A moire interferometry system for detecting defects in a surface of a panel. The moire interferometry system is adapted to be used as a defect detection tool and not specifically as a surface measurement tool. The system includes a moire projection system having a light source and master grating projecting grating lines onto a surface panel to be inspected. A viewing system with a detection means records an image of the surface with the master grating lines on it as viewed through a submaster grating. The intersection of the projected lines on the panel and the lines in the submaster grating produce moire fringes. Phase shift interferometry techniques are used to produce a phase map of the surface for a plurality of phase shifted moire fringes. A derivative operation is performed on the image, and that image thresholded to identify areas of pixels having the greatest change in contour. The resulting image can then be used to locate and quantify deviations in the contour of the panel which exceed predetermined tolerances to identify defects. The system provides an unambiguous quantitative means for characterizing defects which does not require skilled operators or the application of highlighting fluid to the surface.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to systems and methods for the detection of surface defects and more particularly to the application of moire interferometry to the detection of surface defects.
2. Discussion
There are a variety of approaches to the inspection of defects on panels of sheet metal or other materials. In general, these approaches attempt to distinguish shape anomalies such as dents, flat spots, creases, or waviness. However, the commonly used inspection techniques for these features is very subjective in nature. For example, a popular dent inspection method, uses an oil-type of highlighting fluid to provide a glossy finish similar to that seen on the finished panel. An inspector then looks at the edge of colored fluorescent tubes placed around the panel as reflected from the surface of the panel. If the inspector detects the presence of a "wave" in the edge of the light as he moves his head past an area, he marks it as having a dent or "error" in the contour.
In such systems, the surface of the panel is acting as a mirror. The light reflected from the panel is deviated according to the surface slope, thereby creating a distorted image of the light fixture. Since the image is always distorted in accordance with the shape of the panel, the inspector is actually looking for some out of the ordinary distortion, such as a sudden change in an area expected to be flat.
There are a number of disadvantages with this type of inspection technique. Both the application of the highlighting fluid and the technique of inspection is time consuming and requires a highly skilled inspector for consistent results; and the technique remains relatively subjective. Also, the oil is messy and must be cleaned off. Markings, surface finish irregularities or an uneven highlighting fluid application, can effect the results. Further, the angle of viewing can become critical. For example, in the case of a car panel, many car owners become aware of irregular contours on the hood of their car when driving under power lines by the way their reflections move over the hood. Different areas of the car are viewed at different angles, relative to the normal to the surface, causing variations in the visibility of such defects. Likewise, for the same reason, the structured light in the highlighting technique is also subject to great sensitivity to viewing angle. Further, since human visual perception is most sensitive to changes from the surrounding area, a dent or flat area seen in one area which has little shape to it, may not be perceived in an area having sharp transitions.
A number of alternative, less subjective techniques have been developed for inspection, which makes use of the measurement of the contour of an object in three dimensions. These approaches include range finding techniques including line of light profiling, stereo viewing, shape from shading, and moire interferometry. While line of light profiling can be simple to analyze, and is largely insensitive to surface reflectivities and background light, it is more suited to providing individual profiles of a surface requiring many video images to fully cover a surface. The sensitivity to a shape anomaly is limited by the video camera resolution.
Stereo viewing requires some surface features to correlate, not necessarily available on sheet metal panels, and can be computer intensive. Shape from shading can capture a full field of information at a time using a grey scale type analysis which is easily executed on modern machine vision systems. However, shading techniques can be fooled by stray lighting, surface reflectivity variations or marks on the panel surface.
Moire interferometry provides full field process data with grey scale values that can be made insensitive to lighting variations, dirt, and other non-shaped parameters. Also, the depth resolution in moire is not limited by the camera resolution as in line of sight systems. However, moire interferometry requires greater demands on the optical system than other methods. Further, prior moire interferometry systems have not been adapted for large panel inspection but instead have been adapted to perform range measurements on small areas. As a result, current moire interferometry systems are generally not large enough to perform analysis on large panel surfaces. In general, conventional moire systems are used as a surface measurement tool, but not as a defect detection tool.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a panel inspection system which does not require the application of a highlighting fluid, and which is less labor intensive than conventional highlighting techniques. Further, it would be desirable to provide a panel inspection system which does not rely on subjective observations of the inspector. Also, it would be desirable to provide a panel inspection system which provides a means for characterizing defects in an unambiguous quantitative manner.


A device and method relate to closing a user's gastroesophageal valve to prevent acid reflux from the user's stomach. The device includes a belt having an inner surface and at least one fastener, the belt being sized to fit around an upper abdominal area of the user. A pliable triangular insert contains a gel material, the insert being attachable to the inner surface of the belt and sized to fit over the triangular area between the ribs and directly below the breast bone of the user. The insert conforms to the shape of the user's body and imparts pressure to the upper abdominal area of the user over the user's lower esophagus and gastroesophageal valve when the belt is tightly fastened around the user.

This invention relates to treating stomach acid reflux in a patient's esophagus, and in particular, maintaining the patient's gastroesophageal valve in a closed position with an external device that is worn by the patient.
When acid reflux from a patient's stomach enters the esophagus, the patient may experience painful symptoms due to the acid burning the lining of the esophagus. Internal medicinal treatments and surgery have been used to treat severe acid reflux. However, non-surgical external treatment of acid reflux avoids both the risks accompanying surgery and the introduction of medicine into the patient's stomach and esophagus.


Method for manufacturing a non-woven fabric with irregular patterns by using a belt having projections for providing irregular patterns on the non-woven fabric and applying highly pressurized water and hot air onto a fiber assembly placed on and carried by the belt in order to press the fiber assembly to the belt and entangle the fiber of the fiber assembly.

The present invention relates to a belt used for manufacturing a non-woven fabric.
Conventionally, non-woven fabrics have been formed by depositing a fiber assembly onto a mesh carrier belt such as plain woven fabrics and the applying highly pressurized water or hot air to the fiber assembly deposited on the belt to entangle or weld the fibers together to thereby form the non-woven fabric.
It is desirable to form irregular patterns in non-woven fabric in order to provide improved touch and feel properties to the fabric, however, according to the conventional mesh belt, it is impossible to obtain irregular patterns providing a sufficient touch and feel, since the irregularity is provided only by the difference in height between knuckles of weft and warp thereby limiting the irregularity. Therefor, it has been impossible to form a sufficient irregularity only by the fabric of the belt.
Recently, it has been desired to add design patterns such as letters, numbers or characters on a non-woven fabric for the purpose of providing enhanced value to the fabric, but according to the conventional mesh belt, the formation of the patterns was restricted by the textile design of the belt fabric itself so that it was difficult to provide different formations with design patterns and irregular patterns with free formations independent of the configuration of the underlying carrier belt.

Belt for fabricating a non-woven fabric with projections and method for fabricating a non-woven fabric with patterns


An active canceller includes a magnitude estimator, a phase estimator, a tone generator, and a suppressor. The magnitude estimator estimates the magnitude of spurious signals on a channel. The phase estimator estimates the phase of the spurious signals on the channel. The tone generator generates a tone signal based on the estimated magnitude and phase. The suppressor subtracts the tone signal from a channel signal to suppress the spurious signals. The magnitude and phase estimators and the suppressor may operate in the time domain.

Efforts are continually being made to suppress noise that adversely affects the performance of semiconductor devices, computer systems, and communication networks. One form of noise is generated based on spurious signals that appear as harmonics at certain clock frequencies. The spurious signals may occur, for example, in printed circuits boards and integrated circuit chips, such as but not limited to system-on-chip (SoC) devices. In some cases, the spurious signals may cause interference with Bluetooth and other forms of communication signals.


An inkjet printhead, typically constructed by MEMS process, includes a large number of nozzle chambers each with an ink ejection nozzle aperture and a paddle moveable in each chamber by an actuator to deliver ink through the aperture. Each paddle is provided with a projecting poker, concentrically protruding through the nozzle aperture when actuated to inhibit clogging of the nozzle.

The present invention relates to the field of fluid ejection devices such as inkjet printers and, in particular, discloses the utilization of a poker on the ink ejection paddle.
Many different types of printing have been invented, a large number of which are presently in use. The known forms of printers have a variety of methods for marking the print media with a relevant marking media. Commonly used forms of printing include offset printing, laser printing and copying devices, dot matrix type impact printers, thermal paper printers, film recorders, thermal wax printers, dye sublimation printers and ink jet printers both of the drop on demand and continuous flow type. Each type of printer has its own advantages and problems when considering cost, speed, quality, reliability, simplicity of construction and operation etc.
In recent years, the field of ink jet printing, wherein each individual pixel of ink is derived from one or more ink nozzles has become increasingly popular primarily due to its inexpensive and versatile nature.
Many different techniques of ink jet printing have been invented. For a survey of the field, reference is made to an article by J Moore, xe2x80x9cNon-Impact Printing: Introduction and Historical Perspectivexe2x80x9d, Output Hard Copy Devices, Editors R Dubeck and S Sherr, pages 207-220 (1988).
Ink Jet printers themselves come in many different types. The utilisation of a continuous stream ink in ink jet printing appears to date back to at least 1929 wherein U.S. Pat. No. 1,941,001 by Hansell discloses a simple form of continuous stream electrostatic ink jet printing.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,596,275 by Sweet also discloses a process of a continuous ink jet printing including the step wherein the ink jet stream is modulated by a high frequency electro-static field so as to cause drop separation. This technique is still utilized by several manufacturers including Elmjet and Scitex (see also U.S. Pat. No. 3,373,437 by Sweet et al)
Piezo-electric ink jet printers are also one form of commonly utilized ink jet printing device. Piezo-electric systems are disclosed by Kyser et. al. in U.S. Pat. No. 3,946,398 (1970) which utilizes a diaphragm mode of operation, by Zolten in U.S. Pat. No. 3,683,212 (1970) which discloses a squeeze mode of operation of a piezo electric crystal, Stemme in U.S. Pat. No. 3,747,120 (1972) discloses a bend mode of piezo-electric operation, Howkins in U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,601 discloses a Piezo electric push mode actuation of the ink jet stream and Fischbeck in U.S. Pat. No. 4,584,590 which discloses a sheer mode type of piezoelectric transducer element.
Recently, thermal ink jet printing has become an extremely popular form of ink jet printing. The ink jet printing techniques include those disclosed by Endo et al in GB 2007162 (1979) and Vaught et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,490,728. Both the aforementioned references disclosed ink jet printing techniques rely upon the activation of an electrothermal actuator which results in the creation of a bubble in a constricted space, such as a nozzle, which thereby causes the ejection of ink from an aperture connected to the confined space onto a relevant print media. Printing devices utilizing the electrothermal actuator are manufactured by manufacturers such as Canon and Hewlett Packard.
As can be seen from the foregoing, many different types of printing technologies are available. Ideally, a printing technology should have a number of desirable attributes. These include inexpensive construction and operation, high speed operation, safe and continuous long term operation etc. Each technology may have its own advantages and disadvantages in the areas of cost, speed, quality, reliability, power usage, simplicity of construction operation, durability and consumables.
Recently, the present applicant has disclosed for example, an Australian Provisional Patent No. PP6534 entitled xe2x80x9cMicromechanical Device and Method (IJ46a)xe2x80x9d, filed Oct. 16, 1998 a new form of ink jet printer containing an ink ejection mechanism that includes a thermal bend actuator actuated in an external ambient environment which is interconnected with a paddle mechanism utilised for the ejection of ink.
Unfortunately, in the aforementioned ink jet printing arrangement as in most ink jet printing arrangements, there is a tendency of the ink ejection nozzles to dry out over time which can result in the build up of encrustaceans etc. Further, there is also the propensity of such devices to become clogged by other means such as foreign bodies in the ink or paper fibres, material etc. around the ink ejection nozzle.
Further, in the aforementioned arrangement, there is a significant gap left in one wall of the ink ejection chamber, the gap being required and utilized by the movement of the thermal actuator up and down during an ejection cycle. Unfortunately, the provision of the slot may cause ink flow to wick out of the nozzle chamber and along the thermal actuator which can cause problems with ink loss due to wicking. Such ink loss is generally undesirable.
There is disclosed herein an inkjet printhead having a plurality of nozzle devices each comprising:
an ink chamber having an ink ejection aperture,
a paddle situated within the chamber,
an actuator connected to the paddle so as to move the paddle toward the aperture,
a projection extending from the paddle and configured to extend through the aperture when the paddle is moved by the actuator toward the aperture to eject a drop of ink from the chamber through the aperture.
Preferably the ink chamber of each nozzle device is supplied with ink via at least one conduit in an underlying substrate.
Preferably the projection is an elongate poker member, a free end of which is positioned to protrude at least into the aperture when the paddle is moved by the actuator toward the aperture to eject a drop of ink from the chamber.
Preferably the projection of each nozzle device is located concentrically with the aperture.
Preferably the aperture is formed by MEMS process in which a series of layers are deposited and etched and the projection comprises a hollow cylindrical column.
Preferably the hollow cylindrical column includes a proximal end at the paddle and a distal end adjacent the aperture, said distal end being chemically mechanically planarized during formation of the aperture.
Preferably the actuator is a thermal bend actuator conductively heated so as to cause movement of said paddle.
Preferably the projection is located substantially centrally on the paddle.
There is further disclosed herein an inkjet printhead having a plurality of nozzle devices, each including an ink chamber having an ink ejection aperture, a paddle situated within the chamber and an actuator connected to the paddle so as to move the paddle toward the aperture, a method of improving operational characteristics of the printhead comprising the step of:
locating a projection on the paddle configured to extend through the aperture when the paddle is moved by the actuator toward the aperture to eject a drop of ink from the chamber through the aperture.


A method and system for ranking possible causes of a component exhibiting a certain behavior is provided. In one embodiment, a troubleshooting system ranks candidate configuration parameters that may be causing a software application to exhibit an undesired behavior using support information relating to problems resulting from the settings of configuration parameters. The support information may be collected from problem reports generated by product support services personnel when troubleshooting problems that users encounter with the application. The troubleshooting system ranks the candidate configuration parameters as likely causing the application to exhibit the undesired behavior based on analysis of the support information.

An ever-increasing number of applications (i.e., computer software) with various features are available to users of personal computers. Users can tailor the operation of these applications to suit their needs by specifying various configuration parameters. For example, a browser application may have a configuration parameter that provides a URL of a web page that is displayed initially whenever the browser application starts (i.e., "a home page"). The browser application may also have configuration parameters that identify programs to be invoked to process certain types of content (e.g., a "jpeg" file) and that specify passwords to be used when the application connects to various servers. The values of the configuration parameters can be stored in application-specific configuration files such as UNIX resource files or in a central registry such as the Windows® registry file. The application-specific configuration file for an application may have an internal format that is specific to that application. The Windows® registry file organizes configuration parameters hierarchically with each configuration parameter having a path and optionally a value. The applications access these files to store and retrieve their configuration parameters.
If certain configuration parameters are incorrect, then the applications may exhibit an undesired behavior. For example, if the value of a home page configuration parameter is not set correctly, then when the browser application starts, it will exhibit an undesired behavior by not displaying a home page or displaying the wrong home page. If a configuration parameter incorrectly indicates a certain text editor should be invoked to process a graphics file, then the undesired behavior will be the incorrect display of the graphics content. Similarly, if a password configuration parameter has the wrong password, then the failure to connect to the server will be the undesired behavior.
Because of the complexity of applications and their large number of configuration parameters, it can be very time-consuming to troubleshoot which configuration parameters are at fault for causing an application to exhibit the undesired behavior. Most users of personal computers have difficulty performing this troubleshooting. As a result, users typically rely on technical support personnel to assist in the troubleshooting. This troubleshooting not only is expensive but also users may experience a significant productivity loss as a result of their inability to effectively use an application that is exhibiting an undesired behavior.
Typically, technical support personnel use an ad hoc approach to troubleshooting configuration problems. The personnel, using knowledge gained from experiencing similar problems, will try to narrow in on the at-fault configuration parameter. This ad hoc approach can take a considerable amount of time, especially if it is a combination of configuration parameters that are incorrect. In some cases, the technical support personnel may compare the configuration parameters to a set of "ideal" configuration parameters for that application. Because of the large number of configuration parameters available and the large number of possible values for each configuration parameter, many of the configuration parameters will have no "ideal" value. Thus, technical support personnel still need to review those configuration parameters of the application that are different from the set of ideal configuration parameters.
Technical support personnel, especially members of a product support services group that is supporting an application, may handle a large number of requests from users to help in troubleshooting problems of the application. When a request is received, the technical support personnel may generate a problem report that describes the problem or the symptom. When the problem is solved, the technical support personnel may close the problem report and add a description of the solution to the problem report. In many cases, the solution may be to change a configuration parameter.
A technique for troubleshooting configuration parameters has been proposed that uses "persistent-state checkpoints" to identify configuration parameters that have been modified since an application was last known to not exhibit the undesired behavior. Some operating systems can be configured to automatically create copies of configuration parameters (i.e., a checkpoint) at certain intervals. The technique may compare the current configuration parameters to the configuration parameters of a checkpoint taken when the application was known to not exhibit the undesired behavior to identify those that have been modified. This set of modified configuration parameters is referred to as a "difference set." Since the number of configuration parameters in the difference set may be large, the technique generates a trace of the configuration parameters that are accessed when the application exhibits the undesired behavior. This set of accessed configuration parameters is referred to as a "trace set." The technique intersects the difference set with the trace set to identify an "intersection set." The technique may then rank the configuration parameters of the intersection set based on the relative order of their appearance in the trace set or based on an inverse document frequency calculation in which difference sets derived from consecutive checkpoints represent documents. Such a technique is described in the "Persistent-state Checkpoint Comparison for Troubleshooting Configuration Failures," by Wang, Y., Verbowski, C., and Simon D., Proc. IEEE International Conference on Dependable Systems and Networks (DSN), June 2003, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
It would be desirable to provide an alternative technique, which does not rely on difference sets of consecutive checkpoints, for ranking configuration parameters that may be at fault for causing an application to exhibit an undesired behavior.

Method and system for troubleshooting a misconfiguration of a computer system based on product support services information


An intraluminal vascular graft structure is disclosed which is structured to be deployable within a vessel without use of hooks or barbs. The intraluminal vascular graft structure comprises a tubular body formed of a biocompatible material and a frame structure, having both circumferential support and longitudinal support structures, which support the graft at a distal end thereof and upwardly from the distal end. The vascular graft may also include attachment means which initiate an inflammatory response with the inner wall of the vessel to promote attachment of the device to the vessel wall. The intraluminal vascular graft may include one or more leg portions suitable for repairing bifurcated vessels which, in conjunction with the circumferential and longitudinal support structures, assure positioning and support of the vascular graft within the vessel and against the crotch of the bifurcation. Also disclosed is a method of deployment of the vascular graft within the vessel.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to medical devices in general, and specifically to grafts positionable intraluminally for repairing aneurysms or other vascular defects in humans and animals.
2. Background
Aneurysms are caused by weakening of a vessel wall which results in the outward ballooning of the wall under the pressure of flowing blood. Aneurysms are more prevalent in men than in women, and are more common with advancing age. Prior to the development of technology to repair the bulging blood vessel, aneurysms posed a fatal threat to those who developed them. Even with the early development of repair procedures, significantly invasive surgery was required to access the aneurysm. Today, graft structures have been developed which allow insertion and delivery of the graft to the point of the aneurysm using less invasive procedures.
Known intraluminal graft structures generally comprise a tubular graft, expansion means for deploying and positioning the graft in the vessel and anchoring or attachment means for keeping the graft in place within the vessel. Many varying types of expansion means have been disclosed, including those described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,140,126 to Choudhury (expandable ring positioned at open end of graft); U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,337 to Palmaz (a mesh-like tube); U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,917 to Lee (zig-zagged expandable ring); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,105 to Kwan-Gett (helically-coiled spring). Means have also been described for providing longitudinal support to the graft, including those means described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,562,596 to Kornberg (a plurality of steel struts) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,105 to Kwan-Gett (diametrically spaced adjustable ribs).
Additionally, various means for attaching the graft to the vessel have been disclosed. Most frequently, hook, barb or pin means are described and used, including the means described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,140,126 to Choudhury (a plurality of pins); U.S. Pat. No. 4,562,596 to Kornberg (a plurality of barbs; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,105 to Kwan-Gett (staples). In some instances, the hook or barb means are attached to the expandable means as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,140,126 to Choudhury and U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,399 to Lazarus. U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,631 to Kreamer discloses use of an adhesive covering the entire outside of the graft to provide adherence of the luminal intima to the graft.
The most commonly used intraluminal graft structures have hooks or barbs which pierce into or through the wall of the vessel to anchor the graft to the vessel above the aneurysm. That is, most, if not all, currently used intraluminal grafts are supported in the vessel upstream from or above the disease condition. However, hooks or barbs may damage the vessel, particularly where the vessel is weakened already by an aneurysm or other disease condition. Additionally, there are instances when the condition of the vessel may make it impossible or imprudent to use a graft device having hooks or pins, such as the existence of calcium deposits. Such conditions may also limit the usefulness of adhesives.
Thus, it would be advantageous to provide an intraluminal graft which is adapted for use in vascular repair under any conditions, but particularly under conditions which limit or prevent the use of intraluminal grafts having hook, pin, barb or staple attachment means. That is, it would be advantageous to provide an intraluminal graft which is structured to be supportable from a position downstream or below the disease condition to thereby eliminate the need for hook, pin, barb or staple anchoring means. Such structure would allow the placement and positioning of a graft within a diseased vessel when the condition or morphology of the vessel prevents use of barbtype attachment means. It would also be advantageous to provide an intraluminal graft structured to be flexible and adjustable to thereby facilitate insertion and placement of the graft within a vessel which displays abnormal morphology.


A steering-torque detecting unit detects a steering torque applied by a driver as a steering torque signal. A phase-lag compensation unit performs an operation having a frequency response characteristic of multiplying a phase-lag compensation by a constant for the steering torque signal based on a signal obtained by applying an amplification by a first gain and a low pass filter on the steering torque signal and a signal obtained by applying an amplification by a second gain on the steering torque signal. A current control unit controls a current applied to a motor to follow a current command that is obtained based on an output of the phase-lag compensation unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric power-steering control apparatus that assists a steering force by means of a driving force from a motor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an electric power-steering control apparatus detects a steering torque generated when a driver rotates a steering wheel and calculates a current command for a motor that is connected to a steering column that links wheels with the steering wheel via a steering gear in a compensation calculation unit based on the detected steering torque. Then, a motor torque is generated to assist a steering operation by the driver by controlling a motor current to follow the current command.
In the compensation calculation unit, the current command is calculated by using gains, various filters, and the like for not impairing the stability and the road feel of a vehicle. To achieve such a purpose, also a calculation to change properties of the gain and the filter depending on a speed of the vehicle (vehicle speed) and a measured amplitude of the torque is generally performed. In most cases, it is necessary to optimize properties of the electric power-steering control apparatus according to the type of a vehicle to which the electric power-steering control apparatus is applied, and performing the optimization simply and systematically is an important issue. Furthermore, to realize the optimization using a low-cost calculation device, having the calculation as simple as possible is another important issue.
According to an electric power-steering control apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H7-309250, a signal is generated using a function called an assist curve, which is nonlinear for the magnitude of the steering torque and changes its characteristic depending on a vehicle speed. Then, the calculation of the current command is performed by applying a lag-lead type filter called an adaptive torque filter on a calculation result of the assist curve.
The assist curve is for realizing the road feel according to the magnitude of the steering torque and the vehicle speed, and because it has nonlinear characteristics as described above, a fluctuation occurs in a linearized gain that is a ratio of differential changes of an input and an output. Such an adaptive torque filter is designed in such a manner that a desired characteristic is obtained when the linearized gain of the assist curve is maximized; however, if the characteristic of the adaptive torque filter is fixed, the gain-crossover frequency (a frequency at which a gain of an open-loop frequency response crosses with 0 dB) that greatly affects the stability of a control system fluctuates, and the characteristic of the control system is deviated from a desired operation.
To cope with the problem, in a technology described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H7-309250, the linearized gain that is the ratio of the differential changes of the input and the output is successively calculated and a pole of the adaptive torque filter is successively calculated according to a result of calculating the linearized gain, so that the total gain of the compensation calculation unit does not change in the gain-crossover frequency. For this reason, due to the successive calculations of the linearized gain and the pole of the adaptive torque filter, there is a problem that the calculation amount is increased. Furthermore, because the assist curve described above is set for determining a steady-state characteristic of the compensation calculation unit, which the gain in the low frequency range, the characteristic of the adaptive torque filter is changed in the high frequency range, so that the crossover frequency that is the characteristic of the high frequency range is not changed with a change of the linearized gain of the assist curve. Therefore, a design for the low frequency range and a design for the high frequency range greatly interfere with each other. As a result, it is hard to figure out a correspondence between configurations of constituent units that configure the compensation calculation unit, such as the adaptive torque filter and the assist curve, and the designs for the frequency ranges described above, and the design is neither systematic nor simple.
In the electric power-steering control apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H7-309247, another countermeasure technique is described for a similar problem as the case in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H7-309250. In this technology, for the detected steering torque, the signal is separated into a low frequency component and a high frequency component using a blending filter that is a combination of a low pass filter and a high pass filter. For the low frequency component of the torque detection value, a nonlinear calculation as in the assist curve described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H7-309250 is performed, and for the high frequency component of the torque detection value, a stationary linear gain is multiplied; and by inputting a sum of the calculation values to the adaptive torque filter, the output of the adaptive torque filter is calculated as the current command.
The adaptive torque filter described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H7-309247 is designed as a lag-lead filter such that the steering control apparatus shows a desired characteristic when the linearized gain is maximized as in the technology described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H7-309250. In other words, the gain in the low frequency range is designed to be relatively larger than the gain in the high frequency range. While the adaptive torque filter is changed according to the change of the linearized gain in the assist curve in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H7-309250, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H7-309247, a desired characteristic, such that the gain-crossover frequency does not fluctuate with the change of the linearized gain, is realized by adding an appropriately designed blending filter with the characteristic of the adaptive torque filter fixed with respect to the change of the linearized gain. More specifically, the blending filter added to the adaptive torque filter is mainly designed to have a phase lead characteristic to decrease the gain in the low frequency range. As a result, the gain in the low frequency range, which greatly affects the road feel, is determined by the product of the adaptive torque filter and the blending filter, once amplified relatively largely by the adaptive torque filter and then decreased by the blending filter. For this reason, the design becomes complicated calculation amount is increased.
As described above, according to the electric power-steering control apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H7-309250, because the pole of the adaptive torque filter is successively calculated by successively calculating the linearized gain of the changing assist curve in the compensation calculation unit, there is a problem that the calculation amount is increased. Furthermore, it is hard to figure out the correspondence between the operation of each unit configuring the compensation calculation unit and the design that differs depending on the frequency range, and the design is neither systematic nor simple.
Furthermore, according to the electric power-steering control apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H7-309247, an adaptive torque filter, which is a lag-lead filter designed to be optimal in a specific condition of the linearized gain of the changing assist curve is provided, and an appropriately designed blending filter is further added such that the steering control apparatus has a desired characteristic according to the assist curve. For this reason, an order of the steering control apparatus is increased due to the addition of the blending filter, and the design becomes complicated accordingly.
In short, in the technologies described in the above literatures, there are problems that the calculation amount in the steering control apparatus is increased and that the design is neither systematic nor simple.

Electric power-steering control apparatus


A method and apparatus for selecting a value of at least one network operating parameter, cell operating parameter, radio resource management parameter or dimensioning parameter for a cellular radio communications network having a base station and mobile units communicating therewith is described. A statistic is maintained of estimated mobile unit occurrence densities or estimated changes of mobile unit occurrence densities at locations in a cell. The selection of the value of the at least one network operating parameter, cell operating parameter, radio resource management parameter or a dimensioning parameter is made in accordance with an occurrence frequency density stored in the statistic. The apparatus and method are particularly suited for detection and remediation of hot spots.

In cell networks base stations serve mobile or fixed user equipment. Every base station has a limited radio coverage area. Radio resources in the form of frequency spectrum are reutilised among the cells to optimise the capacity of communications offered by the network. However, within one cell radio resources are restricted and these resources need to be managed efficiently. Various management procedures of the resources radio can be implemented, according to the choice of the operator, at the cell level or in the infrastructure of the cell network to optimise the employment of the frequencies and minimise interference.
As mobile telephone networks become more heavily used, the optimum use of available spectrum becomes very important. Any delay in making or terminating wireless communications, any unnecessary signalling or the use of an excessively high transmission power level will reduce the capacity of the system. However, obtaining optimised settings under all operating conditions is difficult.
A further difficulty is the rapidly varying traffic load in the cells. Depending on the time of day and public facilities provided within a cell, e.g. an airport or a football ground, large changes in traffic can occur, e.g. arrival of an aeroplane and all passengers turn on their mobile phones on disembarking, many making a phone call or accessing phonemail, termination of a football match followed by a large amount of messaging, etc. Areas of a cell having a high communication activity may be called "hot spots". One proposed solution to hot spot problems is to vary the charges in accordance with the loading on the cell, a) by charging high rates users are dissuaded from using the service or b) are prevented from doing so because their tariff agreement does not allow connection at the highest charging rates hich are imposed at high traffic levels.
EP 1090515 proposes a solution to some of the problems associated with adjusting network control parameters to changing situations. A scheme is proposed for selecting a value for a first radio resource management parameter by keeping a statistic of values measured on the radio channels of a quantity. A second parameter associated with the first parameter is adjusted so that a certain fraction, e.g. %, of the values in the statistic are above the selected value of the associated parameter. However, selecting the value of the associated parameter based on a value being representative of a certain fraction of measured values of a related quantity is not ideal for some of the wide variety of control parameters used in the management of a cellular network. In particular, depending on the occasion, a mobiles communicating from within hot spot might be have measured values at an percentage of the values in the statistic. Thus, the selection algorithm of EP 1090515 is not universally applicable and is in need of improvement.
Methods of determination of the location of mobile units have been known for some time. They may be grouped into cell based measurement techniques, cell ID techniques and global positioning techniques. The most accurate is the latter but requires that each mobile includes a GPS receiver. The least accurate is the cell ID method, but it involves the least effort as information as to the location of the mobile unit with respect to a location area or to a cell is required for paging purposes. Techniques based on measurements within the cell provide an intermediate accuracy, e.g. of one or more hundreds of metres, and are usually based on the measurement of delays of signals propagated within the cell. The delays from two or three known points can be reported then the location of the mobile unit may be obtained by triangulation methods. There are serious privacy concerns about recording accurate mobile unit location somewhere in the infrastructure without user agreement.

Method and device for selecting parameters for a cellular radio communication network based on occurrence frequencies


A heat meter for measuring the amount of heat consumed in a region. A heat exchanger is supplied with heated fluid through an inlet pipe which carries temperature sensors for sending signals to a control. The control also receives signals from a temperature sensor in an outlet pipe carrying fluid away from the region. A low power electric heater is mounted between the sensors to add a known amount of heat to the fluid. The control calculates the heat power consumed in the region based on the temperature difference across the regions and the temperature difference across the region and the temperature difference across the heater.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns heat metering, and in particular the invention concerns a method of measuring heat power consumed in a region from heat delivered thereto by a heat containing fluid and also concerns a heat meter to measure the heat power consumed in the region from heat delivered thereto by the fluid.
2. Discussion of the Background
The fluid may be a liquid, for example water. For example, in the case of water, the water may be the output from a heater such as a boiler, or be coolant bearing heat from apparatus it has been used to cool, or may be condensed steam, for example condensate subsequent to using the steam to drive a turbine.
The region comprises one or more heat exchangers. The region may be of any size. For example, the region may have single heat exchanger, for example a space heating radiator in a room. Or the region may comprise a plurality of heat exchangers forming, for example, a heat providing system for, for example a dwelling, a factory, a commercial office or public building, or a public amenity, or a plurality or combination of any of the aforesaid forming, for example, a community, village, town, suburb, district, or a commercial or industrial zone or district.

Apparatus and method for measuring heat power consumed in or extracted from a region


A mobile multimedia workstation comprises a base, a mobile component attached to the base bottom side, first and second upright members attached to the top side and spaced apart to define an opening, a clamp comprising first and second clamp faces connected by an adjustable member positioned within the opening and adjustable to urge first and second clamp faces toward each other and in contact with front and rear surfaces of the first and second upright members to fix a position of the clamp along the first and second upright members, a first arm having a first end connected to the first clamp face through a pivot junction and a second end defining a slot, a post within the slot and a device connected to the post, a threaded member disposed through the slot for adjusting a slot width to restrain the post within the slot.

Most off-the-shelf (OTS) image capture solutions provide inaccurate lighting and poor color balance on subjects during photography, video capture, videoconferencing and remote graphics display. These prior art solutions also offer extremely poor control and stability for multiple cameras and devices when operated by an individual operator. Computer operators involved in capturing and processing video and graphics must frequently vary their position from sitting to standing during long-duration tasks. Professional production studios with their overhead costs are very expensive. Existing OTS products do not offer the flexibility and multiple features that may be required for a particular work environment, especially for an operator working alone.
As can be seen, there is a need for a mobile multimedia workstation device that solves the disadvantages described above by transforming a regular room without any video production capabilities into a studio-quality photography and video studio.


Apparatus for the purification of gas and vapor streams by the removal of solid, liquid or aeriform polluting substances; the apparatus including a stator formed as a tubular body having a cylindrical inner wall, which body is furnished with at least one inlet aperture for the admission of gas or vapor streams containing solid, liquid or gaseous impurities and with at least one discharge aperture, a coaxial rotor extending longitudinally and revolvably supported inside the tubular body in such a way as to define with the cylindrical wall at least one annular passage, and an inlet for the admission of liquid into the tubular body.

Various types of apparatuses are known in the art which effect the purification of gases by the removal of polluting substances by scrubbing with a suitable liquid. Among these may be mentioned scrubbing columns, cyclone scrubbers and Venturi type scrubbers.
These latter apparatuses comprise a Venturi tube through which a gas is made to pass and into the throat of which is sprayed the scrubbing liquid. Through the effect of the high gas velocity, the liquid is finely atomized and the intimate contact achieved allows good dissolution of the soluble pollutants and good capture of the insoluble pollutants. The Venturi tube is connected to a cyclone in which the liquid droplets together with the entrained impurities are eliminated.
However, the effectiveness of Venturi scrubbers drops when the dimensions of the particles of the pollutants fall to micron levels, since these tend to be expelled in the form of an aerosol.

Scrubber-condenser for gas and vapour streams from industrial processes


The present invention discloses a structural and mechanical model and modeling methods for human bone based on bone's hierarchical structure and on its hierarchical mechanical behavior. The model allows for the assessment of bone deformations, computation of strains and stresses due to the specific forces acting on bone during function, and contemplates forces that do or do not cause viscous effects and forces that cause either elastic or plastic bone deformations.

Material science defines the structural properties of an object as the properties that describe the object's makeup independent from its shape. Adult human bone has a complex structure and can be described as a four order hierarchy, arranged in decreasing size (Petersen, 1930). The first order, macrostructure (FIG. 1), comprises the structures corresponding to gross shape and differentiation between compact (or cortical) bone (FIG. 2) and spongy (cancellous or trabecular) bone (FIG. 3). Compact bone is present in the long bone shaft (or diaphysis). Spongy bone is present in the lower jaw (mandible), in the epiphysis of long bone shaft, and in flat and short bones. The second order (or microstructure) of compact bone includes lamellar systems (lamellae). Organized lamellae around vascular canals are referred to as osteons (harvesian systems) and disorganized lamellae among osteons are referred to as the interstitial bone. The second order also is comprised of related structures such as bone marrow (see e.g. Bloom and Fawcetts, 1986). The third order (or ultrastructure) of compact bone consists mainly of collagen bundles and hydroxyapatite crystallites; mucopolysaccarides amount to a small amout but may have a significant role. The fourth order of compact bone consists of molecular arrangements between organic and inorganic substances. For cancellous bone, the second order includes trabeculae, which comprise lamellar systems and related structures, e.g. bone marrow. The third and forth orders of cancellous bone are the same those described for compact bone.
The osteon comprises a haversian canal with concentrically arranged lamellae. Osteons of long bone are generally directed along the long bone axis. Osteonic lamellae are organized as consisting of an organic framework (mostly a collagen bundle) embedded in ground substances, such as proteins and water, and hydroxyapatite crystallites. The hydroxyapatite crystallites are oriented in directions analogous to those of the bundles. Osteons measure a few centimeters in length and are between 200 and 300 μm in diameter. The degree of osteon calcification (relative amount of hydroxyapatite crystallites) is variable from osteon to osteon as well as within osteons. These differences are proposed to be due to the process of bone renewal or remodeling. In this process, osteons are renewed continuously. Consequently, osteons at different degrees of calcification are always present in adult compact bone.
There is a spectrum of osteon types that refer to the arrangements of fiber bundle direction in the lamellae. Two osteon types, "longitudinal" and "alternate", are representative of the two ends of the spectrum. Longitudinal osteons consist of bundles with a marked longitudinal spiral course. Alternate osteons consist of bundles with a marked longitudinal, oblique, and transversal course in successive lamellae (Frasca et al., 1977; Giraud-Guille, 1988; Ascenzi A. et al., 2000). There are two types of lamellae, termed extinct (or longitudinal) and bright (or transverse or circularly-fibered) lamellae. Extinct (or dark) lamellae appear extinct (or dark) whereas bright lamellae appear bright under a polarizing microscope when the microscope and osteon axes are aligned.
Compact bone consists of about 40% minerals, 40% collagen, and 20% fluids. The major internal spaces or discontinuities of compact bone include the vascular system, pits and cavities (lacunae), narrow channels (canaliculae), fine porosity, and spaces between the mineral phases. The major internal material discontinuities of compact bone (FIG. 5), in order of decreasing size, are:
Vascular system20–50μmLacunae4–6μmCanaliculae0.5–2μmFine porosity600–800ÅSpaces between mineral phases50–100Å
Cancellous bone consists of trabeculae, i.e. osseous structures with either a sheet-like or a rod-like configuration. These structures interlace to form a lattice-like or spongy biological structure (FIG. 3). For example, both types of trabeculae are present in the calcaneous; however, up to 3% of the rod-like configurations are tubular due to the vascular canal running through them. Therefore, they are similar to the harvesian system. In general, tubular trabeculae appear to have a relatively simple structure. Collagen fibrils run mostly parallel to the long axis of tubular trabeculae in the trabeculae outer portion and perpendicular in the inner portion. Although the true density of fully calcified cancellous bone is a little lower and the proteoglycan content a little greater than those of the fully calcified compact bone, the substantial difference between compact and cancellous bone resides in the porosity. The cancellous bone porosity, which ranges from 30% to more than 90%, is mainly due to the wide vascular and bone marrow intrabecular spaces. As is seen in compact bone, levels of calcification vary from trabecula to trabecula and within trabeculae.
The connections and orientations of trabeculae are found to have precise patterns, which are believed to relate to specific mechanical properties. The structure of the cancellous bone in the head and in the neck of the femur is usually given as an example of the correlation between the orientation of the trabeculae and the linear distribution of the principal forces during load bearing (stress trajectoral theory (Bell, 1956)). In general, such correlation between the orientation of the trabeculae and the linear distribution of the principal forces during load bearing is still under study because while in line with the mathematical calculations, the possible effect of muscle traction is complex (Koch, 1917; Rybicki et al., 1972). Nevertheless, there is a close relationship between the number and arrangement of trabeculae and the strength of cancellous bone (see e.g. Kleerekoper et al., 1985). This is evidenced by the age-induced loss of trabeculae (see e.g. Birkenhäger-Frenkel et al., 1988). Since this loss is rather selective (i.e. transverse trabeculae disappear more frequently than vertical ones in the central zone of the osteoporotic vertebral body; entire trabeculae totally disappear in elderly women and a sharp fall in trabecular number is observed in elderly men), it is possible that cancellous bone contains some bundles of trabeculae whose main function is to resist mechanical forces while others have mainly a metabolic role.
The mechanical behavior of an object, or the response of an object to forces, of an object depends on the structure of the object. If the object is comprised of a hierarchical structure, the mechanical behavior of the object varies from order to order. That is, each order or level of the hierarchy responds to forces according to the structures and relationships within that order. Overall mechanical behavior of the object is ultimately determined by the mechanical properties of the different orders. Therefore, the mechanical properties of an object will vary with the hierarchical structure of the object. Bone is an example of an object where the mechanical behavior and mechanical properties are dependent upon this kind of hierarchical structure.
Mechanical properties of bone have been and are being investigated at various hierarchical levels through invasive (sample isolation) and non-invasive testing. Osteonic trabecular lamellae, osteons, trabeculae, and macroscopic compact and cancellous bone samples have been and are the objects of such studies. Micromechanical results include Ascenzi A. and Bonucci, 1964, 1967; Ascenzi A. and Bonucci, 1968, 1972; Currey, 1969; Ascenzi A. et al., 1985, 1997, 1998; Hohling et al., 1990; Ascenzi A. et al., 1990, 1994; Marotti et al., 1994; Ziv et al., 1996; Ascenzi M.-G., 1999a, 1999b; Huja et al., 1999; Zysset et al., 1999; Ascenzi M.-G. et al., 2000. Macromechanical results include Hazama, 1956; Cook and Gordon, 1964; Carter and Hayes, 1976 and 1977; Carter et al., 1976 and 1981; Carter and Spengler, 1978; Hayes and Carter, 1979; Burr et al., 1988; Cater and Carter 1989; Jepsen and Davy, 1997.
Even though numerous publications have addressed bone micromechanics in recent years, many biomechanical issues relating to bone are still not understood due to the lack of reliable or predictive models. The lack of inclusion of such micromechanical properties in current models of bone functions and behavior have severely limited their usefulness in predicting macromechanical properties. These properties include the bone behavior in response to external forces or identifying the requirements of bone reconstruction and prosthesis. However, the inclusion of these factors requires the development of methods and studies that may provide reliable and reproducible results.
The present invention describes a method to understand and predict the behavior of bone. The method includes a model of macroscopic bone which is constructed in terms of bone's hierarchical structural and mechanical properties and their interaction with forces acting on the macroscopic bone, including forces associated with the ordinary functioning of the body and forces applied clinically. The method can be applied to any bone structures, including human bone and the bones of vertebrates in general. The model applies to normal bone, and to pathological bone, when the pathology either does not alter the structural hierarchy, or when the alterations are characterized. The model is also applicable to fossilized bone.

System and method for modeling bone structure


A toner cartridge can be attached to and detached from an apparatus main body. The toner cartridge includes an outer housing having a substantially rectangular upper cross section and a substantially semi-circular lower cross section, and an inner housing that is disposed inside of a lower portion of the outer housing and that has a cylindrical shape with an opening formed at its side surface, the inner housing being rotatably supported in the lower portion of the outer housing, and at the opening a bridging portion being formed along a longitudinal direction of the inner housing.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a toner cartridge, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus using a charging method in which electric discharge is used as a principle.
2. Related Art
Conventionally, to simplify device configuration and to avoid toner contamination of a toner cartridge mounting section, the following toner cartridges have been widely used.
That is, the toner cartridge includes two containing cases, i.e., a cylindrical inner containing case and an outer containing case which rotatably holds the inner containing case. In a state where the two containing cases are inserted into and fixed to an apparatus, an inner containing case is rotationally operated so that a toner supply opening can be opened and closed.
In the cartridge having the above-described configuration, however, it is required to increase the diameter of the cylindrical portion to increase the maximum toner amount to be filled. Especially in the case of a full color image forming apparatus which requires cartridges of four colors (YMCK), increasing a diameter of the cylindrical portion seriously influence on apparatus size.


A preferably air-tight and liquid-tight collapsible container comprises a container body (5) formed of a sheet material, said sheet material having two thermoplastic surfaces (2, 3), said sheet material comprising a preferably fluid-tight carrier foil (1) provided at least on and preferably on both sides (2, 3), with a thermoplastic semi-rigid or rigid layer material, preferably a polyester based material said sheet material being folded to a container-like body and sealed in the overlapping edge regions (6, 7) to form a container-like body, said container-like body being coated with a sheathing (9) of elastomeric thermoplastic material of the same kind or type as the foil material to form a container body (5), said container body (5) being provided at one open end (5a) with a container head formed from thermoplastic material of the same kind or type as the foil material.

Flexible containers consisting of plastic, particularly collapsible tubes for substances such as pastes, jellies, emulsions, liquids, foams, powders, etc., have been heretofore produced by injection molding, extrusion or blowing of plastic to the desired shape. Such techniques, however, have the disadvantage that when using materials best suited for injection molding and which are flexible in polymerized condition, such as for example polyethylene, PVC, PVDC, there are obtained container walls which are rather well permeable to gas. Consequently, the substances filled into the thus produced containers tend to alter after prolonged storage (oxidation, loss of water or other low boiling solvent or ingredient, etc.), and thus, will become useless.
Another significant drawback of these manufacturing techniques for collapsible tubes resides in the actual heading of the tube, that is, the provision of the tube with a closure portion or end. Tubes formed by such methods are not sufficiently formed as to shape and dimension that they can be readily introduced, as such, into a mold cavity for applying the tube cap or head. Consequently, these techniques need specially designed and sealed molds.
The problems of these tubes have been addressed and to a large extent solved by U.S. Pat. No. 3,660,194. Said patent describes a method for the production of fluid-tight collapsible tubes provided with a tube heading. Said method comprises the steps of coating an impervious, substantially strip-shaped carrier foil on at least one side with heat-sealable plastic, forming the coated carrier foil to the shape of the container body by overlapping and heat-sealing adjacent edges of the coated carrier foil, and applying a plastic sheathing over the heat-sealed container body to cover the outside of the container body such that the shape and dimension of the outside surface of the sheathed container body substantially correspond to the shape and dimension of an inner wall of an outer mold part of a tube heading mold, then sealingly inserting an open end portion of the sheathed container body into the mold cavity of the tube heading mold, and with the inner wall of the open end portion of the container body being spaced from an inside wall of an inner mold part, such that by introducing moldable plastic material into the mold cavity said material is formed into the tube heading and brought into contact with the open end portion of the container body, thereby applying substantially radially directed forces to the spaced inner wall of the container body to further urge the outside surface of said end portion of the container body against the inner wall of the outer mold part to thereby prevent escape of moldable plastic material out of the mold cavity, and resulting in a tight connection between the tube heading and the tube body.
Although the method described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,660,194 solves a lot of the problems encountered with other tubes, said method so far was limited to flexible plastics. Since such flexible plastic materials are not compatible with all desired filling substances, there exists a substantial risk that the filled-in substances, due to their contact with the container wall, are subject to chemical reactions or changes, or to alterations in taste or smell, or to changes of consistency, which alterations or changes may reduce their life-time and/or even prevent their intended use. Or the flexible tube materials may be damaged by aggressive filling substances leading to e.g. delamination of laminate.
Thus, there is still a need for a broader variety of collapsible containers, preferably gas-tight and liquid-tight collapsible containers, especially collapsible tubes.

Polyfoil tube made from semi-rigid or rigid foil materials


A spray nozzle of two piece structure threaded together and including a fitting for mounting on a pressurized liquid supply pipe and including an orifice controlling liquid flow to a one piece molded nozzle of plastic material screw threaded onto the fitting. The nozzle includes spaced longitudinal side walls interconnected by a top wall and a bottom slot. A diffuser plate or blade is mounted between the side walls at the discharge end of the nozzle. The side walls of the nozzle converge from the inlet end of the nozzle toward the nozzle blade or plate at the discharge end. Each side wall converges toward the center line of the nozzle at an angle ranging between 1° and 3°. A thin metal plate forms a closure for a major portion of the length of the bottom slot with a rearward end having an air inlet below the orifice in the fitting to draw air into the nozzle as liquid exits the orifice into a larger volume area at a reduced pressure. The other end of the plate terminates in adjacent but spaced relation to the diffuser blade.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a spray nozzle and more specifically to improvements in the spray nozzle disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,497 issued Dec. 31, 1991. The improved spray nozzle functions in a manner similar to the nozzle disclosed in that patent but includes a novel and unique structure to provide a more effective diffusion pattern of liquid discharge. The improved spray nozzle is a two piece structure screw connected together including a metal fitting connected to and in communication with a pressurized liquid supply pipe and a one piece injection molded plastic nozzle, preferably but not limited to nylon, screw connected to the metal fitting. The nozzle includes laterally spaced longitudinal side walls interconnected by a top wall and open at the bottom to form a continuous bottom slot. The slot extends throughout the length of the nozzle and is provided with a diffuser plate or blade at the discharge end thereof that is integral with the top wall of the nozzle. The inner surfaces of the side walls of the nozzle are vertically parallel and at any given point are spaced equally from a longitudinal center line of the nozzle.
Another significant improvement incorporated into the nozzle of this invention is the longitudinal convergence of the inner surfaces of the side walls from the inlet end of the nozzle toward the diffuser blade or plate at the discharge end. Each side wall converges toward the center line of the nozzle. A further significant improvement of the improved spray nozzle of this invention is to provide interchangeable metal fittings having different size orifices to enable control of the quantity of liquid being discharged by changing metal fittings rather than necessitating that a user have available a supply of one-piece cast spray nozzles in order to control the volume of discharge of liquid into the spray pattern. Likewise interchangeable nozzles are provided having different angles of convergence to vary the spray pattern of the liquid. An angle of convergence ranging between 1° to 3° from a centerline of the nozzle may be provided. A nozzle with the angle of convergence of 2° is preferred when a metal fitting with a smaller orifice is utilized and a nozzle having an angle of convergence of 1° is preferred when a metal fitting with a larger orifice is used. A further significant improvement in the spray nozzle of this invention is the provision of a thin metal insert in the slot in the bottom of the nozzle. The end of the insert adjacent the metal fitting includes an opening in the rearward end directly below the orifice in the metal fitting when the nozzle is assembled onto the metal fitting. The inner surface of the side walls of the nozzle each have a groove receiving the side edges of the metal plate. The outer end of the metal plate terminates adjacent to but in spaced relation of the lower end of the diffuser blade at the discharge end of the nozzle. This structure allows air to be drawn in at the rear of the nozzle for more through mixing of air and liquid as the air and liquid travel through the enclosed area formed by the top wall and side walls of the nozzle and the metal insert in the bottom slot.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The spray nozzle disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,497 is constructed of one piece cast metal and thus includes a fixed diameter orifice or passageway into the nozzle or extension of inverted U-shaped configuration. The spaced vertical wall surfaces in the nozzle are longitudinally parallel and the surfaces must be very smooth in as much as any irregularities in these surfaces adversely affects the flow of liquid in the extension. Therefore, the cast wall surfaces in my prior spray nozzle must be polished or smoothed to remove irregularities formed during the casting process. Smoothing such surfaces is labor intensive and materially adds to the production cost of the nozzle. Additionally, in my prior spray nozzle, the diffuser plate or blade must be secured in place by drilling an aperture and placing a pin therein to secure the blade. Additionally, in order to prevent leakage around the blade where the upper end is slid into a notch in the upper wall of the nozzle, a sealant must be provided at the juncture between the edges of the notch and the surfaces of the blade. This procedure is also labor intensive. In addition, the spray nozzle in my prior patent mentioned above includes an orifice of fixed diameter supplying pressurized liquid to the nozzle thereby requiring the use of different spray nozzles when it is desired to change the volume of liquid in the spray pattern.

Spray nozzle with one piece diffuser unit


A method of obtaining high-resolution spectroscopic information from a scanning microscope. An optical beam is directed at a sample and light emitted from the sample (e.g., from Raman scattering or fluorescence) is collected. Resolution is improved by supporting a tiny conductive element (e.g., a silver particle) from a probe located within the optical beam area. The conductive element enhances the light emitted from molecules in the vicinity of the probe. The invention provides the high spatial resolution of microscopes such as the AFM with the high chemical detection sensitivity of surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy. This combination allows the isolation and differentiation of single molecules on surfaces of nanostructures.

Single molecule spectroscopic techniques are becoming very sophisticated, and are now revealing information that was not possible to discern from bulk experiments. For example, polymer physics experiments with single molecules of DNA have permitted detailed study of non-equilibrium dynamics, measurement of non-linear forces of highly extended polymers, and the first direct measurement of the normal mode relaxation structure of a polymer.
Scanning probe microscopy has had a renaissance in recent years. Following the invention of the scanning optical microscope, the atomic force microscope (AFM) and near field scanning optical microscope were invented. These instruments have found many applications in biology, chemistry, physics and materials science. Recently, a far field optical interferometer was combined with an AFM in order to create a super-resolution scanning optical microscope. Contrast is generated by induced dipole-dipole interactions between the tip and sample, so that the resolution is limited only by the size of the tip. This information is encoded in the scattered electric fields and measured with an interferometer. It is an excellent method for taking extremely high resolution images of objects on a surface, but does not provide much detail for distinguishing different types of objects or chemical species. There have been some variations on the AFM, called chemical force microscopy, but these devices can only identify adhesion forces between particular ligands.
Raman spectroscopy has a long history of utility in the identification of molecular vibrational modes. In practice, Raman spectra are often used to distinguish different molecular species. However, the probability of Raman scattering is low (Raman cross sections are exceedingly small, 10.sup.-30 cm.sup.2 for CN), which limits the applicability of the technique. In 1974 it was discovered that roughened silver surfaces caused enhancements of Raman scattering by 6-7 orders of magnitude. This effect became known as surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and was explained with the concept of field enhancement from classical electrodynamics. Numerous experiments and theoretical studies have been performed to confirm this picture. The key feature necessary for SERS is to have a surface roughness of characteristic size 10-100 nm, made of a material whose dielectric constant satisfies a certain resonance condition. It turns out that silver is one of the best materials for studying SERS with visible light, and many SERS studies have used silver surfaces. Both Raman and SERS Raman microprobes and microscopes have been constructed, but their resolutions are on the order of 1 mm and require a large amount of sample.
In spite of the enhancement from SERS, a single molecule will Raman scatter only a small number of photons, and photon counting detection scheme must be used. A comparable situation is found in the detection of single fluorescent dye molecules. The field of single molecule fluorescence has seen tremendous growth over the past few years, and there are now a plethora of techniques with which to detect the photons emitted from a single dye molecule. The detectors are typically avalanche photodiodes, and a wide variety of background reduction techniques have been used, including confocal optics, two photon excitation and evanescent wave excitation.

High resolution scanning raman microscope


It is an object of the present invention to output a clear, expanded image wherein step-shapes or chain-shapes of oblique lines are reduced, distortion is eliminated and no constituent lines of fonts or graphics are missing. An image transform method, for transforming original input image data into image data expanded by a ratio represented by a rational number or an integer, comprises: a vertical and horizontal interpolation unit, for reducing correlation in the vertical and horizontal directions of interpolated image data linearly expanded from an original image data input unit, and for generating first expanded image data; an oblique interpolation unit, for performing linear interpolation, based on correlation with a target pixel constituting the original image data and neighboring pixels arranged in oblique directions, using the neighboring pixels to generate second expanded image data; and a final result generator for employing the first expanded image data and the second expanded image data to generate a final image.

Conventionally, the nearest neighbor method and bilinear interpolation have been used widely as interpolation methods to obtain a match between a high definition liquid crystal display (LCD) and a lower resolution personal computer (PC) screen. These interpolation methods are popular because only a small number of calculations is required for the real time processing of a high resolution image. However, it is known that the nearest neighbor method contributes to an increase in distortion in an expanded image, and therefore, the bilinear interpolation method, whereby the rough shape of an original image can be expanded, is often employed. But it is also true that bilinear interpolation tends to blur resultant images, an effect that is especially remarkable when bilinear interpolation is employed for images displayed on an image display device, such as an LCD, that does not have the low-pass characteristics.
The bilinear interpolation method is an example of the multirate processing theory called linear interpolation. And because of this, interpolation methods based on the general multirate processing theory have been proposed that use more pixels than the number employed for bilinear interpolation. For example, a multirate interpolation method using a table search method for a linear filter is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,410,616. Further, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,594,676, linear filters having different orders are prepared, and are changed in accordance with the characteristics exhibited by peripheral pixels. In addition, according to reference document 1 (IEEE Signal Processing Magazine, Vol. 16, No. 6, pp. 22-38, November 1999), pertaining to the generalization of the interpolation method, except for a point for obtaining an efficient number of calculations, a linear interpolation method whereby information loss can theoretically be minimized can be substantially provided as an interpolation method that uses a third-order B-spline. Thus, it becomes apparent that image processing using the linear interpolation method is approaching the limit of its effectiveness.
When the above method is employed for image interpolation, vertical calculations and horizontal calculations are sequentially performed, and one pixel in a low-resolution image is transformed into a set of rectangular pixel regions, so that the appearance of step-shapes or chain-shapes of oblique lines can not be prevented. In order to prevent the appearance of such shapes, it is considered effective to perform interpolation by employing a directional filter that uses peripheral pixels aligned in the direction in which an oblique line is extended. For example, in reference document 2 (IEEE Proceedings of the 1995 International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing, Vol. 4, pp. 2383-2386, May 1995), and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,991,463, the use of the directional, linear interpolation methods are proposed.
These image expansion methods are required for a computer monitor and a projector in order to provide a match between a flat panel display, such as an LCD, which has a fixed pixel resolution, and an image produced by the graphics card of a PC. However, when an expansion process for an original image is performed vertically and horizontally, or in the opposite order, as with the conventional bilinear interpolation method, correlation is increased vertically and horizontally for the pixels that have been interpolated. As a result, when an oblique line is expanded, a pixel displayed on a low-resolution screen is transformed into a group of rectangular pixel regions, and a step-shape or chain-shape of oblique line appears. And even when a high accurate linear interpolation is performed using a third order B-spline, the above phenomenon becomes ever more remarkable as the expansion ratio is increased. When this phenomenon appears on the display of a high definition LCD, it seems to the user that the physical definition of the output screen differs from the actual definition.
In reference document 2, the differences in pixels are calculated for predetermined directions, and the reciprocals of values obtained for all the directions are added together to acquire the normalized weight coefficient. Linear interpolation is performed for pixels dispersed in each direction corresponding to each weight coefficient, and to provide an expanded image, the summation of the results is calculated based on the weight coefficients. In this method, linear interpolation is performed by regarding, as the dominant direction, the one in which the pixel difference is small, and this method can be considered as a method for preventing the step-shapes or chain-shapes of oblique lines. However, using this method, since in order to prevent an erroneous determination the summation is calculated by also using the interpolation results obtained for the non-dominant direction, blurring of an output image can not be avoided.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,991,463, a bilinear interpolation technique using four adjacent pixels arranged in a specific direction is proposed as a directional interpolation method. Specifically, according to this method, first, a difference among four peripheral pixels is obtained for the determination of three directions, i.e., the right oblique, the left oblique and the vertical directions. The differences are compared with each other, and the direction having the smallest pixel difference is determined to be an interpolation direction. In addition, an additional search is performed, as needed. When the pixel differences for the three directions are substantially the same, the vertical direction is determined. When the pixel difference for the vertical direction is small and the difference for one of the oblique directions is obviously small, the pertinent oblique direction is determined. When the pixel differences for the two oblique directions are small, the same direction determination is performed for a pixel that forms an oblique line parallel to the pixels whose difference was calculated. And when the differences for the two oblique directions are small for the additional pixel, the vertical direction is determined. In this manner, as is disclosed in this publication, when interpolation is performed for one specific direction, excessive image blurring can be avoided.
However, according to the above method, an erroneous determination may be made if in an observation pixel mask used for direction determination foreground and background can not be identified, such as when white and black pixels intersect to form an X shape. When the direction can not be correctly determined, an interpolation value is obtained that is far different from the correct value, and there is a defect in the interpolation results. In addition, generally, according to the expansion method for which only oblique interpolation is performed, correlation in the vertical and horizontal directions is reduced. That is, since at the point where vertical and horizontal linear lines intersect, an image is expanded as if it is assumed as a diamond shape, instead of expanding in the original vertical and horizontal directions, the obtained image is distorted. Further, since the isolated point of the original image is determined to be the point whereat the oblique lines cross, and the image is to be expanded in the oblique directions, the isolated point is faded out, or the expansion of the image is less than it is supposed to be.
To resolve the above shortcomings, it is one object of the present invention to provide an image transform method whereby the step-shapes or chain-shapes of oblique lines are not remarkable, even when an image has been expanded by two or more times of its original size.
It is another object of the present invention to output a clear, expanded image wherein distortion is eliminated and no constituent lines of fonts and graphics are missing.
It is an additional object of the present invention to perform fast image transform processing.

Image transform method for obtaining expanded image data, image processing apparatus and image display device therefor

International Business Machines Corporation


A tool is employed with a subsea wellhead assembly for preventing the collapse of a wear bushing located in a drill-through tubular member due to external test forces being applied to it. The tool has a connector that connects to the drill-through tubular member. A stem extends downward from the connector and has a reacting member at its lower end. The reacting member engages an inner diameter of the wear bushing to resist inwardly directed forces due to fluid pressure on the exterior of the wear bushing. The tool can be incorporated with a running tool or with a blowout preventer isolation test tool.

A subsea well is typically drilled by drilling a first portion of the well and installing conductor pipe and an outer wellhead housing. Then the well is drilled to a second depth and a first string of casing is installed, the casing being suspended by a high pressure wellhead housing that lands in the low pressure wellhead housing. In one technique, the operator lowers a blowout preventer on a riser and attaches the blowout preventer to the high pressure wellhead housing, then drills the well to total depth.
If the operator is using one type of production tree, referred to herein as a "vertical" tree, he will then complete the well by perforating and installing tubing, with the tubing hanger landing in the high pressure wellhead housing. He then will install a production tree on top of the high pressure wellhead housing.
Alternatively, the operator could land a tubing head or spool on the high pressure wellhead housing before the well is drilled to total depth and connect the blowout preventer to the tubing spool. The operator would complete the drilling through the tubing spool and complete the well by installing the tubing hanger in the tubing spool. The vertical tree would then be landed on the tubing spool.
If the operator is going to use another type of tree, called a "horizontal" or "spool" tree, typically, he would install the tree on the high pressure wellhead housing, then complete the well and land the tubing hanger within the tree.
Another technique involves landing a horizontal tree on the high pressure wellhead housing before employing the drilling riser and blowout preventer to drill the well to total depth. In this technique, the first and second portions of the well are drilled and at least the first string of casing installed without the use of a blowout preventer. The horizontal tree lands on top of the high pressure wellhead housing, and the drilling riser is connected to the upper end of the horizontal tree. The drilling riser may have a subsea blowout preventer, or it may be of a high pressure type with a surface blowout preventer located on the drilling vessel. The operator drills through the tree to total depth and runs the casing through the blowout preventer and drilling riser. The operator installs the tubing hanger in the horizontal tree.
Both a tubing spool and a horizontal tree have one or more ports that lead from the bore to the exterior. These ports may include tubing annulus ports that communicate with the annulus surrounding the string of tubing. Also, ports exist for supplying hydraulic fluid pressure to mating ports in the tubing hanger for a downhole safety valve. There may be ports for electrical lines for downhole sensors, as well. A horizontal tree also has a production outlet port leading from the bore, but a tubing spool would not have a production outlet port.
A wear bushing will be fitted within the bore of a horizontal tree or tubing spool while at the surface to protect the sealing surfaces within the bore during subsequent drilling. The wear bushing is a tubular sleeve that will cover all of the ports leading into the bore and all sealing surfaces in the bore. Normally the wear bushing is sealed to the tree bore above and below the ports to prevent entry of drilling mud and debris into the ports.
Industry practice requires that the valves leading to these various ports be tested after the tree or tubing spool has been installed on the high pressure wellhead housing. Normally, each port will have a small diameter test passage that leads to it for supplying hydraulic fluid pressure to the port between the valve and the wear bushing. The test pressure exerts an inward force on the wear bushing.
With a drill-through tubular member, such as a horizontal tree or tubing spool, the wear bushing is quite thin so as to maintain a full bore diameter for the passage of casing, casing hangers, drill bits and the like. The test pressure could cause buckling and collapsing of the wear bushing. U.S. Pat. No. 6,966,381 discloses placing a test sleeve within the wear bushing to prevent collapse of the wear bushing during pressure testing of the port valves, then retrieving the test sleeve before commencing drilling.
Another test procedure required is to test the blowout preventer after it has landed and before drilling occurs. A blowout preventer has a number of closure members that will close around conduit and also close the full bore. Also, choke and kill lines extend alongside the riser from the surface to a point below one or more of the closure members of the blowout preventer. One manner of testing the blowout preventer is to lower a test tool on a string of drill pipe through the blowout preventer. The test tool has a packer element that seals to the bore of the tubular member on which the blowout preventer is secured. The operator closes one of the closure members around the drill pipe and supplies fluid pressure through one of the choke and kill lines to the sealed chamber defined by the closure member and the packer element. If the test is successful, the test tool is retrieved and the drill string ran back in with a drill bit.


A method of detection and tracking of targets using multiple angle-only sensors is disclosed. The method is computationally efficient and is capable of detecting and tracking multiple targets in true three dimensional space. The method comprises distributing a set of modules in space and associating those modules with bearing lines from each sensor to each target. Through repetitive iterative associations between modules and bearing lines, the modules converge on the targets present.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to target detection and tracking, and more specifically to a search method for target detection and tracking using multiple angle-only sensors.
(b) Description of Related Art
Historically, electronic tracking systems were able to compute and track the coordinates of a target by measuring its angle of approach and its range. However, in many instances, only the approach angle of the target is available because the range information is often electronically jammed.
Ideally, given at least two sets of approach angle data per target, it is possible to determine the location of the targets. The target location may be determined, for example, by the intersection of the angle data from a pair of sensors. The difficulty with using angle-only methods is that associating bearing lines (i.e., imaginary lines drawn between sensors and targets) with multiple targets requires a substantial search space which may be on the order of (N|).sup.S-1, where N is the number of targets and S is the number of sensors in the system. Locating and tracking targets within the search space requires a significant amount of time and computing power.
A number of methods for solving the above-referenced locating and tracking problem have been proposed. One method, known generally as a multiple elastic feature network (MEFN), associates a number of intersection points of bearing lines to locate and track targets. This is accomplished with N independent sets of M feature specific neurons, or artificial intelligence elements, that respond to the temporal properties of the targets. This method only functions as a two dimensional abstraction of a three dimensional system, using few (approx. three) sensors.
Pattipati et al., "A New Relaxation Algorithm and Passive Sensor Data Association," IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, 37(2) 1992 pp. 198-213, discloses an approach based on optimization of the log likelihood function using the Lagarangian relaxation method. This method has similar computational complexity to the MEFN method described above, however it is only used for target detection and not for target tracking.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method of rapidly and efficiently detecting and tracking targets in three dimensional space using numerous sensors.

Search method for detection and tracking of targets using multiple angle-only sensors