An electric four-wheel drive (4WD) system is for a front wheel drive vehicle including an active roll control apparatus includes a driving module configured to generate a rotational power using electrical energy and to supply the rotational power to rear wheels. A hydraulic generator is connected with the driving module and configured to generate a hydraulic pressure using the rotational power of the driving module and to supply the hydraulic pressure to the active roll control apparatus.

An electric four-wheel drive (4WD) system, which is a four-wheeled system that allows all four wheels to receive torque, drives two rear wheels with an electric motor to supplement traction available to a front wheel drive vehicle, and may achieve 4WD and hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) functions.
A vehicle provided with the electric 4WD system includes an engine and a transmission for driving front wheels. A generator is configured to generate electrical energy from mechanical energy of the engine and supply the electrical energy to a battery. The electric 4WD system drives the rear wheels using the electric motor powered by the battery and a decelerator which decelerates the rotational speed of the motor. An output of the decelerator is transmitted to the rear wheels through a drive shaft. Here, the weight of the vehicle provided with the electric 4WD system can be reduced by eliminating, for example, a propeller shaft to reduce the fuel consumption and power loss in starting and driving of the vehicle.
The vehicle provided with the electric 4WD system may be provided with an active roll control apparatus controlling roll characteristic of a vehicle. The active roll control apparatus may adjust rigidity of stabilizer bars of front and rear wheels which operate an actuator using hydraulic pressure for enhancing turning stability of the vehicle.
The active roll control apparatus includes the actuator mounted to the stabilizer bars of the front and rear wheels. A hydraulic pressure pump supplies hydraulic pressure to the stabilizer bars, and a valve block supplies the hydraulic pressure to the actuator according to a control signal of an electronic control unit (ECU).
However, the electric 4WD system and the active roll control apparatus have a complicated structure, and marketability may be deteriorated due to the manufacturing cost and the weight.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention, and therefore, it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Electric four-wheel drive system and front wheel drive vehicle provided with the same


Various implementations include a bounce-limiting upper body garment, such as a brassiere (or bra), and methods of making the same. The bounce-limiting garment prevents breast tissue of a wearer from moving upwardly and side to side, which prevents bouncing of the breast tissue. The upward movement of the breast tissue is prevented by applying pressure by the garment on or just above the upper breast tissue, and the side to side movement of the breast tissue is prevented by applying pressure by the garment along lateral sides of the breasts.

During exercise, the breasts move in three planes of motion: vertically, horizontally, and laterally, in an overall figure-8 motion. Many women report some pain or discomfort in their breasts during physical activity, some to the extent that exercise is unbearable. In addition to pain, unrestrained movement causes stretching of the Cooper's ligaments, the small bands of connective tissue attached through and around the breast tissue that connect to surrounding chest muscles. This stretching of the Cooper's ligaments contributes to breast sagging over time.
Upper body garments that limit bouncing of the breast tissue provide women with increased comfort during physical activity and limit sagging. Sometimes called sports bras, these upper body garments are made of more compressive materials than standard brassieres. This technology is not necessarily limited to brassieres. Full length upper body garments have also been designed with additional compression of the chest to reduce bouncing during physical activity. Generally, these garments have been designed to compress the breasts from all directions. While conventional technologies offer some added benefit during exercise, the breasts are still able to move in three planes of motion. New technology to further reduce movement of the breast tissue during exercise will limit sagging, reduce pain, and generally encourage greater physical activity.


A method for distributing power includes identifying a value of a variable in a fuel cell system, where the fuel cell system is configured to provide electrical power to a load. Based at least in part on the identified value of the variable, it is determined that the variable has exceeded a threshold. A first portion of the electrical power is determined for use in correcting the variable, and the first portion of the electrical power is used to correct the variable.

Fuel cell systems can be used to provide electrical power to external loads such as buildings, appliances, lights, tools, air conditioners, heating units, factory equipment and machinery, power storage units, computers, security systems, electric grids, etc. In addition to providing power to external loads, the electricity produced by a fuel cell system can also be used internally by the fuel cell system. For example, the electricity produced by the fuel cell system can be used to maintain fuel cell system variables such as temperature, fuel flow rate, pressure, etc. Electricity produced by the fuel cell system can also be used to power auxiliary devices, control units, startup devices, monitoring devices, etc. utilized by the fuel cell system. As an example, auxiliary fans and/or blowers may be used to remove heat from a fuel cell system such that a temperature threshold is not exceeded.


The embodiments of the present invention provide a method and an apparatus for compensating nonlinear distortions in an intensity modulation-direct detection (IM-DD) system; wherein the method comprises: calculating, according to nonlinear coefficients and differences between values of an input signal at different time, nonlinear distortions of the input signal, so as to eliminate the nonlinearity distortions. By applying the method and the apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present invention, nonlinear cost of the IM-DD system can be effectively reduced, thereby improving the system capacity.

An intensity modulation-direct detection (IM-DD) system is a common optical communication system. The characteristic of this system is to modulate transmitting information on the intensity of light at a transmitting end and to directly perform envelope detection at a receiving end, thereby obtaining transmitted information.
In the implementation of the present invention, the inventors found that a square-law photodetector is usually used at a receiving end in the IM-DD system, whereby a nonlinear operation is introduced, thus resulting in nonlinear cost of the IM-DD system, thereby reducing the performance.
It should be noted that the above introduction to the background art is given for the clear and complete description of the technical solution of the present invention and for the understanding by those skilled in the art. The above technical solutions should not be deemed as being known to those skilled in the art for having been described in the background art of the present invention.

Method and apparatus for compensating nonlinear distortions in intensity modulation-direct detection system


A method and device for generating a clock signal, the method including measuring, using a first clock signal, a characteristic of a reference event in a received signal, determining, using the first clock signal, a variation of a characteristic of a second event in a received signal, correcting the measurement according to the variation of the characteristic of the second event, and generating a second clock signal using the first clock signal according to the corrected measurement.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the generation of a clock signal in an integrated circuit and, more particularly but not exclusively, to contactless tags, such as Radio-Frequency Identification tags (RFID).
2. Description of the Related Art
RFID tags generally comprise send and receive circuits for sending and receiving modulated radioelectric signals to exchange data with a reader, an electrical supply circuit to generate a supply voltage of the integrated circuit using the electromagnetic field generated by the reader, a processing unit, and a non-volatile memory, of EEPROM-type for example.
The send and receive circuits of the tag use a clock signal, the frequency of which must vary as little as possible to be able to decode the data received and to send signals capable of being decoded by a receive unit of a reader.
Furthermore, this clock signal must be synchronized with that of the reader. For this purpose, the reader sends the tag a reference signal, which the tag uses to adjust the frequency of its clock signal. To generate a clock signal having a constant frequency, a local oscillator is generally used that produces a reference frequency signal from which the clock signal is generated.
However, it is difficult to produce such a reference frequency in an integrated circuit such as a contactless tag. Indeed, oscillators are sensitive to their environment and to temperature variations in particular. Furthermore, a contactless tag can be subjected to very variable environments. Moreover, the internal temperature of a tag can vary significantly during a communication session with a reader. The result is that the reference frequency generated by the local oscillator can also vary during a communication session.
Furthermore, the reference signal enabling the tag to determine its clock frequency is generally only transmitted once, at the start of a communication session with a reader. The result is that the tag cannot re-adjust its clock frequency several times during a session.

Method and device for generating a clock signal


An outdoor appliance has a support frame with multiple inner lining tubes that are sequentially connected end to end by flexible ropes and multiple outer sleeve tubes that are slidable on the outer surfaces of the inner lining tubes. The outer sleeve tube and the inner lining tube at the head end of the support frame are respectively connected to an elastic member. When the support frame is in a locked state, each inner lining tube is located between and supports two abutting adjacent outer sleeve tubes. When the support frame is in an unlocked state, each inner lining tube is moved out of one outer sleeve tube and into the next successively (e.g., longitudinal) axially adjacent outer sleeve tube against the force of the elastic member such that the radial support between adjacent outer sleeve tubes is eliminated thereby allowing the support frame to be folded.

This application relates to the technical field of outdoor recreational gear, and in particular, to an outdoor recreational equipment and furniture, for instance, a portable bed or cot, and a support frame thereof.
In order to ease the fatigue of a journey and more easily enjoy the outdoors, travelers generally carry outdoor recreational gear, such as tents, beds, cots, and seats. Considering the limited storage space of automobiles, existing outdoor recreational equipment and furniture are generally foldable to reduce space. The conventional foldable outdoor recreational equipment and furniture generally has a foldable support frame built in. In order to achieve folding, the existing support frame generally includes multiple sleeve rods which are sequentially nested end to end. A thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) rope is fixedly connected between the first and the last sleeve rods, and the nested sleeve rods rely on the elastic force of the TPE rope to provide support. When in use, due to the limited elastic force of the TPE rope, the sleeve rods that are nested with each other may be broken apart due to a strong wind and other factors, and the overall support frame may fail. The stability of the existing support frame is relatively weak. When disassembling or assembling the existing support frame, the support frame can only be disassembled or assembled after the support frame is separated from an installation hole of a part to be supported, the part to be supported needs to be removed from the support frame frequently, and the sleeve rods need to be assembled or disassembled section by section. The disassembly and assembly operation is complicated, and the support frame is sometime difficult to use.
What is needed is a more optimal structure of a support frame for outdoor recreational equipment and furniture to improve the convenience of use and stability.

Outdoor appliance and support frame thereof


An interface for expanding a signal starting from a first sensing signal and a second sensing signal, wherein a receiving intensity measuring element generates an intensity signal; and a selector is controlled to select each time the first sensing signal, the second sensing signal, or a combined signal deriving from a weighted combination of these signals. The selector uses a plurality of thresholds variable as a function of the intensity signal.

Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an interface for expanding the dynamic interval of an input signal, in particular of an audio signal of an acoustic transducer having two detection structures, and to the related method.
Description of the Related Art
Acoustic transducers are known, for example MEMS (MicroElectroMechanical System) microphones, comprising a micromechanical sensitive structure, configured to transduce acoustic pressure waves into an electrical quantity (for example, a capacitive variation), and a reading electronics, configured to execute appropriate processing operations (including amplification and filtering) of the electrical quantity for supplying an electrical output signal, whether analog (for example, a voltage) or digital (for example, a PDM—Pulse Density Modulation—signal).
The electrical signal, possibly processed further by an electronic interface, is then made available for an external electronic system, for example a controller of an electronic apparatus incorporating the acoustic transducer.
The micromechanical sensitive structure in general comprises a mobile electrode, implemented as a diaphragm or membrane, facing a fixed electrode to form the plates of a variable capacitance sensing capacitor. The mobile electrode is generally anchored, through a perimetral portion, to a substrate, while a central portion thereof is free to move or bend in response to the pressure exerted by incident acoustic pressure waves and thus to modify the capacitance of the sensing capacitor. This capacitance variation affects the electrical signal generated by the sensitive structure (typically the voltage across the capacitor).
In general, the electrical performance of the acoustic transducer, and in particular its sensitivity, depends upon the mechanical characteristics of the sensitive detection structure, and moreover upon the configuration of the associated, front and rear, acoustic chambers, i.e., the chambers facing a respective, front or rear, face of the diaphragm and traversed in use by the pressure waves incident on the diaphragm and departing therefrom. These different characteristics are thus exploited in order to obtain a wide dynamic interval.
In fact, in numerous applications it is important to detect acoustic pressure waves with a wide dynamic interval, i.e., signals having a low SPL (Sound Pressure Level), a high sensitivity, and a high SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio) and signals having a high SPL, a lower sensitivity, and a reduced SNR.
Consequently, in the detection of acoustic pressure waves, it is important to reach an optimal compromise between wide dynamic interval, high sensitivity, and high signal-to-noise ratio.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,271,780 describes a solution for increasing the dynamic interval in an acoustic system, comprising an ADC (analog-to-digital converter), configured to receive an analog sensing signal from an acoustic transducer. This solution envisages subjecting the analog input signal, in parallel, to two signal processing paths, having a first, analog, portion and a second, digital, portion, and each having a respective amplification and gain factor for adapting to signals with low and high sound pressure level, respectively. The two digital signals at the output of the two processing paths are combined for supplying a resulting output signal. Prior to combination, the two signals have be subjected to an equalization, to take into account differences of gain, offset, and phase generated by the previous operations of processing of the signal, in part of an analog type, and thus prevent any distortion of the resulting output signal.
The above solution is not free from problems, linked principally to the complexity of the processing chain, to a non-negligible sensitivity to noise and oscillations of the input signal, to a low configurability, and to a non-optimal signal-to-noise ratio.
Another solution is described in US Patent Publication Number 2014/0133677 in the name of the present applicant.
In general, the present disclosure is directed to an improvement over the known solutions in order to extend the dynamic interval in the detection of signals, such as acoustic pressure waves, at the same time reducing the onset of artefacts during switching between channels.

Interface for expanding the dynamic interval of an input signal of an acoustic transducer


A light bulb type fluorescent lamp which is able to suppress generation of electromagnetic waves and to emit beneficial far infrared rays. The light bulb type fluorescent lamp includes a bioceramic material applied to the inner surfaces of an injection housing which contains a stabilizer and other parts. The bioceramic effectively weakens the strength of the electromagnetic waves generated by the stabilizer to minimize damage to electronic equipment. At the same time, the bioceramic emits far infrared rays which benefit the human body, provide a comfortable living environment and raise the efficiency of the body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light bulb type fluorescent lamp, particularly a light bulb type fluorescent lamp which is able to reduce the emission of the electromagnetic waves and radiate far infrared rays.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In homes, offices and composite intelligent buildings, the light bulb type fluorescent lamp has an excellent power-saving effect and has a longer life than the conventional light bulb or the conventional fluorescent lamp. Therefore, the use of the light bulb type fluorescent lamp has been gradually increasing.
In the case of the conventional light bulb type fluorescent lamp, the inside of the injection housing is provided with several parts including a stabilizer to ignite the light bulb type fluorescent lamp. However, generally the stabilizer emits many electromagnetic waves harmful to the human body and various kinds of electronic appliances. Thus, the conventional light bulb type fluorescent lamp produces a lot of electromagnetic waves.
If the strength of the electromagnetic waves is strong or the emission of the electromagnetic waves lasts for a long time, various electronic appliances will be seriously damaged. Malfunctions may occur as a result of damage in the electronic circuits of electronic systems or their control operations. Also, this causes problems in the operation of sequence equipment and so on to cause safety accidents. The strong electromagnetic waves or the long duration of emission of the electromagnetic waves may cause damage to expensive electronic equipment and the human body. These problems will increase in the future by developing this technology and increasing excessive use of the electromagnetic waves.

Light bulb type fluorescent lamp suppressing electromagnetic waves and emitting far infrared rays


A voltage splitter circuit (100) that generates a one-half supply voltage includes a first switched operational transconductance amplifier (switched OTA) (120), a first transistor switch (110) that is controlled by a first clock signal (108) to periodically switch a first supply voltage (135) to a non-inverting input (118) of the first switched OTA, a second switched OTA (115), a second transistor switch (105) that is controlled by an inverted second clock signal (104) to periodically switch a second supply voltage (130) to a non-inverting input (114) of the second switched OTA, a commutating capacitor (112) coupled between the non-inverting input of the first switched OTA and the non-inverting input of the second switched OTA, a first filter capacitor (145) coupled to an output (121) of the first switched OTA, a second filter capacitor (140) coupled to an output (116) of the second switched OTA, and a third switched OTA (125). The first and second clock signals are non-overlapping.

Power requirements and size are critical design parameters in portable electronic devices such as pagers and broadcast frequency modulation (FM) radio receivers. In an increasingly energy conscious world, these two design parameters are also important in other electronic devices that operate when plugged into an alternating current (AC) supply.
A circuit that is often used within integrated circuits in such devices is a one-half supply voltage reference, also described herein as a voltage splitter. Such a circuit is particularly useful when a signal is needed in an analog circuit that must represent both positive and negative polarities, when the analog circuit has only one power supply. When a reference voltage level of one-half of the power supply voltage is established, positive deviations from the reference level can be used to represent positive polarities and negative deviations can be used to represent negative polarities. Equivalent maximum deviations for both positive and negative polarity signals are conveniently allowed when the reference voltage level is established as near to one-half the power supply voltage as is practicable. The reference voltage must be capable of supplying some amount of current (which is usually relatively small), and must be relatively noise free. One technique for supplying such a reference voltage is to use a well known resistor divider with two equal resistors. The precision of the resistor divider is directly related to the precision of the resistors, and the output impedance of the resistor divider is directly related to the value of the resistances used. However, for a resistor divider having an output impedance of, for example, 2.5 MegOhms, the area of the 5 MegOhm divider resistors, even when they are implemented having the smallest practical surface area, is very large in comparison to transistors and capacitors in modern integrated circuits, and the tolerance of the ratio of the divider is on the order of a few percent.
Thus, what is needed is a voltage splitter circuit that is small and requires little power to operate.


In one embodiment, a take up reel comprises a core having a generally open interior and an outer surface that is adapted to hold a sheet-like material that is wound around the core. Also, the core defines at least one slot. A slider member is slidable within the slot between a home position and an extended position away from the outer surface. In this way, when the sheet-like material is wound around the outer surface of the core when the slider member is in the extended position, the sheet-like material is spaced apart from the core in the region of the slot. Further, when the slider member is moved to the home position, the tension in the wound sheet-like material is reduced to facilitate removal of the core.

This invention relates generally to the field of sheet-like materials, such as foils, and in particular to the winding of a sheet-like material around a core, and the removal of the wound material from the core.
Take up reels for holding sheet like materials are used in a variety of applications. One particular example is a tipping machine that transfers foil from a roll of foil onto an embossed card, such as a credit card. Various models of embossing/tipping machines are commercially available from Data Card Corporation, among others.
When collecting the used foil on a take up reel, the foil is tightly wound on the reel. This can be problematic when it is desirable to remove the foil from the take up reel and reuse the reel. In some cases, the reel can be damaged or destroyed when attempting to remove the foil.

Take-up cores for flexible materials and methods


Coating compositions for making ink jet recording media are disclosed which comprise a mixture of a binder composition comprising a non-cationic water-insoluble binder resin having a surface energy greater than 40 dyn/cm dissolved or dispersed in an alcoholic liquid medium or dispersed in an aqueous liquid medium, the liquid medium having a boiling point less than 150.degree. C. and a viscosity up to 100 kpa:s at 25.degree. C., and hydrophilic pigment particles having a number average particle size in the range from 1-25 microns and an oil absorption of at least 60 g oil/100 g particles, the composition having a pigment particle to binder resin weight ratio in the range from 0.5:1 to 3:1. A recording medium for ink jet printing is also described which may be made using this coating composition, along with a process for making it. A process for making a water-resistant color image on a support material using the described recording medium, along with the product obtainable by that process, is also disclosed. The color image has superior wear resistance and weatherability, making it well-suited for outdoor use.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to compositions that are useful as ink jet recording media topcoats, recording media for ink jet images, processes for making ink jet recording media, processes for recording images on ink jet recording media and images made by such processes.
2. Description of Related Art
Ink jet printers are a well known means for creating black and white and color images on a recording medium. The images are created by generating small droplets of ink which are propelled onto the recording medium. The ink generally contains a water-based dye or dispersed pigment and the recording medium is often paper, but may also be a coated polymeric film as in the case of transparencies for overhead projectors. Advantages with this type of printing include the ability to create high resolution full color images rapidly and in large formats using digitally generated and stored images. It is quiet and environmentally friendly and safe.
However, the prior art has had to deal with certain disadvantages in using conventional ink jet printers. The ink had to be absorbed as quickly as possible by the recording medium in order to allow the recording medium to be handled soon after the ink has been applied and yet the ink has to be prevented from diffusing or spreading too far through and into the recording medium. That disadvantage becomes acute when attempting to obtain photographic quality resolution.
A further disadvantage of the prior art methods of ink jet recording is that the image lacked water and abrasion resistance. These two defects, along with the lack of lightfastness of dyes commonly used in ink jet inks, have hindered the application of ink jet printing to products which require outdoor weatherability.
The lightfastness problem may be combated by printing with pigmented inks that contain fine dispersions of highly UV-resistant pigments. The most common method used in the industry to impart waterfastness is the application of overlaminates. This significantly increases the cost of the product, the process can be quite awkward, and delamination or pick-off from the base film may occur, especially when the print is applied to a non-planar surface such as the riveted side panels of a truck in the case of fleet graphics.
One reason for the lack of water-resistance of the prior art ink jet recording media is that most of the coatings applied to polymeric film are based upon water-soluble polymers such as poly(vinyl alcohol). Several of these water-soluble polymers may be crosslinked, but the absorptivity of the coatings suffers if the degree of crosslinking is too great. Even when crosslinked, these highly hydrophilic polymers are still swelled somewhat by water. For an indoor application like an overhead transparency where smudge resistance upon handling is the main issue, the swelling of the coating does not present a major problem. However, for outdoor applications exposure of a swellable coating to rain will result in fading due to liberation of the colorant and will likely also eventually cause the removal of the coating from the underlying polymeric film.
The lack of outdoor weatherability and other disadvantages observed in the prior art are overcome by this invention.

Water resistant ink jet recording media topcoats


A device for displaying a parameter value has at least one row of light-emitting diodes in which each light-emitting diode has a position input, and the device has a control circuit with address outputs connected to the position inputs. Faults, such as a short-circuit can be detected more easily by an improved interconnection of the address outputs and position inputs such that two adjacent address outputs are connected to two position inputs physically separated by at least one position input.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for displaying a parameter value, of the type having at least one row of light-emitting diodes each having a position input, and a control circuit with address outputs connected to the position inputs, whereby a signal sent from the control circuit through an address output connected to a specific light-emitting diode's position input causes illumination of that light-emitting diode.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Devices of the type described above are known for use in a number of different application fields for different kinds of indications. In general, such devices have one row of light-emitting diodes, also known as a bar graph, and a control circuit to turn on individual light-emitting diodes. For this purpose, the control circuit has address outputs connected to position inputs on the row of light-emitting diodes.
One problem is that an undetected fault could occur, for example, a short-circuit between two lines, since the display does not change very much. The nearest diode neighbor then 20 lights as well, which is not necessarily interpreted as a fault. In addition, an undetected erroneous indication could have consequences, such as for example termination of a process at the wrong point or operation of a process with an incorrect parameter value, such as temperature, etc.


A method of tracking a target includes: (a) receiving energy from the target at a plurality of spatial orientations; (b) processing the received energy; (c) evaluating a penalty function at each of the plurality of spatial orientations; (d) selecting a new spatial orientation based on the evaluation; and (e) orienting a receiver to receive energy from the target at the new spatial orientation.

Tracking functions are conventionally implemented by using a servo system to position or spatially orient a sensor so that it may receive signals from a target of interest. An error signal is generated when there is a discrepancy between the measured and desired sensor orientations. The error signal is used to drive a controller, which in turn generates signals to move the servo system and sensor toward the desired spatial orientation. As the sensor is moved toward the desired orientation, the pointing error is reduced.
There are targets of interest that one would like to track where a direct measurement of target position or orientation is difficult or impossible. In these cases, a conventional tracking system that uses a direct measurement of position error to drive a servo system may be of little use. One such target of interest is a plume or puff of gas moving in turbulent wind conditions.
It is, however, often possible to measure some property of the target, or its surrounding environment, and use this information to track the target. When attempting to track a target, such as a plume or puff of gas in turbulent wind conditions, the method used by the present invention has significant advantages.

System and method for optimization-based sensor steering and tracking


A multi-functional carrying device, including a strap with two ends which can be secured into loops, and a bag secured to the middle section of the strap. The bag is provided with a receiving element near its upper portion, which receiving element is capable of receiving the two ends of the strap, which strap then serves as shoulder straps for carrying the bag. A securing element is provided so that the bag can be compressed and secured along the middle section of the strap when the bag is not needed.

Many athletic activities require the use of bulky equipment which must be carried from place to place. Often, when a person puts on the equipment, personal belongings must be removed and conveniently stored.
For example, in-line skating is an extremely popular activity. Generally, the skates are carried to a location where the skating is to take place. Before the skates can be worn, the person's shoes must, of course, be removed. Since facilities to store the person's shoes and other personal belongings are seldom available or convenient, the skater usually carries his shoes and other personal belongings with him as he skates. Because skating requires a full range of motion, it is desirable to minimize restrictions to the skater's mobility, including the bulkiness of any carrying or storage device. The same problems are encountered with other activities, such as skiing, roller skating, ice skating, or any other activity which involves the carrying of bulky equipment.
Therefore, there is a need for a convenient carrying and storage device which can be used to transport bulky equipment, and which can be used to conveniently store and carry personal belongings while the person engages in an athletic activity.


An optical pickup for a recording medium includes a light beam division and detection unit including receiving portions dividing an incident light beam reflected on the recording medium into a first light beam portion and a second light beam portion around the first light beam portion and converting the first and second light beam portions into first and second detection signals, respectively. A thickness variation detection circuit detects a variation in thickness of the recording medium according to the first and second detection signals and outputs a thickness variation signal indicative thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical pickup apparatus, and more particularly, to an optical pickup for detecting thickness variation of a recording medium, and/or for compensating for spherical aberration caused by the thickness variation of a recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, information recording/reproduction density increases as a size of a light spot focused on a recording medium in an optical pickup apparatus becomes smaller. The shorter a wavelength (λ) of light used and the larger a numerical aperture (NA) of an objective lens, the smaller the size of a light spot, which is expressed by equation (1):size of light spot α λ/NA  (1)
To reduce the size of the light spot focused on the recording medium in order to obtain a higher recording density, there is a need to construct an optical pickup with a short wavelength light source, such as a blue semiconductor laser, and an objective lens having a larger NA. A format for increasing recording capacity up to 22.5 GB with a 0.85-NA objective lens, and for reducing the thickness of a recording medium to 0.1 mm is desired so as to prevent degradation of performance caused by tilting of the recording medium. Here, the thickness of the recording medium is defined as a distance from a light incident surface of the recording medium to an information recording surface.
As shown in equation (2) below, an spherical aberration W is proportional to a fourth power of the NA of the objective lens and to a deviation of the thickness of the recording medium. For this reason, if an objective lens with a high NA of about 0.85 is adopted, the recording medium must have a uniform-thickness with a deviation less than ±3 μm. However, it is very difficult to manufacture the recording medium within the above thickness deviation range.
                              W                      [            40            ]                          =                                                            n                2                            -              1                                      8                                            n                3                                                                                (              NA              )                        4                              Δ                                                              d                                    (        2        )
FIG. 1 is a graph showing a relation between thickness deviation of the recording medium and wavefront aberration (optical path difference (OPD)) caused by a thickness deviation when a 400-nm light source and an objective lens having an NA of 0.85 are used. As shown in FIG. 1, the wavefront aberration increases proportionally with the thickness deviation. Thus, when the objective lens having a high NA, for example, an NA of 0.85, is adopted, there is a need to correct for spherical aberration caused by the thickness deviation of the recording medium.
FIG. 2 shows a conventional optical pickup capable of detecting variation of the thickness of an optical disc 1, which is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. hei 12-57616. Referring to FIG. 2, the conventional optical pickup includes a light source 10 emitting a light beam, a polarization beam splitter 11 transmitting or reflecting the light beam from the light source 10 incident on the optical disc 1 according to the polarization of the light beam, and a quarter-wave plate 15 changing the polarization of an incident light beam. An objective lens 17 focuses the incident light beam to form a light spot on a recording surface 1a of the optical disc 1. A cylindrical astigmatism lens 21 has an astigmatism affecting the light beam passed back through the objective lens 17, the quarter-wave plate 15, and the polarization beam splitter 11 after being reflected from the recording surface 1a of the optical disc 1. A photodetector 25 receives the light beam from the astigmatism lens 21. The conventional optical pickup further includes a collimating lens 13 disposed between the polarization beam splitter 11 and the quarter-wave plate 15, collimating an incident diverging light beam from the light source 10 transmitted or reflected by the polarization beam splitter 11. A condensing lens 19 is disposed between the polarization beam splitter 11 and the astigmatism lens 21. The polarization beam splitter 11, the collimator lens 13, the quarter-wave plate 15, the objective lens 17, the condensing lens 19, and the cylindrical astigmatism lens 21 are coaxially arranged.
Because the conventional optical pickup has the astigmatism lens 21 which causes astigmatism to enable focus error signal detection, the intensity distribution of the light passed through the astigmatism lens 21 after being reflected on the recording surface 1a of the optical disc 1 varies according to the thickness t′ of the optical disc 1, as shown in FIGS. 3A through 3E. FIGS. 3A through 3E illustrate an intensity distribution of light passed through the astigmatism lens 21 towards the photodetector 25, when the optical disc 1 adopted has a thickness of 0.70 mm, 0.65 mm, 0.60 mm, 0.55 mm, and 0.50 mm, respectively, and the optical pickup of FIG. 2 is designed for a 0.6-mm thick optical disc.
Referring to FIG. 3C, when the optical disc 1 has a thickness of 0.60 mm, which is a level of reference with respect to the other thickness levels (hereinafter, referred to as the reference thickness), the intensity distribution of the reflected light beam entering the photodetector 25 is circular due to lack of spherical aberration, and is symmetrical around a center point. When the thickness of the optical disc 1 deviates from the reference thickness of 0.60 mm, spherical aberration occurs as a result of the thickness deviation, and the intensity distribution of the reflected light beam passed through the astigmatism lens 21 and received by the photodetector 25 is asymmetrical about the center point, as illustrated in FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3D, and 3E.
The photodetector 25 detects a variation in thickness of the optical disc 1 from a variation of intensity distribution of the received light. To this end, as shown in FIG. 4, the photodetector 25 of FIG. 2 includes first through fourth inner sections A1, B1, C1, and D1, and first through fourth outer sections A2, B2, C2, and D2 surrounding the first through fourth inner sections A1, B1, C1, and D1.
In a conventional optical pickup having the configuration described above, a thickness variation signal for the optical disc 1 is detected by subtracting a sum of detection signals a2 and c2 of the first and third outer sections A2 and C2 in one diagonal direction of the photodetector 25, and the detection signals b1 and d1 of the second and fourth inner sections B1 and D1, respectively, in the other diagonal direction, from a sum of detection signals a1 and c1 of the first and third inner sections A1 and C1, respectively, in the one diagonal direction, and detection signals b2 and d2 of the second and fourth outer sections B2 and D2, respectively, in the other diagonal direction. In other words, a thickness variation signal St′ for the optical disc 1 can be detected from the detection signals a1, b1, c1, and d1 of the first through fourth inner sections A1, B1, C1, and D1, respectively, of the photodetector 25, and the detection signals a2, b2, c2, and d2 of the first through fourth outer sections A2, B2, C2 and D2, respectively, by using the following equation:St′=(a1+c1+b2+d2)−(a2+c2+b1+d1)  (3)
However, this mechanism of detecting variation of the thickness of the optical disc can be applied to only optical pickups adopting the astigmatism lens. In other words, if an optical pickup does not include the astigmatism lens, a thickness variation of an optical disc used in the optical pickup cannot be detected.

Optical pickup for detecting thickness variation of a recording medium, and/or compensating for spherical aberration caused by thickness variation of a recording medium


A pneumatic radial tire comprises a radial carcass of at least one carcass ply, a belt and a tread successively arranged on the carcass outward from the crown portion in radial direction, in which the tread has a plurality of circumferential grooves extending circumferentially of the tire and a plurality of island portions defined by these circumferential grooves and both side ends of the tread. The belt is comprised of at least two main belt layers and an auxiliary belt layer of a specific structure formed by helically and continuously winding a ribbon-shaped ply in series.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a pneumatic radial tire for passenger car use, and more particularly to an improvement of a belt in a low-profile radial tire suitable for high-speed running.
2. Related Art Statement
Recently, passenger cars can stably be run at super-high speeds of 200-300 km/h together with technical innovation, and consequently there are developed low-profile radial tires having sufficient running performances even at such a super-high speed and an aspect ratio of, for example, not more than 0.6.
When the tire is run at a super-high speed, there are particularly caused problems such as separation between tread and belt, chipping of tread rubber and the like. In order to solve these problems, it is important for the tire to be high in the durability or so-called high-speed durability.
As a tire structure considering such a high-speed durability, there is known a structure in which a belt is arranged outside a carcass. This belt is comprised of at least one main belt layer arranged outside the carcass and an auxiliary belt layer containing rubberized organic fiber cords wound outside and around the main belt layer under a certain tension.
Particularly, in order to ensure high-speed durability, the auxiliary belt layer has a two layer structure with a first layer wound around the main belt layer over a full width thereof and a second cord layer is wound on the first layer at regions corresponding to island portions of the tread. Also, the auxiliary belt layer has such a structure that a ribbon-shaped ply obtained by arranging plural cords side by side and coating them with rubber is helically wound around the main belt layer over a full width thereof to uniformly overlap the wound ribbon-shaped plies with each other at a given amount in widthwise direction.
In the above first defined structure of the auxiliary belt layer, the operation of winding the second layer on the first layer at regions corresponding to the island portions becomes complicated. Furthermore, since the cord end of the second layer is not restrained at each region, the hoop effect in the circumferential direction of the tire is low and also the problems such as tread separation and chunk-out are caused in the vicinity of the cord end. As a result the high-speed durability corresponding to the amount of the belt reinforcing material used. Moreover, the starting end and terminal end of the cord are existent in each of the regions, so that there is caused a stepwise difference in the rigidity of the carcass, which badly affects the uniformity of the tire.
In the structure of the auxiliary belt layer, the uniformly overlapped region of the ribbon-shaped ply is existent in the widthwise direction, so that it particularly tends to make the gauge of skid rubber located beneath the groove thin (not more than 1 mm). On the other hand, the skid rubber gauge is required to be 1-2 mm at minimum in order to make the thickness of tread rubber itself thin from viewpoint of high-speed durability in high-speed running tires and to ensure the depth of the circumferential groove from a viewpoint of drainage property. As described above, however, the skid rubber gauge is too thin in this structure of the auxiliary belt layer, so that there is a problem of creating cracks at the bottom of the circumferential groove during high-speed running.

Pneumatic radial tire including a wound auxiliary belt layer


A wind turbine rotor blade includes first and second shell components joined together at a trailing edge of the blade. Each shell component includes a forward edge. At least one leading edge segment is joined to the shell components and aligned along a longitudinal length of the blade. The leading edge segment has an open-ended cross-sectional profile defined by an arcuate skin having first and second longitudinal edges and first and second end faces. The longitudinal edges of the leading edge segment are joined to the forward edge of the first shell component at a first bond line, and joined to the forward edge of the second shell component at a second bond line. The leading edge of the blade between the first and second bond lines is a continuous unbroken surface between the bond lines.

Wind power is considered one of the cleanest, most environmentally friendly energy sources presently available, and wind turbines have gained increased attention in this regard. A modern wind turbine typically includes a tower, generator, gearbox, nacelle, and one more rotor blades. The rotor blades capture kinetic energy from wind using known foil principles, and transmit the kinetic energy through rotational energy to turn a shaft coupling the rotor blades to a gearbox, or if a gearbox is not used, directly to the generator. The generator then converts the mechanical energy to electrical energy that may be deployed to a utility grid.
The construction of a modern wind turbine rotor blade generally includes upper and lower shell components bonded at a leading and trailing edge of the blade, spar caps, and one or more shear webs. The skin, typically manufactured from layers of fiber composite and a lightweight core material, forms the exterior aerodynamic foil shape of the rotor blade. The spar caps provide increased rotor blade strength by integrating one or more structural elements running along the length of the rotor blade on both interior sides of the rotor blade. Shear webs are structural beam-like components running essentially perpendicular between the top and bottom spar caps and extending across the interior portion of the rotor blade between the outer skins. Spar caps have typically been constructed from glass fiber reinforced composites, though some larger blades are beginning to include spar caps constructed from carbon fiber reinforced composites.
With conventional constructions, the leading edge of the wind turbine blade is an area of concern. The bonding of the shell components at the leading edge is difficult to control. Overbite or underbite between the shell components can occur, often causing extensive rework of the blade. The thickness of the bond can vary from blade to blade, and can often drift outside of a design tolerance. The leading edge bond between the shell components can result in a blade where the most dimensional uncertainty is at a very critical aerodynamic location on the blade. In addition, the leading edge of the turbine blade is highly susceptible to erosion and weathering, and can be damaged during transportation and erection of the wind turbine. These conditions lead to costly on-site repairs.
Accordingly, there is a need for a wind turbine rotor blade design that addresses at lest certain of the present disadvantages associated with blades having shell components bonded together at the leading edge of the blade.

Wind turbine blade with prefabricated leading edge segments


Disclosed is a method for determining a force sensor signal baseline in a force-based input device. The method includes accepting a signal associated with touch activity and determining a signal range, wherein the signal range decays with time and is reset when the signal exceeds the current range. A touch event is declared when the signal range exceeds a predetermined activity threshold. A previously determined baseline is held when a touch event is declared, and updated when a touch event is not declared.

Input devices (e.g., a touch screen or touch pad) are designed to detect the application of an object and to determine one or more specific characteristics of or relating to the object as relating to the input device, such as the location of the object as acting on the input device, the magnitude of force applied by the object to the input device, etc. Examples of some of the different applications in which input devices may be found include computer display devices, kiosks, games, automatic teller machines, point of sale terminals, vending machines, medical devices, keypads, keyboards, and others.
Force-based input devices are configured to measure the location and magnitude of the forces applied to and transmitted by the input pad. Force-based input devices comprise one or more force sensors that are configured to measure the applied force, either directly or indirectly. Various types of force sensors can be used, including for example piezoresistive sensors and piezoelectric transducers. The force sensors can be operated with gloved fingers, bare fingers, styli, pens, pencils or any object that can apply a force to the input pad. Typically, location and magnitude of the applied force is determined by solving mechanical moment equations for which the inputs are the forces measured by the force sensors.
Determining the location and magnitude of the applied force is complicated by errors in the output from the force sensors. In particular, force sensors tend to have a baseline output even when the input pad is not being touched. Baseline error can be caused by drift in the quiescent output of the sensors. For example, stresses on the force sensors due to the weight of the touch surface and/or preload forces that are applied during manufacture can result in non-zero output from the force sensors. Moreover, baseline output tends to drift with time due to aging, temperature, and other factors. The determination of touch location can be extremely sensitive to baseline errors. This is because baseline errors can result in a constant bias in the variables of formulas used to calculate the touch location. For example, baseline errors which appear in denominator terms of the formulas tend to cause error in scale that varies with the applied force.
It is therefore helpful to determine the baseline output of a force sensor so that this error source can be compensated. Various ways are known for determining the baseline of a force sensor. In general, baseline determination is performed during periods of no touch activity. For example, baseline determination can include averaging the sensor output during periods of no touch activity. Distinguishing between periods of touch activity and no-touch activity can, however, be difficult. For example, light touches are difficult to distinguish from baseline variations. Additionally, piezoelectric sensors exhibit a dynamic baseline shift that is a function of the applied stimulus. Thus, touching the panel causes the baseline to change, usually in a predictable manner.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for determining when a force sensor signal baseline in a force-based input device can be updated


A method and apparatus for using and moving an tool, such as an eraser on a graphical display whose width can be changed. The invention provides a plurality of distinct areas on the tool that can be selected by a user input device, such as a stylus on an electronic tablet or a mouse. Selecting a first distinct area on the tool allows the user to move the tool without affecting the graphical images present on the display. Selecting the second distinct area on the tool allows the tool to modify the graphical image in a first manner (such as by providing a narrow line of erasure). Selecting a different distinct area on the tool allows it to modify the graphical image in a different manner (such as by providing a wider line of erasure). The orientation of the eraser can also be changed, simplifying several fine erasure applications.

The present invention relates to an improvement in the creation and modification of graphical images on a computer screen or the like and, in particular, to a method for changing a characteristic function of an icon or tool with a cursor movement device or stylus.
One such tool often present in a computer graphics system is an eraser. In a computer graphics system, one of the more common methods of erasing parts of graphical images on a screen is by performing an erasure function using a cursor movement device, such as a mouse or a stylus with an electronic tablet. For instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,633,436 to Flurry (hereby incorporated by reference), a real-time erasing feature is described. In this method, user input via an electronic tablet and stylus combination is stored in a point list. When the disclosed system is placed in an erasing mode, the display screen is divided into a number of smaller grid boxes. Only grid boxes touched by the stylus are searched for erasure (and subsequent deletion from the point list).
Typically, the cursor is provided in the form of a graphical icon. For example, in the MacPaint.RTM. graphics program manufactured by Apple.RTM. Computer, Inc., the eraser icon resembles a chalkboard eraser. U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,285 to Blancato (hereby incorporated by reference) describes such a system. The erasing width of the eraser is usually constant, which may be too large when fine erasing is needed or too narrow when large portions of a graphical image are to be erased.
In some applications, the erasing width of the eraser can be changed using an external input device, such as a keyboard. Switching between modes using a keyboard can be tedious and impedes the process of freehand drawing. Also, most erasers have the same orientation at all times. This can make it difficult to precisely erase regions of a graphical image that cannot be reached by an effective point of the eraser. For example, if the eraser were to have an upright square shape, it would be difficult to erase a corner of a square graphical image not properly aligned with the eraser.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method which allows a user to quickly change the erasing width of a graphical eraser. There is also a need for a method which allows the user to quickly change the orientation of a eraser in a graphical drawing environment. More broadly, with respect to tools which are used for modifying an image, there is a need for a method which allows a user to quickly change the characteristics of the tool.

Multi-control point tool for computer drawing programs


Overhead communications with wireless wearable devices are disclosed. An example overhead wireless transmission interface apparatus includes a fixture to be mounted above a wearable device, where the wearable device includes a first antenna, and a base station associated with a second antenna, the second antenna coupled to the fixture and to wirelessly communicate with the first antenna, where at least one of the first antenna or the second antenna is circular polarized or diversity polarized.

In recent years, head-mounted virtual reality devices have been used to provide immersive experiences for users. These systems often employ a mounted headset including goggles with screen displays corresponding to each eye of a user to convey the illusion of movement or presence in a displayed environment. Depending on the resolution of the screen display used for each eye, relatively high signal communication rates, bandwidth and/or data throughput may be required to drive each of the screen displays as well as support other functions of the headset.
Known virtual reality headsets are often wired to a host computer so that the host computer can drive multiple displays while providing the necessary bandwidth and/or data communication rates to these displays. However, these wired systems can be cumbersome and/or limit motion of a user. In particular, wires and/or cable assemblies used to provide the data to the displays may cause undesirable pulling or resistance on a user.
Some known wireless virtual reality headsets utilize multiple radio modules mounted to a single headset to account for a relatively narrow data transmission coverage zone (e.g., a high data rate coverage zone) of a base station to which the radio modules communicate. In particular, communication rates and/or signal integrity of a radio module can greatly decrease when the radio module is not oriented and/or within the data transmission coverage zone due to relative narrowness of the transmission coverage zone when the user turns around, ducks, shifts laterally and/or bends during a virtual reality experience (e.g., a virtual reality game). In such known headsets, each of the RF modules have to be simultaneously powered on during the use and one of the RF modules that face the base station is selected based on the user orientation which, in turn, is calculated using data from sensors, such as accelerometers and gyroscopes. Accordingly, such known headsets can also have tracking ranges as well as coverage gaps (e.g., orientation coverage gaps), which can result in decreased communication rates and/or decreased signal integrity, thereby potentially causing loss of functionality and/or fidelity of these head-mounted displays.
The figures are not to scale. Instead, to clarify multiple layers and regions, the thickness of the layers may be enlarged in the drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawing(s) and accompanying written description to refer to the same or like parts. As used in this patent, stating that any part is in any way positioned on (e.g., positioned on, located on, disposed on, or formed on, etc.) another part, indicates that the referenced part is either in contact with the other part, or that the referenced part is above the other part with one or more intermediate part(s) located therebetween. Stating that any part is in contact with another part means that there is no intermediate part between the two parts.


A display device of the invention relates to a display device capable of three-dimensionally representing display on a liquid crystal display element without a hologram. The display device includes a liquid crystal display element and a lens panel. The liquid crystal display element includes a plurality of transparent electrodes on opposed surfaces of a pair of transparent substrates between which a liquid crystal is provided. The lens panel is disposed on the bottom surface side of the liquid crystal display element, and has a plurality of lens portions. The respective lens portions are disposed in regions where the transparent electrodes correspond to each other, and formed in the same shape as that of the respective regions. When displaying information, e.g., a number and a character, on the liquid crystal display element, the information itself can be represented three-dimensionally through the lens portions. Thus, highly decorative display can be obtained.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device which is useful when applied to various kinds of devices such as a watch, a calculator, a cellular phone, and meters of a car, and a manufacturing method of the same.
2. Description of Related Art
With regard to electronic watches, there have been digital watches based on earlier development which electro-optically display information, e.g. time, by using a display device, and the displayed information can be seen from outside a watch case through a watch glass. The display device includes a liquid crystal display element, and is provided inside the watchcase such that it corresponds to the watch glass attached to the watchcase.
The display device used in such electronic watches comprises a liquid crystal display element which includes: a transparent electrode provided on each of opposed surfaces of a pair of upper and lower transparent substrates; a liquid crystal provided between the pair of substrates; and a polarizer provided on the top surface of the upper substrate and the bottom surface of the lower substrate. A semi-transmissive reflector, a fluorescent layer and a backlight element are disposed in this order beneath the liquid crystal display element. The fluorescent layer is one that generates fluorescence in the visible light range in response to light in the ultraviolet range, and is provided on the bottom surface of the semi-transmissive reflector. The backlight element is an element of a surface-emitting type such as an EL element (electro-luminescence element), and light emitted therefrom is transmitted through the fluorescent layer and the semi-transmissive reflector to illuminate the bottom surface side of the liquid crystal display element.
With this kind of display device for an electronic watch, external light enters through a watch glass in a light place, and the external light is transmitted through the liquid crystal display element. A part of the transmitted light is reflected by the semi-transmissive reflector, whereby information such as time becomes visible. The external light other than the reflected light is transmitted through the semi-transmissive reflector, and the fluorescent layer is irradiated with the transmitted light. The fluorescent layer is caused to emit light by light in the ultraviolet range contained in the external light, with which the fluorescent layer has been irradiated. The liquid crystal display element is illuminated also by the light emitted from the fluorescent layer, and the information can therefore be displayed brightly. In case of a dark place, when the backlight element is caused to emit light, the emitted light is transmitted through the fluorescent layer and the semi-transmissive reflector, and the bottom surface side of the liquid crystal display element is irradiated with the transmitted light. The information displayed on the liquid crystal display element thus becomes visible even in a dark place.
In such a display device, in case of a light place, external light is reflected by the semi-transmissive reflector, and fluorescent light in the visible light range is emitted by the fluorescent layer due to light in the ultraviolet range contained in the external light to illuminate the liquid crystal display element. In case of a dark place, the backlight element is caused to emit light to illuminate the liquid crystal display element. Information displayed on the liquid crystal display element thus becomes visible in both light and dark places. However, the information on the liquid crystal display element is displayed only two-dimensionally. Therefore, the mode of display is simple and not really decorative.
Meanwhile, a display device for a timepiece in which a hologram sheet is provided on the back surface side of a liquid crystal display element, and image information of the hologram sheet is represented three-dimensionally, has been known.
With such a display device, however, information displayed on the liquid crystal display element cannot be represented three-dimensionally, although the image information of the hologram sheet, which has been formed thereon beforehand, can be represented three-dimensionally. Moreover, use of the hologram sheet involves a problem that the manufacture thereof is difficult and cumbersome, and the display device is accordingly expensive.

Display device and manufacturing method of the same


Systems and methods are disclosed for diagnosing and treatment planning for vascular steal syndromes and retrograde flow. One method includes receiving a reference blood flow direction at a location in a reference vasculature; determining a patient-related blood flow direction at a location in a patient's vasculature corresponding to the location in the reference vasculature; determining a difference in direction, between the reference blood flow direction of the reference vasculature and the patient-related blood flow direction of the patient's vasculature; and generating a representation of the location in the patient's vasculature associated with the difference in direction between the reference blood flow direction and the patient-related blood flow direction, or generating a treatment recommendation for the patient's vasculature based on the difference in direction between the reference blood flow direction and the patient-related blood flow direction.

Blood flow may sometimes deviate from an expected pattern. One example of blood flow deviation may include retrograde flow, a condition where a patient's blood flow may change direction. Stenoses or valve regurgitation may contribute to retrograde flow. Another example of blood flow deviation may include vascular steal syndromes, which may involve medical complications that may cause flow to increase in one part of the body at the expense of another. For example, vascular access-induced steal syndrome may include a condition where an arteriovenous (AV) fistula or graft may cause blood to flow through the access, "stealing" blood flow that would otherwise be delivered to the forearm or hand. Additional examples of these phenomena may include, e.g., subclavian steal syndrome, coronary steal syndrome, cardiac steal syndrome, dialysis access steal syndrome, iliac steal syndrome, aorto-iliac steal syndrome, renal-splanchnic steal syndrome, mesenteric arterial steal syndrome, splenic artery steal syndrome, and/or intersplanchnic steal syndrome.
Retrograde flow and vascular steal syndromes may be dangerous to a patient. For instance, a diversion of expected blood flow to tissue from a vascular steal syndrome may cause blood supply inefficiency to that tissue, which may then lead to necrosis. Retrograde flow may cause or be linked to ischemia.
Meanwhile, harmful, blood flow deviation-related conditions may be hard to detect in advance. For example, vascular steal syndromes may be difficult to diagnose. Some vascular steal situations may occur only during certain physiological states (e.g., coronary steal syndrome) or result from moderate vascular disease. Thus, a desire exists to better understand the various pathological situations in a patient's vasculature and how they may cause or contribute to vascular steal syndromes or retrograde flow. More specifically, a desire exists for diagnosis and treatment of vascular steal syndromes and retrograde flow.
Furthermore, treatments or medical procedures may be associated with blood flow deviance. In other words, treatments or medical procedures performed to improve a patient's health, may incidentally impair or endanger the patient's health due to the treatment's impact on the patient's blood flow. For example, catheter flushing may cause retrograde flow and an arteriovenous (AV) fistula or graft may result in a vascular steal syndrome or retrograde blood flow. Thus, a desire also exists to identify a treatment that may resolve a flow deviance and/or help reduce or avoid a flow deviance. Specifically, a desire exists to ensure that a treatment may effectively address a vascular steal syndrome or, in the case of certain treatments (e.g., bypass graft), ensure that the treatment may not induce retrograde flow or a vascular steal syndrome as a byproduct of treatment.
The foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the disclosure.

Systems and methods for vascular diagnosis using blood flow magnitude and/or direction


Heparin reduces ischemia-reperfusion injury to myocardium. This effect has been attributed complement inhibition, but heparin also has other activities that might diminish ischemia-reperfusion. To further probe these mechanisms, we compared heparin and an O-desulfated nonanticoagulant heparin with greatly reduced anti-complement activity. Given at the time of coronary artery reperfusion in a canine model of myocardial infarction, both heparin and O-desulfated heparin equally reduced neutrophil adherence to ischemic-reperfused coronary artery endothelium, influx of neutrophils into ischemic-reperfused myocardium, myocardial necrosis and release of creatine kinase into plasma. Heparin and O-desulfated heparin also prevented dysfunction of endothelial-dependent coronary relaxation following ischemic injury. In addition, heparin and O-desulfated heparin inhibited translocation of the transcription factor NF-xcexaB from cytoplasm to the nucleus in human endothelial cells and decreased NF-xcexaB DNA binding in human endothelium and ischemic-reperfused rat myocardium. Thus, heparin and nonanticoagulant heparin decrease ischemia-reperfusion injury by disrupting multiple levels of the inflammatory cascade, including the novel observation that heparins inhibit activation of the pro-inflammatory transcription factor NF-xcexaB.

This invention relates to a method for inhibiting apoptosis in ischemic-reperfused myocardium. More specifically this invention relates to a method for using heparin or noncoagulant heparin in the prevention of apoptosis.
Cells die by one of either of two processes: necrosis or apoptosis. Whereas necrosis occurs through external injury producing cellular membrane destruction, swelling and lysis, apoptosis is endogenously mediated cellular suicide effected by activation of a series of aspartate-specific proteases called caspases and endonucleases, resulting in proteolytic destruction of cellular proteins and chromosomal elements. Apoptotic events include DNA fragmentation, chromatin condensation, membrane blebbing, cell shrinkage, and disassembly into membrane-enclosed vesicles (apoptotic bodies). In vivo, this process culminates with the engulfment of apoptotic bodies by other cells, preventing complications that would result from a release of intracellular contents. In myocardial infarction, both processes contribute to myocardial muscle injury and destruction. Overt necrosis predominates in the central zone of infarcted myocardium, and apoptosis occurs in the border zones of histologically infarcted myocardium. See, G. Olivetti, et al., xe2x80x9cAcute myocardial infarction in humans is associated with activation of programmed myocyte cell death in the surviving portion of the heart,xe2x80x9d J. Mol. Cell Cardiol, 28:2005-2016, 1994; and A. Saraste, et al., xe2x80x9cApoptosis in human myocardial infarction,xe2x80x9d Circulation, 95:320-323, 1997. Also, apoptosis occurs in hypoperfused hibernating myocardium. See, C. Chen, et al., xe2x80x9cMyocardial cell death and apoptosis in hibernating myocardium,xe2x80x9d J.A.C.C, 30:1407-1412, 1997. Apoptosis also contributes substantially to myocyte death in patients suffering heart failure from dilated cardiomyopathy. See, A. Haunstetter, et al., xe2x80x9cBasic mechanisms and implications for cardiovascular diseases,xe2x80x9d Circ. Res., 82:1111-1129, 1998.
Apoptosis is controlled at two distinct levels. First, cells have unique sensors, termed death receptors, on their membrane surface. Death receptors detect the presence of extracellular death signals and, in reponse, ignite the cell""s intrinsic apoptosis machinery. See, A. Ashkenazi, et al., xe2x80x9cDeath receptors: signaling and modulation,xe2x80x9d Science, 281:1305-1308, 1998. One of the more important receptors is the member of the tumor necrosis receptor family TNFR1 (also called p55). When tumor necrosis factor (TNF) attaches to TNFR1, the receptor trimerizes, and binds a series of other proteins: TRADD ((TNFR-associated death domain); TRAF-2 (TNFR-associated factor-2; RIP (receptor-interacting protein): and FADD (Fas-associated death domain). FADD couples the TNFR1-TRADD complex to activate caspase-8, thereby initiating activation of the entire cascade of other caspases that effect apoptosis. TNF plays an important role in ischemia-reperfusion injury and in the contractile depression of myocardium following ischemia and reperfusion during myocardial infarction. See, B. S. Cain, et al., xe2x80x9cTherapeutic strategies to reduce TNF-xcex1 mediated cardiac contractile depression following ischemia and reperfusion,xe2x80x9d J. Mol. Cell. Cardiol., 31:931-947. TNF plays an important role in hemorhagic shock. See, D. R. Meldrum, et al., xe2x80x9cHemorrhage activates myocardial NFxcexaB and increases TNF-xcex1 in the heart,xe2x80x9d J. Mol. Cell. Cardiol., 29:2849-2854, 1997. Apoptosis from TNF produced endogenously by overloaded myocardium also plays a significant role in mediating cardiac apoptosis leading to initiation and progression of congestive heart failure. See, for example, J. Narula, et al., Apoptosis in myocytes in end-stage heart failure,xe2x80x9d New England J. Med, 335:1182-1189, 1996; and T. Kubota, et al., et al., xe2x80x9cDilated cardiomyopathy in transgenic mice with cardiac-specific overexpression of tumor necrosis factor-xcex1,xe2x80x9d Circ. Res., 81:627-635, 1997.
At a second site, activation of caspases and subsequent apoptosis are initiated by events that disturb mitochondria. Either disruption of electron transport and aerobic oxidative phosphorylation or opening of pores in the outer mitochondrial membrane by pro-apoptotic cytoplasmic proteins of the BAX or BH3 families will allow leakage out of the mitochrondria of the respiratory chain component cytochrome c. Upon entering the cytoplasm, cytochrome c binds to a cytosolic protein called apoptotic protease activating factor-1 (Apaf-1). In the presence of ATP, the complex of cytochrome c and Apaf-1 activate procaspase 9, which initiates subsequent activation of the remainder of the caspase cascade and initiation of cellular apoptosis. See, D. R. Green, et. al., xe2x80x9cMitochrondria and apoptosis,xe2x80x9d Science, 81:1309-1312, 1998.
The death domain and mitochrondrial pathways of caspase and apoptosis activation are interrelated in that TNF can stimulate neutral membrane sphingomyelinase, resulting in production of ceramide, which disrupts mitochrondrial electron transport, also eventually effecting release into the cytoplasm of mitochondrial cytochrome c. Cytochrome c plays a prominent early role in the signal transduction of caspase activation and cardiomyocyte apoptosis induced by reactive oxygen species. See, R. von Harsdord, et al., xe2x80x9cSignaling pathways in reactive oxygen species-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis,xe2x80x9d Circ., 99:2934-2941, 1999. Production of reactive oxygen species is greatly enhanced as a consequence of ischemia-reperfusion of myocardium and oxidant stress produced during ischemia-reperfusion induces myocardial apoptosis. See, N. Maulik, et al., xe2x80x9cOxidative stress developed during the reperfusion of ischemic myocardium induces apoptosis,xe2x80x9d Free Rad. Biol. Med, 24:869-875, 1998. Thus, the activity of cytochrome c when it is transported to the cytoplasm appears to play an important and pivotal role in activating pro-apoptotic cascades, whether the initial induction of apoptosis is effected through membrane death receptor or mitochrondrial pathways.
In view of the foregoing it is readily apparent that there is a need for treatment of myocardial reperfusion injury that inhibits or prevents apoptosis.
It is therefore the general object of this invention to provides a method of inhibiting or preventing apoptosis in ischemic-reperfused myocardium using heparin or nonanticoagulant heparin.
The present invention provides a method for inhibiting apoptosis in ischemic-reperfused myocardium by administering to a mammal an effective amount of heparin to reduce myocardial cell death in myocardial infarction. It has been found that at doses greatly exceeding those needed for anticoagulation heparin substantially reduces reperfusion injury both in the isolated perfused heart and intact whole animal models of myocardial infarction. This protective effect is independent of heparin""s activity as an anticoagulant.
In accordance with another aspect of this invention, there is provided a method for inhibiting apoptosis in ischemic-reperfused myocardium by administering to a mammal an effective amount of nonanticoagulant heparin, such as O-desulfated heparin, to reduce or prevent myocardial cell death in myocardial infarction.
In yet another aspect of this invention it was found that heparin or nonanticoagulant heparin when conjugated to a lipophilic moiety such as a fatty acid or cholesterol by reaction across a carboxylic acid or free amine group can be used to enhance cellular uptake by cell types not normally concentrating heparin, such as neurons, thereby enhancing the anti-apoptotic effect of heparin or nonanticoagulant heparin. Furthermore, heparin or nonanticoagulant heparin, either alone or conjugated to a lipophilic group, can be used to block apoptosis in situations of acute trauma, such as generalized trauma, global ischemia-reperfusion injury occurring as a consequence of hemorrhagic shock, or spinal cord injury, thereby preventing cell death in organs such as the spinal cord.


A power adapter includes a power converting circuit, a current detecting circuit, and a controlling unit. A charging voltage with a constant voltage level is provided by the hub through the connecting ports. The current detecting circuit is used for detecting a load current and outputting a corresponding current detecting signal. The load current is transmitted from the power converting circuit to the hub through the power cable. A look-up table is stored in the controlling unit for recording a relationship between the load current and a voltage drop across an impedance of the power cable. According to the current detecting signal and the look-up table, the controlling unit issues a feedback signal to the power converting circuit. According to the feedback signal, a level of the output voltage is dynamically adjusted to be equal to the sum of the voltage drop and the charging voltage.

With increasing development of science and technology, portable electronic devices such as smart phones, tablet personal computers or MP3 players are now rapidly gaining in popularity. Generally, these portable electronic devices are powered by a fixed voltage (e.g. 5V). Each of the portable electronic devices is usually equipped with at least one first connecting port (e.g. USB port). Via the first connecting port, the portable electronic device is connected with a power supply system to receive a charging voltage.
Generally, the power supply system comprises a power adapter, a power cable, and a USB hub. The USB hub comprises plural second connecting ports (e.g. USB ports). The plural second connecting ports of the USB hub may be connected with the first connecting ports of corresponding portable electronic devices. The power adapter is used for receiving an input voltage (e.g. an AC voltage from a utility power source) and converting the input voltage into an output voltage (e.g. 5V) for powering the portable electronic devices. The power cable is connected between the power adapter and the USB hub. Through the power cable, the output voltage from the power adapter may be transmitted to the USB hub. After the first connecting ports of the portable electronic devices are connected with the second connecting ports of the USB hub, the electric energy of the output voltage may be transmitted to the portable electronic devices to charge the portable electronic devices.
As known, the length of the power cable is related to a corresponding impedance value of the power cable. As the length of the power cable is increased, the impedance value is increased. Since the level of the output voltage from the power adapter is fixed, the output voltage is subjected to a voltage drop. Due to the voltage drop, the voltage level at the USB hub is smaller than the level of the output voltage from the power adapter. Under this circumstance, the voltage level provided by the USB hub possibly fails to reach the desired voltage level for powering the portable electronic devices. Moreover, as the number of the portable electronic devices connected with the USB hub is increased, the magnitude of a load current outputted from the power adapter is increased, and the voltage drop across the power cable is increased. Under this circumstance, the voltage level at the USB hub is further decreased. Due to the impedance of the power cable, the voltage level provided by the USB hub possibly fails to reach the desired voltage level for powering the portable electronic devices. If the voltage level provided by the USB hub is insufficient, the chargeable batteries of the portable electronic devices fail to be fully charged and thus the aging conditions of the chargeable batteries are accelerated. Under this circumstance, the endurance of the chargeable batteries will be impaired.
Therefore, there is a need of providing an improved power adapter for dynamically adjusting an output voltage in order to obviate the above drawbacks. Consequently, the level of the output voltage from the power adapter is correspondingly adjusted according to the voltage drop resulting from the impedance of the power cable.

Power adapter for dynamically adjusting output voltage and power supply system with the same

DELTA ELECTRONICS (THAILAND) PUBLIC CO., LTD.


A method for pressurizing a sterilization chamber of a steam sterilizer with a controlled rate of pressure change. Pressure is increased in the sterilization chamber by opening a steam-to-chamber valve for a pulse duration during each of a plurality of time PERIODS needed to reach a target pressure value. During each time PERIOD, the steam-to-chamber valve is moved to an open state for the duration of the pulse. An error value indicative of the difference between a Theoretical Pressure and a Measured Pressure is determined at the end of each PERIOD. This error value is used to determine the duration of the pulse for the subsequent PERIOD, thereby maintaining a desired rate of pressure change in the sterilization chamber.

Steam sterilizers are commonly used in healthcare settings to sterilize medical devices. The items to be sterilized are placed inside a pressure vessel, commonly referred to as the sterilization chamber. Three factors are critical to ensuring successful steam sterilization in a steam sterilizer: time, temperature, and steam quality. To meet these requirements there are three (3) phases to a sterilization cycle, namely, a conditioning phase ("Phase I"), a sterilization (or exposure) phase ("Phase II"), and an exhaust phase ("Phase III").
Since air inhibits sterilization it must be removed from the chamber during the conditioning phase of the sterilization cycle. One common approach for air removal in a dynamic air removal-type steam sterilizer is to apply a series of pressurizations with injections of steam (i.e., pressure pulses) and evacuations of the chamber using a vacuum system (i.e., vacuum pulses). After the air is removed from the chamber, the sterilizer drain closes and steam is continuously admitted into the chamber, rapidly increasing the pressure and temperature inside the chamber to a predetermined level. This process step is referred to as "charging" the chamber. Once charging is completed, the sterilization cycle enters the sterilization phase and articles are held at the sterilization temperature for a fixed amount of time required to sterilize a load of articles in the chamber. During the exhaust phase of the sterilization cycle, the sterilizer drain is opened and steam is removed, depressurizing the chamber and allowing the articles in the load to dry.
U.S. Government and International standards on steam sterilization (ANSI/AAMI STS, ISO 17655-1, EN285) require steam sterilizers to validate their performance against established performance criteria to be used in hospitals. The most difficult performance criteria to meet are: (1) temperature uniformity across the chamber and processed load during the sterilization phase and (2) steam density uniformity in the hollow load steam penetration test. It has been shown that the hollow load steam penetration test is sensitive to the "rate" of steam admission to the chamber, and that temperature deviations during the sterilization cycle will vary depending on the contents of the chamber. Therefore, in order to provide a sterilization cycle that reliably and consistently complies with U.S. Government and international standards for steam sterilization, an automatic feedback control involving key parameter(s) involved in steam sterilization performance is needed.
Existing control schemes are ON/OFF control and temperature-based Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control. ON/OFF control requires extensive testing to identify correct values for the parameters. Once identified, the parameter values are only as reliable as the test method. The test method focuses only on one loading condition (usually an empty chamber) resulting in varying performance with different loads, deviations in initial starting temperature of chamber contents, and the size of the chamber.
For PID control that is based on temperature, it is recognized that temperature sensors are often slow in providing feedback to a control system, therefore making control less accurate and less consistent. In addition, temperature-based PID control often requires an expensive proportionally-controlled valve to modulate the magnitude of steam flow as determined by the control system.
The present invention provides an improved method for pressurizing the chamber of a steam sterilizer that overcomes drawbacks of the prior art.

Method for pressurizing a steam sterilization chamber


An oocyte recording chamber for electrophysiological measurements. The recording chamber includes a base and a cover attached to the base. The cover and the base define a chamber having a size sufficient to accommodate an oocyte. The recording chamber includes a first electrode and a second electrode that are positioned so that the tips of the electrodes penetrate the membrane of the oocyte when the cover is fastened to the base. The recording chamber also includes a third electrode and a fourth electrode exposed to the chamber and used as ground electrodes.

Most cell membranes communicate with extracellular environment by means of receptor and channel proteins located within the cell membrane. Receptor and ion channel proteins can be gated by molecules which bind to the receptor and signal the binding event by opening the ion channels through which ions such as sodium and chloride ions can flow. Ion channels can also be gated by the cross membrane potentials through the voltage sensor components in the protein molecules. Like modulators of receptors, the levels of cross membrane potential can regulate such voltage-gated ion channel activities, generating most of the neuronal and muscular activities. Ionic flux across a cell membrane generates electrical current that can be measured with appropriate recording equipment. Such electrophysiological studies of receptor and ion channel function often utilize unfertilized eggs, or oocytes, taken from the South African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis. Xenopus oocytes have the ability to synthesize functional proteins when microinjected with exogenous mRNA or cDNA constructs.
In electrophysiological analysis, an oocyte is electrically connected to intracellular voltage and current measuring and clamping devices. FIG. 1A shows a side view of a prior art recording chamber 2 that accommodates an oocyte 3 immersed in a solution 4. A voltage electrode 9 and a current electrode 9 are held by manipulators 6 and positioned so as to contact the oocyte to measure intracellular voltage and current signals. Two ground electrodes 7 and 11 are coupled to the solution in the recording chamber by agar bridges 8. The oocyte's response to the solution may be measured by maintaining a constant voltage between voltage electrode 6 and ground electrode 7, and measuring the current changes flowing through current electrode 9 and ground electrode 11. FIG. 1B shows a top view of recording chamber 2, which is connected to a multi-barrel manifold 124 through an inlet 120. Manifold 124 allows different solutions to be diffused to recording chamber 2. An outlet 122 connected to a suction pump (not shown) allows solution 4 to flow out of recording chamber 2.


An alternator system that will recharge a battery or a battery bank of an electric vehicle that uses wheeled axles to propel itself. The alternator system is mounted on the wheel hub of a vehicle using a spacer, a housing that covers the alternator, and a specially designed brake caliper rotation stop that is mounted on the housing that allows the alternator to remain in a fixed position when mounted on the wheel hub of the vehicle.

The present invention is directed to an alternator system that will recharge a battery or a battery bank of an electric vehicle that uses wheeled axles to propel itself.
The present invention uses the mechanical movement of the axles of a wheeled vehicle to power the alternator system of the present invention.
The inventor of the present invention realized that the mechanical force that was being provided by the movement of the axles of the wheeled vehicle could be used to power an alternator that could help recharge or energize the battery or battery bank of an electric vehicle.
After pondering how she could incorporate the mechanical force of the wheeled vehicle to an alternator, she devised the present invention.
She realized that she needed to build a spacer or extension that would fit within an axle of an alternator that would secure the alternator to a wheel hub of a vehicle and at the same time secure a tire rim to the spacer, thereby acting as the extended wheel hub of the vehicle.
She also realized that she had to have a rotor and bearing mount that would also attach to the wheel hub after the spacer was placed over the wheel hub and that both the rotor and bearing mount and the spacer had to be secured to the wheel hub in order to provide the mechanical energy to the rotor of the alternator.
She further realized that she would have to fixedly attach a rotor to the rotor and bearing mount and that she would need a pair of bearings on the rotor and bearing mount to allow a stator and a stator housing to remain in place when the rotor was rotated. She realized that the outer sides of the bearings had to be attached to the housing as well as the stator.
She next realized that she had to hold the housing in place, for if not, friction would eventually allow the housing to spin concurrently with the rotor, so she developed a cover that would attach to the housing that would have a brake caliper rotation stop that would be mounted over an existing brake caliper of a wheeled vehicle.
The present invention is a device that captures mechanical energy that is created by a spinning axle of a vehicle and that converts it into an electrical energy that will recharge a vehicle battery or a battery pack of an electric vehicle.
For the foregoing reason there is a need for an alternator system that will recharge a battery or a battery bank of an electric vehicle that uses wheeled axles to propel itself.

Alternator system for electric vehicles having at least one wheel axle


An optical transceiver includes: a first WDM filter which reflects a first optical signal from a first light source and passes a second optical signal from a second light source; a first total reflection mirror which reflects the first optical signal to make it enter the first WDM filter; a second total reflection mirror which reflects the second optical signal; and a second WDM filter which reflects the second optical signal reflected by the second total reflection mirror to make it enter the first WDM filter. The first and second WDM filters are disposed on a light path, the first and second light sources are disposed back and forth along the light path on both sides thereof, the first and second total reflection mirrors are disposed outside the light path, and an incident angle of the first optical signal to the first WDM filter is smaller than 45 degrees.

Various types of WDM optical modules have been developed, and a WDM optical transceiver is one of them. For example, a WDM optical transceiver provided with a TOSA (Transmitter Optical Sub-Assembly) which multiplexes a plurality of optical signals emitted from a plurality of light sources and having different wavelengths has been developed. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2007-279507 (Patent Document 1) and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2008-203427 (Patent Document 2) describe an optical transceiver provided with a TOSA in which four semiconductor lasers (LD: Laser Diode) having different oscillation wavelengths are disposed in a row.