The encoded contents of a piece of delivered information is accompanied by an applicable time data indicating a specific time period for authorizing a particular mode of utilization. When a request for utilizing the contents is issued in an information utilization apparatus, it determines if the current time agrees with the time authorizing the requested utilization by referring to the time data annexed to the encoded contents. If the request is acceptable at the current time, a set of processing steps is carried out for decoding the encoded contents and other necessary operations. Thus, an information access control method can be adapted to have flexibility in setting charges and access requirements for the contents of information that can change the value and the mode of utilization with time.

The present invention relates to an access control method for controlling the right of accessing and utilizing electronically distributed information and to an apparatus adapted to accessing and utilizing such information.
Currently, various pieces of information are distributed for sale electronically by way of data communication networks including the Internet and other satellite communication networks and recording media including CD-ROMs. Such pieces of information typically include the contents of newspapers, magazines, computer programs and recorded videos and audios.
However, there arises the serious problem of pirate copies of these contents that are illegally sold or leased to unauthorized third parties because the electronic contents can be copied without degradation. In particular, there is no effective way of prohibiting the act of making pirate copies if the contents are sold on a payment on delivery basis, in the case where the accounting is done only when the user has obtained the contents. While there may be legal means of confiscating and destructing pirate copies to be taken by the related authorities and that of suing the pirates for the lost profit to be taken by the infringed, such actions entails enormous time and cost so that a large number of pirate copies are actually on the market.
The pay-per-view system is an alternative proposed to bypass the problem of pirate copies. With this system, the contents of information are encoded before being delivered to the subscriber so as to prevent the user from utilizing the contents at his or her free will. For example, the user is prohibited from keeping the contents in a decoded state and the encoded contents can be decoded each time the user uses them, so that the accounting is done when the encoded contents are decoded. By adopting this method, the accounting can be done without fail because the encoded contents must be decoded when the user uses them.
A typical known pay-per-view system will be described by referring to FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawing.
The contents of information to be delivered are encoded by the information provider 1000. The encoded contents 1006 are accompanied by a condition package 1004 including the description on the encoding system, the charge per view, the authorization for printing and/or storage, if any, and other conditions on the use of the contents to complete the information 1002 to be delivered. The information 1002 is then delivered to the user terminal 2000 by way of one or more than one communication networks or a CR-ROM and stored in the memory section 2002 before it is retrieved.
When the user requests the user terminal 2000 to operate for displaying, printing or storing the information, the condition judging section 2004 judges if the requested operation is authorized or not by referring to the condition package 1004 of the information 1002. If authorized, it issues a command for carrying out the requested operation. Upon receiving the command, the decoding section 2006 decodes the encoded content 1006 and the decoded contents are appropriately displayed on the display screen of a display unit 2030 by a display processing section 2008, printed to produce a hard copy by a printing unit 2040 under the control of a printing processing section 2010 or stored in an external storage unit 2050 by a storage processing section 2012. If, on the other hand, the requested operation is not authorized, the condition judging section 2004 does not issue any command for carrying out the operation (or issues a command prohibiting the operation) and the request is refused.
Since the encoded contents are decoded whenever they are used so that the user is charged for each decoding operation of the decoding section 2006. Specific examples of charging methods that can be used for the system under consideration include the one for up-loading the record of decoding operations stored in the user terminal 2000 to the information provider 1000 and charging collectively at a later date and the one for providing the user with a pre-paid card that can be used at the user terminal 2000 for decoding operations.
With the above system, the condition package 1004 of the information 1002 delivered to the user terminal 2000 contains only "yes" or "no" for each operation. In other words, it controls the right of access to the delivered information for printing, storage and/or other purposes only in terms of "yes" and "no". Additionally, the charge is uniform and invariable because this conventional pay-per-view system does not take changes in the value of the information and the mode of utilization thereof into consideration. Differently stated, this conventional system is adapted to contents such as those of movie films and fictions that are intended to be accessed by a large number of people and whose values do not significantly change with time.
However, such a pay-per-view system is not adapted to the contents of newspapers and magazines whose values can change significantly with time. The contents of newspaper and magazines are valuable when they are delivered for the first time because they are new and current. Then, they quickly change their values as they change their nature with time from news to records.
Thus, as described above, known conventional pay-per-view systems are not adapted to have flexibility in setting charges and access requirements for the contents of newspapers and magazines that can change the values in a short period of time because such systems do not take changes in the value of the information they provide and the mode of utilization thereof into consideration.

Access control method and information utilization apparatus


A system for distributed computing allows researchers performing analysis on data having legal or policy restrictions on movement of the data to perform the analysis on data at multiple sites without exporting the restricted data from each site. A primary system determines which sites contain the data to be executed by a compute job and sends the compute job to the associated site. Resulting calculated data can be exported to a primary collecting and recording system. The system allows the rapid development of analysis code for the compute jobs that can be executed on a local data set then passed to the primary system for distributed machine learning on the multiple sites without any changes to the code of the compute job.

The process for gathering the high-resolution data for clinical research is manual and tedious. It can take months—or even years—to gather, process, and analyze it. Often times multiple legal agreements are necessary to move data from one location to another for analysis due to medical regulations surrounding patient data. This creates substantial delays in grant applications and journal publications, and sometimes means that the research project itself is not feasible to conduct, preventing the advancement of scientific development. In addition, even after a research project is completed, translating results into clinical practice has been extremely difficult.
Because the physiological data needed for clinical research typically contains personal health information (PHI), there are legal restrictions on access and portability of the PHI data that make use of that data for clinical research difficult. Existing distributed machine learning techniques have required the ability to move the underlying data in ways that are prohibited with PHI data, making them difficult to apply to large-scale, cross-institutional, medical data sets without extensive manual efforts for overcoming these administrative and regulatory barriers.

Distributed machine learning technique used for data analysis and data computation in distributed environment


A terminal apparatus including a block generation unit, a transmission timing calculation unit, and a transmission unit. The block generation unit generates a block that includes a plurality of symbols being temporally consecutive and one or more repetition symbols added to a head end of the symbols. The transmission timing calculation unit calculates a transmission timing at which the block is to be transmitted to an external apparatus according to a symbol rate of the block and a number of extended repetition symbols included in the block. The transmission unit transmits the block to the external apparatus at the transmission timing calculated by the transmission timing calculation unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a terminal apparatus, base station and communication method carrying out, for example, a single carrier communication.
2. Related Art
There is conventionally known a method whereby a base station collectively receives single carrier signals with cyclic prefixes (CP) transmitted from a plurality of terminal apparatuses using a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). Collective reception requires transmission timings from the respective terminal apparatuses to be controlled to an FFT timing of the base station and, for example, JP-A 2007-96468 (Kokai) realizes timing control by detecting timings from delay profiles of the respective terminal apparatuses and feeding back timing information to the respective terminal apparatuses.
However, when a signal bandwidth of a single carrier from a certain terminal apparatus increases/decreases, for example, when a symbol rate changes, an optimal FFT timing (reception timing) at the base station may differ, but the method described in the JP-A 2007-96468 (Kokai) has such a problem that when the signal bandwidth of a single carrier from a certain terminal apparatus increases/decreases, it takes time until optimal timing control is realized.
That is, when the signal bandwidth of a single carrier transmitted from the terminal apparatus increases/decreases in the method described in the JP-A 2007-96468 (Kokai), optimal timing control becomes possible not until the base station receives the transmission signal of the terminal apparatus, detects a timing error first, generates timing information based on the result thereof and feeds back the timing information to the terminal apparatus. For this reason, there is a problem that it takes time until optimal timing control is realized, and since timings of transmission signals from the terminal apparatus in the mean time are not optimal, the reception characteristic at the base station deteriorates and adversely affects neighboring transmission paths.

Terminal apparatus, base station and communication method


A support slide assembly for a cable management arm is coupled with two slide assemblies. Two ends of the cable management arm are connected to one of the two slide assemblies. The support slide assembly includes a sliding member provided between the two ends of the cable management arm and sustained by the support slide assembly to travel in relation to the support slide assembly. Two ends of the support slide assembly respectively connected to the two slide assemblies. The support slide assembly includes a first rod and a second rod sliding into each other to become one retractable piece, allowing change of its total length. The two rods of the support slide assembly each is pivoted to a sliding block.

(a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a support slide assembly for a cable management arm, and more particularly to a support slide assembly adapted to the cable management arm.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
A conventional electronic product, such as a server, mounted on a slide-in chassis, has been provided on its both sides each a slide to travel on both slides, and a cable management arm to contain and restrict the cable.
As taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,353,518, 4,614,383, 5,571,256, 6,303,864B1, 6,305,556B1, 6,442,030B1, 6,600,665B1, and US Patent Application Nos. 2003/0026084A1, 2003/0222034A1, and 2004/0079711A1, the cable management arm is usually adapted with two slides having two ends as supports. A retractable member, generally in the form of a hinge, is provided between the two ends of the cable management arm. The retractable member when retracted is suspended to stay away from either end. However, the retractable member of the cable management arm tends to droop over a certain period of time to negatively affect the operation in a highly intensively slide-in space due to the mass of the cable and the cable management arm.

Support slide assembly for cable management arm


A scroll compressor for a motor vehicle air-conditioning system includes a compressor housing, two interleaving spirals within the compressor housing, of which one spiral is stationary and the other spiral is movable eccentrically on a circular orbit, whereby the volume of compression chambers formed between the spirals changes cyclically and refrigerant is suctioned in and compressed; at least one refrigerant outlet port for ejecting the compressed refrigerant in a wall, frontal to the spirals, of the compressor housing in the center of the stationary spiral, wherein in the spiral end region on the inner end of at least one of the two spirals the concave side of the spiral wall is provided with a cut that has the form of a cone segment with concave curvature, decreasing from the upper end in the direction toward the lower end of the spiral wall.

The term scroll compressor is the customary technical term for a compressor type that is also known as gear worms compressor or spiral compressor. A scroll compressor operates according to the principle of positive displacement. As a rule, it consists of two interleaving spirals of which one is stationary and the other is moved eccentrically on a circular orbit. The spirals herein maintain minimal spacing from one another and with each orbiting gyration form two increasingly smaller compression chambers. The gas to be pumped is hereby externally suctioned in, compressed in the compression chambers within the scroll compressor and expelled via a port in the spiral center.
Currently used designs for the inner end segment of at least one of the two spirals utilizes a vertical cut to connect the two scroll compartments with one another. For such a cut, denoted in the following as prismatic cut, an elaborate and complex fabrication process is necessary.
JP 2007-002736 describes a scroll compressor in which the vibrations and noise are intended to be reduced through stable operation. In this scroll compressor a recess is developed in the surface of the inner wall of a side wall of a fixed spiral that is opposed by an orbiting spiral. A similar recess Is developed on a side wall of the orbiting spiral. Through the gyration of the orbiting spiral relative to the fixed spiral a first and a second middle compression chamber, that are adjacent to an end compressor chamber, developed between the fixed spiral and the orbiting spiral, are in communication with one another via the recesses.
The disadvantages of the known prior art reside therein that in the region of the cut there is contact between the fixed and the moving spiral body. This leads to redundancy of the contact system. The design causes stress concentrations that occur at the inner corner of the cuts. The strain on the thinnest segment of the wall causes deformations of the wall, which can lead directly to a fracture or it can augment the problems caused by the contact of the two spirals, such as for example increased temperature, wear and friction. A further difficulty caused by corresponding designs of prior art is the significant decrease of the wall thickness at the end segment and a reduction entailed therein of the size of the end area for discharging the small volumes of the refrigerant after the compression. The suboptimal refrigerant flow in the direction toward the refrigerant outlet port of the scroll compressor, which is caused by the currently used geometry of the cut at the end region of at least one of the spirals, represents a further problem since a less optimal refrigerant flow leads to an increased torque and increased compressive force (overpressure) on the wall of the cut in the end region and therein to an unbalanced forces/torque system in the middle of the spiral.
The problem underlying the invention comprises providing a stable and cost-effectively generatable form of the end segment of at least one of the spirals of a scroll compressor that is suitable for reducing the overpressure that occurs when ejecting the compressed refrigerant.

Scroll compressor for a vehicle air-conditioning system having spiral wall including conical cut


A system for storing unfolded garments, such as shirts and sweaters, on multiple shelves. The shelves may be curved from side to side and raised in the middle. The shelves may be placed at intermittent variable points along a vertical support member which attaches to a wall or to a base. The multiple shelves attach to brackets which extend from the vertical support member at vertically spaced points along the length of the vertical support member. The system permits the shelves to slide out from the vertical support member for convenient access.

Typically, garments such as shirts and sweaters are folded and stored in dresser drawers, or on closet shelves or hung on hangers in closets. These methods of storage are subject to several disadvantages, or the garments may remain unfolded, strewn about a room until being ironed or worn.
Unless a folding board is used, it is extremely difficult to have all the garments folded the same size making closets and drawers unsightly and an inefficient use of the space. The folded garments are generally bulky, resulting in a need for a significant amount of dresser drawer or closet shelving space to store a relatively small quantity of garments. Furthermore, folding clothes takes time and requires a dedicated space.
Also, when garments are folded for storage unwanted creases are usually formed in the folded garment.
An alternative to folding is to hang the garments on clothes hangers. When garments such as sweaters or t-shirts are hung on clothes hangers for storage the weight of the garment in combination with the relatively narrow configuration of typical hangers results in the formation of unwanted bulges in the shoulders of the garments. In an effort to overcome this problem, users often resort to special clothes hangers of increased width to reduce contact stress between the clothes and the hangers. This is usually ineffective since it results in hangers which require excessive space in closets and costs more.
Additional attempts to provide effective storage for clothing include the devices shown in the following U.S. patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,017,944 to Braley is directed to a garment support provided with a plurality of plates affixed to an upstanding post. A number of garments can be suspended from each of the plates. Spring straps are used to secure the garments to the plate. The spring straps bear on the garments in order to secure them on the device. This presents the potential to mark, tear or otherwise distort the garment.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0193455 to Russell et al. discusses a wall mounted furniture system provided with a plurality of shelves and a vertical column. The Russell et al. device provides thin flat shelves having sharp edges. This system has the drawback of tendency to stretch or distort garments placed thereon.
U.S. Pat. No. 711,690 to Zimmer illustrates a display stand provided with a number of concave slotted tubes affixed to the display stand. A fibrous filling extends from holes in the tubes to secure items, such as combs to the tubes. The Zimmer device stores garments by hanging them on tubes which have the same disadvantages as conventional hangers.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,591,996 to Wu shows a shelving system provided with a plurality of shelves attached to a vertical column. The Wu device provides thin, flat shelves which tend to stretch or distort garments stored thereon in the same disadvantageous manner as the Russell et al device.
Despite the developments in the prior art there remains a need for an adjustable storage system for clothing.


Disclosed herein are a refrigerator and a defrost control method thereof that are capable of sensing an amount of frost formed on an evaporator based on a change amount of absolute humidity in the refrigerator to control a defrost operation. A defrost control method of a refrigerator including a storage chamber and an evaporator to cool the storage chamber, includes sensing absolute humidity in the storage chamber, determining an estimated amount of frost formed on the evaporator using time segments in which the absolute humidity in the storage chamber decreases, and controlling a defrost operation based on the estimated amount of frost. According to the present embodiments, it is possible to perform the defrost operation at the point of time for optimum defrost, thereby maximizing energy efficiency and cooling efficiency.

1. Field
The present invention relates to a refrigerator and a defrost control method thereof, and, more particularly, to a refrigerator and a defrost control method thereof that are capable of sensing the amount of frost formed on an evaporator based on the change amount of absolute humidity in the refrigerator to control a defrost operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a refrigerator is an apparatus that supplies cool air, generated when liquid refrigerant is evaporated to absorb the surrounding heat through a refrigeration cycle in which refrigerant circulates, to a food storage chamber, such as a freezing compartment and a refrigerating compartment, to keep various kinds of food fresh for a long time. The freezing compartment is normally maintained at a temperature of approximately −18° C., and the refrigerating compartment is normally maintained at a temperature of approximately 3° C.
The refrigeration cycle includes a compressor to compress refrigerant to a high temperature and high pressure, a condenser to condense the compressed refrigerant through heat exchange between the refrigerant and the surrounding air, a capillary tube to expand the condensed refrigerant to low pressure, and an evaporator to evaporate the expanded refrigerant through heat exchange between the refrigerant and food in the storage chamber. The surface temperature of the evaporator to cool the storage chamber through the refrigeration cycle is lower than the temperature of air in the storage chamber, with the result that moisture condensed from the air in the storage chamber, the temperature of which is relatively high, sticks to the surface of the evaporator, i.e., frost is formed on the evaporator. With the passage of time, the frost formed on the evaporator thickens, with the result that heat exchange efficiency of the refrigerant passing through the evaporator lowers, and therefore, power consumption increases excessively.
In a conventional refrigerator, the operation time of the compressor is integrated, and a defrost heater mounted adjacent to the evaporator is driven to perform a defrost operation, i.e., to defrost the evaporator, when an integrated operation time exceeds a predetermined time, in order to solve the above problem.
In the conventional refrigerator, however, the defrost operation is performed based on the integrated operation time of the compressor, irrespective of the amount of frost formed on the evaporator. As a result, it is difficult to efficiently defrost the evaporator. Also, cooling efficiency lowers due to unnecessary repetition of the defrost operation.
More specifically, moisture in the storage chamber evaporates with the passage of time in a fully sealed state in which a door of the refrigerator is closed, and frost is formed mostly on the evaporator. Consequently, when a large amount of external moisture is introduced into the storage chamber or a large amount of food is stored in the storage chamber, the amount of moisture in the storage chamber increases, with the result that the amount of frost formed on the evaporator increases. In the conventional refrigerator, however, the defrost operation is performed based on the predetermined integrated operation time of the compressor, irrespective of the amount of frost, which is varied depending upon the amount of moisture in the storage chamber. As a result, the defrost operation is not properly performed, and therefore, the frost formed on the evaporator is not fully removed, which lowers cooling efficiency of the refrigerator.
On the other hand, when the amount of moisture in the storage chamber is not large, the conventional refrigerator, which is constructed to perform the defrost operation for the predetermined integrated operation time of the compressor, although the defrost operation is not necessary when the amount of frost formed on the evaporator is small, unnecessarily frequently performs the defrost operation, with the result that power consumption increases excessively. Furthermore, high-temperature heat generated from the defrost heater is introduced into the storage chamber, with the result that cooling efficiency is lowered.

Refrigerator and defrost control method thereof


A device for infusing liquid medicaments such as insulin includes an infusion pump. The device can modify a medicament delivery protocol stored in memory to delivery an alternative medicament delivery protocol with the pump.

There are many applications in academic, industrial, and medical fields, as well as others, that may benefit from devices and methods that are capable of accurately and controllably delivering fluids, including liquids and gases that have a beneficial effect when administered in known and controlled quantities. Such devices and methods may be particularly useful in the medical field where much of the treatments for a large percentage of patients includes the administration of a known amount of a substance at predetermined intervals.
Insulin-injecting pumps have been developed for the administration of insulin for those suffering from both type I and II diabetes. Recently continuous subcutaneous insulin injection and/or infusion therapy has been adapted for the treatment of diabetes. Such therapy may include the regular and/or continuous injection or infusion of insulin into or under the skin of a person suffering from diabetes and offers an alternative to multiple daily injections of insulin by an insulin syringe or an insulin pen.
Generally, present insulin pump therapy is based on the use and application of currently available, so-called, "rapid-acting" insulin analogues, including insulin lispro (marketed by Eli Lily & Company under the trademark Humalog®), insulin glulisine (marketed by Sanofi-Aventis under the trademark Apidra®), and insulin aspart (marketed by Novo Nordisk under the trademark NovoLog®). More recently, ultra-rapid acting insulins have been developed. Further, other drugs have been developed that either modify insulin action time or alter the rate of metabolism of food. These all change the way that post-prandial blood glucose levels behave in a somewhat similar fashion.
Currently, in presently available insulin pumps, an insulin bolus is delivered as rapidly as it can be. The delivery of an insulin bolus creates an abrupt rise in the level of insulin in the blood stream which encourages the rapid metabolism of glucose. The beginning of insulin appearance in the blood stream is delayed from the time of infusion because of the time required for insulin absorption and distribution in the circulation. With ultra-rapid acting insulins the delay time is less than for fast acting insulin. Thus, the delivery of such an insulin bolus according to a "normal" protocol may cause an excessive metabolism of glucose thereby causing a drop in blood glucose which can be dangerous. In extreme cases, the drop in blood glucose can lead to insulin shock, which is also known as hypoglycemic shock. In rare cases hypoglycemic shock can even cause death.
The use of pramlintide, (e.g., pramlintide acetate marketed by Bristol Myers-Squibb under the trademark Symlin®) is becoming increasingly common in the treatment of type I diabetes. Pramlintide is synthetic amylin, an agent that acts to slow the rate of gastric emptying and therefore the rate at which food is released into the small intestine. Accordingly, this slows the rate at which food is metabolized. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonist therapy may also be used to slow the rate of gastric emptying which in turn slows the rate of absorption of food in the small intestine. The use of these agents results in a less pronounced rise in blood sugar after eating that also may last for a longer period of time.
The development of new insulins as well as adjunctive medicinal therapy for diabetes creates a need for new therapy protocols to be used with an insulin pump or a dual therapy insulin pump.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and device utilizing medicament delivery protocols


A portable electronic device comprising a mounting bracket having a cylindrical aperture for mounting a cylindrical electronic components such as a light emitting diode or the like. A mounting bracket according to an embodiment of the present invention may be used to mount an infrared (IR) assembly in a hand-held data collection terminal. This IR assembly may comprise one or more infrared light emitting diodes for transmitting infrared data transmission signals and may also comprise an infrared receiver for sensing and receiving infrared data transmission signals from an infrared data transmission source. Also described is a process for making a small part having a cylindrical aperture, such as a mounting bracket for an IR assembly, is also disclosed. According to this process, cylindrical apertures may be molded into the part without the use of slide pins.

Assemblies for transmitting and receiving data are used in a variety of portable hand held electronic devices. Typical of these assemblies are IR assemblies which may consist of one or more infrared light emitting diodes (LEDs) for transmitting data and an infrared receiver for receiving data. To function efficiently, the IR assembly's LEDs and receiver must be properly aligned. However, because these components are usually soldered directly to a circuit board in the electronic device, achieving a proper alignment may be difficult and costly. Further, the LEDs and receiver may be easily knocked out of alignment if the electronic device is dropped or otherwise mishandled. Likewise, many other electronic devices which transmit electromagnetic or sound waves may require a mounting bracket to provide correct alignment of their components. For these reasons, it is desirable to provide a mounting bracket which may be used in a portable electronic device to correctly align electronic components of a data transmission assembly such as an IR assembly. It is also desirable to provide a mounting bracket having apertures or holes for mounting cylindrical components such as LEDs or the like.
Presently, in order to manufacture a small plastic part having holes or apertures, a mold employing slide pins must be used. Slide pins must be slightly tapered so that they may be properly inserted and removed from a mold. Consequently, the inner surface of an aperture formed using slide pins will have the same taper. This taper may cause a cylindrical electronic component such as an LED to fit poorly and may lead to incorrect vertical or horizontal alignment of that component. Additionally, slide pins are difficult to use if they must be inserted into the mold at other than a right angle to the rest of the mold assembly. Thus, it is desirable to have an efficient process for manufacturing a small plastic part having cylindrical apertures without the use of slide pins.

Mounting bracket for mounting electronic components in a portable electronic device and method of making same


A fuel cell, such as a polymer electrolyte fuel cell, includes an anode reactant supply plate, an anode current collector, a cathode reactant supply plate, and a cathode current collector. At least one of the anode reactant supply plate, the cathode reactant supply plate, the anode current collector and the cathode current collector is electrically separated into a number of segments, wherein each segment of at least a subgroup of segments is separately connected to an electronic drive and analysis circuitry which performs in parallel impedance measurement in a frequency range of 0.1 mHz to 50 kHz of the respective segments.

The present invention relates to a fuel cell, such as a polymer electrolyte fuel cell, comprising an anode reactant supply plate and anode current collector and a cathode reactant supply plate and a cathode current collector. Further, the present invention relates to a method for determining the operational status of a fuel cell, such as a polymer electrolyte fuel cell, as given above.
The overall performance of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) depends on several factors: i) operating conditions, e.g. gas stoichiometry, temperature, humidification, operating pressure; ii) applied materials, e.g. type of membrane, catalysts, gas diffusion media (GDL) and iii) cell design, e.g. flow field design and orientation of the cell. Unfortunately, there is only limited insight into the influence of these factors, if an opinion is formed only by the measurement of the overall cell performance or by the application of diagnostic tools, like impedance spectroscopy (EIS) to the entire cell, since the active electrode area of PEFCs can exceed values of several tens of square centimetres for laboratory cells or even several hundreds of square centimetres for cells of technical scale.
Inhomogeneities in the local operating conditions due to variations in relative humidity, reactant concentration, temperature gradients, edge and mass transport effects or even manufacturing inconsistencies are highly likely to occur. This results in non-uniform performance over the active area.
When measuring over the entire active area of a PEFC, only average properties of cell parameters like current density or cell impedance can be determined. Thus, it is neither possible to identify inhomogeneities in fuel cell performance nor to get reliable information about limiting processes affecting the cell performance. Measurements performed over the entire active area of a PEFC are only meaningful if the local operating conditions are virtually homogenous throughout the cell, e.g. when using so called 1-dimensional cells.
Thus, improved diagnostic methods for PEFCs are badly needed not only for measuring but particularly for explaining inhomogeneities in cell performance. The application of these methods to an operating PEFC may provide more reliable and more meaningful data about the impact of factors like operating conditions or cell design on cell performance and the respective limiting processes.
To cope with this challenge, locally resolved current measurements in PEFCs may highlight inhomogeneities in the current distribution. However, by the application of locally resolved current measurements local inhomogeneities in the performance of PEFCs can only be identified but not explained. More advanced locally resolved diagnostic methods are needed to get information about the respective locally limiting processes and to gain a deeper understanding how operational parameters influence cell performance.
It is already known that there are three main processes limiting the performance of a PEFC, i.e. charge transfer, diffusion and ohmic resistance. The influence of these parameters on cell performance is highly dependent on the local operating conditions.
In principle Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) can provide values for membrane resistance and charge transfer resistance as well as information about mass transport limitations. EIS is a powerful tool for in situ diagnostics in polymer electrolyte fuel cells. Thus, impedance spectroscopy has been applied to the entire cell before to get more insight about processes limiting cell performance.
But the information achieved by measuring the impedance spectrum of the entire cell is rather poor, since current density distribution measurements in PEFCs clearly show that inhomogeneities in local cell performance and thus in local cell impedance are highly likely to occur.
The main barrier to apply impedance spectroscopy in PEFCs in a locally resolved approach is measurement time. Time is a critical factor in EIS, since the cell can drift or a sudden change in the state of the cell can occur, i.e. at a given cell current (galvanostatic mode) or a given cell voltage (potentiostatic mode) the current density distribution can change. Depending on the frequency range the measurement of only one impedance spectrum can consume around half an hour of time which is not acceptable since the state of the cell can drift.
No local impedance measurements in realistic PEFCs of technical relevance and under realistic operating conditions have been reported so far.

Fast locally resolved electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in polymer electrolyte fuel cells


An image sensor includes a substrate having a photoelectric conversion element therein, a first via extending into a first surface of the substrate such that a first upper surface of the first via is exposed adjacent the first surface of the substrate, a second upper surface of the first via extending away from the first surface of the substrate, first to third insulating films sequentially stacked on the first surface of the substrate, and a contact extending through the first to third insulating films and into the second upper surface of the first via. The contact includes a first portion within the first via, a second portion in the first insulating film, a third portion in the second insulating film, and a fourth portion in the third insulating film.

An image sensor is a device that converts optical images into electrical signals. Image sensors may be categorized into charge coupled device (CCD) types, and a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) types. CMOS type image sensors may also be referred to as 'CIS' (CMOS image sensors). A CIS may include a plurality of 2-dimensionally arranged pixels. Each of the pixels may include a photodiode (PD). The photodiode may function to convert incident light into electrical signals.
With development in the computer and the communication industries, demand has increased for the image sensors with enhanced performances in a variety of fields such as digital cameras, camcorders, personal communication systems (PCS), gaming devices, security cameras, medical micro cameras, robots, and so on. Further, highly-integrated semiconductor devices may allow for high integration of the image sensor.


A conceptual network generating system that generates a conceptual network showing conceptual relations between words, the conceptual network generating system including: a first searching unit that searches a knowledge source storing search sentences; a first generating unit that analyzes the retrieved first search result sentence; a holding unit that stores the generated first structure information in a memory unit; a second searching unit that searches the knowledge source; a second generating unit that analyzes the retrieved second search result sentence; a calculating unit that calculates similarity between the generated second structure information and the stored first structure information; and a setting unit that generates conceptual network information.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a conceptual network generating system that generates a conceptual network showing the conceptual relations between words, and a conceptual network generating method and a conceptual network generating program.
2. Related Art
A conceptual network shows conceptual connections (conceptual relations) existing between words that are systematically classified based on predetermined definitions. One type of conceptual relation is represented by the relation between an upper conception and a lower conception ("Is-a" relation). For example, in a case where the words such as "car" and "aircraft" are systematically classified under the category of "transportation", the upper conception is "transportation" while the lower conception is "car" and "aircraft". Conceptual relations are often shown in the form of an effective graph that is formed with nodes and links. For example, the conceptual relation between the upper conception "transportation" and the lower conception "car" is shown as "transportation→car".
A conceptual network can be created by a semiautomatic operation in which some parts of analysis data are produced manually while the other parts are automatically produced with the use of a computer, and the produced data is checked by human eyes. However, this data producing operation requires human hands and large production costs, even though it is "semiautomatic". Also, a conceptual network might be arbitrarily generated by a particular person in such an operation.
With the above facts being taken into consideration, there has been a demand for an automatic operation for generating conceptual networks.
However, by any conventional technique, the frequency information about the words contained in documents is used, and as a result, the conceptual relations between words cannot be accurately extracted.

Conceptual network generating system, conceptual network generating method, and program product therefor


When causing manual movement of a moving section of a machine tool, shape data of the moving section is made to move in a movement direction that has been input manually, and it is confirmed whether there is no interference with shape data of a surrounding interfering object. If interference occurs, a position returned a specified distance from the position where interference occurs is made a stop position, the moving section is moved to this stop position, and stopped at that position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a numerical control unit for controlling axial movement of a moving section of a machine tool in response to manual axial movement operations.
2. Description of the Related Art
With a well known numerical control unit, if an axial movement operation is performed manually function generation is carried out for each axial control period corresponding to the movement direction, to achieve axial movement control of a moving section of a machine tool. Conventionally, in order to avoid mechanical collisions in a manual axial movement operation, a range in which movement is possible is registered in advance, and when this range is deviated from, control is executed so that a moving section is decelerated and stopped at the boundary of this range.
With a conventional method for preventing collision in manual operation, it is standard for a range in which movement is possible for each control axis to be stored in advance, and there is a problem that it is necessary to avoid collisions of interfering objects that are within the range in which movement is possible for each control axis, such as workpiece, a jig, a tailstock, etc. by an operator taking care in operations.
Also, as a method for automatically avoiding interference between a tool and workpiece using a manual operation, Japanese patent Laid-open No. 2000-84794 discloses a method of adding means for predicting interference. Means for predicting interference added to an external section confirms whether or not there is interference between a tool and workpiece resulting from a manual operation by the operator, and if it is determined that there will be interference an axial stop instruction to be sent to the numerical control device is issued. However, when only a stop command is issued unidirectionally towards the numerical control unit, axial movement is started or restarted very finely while confirming whether or not there is interference, for an axial movement instruction manually by an operator, movement is very fine in order to avoid interference, and it is not possible to decelerate and stop accurately at a desired position.


An electric radiant heater is constructed with a pot detection system for switching on one or more heating areas. The pot detection system operates inductively according to the resonant circuit detuning principle. The sensor consists of a single-turn loop made from thick wire and which in the vicinity of the heating areas is positioned above the latter and just below a glass ceramic plate. In the case of a two-circuit heater, the sensor loop is shaped with clearly defined circumferential areas in said heating areas, so that the signal has a stepped transition between these areas and consequently a pot size detection in adaptation to the heating areas is possible.

The automatic switching on and off of a hotplate as a direct function of the placing thereon of a cooking vessel has been a long existing aim, but which has hitherto only been achieved incompletely, with great technical cost and not having the necessary reliability, so that such systems have found relatively little practical application.
The systems proposed for this purpose are based on the most varied principles, the nature and arrangement of the sensor usually being decisive. Thus, mechanical, capacitive, optical, resistive and inductive sensors have been proposed. In inductive sensors both coils with several turns and also those with a single turn have been proposed. These coils are either circular and arranged concentrically to the cooking zone or frame the latter in the case of non-circular cooking zones. These coils are normally located in the vicinity of the marginal insulation (cf. EP 490 289 B1 and EP 442 275 A2).
The aforementioned, single-turn pot detection loop is known from DE 37 11 589 A1. It is a passive short-circuit loop positioned between the heating elements and a glass ceramic plate. It is extraneously supplied by a magnetic field generator located below the heating elements. By periodic short-circuiting and a corresponding damping measurement, the evaluating circuit is energized. The introduction of such a system into practical application has failed due to the considerable cost and in particular the necessarily large overall height for the housing of the magnetic field generator.
The aforementioned multi-turn coils in the outer marginal area (or in an unheated central area) give rise to thermal problems and, as has been recognized by the invention and as will be explained hereinafter, are less suitable for sharp signal generation and detection.

Electric radiant heater with an active sensor for cooking vessel detection


Suture separation and organization devices for use in a tissue graft tensioning system. The inventive devices help to separate and organize a plurality of suture strands that extend away from a bone tunnel of a patient's leg during joint repair surgery (e.g., while repairing or replacing the anterior cruciate ligament (“ACL”)). The suture separation and organization device may comprise one or more elongate bodies, or a one-piece body, comprising a plurality of suture retention recesses or protrusions disposed on a perimeter of a body. The suture separation and organization device also includes recesses or passages adapted to receive corresponding posts of a graft tensioning device. In this way, the suture separation and organization device can be removably attached to the graft tensioning device.

1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of graft tensioning devices used in joint repair surgery, such as reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). More particularly, the invention relates to suture separation and organization devices for use with graft tensioning devices.
2. The Relevant Technology
Graft tension in ACL reconstruction is recognized as an important factor in the clinical outcome of the ACL reconstruction procedure. Grafts that are too loose may be unstable, and grafts that are too tight may greatly restrict motion of the knee. Publications that have emphasized the need for adequate tensioning of the graft include Markolf et al., "Biomechanical Consequences of Replacement of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament With a Patellar Ligament Allograft. Part Two: Forces in the Graft Compared with Forces in the Intact Ligament," J. Bone Joint Surg. Am., 78:11, 1728-34 (November 1996); Tohyama et al., "Significance of Graft Tension in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction. Basic background and clinical outcome," Knee Surg Sports Traumatol. Arthroscopy, 6 Suppl. 1, S30-7 (1998); Andersen et al., "Review on Tension in the Natural and Reconstructed Anterior Cruciate Ligament," Knee Surg. Sports Traumatol. Arthroscopy, 2:4, 192-202 (1994); Yasuda et al., "Effects of Initial Graft Tension on Clinical Outcome After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction. Autogenous Doubled Hamstring Tendons Connected in Series of Polyester Tapes," Am. J. Sports Med., 25:1, 99-106 (January 1997). The foregoing publications are incorporated herein by reference.
Devices used to apply a known load to a soft tissue graft are set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,542; U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,426; U.S. Pat. No. Re 34,762; U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,897; U.S. Pat. No. 5,507,750; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,562,668. For purposes of disclosing mechanisms for applying a known load or tension onto a soft tissue graft, the foregoing patents are incorporated herein by reference.
A study by Hamner et al. has added to the understanding of graft tension by demonstrating that unequal tension in the individual strands of the soft tissue graft can result in significant losses in total graft strength and stiffness. Hamner et al., "Hamstring Tendon Grafts for Reconstruction of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament: Biomechanical Evaluation of the Use of Multiple Strands and Tensioning Techniques," J. Bone Joint Surg. Am., 81:4, 549-57 (April 1999). Hamner et al. found that tensioning the soft tissue strands by hand would result in equalization of the load borne by each strand, and that this method was not effective in equalizing the load on the strands, which led to an ultimate graft strength that was not significantly greater than the strength of the individual strands taken alone.
Apparatus and methods for separately applying a load to and conditioning different strands of a multiple-strand soft tissue graft are disclosed in U.S. application Ser. No. 09/711,488, filed Nov. 13, 2000 in the name of Hugh S. West, Jr. and John R. West and entitled "Apparatus and Methods for Independently Conditioning and Pretensioning a Plurality of Ligament Grafts During Joint Repair Surgery". For purposes of disclosure, the foregoing application is incorporated by reference. The apparatus and methods disclosed in the foregoing application represent a major breakthrough in joint repair apparatus and techniques.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, there is a continuous need to find improvements to apparatus and methods used during joint repair surgery, particularly in organizing individual suture strands that are attached to a soft tissue graft.

Suture separation and organization devices for use with graft tensioning device


According to one embodiment, detector and DAS includes an X-ray detector, a board, a DAS, and a plurality of X-ray shielding plates. The X-ray detector detects X-rays and generates an electrical signal corresponding to the detected X-rays. The board is coupled to the X-ray detector and includes a wiring pattern to extract the electrical signal from the X-ray detector. The DAS is coupled to the board and included an electronic part to perform signal processing for the electrical signal. The X-ray shielding plates are provided for the board to prevent the electronic part from being exposed to X-rays transmitted through the X-ray detector. A portion of the wiring pattern is placed between the X-ray shielding plates.

An X-ray detector detects X-rays and converts the detected X-rays into analog electrical signals. The X-ray detector is rotatably supported on a rotating frame, together with an X-ray tube. A DAS (Data Acquisition System) is connected to the X-ray detector via a signal cable or the like. The DAS includes electronic parts such as a C-amp chip and an A/D conversion chip. Long-term exposure to radiation such as X-rays will destroy electronic parts. The DAS is therefore placed at a position inside a gantry at which it is not exposed to X-rays.
It is an object to provide a detector and DAS incorporating an X-ray detector and a DAS while preventing the DAS from breaking down due to X-rays, and an X-ray computed tomography apparatus including the detector and DAS.

Detector and DAS, and X-ray computed tomography apparatus


A method producing full field radial grid includes both aerial and vertical gridding to divide a reservoir structure into simulation grid cells. The aerial gridding is performed by 1) specifying a reservoir boundary (including faults) and well locations; 2) distributing a set of concentric circles around each well location; 3) determining the circle-circle and circle-boundary intersection locations of these circles; 4) forming the aerial grid by selecting circles, arc segments of intersecting circles and radial lines which connect the ends of these arc segments to the corresponding well center; 5) and forming additional grid lines by selecting the connecting lines of two wells if their circles intersect, adding additional radial lines to certain wells, and connecting end points of certain selected arc segments. The vertical gridding is performed by casting the aerial grid vertically downwardly through all the layers defined in the reservoir structure.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of reservoir engineering and analysis. In particular the invention concerns creating a numerical model or simulation of a subterranean oil and gas reservoir. Still more particularly, the invention is for a method and apparatus for creating an areal grid within a reservoir boundary area for creating reservoir cells the shapes of which are defined in the areal grid projected vertically downwardly into the earth and by layering boundaries.
2. Description of Prior Art
A reservoir model is used by petroleum engineers to predict reservoir performance by numerically solving flow equations which describe fluid flow in petroleum reservoirs during the oil and gas recovery process. By using the model, various reservoir recovery plans can be simulated in order to find the one which best meets the reservoir recovery objectives.
In the petroleum industry, reservoir simulation has been primarily conducted by dedicated specialists. There is a trend within the industry to make reservoir simulation a tool for day-to-day use by members of asset teams. However, prior art simulators are too complex for the non-expert users.
To create a model of the reservoir, simulation engineers first divide an areal surface into grid cells which are used to define grid blocks by layers of the grid cells extending into the reservoir structure. A numerical model is created by choosing a grid orientation, number and distribution of grid lines. Then wells are assigned to grid cells based on their locations. There can be millions of grid cells and hundreds of production and injection wells in a simulation model. For any change with the grid, well number and well locations, engineers must make changes to the cells to account for changes in the number and location of the wells, etc.: a very tedious process.
Besides the difficulties in setting up a numerical reservoir model, a simulation engineer also is concerned with the quality of the simulation grid and model. A desired grid should provide high numerical resolution in the reservoir regions where the simulated reservoir rock and fluid properties change rapidly with time and space. To this end, great efforts have been made in developing the local grid refinement technology in the past decades. One method has included replacing the coarse Cartesian grid with a fine Cartesian, radial or PEBI grid around the wellbores. (A PEBI grid is a Perpendicular Bisection grid, also known as a Voronoi grid of Voronoi blocks. A Voronoi block is defined as the region of space that is closer to its gridpoint than any other gridpoint. A consequence of this is that a line joining gridpoints of any two connected gridpoints is perpendicular to the gridblock boundary between these two gridpoints and its is bisected in two equal parts by that boundary.) Generally speaking, a radial grid defined model performs better for local grid refinement than a PEBI and Cartesian grid for local grid refinement. The radial grid has long been used for near wellbore precision modeling and single well reservoir modeling, because it can better describe the fluid flow process in reservoirs. However, no such radial gridding methods are known for multiple well simulation problems.
Another consideration for reservoir simulation grids is the reservoir boundary and faults conformance problem. Almost all the reservoirs are irregularly shaped and may have one or more faults. A prior solution involves removing coarse Cartesian grid cells in the concerned regions, replacing them with fine structured or non-structured grid cells, and smoothing out the transition from frame Cartesian cells to these special grid cells. Such a process introduces a great many extra grid cells. As far as the simulation accuracy concerns, it is only necessary to know the locations of the reservoir boundary and irregularities (including faults and pinch-outs). There is no dramatic physical properties change happening at such locations. In other words fine or special grid cells are not necessary for describing the reservoir shape.

Method for producing full field radial grid for hydrocarbon reservoir simulation


A device for centering and guiding rotation of a turbine engine shaft. The device includes a roller bearing and a ball bearing mounted around the shaft and carried respectively by first and second flexible annular supports, together with an oil film compression damper having a rigid annular support arranged around the roller bearing, the supports of the ball bearing and of the damper, and the roller bearing being stacked transversely, extending one around another.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for centering and guiding rotation of a shaft, in particular in a turbine engine.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a turbine engine shaft is centered and guided in rotation by two support means, respectively located upstream and downstream, one of the support means possibly comprising two rolling bearings mounted beside each other.
In the art, when a bearing for guiding the shaft has only one rolling bearing, the guide bearing is commonly said to be a "simplex" bearing and is a roller or ball bearing, for example, that is carried by a rigid annular support extending around the shaft.
When a guide bearing has two rolling bearings, the guide bearing is commonly said to be a "duplex" bearing and it generally comprises a roller bearing and a ball bearing.
The ball bearing of the duplex bearing is carried by an annular support possessing a certain amount of flexibility so that it deforms in operation and allows the ball bearing to move off-center in the event of an unbalance, thereby enabling the roller bearing to take up the radial loading.
The roller bearing is carried by an annular support that also preferably presents a certain amount of flexibility in order to avoid dynamic problems. Nevertheless, in order to ensure that the roller bearing can take up the above-mentioned radial loads, the flexibility of the support for the ball bearing must be at least three times greater than the flexibility of the support for the roller bearing.
When both of the bearing supports are flexible, an oil film compression damper is generally arranged around the roller bearing. The damper has an oil-filled annular space that is defined by a portion of the roller bearing support and by a rigid annular element surrounding said portion, the space being closed axially by sealing rings that are free to rotate in annular grooves in the support portion and that co-operate in leaktight manner with an inner cylindrical surface of the rigid annular element.
In the prior art, the supports of the roller bearing and of the ball bearing are arranged one behind the other and they are fastened to each other by nut-and-bolt type means. A device of this type is relatively bulky, in particular in an axial direction, thereby preventing it from being mounted in an engine of small size.
Furthermore, in order to present flexibility, each bearing support includes an annular portion that is elastically deformable. Any increase in the flexibility of a bearing support may in particular result in lengthening the deformable annular portion of the support, thereby nevertheless increasing the axial bulkiness of the device and possibly diminishing the mechanical strength of the deformable portion of the support.
Furthermore, the effectiveness of the oil film compression damper is a function in particular of the ratio of the length of the above-mentioned oil-filled space to its radius. The greater this ratio, the greater the effectiveness of the damping. In other words, it is preferable for this space to be long and to have a radius that is relatively small so as to increase the effectiveness of the damping. Nevertheless, lengthening this space likewise gives rise to an increase in the axial bulkiness of the device.

Device for centering and guiding the rotation of a turbomachine shaft


A substrate processing apparatus removes resist films formed on wafers by holding the wafers in a processing vessel and exposing the wafers to a mixed gaseous fluid of steam and an ozone-containing gas into the processing vessel. The inner surfaces, to be exposed to the mixed gaseous fluid, of the processing vessel and the surfaces, to be exposed to the mixed gaseous fluid, of component members placed in the processing vessel are coated with SiO2 film to protect the same from the corrosive action of the mixed gaseous fluid.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method for processing substrates, such as semiconductor wafers or glass substrates for LCDs (liquid crystal displays), in an atmosphere containing a vapor and a gas.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a semiconductor device fabricating method includes a step of forming a predetermined circuit pattern on-a semiconductor wafer by photolithography. More specifically, a semiconductor device fabricating method includes series of steps of applying a liquid photoresist to a semiconductor wafer cleaned by a cleaning process to form a photoresist film, exposing the photoresist film to a desired light pattern, subjecting the exposed photoresist film to a developing process to form a photoresist mask, subjecting the semiconductor wafer to an etching process and a doping process, and removing the photoresist mask, i.e., the photoresist film, from the semiconductor wafer.
A known resist film removing method of removing a resist film from a semiconductor wafer immerses the semiconductor wafer in a cleaning tank holding a chemical liquid called SPM solution containing sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide, or a chemical liquid containing ozone. The known resist film removing method has problems that particles contained in the chemical liquid adhere to the semiconductor wafer when the semiconductor wafer is immersed in the chemical liquid, and particles removed from the semiconductor wafer and suspended in the chemical liquid adhere to other semiconductor wafers. The disposal of waste liquid produced by the resist film removing method using the SPM solution is costly.
A recently proposed resist film removing method includes a step of altering a resist film formed on a semiconductor wafer with a gas containing steam and an ozone-containing gas, and then subjecting the semiconductor wafer having the altered resist film to a water cleaning process to remove the resist film. The altering step is carried out by supplying steam and the ozone-containing gas into the hermetically-closed processing vessel accommodating a semiconductor wafer.
However, a mixed gaseous fluid produced by thus mixing steam and the ozone-containing gas is highly corrosive, corrodes various component members of the processing apparatus, such as a wafer holder, placed in the processing vessel, and corroded parts produce particles that contaminate the semiconductor wafer.

Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method


Methods, systems, software, computer-readable media, and the like relate to providing and receiving relevant data from one or more entities. Data is received by a wireless user device directly from a wireless transmitter. The data may be provided to a stationary or moving user. A consumer in a vehicle, for instance, may have a smartphone, mobile phone, tablet PC, navigation system, or other similar mobile device, and can use such device to interact with a geographically proximate advertising module having a wireless transmitter. The wireless transmitter may also be stationary or moving, and can be incorporated into structures such as a vehicle, a billboard, a building, a road sign, a traffic light, or the like.

Consumers are often inundated with advertising information. Frequently, however, much of the information is irrelevant to the particular interests of the consumer. For instance, a consumer on a mobile device may be browsing the Internet and see banner advertisements, pop-up ads, and the like which have little, if any, relevance to the consumer's interests. Even if such advertising makes use of so-called cookies or a browser history to attempt to provide relevant information, the information still often holds little geographical or topical interest. Similarly, when driving down the highway, a user may see billboard after billboard. Typically, however such billboards provide little interest and, if of interest, may pass by too quickly to safely obtain any desired information for contacting the company. Currently, businesses of all sizes need a novel, more accurate, and cost-effective means for advertising and providing consumers with any relevant advertising and other data, twenty-four (24) hours a day, and seven (7) days a week. Such consumers may benefit from being able to selectively receive pertinent and quality information and advertisements, rather than simply receiving unsolicited information that is difficult to capture or which holds little relevance for a consumer.
There is a growing trend of image scanning and decoding, such as the use of Quick Response (QR) codes and image recognition software that enables entities to deliver a bulk of information to users with use of camera-equipped mobile devices. Such QR codes may, however, have various limitations. For instance, the codes must be visible to a user in order to capture them. Due to slower shutter speeds that cause blurred images, it is also often difficult to obtain a suitable scan if either the user or the code is moving at a velocity or relatively different direction than one another. Moreover, capturing such codes while moving may be dangerous, particularly if a person using a vehicle is attempting to capture the codes. Further still, a QR code may often refer to an Internet address or provide other information that is available over a network. If the device is not then currently connected to a data network, such as the Internet, the consumer may be unable to access the information.
In some efforts to provide relevant information, companies such as FOURSQUARE™ may provide social networking and so-called "check-ins" at venues and establishments using location based services ("LBS"). Global positioning systems ("GPS") may be used to enhance the LBS. Users that check-in to a particular establishment can receive promotions; however, this often requires that the user be in the general vicinity of the establishment, as evaluated using the GPS components of a consumer's mobile electronic device (e.g., smartphone). Other services, such as FROGZOG™, provide text message-based coupons to a user. A user may send a text message providing a general location (e.g., a zip code or city). The text message may also provide some textual description of goods or services of interest. For instance "Food" and a zip code may be sent to a service provider. In response, the service provider may look for restaurants and other food service providers within the zip code, city, or other desired geographical area, and send back a coupon or the like matching the request.
Smartphone applications or "apps" allow providers of the app to deliver information and promotions to users using push notifications; however, these notifications can often be unwanted or irrelevant to a consumer. Deal-of-the-day companies, such as GROUPON™ or LIVING SOCIAL™ may also provide certificates to consumers; however, the consumers may not have an option to choose the types of information they wish to receive. Rather, all users receive access to the same certificates and coupons. Furthermore, users may be able to select only regional areas of their country for their area of interest, and cannot further specify specific areas on-demand.
Another example of the incompatibility of choosing particular advertisements is ROXIMITY™. ROXIMITY™ is a location-based daily deal service that expects to interact with automobile systems, including vehicles equipped with the SYNC™ technology (i.e., vehicles produced by FORD MOTOR COMPANY™). It can be cumbersome for a user to receive notifications from particular businesses, particularly in high-traffic areas like Times Square in New York City. The sheer volume of advertisements and notifications received can be overwhelming.

Methods, devices and systems for providing mobile advertising and on-demand information to user communication devices


A N-stage synchronizer for synchronizing asynchronous signals in a destination system's time domain. The synchronizer has N-stages with each stage having a series connected logic gate and flip-flop, and each of the N-stages are connected in series. Each logic gate has the output of the previous stage input thereto along with an ABORT signal. The ABORT signal when asserted blocks the synchronization of the asynchronous signal. The synchronizer permits a reduction in the latency associated with the synchronization process while not affecting reliability.

In many computer applications, various devices need to communicate. Often, these devices operate at different clocking frequencies or at the same frequency but asynchronously. The usual method to synchronize such devices so that they may communicate is to use a synchronizer.
A known synchronizer is shown in FIG. 1 generally at 100. Synchronizer 100 is an N-stage synchronizer. This synchronizer has a number of stages and there is a flip-flop at each stage. The flip-flops at adjacent stages are connected in series. As shown in FIG. 1, synchronizer 100 has first stage flip-flop 102, second stage flip-flop 104, and Nth-stage flip-flop 106. These are representative of all of the N flip-flops of synchronizer 100.
The asynchronous signal input at 108 is input to the data input first stage flip-flop 102. This flip-flop is clocked according to destination time domain clock signal 110. The data input of each of the remaining N-1 flip-flops is loaded by the output from the previous stage flip-flop and each of the remaining N-1 flip-flops is clocked by destination time domain clock signal 110. The result is synchronous output 112.
The greater the number of series-connected flip-flops, the more likely that the output of the synchronizer will not go to a metastable state. Moreover, the greater the number of flip-flops, the more likely that the output of the synchronizer will be fully synchronized. However, a significant drawback of a N-stage synchronizer, such as that shown in FIG. 1, is that the greater the number of stages, the greater the latency from the asynchronous input to the synchronous output. The alternative is to accept the latency, or use of fewer number flip-flop stages and accept reduced reliability.
An example illustrating the latency problem will be explained referring to FIG. 2. A portion of a state machine is shown generally at 200. This state machine is required to generate a synchronous signal in a predetermined time domain when, and if, it reaches State C 214. As is shown, the state machine progresses from State A 210 to State B 212, and then to State C 214 or D 216. Known systems process signals through States A 210 and B 212, and if state machine 200 enters State C 214, the state machine will then synchronize the signal. In this case, the synchronization latency is accepted.
Accordingly, there is a need for a synchronizer that reduces latency problems without reducing reliability. These problems and other problems are addressed by the present invention that is disclosed in the remainder of the specification and shown in the drawings.


A protective device for use in protecting an end of an I beam, the protective device comprising a front element having a front, a rear and a pair of sides, the sides being formed of first and second side walls which taper inwardly from the rear to form a narrow front surface, and an element for securing the front element to the end of the I beam.

I beams are a standard structural component and are widely used for many different applications. Thus, they are used as load bearing members in many types of buildings. Another use which I beams receive is as support members for construction material such as lengths of lumber, sheet material such as plywood or gyproc, etc.
I beams are utilized for such purposes as they have the necessary strength and the rigidity to withstand the substantial loads which are placed thereon. One problem which has been encountered is the damage to the end of the exposed I beam when fork lift trucks or other vehicles place merchandise on the I beams. Thus, often the forks on the lift truck will hit the I beam and damage the same. As will be appreciated, the replacement of the I beam becomes a substantial expense for the retailer.


An electronic device includes a processor, a volatile memory, and a non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory stores a first operating system, and the electronic device works in a first working mode and a second working mode. When the electronic device is in the first working mode, a second operating system is run in the volatile memory. When the processor detects that the electronic device reaches a preset condition for entering the second working mode, the non-volatile memory is enabled, and non-system data in the volatile memory is moved to the non-volatile memory. The non-system data does not include the second operating system. After the movement of the non-system data is completed, the volatile memory is disabled, and the first operating system is run in the non-volatile memory, so that the electronic device enters the second working mode.

In a portable mobile device such as a tablet computer or a mobile phone, power consumption of a memory accounts for approximately one-third of power consumption of the entire mobile device. As a memory capacity increases, the percentage of the power consumption of the memory in the power consumption of the entire mobile device becomes larger. Therefore, the power consumption of the memory may be reduced to prolong a standby time of the mobile device.
A dynamic random access memory (DRAM) has a relatively high access speed, and is usually used as a memory of a mobile device. In the DRAM, each memory cell includes one metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistor and one capacitor. An external power source supplies power to each memory cell, to store data. Because an electric charge stored in the capacitor leaks through the MOS transistor after a period of time, a circuit needs to be refreshed periodically to supplement the capacitor with charges, so as to maintain the data stored in the cell.
Generally, the DRAM refreshes the circuit by using an external clock. In this way, a refreshing speed is relatively fast, but more power is consumed. In the prior art, to reduce power consumption, after an electronic device enters a low power consumption state such as a black-screen standby state, the DRAM may enter a self-refreshing state. That is, the DRAM refreshes the circuit by using a clock of the DRAM, instead of using an external clock. Therefore, power consumption of the electronic device in a low power consumption state may be further reduced.
However, during self-refreshing, the DRAM still needs to refresh all memory banks. Consequently, the power consumption of the electronic device is still high in the low power consumption state.

Electronic device capable of reducing power consumption and method for reducing power consumption of electronic device


In a base game, when a combination of symbols, that would be a winning combination of all “BAR”s if a remaining symbol of the combination of the symbols were the “BAR”, has come to a stop on a payline L and the symbol “BAR” neighbors the symbol other than the “BAR” (=the remaining symbol) on the payline, same payout as that when the winning combination of all “BAR”s comes to a stop on the payline L is provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a slot machine that executes games using game media such as coins or bills, and a playing method thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
With conventional slot machines, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,960,133B1 or U.S. Pat. No. 6,012,983, a plurality of symbols are scrolled on a display provided in front of a cabinet when a player inserts game media such as tokens, coins, or bills into the insertion slot of the slot machine and presses a spin button, and subsequently, respective symbols automatically come to a stop.
At this time, a random number is generated at the start of scrolling respective symbols, which is triggered by pressing the spin button. If it is arbitrarily determined by the random number to payout coins or credits associated with awards such as a mystery bonus, or to transit to a bonus game such as the second game, transition from the base game to the bonus game occurs and the bonus game is executed.
Here, the slot machine is configured so as to payout a payout in accordance with a winning state that occurs with the progress of the game. With such a slot machine, the symbols being scrolled merely stop automatically.


Delivery systems, methods of making delivery systems, and methods of treatment are provided. A delivery system according to the invention facilitates a visual inspection of an intraluminal medical device included in the delivery system.

Minimally invasive techniques and instruments for placement of intraluminal medical devices have been developed over recent years and are frequently used to deliver an intraluminal medical device to a desired point of treatment and deploy the intraluminal medical device at the point of treatment. In these techniques, a delivery system is used to carry the intraluminal medical device through a body vessel and to the point of treatment. Once the point of treatment is reached, the intraluminal medical device is deployed from the delivery system. The delivery system is subsequently withdrawn from the point of treatment and, ultimately, the body vessel. A wide variety of treatment devices that utilize minimally invasive technology have been developed and include stents, stent grafts, occlusion devices, infusion catheters, prosthetic valves, and the like.
Some intraluminal medical devices include a component that requires pre-treatment processing by a care provider or other personnel. For example, some prosthetic venous valves include a graft member that requires hydration prior to implantation. The hydration can be accomplished while the device is still in the delivery system. Also, some intraluminal medical devices, such as prosthetic valves, include a functional mechanism which is sensitive to positioning in the body vessel. For example, prosthetic venous valves may include a valve orifice that is desirably positioned within a body vessel in a particular orientation. For these devices, it can be important to achieve a desired positioning of the medical device within a delivery system during manufacturing.
Accordingly, there is a need for a delivery system which facilitates visual inspection of an intraluminal medical device within the delivery system.

Delivery system that facilitates visual inspection of an intraluminal medical device


In an assembly including preloaded bearings, a sleeve is provided and has an exterior surface and an externally threaded section adjacent to an end of the sleeve. At least two bearings, each having an inner bearing race, an outer bearing race, and a plurality of rolling elements positioned between the inner and outer bearing races, are slidably mounted on the exterior surface of the sleeve. The sleeve further includes a bore extending part-way into the sleeve adjacent to the externally threaded section, the bore defining inner interior surface. A bearing retainer is also provided and includes an internally threaded section engaged with the external threads of the sleeve for urging the inner bearing race of one of the bearings toward the inner bearing race of the other bearing, thereby preloading the bearings. The exterior surface of the sleeve and the interior surface of the bore cooperate to define a cylindrical sleeve thickness that allows the sleeve to stretch as the bearing retainer is tightened against the inner race of one of the bearings, thereby urging the external threads of the sleeve against the internal threads of the retainer, preventing the retainer from loosening as the machine in which the assembly is installed, is operated.

Rolling element bearings are typically manufactured with a certain amount of initial radial clearance between the rolling elements and the inner and outer bearing races. When these types of bearings are incorporated into machines requiring high system rigidity, accuracy, and repeatability, such as machine tools or cutting heads for cloth cutting machines, it may become necessary to minimize or eliminate the radial play in the bearings. This is usually accomplished by shifting the inner and outer bearing races relative to each other, a technique referred to by those skilled in the art as preloading the bearings.
One means of preloading two rolling element bearings, is to purchase the bearings as a matched set from the manufacturer. A matched set of bearings has a predetermined preload attainable by mounting the bearings adjacent to one another on a shaft and pushing the inner and/or outer bearing races together, thereby establishing the preload. The inner bearing races are generally pushed together using a standard bearing locknut and lockwasher mounted on an externally threaded section of the shaft. The bearing lockwasher includes a plurality of external tabs and an internal tab that slides in a keyway machined in the shaft. With the lockwasher engaging the inner race of one of the bearings, and the internal tab positioned in the keyway, the bearing locknut is threaded onto the shaft and tightened against the bearing lockwasher until the inner races of both bearings touch, thereby preloading the bearings. The locknut is then further tightened against the bearing until one of the external tabs in the lockwasher aligns with a slot in the locknut. The external tab on the lockwasher is then bent into the slot in the locknut and the combination of the internal tab being positioned in the keyway on the shaft and the external tab being retained in the slot on the locknut prevents the locknut from loosening during operation of the machine in which the bearings are installed.
A difficulty associated with the above-described method of preloading bearings sometimes occurs where very high rotational speeds are involved. In these cases, machining the keyway in the shaft for the internal tab of the lockwasher can cause the shaft to become unbalanced thereby increasing the level of vibration in the shaft. Another difficulty sometimes encountered occurs when there is insufficient material in the shaft, such as when the shaft contains a bore, to accommodate the keyway for the internal tab of the bearing lockwasher.
Another method used to preload at least two bearings is to incorporate spring washers, such as wavy or belleville-type washers. The washer(s) is placed over the shaft and engages the inner race of a bearing, a nut is then threaded onto the shaft and tightened against the spring washer which in turn urges the inner races of the bearings together and maintains force against the nut to prevent the nut from loosening. A problem associated with this method of preloading bearings is that the sizes and stiffness of commercially available washers is limited. Therefore, a properly sized washer may be unavailable, or it may be necessary to utilize several spring washers stacked one-on-top-of-the-other to obtain the desired preload. This requires that additional space be provided in the bearing assembly to accommodate the additional washers.
Based on the foregoing, it is the general object of the present invention to provide a bearing assembly that overcomes the above-described drawbacks of prior art bearing assemblies.
It is a more specific object of the present invention to provide an assembly including preloaded bearings wherein bearing locknuts, lockwashers, or spring washers are not needed.


A vibrating gyroscope having a supporting structure of a vibrator including, for example, a substantially regular triangular prism-shaped vibrating body. The vibrating body is formed with materials generally generating a mechanical vibration such as a constant-elastic materials. On three side faces of the vibrating body, three piezoelectric elements are formed respectively. On a ridge-line portion of the vicinity of two nodal points of the vibrating body, for example, a substantially rectangular frame-shaped supporting member is secured. The supporting member is formed into a body by means of etching or press molding. In this case, long sides of the supporting member are formed so as to extend in an axial direction of the vibrating body. Short sides of the supporting member are bonded to the vibrating body by securing means such as welding, adhesives or soldering.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a supporting structure of a vibrator, and more particularly, to the supporting structure of the vibrator used in a vibrating gyroscope applicable in a navigation system, which detects a rotational angular velocity to locate a moving body for adequate guidance, or in a damping system such as an anti-hand-vibration device which detects an external vibration for adequate vibration control.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 5(A) is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional vibrating gyroscope which is a background of the present invention, and FIG. 5(B) is a sectional view taken along a line VB--VB of FIG. 5(A). The vibrating gyroscope 1 comprises a vibrator 2. The vibrator 2 includes, for example, a substantially regular triangular prism-shaped vibrating body 3. On three side faces of the vibrating body 3, piezoelectric elements 4a, 4b and 4c are formed respectively. The three piezoelectric elements 4a, 4b and 4c include piezoelectric layers 5 respectively consisting of ceramics and the like. On both faces of the piezoelectric layers 5, electrodes 6 are formed respectively. One side of the electrode 6 is bonded to the vibrating body 3 by means of adhesives and the like. Meanwhile, on a ridge-line portion in the vicinity of two nodal points of the vibrating body 3, two supporting members 7a and 7b are secured respectively. The two supporting members 7a and 7b are formed with, for example, a substantially U-shaped metal wire, and are secured to the vibrating body 3 by means of welding or adhesives. The supporting members 7a and 7b are arranged such that, their end portions extend in a direction perpendicular to an axis of the vibrating body 3. The end portions of the supporting members 7a and 7b are fixed to a supporting base plate (not shown).
In the vibrating gyroscope 1, an oscillation circuit (not shown) is connected between the piezoelectric elements 4a, 4b and the piezoelectric element 4c. The vibrating body 3 is bent and vibrated in a direction perpendicular to a face of the piezoelectric element 4c by the oscillation circuit. When the vibrating body 3 rotates about its axis in this state, the bending and vibrating directions change due to a Coriolis force. Thereby, a difference between output signals of the piezoelectric elements 4a and 4b is produced. Thus, a rotational angular velocity can be detected by measuring the output voltage difference between the piezoelectric elements 4a and 4b.
When applying the vibrating gyroscope 1 to a navigation system of an automobile, the vibrating body 3 is arranged such that its axis is directed in a perpendicular direction, as shown in FIG. 6, to detect a rotational direction of the automobile.
However, due to uneven road conditions, the automobile tends to vibrate in the perpendicular direction. In the case of arranging the axis of the vibrating body 3 in the perpendicular direction, the two supporting members 7a and 7b are arranged in a horizontal direction. And hence, the strength of the two supporting members 7a and 7b becomes weaker against a vibration in the perpendicular direction. Since the two supporting members 7a and 7b are fixed respectively to the vibrating body 3 or the supporting base plate, fixing works tend to increase.


This disclosure describes the first viable non-enzyme protein encapsulated within an aerogel. In this, a large excess of cyt c is added to a commercial buffered Au sol solution ( ) which results in the formation of a gold˜protein-protein superstructure in the absence of separation techniques which destroy the superstructure.

1. Field of the Invention
The disclosed invention relates to aerogels and specifically to silica aerogels having three-dimensional nanoarchitecture with colloidal gold˜protein superstructures nanoglued therein. The disclosure describes methods for making the composite bioaerogels and their physical and chemical characteristics.
2. Description of Background Art
Much attention has been focused on immobilization of biomolecules in silicate glass formed by the sol-gel method, Eggers et al., Protein Sci. 2001, 10, 250–261. The process involves hydrolyzing an alkoxide to produce a sol, which then undergoes polycondensation to form a gel. Biomolecules are immobilized by being entrapped in the gel during the sol-to-gel transition. The sol-gel materials offer advantages over more traditional organic polymers for biomolecule entrapment in that these materials have increased mechanical strength, chemical stability, biocompatibility, and resistance to microbial attack.
While one can encapsulate a variety of biomolecules (enzymes, proteins, antibodies, cells) in sol-gel-derived matrices, the earliest reported bio/silicate-gels had only 30% activity as prepared using the conventional, alcohol-rich sol-gel preparation. Bioactivity of caged biomolecules rose to 75–95% upon the advent of the Dunn procedure, Dunn et al., Acta Mater. 1998, 46, 737–741, which uses less alcohol and provides better buffering of the sol. Traditionally when biomolecules have been incorporated into sol-gel-derived materials, the resultant gels are either kept wet (forming hydrogels) or are dried from aqueous conditions (forming xerogels) resulting in pore collapse of the material and long-sensing response times. The hydrogels are not ideal for real-world sensing either, in that they must be kept wet, stored at 4° C., and the long-term stability of the encapsulated biomolecule has not been investigated. The longest reported lifetime of these materials is approximately a month when stored at 4° C.
Heme proteins, such as horseradish peroxidase, Bhatia et al., Chem. Mater. 2000, 12, 2434–2441, cytochrome c (cyt. c) Lloyd et al., Langmuir 2000, 16, 9092–9094 and myoglobin, Ellerby et al., Science 1992, 257, 1113–1116, have been extensively studied in sol-gel encapsulation. These proteins retain their spectroscopic properties and chemical functions of oxidation and reduction, ligand binding, or biocatalysis upon encapsulation. In one case, cyt. c was encapsulated into a sol-gel and absorbance-based spectral shifts were used to monitor binding of nitric oxide. Unfortunately, the sensor reaction is reported to have taken two hours to reverse, making dynamic measurements impractical, Aylott et al., Chem Mater. 1997, 9, 2261–2263.

Silica mesoporous aerogels having three-dimensional nanoarchitecture with colloidal gold-protein superstructures nanoglued therein

Abstract: The gold˜protein-protein superstructure is then nanoglued into a silica framework during the sol to gel transition. To form the gel, the Au˜cyt. c superstructure in buffered medium is added to a silica sol and the composite gels are washed with acetone followed by liquid carbon dioxide and then supercritically dried to form the aerogel.

Abstract: The biocomposite aerogels have a multiplicity of applications particularly in the realm of sensing and energy transformation.

The United States of America as Represented by the Secretary of the Navy


The present invention generally provides a rapid efficient method for analyzing polymorphic or biallelic markers, and arrays for carrying out these analyses. In general, the methods of the present invention employ arrays of oligonucleotide probes that are complementary to target nucleic acids which correspond to the marker sequences of an individual. The probes are typically arranged in detection blocks, each block being capable of discriminating the three genotypes for a given marker, i.e., the heterozygote or either of the two homozygotes. The method allows for rapid, automatable analysis of genetic linkage to even complex polygenic traits.

The relationship between structure and function of macromolecules is of fundamental importance in the understanding of biological systems. These relationships are important to understanding, for example, the functions of enzymes, structural proteins and signaling proteins, ways in which cells communicate with each other, as well as mechanisms of cellular control and metabolic feedback.
Genetic information is critical in continuation of life processes. Life is substantially informationally based and its genetic content controls the growth and reproduction of the organism and its complements. The amino acid sequences of polypeptides, which are critical features of all living systems, are encoded by the genetic material of the cell. Further, the properties of these polypeptides, e.g., as enzymes, functional proteins, and structural proteins, are determined by the sequence of amino acids which make them up. As structure and function are integrally related, many biological functions may be explained by elucidating the underlying structural features which provide those functions, and these structures are determined by the underlying genetic information in the form of polynucleotide sequences. Further, in addition to encoding polypeptides, polynucleotide sequences also can be involved in control and regulation of gene expression. It therefore follows that the determination of the make-up of this genetic information has achieved significant scientific importance.
As a specific example, diagnosis and treatment of a variety of disorders may often be accomplished through identification and/or manipulation of the genetic material which encodes for specific disease associated traits. In order to accomplish this, however, one must first identify a correlation between a particular gene and a particular trait. This is generally accomplished by providing a genetic linkage map through which one identifies a set of genetic markers that follow a particular trait. These markers can identify the location of the gene encoding for that trait within the genome, eventually leading to the identification of the gene. Once the gene is identified, methods of treating the disorder that result from that gene, i.e., as a result of overexpression, constitutive expression, mutation, underexpression, etc., can be more easily developed.
One class of genetic markers includes variants in the genetic code termed "polymorphisms." In the course of evolution, the genome of a species can collect a number of variations in individual bases. These single base changes are termed single-base polymorphisms. Polymorphisms may also exist as stretches of repeating sequences that vary as to the length of the repeat from individual to individual. Where these variations are recurring, i.e., exist in a significant percentage of a population, they can be readily used as markers linked to genes involved in mono- and polygenic traits. In the human genome, single-base polymorphisms occur roughly once per 300 bp. Though many of these variant bases appear too infrequently among the allele population for use as genetic markers (i e, ≦1%), useful polymorphisms (e.g., those occurring in 20 to 50% of the allele population) can be found approximately once per kilobase. Accordingly, in a human genome of approximately 3 Gb, one would expect to find approximately 3,000,000 of these "useful" polymorphisms.
The use of polymorphisms as genetic linkage markers is thus of critical importance in locating, identifying and characterizing the genes which are responsible for specific traits. In particular, such mapping techniques allow for the identification of genes responsible for a variety of disease or disorder-related traits which may be used in the diagnosis and or eventual treatment of those disorders. Given the size of the human genome, as well as those of other mammals, it would generally be desirable to provide methods of rapidly identifying and screening for polymorphic genetic markers. The present invention meets these and other needs.