A method of delivering a particulate therapeutic agent is disclosed. Such a method may include providing a carbon dioxide scrubber in pneumatic communication with the respiratory system of a patient. Gas and particulate therapeutic agent expired by the patient are passed through the scrubber to provide treated gas, and the treated gas and particulate therapeutic agent are provided back to the respiratory system.

A particulate therapeutic agent may be carried by a carrier gas to a patient's lungs to treat the patient. For example, the carrier gas may be oxygen, and the therapeutic agent may be a liquid particulate or solid particulate. Such a mixture may be an aerosol. Such a mixture may be formed by nebulizing a liquid into the carrier gas. This method of administration may be advantageous when the therapeutic agent targets a specific site of action that is readily accessed by inspiration, or when pulmonary uptake of a therapeutic agent from the systemic circulation is suboptimal, or when systemic blood levels of a therapeutic agent are to be minimized. Examples of therapeutic agents that may be administered in this manner include bronchodilators, steroids, antibiotics, mucolytics, DNA lytic enzymes and genetic vectors for the treatment of lung disease. For example, antifungal and antiviral agents have been administered as aerosols. Further, chemotherapeutic agents for pulmonary malignancy and a host of pulmonary therapies having potential systemic toxicity or undesirable systemic side effects have been nebulized. Additional therapies may include surfactant administration, perfluorocarbon delivery and liposomal drug administration.
The respiratory cycle of a human being is comprised of inspiration and expiration. Inspiration accounts for roughly ¼ of the respiratory cycle and expiration accounts for roughly ¾ of the respiratory cycle. If a therapeutic agent is continuously moved past a patient's mouth, roughly ¾ of the therapeutic agent may not be inspired, and therefore may be wasted. Furthermore, the therapeutic agent that is inspired may be only partially taken up by the lung. For certain therapeutic agents, such as surfactant, more than 90% of inspired therapeutic agent may be subsequently expired (rather than retained in the lung) and thus lost in the expired air. This effect may be greatest when the therapeutic mixture has particulates that are especially small, as may be the case when the therapeutic agent has low surface tension (like surfactant and perfluorocarbon) or is a high density liquid (like perfluorocarbons).
One solution to these inefficiencies of dosing is to rebreathe expired gas, thus renewing the opportunity to take up the therapeutic agent rather than lose it to the environment after expiration. If a "single puff" of the therapeutic agent could be repeatedly rebreathed, ultimate uptake could approach 100%. The same would be true for a "puff" followed by prolonged breath-holding. Repeated rebreathing of the same "puff", or prolonged breath holding may give rise to hypoxia, hypercarbia, discomfort, or may prolong the time required to deliver a requisite dose of the therapeutic agent. Further, a high level of patient cooperation may be required. These problems complicate, if not prevent, use of these approaches to administer a therapeutic agent.
One solution to these problems involves intermittent dosing, in which the therapeutic agent is provided only during inspiration. This solution offers a significant gain in efficiency over continuous dosing, but is still limited in its usefulness by loss of unabsorbed therapeutic agent to the environment during expiration. This solution may be combined with breath-holding to further reduce expiratory losses, but the breath-holding approach may limit the rate of administration of the therapeutic agent and may require a high level of patient cooperation.

Therapeutic agent delivery device and method

The Research Foundation of State University of New York


Methods of producing a printed circuit board having a desired conductive pattern thereon provide the upper surface of a substrate board with raised portions having trenches therebetween. The raised portions, which define a desired conductive pattern, are then treated to form conductors thereon. In a first method, the resin used in the laminant forming the substrate board includes a hard particulate filler such as glass beads that are exposed at the raised portions of the substrate surface following grinding. Conductive metal is then welded onto the exposed filler to form a desired conductive layer over the raised portions. In a second method, the resin of the laminant forming the substrate board includes conductive metallic powder, such that burnishing of the raised portions forms conductors at the raised portions. In a third method, a conductive layer is laminated to the upper surface of the substrate board using adhesive and hot pressing, following which the unbonded portions of the conductive layer at the trenches are removed, such as by shot peening. The remaining portions of the conductive layer form the desired conductive pattern.

1. Field or the Invention
The present invention relates to the production of printed circuit boards, and more particularly to methods for providing a desired conductive pattern on a substrate board.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The printed circuit board (hereinafter "PCB"), also known as a printed wiring board, has been the foundation of circuit packaging since as early as the 1940s. This well-established method of interconnecting and packaging a variety of electronic components is both space efficient and cost-effective. For those reasons, PCBs are widely used in, for example, computers, consumer electronics, military applications, and a number of other electronics products.
PCBs have many advantages over discrete wire connection of electronic components. For instance, when there is a call for high production of identical electronic components, PCBs have significant advantages. One reason is that, within a single production batch, the electronic components and their arrangement within the PCB are identical for each PCB. Fabrication therefore becomes repetitive and the assembly line may be wholly or partially automated. Also, quality control may be carefully monitored. Such automation and quality control advantages translate to significant cost savings. By contrast, hard wiring is labor intensive and prone to errors during assembly Another reason PCBs are superior to hard wiring is that electronic components on a PCB can be packaged more densely, thereby reducing size and weight. Due to these advantages of PCBs, any improvements in the processing of PCBs are highly desirable.
A conventional PCB employs a laminate structure having one or more layers of conductive copper foil laminated onto a "substrate" board. The substrate board is itself typically a laminate, made from an electrical insulator such as paper, woven glass cloth, or thermosetting or thermoplastic polymer, which insulator is impregnated with resin. The resin-impregnated board, without the copper is commonly called a "prepreg," in the industry. The copper foil is laminated onto the "prepreg" to provide the conductive layer of the PCB which carries the electrical signals between the electronic components that are later mounted on the PCB. The desired circuit network is transferred onto the copper-clad board by etching the copper layer into the desired conductive pattern.
The two basic processes for creating the conductive pattern in the copper foil are screen printing and photoprinting. In either case, a stencil or template duplicating the desired circuit network is prepared ahead of time. In the screen printing process, liquid resist material is forced through the stencil to create an image of the desired circuit network on the copper foil layer. Then, the resist is cured and different chemicals are applied to strip away the copper not covered by the resist material. The balance of the copper that remains after stripping and curing becomes the circuit network. In the photoprinting process, the desired circuit network is photographed onto a board after it has been coated with a light-sensitive photoresist material. After exposure to light, the circuit pattern in the photoresist material hardens and protects the copper thereunder from etching chemicals that are subsequently added. After passage of time, the chemicals dissolve the unexposed portions of the photoresist material along with the copper layer underneath. The remaining pattern formed in the copper layer is the current-carrying circuit. Conventional methods used to make a circuit network include combinations of these printing and etching methods, as well as plating.
In the final step, electronic components like transistors, resistors, diodes, etc. are soldered on to the board. Those electronic components have leads that pass through holes drilled in the board where they are then soldered (called the through-hold design). More recently, the components are commonly soldered directly onto the exposed copper cladding without use of drilled holes. This method is called Surface Mount Technology (SMT).
Although the conventional methods of manufacturing PCBs are quite versatile and highly evolved, there are a number of limitations and disadvantages. One disadvantage of patterning PCBs through chemical etching is that it is expensive due to the chemicals consumed and the sophisticated processes used. Also, it is inherently a multi-step and relatively slow process which significantly reduces PCB throughout. In addition, specially-equipped manufacturing facilities and highly-skilled technicians are required to support certain segments of such an operation. Furthermore, the toxicity of expended chemicals and their byproducts limits the efficacy of reclamation procedures. Indeed, concerns for the environment and the ecosystem make disposal of these toxic chemicals a nontrivial and costly task. Lastly, certain conductors are not well adapted to etching techniques. In particular, high temperature superconductors are difficult to chemically etch while retaining the desired superconductivity. For such superconductors, other patterning techniques must be devised.
Several improved methods of producing a printed circuit board are described in a co-pending application of Peter L. Jurisich, Ser. No. 07/552,774, which application was filed Jul. 16, 1990 and is entitled "Mechanical Method For Printed Circuit Board Patterning". Such co-pending application describes a method of fabricating a circuit network for a printed circuit board through mechanical embossment. A conductive layer is laminated onto an electrically insulating board, and simultaneously an impression of a desired circuit network is embossed into the conductive layer and board, creating high and low regions therein. Portions of the conductive layer situated in the high regions are then ground off, leaving the low regions which form the desired circuit network. In a second method described in the co-pending application, the embossment process is modified to shear the high regions away from the low regions The resulting circuit network is of that portion of the conductive layer situated in the high regions. In a third method described in the co-pending application, adhesive is deposited on the conductive layer in a pattern that is an image of the desired circuit network. The conductive layer is then laminated to the board. Portions of the conductive layer that are unbonded are then ground off, with the balance of the conductive layer being left behind to form the desired circuit network.
The methods described in co-pending application Ser. No. 07/552,774 are advantageous over various prior art techniques in producing printed circuit boards having desired conductive patterns thereon. However, it may be desirable for certain applications to provide alternative methods of fabrication. For example, rather than defining a desired conductive pattern on a conductive layer and then removing the remaining portions of such layer using various techniques, it may be advantageous to provide a surface of a substrate board or other portion of the printed circuit board with pattern defining portions that are then treated to form the conductive pattern. Such techniques may be advantageous from the standpoint of cost, ease of manufacture and the nature of the printed circuit board thereby produced.

Method of producing a printed circuit board having a conductive pattern thereon


A touch screen monitor having a display monitor and an ultrasonic device. The ultrasonic device may include a sensor array using piezoelectric sensors to detect the surface topology of a biological or other object that is in contact with a surface of the display monitor. The display monitor may be a LCD or LED monitor.

In the prior art, touch screen monitors are commonly used to assist users with selecting items displayed on a monitor. Selecting items is commonly performed using a pointing object, such as a stylus or a finger. Such touch screen monitors often employ a capacitance sensor to identify the location at which the pointing object touches the display monitor. The identified location is then compared to the location of images displayed on the monitor in order to determine what the user is identifying.
Although these prior art touch screen monitors have become reliable and inexpensive, the prior art devices do not incorporate any built-in sensing elements suitable for measuring a touch event reliably, and although many of these prior art devices are fine for dry and clean environments, they often fail in dirty, wet or adverse conditions.

Ultrasonic touch sensor with a display monitor


A detection circuit includes: a control signal updating circuit configured to update a digital control signal for controlling drive of a sensor based on a clock having a predetermined frequency; a digital to analog converter configured to convert the digital control signal output from the control signal updating circuit to an analog control signal for driving the sensor; a comparator configured to compare a voltage level of a detection signal from the sensor which changes depending on the analog control signal with a reference voltage having a predetermined voltage level to output a comparison result signal; and a counter configured to count to measure a time period depending on the detection signal based on the comparison result signal output from the comparator and a clock having a predetermined frequency.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a detection circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a digital circuit is used for processing based on magnetic force, acceleration, temperature and so on, it is common to use a detection circuit in which a signal having a minute level from a sensor such as a magnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor, or a temperature sensor is amplified by a differential amplifier, and then the amplified signal is converted to a digital signal by an analog to digital converter. Reference is made to Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-163251.
In order to improve detection accuracy of such a detection circuit having an AD converter, the AD converter with high accuracy is required, resulting in increased complexity in terms of circuit configuration.


A vent assembly for controlling flow of air into a room. The vent assembly comprises a housing and a damper member mounted entirely within the housing. The housing is mounted to a surface of the room such that air passing through an air duct pass through a passageway defined by the housing. Air flowing through the passageway causes the damper member to rotate into an open position; when no air is flowing through the passageway, gravity or another force (such as a return spring) causes the damper member to remain in a closed position. A control member may be provided to allow the damper member to placed into a locked closed configuration, a locked open configuration, or an open configuration.

Buildings are often heated with an air conditioning system comprising a central air conditioning unit and air ducts. The central air conditioning unit cools or heats air at a central location The cooled or heated air is forced through the air ducts from the central location to a plurality of remote locations or rooms. The forced air entering the room or rooms connected to the air conditioning unit cools or heats the room as appropriate.
Often, it is desirable to prevent forced air traveling through the air ducts from entering a given room connected to the heating system. This may be because the room is unoccupied or the occupants do not, for some other reason, wish that the forced air enter the room.
Usually, forced air is prevented from entering a particular room by an air vent assembly attached to the air duct servicing that particular room. The air vent assembly normally comprises a housing that engages the air duct and one or more louvers mounted on the housing such that the louvers rotate between an open position and a closed position. A mechanical lever or wheel is usually connected to the louvers to allow the operator of the room to open or close the air vent assembly as desired.
The present invention relates to air vent assemblies that are adapted to be mounted in an air duct located in the floor of the room being serviced. The air vent assembly is thus mounted within the heating duct with an upper portion of the housing flush with the floor of the room. The louvers are mounted to the frame below floor of the room, and the control lever or wheel extends slightly above upper portion of the frame to allow access by the operator. A grate is usually mounted to the top of the housing so that the air vent assembly may be walked on.
Once a conventional floor-mounted air vent assembly is placed in its open configuration, it remains there until it is moved into its closed configuration. Thus, dust, dirt, and the like is allowed to enter the air duct when the air vent assembly is in its open configuration and forced air is not flowing through the air duct.
In addition, because the air duct is mounted in the floor, forced air flowing from through the vent assembly tends to flow straight up as it enters the room. Allowing the air to travel straight up as it enters the room is inefficient because the lower, occupied portion of the room is heated last as the air circulates up and along the ceiling before it flows down to warm the lower portion of the room. And because hot air tends to rise anyway, allowing the forced air to travel upwards as it enters the room also works against efficient heating of the lower portion of the room.
In many situations the air duct is located at the outer periphery of the room such that the forced air travels upwards along a window or door. Heat energy carried by the air may thus be transferred out of the room through the window or door, which wastes this heat energy.
Conventional air vent assemblies are thus designed simply to open or close the air duct and do not direct the forced air to one side or the other as the forced air enters the room.
Typically, an air vent deflector is mounted on top of a conventional air vent assembly to direct forced air to the side as the forced air exits the air duct through the air vent assembly. The deflector thus deflects the forced air such that it does not travel straight up; instead, the air is directed towards the interior of the room where it can more efficiently heat the lower portion thereof. Forced air so directed is also less likely to flow along a window or the like where heat energy may be lost.
Conventional air vent deflectors are usually a curved molded plastic part designed to engage the frame of the air vent assembly. The deflector member will typically extend from three to six inches above the floor surface. The deflector member thus forms an obstruction for people walking within the room or other items within the room such as curtains and the like. In addition, such deflectors extending above the level of the floor can break when stepped upon or when hit with a vacuum cleaner.
The need thus exists for improved air vent assemblies and/or air vent deflectors.


An access port comprises a base and a flexible conduit. The port is subcutaneously implanted and the conduit is attached directly or indirectly to a blood vessel or other body lumen or cavity. An actuator mechanism is provided with a linkage which opens a valve in the port in response to percutaneous insertion of a needle into the access port. In particular, insertion of the needle opens the clamping mechanism to permit flow through the conduit between the blood vessel and the needle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the design and use of medical devices, and more particularly to the design and use of an implantable port for establishing temporary access to a patient's vascular system for hemodialysis and other extracorporeal blood treatments. Access to a patient's vascular system can be established by a variety of temporary and permanently implanted devices. Most simply, temporary access can be provided by the direct percutaneous introduction of a needle through the patient's skin and into a blood vessel. While such a direct approach is relatively simple and suitable for applications, such as intravenous feeding, intravenous drug delivery, and other applications which are limited in time, they are not suitable for hemodialysis and other extracorporeal procedures that must be repeated periodically, often for the lifetime of the patient.
For hemodialysis and other extracorporeal treatment regimens, a variety of implantable ports have been proposed over the years. Typically, the port includes a chamber on an access region, such as a septum, and the chamber is attached to an implanted catheter which in turn is secured to a blood vessel. In the case of veins, the catheter is typically indwelling and in the case of arteries, the catheter may be attached by conventional anastomosis.
Of particular interest to the present invention, implantable ports typically include a needle-penetrable septum which permits the percutaneous penetration of a needle into the internal chamber. The chamber, in turn, is connected to one end of the catheter, and the other end of the catheter is indwelling in the blood vessel. While workable, such designs suffer from a number of problems. Repeated penetration of the septum often leads to degradation over time, presenting a substantial risk of small particulates entering the blood stream and/or need to periodically replace the port. Second, the passage of blood through the chamber or plenum will often encounter regions of turbulence or low flow, either of which can degrade the quality of blood over time. Third, many previous vascular access ports have failed to provide an internal valve structure which isolates the interior of the port from the lumen of the implanted catheter when the port is not in use. Fourth, in previous ports which employ a valve, self-penetrating needles are not used since they will be damaged by and/or cause damage to the port. In such instances, it is frequently necessary to use a catheter combined with a removable stylet, which is both more costly and more inconvenient than use of a simple needle. Fifth, in ports which employ either septums or valves, the needle or other access device is prone to accidental dislodgement. Loss of a needle from a blood return port is particularly dangerous since blood may continue to be withdrawn while it is simultaneously being lost to the environment. While needle and port designs have been proposed for preventing such accidental dislodgement, most such designs are complex and are not themselves fail safe.
A number of vascular access designs have been proposed which address at least some of the problems. In particular, a series of issued U.S. Patents which name William Ensminger as an inventor disclose access ports having internal lumens for receiving a percutaneously introduced access device (e.g. a needle or catheter/stylet combination) and internal valve structures for isolating the port from an associated implanted catheter. These patents, which are listed herein below, disclose a number of specific valve types which may be incorporated within the access port, including leaflet valves, ball valves, flapper valves, and other specific configurations which are referred to as "articulating valves." All such structures, however, generally require that the access device be passed through the valve itself (i.e., the portion which closes the blood flow path through the valve) in order to cause the valve to open. Such a requirement presents the risk that the valve will be degraded by direct contact with the access device after repeated uses so that portions of the valve may be degraded and released into circulation. Such valves also present a significant risk of failure after repeated use or contact with a sharpened needle. Additionally, such valve structures can damage the access device as it is being introduced therethrough, thus potentially disrupting valve flow through the needle during a subsequent treatment protocol.
An additional problem with the valves of Ensminger is that the entry ports are usually inclined at a substantial angle relative to the skin surface through which the access device is introduced. Such angled access requires that the personnel introducing the access device guess the angle and estimate the optimum insertion point on the patient's skin. Such uncertainty in the device penetration is perhaps why the Ensminger designs all require the use of enlarged "funnel" for receiving and aligning the needle as it is introduced. It would thus be advantageous to provide access ports having entry passages which are disposed generally "vertically" (i.e., at an angle which is substantially normal to the skin surface through which the needle is being introduced). By penetrating the needle "straight in," it is much easier to align the needle with the target orifice and the size of the orifice (needle penetration) area can be reduced.
For these reasons, it would be desirable to provide improved implantable access ports for percutaneously accessing a patient's blood vessels, including both arteries and veins. The access ports preferably will comprise a valve structure for isolating the port from an associated implanted catheter when the port is not in use. The valve will preferably provide little or no structure within the blood flow lumen of the access port and will even more preferably not require passage of a needle or other access tube through the seating portion of a valve in order to open the valve. Furthermore, the port structure including the valve elements therein will have a substantially uniform cross-sectional area and will present no significant constrictions or enlargements to disturb fluid flow therethrough. Preferably, the port designs will permit percutaneous access using a conventional needle, such as a fistula needle, without damage to either the port or the needle. Still more preferably, the needles or other devices used to access the port will resist accidental dislodgement from the port without requiring significant extra structure or additional components. Ports and valves according to the present invention will meet at least some of these objectives.
2. Description of the Background Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,562,617 and WO 95/19200, assigned to the assignee of the present application, describe implantable vascular access systems comprising an access port having an internal slit or duck bill valve for preventing back flow into the port. Vascular access ports having various articulating valves for isolating the port from the vascular system in the absence of external percutaneous connection to the port are described in the following U.S. Patents which name William Ensminger as an inventor: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,527,278; 5,527,277; 5,520,643; 5,503,630; 5,476,451; 5,417,656; 5,350,360; 5,281,199; 5,263,930; 5,226,879; 5,180,365; 5,057,084; and 5,053,013. Other patents and published applications which show implantable ports having valve structures opened by insertion of a needle include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,569,675; 4,534,759; 4,181,132; 3,998,222; and WO 96/31246. U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,088 describes a septum-type implantable port which employs a dual needle to help prevent dislodgement.

Valve port and method for vascular access


This invention encompasses methods of preserving protein function by contacting a protein with a composition comprising one or more purine or pyrimidine nucleosides (such as e.g., adenosine or uridine) and an antioxidant (such as e.g., manganese). In addition, the invention encompasses methods of treating and/or preventing a side effect of radiation exposure and methods of preventing a side effect of radiotherapy comprising administration of a pharmaceutically effective amount of a composition comprising one or more purine or pyrimidine nucleosides (such as e.g., adenosine or uridine) and an antioxidant (such as e.g., manganese) to a subject in need thereof. The compositions may comprise D. radiodurans extracts.

The extremely radiation-resistant family Deinococcaceae is comprised of greater than twenty distinct species that can survive acute exposures to ionizing radiation (IR) (10 kGy), ultraviolet light (UV) (1 kJ/m2), and desiccation (years); and can grow under chronic IR (60 Gy/hour). In particular, Deinococcus radiodurans is an extremely ionizing radiation (IR) resistant bacterium that can survive exposures to gamma-radiation that exceed by a factor of one thousand the doses which are cytotoxic and lethal to mammalian cells
For extremely resistant bacteria, such as e.g., D. radiodurans, survival following high-doses of IR has been attributed to protection of proteins from oxidation during irradiation, with the result that enzymic repair systems survive and function with far greater efficiency during recovery than in sensitive bacteria, where cellular proteins are highly susceptible to carbonylation. In a report published in Science magazine (Daly et al. (2004), Accumulation of Mn(II) in Deinococcus radiodurans facilitates gamma-radiation resistance, Science 306: 925-1084), intracellular manganese(II) was implicated in facilitating radiation resistance by protecting proteins, but not DNA, during exposure to ionizing radiation; and in a second report published in PLoS Biology (Daly et al. (2007) Protein oxidation implicated as the primary determinant of bacterial radioresistance, PLoS Biology 5(4) e92), radiation resistance was positively correlated to protein protection during irradiation, mediated by a non-enzymic mechanism.
Unlike D. radiodurans, most proteins are not radiation-resistant. Similarly, most cells, whether in eukaryotes, prokaryotes or mammals (e.g. humans) are also not radiation resistant. As such, exposure to radiation is quite damaging to protein structure and/or function. For example, ionizing radiation has been shown to induce (cause) cancer in many different species of animals and in almost all parts of the human body.
In humans, significant overexposure to radiation can result in radiation poisoning, also called "radiation sickness" or a "creeping dose". The term is generally used to refer to acute problems caused by a large dosage of radiation in a short period, though this also has occurred with long term exposure to low level radiation. The clinical name for "radiation sickness" is acute radiation syndrome as described by the CDC. A chronic radiation syndrome does exist but is very uncommon; this has been observed among workers in early radium source production sites and in the early days of the Soviet nuclear program. A short exposure can result in acute radiation syndrome; chronic radiation syndrome requires a prolonged high level of exposure.
Humans routinely encounter radiation in daily life, including radiation from electronic equipment and cell phones as well as natural background radiation. Individuals that are in close proximity of radioactive elements such as e.g. employees at a nuclear plant or members of the armed forces are particularly likely to encounter higher doses of radiation. Additionally, radiation is used in diagnostic tests such as X-rays and radiation therapy to treat cancers.
There are currently very few radioprotectors suitable for treating humans, and those which exist (e.g., amifostine) are cytotoxic and have serious side effects (e.g., loss of consciousness, fast or irregular breathing, itching, nausea and vomiting).
Given the great exposure to radiation, there is a significant need for radioprotectors that are non-toxic, preserve protein function, and in particular are suitable for human use.

Compositions containing nucleosides and manganese and their uses

The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc.

The United States of America, as Represented by the Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health


The procedure of the invention eliminates redundant conditional branch statements (CBSs) from a program, wherein the program includes (i) plural blocks of program statements, (ii) a definition statement (DEF) for each variable in the program that assigns a value to each variable, (iii) a defining point (DEFP) which is a first point in the program that a value is calculated, and (iv) plural CBSs. Each CBS transfers control to one of two target blocks of program statements, dependent upon an operation code and controlling variable that form a part of the test associated with the CBS. The procedure associates all DEFs which define a same value, with a DEFP for the same value and determines (i) a controlling variable upon which a test CBS is dependent, (ii) a DEF of the controlling variable of the test CBS and (iii) a DEFP for the DEF of the controlling variable. If a value first calculated at the DEFP found in (iii) is utilized by a CBS, the procedure finds which arm of the CBS reaches the test CBS; and then revises a block of program statements that include the test CBS, to eliminate at least a test required by the test CBS, and replace the conditional branch with an unconditional branch.

A program's instructions are generally of two types: branch instructions and non-branch instructions. Branch instructions determine a next instruction to be executed, based on a value of some program variable. Such branch instructions are typically "expensive" to execute in terms of processing time. It is known that the run-time performance of a program can be improved if the number of branch instructions is reduced. Further, if it can be established that a later-occurring branch instruction is redundant to an earlier-occurring branch instruction, then the Boolean variable resulting from the test associated with the previous branch instruction (i.e., true, false) can be used to replace the later occurring branch instruction and to effect a joinder with subsequent program statements.
Most redundancy elimination algorithms are of two kinds. A lexical algorithm deals with the entire program but can only detect redundancies among computations of lexically identical expressions. An expression is lexically identical to a previous expression if both expressions apply exactly the same operator to exactly the same operands. A value-numbering algorithm, on the other hand, can recognize redundancies among expressions that are lexically different, but that are certain to compute the same value. Value numbering is accomplished by assigning special symbolic names, called value numbers, to expressions. If value numbers assigned to operands of two expressions are identical and if the operators applied by the expressions are identical, then the expressions are certain to have the same values.
In the past, value numbering algorithms have usually been restricted to basic blocks (sequences of computations with no branching) or extended basic blocks (sequences of computations with no joins).
Rosen et al. in "Global Value Numbers and Redundant Computations", Proceedings of the 15th Annual ACM SIGACT-SIGPLAN Symposium on Principles of Programming Languages", San Diego, Calif. January 1988, pgs. 12-27, describe a global value numbering algorithm that is employed to associate a symbolic value with every variable definition in a program. The Rosen et al. algorithm guarantees that if two variable definitions have the same symbolic value at compile time, then they have the same actual value at run time. The converse, however, is not true. Thus, if the actual values are the same at run time, it is not necessarily true that the symbolic values are the same at compile time.
The Rosen et al. algorithm associates a defining point (DEFP) to each variable definition (DEF). A DEFP, is a point in a program listing where, for the first time, a value is calculated in the code sequence. The value may be calculated with respect to any variable. A DEF is an assignment of a value to a variable. The relationship between a DEF and its DEFP is specified as follows:
(i) The symbolic value associated with a DEF is equal to the symbolic value associated with the DEFP. PA1 (ii) The basic block containing the DEF is dominated by the basic block containing the DEFP. That is, the basic block containing DEF is executed only if the basic block containing DEFP is executed.
Accordingly, it is known that if a value numbering procedure assigns two values in a program to a partition and appends an identical symbol thereto, that the two values are identical. It is further to be understood that the Rosen et al. procedure is conservative, in that it does not guarantee that every value which may be found to be redundant in a program listing is or may be partitioned so as to be associated with an identical symbol value, but rather that all values which are partitioned and associated with an identical symbol are identical.
Assuming that a redundant branch statement can be identified, the statement can be removed and replaced with an unconditional branch statement or joined with succeeding program statements. An example will serve to illustrate a redundant branch elimination (RBE) procedure. Consider the following program provided as input to a compiler which includes two conditional branch statements (CBSs): ##EQU1## The statement "if (x==c)" can be read as: "if x compared to c indicates an equality, then the result of the test (which forms part of the branch) is a Boolean "true", otherwise the result is a Boolean "false". Further, only if the Boolean value is true is the remaining statement within the brackets { . . . } executed. Thus, provided that the statement S does not alter the value of variable x, the test x==c at branch2 is true if and only if the test x==c is true at branch1. It follows that in any execution of the program, statement T will be executed if and only if statement S is executed. Therefore, the compiler can transform the program into: ##EQU2## Thus, the redundant branch (branch2) in the original program has been eliminated.
A problem in the prior art has been that identification of redundant CBSs has been difficult and time consuming. Accordingly, there is a need for a more accurate method and apparatus for both identification and removal of redundant branch statements from program listings.

Method and apparatus for elimination of redundant branch instructions from a program


The invention broadly contemplates a tool-less retention system that appropriately distributes load via various distributed load points to prevent damage caused to a computer by heavy adapter cards during shipping. At least one embodiment of the invention includes a tool-less retention system with a balanced distributed load point positioned to contact and transfer force to the computer chassis at a region with great resistance to warping.

Retention systems are used to retain internal components (i.e. adapter cards) of an electronic device, such as a workstation computer. A computer has adapter cards of various sizes and weights, which customers can modify to add/change functions of the computer (e.g. by way of adding or swapping adapter cards). In general, these cards (generally referred to as Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) or Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) adapter cards) have traditionally been small and rather lightweight and thus were easily retained (physically) within the computer, even during shipping. As such, computer manufactures did not have particular difficulties in shipping computers containing various adapter cards, as these lightweight cards tended to stay in place.
In the past, various retention systems have been employed. The cards have been retained with screws. The longer cards were retained both at the front and the rear using a card guide in the front, sometimes a latching mechanism, sometimes not, and a screw at the rear of the chassis. In some computers, there was a screw along the back wall that was removed, and then a user could pop the card out. In newer computers, rather than use a screw, some sort of retaining mechanism along the back wall is used.
The trend in the industry has been to add tool-less features to the mechanical retention systems to make it easier for customers to remove, replace or install adapter cards of their choice. Additionally, the trend in card size has been towards larger, heavier adapter cards. Some cards are half height (e.g. a network card) and consequently are lightweight. Increasingly though, some cards are quite heavy (e.g. two pounds (2 lbs.)). Cards that are larger and heavier can be full height and/or full length and/or double wide. In fact, some cards have their own cooling schemes, e.g. heat sinks, etc., which further increase the weigh of the overall arrangements.
Accordingly, manufacturers have run in to trouble when shipping computers with these larger and consequently heavier cards. A light card is generally not an issue in terms of retaining it in the connector on the motherboard, snuggly up against the chassis. However, the heavier a card gets, the larger its inertia is. Thus, when it comes to shipping a computer, getting the computer to the customer in working condition is sometimes difficult, as the heavier cards have a tendency to disconnect during shipping and can even cause damage to other components of the computer.
Manufacturers attempt to anticipate difficulties in shipping computers, such as drops and vibrations. A number of different means have been employed to help ensure that computers arrive to customers in working condition. One is the carton and the foam that are used to absorb shock energy encountered during shipping inside the carton. This approach, however, does not address the difficulty of keeping the ever larger and heavier adapter cards firmly connected to the motherboard during shipping, avoiding damage to the computer.
When a computer is dropped during shipping, the consequences can be severe when the computer contains heavy adapter cards. In this case of a drop, the computer (and any cards therein) is going to accelerate towards the ground, having inertia, which has to be stopped through deceleration. Of course, the stop comes when the computer hits something (e.g. the ground), abruptly decelerating the computer, but not necessarily the card(s) contained therein. The cards also need to decelerate, but tend to continue along their path and damage (e.g. deform or warp) a computer component (e.g. a rail of the computer) before coming to rest. As a rough estimate, the force (expressed in pounds exerted on an adjacent computer component) required to stop a heavy card (e.g. a card which weighs approximately 2 lbs.) in such a drop to the ground is approximately 200 lbs. Thus, manufacturers have to somehow stop the heavy card (e.g. a graphics card) from moving the retention assembly, disengaging from its card connector, or otherwise coming loose and becoming non-functional, potentially damaging the computer by warping or deforming the computer chassis.
Accordingly, a need has arisen for improved tool-less retention systems that adequately retain and decelerate the heavy adapter cards within a computer.

Tool-less retention system for an electronic device


In one aspect, a method to perform initialization prior to replication includes marking a first point in a delta marking stream, generating a copy of a local volume at the first point and determining dirty locations between a remote volume and the copy. The copy is generated from one of taking a snapshot or taking a clone of the local volume.

Computer data is vital to today's organizations, and a significant part of protection against disasters is focused on data protection. As solid-state memory has advanced to the point where cost of memory has become a relatively insignificant factor, organizations can afford to operate with systems that store and process terabytes of data.
Conventional data protection systems include tape backup drives, for storing organizational production site data on a periodic basis. Such systems suffer from several drawbacks. First, they require a system shutdown during backup, since the data being backed up cannot be used during the backup operation. Second, they limit the points in time to which the production site can recover. For example, if data is backed up on a daily basis, there may be several hours of lost data in the event of a disaster. Third, the data recovery process itself takes a long time.
Another conventional data protection system uses data replication, by creating a copy of the organization's production site data on a secondary backup storage system, and updating the backup with changes. The backup storage system may be situated in the same physical location as the production storage system, or in a physically remote location. Data replication systems generally operate either at the application level, at the file system level, or at the data block level.
Current data protection systems try to provide continuous data protection, which enable the organization to roll back to any specified point in time within a recent history. Continuous data protection systems aim to satisfy two conflicting objectives, as best as possible; namely, (i) minimize the down time, in which the organization production site data is unavailable, during a recovery, and (ii) enable recovery as close as possible to any specified point in time within a recent history.
CDP systems generally include an initialization process when synchronizing first and second volumes. While it is desirable to compare data signatures instead of actual data as much as possible for greater efficiency, there are times when signature comparison could be used but is not available in conventional CDP systems.

Initializing volumes in a replication system


Invention that uses over-sampling of the Analog to Digital Converter to produce additional synthetic vector signal samples that are used to construct high dimensional Signal Data Vectors and Calibration Steering Vectors, that are used to synthetically increase the effective size of the original real array which results in the generation of a narrower array beamwidth.

In traditional RADAR systems, Communications systems, Direction Finding systems, and other applications which use directive antennas or directive arrays, the conventional Half Power Beam Width (HPBW) or the Antenna or Array is equal to λ/L (in radians), where L is the maximum [projection] dimension of the array perpendicular to the propagating signal direction, and λ is the wavelength of the signal. Note, this wavelength is relative to the carrier frequency of the wave, and not the signal bandwidth. For many applications, a narrower beamwidth would be desired, since this would reduce interference levels as well as reject unwanted or undesired signals, arriving from directions not along the line from the desired source and receiver.
In many cases, the effective size of the Antenna or Array, L, can be limited both by either physical constraints, or even by cost. The cost of an M element Phased Array System increases linearly by the value of M. For example, for a narrowband array of elements spaced roughly a half-wavelength from each other element, with M=4, the physical size of the array would be (M−1) multiplied by λ/2, or roughly 3*λ/2 in size. This array would produce a beamwidth of 2/(3*λ/2) radians or 38.2 degrees. Within this spatial range, most signals incident from the similar direction would be absorbed by the receive antenna or array, and if similar in power to the desired signal, would strongly interfere with this signal. Reduction of this effective beamwidth would strongly aid in improving the Signal to Interference (Noise) Ratio, or SINR.
For Radar Systems, one of the major limitations is the effective Clutter Return. This is the summation of interfering signals that are reflected from the clutter source, such as the ground or Earth. Reduction of the received beamwidth amounts to a significant reduction in the clutter noise return, which highly improves the detection range of the radar system. Additionally, the accuracy of the predicted target location is a function of the radar beamwidth. A narrower beamwidth thus produces a more accurate estimated beam angle for the radar return, and therefore a more accurate target location estimate. Therefore, in many Radar applications, it is highly desired to reduce the effective beamwidth of the received radar beam, for multiple benefits. To date, this has been limited by the choice of the carrier frequency fc, which is c/λ (c=speed of light); and therefore a function of λ, or to increase the size of the physical array, L. This same limitation applies also to acoustic signal detection and location, for example, in underwater anti-submarine warfare. In this case the propagation velocity is the speed of sound in water, or in air (for air based acoustic systems).


A retainer member (26) is guided for displacement at a housing (24) which is adapted to be fastened to a ski (10), the retainer member being biased by a spring assembly (70) in the direction toward a ski boot (12). The housing (24) contains a support member (40) kept in an inoperative position, in which it forms a thrust bearing for the spring assembly (70), by a locking member (50) as long as the latter is in locking position. Normally, a shoulder (48) formed at a pawl (46) which is pivotable about a transverse pivot axis (44) presses against the locking member (50). An electromagnet (60) is associated with the pawl (46) and becomes energized when the retainer member (26) or a hold-down member (30) supported on the same runs the risk of becoming overloaded. Upon excitation of the electromagnet (60), its armature (62) hits against the pawl (46) which then releases the locking member (50). Thereupon the support member (40) moves into its retracted position so that the retainer member (26) and the hold-down member (30) both are relieved of the pressure of the spring assembly (70), thus releasing the ski boot (12).

Locking devices of this kind designed as the heel portion of a safety ski binding known from DE 38 08 643 C1. They comprise a housing which is fastened to the ski and at which a retainer member biased in forward direction by a spring assembly is guided so as to be displaceable forwardly in the longitudinal direction of the ski. In a front end area of the retainer member, a hold-down member is supported for pivoting about a transverse axis. The spring assembly which biases the retainer member in forward direction is designed such that it also loads the hold-down member in the sense of forward downward turning. Upon fastening of a ski boot, the rear sole portion thereof is pressed forward by a lower projection formed at the hold-down member, while a hook-shaped projection provided further upwards at the hold-down member presses the rear sole portion downwardly. Behind the hold-down member in the housing of the locking device there is a rod which is guided for longitudinal displacement and biased in forward direction so that its front end rests against a back surface of the hold-down member. Further backwards, the rod is formed with a cam, and a switch in the power circuit of an electromagnet is associated with the cam for unlocking the locking device. In case of a fall towards the front, the hold-down member is pivoted upwards and backwards by the rear sole portion which moves in upward direction so that the switch is actuated by way of the rod and its cam, whereby the electromagnet is supplied with power. Consequently, an armature of the magnet is pulled forward, hitting against the rear end of a longitudinally displaceable pawl which is biased to the rear and has a rearwardly tapering conical portion engaging between two roller bodies, acting as locking members, which it normally maintains in a locking position in which they in turn retain a support member in an inoperative position in the housing. As soon as the pawl is propelled forward by the armature, the two locking members leave their locking position, thereby releasing the support member. The support member, on which the rear end of the spring assembly rests, moves backwards under the pressure of the spring assembly into a retracted position. In this manner the bias of the spring assembly is reduced so that the retainer member and the hold-down member supported on the same both move backwards, releasing the rear sole portion of the ski boot.
This known locking device works perfectly if the dimensions of the electromagnet and its current supply are of such magnitude that its armature will hit the rear end of the pawl with considerable kinetic energy, thus overcoming the friction which is opposed to the required forwardly directed movement of the pawl clamped between the two locking members. This friction depends on the bias of the spring assembly converted by the hold-down member into forwardly and downwardly directed forces acting on the rear sole portion. The armature must have a considerable inert mass in order for the kinetic energy, needed for overcoming the friction, to be built up in the armature. If this inert mass is to be prevented from inadvertently releasing the safety ski binding under certain skiing conditions, the armature must be biased rearwardly by its own spring and, as a consequence, the power requirement of the electromagnet becomes even greater.

Elastic locking device, especially a heel portion of a safety ski binding


A multicolor image forming apparatus having an image transfer structure capable of preventing a transferred image and an image formed on a photoconductive element from being dislocated from each other. A backup roller facing a photoconductive element and a tension roller are movable toward and away from the element at the same time over the same distance. A single cam intervenes between support members supporting the two rollers and moves the rollers by half a rotation thereof.

The present invention relates to a multicolor image forming apparatus and, more particularly, to an image transfer structure for transferring an image from a photoconductive element to an intermediate image transfer body.
In a multicolor image forming apparatus capable of forming an image in full color or two or more colors, images sequentially developed in different colors on a photoconductive element are transferred to an intermediate image transfer body one above another and then transferred to a paper sheet or similar recording medium at the same time. The intermediate image transfer body is often implemented as a belt passed over a plurality of pulleys and long enough to accommodate an image of maximum size available with the apparatus. The prerequisite with this kind of image forming apparatus is that the images of different colors be transferred to the belt in accurate register with one another. To meet this requirement, there has been proposed a structure which, on completing the transfer of an image of particular color, moves the belt in the same direction but at a speed higher than the speed necessary for image transfer and again moves the belt at the speed necessary for image transfer as it approaches an image transfer position, thereby causing the leading end of the image present on the belt to meet that of the image present on the photoconductive element. There has also been proposed a structure which, on completing the transfer of an image of a particular color, moves the belt in the opposite direction for thereby bringing the image on the belt into register with the image on the photoconductive element. In any of these structures, the belt is movable toward and away from the photoconductive element. Specifically, among a plurality of rollers over which the belt is passed, a roller facing the photoconductive element may be moved toward and away from the element, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 164372/1981. Alternatively, a support member supporting all of the plurality of rollers may be implemented as a pivotable member whose side facing the photoconductive element is movable toward and away from the element, as taught in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 109963/1988.
The conventional structures, however, have various problems left unsolved, as follows. When only one of the rollers is moved toward and away from the photoconductive element, the tension of the belt decreases on the movement of the belt away from the photoconductive element. This causes the belt and the roller to slip on each other when, for example, the belt is driven when spaced apart from the photoconductive element, dislocating the image transferred to the belt from the next image formed on the element. When the support member is bodily moved in a pivotal motion, a change in the load during the movement is apt to prevent the image transferred to the belt from being brought into register with the image on the photoconductive element.

Multicolor image forming apparatus with tension controlled image transfer belt


A compound comprising Formula I, or a mixture thereof,Rf—OCFHCF2O—[CH2CH2O]x—[C3H7O]y-A  Formula Iwherein                Rf is CnF2n+1,        n is 1 to about 6,        x is a mixture of positive integers and is 4 or greater,        y is 0 to about 4, provided that the ratio of y to x is equal to or less than 0.25,        A is RfOCHFCF2 or CmH2m+1, and        m is 1 to about 24and its use in lowering surface tension and imparting improved surface effects is disclosed.

Most commercially available fluorinated surfactants are produced through electrochemical fluorination, telomerization, and oligomerization. Electrochemical fluorination utilizes anhydrous hydrofluoric acid as the fluorine source. However, industrially produced hydrofluoric acid contains impurities, which requires further complicated methods to remove these impurities.
Telomerization or oligomerization processes use tetrafluoroethylene as the starting material. However, the source of available tetrafluoroethylene is limited. The product obtained from a telomerization process usually contains a mixture of homologs having different carbon chain lengths resulting in telomers with a distribution of carbon chain lengths. Therefore, the sequential separation of telomerization products is required in order to produce fluorosurfactants which contain a fixed length of the fluorinated carbon chain, as described by Erik Kissa in "Fluorinated Surfactants, Synthesis-Properties-Applications" Surfactant Science Series, Vol. 50, Marcel Dekker, New York, (1994).
U.S. Patent Application 20050127322 describes a hydrofluoroether heat transfer fluid which is represented by the following structure: Rf—O—Rh—O Rf′ wherein Rh is independently an alkylene group having from 2 to about 8 carbon atoms and at least 4 hydrogen atoms. The syntheses described in the examples of above patent application show these materials to be water insoluble; therefore, they are not suitable as surfactants.
It is desirable to have a composition comprising fluorinated surfactants which can be produced from starting materials other than tetrafluoroethylene. It is also desirable to have a method of lower surface tension using a very low concentration of surfactant, and to provide surface effects. The present invention provides such a composition comprising fluorinated nonionic surfactants which are produced from reacting fluoroalkyl vinyl ether with polyethylene glycol. The present invention also provides methods of providing surface effects to various liquids


An electric drill (10) has a drive assembly (31, 70), and a pivot head (32) having first and second bit gripping assemblies (14, 22) disposed at 90 degrees to each other. The electric drill (10) also includes means for adjusting the position of the bit gripping assemblies (14, 22) relative to the drive assembly (31, 70) by pivoting the head (32) through 90 degrees, whereby a selected one of the bit gripping assemblies is operatively engaged to the drive assembly. The position adjusting means may include a movable locking sleeve (36) which, in a first position, allows the drive assembly to operatively engage the selected bit gripping assembly and, in a second position, allows the drive assembly to disengage the selected bit gripping assembly.

Building contractors in the construction industry, and especially carpenters, are often required to install a large number of fasteners in walls or other reference surfaces. Unless the fastener is self-tapping, or splitting of the surfaces is tolerated, a pilot hole must first be drilled in the reference surface before the fastener is driven therethrough. This is normally achieved by using two electric drills, or by using a single electric drill and firstly using a drill bit fitted to the chuck of the electric drill to drill the pilot hole, and then removing the drill bit and fitting a screw bit to the chuck or removing the chuck altogether and installing a bit holder with fitted screw bit to the drive assembly of the electric drill. This is a time consuming task, especially in circumstances where the contractor must install a large number of fasteners, one after the other, each first requiring a pilot hole. Time is wasted in changing repeatedly between drill bit and screw bit, and the contractor may suffer back strain in bending over frequently to change bits.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,916 discloses a rotary power tool having dual heads or bit gripping outputs extending in opposite (or 180 degrees) directions from a central body of the power tool. One output is for a screwdriver bit and the other output is for a drill bit. Both of the outputs are in fixed angular position with reference to the central body. A retractable guard covers the drill bit when not in use. The guard is retracted by the free hand of the user not gripping the central body to expose the drill bit when it is required for use. If, after use, the user forgets or carelessly chooses not to cover the drill bit with the guard by extending it thereover, the drill bit may present a risk of injury to the user as it faces the user's body when the screwdriver bit is being used. The structure of the power tool body (incorporating the handle) is also very different to that of the body of conventional rotary power tools or electric drills.
Australian Patent No. 631,615 discloses a hand held power tool having dual bit gripping outputs which extend in opposite directions from a central body, and which engage respective bits, the outputs being rotatable about 180 degrees to selectively bring either bit to a work station at a forward end of the tool. There is a first manually operated switch for controlling the power supply to the tool, and a second manually operated switch for activating an automated mechanism which turns the head 180 degrees to interchange the positions of the bits. An energy storage means in the form of tensioned springs provides energy for turning of the head, the energy being released by single handed operation of the switches. Whilst enabling the user to keep one hand free when changing the position of the bits, the inclusion of an automated mechanism adds to the structural complexity and weight of the tool.
GB Patent No. 1,357,007 discloses a hand held power tool having a chuck at each end of a rotatable drill head. The drill head is manually turnable through 180 degrees with the use of two hands to allow the chucks to be interchanged at the work site. Because the chuck not being used faces the user's body when the other chuck is in operation at the work site, a guard is provided to protect the user from contacting the chuck, and any bit gripped thereby, not in use. The provision of guards to protect the user from contact with bits that, when not in use, face the user" body, also adds to the structural complexity and weight of the tool.
The present inventor has found that, where installation of a plurality of fasteners requires the drilling of a pilot hole for each fastener, a substantial amount of time can be saved, and less physical exertion is required, if, instead of removing the drill bit from the chuck of the electric drill and then fitting the screw bit to the electric drill, a contractor uses an electric drill having a bit gripping and drive assembly modified so as to operatively support both the drill bit and the screw bit and to allow use of either bit by trigger release and gravity controlled positional adjustment of the bits through 90 degrees that only requires the use of the one hand holding the electric drill. In this way, the need for a guard is eliminated as the bit not in use does not face the user's body. Furthermore, the provision of manual positional adjustment, rather than automated positional adjustment by complex spring loaded or other energy storage means, does not add significantly to the weight of the tool and makes it relatively easier to service and repair. Also, the user may use his other free hand to maintain his hold on a ladder or for other purposes.

Electric drill with modified bit gripping assembly


An approach is provided in which a method, system, and program create a plurality of page clusters in feature space from a plurality of feature vectors corresponding to a plurality of unstructured pages. The method, system, and program product assign one of a plurality of machine learning models to each one of the plurality of page clusters based on a relationship in the feature space between the plurality of page clusters and a plurality of training clusters corresponding to the plurality of machine learning models. The method, system, and program product identify one of the plurality of page clusters that corresponds to a selected one of the plurality of unstructured pages, and transform the selected unstructured page into a structured page using a selected one of the plurality of machine learning models assigned to the identified page cluster.

Machine learning algorithms build machine learning models based on sample data, known as training data, to make predictions or decisions without being explicitly programmed. The process of training a machine learning model involves providing a machine learning algorithm with the training data from which to learn, and the artifact created from the training process is the machine learning model. The training data includes correct answers that are referred to as targets or target attributes, and the machine learning algorithm finds patterns in the training data that map input data attributes to the target attributes and outputs a machine learning model that captures the patterns.
Structured data refers to data that resides in fixed fields within a file or record and is therefore straightforward to analyze. Unstructured data (or unstructured information) is information that either does not have a pre-defined data model or is not organized in a pre-defined manner. Unstructured information is typically text-intensive but may include data such as dates, numbers, and etcetera. In addition, unstructured data typically has irregularities and ambiguities, which traditional programs have difficulty interpreting.
Smart Document Understanding (SDU) approaches convert an unstructured document into structured data via machine learning. In SDU, a user enters annotations on training documents extracted from input documents, and a model is trained using the documents as teaching images. However, a challenge found with current SDU systems is that the page format is often different between pages and various articles. Some pages may be in a 2-column format, other pages may include graphical images, while other pages may be traditional paragraph-based letters.
As such, using a single machine learning model to cover the various page formats is difficult and results in a decrease in conversion accuracy. In addition, existing SDU training approaches have a minimal amount of training data extraction that are effective for training a machine learning model (e.g., random sampling). As such, documents may be selected with biased toward a particular format, which also results in a decrease in conversion accuracy of the machine learning model.

International Business Machines Corporation


A device to provide in-line flavor for water or other liquid stored in a container. An example device includes a body having a cylindrical shape chamber formed therein, and an opening on a first end of the body. A cartridge holder fits within the chamber of the body and retains a flavoring therein for the water or other liquid. The cartridge holder has a plurality of openings for the water or other liquid to flow through. When a user drinks from the drinking end, the water or other liquid flows from the container and through the housing and mixes with a flavoring from the cartridge holder before being drawn through to the drinking end so that the user drinks a flavored water or other liquid.

Bottles for water or other liquid (e.g., sports drinks) are increasingly popular as more and more people engage in exercise ("work outs") and other physical activities. Sports drinks often contain large amounts of sugar that the user may not want to consume. While plain water is often the top choice, the taste of water can be bland, or even take on an undesirable taste of the container (e.g., a plastic-like taste).


An image pickup lens for forming image of a subject on a solid-state image pickup element includes: a first lens having a positive refractive power in a meniscus shape whose convex surface faces to an object side of the image pickup lens; an aperture stop; a second lens having a positive refractive power in a meniscus shape whose convex surface faces to an image side of the image pickup lens; a third lens having a negative refractive power whose concave surface faces to an object side of the image pickup lens. The first lens, the aperture stop, the second lens and the third lens are arranged in this order form an object side of the image pickup lens. The first lens and the third lens satisfy a predefined conditional expression.

In recent years, image pickup apparatuses employing solid-state image pickup elements such as CCD (Charge Coupled Device) type image sensors or CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) type image sensors have been downsized, and mobile information terminals such as cell-phones equipped with these information pickup apparatuses have come into wide use.
On the other hand, the image pickup lens to be installed in the image pickup apparatus is not only requested to be further smaller but also is requested increasingly to have higher performance, being affected by the trend of higher number of pixels of the image pickup element.
As an image pickup lens for this application, there is disclosed a three-element image pickup lens wherein a meniscus-shaped positive first lens whose convex surface faces the object side, a meniscus-shaped positive second lens whose convex surface faces the image side and a negative third lens whose concave surface faces the image side are provided in this order from the object side, as one that is capable of having higher performance than that of a one-element or two-element-lens and is not affected by downsizing (for example, see Patent Document 1).
(Patent Document 1) TOKUKAI No. 2003-322792
However, in the image pickup lens described in the Patent Document 1, there is used a meniscus-shaped negative third lens whose convex surface faces the image side. Therefore, a peripheral part of the third lens swells toward the image side. It causes that a position of the lens surface on the optical axis recedes greatly from the image pickup element, when the third lens is arranged not to touch a substrate arranged on the rear side. Thus, a back focus cannot be made small and it leaves room for further improvement in downsizing. Further, aberration correction is not sufficient.

Image pickup lens, image pickup apparatus and mobile terminal


A solid acid material is used as a proton conducting membrane in an electrochemical device. The solid acid material can be one of a plurality of different kinds of materials. A binder can be added, and that binder can be either a nonconducting or a conducting binder. Nonconducting binders can be, for example, a polymer or a glass. A conducting binder enables the device to be both proton conducting and electron conducting.

Proton conducting materials have a number of applications. Proton conducting membranes are widely utilized in devices which use a chemical reaction to produce or store electricity, or use electricity to drive a chemical process. Materials which conduct both protons and electrons ("mixed proton and electron conductors") are utilized in related applications.
Electrochemical devices depend on the flow of protons, or the flow of both protons and electrons through a proton conducting membrane. Exemplary electrochemical devices include a fuel cell, an electrolysis cell, a hydrogen separation cell, a battery, a supercapacitor, and a membrane reactor. There are other electrochemical devices which also use a proton conducting membrane.
An important use for proton conducting membranes is in fuel cells. Fuel cells are attractive alternatives to combustion engines for the generation of electricity because of their higher efficiency and the lower level of pollutants they produce. A fuel cell generates electricity from the electrochemical reaction of a fuel e.g. methane, methanol, gasoline, or hydrogen, with oxygen normally obtained from air.
There are three common types of fuel cells used at temperatures close to ambient. A direct hydrogen/air fuel cell system stores hydrogen and then delivers it to the fuel cell as needed.
In an indirect hydrogen/air fuel cell, hydrogen is generated on site from a hydrocarbon fuel, cleaned it of carbon monoxide (CO), and subsequently fed to the fuel cell.
A direct methanol fuel cell ("DMFC"), feeds methanol/water solution directly to the fuel cell, e.g., without any fuel processing. One type of DMFC has been described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,559,638. There are various advantages and disadvantages inherent within all three configurations. All are, to a greater or lesser extent, limited by the performance of the proton conducting membrane.
Nafion™, a perfluorinated sulphonic acid polymer, is often used as a membrane material for fuel cells which operate at temperatures close to ambient. Other hydrated polymers have also been used as proton conductive materials. Membranes of modified perfluorinated sulfonic acid polymers, polyhydrocarbon sulfonic acid polymers, and composites thereof are also known. These and related polymers are used in hydrated form. Proton transport occurs by the motion of hydronium ions, H3O+. Water is necessary in order to facilitate proton conduction. Loss of water immediately results in degradation of the conductivity. Moreover, this degradation is irreversible—a simple reintroduction of water to the system does not restore the conductivity. Thus, the electrolyte membranes of these hydrated polymer-based fuel cells must be kept humidified during operation. This introduces a host of balance-of-plant needs for water recirculation and temperature control.
A second limitation derives from the need to maintain water in the membrane. In order to maintain hydration, the temperature of operation cannot exceed 100° C. without cell pressurization. High temperature operation could be desirable, however, to increase catalyst efficiency in generating protons at the anode (in both H2 and direct methanol fuel cells) and to improve catalyst tolerance to carbon monoxide ("CO"). CO is often present in the fuel that is used in the fuel cells. The CO can poison the precious metal catalysts. This is particularly problematic in indirect hydrogen/air fuel cells for which hydrogen is generated on site. High temperatures also benefit the reduction reaction on the cathode.
Another limitation of hydrated polymer electrolytes occurs in applications in methanol fuel cells. These polymers can be permeable to methanol. Direct transport of the fuel (i.e. methanol) across the membrane to the air cathode results in losses in efficiency.
Alternate proton conducting materials, which do not require humidification, which can be operated at slightly elevated temperatures, and/or which are impermeable to methanol, are desirable for fuel cell applications.
In the field of hydrogen separation, a proton conducting membrane is utilized to separate hydrogen from other gases such as CO and/or CO2. Palladium is often used for this application. Palladium is permeable to molecular hydrogen, but not in general to other gases. There are drawbacks to the use of this material. It is expensive and the hydrogen diffusion rate is low. It would be desirable to develop new materials which are less expensive and exhibit higher proton/hydrogen transport rates.
In general, materials utilized in other electrochemical devices such as electrolysis cells, batteries, supercapacitors, etc., include liquid acid electrolytes, which are highly corrosive, and solid polymer proton conductors, which require humidification or exhibit insufficient proton conductivity. High conductivity, high chemical and thermal stability solid membranes with good mechanical properties are desirable for all of these applications.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Proton conducting membrane using a solid acid


The present invention is directed towards an electrosurgical cutting system. The system comprises an electrically conductive blade, having an uninsulated cutting edge that is surrounded by an insulator. A source of pulsed electrical energy may be coupled to the electrically conductive blade to provide a substantially uniform and highly enhanced electric field along a cutting portion of the blade edge. The blade may have a uniform rate of erosion during use, so that both the conductive metal edge and the surrounding insulation layer erode at approximately the same rate. Also described are methods of fabricating insulated cutting electrodes, particularly blade electrodes.

Plasma-mediated cutting of biological tissue with sub-microsecond pulses of high voltage is described in the patent of Palanker (U.S. Pat. No. 6,135,998), herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. Dissection of tissue based on explosive vaporization by short (under a few microseconds) pulses of high voltage is described in the patent of Lewis et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,352,535). In these applications, an inlaid cylindrical electrode (i.e., a wire embedded into a thick insulator and exposed at its end) is applied to ionize, evaporate and fragment tissue in proximity of the electrode using dielectric breakdown or vaporization of water induced by a high electric field. An inlaid cylindrical electrode cannot penetrate into tissue and thus can only produce shallow cuts on its surface. Due to the pulsed regime of application, this device produces a series of perforations in tissue, which often do not merge into a continuous cut. In addition, cavitation bubbles accompanying each pulse create substantial collateral damage in tissue during their growth and collapse phases. For example, see "Effect of the Probe Geometry on Dynamics of Cavitation," D. Palanker, A. Vankov, and J. Miller, Laser-Tissue Interactions XIII, vol. 4617 SPIE (2002). The size of such a damage zone typically far exceeds the size of the electrode and the corresponding zone of initial energy deposition. Reduction in pulse energy helps to reduce the mechanical damage, but may also lead to decreased cutting depth.
A second mechanism of electrosurgical ablation is formation of plasma following vaporization in the proximity of the probe by either a continuous radio frequency waveform or with sub-millisecond long bursts of pulses. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,780,178, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. This mechanism is universally applicable to soft and hard biological tissue ranging from membranes and retina to skin and cartilage. In such regimes, wire electrodes are typically used, although the use of a device that could provide a uniform electric field along its length would be preferable.
Without considering end effects, the electric field in a conductive medium at a distance r from a cylindrical electrode with potential U and radius r0 much smaller than its length L is:E=U/(r ln(rO/L))  [1]assuming that the return electrode is much larger and positioned at infinity. The threshold electric field required for dielectric breakdown in water is on the order of 105-106 V/cm (Jones, H. M. & Kunhardt, E. E. Development of Pulsed Dielectric Breakdown In Liquids. Journal of Physics D-Applied Physics 28, 178-188 (1995); Jones, H. M. & Kunhardt, E. E. Pulsed Dielectric Breakdown of Pressurized Water and Salt Solutions. Journal of Applied Physics 77, 795-805 (1995)). Such a threshold electric field Eth can be achieved with electric pulses of several kV on a wire electrode with a diameter of several tens of micrometers. The threshold voltage required for ionization of a surface layer of water is:Uth=EthrO ln(L/rO)  [2]
The corresponding threshold energy is:Fth=2πEth2rO2L ln(L/rO)  [3]Evaporation of water in the proximity of an electrode begins when the temperature is elevated above 100° C. The threshold voltage required for vaporization of a surface layer is:Uth=(cρΔT/(τγ))1/2rO ln(L/rO)  [4]where τ is a pulse duration, γ is the electrical conductivity of the liquid, ρ is the liquid density, c is the liquid heat capacity, and ΔT is the temperature change. The corresponding threshold energy is:Fth=2πcρΔTrO2L ln(L/rO)  [5]
Lower threshold voltage and energy, as well as better localization of energy deposition can be achieved by decreasing the radius of electrode r0, as follows from equations 1-5. However, this approach is limited by the mechanical strength of the thin wire and its visibility. In addition, the problem of non-uniform distribution of electric field along the electrode, and particularly, enhancement at the apex remains.
This enhancement is illustrated in FIG. 1A, which shows the electric field surrounding a wire electrode. The field is stronger at the apex (i.e., at distance=0) and is weaker in its cylindrical portion. Thus, ionization and vaporization on such an electrode will always begin and be dominant at locations of enhanced field strength, leading to uneven cutting and excessive damage in front of these singular points, as shown in FIG. 2.
One geometry that provides uniform enhancement of an electric field is a ring electrode shown in FIG. 3. Its field is uniform except for the points of deviation from perfectly round shape, such as where the ring electrode contacts with a holder. Fortunately, these regions of deviation can be kept away from tissue during surgery. The threshold voltage on such an electrode is set by the wire radius (e.g., see equations 2 and 4) and thus may be limited by the mechanical strength of the wire. For example, a thin wire is very weak and flexible and is thus inapplicable to manipulation of tissue. In addition, wires thinner than 25 microns are barely seen under a conventional surgical microscope, and this makes their use even more difficult. An additional problem with the application of thin wires is that erosion of thin wires greatly limits their lifetime.
Erosion of the blade may occur because of electrochemical or thermal reactions on the electrode, and may be a problem for existing electrosurgical electrodes, including electrosurgical blades. Such blades typically have flat sides and an exposed active edge. During electrosurgical cutting with plasma, the plasma formed along the exposed electrode surface may result in localized high temperatures that may differentially etch the electrode and the adjacent insulation. The result is to change the geometry of the cutting electrode, which may be particularly undesirable, and may affect the ability to cut with the electrode, as well as the energy required to drive the electrode.
For example, FIGS. 10A to 10C illustrate differential erosion of electrodes. FIG. 10A shows an initial cross-section through a cutting electrode. The conductive metal region of the electrode 1001 is surrounded by insulation 1003, except at the exposed tip 1005. When this electrode is to be used with electrosurgical (plasma) cutting, appropriate electrical stimulation may be applied to the electrode so that plasma is formed at the tip 1007. If the vaporization or melting temperature of the insulation 1003 is less than the temperature reached by the plasma (e.g., approximately 800° C.), the insulation may be removed from the electrode, as shown in FIG. 10B. In FIG. 10B, the insulator has retreated from the cutting region of the electrode during activation of the plasma (e.g., plasma-mediated electrosurgery), exposing the conductive metal 1001, which may lead to an increase in electric current flowing from the electrode into the conductive medium or tissue. This results in higher power dissipation which may lead to increase generation of heat in the tissue volume, formation of excess gas (bubbles), an increase in the zone of electroporation damage, and unstable generation of plasma during surgery. This problem may be a result of insulation materials having a low-melting and/or vaporization point (e.g., volatile insulators such as plastics). Such materials may vaporize or erode faster than the metal electrode during a plasma mediated electrosurgical application, as shown. However, a parallel problem may result when the insulation layer is too resistant to erosion, as shown in FIG. 10C. In this example, the insulation does not erode as rapidly as the metal electrode erodes. As the conductive metal erodes from the insulation, a gap is formed between the metal, resulting in a gap between the conductive metal and the surrounding material. At some point this gap may prevent cutting of tissue by the electrode, either because of physical separation from the tissue, or because the voltage will be insufficient for vaporization and ionization, terminating the electric discharge.
Below we describe probe geometry and pulse waveform structures that provide solutions to these and other problems.

Electrosurgical system with uniformly enhanced electric field and minimal collateral damage

The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stamford Junior University


A flexible board bonding method is a method in which a flexible board is bonded to a head holding member having a bent projection, provided with a load beam and a flexible member. The flexile board is sucked by a main suction head and a sub suction head positioned on the flexible board, and then the sub suction head is shifted in such a way that the sub suction head remains within an area defined by a rotation center located substantially at the main suction head and a rotation radius extending substantially between the main suction head and the sub suction head. Then, the flexible board is bonded to the head holding member at the main suction head side under the state in which the flexible board is kept away from said the bent projection by bending of the flexible board.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for bonding a flexible board, and more particularly, to a method and an apparatus for bonding a flexible board suitable for bonding a flexible printed circuit board to a head holding member that constitutes a magnetic head (for a hard disk drive apparatus).
2. Related Background Art
In conventional magnetic heads for use in hard disk drives, lead wires are drawn out via an electrode pad from the slider side in which an MR element etc. are built in, and the lead wires are soldered to a flexible printed circuit board to allow signal input and signal output through the slider side.
However, in magnetic heads in recent years, with downsizing of sliders or the use of negative pressure sliders, the force for pressing a recording medium (so-called load pressure) has become extremely low. As a result, the above-described structure might suffer from the problem that the aforementioned force for pressing a recording medium can vary depending on the rigidity of the lead wires.
In order to solve this problem, there has been known a method in which the slider and the flexible printed circuit are electrically connected directly without using a lead wire.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing how a flexible printed circuit board is bonded to a head holding member.
As shown in FIG. 6, a head holding member 1 that constitutes a magnetic head is provided with a flexible member (or a flexure) 3 disposed between a load beam 2 and the aforementioned slider. The flexible member has elasticity to ensure a degree of freedom of the slider. A flexible printed circuit board 5 is bonded to the head holding member 1 having the above-described structure along the direction indicated by an arrow 4.
In the process of bonding the aforementioned flexible printed circuit board 5 to the head holding member 1, the flexible printed circuit board 5 arranged on a tray is first sucked by a suction head by area A shown in FIG. 6, and the suction head is then moved to a position above the head holding member 1 placed on a support table for bonding while maintaining the suction. After the flexible printed circuit board 5 is moved to the position above the head holding member 1, the suction head is lowered, so that the flexible circuit board 5 is bonded to one surface of the head holding member 1 on which an adhesive has been attached in advance. Alignment of the flexible printed circuit board 5 relative to the head holding member 1 is generally carried out using image processing. Specifically, when the flexible printed circuit board 5 is moved while maintained in a suctioned state, a center hole, for example, of the flexible printed circuit board 5 is detected by a CCD or the like and its positional difference relative to the head holding member 1 set on the support table is calculated. Thus, bonding is carried out after the position of the suction head has been aligned with the position of the head holding member 1.
A suction head as shown in FIG. 7 has also been known as one to be used in bonding a flexible printed circuit board (see FIGS. 1 and 2 of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-288812).
As shown in FIG. 7 which shows the cross sectional structure of a suction head, the suction head 6 is provided with suction ports at positions corresponding to both end portions of a flexible printed circuit board 7 so that it can pick up the flexible printed circuit board as a whole by suction. At the slider side end of the suction head 6, there is provided a main head 8 and a sub head 9 independently from each other so that the flexible printed circuit board 7 can be pressed against a load beam 10 and a flexible member 11 with a load and a range that meet respective requirements. A difference in height as small as that of the load beam 10 and the elastic member 11 can be absorbed by this structure.
However, the above described method suffers from the following problem.
That is, in the method in which the flexible printed circuit board 5 is bonded to the head holding member 1 under the condition in which only area A of the flexible printed circuit board 5 is sucked, the portion of the flexible printed circuit board 5 other than area A is dragged, and there is the risk that displacement or deformation such as bending can occur in the flexible printed circuit board 5 while it is moved to the head holding member 1. Even if the dragging does not occur in the portion other than area A, the weight of the flexible printed circuit board 5 will be concentrated at the portion around area A, so that the aforementioned deformation can occur due to this stress concentration. Furthermore, in magnetic heads in recent years, strict precision in bonding is required not only at the slider side but also at the other side from the view point of improvement in facility of assembling. In view of this, it is difficult to achieve alignment of the aforementioned other end by a process of suction applied only to area A, and specifications required by the market cannot be achieved.
On the other hand, in the case of the suction head 6 that can pick up the flexible printed circuit board 7 as a whole, although precision in bonding of both end portions of the flexible printed circuit board can be ensured, there is another problem in that establishment of suction depends on the shape of the head holding member 12.
Specifically, the aforementioned suction head 6 can press a flexible printed circuit board against a load beam 2 having a flat shape as shown in FIG. 6, but such cannot press a flexible printed circuit board against a load beam 13 having a non-flat bonding surface in the form of a bent portion 14 as shown in FIG. 8.
One method that was conceived was to bend a flexible printed circuit board in a tray precedently in such a way as to be kept away from the step of the head holding member and bonding it to the head holding member while keeping that state. However, this method is not practical, since there is the risk that the flexible printed circuit board can be deformed by the aforementioned bending.

Method and apparatus for bonding flexible board


In one embodiment, the present invention includes a processor having a plurality of logical units to perform operations on data. Each unit may include a multiple input shift register (MISR) at an input of the logical unit to collect and compress data from input signals to the unit. In turn, each MISR may includes bit cells, each having a first cell to receive incoming data and controlled by a first clock signal, a second cell to receive an output of the first cell and controlled by a second clock signal, a mask cell to receive an output of the second cell and to generate a mask signal responsive to a mask clock signal, and a multiplexer coupled between the first and second cells. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Given the ever-increasing complexity of semiconductor devices, many integrated circuits (ICs) are designed with various test circuitry present. Typically, such test circuitry is specialized to perform a particular test on a given functional unit or block of the semiconductor device. For example, such test circuits can include design for test (DFT) circuits and other circuitry used for debug or test features. Still further, some circuits include additional error detection and/or correction circuitry such as may be used during operation modes in the field when high levels of reliability-availability-serviceability (RAS) are needed.
However, additional circuits increase complexity consume chip area and power consumption. Furthermore, significant design efforts are needed to develop specialized circuitry for such diverse needs.

Common test logic for multiple operation modes


Techniques for issuing proximity warnings for services are provided. A first location associated with a requestor that makes a request to a remote service is determined. A second location associated with the remote service is resolved. The first and second locations are compared. In response to the compare, a decision is made as to whether a warning message is issued to the requestor or as to whether the request is passed through to the remote service for processing.

Networking combined with device mobility has created unique opportunities for users. A user can use a device from virtually any location and connect to his preferred network for purposes of accessing desired services. This convenience has also presented a number of challenges for the users.
Take for instance an employee of an organization who works from home in the evening. When the employee boots his/her computer a connection is made to the Internet. The employee may be working on a personal or a confidential document. At some point, the employee may accidentally or deliberately, via a mouse click or keystroke, issue a print command. Since the print buttons on many applications may not even bring up a print dialogue box, the employee may print the document without even realizing it. Furthermore, even if the employee realizes that the print job was sent, it may be too late to cancel the print job. If the print job was sent to a remote printer, the employee will not able to manually stop the printer or for that matter may not be able to get back to the office before the print job is discovered and picked up by another employee of the organization.
This problem can be even more catastrophic for consultants who work at a particular customer site for a period of time and access printers at external companies during that period of time. When the contractor leaves the site, if the contractor does not remember to re-configure his/her default printer, trade secrets of another customer may be inadvertently discovered by a competitor.
It is also noted that any remote service configured and used by a device can experience this same type of problem as described above with the printer service example.