A pool cleaning device which has an integrally moulded body in which are formed a valve chamber, an outlet chamber and two passages which extend between the valve chamber and the outlet chamber. A valve member is captive inside the valve chamber. Buoyancy and biasing components are located inside the moulded body.

This invention relates to a swimming pool cleaning device and to the manufacture thereof.
Swimming pool cleaners known to the applicant are formed from a plurality of interconnected parts. Most of the parts are manufactured using injection moulding techniques. The moulds which are required for injection moulding are expensive and the interconnection of the various parts can be an expensive and laborious process.
Some pool cleaners, particularly of the suction type, make use of a valve mechanism which repeatedly interrupts or reduces the rate of water flow through the pool cleaner. It has been found that the resulting stresses can loosen the mechanisms which fasten the parts of the pool cleaner to each other or can generate stress lines at the points at which the fastening devices are engaged with the pool cleaner parts. The stem lines can fracture the cleaner.


Preferred embodiments include receiving input defining dimensions for a workcell and a size and location for one or more objects within the workcell, receiving input defining a walking velocity for an operator within the workcell and one or more tasks to be completed during a workcell cycle, receiving input defining one or more times and locations to complete the one or more tasks within the workcell, calculating a total walking time to complete the one or more tasks during the workcell cycle based upon the size and location of the object(s), the time(s) and location(s) to complete the task(s) and the operator walking velocity, and outputting the total walking time for the workcell cycle and a graphical representation of the workcell including the object(s) and an operator walking path between points within the workcell at which the one or more tasks are completed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a computer-implemented method and system for designing a workcell layout.
2. Background Art
Currently, workcell layout design is a cumbersome and time-consuming process. It is either performed manually with paper and pencil or with a non-interactive, two-dimensional computer interface. One disadvantage of this methodology is that every time a change is made in the sequence of workcell tasks, or any of the workcell contents are moved, the layout design typically has to be redone from scratch and completely recalculated. Another disadvantage of the conventional methodology is that it is typically only performed by a small group of plant engineers who are responsible for optimizing the efficiency of potentially hundreds of individual workcells and operators. This method is particularly inefficient because the operators themselves often know best what workcell layout(s) may increase the efficiency of their work and, consequently, the quality of the products. It should also be noted that for certain operations requiring ergonomic assessment, there exist detailed three-dimensional computer-aided design (CAD) representations of an operator workcell. However, these tools do not directly address the problem of increasing the efficiency of a workcell layout, vis-a-vis, the moving vehicles being assembled.
As a whole, the situation and methods outlined above do not satisfactorily address the problem of workcell design and planning in a moving assembly line for at least three reasons. First, when performed in this way, the planning process is cumbersome and time consuming. Second, the tools that have been used until now are static and suitable only for engineering planning: they do not support real-time line operator interaction. Third, since the process is largely manual, it is not easy for industrial engineers to uncover the layout that will produce the shortest operator walking path. In other words, inefficient choices (e.g., choices forcing the operator to needlessly spend time walking) may be made. In this regard, there are many factors that may complicate the choice of the best arrangement. Just to cite a few: for each workcell, there are several bins of parts and tools that need to be positioned; there may be external constraints (e.g., fixed obstacles, such as pillars located within the workcell); the operator moves at a speed that changes depending on the weight of the part he/she is carrying; the assembly line may be building a certain vehicle mix (e.g., two or three different vehicle models on the same line: then, at each workstation, different tasks may have to be performed depending on which vehicle is moving through).
In spite of research in the area of moving assembly line design and of line balancing, the practical application of published algorithms is limited. This is because of two main reasons. First, the published algorithms are not sufficiently flexible to model the actual conditions of assembly line workstations. Second, accurate data is difficult to obtain and maintain: often, there is no current record of a workcell layout; that is, when a workcell layout is modified the corresponding central records are not updated.
In the manual "pencil and paper approach", also known as the "wall process" (illustrated in FIG. 1), the workcell is divided into squares, and time is divided into discrete time steps. A certain number of time steps (dependent on the operator velocity) is required for the operator to move across a square. On the paper, a transparent vehicle is moved in discrete steps to determine the intersections between the moving car (on a moving assembly line) and the operator's walk path. This manual approach can be very tedious because of the large amount of manual calculations required for each path and workcell. When any of the part bins are rearranged or the line speed is changed, the calculation must be repeated to obtain the new total time. It is not surprising that this method often fails to produce an efficient workcell arrangement. The fact that the method is used for each workcell in the assembly line compounds time inefficiencies.
The two-dimensional tool approach uses an animation of the actual sequence of work elements in an operation: input information includes rack layouts, vehicle speed and configurations, task description and times (including walk times) associated with a task. Based on this input information the two dimensional computer based tool allows the user to see where an operator would perform a given task. While this approach represents an improvement over the paper and pencil method, there is no attempt to compute on the fly walking time based on the layout of the workcell, nor is there any attempt to systematically optimize workcell configuration.

Computer-implemented method and system for designing a workcell layout


In an ionizer composed of an electrode needle cartridge and a main body block, the electrode needle cartridge is provided with an electrode needle for generating an ion, a high voltage generating device for applying high voltage to the electrode needle, and a receiving connector for connecting a feeding connector, and the main body block is provided with an air-blowing outlet serving as an electrode needle housing portion, an air passing-through hole for supplying air to the air-blowing outlet, and a connecting port for connecting an air piping. The electrode needle cartridge is configured such that when the electrode needle cartridge and the main body block are connected or separated, the electrode needle is inserted into or removed from the air-blowing outlet from a rear end portion side of the air-blowing outlet.

In a treating process for various types of workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer, liquid crystal glass, or the like, an ionizer is used for discharging the workpiece, which is electrostatically charged. The ionizer is constructed such that a corona discharge is generated by applying a positive and negative high voltage to an electrode needle, and that static electricity is neutralized by spraying a then-generated positive ion and a negative ion with air.
In this kind of ionizer, the electrode needle tends to have a stain due to adhesion of dust or the like, and when the adhesion of the stain proceeds, a generating amount of the ion is being reduced because the corona discharge gradually becomes difficult to be generated. Therefore, there is a possibility that the generation of the ions is finally stopped. Therefore, this requires maintenance such as a cleaning operation, an exchanging operation, and so forth for the electrode needle in each time when the electrode needle has the stain. In order to perform the complicated maintenance, as simply and safely as possible, it is important that the electrode needle is configured to be detached from a housing portion simply and safely.
In the Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-228069, an ionizer where an electrode needle unit is configured to be detachable from a main body case is disclosed as an ionizer in which maintenance for a discharge needle (electrode needle) can simply be performed. This ionizer is configured such that a nozzle provided with an air-blowing outlet serving as an ion-generating chamber is provided in the main body case. The ionizer is further configured such that a printed circuit board where a high voltage generating circuit for applying a high voltage to the electrode needle is mounted in the main body case, and that the electrode needle unit is configured to be detachable from a rear side of the nozzle in the ion generating chamber of the nozzle. By this construction, when the electrode needle has the stain, the cleaning operation and the exchanging operation for the electrode needle can be performed by detaching the electrode needle unit from the nozzle.
However, since the ionizer described in the Patent Document is formed with all of electricity-relating parts or portions such as a printed circuit board where the high voltage generating circuit is mounted, a connector therefor, and so forth, air-relating parts or portions such as an air communication hole, connecting port for use in piping, and so forth, in the main body case in a built-in manner, a structure of the main body case tends to be complicated and large-sized at the same time, depending on a structure for disposing and electrically insulating the each of the parts or portions, or the like. Further, since it is necessary to form a structure for connecting or cutting out the electrode needle to the high voltage generating circuit in a built-in manner, when detaching the electrode needle unit, the structure therefor has been also complicated.


A quick disconnect system and method for repairing and preventing further damage to cables, conductors, or wiring, such as control cables in a nuclear power plant extending from a control room to numerous motor operators for valves located within a radioactive hot-zone. The method includes the steps of determinating the electrical cable from the motor operator, removing any damaged portion of the electrical cable, installing a terminal box near the point of removal, reterminating the undamaged electrical cable to the inlet of the terminal box, installing an extension cable between the terminal box and the motor operator, and terminating the extension cable to the motor operator with a multi-contact mating connector.

A primary concern in the construction, operation and maintenance of nuclear power generating facilities is the possible hazard of exposure to harmful levels of radiation. In response to both public and private concern for safety to humans and the environment, an operating nuclear facility is required to undergo frequent inspections and periodic preventative maintenance to quickly identify components requiring adjustment, troubleshooting, removal or replacement. Often, this requires a maintenance team to enter and spend a significant amount of time conducting inspections and repairs in hot-zones such as the nuclear reactor area.
This regular maintenance includes periodic removal of numerous motor operators for valves from the hot-zone for inspection and repair. In so doing, all electrical connections, such as cables and conductors extending from the motor operators to the plant control board, must be disconnected or determinated at the valve. Repeated disconnection, reconnection and pulling of conductors commonly results in damaged or broken lugs, terminals, wires and conductor insulation. These damaged parts must be repaired or replaced in the hot-zone before the motor operator is reinstalled, thereby prolonging the workers' exposure to harmful levels of radiation.
Currently, damaged conductor insulation is commonly repaired using a heat shrinkable Raychem patch over the damaged area. Since the addition of a heat shrinkable patch increases the overall diameter of the insulation on the conductor, a tighter constraint is created between the adjacent cables. This additional constraint heightens the probability that further damage to the electrical conductors will occur during subsequent handling.
When damage to the connections is minor, lugs can be replaced and conductors can be cut back behind the damaged area. Both of these procedures decrease the length of the conductor and its cable. After repeated repairs, the remaining cable becomes too short to reach the valve and must be replaced. Replacement of a cable usually requires that the old cable be pulled from its hot-zone termination at the valve back to its initial termination in the cable spread room. Typically, the cable spread room is several hundred feet away from the motor control area. Therefore, both old and new cables must be pulled and reinstalled through various levels of the plant and through numerous penetrations of the nuclear facility's interior concrete walls. These penetrations must then be resealed for fire prevention and contamination protection.
The present system and method of maintaining electrical connections from the control board to the motor operators result in costly and time consuming hot-zone repairs with much down time delay. There exists an immediate need for an improved system and method for the construction, maintenance and repair of the motor operator and the electrical connections attached thereto which limits workers' exposure to dangerous levels of radiation. The present invention meets this need.

Method for repairing electrical cable in nuclear power plant


The present invention provides a nanocarrier having an interior and an exterior, the nanocarrier comprising at least one conjugate, wherein each conjugate includes a polyethylene glycol (PEG) polymer. Each conjugate also includes at least two amphiphilic compounds having both a hydrophilic face and a hydrophobic face. In addition, each conjugate includes an oligomer, wherein at least 2 of the amphiphilic compounds are covalently attached to the oligomer which is covalently attached to the PEG. The nanocarrier is such that each conjugate self-assembles in an aqueous solvent to form the nanocarrier such that a hydrophobic pocket is formed in the interior of the nanocarrier by the orientation of the hydrophobic face of each amphiphilic compound towards each other, and wherein the PEG of each conjugate self-assembles on the exterior of the nanocarrier.

Paclitaxel (Taxol®) is a standard and effective chemotherapeutic agent for many cancer types, e.g. ovarian cancer, breast cancer, small cell lung cancer, and non-small cell lung cancer. Because paclitaxel is very insoluble in water, formulation of this drug requires Cremophor EL which causes significant side effects such as allergic reactions. Patients receiving Paclitaxel (PTX) require premedication with histamine blockers and steroid.
Abraxane® is a newer formulation of paclitaxel that has less of these side effects and it is among the first nanotherapeutic agents approved by the FDA. It consists of human serum albumin nanoparticles (˜130 nm) loaded with paclitaxel. However, because of its relatively large size, it is unlikely that Abraxane can penetrate deep into the tumor mass. In addition, these relatively large nanoparticles have a propensity to be trapped in the liver and the reticuloendothelial system (RES). Doxil® or liposomal doxorubicin, another nanotherapeutic drug, has similar dimensions as Abraxane but is coated by polyethylene glycol (PEG). Compared to the parent doxorubicin free drug, Doxil has less cardiotoxicity. Similar to Abraxane, it is doubtful that Doxil can penetrate deep into the tumor mass.
Although these two nanotherapeutics exhibit better clinical toxicity profile, their anti-tumor effects are only marginally better than the original drug formulation. Amphiphilic block copolymers can form micelles on the nanoscale and have been applied in the development of drug delivery systems. Amphiphilic block copolymers can form hydrotropic micelles in nanoscale (<100 nm) and have been applied in the development of drug delivery systems. However, most of these micelles are non-biodegradable and tend to be trapped in the RES. Furthermore, these micelles often consist of linear hydrophobic polymers that form a loose core under aqueous environment, leading to instability and low drug loading capacity. There is a need to develop smaller (20-80 nm) stealth and biocompatible micelles as effective nanocarriers for anti-cancer drug delivery in vivo.
We have recently developed several novel nanocarriers for PTX or other hydrophobic drugs. These novel nanocarriers, comprising of PEG and oligo-cholic acids, can self-assemble under aqueous conditions to form core-shell (cholane-PEG) structures that can carry PTX in the hydrophobic interior. These amphiphilic drug-loaded nanoparticles are expected to be therapeutic by themselves with improved clinical toxicity profile. More importantly, when decorated with cancer cell surface targeting ligands and/or tumor blood vessel ligands, these nanocarriers will be able to deliver toxic therapeutic agents to the tumor sites. The final size of the nanocarriers (10 to 100 nm) is tunable by using various, or a combination of, different cholane-PEG preparations. The nanocarriers and their components, PEG and cholic acid, are all non-toxic and fully biocompatible.
PEG has been widely used in various biomedical applications because it is inert and biocompatible. There are a number of PEG-modified protein drugs approved by the FDA, e.g., PEGylated asparagines. PEGylation not only improves the pharmacokinetic properties but also lowers the immunogenicity of protein drugs. Small molecule or peptide drugs, when PEGylated, have been shown to increase their circulation time and delay their metabolism. PEG grafted on the surface of nanoparticles lowers the in vivo extravasation of these particles into normal tissues and reticuloendothelial system (RES). In in vivo imaging studies, PEG modification has been shown to reduce aggregation and toxicities of inorganic nanoparticles, such as quantum dots and magnetic nanoparticles. Bile acids are natural surfactants biosynthesized in the liver of mammals as emulsifiers in the digestion of fats. Cholic acid, a primary component of bile acid, possesses facial amphiphilic structure: a rigid steroid scaffold with four hydrophilic groups on one surface and hydrophobic methyl groups on the other surface of the scaffold. Cholic acid salt form cigar shape micelles in water, and its synthetic oligomers in water forms unimolecular micelle with a hydrophobic pocket, which can thermodynamically seclude hydrophobic molecules. However, the application of the oligo-cholic acid in drug delivery is limited by its poor solubility and low drug loading capacity. We have previously prepared a star-shaped cholic acid-PEG compound with four PEG chains grafted on a single cholic acid core. This compound can form spherical micelles in aqueous solution, and it can be used as a carrier in drug delivery. However, the critical micellation concentration (cmc) of this compound is relative high due to the dominant hydrophilic PEG component compared to the single cholane unit, and the resulting micelles prepared under aqueous condition is relatively big (>200 nm in diameter).
Surprisingly, the present invention meets this, and other needs, by providing a much smaller and more stable nanocarrier with core-shell structure prepared from cholanes on PEG.

THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA


Methods and apparatus for the endoluminal revision of previously performed obesity procedures which have failed are described. One or more endoluminal instruments may be advanced per-orally into the previously formed failed pouch where a number of different procedures can be performed. One or more tissue folds can be formed and secured to reduce the size of the pouch, or the stoma connecting the pouch to the intestinal tract can be reduced in size using endoluminally deployed tissue anchors. These procedures can be performed entirely from within the pouch lumen or upon the exterior surface of the pouch via transgastric entry of the instruments into the peritoneal cavity of a patient. Alternatively, the interior tissue within the pouch can be injured or sclerosed to shrink the pouch lumen. In another alternative, a length of the Roux limb can be shortened endoluminally to create a malabsorptive region.

Generally, three types of bariatric procedures are typically performed on patients for the treatment of morbid obesity. The various surgical procedures include vertical banded gastroplasty ("VBG"), laparoscopic gastric banding ("Lap-Band"), and the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass ("RYGB").
The RYGB procedure is a complex surgical procedure in which a small upper pouch P is created by stapling the stomach S and separating the pouch P from the remaining stomach S, which is left in place in the patient body. A Y-shaped segment of the intestines I (Roux limb), such as the upper jejunum JE or ilium IL, is rerouted and attached to the newly created pouch P via an anastomosis PA, as shown in FIG. 1A. The remaining portion of the jejunum JE is then reattached to the Roux limb at a lower point via an anastomosis IA. This rerouting causes food to pass through the esophagus E, through the pouch anastomosis PA, and into the Roux limb to bypass the stomach S. The pouch P further restricts the food intake and interferes with absorption to result in consistent weight loss.
In creating a VBG, a surgical stapler is used to form a staple line SL to create a small gastric pouch out of the stomach S just below the esophagus E. A non-adjustable polypropylene mesh band B is placed around the bottom of the pouch and through a circular window W created through the stomach S to restrict the size of its outlet, as shown in FIG. 1B. The small pouch and narrow outlet restricts the amount of food the patient can comfortably consume and delays the emptying of food into the remaining portion of the stomach S and duodenum DU.
However, in these types of surgical procedures, there is typically a failure rate of about 20% which is categorized into two types: acute and chronic failures. Acute failures are generally due to patient intolerance, leaks from either the pouch P or anastomoses PA and/or IA, and other complications. Chronic failures generally occur in about 10-20% of patients who fail to lose any significant amount of weight. The typical two failure modes occur from either (1) dilation of the pouch P, for example, where the pouch P expands from a 20-30 cc pouch to a 100-300 cc pouch; or from (2) dilation of the stoma through the pouch anastomosis PA, for example, where the stoma dilates from a 10-12 mm diameter to a 3-5 cm diameter.
Options for correcting these failures are limited to either simply leaving the dilated tissue or to perform an open surgical revision procedure to alter the length of the Roux limb to decrease absorption. However, such a procedure is typically accompanied by a 2-5% mortality rate and a 50% failure rate and is extremely difficult to perform due to the altered tissue anatomy. Moreover, minimally invasive laparoscopic surgical revision procedures are also extremely difficult because of the altered tissue anatomy and scar tissue.
Accordingly, in view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide minimally invasive methods and apparatus for performing endoluminal revision procedures to correct failed surgical procedures for obesity.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods and apparatus for revision of obesity procedures


A method for operating a coating device for coating a metal strip. The corresponding coating device has an electromagnetic strip-stabilizing device having a plurality of electromagnetic actuators or coils for applying forces to the metal strip. In order to ensure that the strip-stabilizing device is operated only within the operating limits thereof, the magnitudes of the set currents for the actuators or the coils are compared with a specified current threshold value or the forces applied to the metal strip by the actuators are compared with a specified force threshold value and the correction roller is moved into such an adjustment position that the magnitudes of the set currents are below the current threshold value or the magnitudes of the forces are below the force threshold value.

The invention relates to a method for operating a coating device for coating a metal strip, for example of a hot-dip galvanizing line for coating the metal strip with zinc.
In such coating devices, in particular in hot-dip galvanizing lines, the thicknesses of the zinc layers currently vary both over the length and over the width of the metal strip. The layer thickness can vary by up to 10 g per m2. Since minimum layer thicknesses have to be guaranteed nowadays, the average layer thickness has to be set such that all the regions of the strip lie above a limiting value. In order to reduce the zinc consumption, there is a desire to reduce the range of fluctuation.
The thickness of the zinc layer is influenced by the setting of a stripping device, i.e. Is influenced decisively with the aid of stripping nozzles. If the distance between the metal strip and the nozzles in the slot of the stripping device fluctuates, then this leads directly to fluctuations in the layer thickness on the metal strip.
Firstly, the distance can fluctuate over the strip width. Secondly, oscillations of the strip in the slot of the stripping device can cause thickness fluctuations over the length of the metal strip.
It is therefore the declared object of every operator of a strip coating device to reduce such oscillations or instabilities of the metal strip as it passes through the coating device, in order in this way to also reduce the variations in the layer thickness on the metal strip associated therewith.
An approach which is usual in the prior art for reducing the oscillations is the provision of an electromagnetic stabilizing device, which is typically connected downstream of the stripping device in the transport direction of the metal strip. Such an electromagnetic stabilizing device is, for example, known from European patent application EP 1 516 939 A1. The strip stabilizing device disclosed there comprises a plurality of magnets in the form of electromagnetic coils on both sides of the coated metal strip. The magnets are arranged in pairs inasmuch as respectively two magnets are opposite each other on both sides of the metal strip. The current with which the coils or magnets are fed is set and controlled on the basis of, for example, the thickness, the speed, the width or internal stresses of the metal strip, with regard to a desired distance between the metal strip and the electromagnets. The distance is measured with the aid of suitable position sensors.
European patent EP 1 794 339 B1 also discloses a coating device for coating a metal strip, wherein the band stabilization is carried out with the aid of electromagnetic coils. Preferably a plurality of coils is arranged beside one another in the width direction of the metal strip, wherein the coils can each also have different currents applied thereto. The method disclosed in EP 1 794 339 B1 provides that, to achieve a previously defined target layer thickness profile on the metal strip, the position of the metal strip within the strip coating device is controlled to a predefined target position value, in that the coils of the strip coating device are operated with a correspondingly suitable current. For the determination of an actual position value for the strip between the opposite coils, required within the context of the position control, instead of a separate position sensor use can also be made of a coil current analyzer, which determines the distance of the metal strip from the coils on the basis of the measured coil current.
Finally, reference should be made to German patent DE 10 2014 225 516 B3, in which, likewise, a coating device for coating a metal strip with an initially still liquid coating material, e.g. zinc, is described. During the coating, the metal strip passes through a roller pair, wherein one of the rollers of the roller pair is adjustable against the other as a correction roller, in order to eliminate possible curvature of the metal strip. The metal strip then runs through a blow-off device for blowing off excess parts of the coating. In order to prevent a non-uniform thickness distribution of the coating on the metal strip, even given adjustment of the correction roller of the roller pair, the actual position of the metal strip is controlled to a predefined central target position in the slot of the blow-off device by means of a suitable displacement of the blow-off device in a plane transverse to the transport direction of the metal strip. An electromagnetic strip stabilizing device is typically arranged above the blow-off device to stabilize the metal strip after leaving the coating container and the blow-off device.
All the described coating devices and methods for coating a metal strip are afflicted by the disadvantage that the electromagnetic strip stabilizing devices are not monitored with regard to electrical overloading. In particular, if attempts are made with the aid of the electromagnetic stabilizing device to set the metal strip to a specific target position between the opposite coils or magnets within the strip stabilizing device and therefore indirectly also to a specific target position in the slot of the stripping device, considerable forces can be needed for the purpose, which in turn require very high currents in the coils of the strip stabilizing device.
The Japanese publication JP 2003-113460 A discloses a method and device for coating a metal band In particular, this reference teaches holding the currents of the electromagnets in the electromagnetic stabilizing device below a predetermined limit value.

Method for operating a coating device for coating a metal strip, and coating device


A sports training device is provided that conveys a perceptible cue to a user indicative of a weight transfer event for evaluating timing correctness of such weight transfer event. The device includes an enclosure having a base chamber defined therein and top wall upon which a user stands or places a foot during use. The enclosure flexes or deforms during use, while an amount of user weight supported by the enclosure changes. As the enclosure flexes or deforms, the device conveys the perceptible cue as an audible and/or visual indication of, e.g., the initiate of the weight transfer event.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to sports training devices and, more particularly, to a sports training device providing an audible indication of an individual's body weight distribution and full transfer during an athletic activity.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A number of different sports or athletic activities require that the participant correctly shift one's weight to execute a particular stroke or swing. For example, during the golf swing, the golfer begins at an address position wherein the golfer's weight is generally centered. As the golfer begins the backswing of the golf stroke, however, the golfer's weight begins to shift from a centered position to the golfer's back foot. Once the golfer reaches the top of his or her swing, the golfer begins the downswing by transferring his or her weight to the front foot. After the weight has been shifted, the golfer pivots around the weight-bearing front leg. Finally, after striking the ball, the golfer completes his or her swing with the follow-through while maintaining the weight transfer on the front foot. Proper weight transfer is essential for consistent ball striking, and improper weight transfer is a common problem among less accomplished golfers. For example, many beginning and high handicap golfers tend to exaggerate the initial lateral movement away from the target during the backswing. They then begin the downswing with a turn of the shoulders prior to the necessary move back toward the target, thereby causing inconsistent ball striking, i.e., topping and/or hitting behind the ball. Unfortunately, most golfers do not realize that they are not adequately moving back toward the target during their downswing, and thus they continue to struggle in hitting consistent golf shots. As another example, many golfers complete their weight transfers too early, e.g., far before even completing the backswing and then fall back, again prior to impact, to their back foot.
A number of prior art devices are directed to improving a golfer's weight distribution and transfer during his or her golf swing. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,606,341 to Honbarger discloses a foot-holding device attached to the individual's lead foot for securing the lead foot to the ground with a heavy spike and designed to prevent lateral movement away from the target during the course of the golf swing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,106,771 to Fern discloses a device that is clamped to the instep of an individual's shoe. The device includes a spring plate that produces an audible signal when it experiences a predetermined flexure upon a change in the angular position of the shoe. The device is configured such that the signal is produced as a proper or desired golf swing is at or near completion.
Finally, U.S. Patent Publication No. 20080015042 to Glass discloses a golf aid configured to provide audible feedback to the user as the user begins to sway away from the target during his or her backswing. The device includes a pressure sensor switch that detects an increase in vertical load at the base of the user's 5th metatarsal head. The device activates a speaker to emit an audible signal to alert the user that he or she has swayed away from the target.
These known prior art devices suffer from a number of disadvantages. For example, the device of Honbarger requires that the individual's lead foot be secured to the ground with a heavy spike. This type of device is impractical in most locations including golf courses, driving ranges, and other such practice areas. Further, the heavy spike used to secure the golfer's foot to the ground is potentially dangerous and will undoubtedly damage the ground it is inserted into. The Fern device, on the other hand, emits an audible noise that indicates a change in angle or inclination of a foot but does not emit noise in response to weight transfer. In other words, the device of Fern is configured for indicating proper follow-through rather than indicating weight transfer. Finally, the golf aid disclosed by Glass is configured to audibly indicate an initial weight application thereto, whereby it indicates a start or commencement of, but not an actual weight transfer event. Stated another way, the device of Glass can emit sounds if a majority of the golfer's weight remains on his or her back foot at ball impact, provided that the predetermined amount of weight is applied to the device, whereby it cannot be relied upon to provide an audible signal or cessation of such signal indicative of a completion of a full swing or full weight transfer event.
The need for proper and full weight transfer is not limited to golf, however. In fact, a number of other sports require similar weight transfers. For example, swinging a baseball bat, throwing a baseball or football or swinging a tennis racket requires similar such weight transfers from a participant's back foot to their front foot. As another example, when pitching a baseball, a typical movement includes a long stride toward the plate at the beginning of the swing, followed by the placement of the front foot and the throw coming from the arm of the opposite side of the front foot. Most professional pitchers do not begin moving the throwing arm toward the plate until the front foot has been placed back on the ground and the pitcher's weight has begun being transferred to the leading leg. Many people tend to start moving the throwing arm forward before the leading leg has even touched the ground, thereby bringing about a slower throw.
In light of the foregoing, a sports training device that overcomes these disadvantages and that is generally applicable to any sport activity requiring proper weight transfer is desired. Specifically, a sports training device that is relatively simple and indicates both positive and negative weight change is desired. It may further prove beneficial to provide a sports training device that emits an audible sound or visual clue only until completion of a full weight transfer event and remains silent or ceases its clue emission after the completion of the full weight transfer event and therefore after a ball striking or throwing event.


Techniques for automatically focusing searches conducted by a search engine are provided. According to one aspect, revised query terms are automatically generated based on text in links that are in incoming (and/or outgoing) link lists associated with documents that are referenced in initial search results generated based on initial query terms. For example, some of the phrases that appear in incoming (and/or outgoing) links associated with a result document may be selected. The selected phrases may be added to the initial query terms to generate revised query terms. These revised query terms may be submitted automatically to the search engine in order to produce a more focused list of revised search results. This process may be performed repeatedly, each iteration revising query terms generated by the previous iteration, until specified criteria are satisfied, at which point the final revised search results may be presented to a user.

Search engines that enable computer users to obtain references to web pages that contain one or more specified words are now commonplace. Typically, a user can access a search engine by directing a web browser to a search engine "portal" web page. The portal page usually contains a text entry field and, sometimes, a button control. The user can initiate a search for web pages that contain specified query terms by typing those query terms into the text entry field. When the button control is activated, or when a script executing on the "portal" web page determines that a specified event has been occurred, the query terms are sent to the search engine, which typically returns, to the user's web browser, a dynamically generated web page that contains a list of references to other web pages that contain the query terms.
All too often, such a list of references includes references to web pages that have little or nothing to do with the subject matter in which the user is interested. Even if the referenced web pages contain the query terms that the user has submitted to the search engine, this is no guarantee that those web pages will be focused on the topic to which the query terms pertain; the occurrence of the query terms in a web page may be merely tangential to the web page's primary discussion. As a result, the user is forced to hunt and pick through multitudes of irrelevant search results in order to find a select few web pages in which the user is actually interested.
What is needed is an automated way of focusing a search so that the web pages referenced in the list of search results therein have a higher probability of relevance to the subject matter in which the user is interested.
The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.

Determining related terms based on link annotations of documents belonging to search result sets


The present invention provides a composition comprising a hydrophobic, fluoroplastic polymer and an oleophobic fluoropolymer, wherein said composition is both hydrophobic and oleophobic, and wherein the weight ratio of the hydrophobic, fluoroplastic polymer to the oleophobic fluoropolymer in the composition is at least about 10:1. The present invention also provides products prepared from and using such a composition, as well as methods of preparing such a composition and products.

Fluoropolymers such as polyvinyl fluoride (PVF), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), fluorinated ethylene-propylene copolymers (FEP), perfluoro alkoxylated polyfluoroolefins (PFA), and related fluorocarbon and chlorofluorocarbon polymers are good laminate materials because of their heat resistance, chemical inertness, low permeability, and low coefficient of friction over a wide temperature range. The fluorine atoms act as a protective sheath surrounding the carbon--carbon backbone. It is this fluorine sheath which imparts the chemical inertness found in polymeric fluorocarbons. The porosity and permeability of these polymers can be controlled by varying sintering conditions, that is by heating the polymer above its melting point and allowing it to cool down at varying rates (slower cooling yields higher crystallinity as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,751). Likewise, varying the methods by which the thermoplastic resin is stretched will produce lattices of varying porosity.
Fluoropolymers can be homopolymerized in one of two different procedures, yielding either a granular resin or a dispersion. For example, with respect to the homopolymerization of tetrafluoroethylene (TFE), a granular resin can be precipitated out of the reaction solution if little or no dispersing agent is used and if vigorous agitation is maintained, while a colloidal suspension can be obtained from the reaction solution if sufficient emulsifying agent is employed and if only mild agitation is employed to avoid precipitation of the resin.
While the granular resin can be molded into various forms, the resin dispersion can be used to dispersion coat substrates, or it can be converted into a powder. This powder subsequently can be used to form fibers or films, or it can be combined with a lubricant medium and extruded as a paste, which can be formed, stretched, and/or compressed into various forms such as fibers or films (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,751).
Other fluorocarbons, such as fluorinated ethylene-propylene copolymer (FEP) or perfluoroalkoxy resin (PFA), can be employed in many of the same applications as PTFE. These other compounds share the chemical inertness, heat resistance, and low coefficient of friction of PTFE, and many of these other fluorocarbons have the added advantage of greater thermoplasticity. These other polymers, therefore, can be more easily processed than PTFE.
Because of their inherent chemical, physical, and electrical characteristics, fluorocarbon-based polymers have been utilized extensively as protective coatings, filtration media, and electrical insulation, as well as in water repellent but breathable fabrics. Metallized composite materials containing such fluorocarbon polymers have been employed as thermal control materials (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,227,230), electrically conductive materials (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,813), fire resistant fabrics, and electromagnetic shielding devices.
Fluorocarbon polymers such as PTFE and FEP are particularly well suited for many filtration applications. These fluorocarbon polymers also are used extensively in the chemical industry as a barrier material because they exhibit low permeability to many fluids. The permeability to liquids and gases of such barrier materials can be reduced by increasing the degree of crystallinity of the polymer, thereby decreasing the interstitial spaces of the polymeric lattice.
The benefits of such fluoropolymer products derive in large part from the hydrophobic characteristics of fluoropolymers. In some applications, however, it is desirable to have a product which exhibits oleophobic, in addition to hydrophobic, characteristics. While polymeric products can be rendered oleophobic by a suitable coating of an oleophobic polymer, the application of such a coating to fluoropolymers is difficult as a result of the repellancy characteristics inherent to fluoropolymers. In addition, such an oleophobic coating can have a tendency to mask the hydrophobic properties of the underlying fluoropolymer.
Previous combinations of hydrophobic and oleophobic fluoropolymers, e.g., in aqueous antiwicking compositions (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,868,042) have proven useful, but compositions exhibiting improved fluid repellency are desirable. Moreover, it would be desirable if such liquid compositions had an improved ability to penetrate and thereby coat porous, particularly microporous, substrates to render those substrates both hydrophobic and oleophobic. In addition, hydrophobic and oleophobic compositions which can be formed into porous membranes, nonporous films, fibers, and the like would be particularly useful.
Thus, there remains a need for a fluoropolymer composition and products prepared from or using such a composition which possess significant levels of both hydrophobicity and oleophobicity. The present invention provides such a composition and products utilizing the composition. These and other objects and advantages of the present invention, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the invention provided herein.


A multicarrier receiver which receives a cyclically extended multicarrier symbol which is in a serial format is provided. The multicarrier receiver includes a serial to parallel converter, a window which decreases spectral side lobes of the multicarrier symbol and outputs a windowed multicarrier symbol, a difference term generating unit which generates difference terms from the multicarrier symbol in parallel format, a first Fourier transformer which fast Fourier transforms a single carrier of the windowed multicarrier symbol for all carriers of the windowed multicarrier symbol and outputs a first Fourier transformed carrier, a second Fourier transformer which fast Fourier transforms difference terms, and a per-carrier frequency domain equalizer which equalizes all frequencies by deriving necessary fast Fourier transforms utilizing linear combinations of the first fast Fourier transformed carrier, one or more non-windowed fast Fourier transformed carriers from the second Fourier transformer and the difference terms.

The invention is based on a priority application EP 01 440 309.1 which is hereby incorporated by reference. The present invention relates to a multicarrier receiver suitable to receive a sequence of cyclically extended multicarrier symbols.
DSL (Digital subscriber Line) enables high speed digital data transport over telephone lines. In some applications such as ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line), this is done in overlay on the analogue POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) service. Thanks to ADSL, telephone companies can reuse most of their installed wiring for the introduction of new services. By using DMT (Discrete Multi Tone) modulation carriers with a higher signal to noise ratio (SNR) are allowed to carry more bits than carriers with a low SNR.
The effect of intersymbol and intercarrier interference due to transmission of the DMT symbols over a channel between multicarrier transmitter and multicarrier receiver can be removed by adding a cyclic extension (CE) to each DMT symbol with a length superior to the channel impulse response length. The data rate, however, reduces proportionally to the length of the cyclic prefix that is added to the DMT symbols so that the length of the cyclic extension of DMT symbols has to be limited to an acceptable number. If the channel impulse response is larger than the cyclic extension, remaining intersymbol interference (ISI) will depend on the part of the impulse response exceeding the cyclic extension length.
In order to shorten the channel's impulse response, the use of a time domain equalizer has been suggested. FIG. 6 shows a known multicarrier receiver RX′ which is able to receive and demodulate multicarrier symbols MS that are cyclically extended. It is the task of the time domain equalizer TEQ to shorten the impulse response length of the channel so that it does not exceed the length of the cyclic extension CE. The time domain equalizer TEQ thereto contains a set of adaptive taps whose values are set in accordance with a mean square error (MSE) criterion. If a multicarrier symbol MS has passed the equalized channel (transmission channel+time domain equalizer TEQ), the samples thereof are serial to parallel converted by the serial to parallel converter S/P′ and the cyclic prefix extractor CE EXTRACT subtracts the cyclic extension CE from the multicarrier symbol MS so that a non-extended multicarrier symbol is applied to a Discrete Fourier Transformer (DFT), efficiently implemented as the fast Fourier transformer FFT′ for time to frequency domain conversion. In the remainder of the description, the terms 'DFT' and 'FFT' will both be used. It is important to keep in mind that the FFT algorithm is merely an efficient manner to calculate a DFT, but both have the same effect. Obviously, any practical implementation will make use of the FFT. The fast fourier transformer FFT′ may be preceded by a time domain window WIN′, to decrease spectral leakage. The frequency domain multicarrier symbol at the output of the fast Fourier transformer FFT′ is supplied to the frequency domain equalizer FEQ′ which typically contains one complex tap per carrier to compensate for each carrier the phase rotation and attenuation due to transmission over the channel. For the so obtained carriers the demapper DMAP′ decodes the exact amount of bits from each carrier using the appropriate constellation schemes. The bits at the output of the demapper DMAP′ are serialised by the parallel to serial converter P/S′.
The time domain equalizer TEQ in a multicarrier receiver RX′ with the known architecture cannot treat different carriers of the multicarrier symbol MS differently although different carriers may be differently affected by noise on the transmission channel. An improved multicarrier receiver RX″ known from EP 969 637 A1 is shown in FIG. 7. The samples of the cyclically extended multicarrier symbol MS, when received by the multicarrier receiver RX″, are paralleled by the serial to parallel converter S/P″ without having passed any equalizer. The extended multicarrier symbol MS then is supplied to the sliding fast Fourier transformer SLIDING FFT which converts different parts of the extended multicarrier symbol MS from time domain to frequency domain by calculating several consecutive Fourier transformations.
A complete calculation of these FFTs would be very computationally intensive. However, a sliding DFT (be it implemented by the FFT algorithm) can be derived from one DFT (FFT) and difference terms. Therefore, in practice the FFTs are replaced by one full FFT and difference terms, without sacrificing performance. The difference terms are formed as differences between incoming samples that are a distance equal to the FFT size apart.
The parts of the extended multicarrier symbol MS that are transformed (by the FFTs) all have the length of a non extended multicarrier symbol, i.e. the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) size. The sliding fast Fourier transformer SLIDING FFT in this way calculates at most an amount of Fourier transforms equal to the number taps of the tapped delay lines TD1′, TD2′, . . . , TDN′/2 in the per-carrier frequency domain equalizer PC-FEQ′, which is also often called per-tone equalizer. The resulting frequency domain multicarrier symbols are applied to the per-carrier frequency domain equalizer PC-FEQ′. In the per-carrier frequency domain equalizer PC-FEQ′, each carrier is equalized by an individual equalizer or tapped delay line TD1′, TD2′, . . . , TDN′/2. The number of complex taps per tapped delay line TD1′, TD2′, . . . , TDN′/2 does not necessarily have to be the same for each tapped delay line TD1′, TD2′, . . . , TDN′/2, but could be a maximum of T taps per line. The equalized carriers at the output of the per-carrier frequency domain equalizer PC-FEQ′ are applied to the demapper DMAP″ which decodes the exact amount of bits from each carrier using the appropriate constellation schemes and the bits sourced by this demapper DMAP″ are serialised by the parallel to serial converter P/S″.
It is known that part of the cyclic extension can be used for windowing in the receiver, such as in, but not limited to a Very High Speed Digital Subscriber Line (VDSL) modem. This operation is transparent for tones that are perfectly periodic in the DFT window, but reduces the effect of transitions that would otherwise cause intersymbol and intercarrier interference. It thus helps to reduce the spectral leakage effects due to the bad spectral containment of the DFT operation. Hence, Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) and crosstalk will only affect a limited number of carriers. In order to combine the benefits of the per-tone equalization and windowing, an implementation of both in a multicarrier receiver is desirable. However the implementation of windowing and per-tone equalization would computationally be very demanding. A straightforward implementation would require the sliding DFT to be replaced by a number of successive window and DFT operations, implemented as FFTs, as shown in FIG. 8. However, the simple implementation with low computational effort (making use of the difference terms, as with the PC-FEQ′) to anticipate the per tone equalization would be lost.


A junction device including at least a first type semiconductor region and a second type semiconductor region a, which are arranged contiguous to one another and have a first and, respectively, a second type of conductivity, which are opposite to one another, and a first and a second biasing region (; the device is moreover provided with a resistive region, which has the first type of conductivity and extends from the first type semiconductor region and is contiguous to the second type semiconductor region so as to form a resistive path between the first and the second biasing regions.

As is known, integrated power devices designed to withstand voltages of several hundreds of volts, such as for example insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) or power-MOS transistors, are normally controlled by driver devices which, among other things, operate to prevent overvoltages or undesirable oscillations on the high-voltage terminals, which may cause serious problems.
For example, in the case of electronic-ignition equipment used for sparking combustion in internal-combustion engines, IGBTs are normally used as power switches for supplying the primary windings of the high-voltage transformers. In greater detail, upon switching-on of the power switches, the primary winding of one of the high-voltage transformers is supplied with a constant battery voltage and hence is traversed by a current which increases in time. A clamp circuit intervenes to limit said current when the energy stored in the primary winding is sufficient to cause a spark between the electrodes of a spark-plug connected to the secondary winding of the same transformer. The opening of the circuit by the power switch causes a voltage peak (normally comprised between 400 V and 600 V), which, amplified by the transformation ratio of the transformer, causes the spark. In the example described, the voltage on the collector of the IGBT (high-voltage terminal) must be controlled both upon switching-off of the IGBT itself, to prevent any possible breakdown, and when the limiting circuit intervenes; in the absence of control, in fact, so large oscillations may occur as to cause undesirable sparks.
Clearly, in order to be able to carry out the control, it is necessary to supply the driver device associated to the power device with a signal representing the voltage present on the high-voltage terminal (the collector terminal, in the case of IGBTs); on the basis of this signal, the driving device acts on a control terminal of the power device.
For this purpose, a known technique is to integrate a high-voltage sensor within the power device. In particular, two solutions have been proposed, which will be briefly described as follows.
A first solution is illustrated in FIG. 1, which shows an IGBT 1 made in a semiconductor body and comprising a collector region 3, a conduction region 5, body regions 6, emitter regions 7, a gate region 8, an equipotential region 9, and a protection circuit 10.
The collector region 3 is formed in a substrate of the body 2, here of P+ type, and has a face coated with a metal layer forming a collector contact 11. The conduction region 5, which is of N− type, extends above the collector region 3 and is separated therefrom by a junction layer 13, of N+ type. Furthermore, the collector region 3 and the conduction region 5 are high-voltage regions.
The body regions 6, of P+ type, are housed in the conduction region 5 and emerge on a surface 5a of the conduction region itself. In turn, the body regions 6 house the emitter regions 7, which are of an N+ type and which are also substantially flush with the surface 5a. Preferably, all of the emitter regions 7 are connected to a single emitter contact 14.
The gate region 8, which is made of polysilicon, is insulated from the conduction region 5 by means of a thin layer of gate oxide 15, and from the emitter contact 14 by means of an insulating layer 16. Furthermore, the gate region 8 comprises a first portion 8a, provided with a gate contact 19, and second biasing portions 8b (the first and the second portions 8a, 8b are connected together; however, the connection is not visible in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 1). The second portions 8b of the gate region 8 extend between adjacent body regions 6 and partially overlap the emitter regions 7.
The equipotential region 9, which is normally metallic, is in direct electrical connection with the conduction region 5 and extends on its surface 5a around the IGBT 1. The voltage of the conduction region 5 and of the equipotential region 9 differ from the voltage of the collector region 3 only by the forward voltage present on the PN junction formed by the collector region 3 and by the junction region 13. For this reason, the equipotential region 9 is used as a sensor for detection of the collector voltage.
The protection device 10 is connected to the gate contact 19 and to the equipotential region 9 and comprises a cascade of Zener diodes 20 connected in pairs in back-to-back configuration, i.e., having cathode terminals in common. In practice, the Zener diodes are formed by means of first and second strips 21, 22 of polysilicon, which are contiguous and have alternated P type and N type conductivity (see FIG. 2). More precisely, each first strip 21, having for example P type conductivity, is contiguous to two second strips 22 having N type conductivity; instead, each second strip 22 is contiguous to two first strips 21. The Zener diodes 20 are formed by the junctions 23 between adjacent strips 21, 22. Consequently, each first strip 21, having P type conductivity, constitutes a common anode terminal of two adjacent Zener diodes 20; likewise, each second strip 22, having N type conductivity, constitutes a common cathode terminal of two adjacent Zener diodes 20. The protection device 10 is moreover made on a thick field-oxide region 25 and hence is electrically connected to the conduction region 5 only through the equipotential region 9. In practice, the protection device 10 limits the voltage between the gate region 8 and the equipotential region 9 to a maximum value equal to the sum of the reverse breakdown voltages of the equi-oriented Zener diodes 20 (i.e., half of the total number of the Zener diodes 20).
The solution described has, however, certain limits, principally in that the terminal used as high-voltage sensor, i.e., the equipotential region 9, is in turn a high-voltage terminal and hence can be connected only to control devices capable of withstanding and processing voltages of several hundreds of volts.
A different solution, illustrated in FIG. 3, where parts that are the same as the ones already illustrated bear the same reference numbers, envisages the use, as a voltage sensor, of a junction field-effect transistor (JFET) 27, operating as a high-voltage nonlinear resistor. In greater detail, the JFET 27 has an emitter contact 28, formed on a portion 5a of the conduction region 5, which is delimited laterally by two body regions 6. In addition, the body regions 6 and the conduction region 5 are used as gate regions and, respectively, as drain region of the JFET 27, while the emitter contact 14 functions also as gate contact. In practice, the current flowing through the JFET 27 is modulated by the voltage present between the conduction region 5 and the emitter contact 14.
In this case, then, the output of the voltage sensor is advantageously a current, which can be easily converted into a low-voltage signal. However, the presence of a transistor within the conduction region 5 introduces active parasitic components, with consequent problems as regards possible undesired activations (latch-up) and tends to modify the behavior of the power device. Furthermore, the overall dimensions increase.

Junction electronic component and an integrated power device incorporating said component


A fluid-heating apparatus for heating a fluid and method of operating the same. The fluid-heating apparatus includes a heating element for heating a fluid surrounding the heating element and a control circuit connected to the heating element and connectable to a power source. The control circuit includes a current path from the power source to the heating element back to the power source, a switch connected in the current path, and a current sensor. The method includes initiating a heating state of the fluid-heating apparatus, initiating a non-heating state of the fluid-heating apparatus, applying a voltage to the heating element during the non-heating state, sensing a leakage current of the heating element during the application of the voltage, and determining a degradation of the heating element with the sensed leakage current.

The invention relates to a fluid-heating apparatus, such as an electric water heater, that can determine a degradation of a heating element of the apparatus, and a method of operating the fluid-heating apparatus.
When an electric-resistance heating element fails in an electric water heater, the operation of the heater is diminished until the element is replaced. This can be an inconvenience to the user of the water heater.

Fluid-heating apparatus, circuit for heating a fluid, and method of operating the same


The present invention provides for a method for producing an aqueous monoammonium phosphate containing fertilizer solution. The method provides for means to control the temperature of a reaction zone as measured at a reagent entry point and a product exit point. The pH of the reaction is monitored and the reaction is terminated when the reaction mixture has reached a pH of between about 5.5 and about 7.5. The invention further provides for a method of treating crops with a monoammonium phosphate solution having a pH of between 6 and 7.

A fertilizer is a natural or synthetic material that is applied to soils or directly to crops to supply one or more plant nutrients which are essential for the growth of the plant. A popular and widely used two-component fertilizer is a fertilizer containing phosphorus and nitrogen (NP fertilizers). These NP fertilizers are generally available as monoammonium phosphate (MAP) and diammonium phosphate (DAP).
The application of a fertilizer providing the optimum amounts of phosphorus and nitrogen is critical to the growth rate and general health of most crop species. Although the total amount of phosphorus in the soil may be high, it is often present in unavailable forms. As a result, unfertilized soils do not generally release phosphorus fast enough to support the energy needs and high growth rates of many crop species.
In many agricultural systems in which the application of phosphorus to the soil is necessary to ensure plant productivity, the recovery of applied phosphorus by crops in a growing season is very low, because most of the phosphorus becomes immobile in soil, or otherwise unavailable for plant uptake.
Therefore, it goes without saying that the application, in a convenient and safe form, of high concentrations (or quantities) of phosphorus and nitrogen is extremely desirable. However, known NP fertilizers suffer from many disadvantages such as the application thereof leading to the acidification of soil, damage inflicted on irrigation equipment due to the corrosive nature thereof when dissolved in water, damage to microbial colonies in treated soils as a result of pH fluctuations, the migration of water as a result of a high salt index, and most importantly the limited amounts that can be safely applied without the crops sustaining fertilizer burn.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to address at least some of the shortcomings of the prior art.

Method of producing a monoammonium phosphate containing fertilizer solution


A new and distinct Guzmania hybrid cultivar named ‘DURAMAR’ is disclosed, characterized by unique bract coloration, shiny bracts and a broad overall inflorescence. The new variety is a Guzmania, and is normally used as an ornamental plant.

The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program. The new variety originated from a cross pollination of an unnamed, unpatented, proprietary seedling Guzmania wittmackii with an unnamed, unpatented, proprietary seedling Guzmania lingulata. The new variety was discovered by the inventor, Chester Skotak Jr., a citizen of Costa Rica, in Ajauela, Costa Rica during 2004, in a group of seedlings resulting from the crossing.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar 'Duramar' was first performed in Belgium by tissue culture, in March 2005. 'Duramar' has since produced several generations by tissue culture and has shown that the unique features of this cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type.


The invention relates to a resistance gene and functional homologues or fragments thereof isolated from S. chacoense, S. berthaultii, S. sucrense or S. tarijense. More over, the invention relates to the use of said resistance gene, for example the use of said resistance gene in a method to increase or confer at least partial resistance in a plant to an oomycete infection. The invention provides an isolated or recombinant nucleic acid sequence comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding one of the amino acid sequences of FIG 4 or a functional fragment or a functional homologue thereof such as those presented in FIG. 13.

Late blight, caused by the oomycete Phytophthora infestans, is one of the most serious diseases in worldwide potato production. It was responsible for the Irish potato famine of the mid-19th century, resulting in the death of one million people. Although a lot of effort has been invested in controlling the pathogen, chemical control of P. infestans is still the main crop management strategy, but environmental safety is becoming more important and the pathogen is sometimes able to evolve resistance to the fungicide treatment. Therefore, introduction of resistance into modern potato varieties is the most durable strategy to control the disease.
In the last century, Solanum demissum, which is a hexaploid Mexican species, was extensively used in breeding for late-blight resistance in potato. Initially, a series of 11 R genes derived from S. demissum was described. Of these, R1, R2, R3a/b, R6, and R7 have been localized on the genetic maps of potato (Solanum tuberosum). However, these R genes confer pathovar-specific resistance and those that were introgressed into potato varieties, mainly R1, R2, R3, R4, and R10, were quickly overcome by the pathogen. Hence, new sources for resistance are required, and currently, several other wild Solanum species have been reported as being potential sources of resistance, many of which have been genetically characterized (Table 6).
Recent efforts to identify late blight resistance have focused on major R genes conferring broad-spectrum resistance derived from diverse wild Solanum species. Beside S. demissum, other wild Solanum species such as S. acaule, S. chacoense, S. berthaultii, S. brevidens, S. bulbocastanum, S. microdontum, S. sparsipilum, S. spegazzinii, S., stoloniferum, S. sucrense, S. toralapanum, S. vernei and S. verrucosum have been reported as new sources for resistance to late blight (reviewed by (Jansky, 2000)).
S. chacoense, is a self-incompatible diploid species from South America, and is thought to be a source for late-blight resistance. A recent taxonomic rearrangement of the section Petota revealed its relationship with species like S. berthaultii and S. tarijense. Several accessions of S. chacoense (CHC543-1), S. berthaultii (BER481-3, BER94-2031) and S. tarijense (TAR852-5) have been tested in detached leaf assays (DLA) with multiple isolates (Table 5) and in repeated field trials with isolate IPO-C. In all tests CHC543-5, BER94-2031, BER481-3 and TAR852-2 remained unaffected, underscoring the relevance of the expressed R genes for resistance breeding.
Molecular cloning of the genes responsible for resistance and subsequent introduction of the genes into potato varieties is a third method that circumvents many of the problems encountered in the previous two strategies.
To date, multiple late blight R-genes have been cloned, like the allelic genes RB and Rpi-blb1 on chromosome 8 and Rpi-blb2 on chromosome 6 (Table 6). Recently, also an Rpi-blb3 resistance gene has been isolated (WO 2008/091153). Although the initial results obtained with RB and Rpi-blb1, -2 and -3 are promising, there is a further need for additional R-genes.

Cloning and exploitation of a functional R-gene from


An electret condenser microphone includes a case, a diaphragm electrically connected to the case, a fixed electrode plate disposed opposing the diaphragm with a spacer interposed therebetween, the fixed electrode plate being formed of a metal plate coated with a polymer film on which an electret is formed, an insulating ring for insulating the fixed electrode plate from the case, a printed circuit board (PCB) defining a back chamber with the fixed electrode plate, and an integrated base for supporting the fixed electrode plate and the PCB and electrically connecting the fixed electrode plate to the circuit component embedded in the PCB through a connecting terminal. The integrated base includes a hollow cylindrical insulating body and metal plating layers formed on the top and bottom of the insulating body. Outer diameters of the metal plating layers are less than the insulating body and are electrically connected by a conductor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electret condenser microphone and, more particularly, to an electret condenser microphone that is improved in performance by a fixed electrode plate increased in size and a back chamber increased in volume.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows a conventional electret condenser microphone. The conventional electret condenser microphone 100 includes a cylindrical metal case 11, a conductive polar ring 12a, a diaphragm 12b, a spacer 13, a fixed electrode plate 14, a ring-shaped insulting base 15, a ring-shaped conductive base 16, and a printed circuit board (PCB) 17 on which circuit components and a connection terminal is formed. The polar ring 12a and the diaphragm l2b may be integrated with each other as a single diaphragm plate 12. The fixed electrode plate 14 includes a conductive metal plate 14b coated with a polymer film 14a on which an electret is formed.
In such a conventional electret condenser microphone 100, since the insulating base 15, insulating the fixed electrode plate 14 from the case 11, is formed to be relatively thick to provide sufficient supporting force, the size of the fixed electrode plate 14 is limited. In addition, since the conductive base 16 is disposed inside the insulating base 15, a volume of a back chamber is reduced, deteriorating the performance of the microphone. That is, since the conventional electret condenser microphone 100 is designed in a dual-ring structure where the ring-shaped conductive base 16 is fitted in the ring-shaped insulating base 15, an inner diameter of the conductive base 16 is reduced to thereby reduce the volume of the back chamber. Furthermore, in some cases, the fixed electrode plate 14 may be assembled by being fitted in the insulating base 15. In this case, a size of the fixed electrode plate 14 is reduced, as a result of which a size of the diaphragm 12b opposing the fixed electrode plate 14 is also reduced, thereby deteriorating acoustic properties such as sound sensitivity and frequency response.

Integrated base and electret condenser microphone using the same


A combined electric tool coordination system includes a main tool (4) and an auxiliary tool (1). The main tool (4) and the auxiliary tool (1) coordinate for working. A load detection module (E1) is used to detect a load parameter that is generated when the main tool (4) operates, and send the load parameter to a central control module (E2). The central control module (E2) adjusts output power of the auxiliary tool (1). The central control module (E2) controls power of the auxiliary tool (1) to increase as the load parameter of the main tool (4) increases and decrease as the load parameter decreases. An automatic adjustment function of the auxiliary tool (1) is applied to a dust collector (1). When power of the main tool (4) increases, more dust and scraps are generated, suction of the dust collector (1) is automatically adjusted to be higher, and the demand of a large quantity of dust is satisfied; and when the power of the main tool (4) decreases, less dust and scraps are generated, power of the dust collector (1) automatically decreases, the suction is reduced, and the demand of a small quantity of dust is satisfied.

Multiple electric tools need to coordinate for working together to complete a task during operation, for example, a dust collector to be used to collect dust generated by cutting or polishing in real time to keep a workbench clean, or reduce dust scatter during a polishing machine or a cutting tool operation. Usually dust collectors turn on with the turn on of polishing machines and turn off with the turn off of polishing machines. A detection module detects a speed or current of the polishing machine to judge whether the polishing machine is turned on during polishing machine operation, the detection module transmits a detected signal to a central control module, and then the central control module activates the dust collector via an electronic switch. The detection module continuously detects working states of the polishing machine to judge whether the polishing machine is in a continuous working state when the polishing machine operates, if polishing machine is in a continuous working state, then the dust collector is opened continuously to keep collecting dust generated by the polishing machine. The detection module detects a stop working state and sends the stop signal to the central control module when the polishing machine stops working, then central control module turns off the dust collector via an electronic switch. Linkage of the polishing machine and the dust collector can be in a variety of ways, for example, polishing machine connected to dust collector via a power supply interface which is set on the dust collector, so that the detection module detects a current of the power supply interface to judge whether the polishing machine is in a power on state, a running state or a shutdown state, and controls start, run, or stop of the vacuum cleaner synchronously. Also, the detection module and the central control module can be integrated on a power supply interface, so that the detection module can detect current conversion of one or more power supply interfaces and control power supply of another power supply interface synchronously. For example, plugging the polishing machine into one power supply interface, and plugging the dust collector into another power supply interface so that the detection module detects a current change of the power supply interface when the polishing machine is operating and sends the signal to the center control module, the center control module then open the power supply interface to which the dust collector is plugged in via an electronic switch, and at the same time, the dust collector starts running, wherein the detection module constantly detects a current of the polishing machine to ensure that it is in a working state during its operation. In the same way, the central control module will shut down the power supply interface to which the dust collector is plugged in to stop its operation when the detection module detects that the polishing machine stops running.
Also, for example, Chinese Patent Application Number CN200520073478.3 discloses an electric tool synchronizer, in which a dust collector can be started with the start of an electric tool which is powered by a power supply interface provided on the dust collector. The patent also discloses an embodiment that is powered by a unified power receiving interface.
In the process of actual use of the above technical scheme, the dust collector usually runs at a substantially constant power, in order to ensure that there is sufficient suction to suck away dust generated by the polishing machine, so the power of dust collector is usually greater than power for which actual suction is required, even if dust generated by the polishing machine is less, the dust collector still runs at a large power. This will cause unnecessary waste of energy, meanwhile the dust collector at a high-power running state will cause a lot of noise. In addition, dust generated by the machines will be reduced when the polishing machine or other dust-producing machines encounter greater resistance or come close to stall; but at this time, the polishing machine or other dust-producing machine's power is great, while the dust collector still runs at a higher speed and its power is greater, and the total power of the polishing machine and the dust collector may exceed a maximum power which the power supply device can withstand. This may result in overload protection of the power supply device. In order to reduce waste of electricity and noise when dust generated by auxiliary tool is less, it also prevents the total power of the dust collector and the polishing machine overload when the polishing machine or other dust-producing machine is stalled.

Combined electric tool coordination system and method

SUZHOU CLEVA ELECTRIC APPLIANCE CO., LTD


The present invention discloses a method of fabricating a liquid crystal display panel including forming a plurality of first substrates having at least two different sizes and a plurality of second substrates having at least two different sizes on first and second mother substrates, respectively, forming sealant patterns on at least one of the mother substrates, attaching the first and second mother substrates to each other, forming first and second cutting lines on each of the first and second mother substrates, wherein the first cutting line for separating a first unit liquid crystal display panel, which is larger than a second unit liquid crystal display panel separated by the second cutting line, and the first cutting line is extended to the sealant pattern, separating a plurality of the first and second unit liquid crystal display panels from the attached mother substrates, and injecting a liquid crystal into the separated first and second unit liquid crystal panels.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device, and more particularly, to a fabrication method of a liquid crystal panel. Although the present invention is suitable for a wide scope of applications, it is particularly suitable for maximizing the use of mother substrates in fabricating unit liquid crystal display panels.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
As the times are rapidly changed into an information-oriented society, the field of display devices for processing and displaying mass information has been developed.
Cathode-ray tubes (CRTs) had been developed as a main stream of the display device in the past. However, recently, flat panel displays have drawn more attention because there are demands in characteristics, such as compact size, light-weight, and low power consumption in the display devices.
In order to meet such needs, a thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD, simply referred to as a liquid crystal display hereinafter) having excellent color reproducibility and thinness has been developed.
The liquid crystal display is being more widely used as a substitute means which can overcome shortcomings of the CRT, owing to its large contrast ratio, its adaptability in displaying gray scales or moving pictures, and its low power consumption.
FIG. 1 is a schematic plane view showing a liquid crystal panel of a related art liquid crystal display.
Referring to FIG. 1, a liquid crystal panel 11 of the related art liquid crystal display includes an upper substrate 5 with a transparent common electrode 18 formed on a color filter 7 including a black matrix 6 and sub-color filters 8, a lower substrate 22 provided with pixel regions P which are defined by pixel electrodes 17, thin film transistors as switching devices T, data lines 15, gate lines 13, and liquid crystal 14 filled between the upper substrate 5 and the lower substrate 22.
In fabricating the liquid crystal panel 11, alignment layers are formed on the upper and lower substrates. A spacer is formed on each of the upper and lower substrates by a sealant. And then, the upper and lower substrates are aligned and bonded to each other.
Subsequently, the bonded upper and lower substrates are cut to obtain a plurality of unit cells by a scribing/breaking process, the liquid crystal is injected between the upper and lower substrates, which is then sealed with a liquid crystal inlet. A polarizer is attached to one of the upper and lower substrates, and taps of a driver circuit are bonded to the upper and lower substrates.
In other words, after a plurality of upper and lower substrates, as described above, are formed on a pair of the mother glass substrates having a large area, the substrates are attached to each other by means of the sealant, and are then cut to form a plurality of liquid crystal panels.
When the liquid crystal panels formed on the large area of the mother glass substrates are cut as described above, dummy glass substrates, which are remaining portions of the mother glass substrates that are not formed on the upper and lower substrates, are formed between the liquid crystal panels. The dummy glass substrates are portions to be removed when the plurality of liquid crystal panel are cut.
Therefore, the liquid crystal panels and the dummy glass substrates must be separated from each other when the liquid crystal panels are cut.
At this time, the separation of the liquid crystal panels and the dummy glass substrates is performed through the scribing process and the breaking process.
Typically, the sealant serves to form a gap for injecting the liquid crystal and to attach the upper substrate and the lower substrate to each other.
However, a pattern of the sealant is also formed between the dummy glass substrates, which pattern serves to attach the large area of glass substrates to each other and entirely, the glass substrates being formed on the upper and lower substrates. This is for properly separating the liquid crystal panels and the dummy glass substrates when the liquid crystal panels are cut.
Recently, the liquid crystal panels having an asymmetrical size are being formed on a pair of glass substrates having large areas. In cutting such liquid crystal panels, however, small dummy glass substrates other than the aforementioned dummy glass substrates are produced. However, the small dummy glass substrates are not completely separated from the liquid crystal panels, thereby deteriorating the productivity of the liquid crystal panels.

Fabrication method of liquid crystal display panel


In a method for connecting two yarn ends to one another, each yarn end is held at two longitudinally spaced apart points and an axial untwisting is introduced. These two untwisted ends are then joined together head to tail by gripping the central portion. There is next induced in the untwisted portion of each end between the central gripped portion and the respective yarn holding point by means of which the untwisting was induced, an axial excess untwisting with simultaneous winding of the free fibre ends about the portion subjected to excess untwist. The twist is retransferred by releasing the central portion during this operation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, on the one hand, to a method for splicing two yarn ends to one another according to which each of these ends is held at two longitudinally spaced-apart locations and an axial untwisting of the yarn is introduced by transfer of the twist of these ends to the adjacent portion of the yarn by rotating one of the holding points for each of these ends, they are joined together head to tail by gripping the central portion of these ends thus joined together and by exerting an axial tensile force, the holding location for each end which has not served to induce the untwisting is removed to form an untwisted portion by freeing the fibres at this end which are not held, and the twist is retransferred towards these ends to re-establish there the twist of the yarn, and, on the other hand, to a splice obtained by this method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Such a method is described in EP-A1-0 249 578. The problem which is encountered with this method of splicing according to which restoration of the twist in the ends of the spliced yarns is sought, is that the ends of the untwisted portions, which tend not to participate in the twisting induced in these ends, reduce the strength of the splice.
A method of splicing has already been proposed in EP-B1-0 100 389 according to which an excess untwisting is induced in the two sections of the yarns to be spliced, these two segments thus over-untwisted are then assembled side by side and head to tail, and the twist is then reintroduced. The negative twist induced in the yarn sections to be connected has the effect of producing a mutual compression of the sections at the time of retwisting, rendering the fibres of the individual yarns practically parallel, procuring in consequence the maximum contact surface between the two yarns.

Method for connecting two yarn ends to one another and a connection obtained by this method


Provided is a piperazinotriazole compound represented by general formula I or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, stereoisomer, tautomer or hydrate thereof. Also provided are a pharmaceutical composition comprising the compound, a method for preparing the compound and a method of use thereof as a high-selectivity poly(adenosine diphosphate-ribose)polymerase-1 (PARP-1) inhibitor in the preparation of drugs for the prevention and/or treatment of PARP-related diseases.

1. Structural Subtypes and Biological Activities of PARP
Poly(ADP-ribose)polymerases (PARP), which exist in eukaryotic cells and catalyze the polymerization of ADP-ribose, include numerous family members. PARP1 is the earliest-discovered ribozyme in cell that can catalyze ribosylation of poly ADP, and later, other subtypes, such as PARP2, PARP3, PARP4 (VPARP), PARP5a (tankyrase 1), PARP5b (tankyrase 2), PARP7 (TiPARP) and sPARP1, were also separated subsequently. At present, 18 subtypes having potential PARP activity have been determined according to the structure of catalytic domain of PARP1, in which PARP1 has a relatively complete structure. PARP1 contains three main domains, a DNA-binding domain (DBD) at N-terminal, an automodification domain (AMD) and a catalytic domain at C-terminal. The DBD comprises two zinc-finger (ZnF) domains and DNA strand break sensitive element (NLS), and zinc-finger (ZnF) domain will bind to the damaged parts of DNA strand and repair such parts by receiving signals of DNA strand breaks through NLS. In the PARP family, the homology between PARP-2 and PARP1 is the highest which is 69%. Therefore, the currently reported PARP1 inhibitors generally have compatible activity on PARP2 as well.
2. PARP and Diseases
Of the known PARP related functions, PARP1 plays dominantly. These particularly include: 1) repairing DNA and maintaining genome stability; 2) regulating both transcription level and expression of related proteins; 3) affecting replication and differentiation, and maintaining telomere length; 4) regulating cell death and removing damaged cells. Therefore, the DNA repairing mechanism mediated by PARP1 may be inhibited and the damage of radiotherapy and chemotherapy on tumor cell DNA may be increased by inhibiting the PARP1 activity, thereby having a therapeutic effect on tumor.
Although PARP has DNA repair function, but when DNA damage is excessive and difficult to be repaired, PARP will be over-activated and tend to have a "suicide mechanism" leading to over-consumption of the substrate nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) and ATP, depletion of cell energy, and cell necrosis, and ultimately organ tissue injury that is one of the pathogenesis of brain injury and neurodegenerative diseases. It is shown that PARP1 inhibitors exhibit therapeutical effects in animal models of cerebral ischemic injury, shock, Alzheimer and Parkinsonian diseases. Therefore, PARP1 inhibitors have a therapeutic effect for various ischemic and neurodegenerative diseases.
3. PARP Inhibitors
It has been reported by Armin et. al. that the catalytic active sites of PARP1 can be roughly divided into two domains, donor domain and acceptor domain, both using PARP substrate NAD+ as a scaffold. Acceptor domain binds to ADP of poly adenosine ribose diphosphate chains. Donor domain binds to NAD+, and is further divided into three sub-binding domains: nicotinamide-ribose binding site (NI site), phosphate binding site (PH site), and adenosine-ribose binding site (AD site). Most of the reported PARP inhibitors interact with the NI site of PARP and competitively inhibit NAD+, therefore, their structures are similar to that of nicotinamide. For example, AZD2281 (olaparib/KU-59436) developed by AstraZeneca is an oral small molecule PARP inhibitor, has showed promising therapeutical effects in treating ovarian cancer, breast cancer and solid tumor in combination with drugs such as cisplatin, carboplatin, paclitaxel and so on, and is currently in phase II clinical stage.

However, the in vivo action time and half-life time (<1 hours) of compound AZD2281 are relatively short, and its bioavailability is low (<15%), which may limit its further development. There are many reasons leading to these shortcomings, and the cyclic tertiary amine of its chemical structure is one of the main reasons that cause the metabolic instability. The cyclic tertiary amine can form oxidation product I or imine intermediate II by oxidase or P450 metabolic enzymes (as shown in the above figure), thus producing a series of oxidative products, including metabolites from N-dealkylation, ring hydroxylation, alpha-carbonylation, N-oxidation, ring opening and so on. All these metabolic products can result in metabolic inactivation of the drug, and even produce toxicity. For example, the cyclic tertiary amine fragment can be metabolized into MPTP (1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydrogen pyridine), or phencyclidine (hallucinogenic drugs) and so on through imine intermediate, thereby producing central nervous system toxicity. Meanwhile, AZD2281 has relatively low selectivity within the PARP family, especially to telomerase Tankyrase 1 and Tankyrase 2, which may cause clinical safety concerns.
Therefore, on the basis of a comprehensive analysis on the binding characteristics of the crystal structure of PARP1 with small molecule compounds such as AZD2281, in the present invention, we designed a series of new PARP1 inhibitors by maintaining the key hydrogen bonding sites which will influence activity, i.e. amide segment, and modifying the hydrophobic part, mainly through 1) introducing the piperazinotriazole system with substituents to increase the steric hindrance of tertiary amine, or substituting the metabolic sites to reduce oxidative metabolism ability of compounds under the action of cytochrome P450 enzyme system in vivo, thereby increasing the stability in vivo of molecules and reducing the likelihood of generating toxic metabolites; 2) introducing one or more substituents on the piperazine ring to increase selectivity over telomerase Tankyrase 1 and Tankyrase 2, thereby improving the safety of compounds as PARP1 inhibitors in treating diseases. Therefore, a series of piperazinotriazole compounds containing one or more substituents were developed as novel highly selective PARP1 inhibitors with potential use in treating various ischemic diseases, neurodegenerative disorders and cancers.

Substituted [1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-a]pyrazines as PARP-1 inhibitors

Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences


A first component, such as an electrical connector, can be mechanically connected to a second component, such as a surface, and separately electrically bonded to the second component using a third component, such as foil. The third component can be ultrasonically welded to the first component and separately ultrasonically welded to the second component. In some cases, multiple third components can be utilized to cover a seam between the first and second components.

Corrosion resistant steel (CRES) bodies are being used with electrical connectors to protect the connectors in harsh environments. The CRES bodies inhibits corrosion, deformation, and other such defects in the electrical connector that may otherwise occur over time. There is also a push to reduce cost and weight of the equipment to which the electrical connectors are mounted. Accordingly, housings of the equipment are being formed from lighter weight materials, such as Aluminum.
When mounting an electrical connector to a surface of equipment, such as a wall of an enclosure, it is useful to electrically bond the electrical connector to the surface to equalize the electrical potential therebetween, e.g., to reduce the risk of electrical shock. One method of electrically bonding an electrical connector to a surface is to directly weld the electrical connector to the surface. However, such direct welding is only commercially feasible when the material forming the electrical connector is chemically compatible with the material forming the surface. For example, it may not be viable to weld a CRES-bodied electrical connector directly to an aluminum surface. Further, the shock and vibration produced during such an attempt may yield a weld with insufficient strength to withstand a harsh environment. Moreover, corrosion, oxidation, and environmental factors (e.g., dust, water, etc.) of the surface and/or the electrical connector also may degrade the electrical connection therebetween.
In addition, the equipment may require shielding from electromagnetic interference (EMI) or to otherwise meet electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) requirements. However, shielding gaskets can be expensive.
Further developments in such systems are desired.

Bonding resistance and electromagnetic interference management of a surface mounted connector


An improved unilimb anesthesia tube assembly includes a rotatable end fitting at the patient end and inner and outer cylinders to which inner and outer unilimb tubes are secured with gas-tight seals. The invention also includes a tool and method for checking the gas-tight seals of the assembly.

In U.S. Pat. No. 4,232,667 there is disclosed a single limb or unilimb anesthesia breathing circuit in which the inspiratory and expiratory tubes are positioned with one tube inside the other. Such a construction is advantageous in preventing twisting between the two tubes which could lead to accidental disconnection as well as to reduce the clutter of anesthesia equipment in the limited surgery area. Another important advantage is improving temperature and humidity maintenance by housing the inspiratory tube entirely within the lumen of the larger diameter expiratory tube. The by-product of absorbing carbon dioxide by soda lime is heat and humidity. The heat and humidity carrying capacity of the inspiratory tube in a two-tube system is compromised due to the cooling of the uninsulated inspiratory tube. In this circuit the warm exhaled breath insulates the inspiratory tube, thus dramatically increasing the capacity of the inspiratory tube to carry heat and humidity to the patient.
Other examples of unilimb anesthesia breathing systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,856,051, 4,007,737 and 4,265,235. However, none of the aforesaid breathing tube circuits are provided with a patient end fitting to which both inner and outer tubes are secured with a gas-tight seal, and which is also fully rotatable at the patient end of the assembly. The aforesaid prior art apparatus do not have practical methods for easily and readily testing the gas-tight seal between the tubing components and the end fittings of the assembly. Such checking is not only desirable, but is often required in anesthesia apparatus check out procedures.