The present invention relates to electronic devices formed in crystallites of III-V nitride materials. Specifically, the present invention simplifies the processing technology required for the fabrication of high-performance electronic devices in III-V nitride materials.

Solid state lasers made from Group III-V nitrides such as InAlGaN, have great potential in applications in many areas such as high-resolution full-color printing, high-density optical storage, advanced display systems, and optical communications. Since materials in the Group III-V nitride system have bandgaps that vary from 1.9 eV to 6.2 eV, a laser or light emitting diode ("LED") made from a Group III-V nitride may emit light at a wavelength ranging from 380 to 600 nanometers (nm). A laser made from GaN can emit light in the ultra-violet region of the spectrum whereas a laser made from InN can emit light in the red region. Therefore, the Group III-V nitride material system can produce lasers at wavelengths covering a wide range of the electromagnetic spectrum.
The lasers formed by materials in the Group III-V nitride system which produce emissions at short wavelength such as green or blue have particularly significant implications in high-resolution printing and high-density optical storage. For instance, substantial effort has been expended in developing a blue laser for high-resolution printing because of a blue laser's small fundamental spot size and superior depth of focus. The small spot size allows for higher "dpi" (dots per inch) printing, and therefore improved resolution. The superior depth of focus enables a blue laser to be easily focused, allowing for the use of relatively low cost optics even in a high resolution printing system.
Short-wavelength lasers also allow for high density optical storage of audio information, video information, and data. Conventional compact disc ("CD") players and CD-ROM drives use a infrared laser beam. Currently, a standard 12.7 cm CD can hold up to 650 megabytes of data. Blue lasers, at half the wavelength of red lasers, have much smaller spot sizes and can read and write in finer detail on optical discs, thereby substantially increasing their data capacity. They will allow audio CD's and CD-ROMS to store up to at least five times the information they currently hold.
As stated previously, in addition to producing short-wavelength lasers, the Group III-V nitride material system can produce lasers which emit light at a wavelength ranging from 380 to 600 nanometers (nm). The ability to produce lasers with large wavelength separation with a single material system is important in full-color xerographic printing. Generally, in xerographic printing, a full-color print is formed by superimposing an electrostatic image in black with an electrostatic image in each of the three primary colors (cyan, magenta, and yellow). In one architecture, to achieve high-speed single-pass printing, four laser beams are typically required, one for each color and black. The laser beams simultaneously strike a single raster output polygon mirror and a single set of scan optics. The beams are then separated by optical filters, and each beam is directed to a photoreceptor for printing a color. A similar application is to use red, green, and blue lasers to make full-color film printing for computer generated movies.
In order for the optical filters to effectively isolate each beam at a reasonable cost, the laser beams must typically have a separation of at least 50 nanometers in their wavelengths. To make such a four-laser array on the same substrate, the use of two semiconductor material systems is generally required. For instance, the Al.sub.x Ga.sub.1-x As material system can produce lasers with wavelengths from approximately 750 nanometers to 850 nanometers whereas the AlGaInP material system can produce lasers from approximately 630 to 700 nanometers. In contrast, a laser array formed using materials in the Group III-V nitride system can achieve large wavelength separations without using a second material system.
Red, green, and blue lasers can also be used to produce brighter and more efficient projection displays. They can also be used for backlighting in direct view displays such as screens for laptop computers. Furthermore, due to the physical and electronic properties of materials in the Group III-V nitride system, devices formed using such materials can withstand higher temperatures, higher power densities, and harsher environmental conditions. Hence, the need for lasers formed using Group III-V nitrides crosses a wide spectrum of applications.
Unfortunately the development of lasers formed by Group III-V nitride materials has been hampered by numerous problems in the processing technology of such materials. For instance, the difficulties in forming high-quality single-crystalline Group III-V nitride materials over large areas are well known. Group III-V materials tend to form dislocations and cracks easily. They are also difficult to remove by etching. Due to the difficulty in etching III-V nitride materials, techniques to selectively deposit nitride materials over a smaller area have been developed. An example of such a selective deposition technique is described in "Fabrication of GaN Hexagonal Pyramids on Dot-Patterned GaN/Sapphire Substrate via Selective Metalorganic Vapor Phase Epitaxy" by Kitamura et al., Jpn. J. App. Phys. vol. 34(1995) pp. L1184-1186 (1995). However, such techniques often result in the formation of hexagonal pyramids, commonly known as "hillocks," which are a manifestation of the natural lattice structure of III-V nitride materials. These hillocks are often viewed as defects unsuitable for use in any application because of their topology and crystalline structures. However, high-quality crystallites with a topology suitable for device fabrication have been described in recent publications such as in "Spatial Distribution of the Luminescence in GaN Thin Films," by Ponce et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 68(1), pp. 57-59 (1996).

Semiconductor devices constructed from crystallites


There is provided a two-pack composition for making urethane-containing structures, said composition comprising                (a) a first pack comprising at least one reaction product of at least one polyisocyanate and at least one polyol, wherein said first pack has %NCO of 6% or greater, and        (b) a second pack comprising at least one polyol and at least one amine catalyst,wherein the reactive mixture formed by admixing said first pack and said second pack is capable of curing in the absence of water; and wherein said reactive mixture comprises less than 3% solvent by weight based on the weight of said reactive mixture. Also provided are methods of making such urethane-containing structures, and the urethane structures made thereby.

A variety of useful structures are made of various layers bonded to each other. One class of such useful structures includes a layer of polyurethane material among the other layers. For example, a layer of polyurethane may be bonded to a flexible substrate, either directly or with other layers in between. Such structures may be used, for example, in place of leather in footwear, upholstery, apparel, sports equipment, or other places where leather has been used in the past. When such structures are suitable as replacements for leather, they are sometimes called "synthetic leather."
German Democratic Republic Patent Specification DD 237 191 describes polyurethane reactive systems involving a hydroxyl functional urethane prepolymer, an isocyanate functional urethane prepolymer, and an organotin catalyst. Organotin catalysts are sometimes undesirable because of their possible effects on safety and the environment. It is desired to make compositions that include at least one amine catalyst and that are suitable for making polyurethane-containing structures.

Process for making urethane-containing structures and the structures made thereby


A reserved program record setting method and apparatus for a program preview of a broadcasting program to be recorded and used with a video cassette recorder (VCR) and a television set. The method includes a first step of judging whether a program preview of a broadcasting program to be reserved and recorded is being broadcast, a second step of storing a program reserving code of the broadcasting program when the program preview is currently being broadcast in the reserved program recording mode, and a third step of completing a reserved program recording operation by turning off the VCR, thereby quickly reserving a record for a predetermined program by once pressing a program preview storing key while the program preview of the broadcasting program to be recorded is being broadcast.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reserved program record setting method and apparatus for a program preview (notifying program guide information), and more particularly, to an improved reserved program record setting method and apparatus for a program preview by which a user sets a predetermined program as a reserved program (a program to be reserved for recording) by activating a program preview storing key when a program preview of a regular program to be recorded is broadcast (displayed) and not the program itself being broadcast.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a KBPS (Korea Broadcasting Program Service) code is a broadcasting code which is transmitted from a broadcasting station. Each broadcasting station has its own number and code.
Namely, in the case that a user wishes to watch a predetermined broadcasting program such as a movie, sports program etc., but cannot watch the program due to a predetermined event, the user may use a function for reserving a program record by storing a code of the program using a predetermined code determined for every broadcasting program.
The broadcasting station outputs a program reserving code which corresponds to the amount of one week for a reserved program record function when transmitting a broadcasting signal. Therefore, a user having a KBPS VCR (Video Cassette Tape Recorder) and a television set can reserve a program by selecting the predetermined code for the desired broadcasting program to be recorded in advance by one week.
FIG. 1 illustrates the construction of a conventional apparatus for setting a reserved program record using a VCR and a television set. The conventional apparatus may be in the VCR, the television set or other products in so far as the broadcasting program can be recorded by using a reserving code in these products.
The apparatus for setting a reserved program record includes a tuner 11 receiving a broadcasting signal from a broadcasting station, a key input unit 16 having a reserved program record start key 16a, a controller 12 for selecting a broadcasting frequency of a predetermined program, outputting the selection signal of the selected broadcasting frequency to the tuner 11, selecting KBPS data when a reserved program record start signal is received from a receiver 17 and outputting a control signal indicating reserved time (a preset recording time, that is, the time to be preset by a user indicating when the recording of a broadcasting program will start and end), a memory 13 for transmitting and receiving signals with the controller 12 and storing reserved KBPS data therein, a KBPS decoder 14 for analyzing the KBPS data contained in the broadcasting signal among the signals which may be selected and transferring the analyzed KBPS signal to the controller 12, and a recording unit 15 for recording the decoded broadcasting signal into a recording medium in accordance with an instruction from the controller 12.
FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating steps of a reserved program record based on the conventional KBPS apparatus shown in FIG. 1. As shown therein, when a user inputs a selection using a reserved program record start key on a VCR remote controller (key input unit 16) in Step S21, broadcasting stations, times, dates, and titles of broadcasting programs are listed on a television screen for as much as one week in the future in Step S22. At this time, a cursor blinks on a title of a program which is currently being broadcast (reviewed by the user) on the screen of the television set in Step S23.
The user moves the cursor to reserved data indicative of reserving data for reserving recording of a broadcasting program a user wants to record, such as recording start and end times, a broadcasting channel, etc. (in Step S24) of the broadcasting program which is selected by the user as a broadcasting program to be recorded, and then moves the cursor to the reserved time (in Step S25) and the title (in Step S26) of the broadcasting program selected by the user to be reserved.
The user verifies whether or not the selected program is a desired broadcasting program in Step S27, and if the selected program is a desired broadcasting program to be recorded, the program reserving code is stored using the reserved program record start key 16a in Step S28. The VCR power is turned off in Step S29 and the reserved program record is completed in Step S30.
However, in the conventional KBPS reserved program record method, when the user wishes to reserve a predetermined broadcasting program, the user must repeatedly move the cursor, so that much effort is required for reserving the desired broadcasting program, and the procedure for reserving the broadcasting program is complicated.
In particular, over a weekend, there may be a number of broadcasting programs to reserve for predetermined times, so that the time required for moving the cursor to reserve these broadcasting programs is increased.

Reserved program record setting method and apparatus for a program preview


Planarizing solutions, and their methods of use, for removing titanium nitride from the surface of a substrate using a fixed-abrasive planarizing pad. The planarizing solutions take the form of an etchant solution or an oxidizing solution. The etchant solutions are aqueous solutions containing an etchant and a buffer. The etchant contains one or more etching agents selective to titanium nitride. The oxidizing solutions are aqueous solutions containing an oxidizer and a buffer. The oxidizer contains one or more oxidizing agents selective to titanium nitride. In either solution, i.e., etchant or oxidizing solution, the buffer contains one or more buffering agents. Titanium nitride layers planarized in accordance with the invention may be utilized in the production of integrated circuits, and various apparatus utilizing such integrated circuits.

Chemical-Mechanical Planarizing (CMP) processes are often used for forming a flat surface on a semiconductor substrate in the manufacture of electronic devices. CMP processes generally remove material from a substrate surface to create a highly planar surface. A variety of planarizing machines have been developed to carry out such CMP processes.
Planarizing machines for use in CMP processing generally fall into two categories: web-format and fixed-pad format. In each case, a planarizing pad and a planarizing solution are combined to define a planarizing medium that mechanically and/or chemically-mechanically removes material from the surface of a substrate. The planarizing pad may be of a fixed-abrasive or non-abrasive type. With a fixed-abrasive pad type, abrasive particles are fixedly bonded to a suspension material. Furthermore, the planarizing solution used with a fixed-abrasive pad type is typically a "clean" solution, i.e., substantially devoid of abrasive particles as such abrasive particles are fixedly distributed across a planarizing surface of the planarizing pad. With a non-abrasive planarizing pad, no abrasive particles are associated with the pad, so the abrasive particles are introduced in the planarizing solution. Such planarizing solutions for use with non-abrasive pad types are often slurries of both abrasive particles as well as chemicals to aid removal of material from a substrate.
To planarize the substrate with the planarizing machine, the surface of the substrate is first contacted against the planarizing pad in the presence of the planarizing solution, i.e., a planarizing surface of the planarizing medium. While in contact, the substrate is then moved relative to the planarizing surface of the planarizing medium, generally through lateral, rotational, revolving or orbital movement of the substrate, the planarizing pad or both. Lateral movement is defined as movement in one direction. Rotational movement is defined as rotation about an axis located at the center point of the object in motion. Revolving movement is defined as rotation about some axis located at other than the center point of the object in motion. Orbital movement is defined as rotational or revolving movement combined with oscillation. Different types of movement may be combined, e.g., rotational movement of the substrate and rotational movement of the planarizing pad or revolving and rotational movement of the substrate against a stationary planarizing pad. As is well understood in the art, such relative movement is in a plane substantially parallel to the surface of substrate. As a result, the abrasive particles and/or the chemicals in the planarizing medium remove material from the surface of the substrate.
Fixed abrasive pad types are well known in the art of semiconductor wafer processing. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,950 issued Dec. 2, 1997 to Rutherford et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,624,303 issued Apr. 29, 1997 to Robinson; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,453 issued Aug. 9, 1994 to Baldy et al. Despite widespread recognition and acceptance of fixed abrasive pads in the processing of semiconductor wafers, effective planarizing solutions for use in the fixed-abrasive planarization of an advantageous barrier material and conductor, i.e., titanium nitride (TiN), are lacking. As a result, the customary processing for planarizing titanium nitride utilizes abrasive slurries with non-abrasive pad types.
One problem with CMP processing is that the planarized surface of the wafer may not be sufficiently uniform across the whole surface of the wafer. In the competitive semiconductor industry, it is also desirable to maximize the throughput of finished wafers. The uniformity of the planarized surface and maximization of throughput is a function of the effectiveness and repeatability of the planarizing solution utilized with the planarizing pad, as well as a wide array of other CMP operating parameters. While a wide variety of planarizing solutions are available, these solutions are generally specific to the composition of the material to be removed as well as the type of planarizing pad used. For obvious reasons, planarizing solutions developed for non-abrasive pad types are ill suited for use with fixed-abrasive pad types. Therefore, it would be desirable to develop effective planarizing solutions for planarization of titanium nitride on the surface of a semiconductor wafer for use in conjunction with fixed-abrasive planarizing pads.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for methods of planarizing titanium nitride using fixed-abrasive planarizing pads.

Fixed-abrasive chemical-mechanical planarization of titanium nitride


Each of a plurality of injection molding machines is provided with clamp plates fixed on platens and a plurality of magnet units to generate magnetic force for fixing a mold to the clamp plate fitted on the clamp plates; and the plurality of injection molding machines are provided with a plurality of common connectors having the same structure, each of which is electrically connected to the magnetic unit, a molding machine control unit and a power source device; and the mold fixing system comprises a set of operation control units to be shared by the plurality of injection molding machines, and when a mold is to be exchanged in any of the injection molding machines, the plurality of magnet units are switched to the non-adsorbing state or the adsorbing state via the operation control unit in the state where the operation control unit is connected to the common connector of the injection molding machine.

Conventionally, in the injection molding machine, molds (stationary mold and movable mold) are secured to platens, such as a stationary platen or a movable platen, and the movable platen is moved and driven so as to approach or isolate to/from the stationary platen, and the molds are closed or opened. While the molds are clamped, a synthetic resin in the molten state is injected into an internal cavity of these molds and a molded article is molded, and then, the molds are opened and the molded article is ejected by an ejector mechanism.
Herein, fixation of the molds to the platens of the injection molding machine is often conducted using a plurality of bolts or a hydraulic clamp device, and recently, a magnetic fixation device to adsorb the molds to the platens due to magnetic force and fix them is practically used.
In the injection molding machine of Patent Literature 1, it is configured such that a clamp plate where a plurality of magnet units (magnetic force generating mechanisms) are incorporated, respectively, is fixed to the stationary platen and the movable platen, respectively, and the molds are fixed to the fixation surface of the clamp plates by the magnetic force generated by the plurality of magnet units. Each of the magnet units has a steel block, a plurality of permanent magnets arranged around the outer circumference of this steel block, an alnico magnet placed on the rear side of the steel block and a coil surrounding the outer circumference of this alnico magnet, and energizing of the coil enables to switch the direction (polarity) of the magnetic field of the alnico magnet.
When the molds are fixed to the fixation surface of the clamp plates, electric power is supplied from the control unit to each magnet unit and the coils are energized for several seconds in the predetermined direction by operating a control panel, respectively, and the alnico magnet and the plurality of permanent magnets form a magnetic circuit where molds become a portion of magnetic path, and the plurality of magnet units are switched to an adsorbing state for adsorbing the molds.
In the meantime, in the case of releasing the fixation of the molds, the coils are energized for several seconds in a direction, which is opposite to that of the case of adsorbing the molds, and the polarity of the alnico magnet is switched to the opposite state, and a magnetic circuit where the molds are not in a portion of the magnetic path is formed and the plurality of magnet units are switched to the non-adsorbing state not for adsorbing the molds.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-169840


A novel magnetic bearing assembly is disclosed where mutually repulsing magnetic fields are generated between an inner housing and an outer housing. In the preferred embodiment, these fields are located in pairs of cooperating rings, one set of rings having the generated field being axially aligned and the other set having a radial alignment. Thus, one section of the housing is suspended within the other without any contact.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to magnetic bearing assemblies. More specifically, it relates to a magnetic bearing assembly wherein a plurality of magnets are set in circular rings such that each side of the ring, either axially or radially has all one pole, either north or south. Thus these rings may be assembled with opposing poles pushing at one another and set in housings such that the opposing forces are set at right angles to suspend a desired object in a substantially frictionless manner. The present invention relates to environments where low friction applications would be useful, such as in a light fishing reel, or the novel arrangement described herein could be used in a decorative or promotional toy that could be set spinning for long periods of time. Alternatively, with modifications, the present invention could serve as a freewheel storage device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The problem of lubrication and wear in bearings and axles is as old as the utilization of these devices. Various schemes have been devised to eliminate or reduce either or both of the problems with varying degrees of success. The present invention seeks to address these issues by providing a bearing and housing structure that uses the opposing force generated by like magnetic polarities. In the illustrated embodiments, magnets are set in circular arrangements with like polarities aligned either axially or radially. In the case of axial alignment, for instance, like poles would face each other and thus hold the two disks in a spaced apart relationship, one above or below the other. Likewise, two opposing outer and inner faces of radially disposed annular disks would share like polarities to maintain the inner disk in a fixed, spaced apart relationship from the outer disk. Thus, with sets of disks disposed in a housing, an inner portion of the housing could be suspended within an outer housing and would be freely rotatable within it. The resulting device would be substantially free of friction and would require no lubrication.
A number of relevant patents were found in a search at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and they are discussed hereinafter:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,043,615 issued on Aug. 27, 1991 to Shintaro Oshima discloses a non-contact bearing that uses magnetism. Axially magnetized cylindrical members, slightly different in radius and length, are disposed with opposite polarities relative to one another. Either of the members can act as the shaft in the apparatus. This is clearly dissimilar from the present invention in that the opposite polarities are proximate each other instead of the like polarities used in the instant invention.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,616,976 issued on Apr. 1, 1997 to Johan K. Fremery et al. discloses an auxiliary bearing system. Though this invention discusses the contactless motion between the stator and the rotor induced by a magnetic field, there is no teaching of the present invention's axial and radial mutually repelling magnetic fields that serve to hold the inner portion of the device in a freely rotatable state.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,635,784 issued on Jun. 3, 1997 to Joseph B. Seale there is disclosed a bearingless levitating rotor. As in the above patent, there is no teaching of the axial and radially disposed like polarities set to suspend two portions of a housing one within the other.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,610,463 and 5,619,083 both issued to John C. Dunfield et al. on Mar. 11 and Apr. 8, respectively, 1997 disclose magnetic bearings for spindle motors. These are unlike the present invention in that they do not disclose utilizing the repulsion of like polarities to suspend a portion of the bearing housing within another portion of the housing.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.


An image processing apparatus according to the present invention can specify, among a plurality of frames, a plurality of frame groups having at least one frame included between the plurality of frame groups that are extraction target candidates in an array of the plurality of frames in the moving image according to a predetermined frame interval, analyze each of the plurality of specified frame groups, and extract a frame to be output from each of the plurality of frame groups based on a result of the analysis.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus for outputting a frame to be output, which is extracted from a moving image including a plurality of frames, an image processing method, and a storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, concerning apparatuses having moving image reproduction functions, there is an apparatus that has a function of extracting a still image constituting a moving image from the moving image. With the function of this type, when a user designates a frame to be extracted from a plurality of frames included in the moving image, an image of the designated frame can be outputted to a display device such as a liquid crystal monitor to be displayed. In addition, by outputting the frame extracted from the moving image to a printing apparatus, an image corresponding to the frame can be printed on printing paper.
Among the still images included in the moving image, a still image captured when a photographer's hand or an object moves may not be an appropriate output target because of shaking. Thus, Japanese Patent No. 4301236 discusses a technique for analyzing moving image data to acquire a shaking amount of each frame included in the moving image, determining a reference frame based on the acquired shaking amount, and outputting peripheral frames within a predetermined range of the reference frame.
According to this conventional technique, frames low in shaking are handle as output targets. Accordingly, when a plurality of frames are extracted as the output targets, since an interval between the frames with less shaking depends on a content of the moving image, intervals among the plurality of frames of the output targets may vary from one moving image to another.
As a result, even when the user confirms contents of the plurality of frames extracted by the conventional technique, it may be difficult for the user to understand time intervals which the plurality of frames to be output correspond to. In such a case, the user may not be able to understand how objects or scenes included in the plurality of frames have changed in the moving image.

Extraction of keyframes at regular intervals by finding nearby high-quality frames


Implementations of a hair cap are provided. In some implementations, a hair cap may be used to protect the hair of a wearer while they sleep and/or shower. In some implementations, a hair cap comprises a head portion, a pocket portion, and an opening. In some implementations, there may be an elastic band located about the periphery of the opening. In this way, the material about the opening of the head portion may be pulled against a wearer's scalp to potentially prevent water or other liquids from entering the interior of the hair cap. In some implementations, a fastener may be provided on the head portion and another fastener on the pocket portion of a hair cap. In this way the distal end of the pocket portion may be attached to the head portion thereby holding a wearer's hair off of their shoulders and back. In some implementations, silk may be used to manufacture the hair cap. In this way, the wearer's hair is protected from breakage.

Hair caps may be used to protect a wearer's hair while they sleep and/or shower. They are generally configured to fit over a person's head and at least a portion of their hair.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/248,486 ("'486 patent") discloses a hair cover for protecting long, v-shaped hair while a wearer is sleeping. The hair cover is comprised of two fabric chambers, one dome-shaped for receiving a wearer's head and the other V-shaped for receiving V-shaped hair. The '486 patent discloses that an elastic band can be secured to a periphery of an opening into the dome-shaped chamber of the hair cover to secure it on a wearer's head.
However, the hair cover disclosed in the '486 patent does not provide a way for a wearer to lift their long hair off of their shoulders and/or back. Thus, among other uses, the hair cover disclosed in the '486 patent is not suitable for use while showering. Furthermore, a wearer cannot keep their long hair off of their shoulders and/or back while they sleep.


An RF signals amplification block receives a first RF signal, and comprises means of amplification of this first RF signal so as to deliver a second, amplified, RF signal. This signal must be amplified by a predetermined nominal power so as to be delivered at the output of the block. The block comprises means of measurement of the power of the second, amplified, RF signal, means of coupling the amplified RF signal to a first output of the block, a control signal generated by a central processing unit for controlling the coupling means. The invention also relates to an RF signals transmission device intended to be arranged at the focus of RF signals focusing means comprising a block according to the invention and an RF signals transmission antenna/terminal. Particular application to the tracking of nonsynchronous satellites.

The present invention pertains to the field of telecommunications and relates more especially to an RF or radiofrequency signals amplification block.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention also relates to an RF signals transmission device intended to be arranged at the focus of RF signals focusing means, in particular but not exclusively of the type of a parabola or of a lens of Luneberg type.
2. Related Art
The invention also relates to an antenna/terminal comprising RF signals focusing means at the focus of which is arranged at least one device as cited hereinabove. It relates more especially but not exclusively to such a terminal comprising two devices as cited hereinabove for the tracking of targets, in particular of the nonsynchronous satellites type, just one of these two devices being intended to be active at a given instant.
Hitherto, commercial telecommunications via satellite have been achieved almost entirely via geostationary satellites, which are especially beneficial by virtue of their unchanging relative positions in the sky. However, the geostationary satellite exhibits major drawbacks such as considerable attenuations of the signals transmitted related to the distance separating the user antennas from the geostationary satellite (of the order of 36,000 kilometers, the corresponding losses then rising to around 205 dB in the Ku band) and transmission lags (typically of the order of 250 ms to 280 ms) thus becoming clearly perceivable and perturbing especially for real-time applications such as telephony, video conferencing, etc. Furthermore, the geostationary orbit, situated in the equatorial plane, poses a visibility problem in respect of the regions at high latitudes, the angles of elevation becoming very small for the regions close to the poles.
The alternatives to employing geostationary satellites are:                the use of satellites in inclined elliptical orbits, the satellite then being almost stationary above the region situated at the latitude of its apogee for a duration of possibly up to several hours,        the implementation of constellations of satellites in circular orbits, in particular in low orbit ("Low Earth Orbit" or LEO) or in mid-orbit ("Mid Earth Orbit" or MEO), the satellites of the constellation flying past in turn within visibility of the user terminal for a duration of from some ten minutes to around one hour.
In both cases, service cannot be provided permanently by a single satellite, continuity of service demanding that several satellites fly over the service area one after another.
An antenna/terminal as defined in the preamble makes it possible to ensure constant communication of the terminal in transmission with the constellation of nonsynchronous satellites.
Such a terminal usually comprises a parabola or a lens of Luneberg type at the focus of which are arranged two sources usually comprising radiating elements, of the type of arrays of "patches", horns or other radiating elements for transmitting RF signals. These elements are energized by an amplifier block making it possible to supply the source with an amplified signal. Upstream of this amplifier block is a central processing unit making it possible to manage the handovers between two successive low-orbit satellites in the radiation space. It is certain that a single source must be active at a given instant, except during handovers where the problem of the activation of the hitherto inactive source arises.
The role of the amplifier block is to amplify the signal enough to be able to be perceptible by the satellite. It must transmit at a nominal power predetermined by calculation of the satellite/terminal link budget. Specifically, if the transmission is carried out below the nominal power, the satellite recovers a low-level signal whereas if the transmission is performed above the value of the nominal power, the signal conveys distortions which may jam, at the satellite level, the reception of the information contained in the signal (in particular if the signal modulation performed is of the CDMA type).
The initialization of the inactive amplifier block going from the inactive state to the active state is carried out during handover. In the course of handover, the amplifier block must amplify to nominal power, doing so, from the first few milliseconds onwards, at the risk of losing the first few useful data items sent by the following satellite. Now, immediate or quasi-immediate transmission at nominal power during handover is difficult to regulate, due to factors which may cause the gain of the block to vary, such as component spread, variations in power supply, transmission frequencies, temperature, thermal resistance between the junction of a power transistor and the housing containing the amplifier, etc. If the effect due to spread of certain parameters can be reduced by factory calibration, there are others which are more difficult to control such as the junction temperature, making instantaneous regulation of the transmission power almost impossible with the accuracy required by the specifications of the satellite system. Therefore, the amplifier block takes a certain time before amplifying to the predetermined nominal power.
The invention aims to remedy the problems cited above.

RF signal amplifier unit, RF signal transmission device and RF signal transmitting terminal-antenna


A dishwasher includes a controller controlling a cleaning cycle, a screen system for filtering a wash fluid, a circulation chamber and a collection chamber in fluid communication with the circulation chamber via a screen arrangement, a circulation pump for circulating the wash fluid and a drain pump for pumping out the wash fluid. During the cleaning cycle, to detect blockage in the screen arrangement, a degree of transmission in the circulation chamber filled with wash fluid is determined with an optical turbidity sensor in a first measuring step. The wash fluid is then pumped out of the collection chamber and the degree of transmission in the circulation chamber is again determined in a second measuring step. The change in the degree of transmission from the first measuring step to the second measuring step is then evaluated.

The present invention relates to a dishwasher, in particular a household dishwasher, having a control facility for performing a wash cycle for cleaning items to be washed, having a screen system for filtering a wash fluid, which has a circulation chamber and a collection chamber, which communicates with the circulation chamber by way of a screen arrangement through which the wash fluid can flow, having a connector disposed on the circulation chamber for a circulation pump for circulating the wash fluid and having a connector disposed on the collection chamber for a drain pump for evacuating the wash fluid.
A dishwasher is known from practice, which has a screen system for filtering a wash fluid with a screen arrangement through which the wash fluid can flow.
If the screen arrangement is blocked, for example by dirt particles filtered out of the wash fluid, this can cause problems during operation of the dishwasher.


Described are epigenetic biomarkers of breast cancer and their use in breast cancer screening and diagnosing, or to provide disease prognosis in a subject. The epigenetic biomarkers include methylatable regions (MRs), which may be at least one segment from nucleic acid sequences represented in Table 1. Described are also methods of detecting the methylation level of MRs in the subject, the methylation score (mSCORE) of the subject, and using these values to evaluate a breast cancer risk in a subject, or diagnose a subject with breast cancer. Also described are methods of determining a risk of recurrence and disease prognosis in a subject undergoing or having undergone a treatment for breast cancer.

Breast cancer (BC) is the most frequent cancer among women both in developed and developing countries, with an estimated 1.38 million new cancer cases diagnosed in 2008 worldwide (23% of all cancers). Incidence rates vary from 19.3 per 100,000 women in Eastern Africa to 89.7 per 100,000 women in Western Europe. Rates are high (greater than 80 per 100,000) in all developed regions of the world except in Japan. However, rates are relatively low (less than 40 per 100,000) in most of the developing regions. The range of mortality rates is much smaller (approximately 6-19 per 100,000) because of the more favorable survival rate in developed regions. As a result, BC ranks as the fifth cause of death from cancer overall (458,000 deaths in 2008), but it is still the most frequent cause of cancer death in women in both developing (269,000 deaths, 12.7% of total) and developed regions (189,000). In the United States, during 2011, the estimated new BC cases are 229,060 and the estimated deaths amount to 39,920, for both sexes (BC can also occur in men, although rarely) (2).
Many countries have launched national screening programs for BC awareness and follow-up of subjects with high or middle average risk to develop this disease (e.g., family history of BC, women over 50 years of age, etc.). Mammography is still the only tool used for all BC national screening programs; no screening tool has ever been more carefully studied than screening mammography. In the past 50 years, more than 600,000 women have participated in 10 randomized trials, each involving approximately 10 years of follow-up. The outcome of this assessment is mixed: in a study, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force estimated the reduction in mortality of approximately 15%-23%. They attributed this improvement mainly to the improvements in screening by mammography (4); but opposite conclusions were derived from other studies, for example (5), where the authors state that despite 30 years of increasingly prevalent use of screening mammograms, the expected mortality benefits have failed to materialize in either trial results or public health data. Moreover, in a Norwegian study the high level of mortality reduction published by the U.S. Services Task Force is challenged (6). The study of Kalager et al. provides additional data pointing at a modest benefit of mammography: making use of the opportunity provided by the systematic screening programs in Norway, the investigators singled out other parameters, such as increased breast-cancer awareness and improvements in treatment. They conclude that the benefit of the Norwegian screening program was small: a 10% reduction in breast-cancer mortality among women between the ages of 50 and 69 years. In this study, with a 10-year course of screening mammography for 2500 women of age 50, the estimated benefit for one woman avoiding death from BC were contrasted to the estimated harms of up to 1000 women having at least one "false alarm", about half of whom undergoing biopsy and to 5 to 15 women being misdiagnosed as having BC, and consequently being treated needlessly.
There remains a need for new and improved methods of screening for breast cancer, diagnosing breast cancer, or providing prognosis in breast cancer treatment outcomes.
Therefore, it is the object of the present invention to provide methods for non-invasive screening of individuals for breast cancer and detecting and diagnosing breast cancer, including early stage breast cancer.
It is another object of the present invention to provide methods for non-invasive diagnosis of breast cancer with high specificity and sensitivity.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide methods for providing prognosis and treatment outcomes in breast cancer.

Methylation-based biomarkers in breast cancer screening, diagnosis, or prognosis

KING ABDULLAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


A compression forceps with four bar linkage is formed of a stationary handle and jaw connected by a shank area; a moveable jaw; a moveable handle having the approximate shape of a bell crank with major and minor arms; and a connecting link member having first and second opposite ends. The four links are joined at pivots, with a first pivot connecting the major and minor arms of the moveable handle to the rear end of the shank area of the stationary handle and jaw. A second pivot connects the free end of the minor arm to a rear end of the moveable jaw. A third pivot connects a first end of the link to the front end of the shank area of the stationary handle and jaw. A fourth pivot connects the second end of the link to a middle area of the moveable jaw. The compound linkage thus formed operates the jaws with an increase of the relative inside angle between the jaws as the jaws close.

Pliers and forceps are adapted to numerous special purposes. A simple scissors-action plier such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,866,771 is formed of two levers with integral jaws, joined at a single pivot, such that the mechanical qualities of the tool are a function of the relative position of the pivot along the lengths of the levers.
Greater leverage can be obtained with a compound linkage in which, typically, one handle and jaw, referred to as the stationary handle and jaw, are integrally joined. The second handle and jaw, referred to as the moveable handle and jaw, are separate pieces. For example, a three link operating linkage is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 1,497,696, where the pair of jaws is connected on a single pivot. The moveable jaw is pivoted at its end to the stationary jaw, while it is pivoted at its shank to an end of the moveable handle. The moveable handle, in turn, is pivoted at its shank to the shank of the stationary handle. This operating linkage has three links, and the pivot at the shanks of the two handles is a sliding pivot point. The mechanical qualities of this tool are a function of both the location of the pivot between the two handles and the location of the pivot between the second handle and moveable jaw.
Another three link system is found in U.S. Pat. No. 1,448,238, in which the moveable jaw is pivoted at its shank to a shank of the stationary jaw. The moveable handle is pivoted at its shank to the shank of the stationary handle. Finally, the end of the stationary jaw is pivoted on a sliding junction to the end of the moveable jaw.
In other variations of plier linkages, the moveable jaw may slide. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,167,599 shows a sliding jaw in a tool for coupling railroad cars. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 1,935,009 employs a three link system. In this patent, each jaw is integral with its handle, but the shanks of the handles are joined by a pivot link, while the jaws cross at a sliding junction. Still another sliding junction is found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,198,953, wherein the moveable and stationary handles are joined by a toggle link that pushes forward a cam as the handles are closed. In turn, the cam forces the moveable jaw to close along the sliding junction.
Four bar linkages also are used for improved leverage. A four bar linkage in a plier is found in U.S. Pat. No. 1,151,772. A stationary handle and jaw are employed in combination with a moveable handle that is pivoted at its shank to the shank of the stationary handle. The moveable jaw is pivoted at its end, separately to the stationary jaw. Finally, the moveable handle is pivoted at its end to an intermediate link that is also joined to the shank of the moveable jaw. The operating linkage is a parallelogram having equal opposite sides. No sliding pivot point is required, since the parallelogram can change its configuration over a wide range of shapes by pivoting at all four corners.
Another four bar linkage is found in U.S. Pat. No. 1,541,248, in which the moveable handle has the shape of a bell crank. The bend of the crank is pivoted to a rear end of the moveable jaw, while the tip of the crank is pivoted to an end of an intermediate link. This link, in turn, is pivoted at its opposite end to the stationary jaw. The moveable jaw and stationary jaw are joined at their shanks by another pivot.
Still another four bar linkage is found in U.S. Pat. No. 1,219,726, relating to a clamping handle for frying pans. In this patent, the moveable handle again is in the shape of a bell crank. The bend of the crank is pivoted to the stationary handle, while the tip of the crank is pivoted to an end of an intermediate link. The moveable jaw also has a shape similar to a bell crank and is pivoted at its bend to the stationary jaw, while it is pivoted at its rear end to the intermediate link. By this arrangement, closing the handles causes both bell cranks to pivot, closing the jaws.
Many of the pliers of the prior art have good gripping ability and allow application of considerable force. However, they have not been adaptable to certain types of tasks. It would be desirable to have a forceps or plier that not only grips, but also has a grasping motion. In particular, it would be desirable to have a forceps that tends to draw-in the grasped object, as contrasted to merely pinching it. Such a tool should offer action similar to that of the human hand, which draws in a grasped object.
Similarly, a tool employed in surgical procedures should allow careful modulation of applied force. The surgeon must be careful that mechanical tools do not injure a patient due to lack of sensitivity and feel.
To achieve the foregoing and other objects and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the forceps of this invention may comprise the following.


A mattress or seating spring core assembly and method of manufacture which comprises interconnected rows of coil springs wherein each row terminates in a cut wire end which is bent inwardly into one of the end coils and in which the spring core assembly is surrounded on all sides by foam panels and is devoid of any border rods.

This invention relates to seating and bedding products and, more particularly, to such products which include spring assemblies containing rows of springs made from a single continuous wire, as well as to methods of manufacturing such products.
At the present time, many different seating and bedding products contain rows of interconnected springs made from a single strand of wire. Conventionally, such products are manufactured by forming a strand of wire into a continuous stream of springs which must then be cut-to-length and those cut-to-length strands or rows of coils then assembled into a spring assembly, usually by interconnecting the strands or rows by means of helical lacing wires. When those strands or strings are cut-to-length, the ends of those cut-to-length strings are then conventionally formed into a target area for the application of a border rod to be clipped around the periphery of the spring assembly. This clipped border rod then offers perimeter edge support, spring assembly unit sizing assistance, and protects the mattress construction and consumer from coming in contact with cut coil ends. The border rods also function to prevent entanglement of spring assemblies with one another during production and packaging of the spring assemblies or shipment to seating or mattress manufacturers. But for the reasons set forth hereinabove, those border rods are maintained on such continuous wire spring assemblies even when such assemblies are encased in foam side panels as well as top and bottom panels. There would be a substantial cost savings if the border rods could be eliminated from such spring assemblies, but for the reasons set forth hereinabove, that has not, to this date, been done.
It has therefore been an objective of this invention to provide a continuous wire spring assembly which eliminates the border rod conventionally used in such assemblies while still providing an assembly which has perimeter edge support, does not require sizing assistance and which protects the mattress manufacturer and consumer from coming into contact with cut coil ends.

Continuous wire spring mattress or seating product and method of manufacture


A low-cost capacitive load drive circuit, in which a reference voltage, a first voltage, and a second voltage are supplied to a capacitive load, and a plasma display apparatus using it, have been disclosed. The capacitive load drive circuit comprises a reference voltage switch the breakdown voltage of which is properly adjusted, a first switch, a reference voltage phase adjusting circuit, and a first phase adjusting circuit, and malfunctions due to the difference in switching characteristics can be prevented from occurring even when devices of different breakdown voltages are used.

The present invention relates to a capacitive load drive circuit used as a drive circuit for sustain electrodes and scan electrodes of a plasma display apparatus and to a plasma display apparatus that comprises a capacitive load drive circuit used as a drive circuit of sustain electrodes and scan electrodes.
The plasma display apparatus has been put to practical use as a flat display and is a thin display with high luminance. FIG. 1 is a diagram that shows the general structure of a conventional three-electrode AC-driven plasma display apparatus. As shown schematically, the plasma display apparatus comprises a plasma display panel (PDP) 1 composed of two substrates, between which a discharge gas is sealed, each substrate having plural X electrodes (X1, X2, X3, . . . , Xn) and Y electrodes (Y1, Y2, Y3, . . . , Yn) arranged adjacently by turns, plural address electrodes (A1, A2, A3, . . . , Am) arranged in the direction perpendicular thereto, and phosphors arranged at crossings, an address driver 2 that applies an address pulse to the address electrode, an X common driver 3 that applies a sustain discharge pulse to the X electrode, a scan driver 4 that applies a scan pulse sequentially to the Y electrode, a Y common driver 5 that supplies a sustain discharge pulse to be applied to the Y electrode to the scan driver 4, and a control circuit 6 that controls each section, and the control circuit 6 further comprises a display data control section 7 that includes a frame memory and a drive control circuit 8 composed of a scan driver control section 9 and a common driver control section 10. The X electrode is also referred to as the sustain electrode and the Y electrode is also referred to as the scan electrode. As the plasma display apparatus is widely known, a more detailed description of the entire apparatus is not given here and only the X common driver 3 and the Y common driver 5 that relate to the present invention are further described. The X common driver, the scan driver and the Y common driver of the plasma display apparatus have been disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent No. 3201603, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 9-68946 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2000-194316.
FIG. 2 is a diagram that shows an example of the structure of the X common driver, the scan driver and the Y common driver, which have been disclosed as described above. The plural X electrodes are connected commonly and driven by the X common driver 3. The X common driver 3 comprises output devices (transistors) Q8, Q9, Q10 and Q11, which are provided between the common X electrode terminal and a voltage source +Vs1, between that and −Vs2, between that and +Vx, and between that and the ground (GND), respectively. By turning on any one of the transistors, the corresponding voltage is supplied to the common X electrode terminal.
The scan driver 4 is composed of individual drivers provided for each Y electrode and each individual driver comprises transistors Q1 and Q2, and diodes D1 and D2 provided in parallel thereto, respectively. Each of one end of transistors Q1 and Q2, and diodes D1 and D2 of each individual driver is connected to each Y electrode and each of the other end is connected commonly to the Y common driver 5. The Y common driver 5 comprises transistors Q3, Q4, Q5, Q6 and Q7, which are provided between the lines from the scan driver 4 and the voltage sources +Vs1, −Vs2, +Vwy, +Vy, and the ground (GND), respectively, and the transistors Q3, Q5, and Q7 are connected to the transistor Q1 and the diode D1, and the transistors Q4 and Q6, to the transistor Q2 and the diode D2.
In a reset period, Q5 and Q11 are turned on while the other transistors are being kept off, and +Vwy is applied to the Y electrode and 0V is applied to the X electrode to generate an entire write/erase pulse that brings the display cells in the panel 1 into a uniform state. At this time, the voltage +Vwy is applied to the Y electrode via Q5 and D1. In an address period, Q6, Q7, and Q10 are turned on while the other transistors are being kept off, and +Vx is applied to the X electrode, the voltage GND, to the terminal of Q2, and −Vy is applied to the terminal of Q1. In this state, a scan pulse that turns Q1 on and turns Q2 off is applied sequentially to the individual drivers. At this time, in individual drives to which a scan pulse is not applied, Q1 is turned off and Q2 is turned on, therefore, −Vy is applied to the Y electrode, to which the scan pulse is applied, via Q1, GND is applied to the other Y electrodes via Q2, and an address discharge is caused to occur between the address electrode to which a positive data voltage is applied and the Y electrode to which the scan pulse is applied. In this way, each cell in the panel is put into a state according to the display data.
In a sustain discharge period, while Q1, Q2, Q5 to Q7, Q10 and Q11 are being kept off, Q3 and Q9, and Q4 and Q8 are alternately turned on. These transistors are called the sustain transistors, wherein Q3 and Q8 that are connected to a high potential side power source are called the high-side switches, and Q4 and Q9 that are connected to a low potential side power source are called the low-side switches here. In this way, +Vs1 and −Vs2 are alternately applied to the Y electrode and the X electrode and a sustain discharge is caused to occur in the cell in which an address discharge has been caused to occur in the address period and the display is performed. At this time, if Q3 is turned on, +Vs1 is applied to the Y electrode via D1, and if Q4 is turned on, −Vs2 is applied to the Y electrode via D2. In other words, the voltage Vs1+Vs2 is alternately applied to the X electrode and the Y electrode, with a reversed polarity, in the sustain discharge period. This voltage is called the sustain voltage here.
The example described above is only one of various examples, and there are various modifications as to which kind of voltage is applied in the reset period, the address period, and the sustain discharge period, and there are also various modifications of the scan driver 4, the Y common driver 5 and the X common driver 6. Particularly in the drive circuit described above, +Vs1 and −Vs2 are applied alternately to the Y electrode and the X electrode to apply the sustain voltage of Vs1+Vs2=Vs, but there is another method in which Vs and GND are applied alternately and it is widely used.
In the general plasma display apparatus, the voltage Vs is set to a value between 150V and 200V, and the drive circuit is made up of transistors of large voltage rating (breakdown voltage). Contrary to this, in the driving method disclosed in such as Japanese Patent 3201603, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 9-68946 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2000-194316, the positive and negative sustain voltages (+Vs/2 and −Vs/2) are applied alternately to the X electrode and the Y electrode. This has an advantage in that it will be possible to reduce the breakdown voltage of the smoothing capacitor of the power source that supplies the sustain voltage.
The scan pulse must be applied sequentially to each Y electrode, therefore, Q1 and Q2, that relate to the application of the scan pulse, are required to be capable of high-speed operations. Moreover, as the number of times a sustain discharge is caused to occur affects the display luminance and as many sustain discharges as possible must be caused to occur in a fixed period, the sustain transistors Q3, Q4, Q8, and Q9, which relate to the application of the sustain discharge pulse, are also required to be capable of high-speed operations. On the other hand, in the plasma display apparatus, it is necessary to apply a high voltage to each electrode in order to cause a discharge to occur, therefore, the transistors are required to have a high breakdown voltage. A transistor which has a high breakdown voltage but has a relatively low operating speed, or a transistor which has a high operating speed but has a relatively low breakdown voltage, can be manufactured at a low cost, but a transistor which has not only a high breakdown voltage but also a high operating speed is costly.
Among the transistors in FIG. 2, the operating speed of Q6, Q7, Q10 and Q11 can be relatively low because they do not directly relate to the application of the scan pulse and the sustain discharge pulse, which requires a high-speed operation. Although a high-speed operation is required for Q1 and Q2, their breakdown voltages can be relatively small, because D1 and D2 are provided in parallel thereto, the voltages to be applied are −Vy and GND, and the difference in voltage therebetween is relatively small.
Contrary to this, the sustain transistors Q3, Q4, Q8, and Q9 need to be capable of high-speed operations and a high voltage is applied thereto as well. Among the applied voltages in the circuit in FIG. 2, the largest is the reset voltage +Vwy and the smallest one is −Vs2. When Q5 is turned on and the reset voltage +Vwy is applied, therefore, the voltage Vwy+Vs2 is applied to the sustain transistor Q4, as a result. Normally, −Vy is greater than −Vs2 (the absolute value is less) and +Vx is less than +Vs1. The maximum voltage to be applied to other sustain transistors Q3, Q8 and Q9 is Vs1+Vs2, which is less than the voltage Vwy+Vs2 to be applied to Q4.
As described above, there are various modification examples of the voltage to be supplied from the drive circuit of the plasma display apparatus, therefore, the maximum voltage to be applied to each sustain transistor differs from another accordingly. In general, when a voltage greater than the sustain voltage on the high potential side is applied, the maximum voltage to be applied to the sustain transistors that make up the low-side switch is greater than the sustain voltage, and when a voltage less than the sustain voltage on the low potential side is applied, the maximum voltage to be applied to the sustain transistors that make up the high-side switch is greater than the sustain voltage.
In the conventional apparatus, sustain transistors of the same breakdown voltage (voltage rating) are selected despite the difference in the maximum voltage to be applied, as described above. In other words, the devices are selected so that their breakdown voltages correspond to that of the sustain transistor that receives the maximum voltage, and other sustain transistors are selected from those of the same breakdown voltage. This means that different kinds or sizes of transistors are selected when devices of different breakdown voltages are selected and, as a result, the switching performance of each transistor is different. Moreover, a device of a high breakdown voltage has a high saturation voltage and a circuit structure is required in which plural devices are driven in parallel in order to lower the saturation voltage. If, therefore, sustain transistors of different breakdown voltages are used, the switching performance of each sustain transistor differs from another and a problem is caused in that they cannot be turned on/off stably. In the sustain (sustain discharge) action, charges are moved from one electrode to the other and the timing of the application of the sustain voltage is important and, therefore, a problem that the sustain action is terminated is caused if the timing is not correct.
For the above-mentioned reasons, a capacitive additional drive circuit, such as that of the sustain electrode and that of the scan electrode of the plasma display apparatus, is not configured by combining drive transistors (output devices) of different breakdown voltages.
On the other hand, in the conventional plasma display apparatus, the sustain voltage is supplied by applying GND to one of the electrodes but a structure in which the breakdown voltage of the smoothing capacitor of the power source, that supplies the sustain voltage, can be lowered by applying the positive and the negative voltages alternately to the X electrode and the Y electrode as described above, has been disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3201603, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 9-68946 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2000-194316. In order to apply the sustain voltage in the way described above, a compact power source circuit that can stably supply positive and negative voltages with high precision is required.

Capacitive load drive circuit and plasma display apparatus


Methods and apparatus for enabling content interaction at a connected electronic device re described. An example method includes establishing a web protocol session between a web server executing on a first electronic user device and a client executing on a second electronic user device via a direct radio frequency connection between the first electronic user device and the second electronic user device, wherein the first electronic user device and the second electronic user device are associated with a same user, the establishing including sending an open request from the client to the web server; and transmitting a response to the open request from the web server to the client, the response including a universal resource identifier identifying a location of content for presenting, on the second electronic device, the application executing on the first electronic device.

Portable electronic devices (e.g. phones, laptops, tablet, etc.) have become more sophisticated. Today, a user may retrieve, view, edit, or otherwise interact with content at a portable electronic device. However, there are some forms of content that may be difficult to view on a display screen of a portable electronic device. For example, if a portable electronic device has a small display, the content may be reduced in size, truncated, or redacted to fit in the area available on the display screen. If the display area available on a portable electronic device is too small to effectively display the content, a user may desire to view the content on a different device that has a larger display area, such as a tablet, laptop, television, kiosk screen, and the like.
A user might email to himself a link (e.g. Uniform Resource Locator, URL) to the content and then open the email on the different device. Alternatively, a user may save the content on the portable electronic device, connect the portable electronic device to a computer via a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable, and then operate the computer to retrieve the content from the portable electronic device. Even for a sophisticated user, these approaches may be cumbersome and unnecessarily time consuming. Some portable electronic devices are equipped with video-out ports, such as VGA (Video Graphics Array), HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface), or other known video output interfaces. The portable electronic device may use these video output interfaces to generate a video output at the portable electronic device for display to a connected display or television.
In one approach, a computer may generate a video output using a graphics controller at the computer and then transmit the generated video output via a network protocol to another machine that simply displays the generated video output. These types of technologies have been referred to as a "remote desktop," or "virtual desktop." For example, a host computer may run a host application which communicates with a corresponding client application at a client machine. Typically, the communications connection between host application and client application is based upon a proprietary protocol and may use a non-standard TCP port address at the host computer network interface. The host computer utilizes a graphics processor at the host computer to generate visual output data that is sent to the client machine. A person of skill in the art would recognize this category of prior art by well-known monikers, such as Windows™ Remote Assistance, Citrix™ GoToMyPC™, and the like. The "remote desktop" approach requires graphics processing resources at the host computer to generate the video output, even though a user is "interacting" with the content at the machine that displays the video output. In addition to utilizing resources at the host computer, this may cause latency or user interface lag for a user interacting with the content at the client machine.
In very recent developments, some companies have promoted a proprietary approach that includes specialized software at a first device and at a second device for allowing the one device to control the other. For example, if you have a "Company-A" computer and a "Company-A" mobile phone, the computer and the mobile phone may be equipped with proprietary protocols for sending files between the two machines. A problem with this approach is that the protocols may be specific to transferring files, rather than addressing a need to interact with files at one or both machines. Furthermore, endpoints of the proprietary protocol may be so tightly embedded in the operating system that they become cumbersome to upgrade or maintain among the plurality of devices that a typical user may wish to use as technology develops. This technology may be referred to as "remote control" approach. Upon selection at a client machine, a command is sent by a client application to a corresponding host application to playback a selected media file using a media player at the host computer. In this approach, the client machine operates as a remote control to remotely operate the media player at the host computer. The "remote control" approach requires that the client application be programmatically linked to the commands associated with the media player. Furthermore, the remote control applications make assumptions about the types and locations of the media content. These approaches tend to be single-purpose applications with limited ability to transfer direct control over a content item from one machine to another machine.
Near Field Communication (NFC) has been used in some approaches, to coordinate data between two devices. NFC may be used to playback media content from a master device to one of a plurality of slave devices, and may also be used for a "bumping" approach in which short range radio technology is used to transfer information between two portable electronic devices. For example, a first electronic device may have a NFC transceiver. When the first electronic device is brought into close proximity to a second electronic device, the NFC transceiver is capable of transmitting short range radio frequency transmissions to a NFC transceiver at the second electronic device. The process of bringing the electronic devices close enough for the NFC transmissions may be referred to as "bumping," "tapping," or "touching." In one approach, when the first electronic device is bumped with the second electronic device, a URL of a web page may be transmitted via the NFC transmission to the second electronic device. The second electronic device may then display the web page using a browser at the second electronic device. The bumping approach has distance and bandwidth limitations associated with short-range radio frequency. Furthermore, if the content is stored at the first electronic device, then the second electronic device may need to be kept in very close proximity to the first electronic device in order to properly transfer the content. Depending on the technology used for short-range radio frequency communication (such as NFC), the bandwidth between the devices may be limited.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and electronic device for content sharing


The present invention provides a system for delivering a therapeutic agent into tissue in combination with an implant device (2). Preferably the therapeutic substance is contained within a pellet form (14) that is deliverable into the interior of the device (2) after it has been implanted. In a preferred embodiment the implant device (2) comprises a flexible coiled spring body, the coils (4) of which have the proper diameter and spacing to contain the pellet (14) within the interior of the device (2) to contact the therapeutic agent. In treatment of ischemic tissue such as that of the myocardium of the heart, the mechanical irritation of the tissue caused by the implanted device (2) can help to provide an angiogenic effect. Additionally, the cavity (18) provided by the interior of the device (2) permits blood to pool around the pellet (14) and mix with the therapeutic agent. Several delivery systems have provided for delivering the implant and pellet (14) sequentially or simultaneously.

Tissue becomes ischemic when it is deprived of adequate blood flow. Ischemia causes pain in the area of the affected tissue and, in the case of muscle tissue, can interrupt muscular function. Left untreated, ischemic tissue can become infarcted and permanently non-functioning. Ischemia can be caused by a blockage in the vascular system that prohibits oxygenated blood from reaching the affected tissue area. However, ischemic tissue can be revived to function normally despite the deprivation of oxygenated blood because ischemic tissue can remain in a hibernating state, preserving its viability for some time. Restoring blood flow to the ischemic region serves to revive the ischemic tissue. Although ischemia can occur in various regions of the body, often myocardial tissue of the heart is affected by ischemia. Frequently, the myocardium is deprived of oxygenated blood flow due to coronary artery disease and occlusion of the coronary artery, which normally provides blood to the myocardium. The ischemic tissue causes pain to the individual affected.
Treatment of myocardial ischemia has been addressed by several techniques designed to restore blood supply to the affected region. A conventional approach to treatment of ischemia has been to administer anticoagulants with the objective of increasing blood flow by preventing formation of thrombus in the ischemic region.
Another conventional method of increasing blood flow to ischemic tissue of the myocardium is coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). One type of CABG involves grafting a venous segment between the aorta and the coronary artery to bypass the occluded portion of the artery. Once blood flow is redirected to the portion of the coronary artery beyond the occlusion, the supply of oxygenated blood is restored to the area of ischemic tissue.
Early researchers, more than thirty years ago, reported promising results for revascularizing the myocardium by piercing the muscle to create multiple channels for blood flow. Sen, P. K. et al., "Transmyocardial Acupuncture—A New Approach to Myocardial Revascularization", Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Vol. 50, No. 2, August 1965, pp. 181–189. Although researchers have reported varying degrees of success with various methods of piercing the myocardium to restore blood flow to the muscle (which has become known generally as transmyocardial revascularization or TMR), many have faced common problems such as closure of the created channels. Various techniques of perforating the muscle tissue to avoid closure have been reported by researchers. These techniques include piercing with a solid sharp tip wire, or coring with a hypodermic tube. Reportedly, many of these methods produced trauma and tearing of the tissue that ultimately led to closure of the channel.
An alternative method of creating channels that potentially avoids the problem of closure involves the use of laser technology. Researchers have reported success in maintaining patent channels in the myocardium by forming the channels with the heat energy of a laser. Mirhoseini, M. et al., "Revascularization of the Heart by Laser", Journal of Microsurgery, Vol. 2, No. 4, June 1981, pp. 253–260. The laser was said to form channels in the tissue that were clean and made without tearing and trauma, suggesting that scarring does not occur and the channels are less likely to experience the closure that results from healing. U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,843 (Abela et al.) discloses creating laser-made TMR channels utilizing a catheter based system. Abela also discloses a magnetic navigation system to guide the catheter to the desired position within the heart. Aita U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,380,316 and 5,389,096 disclose another approach to a catheter based system for TMR.
Although there has been some published recognition of the desirability of performing TMR in a non-laser catheterization procedure, there does not appear to be evidence that such procedures have been put into practice. U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,144 (Wilk) discloses inserting an expandable implant within a preformed channel created within the myocardium for the purposes of creating blood flow into the tissue from the left ventricle.
Performing TMR by placing stents in the myocardium also is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,836 (Hussein et al.). The Hussein patent discloses several stent embodiments that are delivered through the epicardium of the heart, into the myocardium and positioned to be open to the left ventricle. The stents are intended to maintain an open channel in the myocardium through which blood enters from the ventricle and perfuses into the myocardium.
Angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels in tissue, has been the subject of increased study in recent years. Such blood vessel growth to provide new supplies of oxygenated blood to a region of tissue has the potential to remedy a variety of tissue and muscular ailments, particularly ischemia. Primarily, study has focused on perfecting angiogenic factors such as human growth factors produced from genetic engineering techniques. It has been reported that injection of such a growth factor into myocardial tissue initiates angiogenesis at that site, which is exhibited by a new dense capillary network within the tissue. Schumacher et al., "Induction of Neo-Angiogenesis in Ischemic Myocardium by Human Growth Factors", Circulation, 1998; 97:645–650.


A switchable locking torque strut assembly and associated method are provided. The strut assembly is interposed between an associated vehicle chassis and an associated vehicle powertrain to provide high elastomeric rate resistance during start-up and/or shutdown of an associated internal combustion engine (ICE) and low elastomeric rate resistance during idle and/or driving events. The strut assembly includes a housing and a shaft at least partially received in the housing and operatively mounted for selective relative movement relative to the housing. A locking assembly is interposed between the strut and the housing for selectively locking the strut relative to the housing in response to start-up and/or shutdown of the ICE.

In order to make vehicles more fuel efficient, many manufacturers are implementing "Start/Stop" technology, where the engine is shut off when the vehicle comes to a stop and is restarted when acceleration is required. With the engine starting and stopping so frequently, reducing the occupant vibrations during these events is paramount.
The issue this disclosure is trying to solve is to control the high displacement vibrations generated during start-up and shut-down of ICE engines. This is an issue with most internal combustion engines, regardless of whether they are gas, diesel or hybrid (although some hybrids have a generator/motor that may reduce or prevent these vibrations).
Start-up is generally the bigger of the two issues, as the ignition cycle causes the powertrain to displace violently. The large displacement vibrations from this event cause noise and unwanted excitations in the passenger compartment. Shutdown typically does not create as high excitations (as it is not being driven by the combustion cycle), although shutdown can still create noise and unwanted excitations in the passenger compartment. When the ignition is shut off, the engine slows and RPMs drop, and as this occurs self-generated frequencies or engine orders excite low frequency rigid body modes in both the powertrain and chassis. This creates natural frequency oscillations which can intrude into the passenger compartment, disturbing the occupants.
Therefore a need exists for an inexpensive, reliable solution to address these oscillations.

Electrically switchable locking torque strut


A method of preparing a collagen sponge comprises mixing air into a collagen gel, so as to obtain a collagen foam which is dried. From the dried product thereby obtained, collagen sponge is obtained by isolating parts of sponge with a chamber diameter of more than 0.75 mm and less than 4 mm, or parts with an average chamber diagonal dimension of 3 mm. The collagen sponge may be used as a material for sealing wounds, possibly with a coating comprising a fibrin glue, such as a combination of fibrinogen, thrombin and aprotinin. A device for extracting a part of a collagen foam and for degenerating another part of the collagen foam to a collagen gel is disclosed. An elongated collagen sponge having a through-going hole or bore and a flexible wall may be used for re-establishing walls in a mammalian gastrointestinal funnel or trachea system.

Collagen has been used as a hemostyptic agent since the late sixties. Collagen is the most frequent structural protein in all mammalians. The monomeric protein of approximately 300 kDa (tropocollagen) is covalently crosslinked at specific sites. The mature protein is therefore insoluble and forms characteristic fibrils with high tensile strength. Numerous sub-classes of collagen have been described, the most common of which is collagen type I, the main collagen type in skin, tendons, bones and cornea. Collagen is a fibrous protein consisting substantially of a triple helix with a length of approximately 290 nm. Five of these triple helices (tropocollagen molecules) are staggered to form a microfibril with a diameter of approximately 3.6 nm. These microfibrils have polar and non-polar segments that are readily accessible for specific inter- and intrafibrillar interactions. Microfibrils are packed into a tetragonal lattice to form subfibrils with a diameter of about 30 nm. These subfibrils are then assembled into the collagen fibril, the basic unit of connective tissue, which has a diameter of several hundred nm and is therefore visible in a light microscope as a thin line, see reference 1. Collagen gel and collagen sponge, as produced during the manufacturing process, comprises these fibrils as the smallest units, as proved by microscopy.
Collagen may be used as a material for sealing wounds, possibly with a coating comprising a fibrin glue. Fibrin glues, i.e. the combination of fibrinogen, thrombin and aprotinin, have successfully been used therapeutically for many years for gluing tissues and nerves and for sealing surfaces when there is minor bleeding. One drawback of the fibrin glues has been that in case of major bleeding the glue is usually washed away before sufficient polymerization of fibrin has occurred. To overcome this problem surgeons have manually applied liquid fibrin glues to absorbable carriers such as collagen fleece.
Despite the impressive success of these combined applications this method has not been applied on a broad scale, due to some disadvantages. The preparation is relatively cumbersome, the method requires experience and skilled personnel, and the preparation is not readily available in cases of emergency, the time for preparation being in the range of 10 to 15 min. These factors stimulated the development of an improved product resulting in the development of a fixed combination of a collagen carrier covered with a coating of solid fibrinogen, solid thrombin and solid aprotinin as disclosed in EP 0 059 265. The product disclosed in EP 0 059 265, which has been marketed under the trademark TACHOCOMB®, is a hemostatic collagen sponge that can be applied directly to the wound. When the coating comes into contact with aqueous fluids like blood, other body fluids or saline, the components dissolve and fibrin is formed. The product is applied to the wound with a slight pressure and collagen is tightly bound (glued) to the injured surface. Hemostasis is achieved and the wound is sealed.
Beside some blood coagulation stimulating activity, the function of collagen in the hemostatic collagen sponge that TACHOCOMB® is mainly that of a carrier which adsorbs and confers mechanical stability to the coagulation preparation with which it is coated. Other advantages of collagen, in particular in the form of a sponge, are its biodegradability, its relatively high tensile strength, even in the wet state, its high resistance against the penetration of liquids and air, and its high flexibility in the wet state.
The present invention is primarily concerned with the production of a collagen sponge which may be used as a carrier for fibrinogen, thrombin and/or aprotinin, e.g., as in TACHOCOMB®. The collagen sponge may also be used directly, i.e. without a coating, as a bandage on topical injuries, for support of hemostasis, such as for prevention of rebleeding, for weak, diffuse bleeding from parenchymatic organs, for application on burns, skin grafts, decubitus or skin defects, or as a bandage on topical injuries.
In the prior art, a number of methods for preparing a collagen carrier have been suggested. WO 86/05811 discloses a weighted microsponge for immobilizing bioactive materials in motive bioreactor systems, the microsponge comprising a highly cross-linked collagen matrix. The highly cross-linked collagen matrix is prepared by milling a source of Type I, II or III collagen to yield fibers having a diameter on the order of 1 to 50 μm and a length no greater than 200 μm. The milled collagen is formed into a soluble collagen dissolved in a solvent, or an insoluble collagen dispersed in a solvent by admixture with a solvent, such as acetic acid, lactic acid, proprionic acid or butyric acid. In the case of a collagen dispersion, the mixing is accomplished with a high level of agitation using a blender, so as to produce microfibers of the collagen. Next, a weighting additive is blended with the collagen-liquid mixture and the composite mixture is formed into small droplets and solidified by freezing. A number of techniques for producing small particles are disclosed. The frozen composite is vacuum freeze-dried, the combination of freezing and drying being referred to as lyophilization. The freeze-dried collagen matrix composite is treated so as to cross-link the collagen. The collagen can be cross-linked using either chemical cross-linking agents, by severe dehydration at an elevated temperature or by a combination. The collagen matrix aimed at being resistant to collagenase and other enzymatic degradation thereby making these materials particularly suitable for culturing organisms. After washing the cross-linked collagen matrix, the microsponges may be sterilized and aseptically packaged. In the weighted microsponge, the collagen matrix has an open to the surface pore structure with an average pore size in the range of from about 1 to about 150 μm, the pores of the matrix occupying from about 70 to about 98% by volume of the microsponge. The microsponge further has an average particle size of from about 100 to about 1000 μm and a specific gravity of above about 1.05. The weighting material may be metal or alloys from metal, metal oxides and ceramics.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,660,857 discloses a process for preparing a composite comprising an insoluble protein matrix and an oleaginous material, which is useful as a material for surgical dressings and biomedical implants, and as a cosmetic material for application to the skin. The process of U.S. Pat. No. 5,660,857 comprises the steps of mixing a protein, the oleaginous material and water to form an emulsion of the oleaginous material in an aqueous dispersion of the protein, and subsequently drying or freeze-drying the emulsion to form a film or a sponge. The insoluble fibrous protein is predominantly comprised of insoluble collagen, which may suitably be obtained from bovine skin. In one embodiment, the collagen may be swollen in lactic acid prior to use.
WO 99/13902 discloses a method for producing a meningeal tissue growth matrix comprising the step of preparing physiologically compatible collagen which is substantially free of active viruses and prions. The collagen is formed into a film, a sponge, a non-woven collagen or a felt. The collagen is obtained by a process comprising cleaning skin, tendons, ligaments or bone of fat. The material is then subjected to an enzyme treatment, whereby the collagen material is swelled. The collagen material is then further swollen with an acid solution. The collagen mixture is then homogenized. The product obtained may be a matrix provided in the form of a collagen sponge, a non-woven matrix, felt or film, or a composite of two or more of the foregoing forms. A collagen sponge can be provided by adaptation of the methods for forming collagen sponges disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,019,087. The sponge can be prepared by lyophilization of a collagen dispersion prepared according to WO 99/13902. The sponge density achieved is said to be about 0.1 mg/cm3 to about 120 mg/cm3. According to the disclosure of WO 99/13902, the pore size ranges from about 10 μm to about 500 μm. Laminate type of collagen sponge and collagen film are mentioned.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,618,551 relates to a non-crosslinked and potentially crosslinkable pepsintreated collagen or gelatin powder modified by oxidative cleavage in an aqueous solution, which is soluble at an acid pH and stable on storage at a temperature of below 0° C. for at least one month. The patent further relates to a process of preparing the powder, comprising preparing an acidic solution of pepsin-treated collagen, subjecting the acidic aqueous solution at room temperature to controlled oxidation, precipitating the oxidized and noncrosslinked pepsintreated collagen at an acid pH, and isolating, concentrating and dehydrating the noncrosslinked pepsintreated collaged so as to obtain it in the form of a reactive acidic powder, and freezing and storing the obtained reactive acidic powder at a temperature of below 0° C.
GB 1 292 326 discloses a method and apparatus for the preparation of collagen dispersions with a view to their applications, wherein a suspension of collagen fibers is prepared and subsequently introduced into a treatment chamber with stirring means. A sub-atmospheric pressure exists in the treatment chamber, in which the suspension is transformed into a dispersion by stirring and controlled acidification by means of a mineral or organic acid. According to the disclosure of GB 1 292 326, the preparation of spongy collagenic articles can be effected from dispersion or gels of collagen. In this context the documents refers to lyophilization and to dispersion or gels very rich in air bubbles. GB 1 292 326 further mentions a problem of controlling the introduction or the elimination of air bubbles in a satisfactory manner. The documents discloses, in two examples, a collagenic dispersion free of air bubbles with a collagen content of 2.5%, and an aerated dispersion of collagen with a collagen concentration of 2.5%, respectively.
Chemical Abstracts, Columbus Ohio, US, Vol. 98 13 Jun. 1983 No. 24 mentions a collagen obtained from animal tissues such as skin or tendon bone which has been submitted to acid treatment. The collagen is reaggregated by dialysis, during which process a net of highly birefringent crystal fibers is formed. The collagen can be shaped into 0.5 mm–2 cm sheets, or be mixed with air to form sponges, or be dispersed as a cream.

Method of preparing a collagen sponge, a device for extracting a part of a collagen foam, and an elongated collagen sponge


A telephone system and method of operation are disclosed which use a microprocessor control-system (10), a speech generator (34) and speech memory (46) to automatically place collect calls without the need of a live operator. The telephone uses the microprocessor control system (10) and a speech record/playback-generator (44) to receive a destination number and a recorded name from a user. The telephone uses the speech generator (34) to play audio messages to prompt the user throughout the process. The phone informs a called party of the identity of the user and receives responses from the called party through a DTMF receiver (52). A communication path is established through a telephone line interface (38) if the phone receives a response indicating the called party accepts the charges for the collect call. The microprocessor control system (10) generates a billing record for the call which is stored in a call record memory (11). The billing record can later be retrieved to facilitate billing the call.

The private ownership of pay telephone technology has provided an added source of revenue for a variety of businesses for some time. The actual cash collection from the coins deposited by users of pay telephone stations is an important aspect of such revenues. More recently, due to technological advances and changes in the business climate, businesses have been able to add income from certain long distance telephone calls. With the use of an Automated Operator Service (AOS), a private owner of a telephone can bill users of the telephone for both inter-LATA and intra-LATA long distance calls.
While AOS systems can generate revenue where none existed before, they are very inefficient. An AOS usually operates from a central office. Hence, in the case of an intra-LATA call, the call may have to travel hundreds of miles and finally terminate a few miles from its origination point. The unnecessary miles traveled through the network are expensive and this cost is usually borne by the user through higher long distance rates, or by the owner of the telephone through lower commissions.
In addition, private owners of pay telephones have heretofore lost a considerable amount of revenue because of their inability to charge for collect calls made on their pay telephones. Although such collect calls have been made on the privately owned and maintained pay telephone, the primary telephone companies have reaped the benefit of placing the collect calls.
Therefore, a need has arisen for a telecommunications system which can automate and simplify the processes currently handled by a traditional AOS. Specifically, a need has arisen for a pay telephone station which can automatically route long distance calls without the intervention of an outside service, and which allows the pay telephone owner to charge revenues for the completion of a collect call.

Method and apparatus for performing an automated collect call


Powerline-frequency electrical (joule) heating of soils using a high efficiency electrode configuration and power phase arrangement. The electrode configuration consists of several heating or current injection electrodes around the periphery of a volume of soil to be heated, all electrodes being connected to one phase of a multi-phase or a single-phase power system, and a return or extraction electrode or electrodes located inside the volume to be heated being connected to the remaining phases of the multi-phase power system or to the neutral side of the single-phase power source. This electrode configuration and power phase arrangement can be utilized anywhere where powerline frequency soil heating is applicable and thus has many potential uses including removal of volatile organic compounds such as gasoline and tricholorethylene (TCE) from contaminated areas.

The present invention relates to electrical heating of soils, particularly to powerline-frequency electrical heating of soils, and more particularly to electrical heating of soils using high efficiency electrode patterns and power phasing wherein only one phase of a power system is connected to the current injection or heating electrodes.
Powerline-frequency (60 Hz) electrical heating of the area surrounding a wellbore and between wellbores has been used for several years in the oil industry to enhance the extraction of heavy oils. Powerline-frequency heating is more cost effective than radio-frequency heating due to the use of conventional equipment. More recently, efforts have been carried out to use electrical heating in conjunction with vacuum extraction as a means of removing volatile organic compounds from the soil. Methods for improving the uniformity of the soil heating distribution have been proposed and can be shown to improve the uniformity, but have the following drawbacks: 1) they involve the design and construction of very specialized and expensive hardware, and 2) they are not efficient and are therefore not cost-effective. Thus, a need exists for a simple, cost-effective and efficient way of uniformly heating the soil by current injection.
This need is satisfied by the present invention which utilizes an arrangement which consists of several heating electrodes around the periphery of a volume of soil to be heated--all connected to one phase of a multi-phase or single-phase power system, and a return electrode or electrodes located inside the volume to be heated connected to the remaining phases (multi-phase) or the neutral side of the power source (single-phase). By this arrangement, the size and shape of the volume of soil to be heated is arbitrary, any number of electrodes can be used on the periphery of the volume, and may be located vertically or horizontally in drilled holes or trenches.

Electrical heating of soils using high efficiency electrode patterns and power phases

The Regents of the University of California