sensing system using the same

Korea Institute of Science and Technology

The Regents of the University of Minnesota


The disclosure is directed to image display apparatus and methods. In one example, an image display apparatus comprises a plurality of light source devices that supply color light components. A spatial light modulation device modulates the color light components from the light source devices according to an image signal. A control unit adjusts a display light emitted from the spatial light modulation device by controlling at least one of the light source devices or the spatial light modulation device. At the time of starting, the control unit adjusts the display light in accordance with an adjustment signal until an amount of light corresponding to at least one of the color light components reaches a predetermined reference value.

In recent years, a technique of using a laser light source for supplying a laser beam in a light source device of a projector, which is an image display apparatus, has been suggested. As compared with an ultra-high pressure mercury lamp (UHP lamp) that has been used as a light source device of a projector, the light source device that uses a laser light source is advantageous in high color reproducibility, instant lighting, a long life, and the like. For example, a technique of using laser light sources for red (R), green (G), and blue (B) colors is proposed in international patent publication WO 04/109390.
As light source devices that use laser light sources, a light source device that directly supplies a fundamental laser from a laser light source and a light source device that converts the wavelength of a fundamental laser and supplies the converted laser are known. As a wavelength conversion element that converts the wavelength of a fundamental laser, for example, a second-harmonic generation (SHG) element is known. In order to display a bright image, a laser light source having a high output may be used in a projector. While a high output can be obtained by direct emission of a laser light source in the case of R light, typically the SHG elements are used to obtain a high output in the case of G light and B light. By using the SHG element, it becomes possible to supply a laser beam having a desired wavelength using a general-purpose laser light source that is easily available. In addition, a configuration in which a sufficient amount of laser beams can be supplied may also be realized.
In the case of the SHG element, a phase matching condition is not effective when the refractive index distribution changes due to a temperature change, and as a result, the wavelength conversion efficiency decreases. In order to supply a stable amount of laser beams with high efficiency, a temperature control of the SHG element is required. In the case of R light that is directly emitted, a time for temperature control of the SHG element is not necessary. However, G light and B light, which are emitted using the SHG element, cannot be emitted until a time required for temperature control after starting passes. If there is a difference in time required for emitting laser beams having desired wavelengths, it is difficult to obtain an image having suitable color balance until a predetermined time passes from starting of the projector. Display of an image having unsuitable color balance until a predetermined time passes tends to create an unfavorable and unpleasant viewing experience for the viewer.


A new and distinct cultivar of Alstroemeria plant named Katjana, characterized by its reddish-purple outer petals and the bright yellow and cream coloring of the inner two-thirds of the top inner petals length and strong dark streaking on the inside portion of the entire inner petal body.

The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of Alstroemeria plant referred to by the cultivar name Katjana. Katjana was originated from a hybridization program in Roelofarendsveen, The Netherlands in 1985. Each of the parent plants were proprietary hybrids, and have not been released or marketed, and are maintained strictly for use in the breeding program. Katjana was discovered and selected as one flowering plant within the progeny of the stated parentage by me on Jul. 21, 1985 in a controlled environment in Roelofarendsveen, The Netherlands. The first asexual reproduction of Katjana was accomplished when vegative cuttings were taken from initial selection on Nov. 6, 1985 in a controlled environment in Roelofarendsveen in The Netherlands. Horticultural examination of selected units initiated in November 1985 has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for Katjana are firmly fixed and retained through generations of asexual reproduction. The following observations, measurements and comparisons describe plants grown in Roelofarendsveen, The Netherlands under greenhouse conditions which apporixmate those generally used in commercial practice. The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be basic characteristics of Katjana, which in combination distinguish this Alstroemeria from its parent and all other varieties of which I am aware:
1. The outer petals have a distinctive reddish-purple color, which is strongest in a blush in the central area below the green tip. These three petals contain a faint pattern of subdued dark reddish-purple stripes in irregular patterns substantially confined to the marginal portions of the lobes of these petals. PA0 2. The inner petals are characterized by an unusual combination of colors and pattern of stripes. The tops and bottoms of the two top inner petals are shaded with light red-purple coloration which is most intensive at the apex. A broad band of creamy-white occupies about half of the area of each top inner petal, and dominates the central portion of each of these petals; suffusing gradually to the red-purple at the tops and bottoms. The central portion of the white band is strongly shaded with a bright yellow spot which is strongest in the middle of each of these petals and blends progressively to the creamy-white color of the band from the center of the petal. These two petals conain a myriad of conspicuous dark reddish-purple stripes which are short and narrow at the base of the petal and increase in length and width with increasing distance from the attachment points of petals. The bottom inner petal contains similar reddish-purple color, and stripes but does not contain a central creamy-white band and the stripes are substantially confined to the apical half of this petal. PA0 3. The startling combination of petal colors and markings of the flowers of this plant give dramatic and attractive distinction to this variety which has not been seen in previous plants of this market class.


A structured computer-implemented method (1000) based on graphical user interfaces for interpretation and mapping of data from a controlled-source electromagnetic survey, featuring capability to store electromagnetic data in layers (1004), each layer having the same internal structure for ease of comparison, editing, display and other manipulation by an assortment of software tools (1005) useful to an interpreter. Thus, different layers might contain actual data (1001) from different surveys and simulated results (1002) based on different resistivity models or inversion results (1003), all pertaining to the same subterranean survey region.

Controlled-source electromagnetic ("CSEM") surveying is a powerful tool for hydrocarbon exploration. To map resistivity anomalies that can be related to hydrocarbon fields, raw survey data (measurements of one or more components of the electric or magnetic fields) are processed, then interpreted. Interpreting CSEM data consists of developing a model of the earth's resistivity that is consistent with the measured CSEM data and with any other available geophysical or geological information. While they are not necessarily practiced in this order, interpretation typically includes the steps of:                Understanding which features of the data may properly be regarded as signal and which features as noise;        Understanding how the signal varies in space;        Understanding how the signal varies with frequency;        Understanding how the signal varies among the x, y, z components of the data, in both amplitude and phase;        Constructing approximate resistivity models of the earth in 1, 2 and 3 dimensions;        Constraining those models with additional information, such as well logs or seawater resistivity profiles; or structural information derived from seismic or gravimetric or magnetic data.        Forward-modeling synthetic electromagnetic field data based on those earth models and the source-receiver configurations in the measured data;        Comparing those actual and synthetic data to understand how the anomalies or misfits vary in space, among frequencies, or among data components;        Comparing synthetic data to synthetic data to understand how changes in the earth model impact synthesized data;        Modifying the earth model and re-synthesizing data;        Inverting the measured data; and,        Evaluating the resistivity models together with other geophysical measurements for evidence of hydrocarbon accumulations.
Typically, CSEM data is collected by individual receivers (laid on the sea floor) that record the signal emitted by a transmitter towed a few meters above the sea floor (however, in some experiments, the transmitter can also be fixed). CSEM surveys can be large and complex. For example, a survey might involve 7 tow lines, 90 receivers, and 10 or more discrete frequencies. Each receiver may record up to 6 electric and magnetic field components. In addition, the CSEM data may have been processed in more than one way in order to improve some signals at the expense of others or to convey uncertainties present in the data. Furthermore, many synthetic data sets may be produced as part of the iteration cycle for reconciling the measured data with an earth resistivity model. Therefore, the CSEM interpreter faces the daunting bookkeeping challenge in ensuring that all of the measured data are explained in terms of a single resistivity model of the earth.
Some recent publications and patents address one or another part of these problems, or present final results with little discussion of the tools employed. Often, literature only presents final results. See, for instance U.S. Patent Publication 2005/0077902; and S. Ellingsrud et al., The Leading Edge 21, 972-982 (2002). There is a need for a tool that integrates the full process of interpreting the CSEM data.

Interpretation and mapping of electromagnetic survey data


Disclosed herein is a low profile catheter valve comprising a movable sealer portion positioned within the inflation lumen of a catheter. The sealer portion forms a fluid tight seal with the inflation lumen by firmly contacting the entire circumference of a section of the inflation lumen. The sealer portion may be positioned proximally of a side-access inflation port on the catheter, to establish an unrestricted fluid pathway between the inflation port and an inflatable balloon on the distal end of the catheter. As desired, the clinician may move the sealer portion to a position distal of the inflation port, thereby preventing any fluid from being introduced into or withdrawn from the balloon via the inflation port.

The present invention generally relates to catheters, and in particular, to a low profile catheter valve which may be opened to permit inflation or deflation of a catheter balloon, such as an occlusion balloon, and which may be closed when it is desirable to maintain the catheter balloon in an inflated state.
Guidewires are conventionally used to guide the insertion of various medical instruments, such as catheters, to a desired treatment location within a patient""s vasculature. In a typical procedure, the clinician forms an access point for the guidewire by creating an opening in a peripheral blood vessel, such as the femoral artery. The highly flexible guidewire is then introduced through the opening into the peripheral blood vessel, and is then advanced by the clinician through the patient""s blood vessels until the guidewire extends across the vessel segment to be treated. Various treatment catheters, such as a balloon dilatation catheter for a percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, may then be inserted over the guidewire and similarly advanced through vasculature until they reach the treatment site.
In certain treatment procedures, it is desirable to successively introduce and then remove a number of different treatment catheters over a guidewire that has been placed in a particular location. In other words, one treatment catheter is xe2x80x9cexchangedxe2x80x9d for another over a single guidewire. Such an exchange typically involves withdrawing the treatment catheter over the guidewire until the treatment catheter is fully removed from the patient and the portion of the guidewire which extends from the patient. The guidewire is then available to act as a guide for a different treatment catheter.
In emboli containment devices, which typically utilize two occlusion balloons to form a chamber, it may be desirable to exchange therapeutic catheters without deflating the occlusion balloons. Further, it is sometimes advantageous to anchor the guidewire during the exchange. As can be readily appreciated, the withdrawal of treatment catheters over a placed guidewire may result in the guidewire being displaced from its position. To overcome this difficulty, the prior art has developed xe2x80x9canchorablexe2x80x9d guidewires, which generally feature some structure on their distal ends to releasably secure the guidewire at a particular location in the patient for the duration of the medical procedure. One such anchorable guidewire is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,239 to Cohen et al., which discloses a hollow guidewire with an inflation lumen and an expandable balloon on its end. The Cohen guidewire is positioned in the same manner as a conventional wire guidewire, but once placed, its expandable balloon is inflated to contact the surrounding vasculature, thereby preventing the guidewire from being displaced.
Because a permanent inflation manifold, of the type used with conventional catheters having an inflatable balloon, would prevent other catheters from being inserted over the Cohen guidewire, the Cohen device also includes a removable inflation manifold, and a check valve to maintain the balloon in the inflated state when the manifold is removed. The check valve apparatus used by the Cohen device is relatively bulky, and is described as having an outer diameter in its preferred embodiment of 0.0355 inches. Consequently, any treatment catheter intended to be inserted over the Cohen device must have an interior guidewire lumen larger than the outer diameter of the Cohen valve, which for the preferred embodiment, requires an interior lumen with a diameter of more than 0.0355 inches.
As is readily appreciated by those of skill in the art, increasing the interior lumen size of a treatment catheter results in an increase in the outer diameter of the treatment catheter. For treatment procedures which take place in vasculature having a large blood vessel diameter, such as iliac arteries, a treatment catheter guidewire lumen of a size necessary to accommodate devices such as those described by Cohen would have little or no affect on the ability of the catheter to fit within the blood vessel. However, many blood vessels where it is desirable to apply catheter treatment are quite narrow. For example, the left coronary arteries are blood vessels having diameters ranging from 2 to 4 mm, and are susceptible to plaque. It would be desirable to use a catheter exchange treatment procedure, such as angioplasty, to treat such lesions, but the narrow diameter of the coronary vessels makes use of anchorable guidewires having large valve diameters impractical.
Consequently, there exists a need for a very low profile catheter valve which can be used with a hollow guidewire.
The present invention provides a catheter valve which is capable of very low profiles, and is especially advantageous for use with anchorable guidewires, as well as therapeutic or occlusion devices. By incorporating the valve of the present invention into such devices, it is possible to manufacture anchorable guidewires and occlusion device catheters with outer diameters of 0.014 inches or smaller. Advantageously, by utilizing the present invention in these cathetersi. clinicians will be able to use anchorable guidewires, therapeutic or occlusion device catheters in much narrower blood vessels than in the past.
In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a valve which comprises a flexible elongate tubular body having a proximal end and a distal end. The tubular body has a central lumen extending between the proximal and distal ends. The central lumen has an opening at the proximal end.
An expandable member, such as an inflatable balloon, is positioned on the distal end of the tubular body. The expandable member is in fluid communication with the central lumen. An access opening is provided on the tubular body. The access opening is in fluid communication with the central lumen to permit the expandable member to be actuated by pressurizing the access opening.
A sealing member is provided having a sealer portion which seals against a surface of the tubular body. The sealing portion of the sealing member is movable relative to said surface of the tubular body between two positions. In the first position, the sealer portion is positioned in contact with the tubular body surface at a location which blocks the flow of fluid to or from the expandable member through the access opening to maintain actuation of the expandable member. In the second position, the sealer portion is positioned at a location which permits the flow of fluid to or from the expandable member through the access opening to permit actuation or deactuation of the expandable member.
In one preferred embodiment, the sealing member has a portion which extends from the proximal end of the tubular body, and the application of a longitudinal force on the extending portion results in movement of the sealer portion in the direction of the applied force. In other embodiments, rotational forces may be used to move the sealing member.
The sealer portion is preferably formed of a polymeric material, such as a thermoplastic elastomer resin such as PEBAX(trademark), C-FLEX(trademark), silicone, or gels. The sealer portion should be capable of withstanding balloon inflation pressures and prevent substantially all fluid from passing to or from the expandable member through the access opening when the sealer portion is positioned distal to the access opening. Advantageously, the outer diameter of the tubular body is generally larger than the outer diameter of any portion of the sealing member or sealer portion. In some embodiments, the outer diameter of the tubular body is no greater than 0.038 inches, preferably no greater than 0.020 inches, and more preferably no greater than 0.014 inches. Other embodiments may have larger outer diameters for the tubular body. The tubular body may also have positive stops to prevent withdrawal of the sealing member from the opening.
In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus, comprising a hollow metallic guidewire having a central lumen and a side-access port in fluid communication with the lumen. An inflatable balloon is mounted on the guidewire, the inflatable balloon being in fluid communication with the central lumen, such that fluid introduced through the side-access port can be used to inflate the balloon.
A valve is mounted to slide along a surface of the guidewire, the valve movable between first and second positions, one of the positions sealing the central lumen such that substantially no fluid may pass to or from theand inflatable balloon by way of the side-access port.
Preferably, the hollow guidewire has an outer circumference defining a first value, and wherein the movable valve has a circumference which is less than the first value. It is also preferred that the hollow guidewire have an outer circumference of 0.12 inches or less, more preferably 0.08 inches or less, and optimally 0.044 inches or less, and that the movable valve have a diameter not substantially larger than that of the hollow guidewire.
In another aspect of the present invention there is provided a low profile catheter valve which comprises a sealing member capable of being movably inserted through a proximal opening on a catheter into an inflation lumen of the catheter. The catheter has a side-access inflation port and an inflatable balloon in fluid communication with the side-access inflation port. A sealer portion is on the sealing member, the sealer portion being capable of forming a fluid tight seal with the entire circumference of a section of the lumen, such that substantially all fluid may not pass the sealer portion at normal balloon inflation pressures.
When the sealer portion is positioned within the lumen proximally of the side-access inflation port, an unrestricted fluid pathway is established between the side-access inflation port and the balloon. When the sealer portion is positioned within the lumen distally of the side-access inflation port, substantially all fluid may not pass to or from the balloon through the side-access inflation port at normal balloon inflation pressures.
In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of inflating a catheter balloon. The first step of the method involves providing a tube having a proximal end and a distal end. The proximal end of the tube has an inflation opening to an inflation lumen and the distal end has an inflatable balloon in fluid communication with the inflation lumen. A pressurized inflation fluid is then introduced through the inflation opening to inflate the balloon. The inflation opening may then be sealed by moving a sealing member within the inflation lumen without reducing the pressure of the pressurized fluid, wherein the step of sealing is performed without substantial deflation of the inflated balloon. Finally, the pressure of the pressurized fluid may be reduced after completing the sealing step.
In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a low profile catheter valve for use with an inflation adaptor. The valve comprises a sealing member capable of being movably inserted through a proximal opening on a catheter into an inflation lumen of the catheter. The catheter has an inflation opening and an inflatable balloon in fluid communication with the inflation opening. Indicia are present on the catheter and/or sealing member, the position of the indicia being such that the inflation opening is aligned with a fluid tight inflation chamber of the inflation adaptor when the catheter and sealing member are secured in the inflation adaptor.
A sealer portion is mounted on the sealing member. The sealer portion is capable of forming a fluid tight seal with the entire circumference of a section of the lumen, such that substantially all fluid may not pass the sealer portion at normal balloon inflation pressures. When the sealer portion is positioned proximally of the inflation opening, an unrestricted fluid pathway is established between the inflation opening and the balloon. When the sealer, portion is positioned distally of the inflation opening, substantially all fluid may not pass to or from the balloon through the sideaccess inflation port.
In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an inflation adaptor for introducing inflation fluid into an inflation port of an elongate tube. The inflation adaptor comprises a housing having first and second portions which interact to releasably retain a section of the tube therein. The housing has a chamber which receives the inflation port. An inflation inlet configured to be connected to a source of inflation fluid that supplies said fluid under pressure is positioned on the housing.
A seal which releasably seals the portions of said housing together provides a fluid pathway between the inflation inlet and the inflation port, so that fluid may be supplied to the inflation port under pressure. An actuator, mounted on said housing, drives a member within the tube to control fluid flow through said inflation port.
In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an inflation adaptor for introducing inflation fluid into an inflation port of an elongate tube. The inflation adaptor comprises a housing having first and second portions. The two portions form a mouth for receiving a section of the tube which includes the inflation port. The mouth forms an opening having a height at least as great as the outer diameter of the tube such that the section of tube is insertable into the mouth from its side in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the tube. The housing also has an inflation chamber and an inflation inlet for introducing inflation fluid under pressure into the inflation chamber. The inflation chamber releasably seals the inflation port to the inflation inlet to form a fluid passage there between.
In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an inflation adaptor for introducing inflation fluid into an inflation port of an elongate tube. The tube has an inflatable member mounted thereon and an inflation lumen between the inflation port and the inflatable member. The adaptor has a housing configured to seal over the tubular body to create a fluid tight seal. An inflation inlet is on the housing, for establishing a fluid pathway between the inflation inlet and the inflation port to permit the inflatable member to be inflated. The housing is detachable from the tube without deflating the inflated inflatable member.

Method of emboli protection using a low profile catheter


A method of making can bodies from sheet metal for manufacturing cans includes the steps of: feeding and superimposing two sheet metal strips rolled to finished thickness, joining the superimposed sheet metal strips by a plurality of connecting welded seams running continuously in the longitudinal direction of the strip, with a spacing from one another in the transverse direction of the strip corresponding to half the can body diameter, through continuous passage of the superimposed sheet metal strips through a welding device with a plurality of welding heads disposed with corresponding spacings from one another, cutting the sheet metal strips welded together along the middle of each connecting welded seam to create a plurality of flat tubes lying beside one another, optionally rolling up the flat tubes for intermediate storage and/or transport, unrolling the optionally rolled-up flat tubes, cutting the flat tubes transversely into flat tube sections whose length corresponds to approximately the can height, and spreading the individual flat tube section into a can body.

In making can bodies for manufacturing cans for foodstuffs, tin plate is mostly used today in the range of thickness from 0.14 to 0.49 mm. Starting with a tin plate strip with a maximum width of 1200 mm, this is given an inner and outer lacquering as a rule and is cut into sheet metal plates. The regions of the later welded seams must be left free of lacquer during the lacquering, strip-shaped block-outs being provided, since the lacquer interferes with the roller resistance welding. Single can blanks are cut from the sheet metal plates, corresponding in their width to the can circumference and in their length to the can height. The geometry of the can blanks has to be taken into account already in the lacquering, so that the lacquer-free block-outs actually come to lie in the region of the welded seams. The can blanks are fed in a stack to a roller resistance welding machine, where they firstly undergo a flexing process in order to relieve internal stresses and are then bent into a cylinder. The beginning and the end of the cylinder which is formed are overlapped with an overlap width of 0.5 mm and the overlapping edges are welded together through the roller resistance welding. The cylinder thus resulting from the flat can blank forms the can body. The initially lacquer-free welded region is given a seam coating at least on the inside. After the welding the can body is given an edge bead at each of its two ends, to serve for the later attachment of a lid and a bottom. The can body is also given stabilising beads as a rule, in order to increase its external pressure stability for the later sterilising process of the filling material. Extensive re-tooling is necessary to set up different can diameters and different can heights, requiring relatively long re-tooling times. The can blank magazine, the flexing device and the bending apparatus have to be newly set up for this. A modification of the feed device is necessary for different can heights. A change in the can diameter requires fitting a matching welding arm. The result of the long re-tooling times is that the actual production times only amount to 50 to 70% of the possible time in use. In addition, the welding of the can body is not a continuous welding operation but the one body end represents the starting point and the other end the end point of the welded seam. Both points introduce sources of error on account of the discontinuous welding process, so that tears can occur here when edge-beading the can body.
The invention is therefore based on the object of providing a method of making can bodies from sheet metal for the manufacture of cans which facilitates cost-effective production of can bodies, with a high process reliability, through continuous welding.

Method of making can bodies from sheet metal


An extracorporeal circuit for removing toxins from the blood and plasma volume control in patients suffering from sepsis and renal failure. The extracorporeal circuit disclosed herein comprises a plasma filter, a toxin removal device and optionally a hemofilter that minimizes electrolyte and protein depletion from the treated plasma while effectively removing both free and protein-bound toxins. The toxin removal device comprises adsorbent materials selected from the group consisting of activated carbon, ion exchange resins and non-ionic exchange resins and the adsorbent materials are coated with albumin. Also provided are associated methods for treating patients suffering from sepsis and renal failure using the disclosed extracorporeal circuit and toxin removal device.

Despite advances in supportive care, septic shock remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality. In 1995, there were an estimated more than 750,000 cases of sepsis in the United States, of whom 383,000 (51.1%) received intensive care and an additional 130,000 (17.3%) were ventilated in an intermediate care unit or cared for in a coronary care unit (Angus D C et al. Epidemiology of severe sepsis in the United States: Analysis of incidence, outcome, and associated costs of care. Crit Care Med 2001; 29:1303-10). Mortality was more than 28% or 215,000 annually. The incidence and mortality of sepsis increase with age. Sepsis is the second leading cause of death in among patients in non-coronary intensive care units and the 10th leading cause of death overall in the United States (Martin G S et al. The epidemiology of sepsis in the United States from 1979 through 2000. N Eng J Med 2003; 348:1546-54). Furthermore, sepsis substantially reduces the quality of life of those who survive. Care of patients with sepsis costs an average of $22,000 per patient resulting in an economic burden of nearly $17 billion annually in the United States alone.
Sepsis generally develops as a result of the host response to infection. The pathogenesis of sepsis represents a complex constellation of interconnected events. Sepsis is a form of severe systemic inflammation due to local and systemic effects of circulating pro-inflammatory mediators. With the identification of the systemic inflammatory response as a major component in the pathogenesis of the septic shock syndrome, much of the recent work has focused on modulating this response. This includes anti-endotoxin therapies in patients with Gram-negative sepsis and therapies to modulate the pro-inflammatory mediators produced in response to infection, such as TNF-alpha, platelet-activating factor and complement. High-flow hemofiltration has the potential advantage of clearing both endotoxin and pro-inflammatory mediators. The bacterial toxins generated by the infecting organisms trigger complex immunologic reactions. A large number of mediators, including tumor necrosis factor, leukotrienes, lipoxygenase, histamine, bradykinin, serotonin and interleukin-2, have been implicated in addition to endotoxin (the lipid fraction of the lipopolysaccharides released from the cell wall of gram-negative enteric bacilli). Presently, the only recommended therapeutic approach remains close microbiological surveillance. Prophylactic antibiotics and enteral decontamination have only a minor role: they may have an adverse effect by the selection of multiple resistant strains. (Ronco C et al. A pilot study of coupled plasma filtration with adsorption in septic shock. Crit Care Med 2002; 30:1250-55).
The scientific literature provides some interesting experimental alternatives for treating sepsis. See for example J. A. Kellum and M. K. Dishart. Effect of Hemofiltration Filter Adsorption on Circulating IL-6 Levels in Spectic Rats. Critical Care 2002, 6:429-433 (hereinafter "Kellum"). Kellum discloses using a hydrogel-type membrane made from an acrylonitrile and sodium methallyl sulfonate copolymer to remove IL-6 from the blood of septic rats. Reduction in overall IL-6 levels was noted, however, the filter used has a limited absorption profile and not all sepsis-associated cytokines are removed.
However, many cytokines and other toxins are bound to the blood protein albumin. Conventional dialysis membranes do not remove substantial quantities of these protein-bound toxins from the blood because protein-impermeable membranes are generally used. Consequently, other extracorporeal circuits such as continuous renal replacement therapies (CRRT), coupled plasma filtration adsorption (CPFA) and continuous veno-venous hemodiafiltration (CVVHDF) may help minimize cell-associated cytokine concentrations in the blood of septic patents. See for example C. Tetta et al. Endotoxin and Cytokine Removal in Sepsis. Ther. Apher. 2002. 6:109-115. (hereinafter "Tetta"). Tetta concluded that CPFA may be preferable to CRRT and CVVHDF for treating septic patents, but that much clinical research was need to prove efficacy. These more invasive detoxification methods enable higher clearance of protein-bound toxins due to direct contact between the sorbent and the albumin/toxin-complex.
Continuous veno-venous hemofiltration (CVVH) was designed as a renal replacement therapy for patients with acute renal failure. In hemofiltration the blood is forced through a semipermeable membrane and water and small molecules are filtered out of the blood. Hemofiltration is slower and less physiologically disturbing than hemodialysis, it is often chosen over intermittent hemodialysis when blood pressure instability is a problem and CVVH is generally more efficient than peritoneal dialysis. In some intensive care units the use of CVVH is increasing as appreciation builds for its utility in the management of non-oliguric patients, in particular those with multiple organ dysfunction or failure, when their treatment includes very large amounts of intravenous fluids. And finally, experimental work is focusing on the possible role of CVVH as an adjunct in the treatment of the sepsis syndrome.
Healthy kidneys regulate the body's internal environment of water and salts and excrete the end products of the body's metabolic activities and excess water (urine). They also produce and release into the bloodstream hormones that regulate vital functions including blood pressure, red blood cell production, and calcium and phosphorus metabolism. Impaired kidney function may affect any or all of these processes and may be due to problems in the kidney, a disease in other organs, or caused by normal, age-related processes. It may be acute or chronic and either minor or life threatening. All of these distinctions are important determinants of prognosis and appropriate treatment. When a person's loss of kidney function is so severe as to be incompatible with life, the person is said to be in renal failure.
Acute Renal Failure (ARF) is a syndrome with multiple causes; its associated consequences affect all organ systems. Defined as a sudden loss of renal function (over several hours to several days), ARF results in derangements in extracellular fluid balance, acid base, electrolytes and divalent cation regulation. An increased serum creatinine concentration, accumulation of other nitrogen-based waste products, and often a decline in urinary output are the hallmarks of ARF.
Although many advances in organ support technologies have occurred during the past two decades, the absolute mortality rates for ARF acquired in the hospital and in the intensive care unit are approximately 45% and 70%, respectively (Thadhani R et al., Acute renal failure, N Engl J Med. 334:1448-60, 1996). However the demographics of ARF have changed, with patients generally being older and having a higher acuity of illness. Fortunately, renal function recovery (ability to discontinue dialysis) in the past 20 years has remained greater than 50-75% in survivors of ARF.
More than 20 definitions of ARF have been published to date. Despite the difficulty in defining the syndrome, ARF occurs in approximately 1% of hospitalized patients, in as many as 20% of patients treated in ICUs and as many as 4-15% of patients after cardiovascular surgery. Approximately 30% of patients who experience ARF will require renal replacement therapy (peritoneal dialysis, intermittent hemodialysis or continuous hemofiltration). Community-acquired ARF occurs in approximately 209 patients per one million population, and the frequency of this syndrome is increasing in hospitalized patients (Liano F et al., Epidemiology of acute renal failure: a prospective, multicenter, community-based study, Kidney Int. 50:811-8, 1996).
More than 50 identified pathophysiologic pathways are responsible for ARF. Traditionally, the evaluation of ARF has focused on the determination of whether the cause of renal failure is pre-renal (60% of community-acquired ARF, a condition resulting in decreased "effective renal perfusion"), post-renal (5-15% of community-acquired ARF, an obstruction to urinary outflow) or intrinsic renal (due to pathophysiologic derangements in the renal tubules, interstitium, vasculature or glomeruli; includes acute tubular necrosis, the most common cause of ARF in hospitalized patients) (Albright R C Jr. et al., Acute renal failure: a practical update, Mayo Clin Proc. 76:67-74, 2001).
Therapy to correct the pathophysiological impairments of ARF can be either nondialytic or dialytic in nature. Nondialytic therapy is focused on insuring that renal perfusion is maximized and correcting impairments. A variety of growth factors, hormones and drugs are currently under evaluation as nondialytic therapy for ARF. Dialytic therapy consists of peritoneal dialysis, intermittent hemodialysis or continuous hemofiltration.
Renal dialysis is an artificial method of maintaining the chemical balance of the blood when the kidneys have failed. The term dialysis refers to the process in which soluble waste products are separated from the blood using a semipermeable membrane. The blood is cleansed of impurities by cycling the blood through a machine containing a hemodialyzer membrane. On the other side of the membrane is a solution comprised of specific components that extract the impurities from the patient's blood. This solution is called the dialysate. Blood is both removed and returned to the patient via catheters. The effectiveness of dialysis depends on both its duration and efficiency.
Peritoneal dialysis, in contrast to hemodialysis, which cleanses the blood outside the body, works inside the body using the peritoneal membrane as the semipermeable barrier through which the blood can be filtered. The dialysate is infused directly into the patient's peritoneal cavity through a catheter; the cavity is used as a reservoir for the dialysate. Toxins in the blood filter through the peritoneal membrane into the cleansing solution, which is then withdrawn from the body through the same catheter and discarded. This procedure can be self-administered by patients several times a day.
Hemodialysis allows the extracorporeal removal of water and solutes from the blood by diffusion across a concentration gradient. Blood is pumped along one side of a semi-permeable membrane and a crystalloid solution is pumped in the opposite direction on the other side of the membrane. Solutes of very small molecular weight diffuse across the membrane in an attempt to equilibrate their concentrations. The pore size in the semi-permeable membrane determines its utility in ultrafiltration. Ultrafiltration membranes that are utilized in hemofilters allow the passage of molecules with a molecular weight of less than 20,000 Daltons. Thus ions and small chemicals present in plasma are filtered freely, including sodium, potassium, phosphate, bicarbonate, glucose and ammonia. So are larger soluble endogenous substances such as myoglobin, insulin, and interleukins, and certain exogenous substances circulating in plasma, including medications (vancomycin, heparin) and toxins (endotoxin, pesticides). Molecules that are bound to plasma proteins would not be filtered effectively by an ultrafiltration membrane.
Many side effects of hemodialysis are caused by rapid changes in the body's water and electrolyte balance during dialysis. These include muscle cramps, hypotension, complement activation and leukopenia. In addition patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis run the risk of serious peritoneal infections, some of which can progress to septic shock.
Extracorporeal circuits are well known in the prior art. However, the known extracorporeal circuits are used primarily as artificial kidneys and perfusion devices. Perfusion devices are primarily used to provide circulatory assistance after open heart surgery. Kidney diafiltration, dialysis and pure hemofiltration are processes used to replace the function of the failing or diseased kidney. These devices principally rely on semi-permeable membrane technology and the principles of osmotic diffusion to remove proteins, salts and urea from the blood. Additionally, kidney dialysis can be combined with ultrafiltration to remove excess fluid from the blood or be combined with substitution infusion fluid to replace fluids and salts lost in the hemodiafiltration process. However, extracorporeal circuits used to augment and/or replace diseased kidneys are not designed to remove the complex biological toxins the liver is responsible for.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,186,146 B1 (hereinafter "the '146 patent") issued Feb. 13, 2001 to Glickman discloses an extracorporeal circuit having a filter device incorporated therein. Specifically, the '146 patent describes a treatment for cancer where cytotoxic drugs and biological agents are infused directly into a diseased organ. The patent's blood, leaving the treated organ, is diverted via an extracorporeal circuit wherein the cytotoxic and/or biological agent is removed from the blood via an inline filter before reaching the general circulation. No details as to the filter's composition are provided. However, the simple extracorporeal circuit disclosed in the '146 patent is intended to remove a defined concentration of a specific known chemotherapeutic and/or biological agent. It is not intended as a general replacement for a diseased organ. Moreover, no details are provided as to how one of ordinary skill in the art would use the disclosed device to remove other biological toxins.
Consequently, there remains a need for extracorporeal devices and methods that can be used to safely remove toxins from plasma in patients suffering from sepsis. Additionally, there remains a recognized need for extracorporeal devices and methods useful for removing toxins and balancing plasma water in patients with acute renal disease.

Plasma detoxification and volume control system and methods of use


A device for fixing a housing (1), especially a housing pertaining to a motor vehicle battery, to a carrier plate (3). The device consists of a fixing bracket (4) and a separate fixing element (9). The fixing bracket (4) is fixed or moulded onto a edge of the carrier plate (3) projecting past the housing (1), and comprises a vertical limb (5) which extends at a distance from the housing wall, parallel to the same. The separate fixing element (9) is inserted into the intermediate region between the housing wall and the vertical limb (5) of the fixing bracket (4), and is wedged fast therein. According to the invention, the housing (1) can be fixed to the carrier plate (3) with few, simple movements and without using a tool. All parts of the fixing device can be reused if the housing (1) needs to be replaced. No scrap or other waste elements are accumulated, thus also solving the recycling problem.

The invention relates to a device for fixing a housing, especially the housing pertaining to a motor-vehicle battery, to a carrier plate.
Housings of motor-vehicle batteries have an essentially cubic shape. Typically, they rest on a carrier plate, one end of which is bent elastically and engages a side wall behind a step. The opposite side wall likewise has a step, and on this side the carrier plate projects past the housing base. For fixing the housing to the carrier plate, one end of a leaf spring bent into an S shape is brought into contact as an attachment flange with this step, while the other end rests on the projecting carrier plate. A screw passing through the flat middle part of the leaf spring and through the projecting part of the carrier plate is secured with a locknut. This type of attachment is complicated: it requires a series of manipulations and can be fixed and loosened again, if, e.g., the battery is to be replaced, only with the aid of a tool. Therefore, it requires a considerable amount of time. Recycling the flange and screws according to European guidelines presents another problem.

Device for fixing a housing, especially a housing pertaining to a motor vehicle battery, to a carrier plate